eG Foodblog: Chufi - Birthday Cakes & Royal Celebrations

[Chufi]

All right, my request, building on ErinM's above:

What are some spring traditions in the Netherlands? Is there a crop that everyone waits for? A celebratory dish? (Does this belong in the Dutch Cooking thread instead?)

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Yes, there was a question about that upthread I think. My apologies if I don't respond to all questions right away, I hope to get to all of them eventually.

I feel the Dutch don't have a very strong connection with seasonal cooking (anymore). But there still are a few things that announce spring: the first rosy pink rhubarb.. ah, how I've enjoyed that for a couple of weeks. it's over now, the only rhubarb I've seen this week is thick and green.

Turniptop greens, as shown upthread.

Peas and broad beans (favas) are at the market now, but unless you can find a very reliable supplier, it's no use buying them. Mostly dried up and wrinkled when they arrive at the market..

The one thing that is universally acknowledged as the best seasonal thing, I think, is asparagus. White asparagus is grown in the south part of the Netherlands.. it's known as Het Witte Goud (white gold) Again, a lot of the Dutch asparagus in the shops is old and woody - but if you know where to go, and you can get the good stuff, there is no early summer dinner nicer than a plate full of white asparagus, hardboiled eggs, slices of boiled and smoked ham, new potatoes, and lots (LOTS) of melted butter. The season is early May- early June.. but I think it might be a bit later this year, because it has been so cold for so long. But that's a dinner I am really looking forward to!

Edited April 26, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Swisskaese]

The restaurant looks very nice and the food looks delicious

I would choose one of the following:

Aubergine met geitenkaas,geroosterde parika, pijnboompitten en pesto

Eggplant sandwich with goats cheese, roasted pepper, pinenuts and pesto

or

Forel in zijn geheel uit de oven met druivenblad met geroosterde venkel, olijven en witte wijnsaus

Whole trout from the oven with grapeleaves with roasted fennel and olives in a white wine sauce

or

Heilbot met laurier en knoflook uit de oven, met gebakken groenten en polenta

Halibut with bay leaves and garlic from the oven with baked greens and polenta

Edited April 26, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Chufi]

Heaving mound of mayonnaise upon a bed of fries

Apples, speckled, gold, crisp in October, melting between layers of pastry and cream

Pears found only in the Netherlands that turn crimson when cooked

Pasta in white bowls, strands coated with cheese, pancetta and tomato

Your balcony filled with flowers, table set for two

Books open to pictures of gooey desserts and a comfortable chair

Intimidating stalls of seafood conquered out of love

Rats dancing at the sight of peas.  Peas!

Teahouse in the middle of the park, buds on trees

Have another, yes, just one more.  Well, this one looks a little broken...

Dinner thread ogling

Amsterdam on bicycle, bags filled with greens

Yumm, lekker!  What a lovely boterkoek!  Taste the ginger…

K syrupy, floating in a bowl of pap

Lists, lists, shopping lists, menus, guests…

Another week of celebrations, a new year of cooking ahead

Roasted, braised, smoked, simmered, blanched, kneaded

Yes!

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Pontormo,

Thank you so very much for this.. it's a beautiful birthdaypresent

I am honored...

[Chufi]

The restaurant looks very nice and the food looks delicious

I would choose one of the following:

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Yes, I should have mentioned that they have more sophisticated offerings than kroketten Thanks for translating!

[Chufi]

In your last blog, you showed aged Gouda, which I use in an arugula, walnut and gouda salad. What are some of the other things you can do with it?

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I like it best shaved thin, then piled on a thickly buttered, crusty fresh slice of bread. With a glass of milk!

[Swisskaese]

Weissen Spargel Zeit!

I love it. Unfortunately, it is hard to find good quality white asparagus here in Israel.

[Kouign Aman]

I've been pondering all yesterday evening and today, the skill it takes to reproducibly slice one of those skinny little waffles in half, horizontally.

If ever I make it to the Netherlands, I shall probably spend an hour parked in front of a stroopwaffel maker, watching in fascination and awe.

