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eG Foodblog: Chufi - Shopping and cooking in Amsterdam


Chufi

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JIC you haven't seen the eGullet Culinary Institute, here are some courses which should be of interest to you:All About Eggs -- Poaching Eggs and the followup Q&A
Stock 101: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Sourdough Bread
Stuffed Pastas

Well, there's more, but I have to go make dinner.

if it wasn't for eGCI, I would never even have made the sourdough bread and the ravioli! thank you EGullet!

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I've never heard of Rucola, what is that?  Is it similar to arugala?

Just in case Chufi's gone to bed already...rucola is German for arugula. Maybe it's the same in Dutch.

Not exactly. The German word for rucola/arugula is Rauke, though you seldom see the name in shops anyway. Rucola and the less used rughetta are Italian.

Il Forno: eating, drinking, baking... mostly side effect free. Italian food from an Italian kitchen.
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Today's breakfast looks very much like yesterday's pudding.. joghurt, granola, blackcurrant sauce:

gallery_21505_358_120859.jpg

and here's the recipe for the semolinapudding. The idea to bake the semolina, is from Nigella Lawson, here's my version of her recipe:

make a thick semolina porridge by heating together milk & semolina (50 grams of semolina for 500 ml. of milk). Cook for about 5 minutes until thick. Add sugar to taste (I added about 2 tablespoons. vanilla sugar would be very nice).

Take 1 egg and separate. Stir the yolk into the porridge and beat the egg white until stiff. Fold the eggwhite into the porridge.

Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake at 180 C for about half an hour. Nigella says bake for 45 minutes, maybe then it will souffle a bit more, but I was afraid it would dry out to much (I like my puddings creamy :smile: )

Semolinapudding with blackcurrant sauce is an oldfashioned Dutch dessert. I think any other tangy fruit sauce or compote (strawberries? rhubarb?) would go great with this. Cream is optional ofcourse but good..

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thank you for blogging, Chufi. it's so enjoyable to read about your life in amsterdam.

during my brief visit to your city a few years ago, i loved the sprinkles that you can put on bread, they made me happy. :rolleyes: i notice they don't make up a part of your breakfast ritual, though. :wink:

"There is no worse taste in the mouth than chocolate and cigarettes. Second would be tuna and peppermint. I've combined everything, so I know."

--Augusten Burroughs

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.... I loved the sprinkles that you can put on bread,  they made me happy.   :rolleyes:  i notice they don't make up a part of your breakfast ritual, though.  :wink:

Aah, would those be muisjes or hagelslag, Fritz Brenner? Chufi, do you like them? I do like the chocolate ones, but have a tin of orange/anise flavored ones that I have yet to open.

Great blog!

Edited by spaghetttti (log)

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Well, it;s a very gloomy and rainy Wednesday over here, so what better way to beat the blues than with some comfort food? By special request from some EGulleteers, my friend Maarten and me head over to one of the best places to eat fries. According to a test that was recently published, these are not actully THE best. But that best place is a 30 minute bike ride away and on a rainy Wednesday.. you understand. Here is the second or third best, as you can see their English is not perfect..

gallery_21505_358_114344.jpg

but the fries are. My friend has a patatje speciaal, with dutch mayo, ketchup and raw onions. I have a slightly smaller portion :smile: with Belgian mayo, which I prefer - it is more sour:

gallery_21505_358_75332.jpg

After that, we need to balance all that fat and carbs with some caffeine and sugar. We go to the Pompadour, a wonderful pastry shop. We have a piece of lemon cake and a mascarpone white chocolate raspberry-thing:

gallery_21505_358_68284.jpg

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Even the little almond cakes that are complimentary with the coffee, are delicious.

Now I have to admit I don't do this every week.. but we had fun.. and my friend says to tell you it's all due to his bad influence that my calorie intake today was so skyhigh!

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What kind of cheese is that in your lunch?

it's a very ordinary young Gouda cheese.

That, on some good wholegrain bread, is one of the few things I can eat every day without ever getting tired of it.

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.... I loved the sprinkles that you can put on bread,  they made me happy.   :rolleyes:  i notice they don't make up a part of your breakfast ritual, though.  :wink:

Aah, would those be muisjes or hagelslag, Fritz Brenner? Chufi, do you like them? I do like the chocolate ones, but have a tin of orange/anise flavored ones that I have yet to open.

