Bon Appétit, François Régis Gaudry.

 foto: cover Bon Appétit.

Bon Appétit. Het is vrijdag en deze blog belooft enigszins ongestructureerd te worden. Gereons Keuken Thuis gaat het vandaag hebben over culinaire zaken en nog veel meer. Ben ik nu te cryptisch? Voor mij ligt het boek Bon Appétit van François Régis Gaudry en zijn vrienden,.Het is de enigszins ongestructureerde encyclopedie van culinaire zaken. Gaudry is een Franse radiopresentator, die sinds een jaar of zes een onveranderd format hanteert voor zijn programma. Een drieeenheid van 1/3 culinaire cultuur, 1/3 kookpraktijk en 1/3 proeven. Voeg daarbij een stevige dosis gezelligheid, want tijdens zijn show wordt er natuurlijk niet gedaan alsof. Er wordt echt gegeten, gedronken en gekletst. Dat moest zijn weerslag krijgen in dit boek, Bon Appétit. Een inventaris van alles wat ter tafel kwam. Een subjectieve mix van gastronomische passie. Om te verslinden of in te grasduinen. Laten we een kijken wat Gaudry daar mee bedoelt? Kris kras door dit vrolijke boek. het boek start met het verhaal van Auguste Escoffier, kok, reiziger en grondlegger van de Franse gastronomie, maar ook de bedenker van het laatste menu dat de Titanic serveerde. Ik blader verder, naar de prangende vraag of een Baskische piperade nu met of zonder paprika wordt gemaakt? De RN7, een populaire smulroute langs culinaire bedevaartsoorden. Een cursus ontgiften iets verderop. De fijnste adressen voor bouillabaisse, in Marseille en Parijs. De toetjes van Julie “carnets de” Andrieu. (Ik kijk vaak naar haar programma op TV5). De geheime adressen van la Serenissima. Hachis parmentier volgens Victor Hugo. Ik kan nog wel even doorgaan. De Franse keuken in 64 data. Je zou met dit boek zo een culinaire spel- of quizavond met vrienden kunnen vullen. Een kaart met gekke gerechten, zoals wijn van babyvleermuizen of gefermenteerde haai. Onder het kopje sandwiches ontbreekt zelfs het oerhollandse  broodje kroket niet. Bon Appétit is van alle markten thuis. Een heuse ravioli Galaxy, niets is Gaudry en zijn vrienden te gek. Het leest alsof je aanschuift tijdens een culi brainstormsessie. De sauzen families Béarnaise en Bechamel komen langs. De soirées van de door mij bewonderde George Sand flitsen voorbij Sands aardappeltaart  en jams uit de Berry. Tot slot geef ik er nog eentje, de nostalgie van de aioli. En dan is deze opsomming nog maar het topje van de ijsberg. (zie ook mijn eerder genoemde menu van Escoffier)

Wat een hoeveelheid aan diverse onderwerpen. François Régis Gaudry somt ze met behulp van zijn vrienden op. Kennis, gelardeerd met vrolijke illustraties en 250 recepten. Gebardeerd met een flinke dot humor, die je vaak ziet bij Franse culi schrijvers. (Ik denk aan Stéphane Reynaud) Bon Appétit heeft een goed thuis gevonden in mijn keukentje. Een aanwinst voor mij als foodblogger. Eruit koken, maar vooral reciteren. dat ga ik vaker doen, nadat ik dit boek heb verslonden!

Bon Appétit, François Régis Gaudry en zijn vrienden. (ISBN 9789059567108) is een uitgave van Fontaine en kost € 34,95

Noot: dit boek werd mij als recensieexemplaar gestuurd door de uitgeverij. De bespreking hier is mijn eigen mening. Lees ook de disclaimer

Talk and table, John Robert Myers.

  foto: John Robert Myers

Everyday I see a piece of art on Facebook spread by an American painter and photographer, John Robert Myers, born in the Rockies and nowadays living in Macon Georgia. ( Does his last name refer to Dutch roots?)  Curious, I searched for his own website and what I found was a site full of art and photographs of art, that he makes. Definitely my cup of tea. His art is just colorful and gay. I invited John Robert to participate in “gesprekken en gerechten” (Talk and Table)  Let’s see if we can make a dish for John from the answers he gives to my questions. A bright, rocky dish. Of course with a glass of wine from the Màconnais (France)

 

Who is John Robert Myers? Tell me some more

I am a painter and fine art photographer. I was born in Amarillo, Texas, and lived in Colorado from age two to six years old. I have lived in Georgia since that time. I grew up in a big family of three brothers and three sisters. My spouse, Jack Mayes and I were married last July on our 30th anniversary of living/being together. He and I lived out in the country for twenty-five years before moving into the city of Macon. I miss my peafowl (I had over 25 at one time), my pigeons and the quietude of the country. I love animals, and have had many different kinds in my lifetime. Jack and I restored a ‘High’ Victorian house in Macon (while we were living in the country), re-graining, re-marbling and stenciling the interiors. We received an award from The Georgia Trust for Historical Preservation for that restoration. Today Jack and I own a wonderful historic Greek Revival house. We have three dogs that we think of as our children. I am exhibit chair for Middle Georgia Art Association, and write a blog for them. I help my friend Betsy with her pet nanny service, and I have recently started working as the weekend manager at a local historic house.