[MarketStEl]

After that I went to the city centre. I know lots of nice things have been said about Amsterdam on this thread.. but it's not all good here you know.. so for balance's sake, I just have to show you what I feel is the ugliest street in the city: Damrak

It's lined with snackbars, cheap steakhouses and pizzeria's, lots of ugly advertising boards, and the worst looking streetlights I've ever seen.

You can see Central Station in the background. It's just terrible that strangers arriving in the city have this as their entrance to Amsterdam!

If that's the ugliest street in Amsterdam, then you are truly blessed. I could show you a slew of streets in Philadelphia that look like Dresden after the war--although there are fewer of these now than there were a decade ago, thanks to an accelerated demolition program that the city has undertaken. Now, a lot of these streets have a "Little House on the Prairie" feel to them, with isolated, still-occupied row houses surrounded by cleared land planted in grass with split-rail fences.

But I agree that those street lights are weird. I'm rather fond of the pedestal lamps that you saw in a number of photos in my blog. Those went up as part of a major streetscape improvement project in much of Center City three years ago.

Passengers who travel by limo or taxi from Philadelphia International Airport to Central Philadelphia travel between a huge oil refinery and an auto salvage yard on their way into downtown. This scene, I assure you, is a far more pleasant entrance to a great city.

Right in front of Central Station is the lovely old building of Smits koffiehuis, see their website for a much better view of the place (and it comes with an oldfashioned folksong, for those of you with serious Amsterdam yearnings..). It's a great place to get some refreshments after arriving in the city, or to while away the time before your train leaves, much nicer than the restaurant in the trainstation. Too bad it's now almost completely enclosed in the building site of the North-South subway line.

Oh, goody, goody, a subway station! When did you start channeling me?

BTW, you look fabulous in that black dress. What I want to know is where they got the couple kissing on the platform almost right next to you.

Lunch:

Kroketten! 

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I imagine I can find out what was in the croquettes by looking at their menu, but I'm lazy. Besides, I need to go over to the student union to find out what my health insurance plan options are for the coming fiscal year.

[I_call_the_duck]

After that I went to the city centre. I know lots of nice things have been said about Amsterdam on this thread.. but it's not all good here you know.. so for balance's sake, I just have to show you what I feel is the ugliest street in the city: Damrak

It's lined with snackbars, cheap steakhouses and pizzeria's, lots of ugly advertising boards, and the worst looking streetlights I've ever seen.

You can see Central Station in the background. It's just terrible that strangers arriving in the city have this as their entrance to Amsterdam!

If that's the ugliest street in Amsterdam, then you are truly blessed.

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Yeah, what he said.

[lexy]

I've been pondering all yesterday evening and today, the skill it takes to reproducibly slice one of those skinny little waffles in half, horizontally.

If ever I make it to the Netherlands, I shall probably spend an hour parked in front of a stroopwaffel maker, watching in fascination and awe.

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Agreed - I did a double-take (double-read?) when I saw that. It must be especially difficult if the waffle is hot off the iron and still a little bendy.

[Abra]

Too funny that you're on that billboard, looking so cool! In fact, everyone seems very fashionably dressed. Will you show us some more people, so we can get a feel for spring attire? Preferably show them eating, of course!

We can easily teach you to cut bar cookies or cakes into squares, if you want. I used to be terrible at it myself, but there are a few rules, and if you follow them, it's almost guaranteed to work out perfectly.

[Chufi]

Hi all

I'm just home from my birthdaydinner with my 3 favorite men.

Boy, is it hard to type right when you're a bit... ehm.. drunk!

we had wine , pizza, grappa, sambucca, some more grappa, some more sambucca, and some beer to end it all.

It was a great evening.

Pictures will follow tomorrow.

Excuse me, but I have to go and get some sleep now....

[jackieg]

Happy birthday to you. I love reading your blogs and your husband's birthday dinner series. Stroopwaffels with fig preserves, ginger cakes and city views.

Especially you looking elegant in that black dress billboard picture.

Great blog girl!

[Smithy]

I tend to over complicate things when I give a party.. I always start out thinking I'll keep it simple, but then I'll go on adding dishes even at the last minute.. but I am really trying not to do that this time.

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Oh, this made me laugh! I go exactly the opposite way: start out with grandiose plans, then as the time approaches and reality sets in, find myself scaling back. I've never quite ended up serving crackers and cheese as the dinner party, but I can imagine it. I admire your gumption in adding more!