Great blog!

I do like them but I never buy them. I prefer savoury things on my bread at lunch, and for breakfast I always have some kind of cereal or fruit..

At a previous job, we used to have different kind of sprinkles in the cafetaria, and I would sometimes have a sandwich with butter, peanutbutter and chocolate hagelslag. But I did not think of that as lunch, more like a piece of cake :biggrin:

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That's a lot of sauce on your fries. Is it common or not to ask for the sauces on the side?

At a previous job, we used to have different kind of sprinkles in the cafetaria, and I would sometimes have a sandwich with butter, peanutbutter and chocolate hagelslag. But I did not think of that as lunch, more like a piece of cake  :biggrin:

Speaking of butter and peanut butter on the same sandwich...

I made a chorizo omelet for my husbands lunch. Next to it is my midmorning snack: some walnut sourdough bread with peanutbutter, and a glass of applejuice

gallery_21505_358_459074.jpg

Is that butter under the peanut butter on your bread? Is that a common thing to do there? I've just never thought of putting on both, since peanut butter is plenty fatty already.

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That's a lot of sauce on your fries. Is it common or not to ask for the sauces on the side?

Is that butter under the peanut butter on your bread? Is that a common thing to do there? I've just never thought of putting on both, since peanut butter is plenty fatty already.

guess I'm really getting busted for my calorie intake.. :shock:

the fries: you have shops where you get the fries and the sauce in a plastic cup with two separated sections. But the 'authentic' ones mostly serve it like this, the downside being that your first 10 fries have a lot of sauce on them, and the last fries have none!

It is a lot of sauce. That's why I don't eat this every week...

As for the butter: most people here put butter (or fake butter, like margerine or some other (vegetable) spread) on their bread before putting anything else on it. It's a habit! But some people don't do it with things that are either fatty enough on their own, or need no glue to stay on the bread, like jam, nutella, pate or something.

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What kind of cheese is that in your lunch?

it's a very ordinary young Gouda cheese.

That, on some good wholegrain bread, is one of the few things I can eat every day without ever getting tired of it.

the simplicity of it just looks so inviting.

Oh, and my mouth.is.watering at the sight of those fries. The look so nice and crispy from the outside, but i bet they are soft and smushy inside.... :wub:

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After that, we need to balance all that fat and carbs with some caffeine and sugar.

:laugh::laugh:

Damn, I miss Europe!!!

Terrific Blog Chufi, thank you. May we revisit the herring stand in June? I hope so!

"I took the habit of asking Pierre to bring me whatever looks good today and he would bring out the most wonderful things," - bleudauvergne

foodblogs: Dining Downeast I - Dining Downeast II

Portland Food Map.com

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If you have the info handy, where is that frite stand located?

I like them, but I avoid them (I am storing enough fat already). However, I do have a friend coming in from the US in a month, and she is expecting to have them. If I'm going to partake, I might as well have us go to the 2nd or 3rd best place around. :smile:

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Thanks for getting (ie. showing!) us the desserts too. The white chocolate mascarpone confection looks great.

My favorite Amsterdam frite topping was "Sambal" mayo, a spicy chili mayonaise. After the first time ordering them, I remembered to pick up the little wooden fork for eating the fries while walking thru the city as they become more sauce-laden.

My mouth is watering for them right now.

A kind of funny food story (maybe to egulleteers?) occurred when I was leaving Amsterdam and was at the airport.

I had quite a bit of time (so I thought) and I decided to squeeze in one more order of frites with sambal sauce. It took me longer than I thought to get through check in--but I carefully clutched my frites all the way through. I showed up at the gate with almost everyone else boarded on the plane. The attendants outside the gate asked me why I was so late and I pointed to the frites.... They really laughed at me.

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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Is that butter under the peanut butter on your bread? Is that a common thing to do there? I've just never thought of putting on both, since peanut butter is plenty fatty already.

As for the butter: most people here put butter (or fake butter, like margerine or some other (vegetable) spread) on their bread before putting anything else on it. It's a habit! But some people don't do it with things that are either fatty enough on their own, or need no glue to stay on the bread, like jam, nutella, pate or something.