 

How did your attraction for art and photography start?

Because I was born with an eye condition which makes focusing while reading difficult, I struggled in school. For some reason art always came naturally to me. I remember when I was a young child taking my workbook up to my first grade teacher to ask her a question. She took my booklet, got up in front of the class and showed them a drawing I had made of a kitten on the side of the page because she thought it was so well executed. In my mind I can still see the breathtaking beauty of the mountains of Colorado, and the architectural beauty of The Air Force Academy in the mid-Sixties. I will never forget asking my dad to take me inside of The Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. I was in awe. My family moved off the base to a large mid-century modern house in Black Forest, Colorado where the woods seemed to breathe. My sister, Patricia and I would watch for the first star at night. We would go out onto the sun deck, or if it was too cold we would stand at the sliding glass doors of my parents bedroom, holding hands while we wished upon that first little star. I remember my lovely mother putting on her makeup and Chanel No 5 perfume, brushing out her beautiful red hair, and getting dressed. I wanted to somehow harness these experiences. Drawing and painting was my way to do it. When I was around 10 years old I found my dad’s old Agfa camera in a closet. He bought me some film, and I loved the whole photography process.

What is the biggest theme in your work?

Without a doubt it would be spirituality. I am a closet mystic. What is art if it doesn’t have soul in it?

What is your favorite type of art?

I love non-objective art. Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter (The Cage Paintings) are my favorite modern day artists. Picasso is God. Seeing van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ at age 13 truly changed my life. Bernini, John Singer Sargent, Lichtenstein, Klimt, de Kooning, Rothko and Pollock are favorites. Jack and I own several large portraits from the late Alabama artist Barbara Gallagher, and I love them as much today (or more so) than I did when they were purchased over 25 years ago. I would love to own a hanging glass sculpture from Dale Chilly. It would be perfect in our front hall.

Which kind of art do you like to photograph the most and which absolutely not?  I am very curious about that.

My photography is seldom raw. I usually use several different filters and combos in my work. I often tweak the hue/colors as well. I am drawn to photographing architecture (interiors and exteriors). I am fascinated with the energy of houses and buildings. I am also drawn to photographing flowers and trees. I do NOT like to photograph weddings! I did so for my best friends because I love them, but on the whole I don’t enjoy it.

Do you travel a lot and what are your experiences?

I love to travel, but we haven’t done so as much as I would like because Jack and I worry about our puppies when we’re gone. My first trip (I was 5 years old), I remember riding over and sailing under the Golden Gate bridge. My uncle took us to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco… this was 1967 at the height of the hippie movement. Nobody answered my question when I asked, “Why is that man walking another man on a dog leash?”! Being a child at that time living at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, it was quite a shock!

I love Spain, the Prado. I love Montreal… it was interesting to me that the food in Montreal is the best ‘American’ food I’ve ever eaten. Chicago has always been a favorite city. Jack’s favorite place is the beach, and I would say mine is the mountains. A few years ago Jack and I drove out to the Midwest and I think it is some of the most beautiful farmland (the land and what beautiful barns!) I’ve ever seen. I want to see Italy and England (to see the gardens of/and the great houses).

I read you are always driven by exploration of art and beauty, how does this interfere with your own art?

It can be maddening! I am constantly fascinated by art and beauty. It can make me conscious of different aspects of my work that I’ve never noticed. All in all it makes me a better artist.

I noticed your happiness when equal marriage finally got legalized in the US. Did it affect your work?

I’m sure that it has had an effect whether it’s perceptible to my eye or not. I do believe my art is lighter and feels different. Jack and I stood on the courthouse steps in Macon the day we got our marriage license and it felt surreal to us that this equality had become a reality in our lifetime. I am changed.

And for whom you would like to paint and why?

Those who understand and appreciate art. My art is a reflection of me. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they are like my children as some painters do. I want to find homes for them. But my hope is for them to be loved and enjoyed.

On food, which food do you like and which you would never eat?

When I was 7 years old we moved to a little farming community in Georgia. My dear mother is a wonderful Southern cook. I grew up picking peaches and figs. We picked blackberries on the side of clay roads in the country. We had pecan trees on our property. We children picked up the pecans for Mother’s baking, as well as to sell for our Christmas money. We raised chickens. My mother always had a large garden. During the summer we were picking beans, peas, tomatoes, eggplant, corn, okra, squash, cucumbers, cantaloupes and watermelons, as well as digging potatoes. My mother canned and pickled enough to last all winter.