[Pan]

After that I went to the city centre. I know lots of nice things have been said about Amsterdam on this thread.. but it's not all good here you know.. so for balance's sake, I just have to show you what I feel is the ugliest street in the city: Damrak

It's lined with snackbars, cheap steakhouses and pizzeria's, lots of ugly advertising boards, and the worst looking streetlights I've ever seen.

You can see Central Station in the background. It's just terrible that strangers arriving in the city have this as their entrance to Amsterdam!

If that's the ugliest street in Amsterdam, then you are truly blessed.[...]

Passengers who travel by limo or taxi from Philadelphia International Airport to Central Philadelphia travel between a huge oil refinery and an auto salvage yard on their way into downtown. This scene, I assure you, is a far more pleasant entrance to a great city.[...]

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Sure is. If you've ever flown into Newark Airport and then taken surface transportation to New York, you'll know what I mean. Sounds a little like the the trip Sandy's describing. Or another way of describing it is a vision of Hell!

Also, Klary, I can read some of your handwriting. I noticed "apps," "ham," "chips," "cupcakes?", and "pistachiomacaroons." I suspect that if I could understand Dutch, I'd be able to decipher the rest. If you think that's bad handwriting, you should see some of the final exams I have to try to make sense of...

I'm glad you enjoyed your birthday, and may you awake without a hangover.

By the way, what are the most reliable edible or drinkable Dutch hangover cures?

[Smithy]

I've been pondering all yesterday evening and today, the skill it takes to reproducibly slice one of those skinny little waffles in half, horizontally.

If ever I make it to the Netherlands, I shall probably spend an hour parked in front of a stroopwaffel maker, watching in fascination and awe.

←

Agreed - I did a double-take (double-read?) when I saw that. It must be especially difficult if the waffle is hot off the iron and still a little bendy.

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I wonder about that. Perhaps the waffel is more like a pita, with a hard surface and edge, and soft inside? Then it would just be a matter of slicing the perimeter so that the soft interior would split. Klary, do you know?

If you don't know, maybe you can go back and visit that cute guy again and ask him.

Thanks for the harbor shot. I've seen that view, out the back of the station, but never taken the ferry. I always assumed it would take too much time.

[tejon]

Happy belated birthday, Klary! Somehow I missed the start of this blog, but have been happily catching up. The rats are adorable and so sweet-looking. And did I spy "coleslaw" and "chips" in that food journal entry? Your writing isn't that bad ;-).

[Chufi]

last night, we started with drinks at our sunny balcony.

Then we went to trattoria YamYam.

this is an old picture, but I forgot to take a picture of the interior yesterday

They have these cool lamps made from strainers, which gives a beautiful pattern on the walls.

This place has been a favorite of ours for years.. they serve pizza, pasta and some basic meat and fish dishes.. I think we've been coming here for 8 years now, and we always order the same. Well, not always, but on the occasions where we tried to be adventurous and have something different, we always regretted it.

First some appetizers: pecorino, fennel salami, grilled aubergine, sauteed spinach:

I think it speaks for itself that all 4 of us ordered the same thing: Pizza YamYam

Pizza with smoked ham, mascarpone trufflesauce, rucola and parmesan

This is really really good and very addictive. I can get a craving for this at very odd moments sometimes

Dessert is also, always, the same: coffee granita with cream. Their granita is very good, not too sweet, like a really good frozen espresso. Dennis doesn't drink coffee, but this he'll eat

The 5th dinnerguest was asleep under the table through the entire evening..

Like I said last night.. we had rose, some more rose, then grappa and sambucca.

All that drinking gets you thirsty so to end it all, we went to a bar near the Vondelpark and had a cold beer

It was mild enough to sit outside, or at least we thought so.

I had a truly wonderful birthday, and all your birthday wishes played a huge part in that! Thank you all so much.

And the best thing is... it's not over yet...

I'm going out now to do some serious shopping. I have no clue yet what to make for dinner tonight...

Edited April 27, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

Also, Klary, I can read some of your handwriting. I noticed "apps," "ham," "chips," "cupcakes?", and "pistachiomacaroons." I suspect that if I could understand Dutch, I'd be able to decipher the rest.