Whoohoo! I'm vindicated! :biggrin:

Was just discussing this yesterday with a fellow eGulleter, and we both put butter underneath the peanut butter... it tastes heavenly! I'm with Chufi: whatever the spread or filling... jam, tuna salad, peanut butter, meatloaf or honey... I always butter my bread first.

And I am absolutely loving your blog! Funny, whenever I read about your Dutch culinary adventures, I get a craving for Hopjes coffee-flavoured candies.

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

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Thought I'd show you how I make aubergine fritters.

First, I roast 2 aubergines in a hot oven for about an hour and they come out like this:

gallery_21505_358_26785.jpg

Scrape the flesh out of the skins and leave to drain in a sieve. Then mix with:

2 tablespoons of chopped parsley

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint or, in summer, basil

1 small onion and 1 large clove of garlic, chopped and sauteed in a bit of olive oil

2 tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of grated pecorino or parmesan

salt, pepper

In the picture you see this mush on the left. On the right, the ingredients for a simple pasta: crispy fried smoked bacon, chopped celery, chopped carrot & onion, frozen peas. Johnny Cash side by side with a beer..

gallery_21505_358_93222.jpg

Frying the fritters in hot oil ( they are very fragile and must be turned carefully)

gallery_21505_358_53041.jpg

When done, I like to serve them with a slice of mozzarella and then briefly heated in the oven until the cheese melts.

gallery_21505_358_106632.jpg

It was a nice dinner, not too heavy after this afternoon's extravaganza..

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Thank you for the frites adventure. I really don't know how they do it. Almost universally, the frites are crispy and toothsome on the outside and creamy, fluffy and melting on the inside all at the same time. I prefer the Belgian mayo as well.

Sambal mayo! That was driving me nuts.

And, my-o-my. A new thing to do with one of my favorite vegetables, eggplant! Thank you for that recipe.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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If you have the info handy, where is that frite stand located?

It's on the Voetboogstraat, an alley between Spui and the Heiligeweg.

Just check you are at the right one (Vleminckx), one alley further down there is also a frite shop, not half as good!

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Question about the frites stand: When it says the price does not include "saus," does that mean condiments like mayo and ketchup are extra? Or does that refer to a cheese sauce or gravy?

And is there a recipe for Belgian mayo that I can make at home? I've never had it, and I'd love to try it.

Wonderful blog, by the way.

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Question about the frites stand: When it says the price does not include "saus," does that mean condiments like mayo and ketchup are extra? Or does that refer to a cheese sauce or gravy?

And is there a recipe for Belgian mayo that I can make at home? I've never had it, and I'd love to try it.

Wonderful blog, by the way.

'saus' means anything, ketchup, peanutsauce, mayo or whatever strange concoction you put on your fries (I don't know much about that because I always have just mayo). You pay extra for that, so you can order as many or as few as you like.

I have never managed to make mayo at home that was anything like the one you get at a frite stand. I love homemade mayo, it's just different!

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Is that butter under the peanut butter on your bread? Is that a common thing to do there? I've just never thought of putting on both, since peanut butter is plenty fatty already.

As for the butter: most people here put butter (or fake butter, like margerine or some other (vegetable) spread) on their bread before putting anything else on it. It's a habit! But some people don't do it with things that are either fatty enough on their own, or need no glue to stay on the bread, like jam, nutella, pate or something.

Whoohoo! I'm vindicated! :biggrin:

Was just discussing this yesterday with a fellow eGulleter, and we both put butter underneath the peanut butter... it tastes heavenly! I'm with Chufi: whatever the spread or filling... jam, tuna salad, peanut butter, meatloaf or honey... I always butter my bread first.

When the butter and peanut butter melts together on hot toast, I'm in heaven. This was my favourite breakfast as a kid. (Well, one of them, anyway.)

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Was just discussing this yesterday with a fellow eGulleter, and we both put butter underneath the peanut butter... it tastes heavenly!  I'm with Chufi: whatever the spread or filling... jam, tuna salad, peanut butter, meatloaf or honey... I always butter my bread first.

When the butter and peanut butter melts together on hot toast, I'm in heaven. This was my favourite breakfast as a kid. (Well, one of them, anyway.)

There is nothing like butter and peanut butter on hot toast. As if the fries weren't enough, now I'm really salivating!

Edited by Jensen (log)
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