Jack is a great cook, who comes from a family of excellent and celebrated cooks. I have always felt thankful to be a part of a family of great cooks, especially around the holidays. Southern food is better than ever. I love Italian food, and although I don’t consider myself a cook, I do make a delicious manicotti. As far as food that I won’t eat, I am pretty much willing to try most foods, but no bugs or worms.

What wine do you like?

My favorites are dry reds. Jack’s cousin Frances and her husband Ed have a marvelous line of wines that are truly delicious.

Can you tell me something about your “foodprint”  We waste a lot of food in the western world?

Jack and I respect food and rarely waste it. My father wouldn’t eat leftovers, but I usually look forward to them. We stay away from junk food, and fast food. We do sit down and eat a dinner that Jack prepares every night (I do the dishes!). One thing that I would like to do is go to the farmers market in the summertime. There just doesn’t seem to ever be enough time, and I do hope that our Farmers Market will eventually be moved back downtown where it was originally in Macon.

What else do you want to tell?

Gereon, Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in gesprekken en gerechten. I am looking forward to your recipe!

 foto: Lust in the proper, painting by John.



The recipe and wine.

Thanks for answering my questions and participating!

On this Easter Sunday I thought of a Corsican veal stew for John and his man.  A touch of Spring. I hope that he likes it,The wine to pair is a red one from Tuscany, Torbolone, a product made bij fattoria la Vialla, an organic farm near Arezzo.

Ingredients:

2 lbs veal (shoulder meat) in cubes

2 big carrots

2 onions

2 stems of thyme, 2 bay leaves an 1 stem of roemary, tied together as a bouquet garni.

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbs flower

3 oz stock (beef or veal)

1 glass of white wine

2 oz black and 2 oz green olives

finely chopped parsley and chives

2 tbs oil

pepper and salt

Preparation:

Cut the carrots in cubes, the onions in fine rings. Peel the garlic and cut in tiny pieces. Heat up some oil and stir fry the carrots, onion and garlic. Cut the meat in cubes, season with some salt and black pepper. Pass the meat through some flower. Heat up some oil in a Dutch oven and fry the meat until brownish. Add the earlier fried carrots, onions and garlic and pour the wine and stock in the pan. Add the bouquet garni and let the dish simmer for an hour or so, until the veal meat is tender. When it’s done, remove the bouqet garni and add the black and green olives. Let the olives just warm for a short while. Season the dish to taste with some black pepper and salt. Garnish with some finely chopped chives and parsley. Serve this dish with focaccia bread and a Spring salad.

Talk and Table, Jean Beddington.

marie_cecile_thijs_-_jean_med-2 foto: Jean door Marie Cécile Thijs (internet)

I still remember her restaurant in the Roelof Hartstraat in Amsterdam. The white square boxes in the window. The plain design. And the marvelous food. All done by Jean Beddington chef and culinary creative. You could call her the grand lady of TASTE, that’s what it is about. With so many caleidoscopical features. Gereons Keuken Thuis wanted to know more. Because I had another question by a friend of mine, I called her. All of a sudden I got the idea to invite Jean for my series Talk and Table. Based on the answers she gives I will conceive a recipe, that will please her and my readers. Something savoury with a touch of Spring.

Who is Jean Beddington and what would you like to share with us?

An English lady settled in Amsterdam for the last forty years! And cooking professionally for the last 36 of them! So there should be quite a lot to share…

You have quite a history from restaurants to books, publications and more. What was your most impressive project? 

A few years ago I was asked to cook a dinner in the RijksMuseum just before it was opened after renovations. It was organised by an international company and it was a business dinner for guests from Dubai – so the food and drink were halal. It was very interesting to create non-alcoholic drinks to match the food – the red wine option was a mixture of beetroot and cavolo nero and tasted amazing with the beef main course. And my sous-chef and I were sightseeing in the dimly lit museum whilst the guests were eating in the Staalmeesters Room!

Nowadays you are a culinary creative Is there a difference with being a chef? 

Having sold the restaurant three years ago I now have time to choose the time I go on holiday – at the beginning of the year we visited Cadiz for a week and in June we will be off to Italy. What I don’t miss is the daily pressure of running a business – the bookkeeping, the staff, the repair jobs but I do miss the buzz and adrenaline rush of the restaurant. However now I get to think up creative solutions for dinners, workshops, demonstrations etc. – deciding on a theme and exploring both culinary and visual aspects of each occasion to create a unique experience. One thing that is really new for me is the monetary aspect of catering individual events – in a restaurant the price is worked out in advance and everything is a continual job but with my work now it’s sometimes very difficult to put a price on the work – and it’s surprising how people have no idea how much work (and hours) is involved from start to finish.