(...)

By the way, what are the most reliable edible or drinkable Dutch hangover cures?

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Because of eGullet and my reading so many English cookbooks, I tend to think and write about food in a mixture of Dutch and English. It gets confusing sometimes.

Which reminds me, I want to show you all my cookbooks later..

I feel okay, just a tiny bit wobbly. I had a couple of glasses of orangejuice mixed with sparkling water. I can use the rehydration..

[Chufi]

I imagine I can find out what was in the croquettes by looking at their menu, but I'm lazy. 

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It's a meat ragout (veal or beef, in a stiff bechamel made with beefstock instead of milk), chilled, shaped, rolled in breadcrumbs and deepfried.

Edited April 27, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Bridgestone]

As I sensed how important this is, I'll interrupt the past several days of Chufi's fascinating food-blog evolution and bring us back to the prime area of interest:

So, I did some balcony gardening and then enjoyed the last bit of sun with a glass of South-African rose and some borrelnootjes.. (don't know if they exist elsewhere.. peanuts with a kind of starchy crunchy coating.. very popular cocktail snack over here..)

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i think these peanuts are very popular in asian cultures as well. sometimes they have some seaweed strips outside on the crunchy coating, some are seasoned with hot peppers and some are "seafood" flavored...shrimp or squid...very asian. but of course there are plain ones as well.

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I know what you mean, we get those here as well, but the ones I had today are not the same .. Maybe they really are uniquely Dutch? not that they are a thng to be particularly proud of

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Nah - we share your guilty snack pleasures up here in Sweden, Chufi.

The name is easier for English-speakers, though: "Chili nuts" or "Hot chili nuts", aka "chilinötter". You can get them at the store (all of the major Swedish chip/crisp producers have their own version) and at practically any bar.

Definately my beer snack of choice!

Edited April 27, 2006 by Bridgestone (log)

[Swisskaese]

We also have coated peanuts here. They are not chili flavoured. They are plain.

I like the chili flavoured peanuts and chips. I always buy some when I am in Germany.

Klary, do you buy your coffee and tea at Geels & Co.? I really like that store and they have a very interesting coffee museum.

Edited April 27, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Chufi]

I've been pondering all yesterday evening and today, the skill it takes to reproducibly slice one of those skinny little waffles in half, horizontally.

If ever I make it to the Netherlands, I shall probably spend an hour parked in front of a stroopwaffel maker, watching in fascination and awe.

←

Agreed - I did a double-take (double-read?) when I saw that. It must be especially difficult if the waffle is hot off the iron and still a little bendy.

←

I wonder about that. Perhaps the waffel is more like a pita, with a hard surface and edge, and soft inside? Then it would just be a matter of slicing the perimeter so that the soft interior would split. Klary, do you know?

If you don't know, maybe you can go back and visit that cute guy again and ask him.

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I went to see him today.. he was just setting up his stall so I did not actually see him do the slicing. But he told me that he takes the waffle from the iron when it's slighly undercooked and still soft. It continues cooking after removing from the heat. So he has to be very quick about and slice it while it's still soft. When it cools, it firms up and becomes deliciously crisp (as you can see in the picture I took).

He did say it was difficult though and takes a lot of practice (ofcourse he would say that ) But he also said that the even harder part of making the stroopwafel, is smearing on the stroop. Because the waffle half is so thin, it breaks easily, and you have to smear the syrup over the entire surface.

Everything you always wanted to know about stroopwafels...

Edited April 27, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

Breakfast: a navelorange, cut up, with granola and joghurt.

And one of yesterdays presents!

The first round of shopping.. sigh. Everything on the bike.. and then carried to the 5th floor, no elevator I think I have 2 more rounds to go today..

But a little lunch and relaxation first:

omelet with ham, tomatoes, and cheese

[Chufi]

We can easily teach you to cut bar cookies or cakes into squares, if you want.  I used to be terrible at it myself, but there are a few rules, and if you follow them, it's almost guaranteed to work out perfectly.

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Abra that would be great! I'm making brownies on Monday, to take to work on Tuesday as my birthday treat, and it would be really nice if I could present some even-sized pieces for a change!