Profile

Elsbeth

Art student, enthusiastic cook and aspiring baker, looking to relocate soon to a house with a real kitchen, and oven, and storage space... Well, a kitchen.

  • Location: The Netherlands
  • Favorite foods: Moules marinière, pizza (home made or not), Greek home cooking, lemon curd, risotto with fennel, my dad's apple pie, 'stamppot boerenkool' (mashed potato with kale) with smoked sausage
  • Last bite on earth: Still undecided

The Serious Eats Doughnut Style Guide

Awesome roundup!
Appelflappen are great, but more like apple rings dipped in batter and fried instead of the apple fritter shown in the picture. My fav, topped with icing sugar.
Another Dutch doughnut variation: oliebollen. Yeasted batter with raisins and/or apple, fried into balls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliebol).

Date Night: Bali Nusa Indah

I agree with gargupie: that's no gado-gado. Gado-gado includes (mostly) green beans, cucumber, tofu, tomato, boiled potato, beansprouts, blanched cabbage and carrot... Not just some iceberg with dressing. Best when the peanut sauce is warm (sweet and spicy), combined with the cool (room temperature) vegetables. Done well it's worth the title of 'national dish'.

Foodie gifts / souvenirs to bring back to The Netherlands

Thank you all for your comments! This will help with making my shopping list.

@FromtheFuture Kalustyans is a great tip, looks like the shop for me!

Foodie gifts / souvenirs to bring back to The Netherlands

Thank you all for some fantastic suggestions! Keep em coming...

@karovka The local things are awesome, thanks. A broken bottle of kimchi, not so much ;) Microplanes are available, but expensive.

@kathleen Graham crackers, good tip. I always read recipes for cheesecake that use graham crackers and I honestly have no idea what these actually are...

@AnnieNT Great list, esp. the rancho gordon beans!

@Carrie I'll at Chelsea Market to my to-visit list :)

@Ketherian Measuring cups and spoons are getting easier to buy here, since more and more people are using American recipes for baking. But still a good idea to check.

@Salpico Never ate key lime pie, will have to try it.

Foodie gifts / souvenirs to bring back to The Netherlands

Stroopwafels are delicious, but also typically Dutch ;) I am looking for things to bring from the US back home, sorry if there was any confusion!

Ed Levine's Caloric Journey, Week 175: What's Your Go-To Summer Salad?

This is the best summer salad, in my opinion: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/06/mediterranean-pepper-salad/

Marinating the onions makes all the difference, and it's actually really filling for a salad!

Good luck with your journey :)

The Food Lab Thanksgiving Special: Brussels Sprouts Worth Eating

Add some cream and mix with pasta for a great superfast supper. Oh and toasted walnuts and goat's cheese are really good with sprouts too :)

Dry Chicken

Another option is velveting: mix the chicken pieces with some corn flour (and a little soy, rice wine, sherry, whatever you like) and marinate for 20 to 30 mins. Sear quickly, take out of the pan and stir fry your vegetables. When everything is cooked, mix and season. Makes for supersoft chicken, even breast meat.

Dutch Peanut Sauce for French Fries

Forgot to add: serve the sauce warm, not refrigirated!

Dutch Peanut Sauce for French Fries

This is not even close to peanut sauce that we usually eat with frites. As a Dutch native (and a lover of 'patatje oorlog') I can vouch for that.
Better find a good recipe for Indonesian satay sauce, with ketjap manis (sweet soy) as an addition.
Most basic recipe: natural peanut butter, some milk to thin it out, ketjap and spices to taste (ground coriander, curry powder, chilli).
With mayonaise this will result in this delicious concoction: http://www.frietopia.nl/img/uploads/026-20080311-friet2.jpg Enjoy ;)

You might be a foodie if...

... when you're reading restaurant reviews from all over the world and keep totally on top of what is happening food wise in the USA and everywhere else, when your little Dutch self lives in the Netherlands (with no intention of moving).

And yes, I agree with all these :) Great reading

Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 123: Why Does Making a Salad Seem So Hard Sometimes?

Get a Japanese mandoline, if you don't have one already. Easy to shred carrots, courgette / zucchini and apple, mix with some vinaigrette, add some toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds and you have a great salad that keeps well too.

I agree with the roasted vegetables. Take an evening / afternoon in the weekend to roast a ton of peppers, courgette, aubergines with some oil and garlic, herbs etc. and freeze in portions. Mix with pasta or boiled grains as a dinner, or defrost and put on sandwiches or wraps.

Mascarpone instead of Butter in Speculoos

I personally don't think so. Butter has a much higher fat content which is needed for the structure of the cookie. I think in a cake it could work... But this is a case when butter is the only choice I guess :)

Nut-free Macaron recipe

Maybe unsweetened coconut flakes, pulsed in the food processor? If coconut is not one of her allergies ofcourse...

Puff Pastry Turnover Appetizers - Filling Suggestions Needed

Spinach, feta and sundried tomatoes is a good filling for puff pastry. Maybe Indian spiced samosa-style filling with potato, peas and carrots?

It might sound strange, but i had mac-and-cheese-turnovers once, and they were absolutely delicious! Carb-bombs, but delicious non the less...

Foodie gifts / souvenirs to bring back to The Netherlands

My boyfriend and I are planning our first trip together overseas to the US. We will be staying in New York City, with maybe a day trip to Philladelphia or Washington D.C.

I love cooking and baking, and would love to bring some things with me back home. Ingredients, cookware, foodie gifts, you name it. I already though of Mexican chilles (difficult to find here) and some baking equipment.

Suggestions to expand my shopping list (shops, products) are greatly appreciated!

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