You invest a lot of energy in defining taste and dishes? In another life, would you do it again? Or would it be something else?

I’ve always loved to cook but when I was young I never thought of it as a career choice. But once I’d experienced working in a professional kitchen I knew it was a fantastic way to express myself.

Your dishes and recipes speak to the imagination, certainly with me. They are gorgeous. How do you do that?

Thankfully I’m blessed with a very good memory both in terms of taste and visual presentation – when thinking of a new dish I can bring these into play – it’s like a puzzle – when the taste, textures, and colours fit together I know I have a good dish. The more you know the more you can leave out!

My parents were/are very French oriented. De last two decades there has been a shift from French to other cuisines, certainly in my generation. You were in front position. Do you feel that too?

Although my upbringing in England obviously has a great influence on my cooking, I travelled with my family from a young age to France, Italy, Spain etc. and it was always so exciting tasting new cuisines. The first time I ate an artichoke none of my family had ever eaten or seen one before but thank God a friendly Frenchman at the next table came over and explained to me how to eat it! It also helped that my father loved good food and encouraged us to order anything we fancied! And of course my love of travel took me overland to Japan where I lived for several years. Eating through all those countries with their wonderful cuisines has given me a marvelous taste history. Returning to Europe and settling in Amsterdam it was amazing to cook using all those influences and finding them so appreciated – so much so that I was christened “The Godmother of Fusion”! When I started I was using products like seaweed, wasabi, miso, fresh coriander etc. – nowadays chefs couldn’t cook without them and now the guests know what they are.

More and more culinary start ups appaer. What do you think of the general quality. Has it become better the Dutch culinary landscape?

Certainly the restaurants in Holland have improved tremendously over the last 30 years – with everyone travelling so much and the influx of foreigners living here there has been more exposure to different cuisines which can only be a good thing! But the new trends like pop-ups serving one item like burgers or bao’s or pulled pork etc. seem not to deliver the real thing – imitation may be the highest form of flattery but you have to get it right! And so many of the new restaurants kind of blend into one another – their dishes and presentation all look alike – I miss a personal signature.

What do you miss in nowadays cuisine?

I like to be able to choose in a restaurant and again one of the new trends is to just serve one menu – I admit that it’s a damn sight easier for the kitchen but who wants easy….

Culinary speaking, which one is your favorite dish? And ofcourse which wine?

Oh goodness – what a difficult question! I love so many dishes – anything with seafood – oysters, crab, a gleaming eyed mackerel…tiny fresh shrimps in a crispy pancake. Actually, I am a great lover of Japanese cuisine – the freshness, the attention to detail and presentation and I get so much inspiration from the food. I love combining the Japanese flavours in a European cuisine. And as for wine, a full creamy white Burgundy, a crisp Albariño, and I love a good toasty Champagne – Pol Roger, Taittinger…

And what do you dislike?

I’ve never been a big fan of ‘stamppot’ especially the one with ‘ postelein’ – too slimy for me and one fish I’ve never really enjoyed is ‘zeewolf’ but that’s about it on food dislikes.

If you would give a cooking class, what would you want to teach us?

I would like to teach people how to make good basic sauces, and dressings for salads – with the new trends in restaurant dishes you always wish there was more sauce instead of the minimum amount to make the dish look pretty – banish the dots and dashes – just give me the sauce!

Last but not least, do you want to share anything else in my blog? Please be welcome

Support your local butcher, grocer, fishmonger and food market. Do not do all your shopping in the supermarket.

The recipe for Jean

I am very glad with the answers of this chef. Thank you so much Jean! They are down to earth, yet contain a lot of information. Jean is right when she tells that the difference between having a restaurant and occasional catering is big. Her eye for remembering the visual presentation, the taste in combination to the texture is quite a known phenomenon to me. In Gereons Keuken Thuis we call that “droogkoken”, cooking based on the memories in your head. Jean Beddington sees a lot of development in Dutch cuisine. However she is not that fond of  one issue pop up restaurants, nor the kind of restauarants that only serve one menu. She likes to choose. She likes seafood, white Burgundy wines and is a sauce addict. Not  a simple dash, but lots of it. Based on this information I thought of the following recipe. A Flemish  spring stew, waterzooi, with extra cream and white asparagus.They are almost in season. (since in the South of the Netherlands they arrive every year end of March)  And a whole baguette for the sauce. The wine to pair wil be a white Burgundy from Uchizy. Butter and almond to pair the waterzooi.

Ingredients:

2,5  l vegetable broth 1 chicken in pieces, carcass.

a bunch of thick white asparagus

3 stalks of celery

1 leek cut inrings

3 carrots in pieces

8 potatoes

250 g celeriac into cubes

1 bunch of parsley finely chopped

2 egg yolks

4 dl cream

butter

pepper and salt

Preparation:

Cut the chicken into pieces and make nice fillets of the breast and other meat. Add the carcass of the chicken to the vegetable broth. Leave to simmer for a while.. Add the chicken pieces to the broth and cook about 20 minutes. Peal the white asparagus and cut off the woody ends. Cook the aspargaus in  salted water for about 15 minutes. Cut all the vegetables into chunks. Put the vegetables and potatoes in a deep casserole with some butter an stir fri them.. Remove the chicken pieces from the broth and add to the vegetables.  Add  the strained broth. Leave to simmer fo another 15 minutes until the potatoes and vegetables are tender. Add the cream and turn of the heat.. Season the the waterzooï to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the egg yolks and add the rest of the cream. Serve the chicken parts and vegetables in plate, together with the white asparagus. Spoon some sauce over and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with a rustic bread in pieces,. It will soak all the sauce and flavour just until the last drip.

De zomer voorbij….

 foto: Sail Out

 

Eind augustus, het grootste gedeelte van de zomer ligt al weer achter ons. De zomer van 2015, wisselvallig, maar vol mooie avonturen. Zoals op 1 juli de dag van de pastasalade, waarbij Gereons Keuken Thuis samen met 5 andere foodbloggers de achtste plaats haalden in de in de trending topics ranking van Twitter.

De zomer van het al fresco eten, koken in mijn buitenkeukentje, als de hemelwatersluizen niet open stonden, want dat gebeurde nogal eens. De oprichting van de LUBM, de lighten up behaviorism movement. Gezond is namelijk een bijwoord en eten een werkwoord. (dank aan Gerrit Jan Groothedde in zijn Anti Dieetboek) Dus geen fratsen meer met low carb, geen melk, glutenvrij, guilty pleasures en superfoods. Gewoon lekker eten wat er op je bord ligt. Glas wijn i.p.v. azijn erbij. Basta!

 foto: in de Foodhallen.

Ik genoot van het strand, als ik in Gereons SeaSpot vertoefde. Struinde drie dagen het water en de kades van het IJ af om de mooiste schepen ter wereld te zien. Genoot van tochtjes op de fiets door de stad en daarbuiten. En de nieuwe tak van sport de trendwandeling door Amsterdam West. Veel te zien en veel te ervaren. (Dus als jullie foodies geïnteresseerd zijn, ik ga graag met een groepje op pad.) De stad, het platteland en de zee boden mij deze zomer de inspiratie om Gereons Keuken en Route  te schrijven. Het manuscript nadert zijn voltooiing. Sla je slaatje, uitgevers!

 foto: end of summer

De zomer voorbij… Deze periode geeft instant energie. Dat geldt althans voor mij. Ik zit boordevol plannen voor het komende najaar. We varen de zomer uit naar nieuwe einders. Nieuwe boekrecensies, nieuwe recepten en wijnideeën op mijn blog. Workshops, applemania en wijnproeverijen. De serie Talk and Table gaat weer van start.(een oproep volgt nog) En we gaan weer een rondje literatuur en wijn doen. In ieder geval komt er veel op mijn pad. Laat het najaar maar komen. Gereons Keuken Thuis is er klaar voor.

Nieuw de LUBM

 foto: Metz

“Sinds food de rol van religie heeft aangenomen, is het het nieuwe opium voor het volk geworden. Met foodpausen als stuurmannen aan het roer. Weinig humor, weinig relativeringsvermogen. En alle foody bisschoppen deinen graag mee over de woelige baren van de foodzee.” 

Bovenstaande hartenkreet plaatste ik zondagochtend op mijn Facebook tijdlijn. En niet zomaar. Ik vind dat het is doorgeschoten. Dat er een strijd tussen de strengen en rekkelijken aan de gang is.

Alles is food gerelateerd geworden. En bitter serieus. Met het mes op tafel. Alsof het genieten van lekker eten of je heil zoeken in lekker koken een dogmatisch iets is geworden. Met veel regels, principes en veel discussie. Zelfs verhitte steken op de sociale media. ter meerdere glorie van het foodgeloof. En de kijkcijfers. Vergeet ik nog de pecunia.  Daarnaast heb ik het nog niet eens over de “gezondheidssaus”waar alles mee wordt opgediend. De tien geboden van het gezonde foody leven, zoals: “gij zult glutenvrij bestaan, geen suikers nastreven en kijk uit met  de verlokking van vlees.” Gelukkig komen er nog net geen colporteurs aan de deur om je te bekeren. (voet tussen de deur)

Tijd voor een herleving van de ACBM tijden op mijn blog. Voor wie niet kan herinneren wat dit is verwijs ik naar mijn post van februari 2013. http://gereonskeukenthuis.nl/blog/acbm-uitleg/ 

Deze club, de Anti Cupcake Behavior Movement krijgt een zusje. Het thema van de nieuwe club wordt lighten up. Neem alles eens met een korreltje zout. Iedere foody is anders gebekt. En elk heeft zijn motieven waarom hij of zij wel of niet iets schrijft, kookt bakt of juist niet eet.. En wordt ook niet meteen boos als een ander niet helemaal leuk vindt wat jij doet. Eigenlijk gewone basale leefregels. Leven en laten leven. Lighten up. Want in de zucht naar de kijkcijfers wordt in de virtuele wereld steeds meer mogelijk en daarmee ook steeds minder. Dat vind ik jammer. En komen er steeds meer predikers die precies weten hoe het heurt. Vervolgens deint de ene groep mee op de woelige baren, terwijl de ander verzuipt in het geweld van deze nieuwe religie.
Ik heb ook al een naam voor de het zusje van de ACBM. Een nieuwe behavior movement, helemaal nieuw,de LUBM. Een creatieve club, die zijn ogen opent voor de leuke dingen in food. Waar je blij van wordt. En een club, die deelt. Waarom niet eens een ander in het zonnetje zetten op je blog, wanneer je vindt, dat hij of zij iets leuks heeft bedacht? Of vat feedback niet meteen als aanval op.

De Lighten Up Behavior Movement is een feit. Heeft het licht gezien. Niet voor heet bevallen in het Italiaans dare alla luceMeer kan ik er op deez woensdagmiddag niet van maken.

Talk and Table, Martin Morales

martin-morales-about_image_image-13598771219226253209 picture: Martin Morales

Imagine, a warm September evening in the outskirts of Amsterdam. Long tables full of anxious people. In front of them Martin Morales, preparing a Don Ceviche, the signature dish of his restaurant, with tigermilk and al lot of Peruvian ingredients. Seabass in a mixture of cilantro, limejuice an peppers all from that colorful country with its coast, Andes mountains and Amazonial forests. Peru. Caleidoscopical as he is, Martin Morales brings color, taste and swing in your life. Whether it is the food, DJ-ing or even his corporate past, he is an artist. Bright and fun!  But the story of Martin is one about passion, following his heart. Let’s see if we can conceive a dish for Martin from the answers he gives to my virtual questions. Needless to say that this will be an dish  full of color, nicely styled and with a Burgundian twist. And a touch of wine.

Who is Martin Morales? Tell me some more

Peruvian, chef, live in London, restaurateur, music producer, dj, love my country, love food from around the world as well as music from around the world. I’ve worked with Steve Jobs, Miley Cyrus, Ferran Adria, The Puppets, Joss Stone and several more interesting people. Im the author of Ceviche – The Cookbook-  which has won a few awards and was translated into 10 languages. Creator and boss of Ceviche and Andina restaurants and bars in London. Check this video from Ceviche: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELn37tZlHlU

I’ve been told I am the pioneer of Peruvian food in Europe. I also run Tiger’s Milk Records – a music company dedicated to releasing Peruvian music and have just launched a TV channel dedicated to Peruvian food and arts:

Ceviche TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xiblfsJcl0

In March I will be opening Ceviche Old Street – a Peruvian restaurant, bar and art gallery in East London. Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXmG_QR1p8A

How did your attraction for food and cooking start?

Watching my great aunts in Peru, Carmela and Otilia and joining them in the kitchen from a very young age. Doing small tasks in the kitchen, then learning their recipes, techniques and most importantly their ‘touch’…we call that ‘sazon’. Its the way you cook and flavour your food. They used to say ‘Aqui se cocina con cariño’: here we cook with loving care. That’s my, and my company’s motto too!

After years of corporate jobs you started you own restaurant Can you tell something about it and what it was like when you started?

I’ve always been entrepreneurial, even when I worked with large companies. I”ve worked with start ups all my life alongside large companies so the change was easy; but at the time I started with Peruvian food no-one knew nor did they want to know! They thought I was crazy. It was a huge struggle. I had to sell my house and put every penny I had to launch my first restaurant and proove that the food from my country is special and the way me and my team do what we do is also unique to us and very special.

You worked as a DJ, you worked with I tunes, what did you experience over there? Did it give you an eye for entertainment? Don’t you think food is entertainment too?

DJing gives you an insight into creativity, and makes people move. People can be moved in many ways so long as you know how to love people. I do; I want to excite people with my food and its the same as music. Its joyful, uplifting, inspiring and moving as well as entertaining. Food and restaurants need to touch every sense. Not just your tastebuds.

What is your favorite type of food? Are you a nouvelle cuisine guy or the more basic cook?

There is no such thing as basic. Flavour and love are difficult to achieve in dishes and only for those who give themselves fully to them. The rest are just doing a job! I love fod made with taste and passion.

And nouvelle cuisine is dead – it was never ‘alive’; it was a science project.

Which type of restaurant  you like the most and which one you dislike? I am very curious about that. I know that it takes a lot of stamina to create something.

I like restaurants that excite and entertain me, that give great flavours and that are fun; where you can see that people really care.  These can come in many shapes and sizes. And they aren’t always restaurants: they can be pop ups, food vans, festivals, etc as well as beach shacks and fine dinng restaurants but I don’t ever find great food and atmosphere where very wealthy people dine.

The Peruvian kitchen is very special, you told that, while preparing your ceviche, what is the magical touch?

Fresh ingredients, great recipes, a great technique, and timing.

You traveled a lot, lived in two totally different cultures,  what was your most striking moment?

Since the day we opened Ceviche it feels like having sex every day. I love it and it makes me feel great. I loved the food from Peru and now I am presenting it and my creations based on Peruvian food for the whole world to try through my cookbook, our Ceviche TV You tube channel and more.

What was de biggest difference for you to overcome when you started  with Ceviche?

Too many to mention. But with care, love and belief in what we do we always overcome.

What is your attitude to Britain and the UK food scene nowadays?

It’s in a very exciting place. London and soon Manchester will follow. London is world leading in terms of restaurants. No other city comes close in terms of variety and overall quality.

On food, which food do you like and which you would never eat? 

I love food with healthy and sustainable ingredients that make my tummy happy. I hardly ever eat chips. The latter is a lie.

Which wines do you like?

I drink Peruvian pisco. It’s as complex as wine and accompanies food just as well.

Can you tell me something about your “foodprint”  We waste a lot of food in the Western world?

We just won top marks at Ceviche AND Andina – my two restaurants – for sustainability from the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

What else do you want to tell?

I would like to open an incredible, beautiful, unforgetable Peruvian restaurant in Amsterdam. If you are an experienced restaurateur and want to do this too, let me know. Martin@cevicheuk.com  Please Dutch cooks read this one carefully!

10666011_573293479463221_173589584006935177_n picture: Ceviche on my balcony

Talk and Table, the recipe

Based on these answers I will make a reward recipe for Martin, in which I try to join sea food with  flavours from the book Ceviche by this wonderful cook. After a few days of thought I found a recipe in my own cookbook “Gereons Keuken Thuis” It’s called tian de saumon bourguignon. It is a dish of fresh salmon with lightly fried leeks and avocado. The fish is cured with lemon. A bit ceviche style so to say. The leek gives it a sweet touch and the avocado and cream smoothness. A dish to pair with a wunderful white Pouilly Fuissée. From the vinyards just beneath the Solutré rock in southern Burgundy. I hope that he will like it.

Ingredients:

400 g of the freshest salmon you can find

3 thin leeks

125 ml crème fraîche

2 avocados

3 lemons

2 tomatoes peeled without seeds in tiny cubes

olive oil

4 stems of dill to garnish

3 tbs of chopped parsley

2 tbs of chopped chives

salt and freshly ground black peper

Preparation:

Cut the fresh salmon in tiny cubes. mix the fish with the juice of 3 lemons, 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil, chives, parsley, salt and abundant black pepper. Put the fish in the fridge for at least half an hour. Cut the leeks in tiny rings and stir fry them shortly in hot oil. Let the rings drip out on some paper towel. Mix the fried leeks with some crème fraîche and leave to cool. Cut the ripe avocados in pieces and mash them in a blender with some lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Add som cream to it. Take four wine glasses and start to fill them layer by layer. Start with the leek, then the salmon, ( make sure that the salmon is leaked out properly to avoid a too strong lemon juice taste)

Third you add the avocado mousse. Top the tian with some tiny tomato cubes and garnish with a little stem of dill. Buen provecho Martin!

Note: in Dutch the cookbook Ceviche is published by Fontaine Uitgevers, www.fontaineuitgevers.nl

Boeken en wijnen, najaar 2014

001 foto: de cover van Ammanitis boek.

Boeken en wijnen. Lezen en drinken. Twee passies van mij. Momenteel ben ik weer verschillende boeken  aan het lezen op mijn zomerbalkon. Een wederom draconisch boek van Niccoló Ammaniti, een boek over het ontstaan van de Nederlandse taal en het nieuwe kookboek van Tim Hayward, die alles zelf tracht te maken. Geïnspireerd door een blogpost van vriendin en schrijfster Frances Mayes over haar boeken- en wijnkamer bedacht ik in 2012 een actie voor het najaar. Ik startte een serie over boeken en wijnen. Mijn bloglezers stuurden mij de titel van een boek dat zij aan het lezen zijn, waar het over gaat, wat zij ervan vinden. Ik koos er dan (wekelijks) één inzending uit zal dan bedenken welke wijn en welk klein hapje erbij kan. Dat kan leuke en/of spannende combinaties gaan opleveren. Dit najaar ga ik het weer doen. De actie start na 15 september. Dus laat me weten wat je leest en wat je van het boek vindt. Kijk nu al uit naar de reacties. Reageren kan via Twitter @gereon_DL, Facebook of mail vinsdegereon@hotmail.com. Of natuurlijk gewoon in een reactie op deze blog.

 

Talk and Table, writer Ann Mah, who masters the art of French eating.

 ann mahpicture: Ann Mah

Via Twitter invited Ann Mah to join in in my blog series “gesprekken en gerechten” Talk and Table American writer and traveler Ann Mah is the author of  the book “Mastering the Art of French Eating”  Her story on eating all kind of French delicacies when she stayed in Paris. Her husband, a diplomat took off for a year and Ann decided to discover the French fare. It took her from Troyes to Lyon, from the Provence to Cap Finistère. From andouillettes to soupe au pistou. Ann tried it all and wrote a book on it. At first glance the title suggests a connection with that other American writer, Julia Child, who made her way through Cordon Bleu and wrote “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. The book of Ann Mah takes you in another direction. Not the preparation but the enjoyment and discovery.  My friend Susan Herrmann Loomis says on the cover: “Ann Mah goes straight to the esential in this lively, mouthwatering book, as she explores the foundations of French cuisine. Bravo!”  She did the same in a book on China.  I am really happy to meet Ann in my series Talk and Table. Based on her answers Ann Mah will be rewarded a customized recipe. To pair with a wonderful wine.

Who is Ann Mah and what would you like to share with us?
I’m a writer, Francophile, devoted home cook, and tea drinker. I love to eat and travel and I never feel like I’ve truly experienced a new place until I’ve eaten the regional specialty.
You once stayed in China, wrote a book on it , can you give us a brief description of that special country?
I lived in China for four years, thanks to my husband’s post at the US Embassy in Beijing. I am ethnically Chinese and grew up eating Chinese food, and before I moved to China, I thought I was an expert on the cuisine. I was surprised and delighted to find an extremely diverse regional cuisine—one of my favorite discoveries was the food ofYunnan, a province in the south that borders Vietnam. They use a lot of ingredients found in European cuisine—fresh herbs, morel mushrooms, and even a special kind of cheese!
You ate yourself around France, in order to capture the flavours, can you tell something on that period?
I’d always wanted to take a road trip through France, using Julia Child’s classic cookbook,Mastering the Art of French Cooking, as a guide. When my husband and I moved to France for three years, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, he left for Baghdad shortly after our arrival in Paris, and my dream of living in France changed. But with his encouragement, I still traveled throughout the country – albeit, on my own. The book grew from those travels, from my eating adventures, my fascination with the history I discovered, and my admiration for the home cooks and food artisans I met along the way. But, really, writing the book was just an excuse to tour around France and eat!
Your website  speaks to the imagination, recipes, wines, travel, certainly to me. How do you do that?
Thank you for reading my blog! It’s been fun to meet fellow Francophiles and food lovers through my blog. Writing and taking photos for it certainly takes a lot of time, but it’s also a labor of love.
My parents were/are very French food oriented. The last two decades there has been a shift from French to a more international cuisine, certainly in my generation. Do you notice that  too?
Definitely! Global flavors play a huge role in many popular new Paris restaurants. It’s exciting to see the Parisian palate expand—though I still love classic French country cooking.
What is your favorite cuisine? I think this is a needless question, but anayway nice to ask
Honestly, I don’t have a favorite cuisine, but prefer a diet of varied international foods – Indian dosa for breakfast, falafel for lunch, sushi for dinner… that would be a wonderful day! Perhaps that means my favorite cuisine is American?
What  would  you like to tell on your book “Mastering the Art of French Eating” ?
The book explores a topic that fascinates me: the connection between food, and place, and history in France, the sense of continuity, the way a recipe grows from the land, takes root, and is cooked and eaten in that same spot for hundreds of years.
Culinary speaking, you must be very experienced in cooking, which one is your favorite recipe?
Just as I don’t really have a favorite cuisine, I don’t have a favorite recipe—I tend to choose what I cook based on factors like time, season and mood. But I will say, my favorite recipe in the book is for soupe au pistou! I worked hard to get it (if you read the book, you’ll find out why).
For me as a French wine man, I would like to ask you: what do you think of French wines?
I love French wine and one of my favorite parts of living in France is getting to know the different appellations. Happily, I still have a lot to learn!
Which are your favorite wines?
I fell in love with Burgundy wine while researching an article about Thomas Jefferson in the Côte d’Or. I’m also fond of Beaujolais, particularly Moulin à Vent and Brouilly.
Do you know anything about the Dutch cuisine?
I have several Dutch friends who love to cook—though they always seem to make fantastic Italian food! I would love to learn more about Dutch cuisine—rijsttafel sounds especially delicious.
Tons of food are wasted every day in Western societies. Can you tall us something about your ”foodprint” ?
I used to go grocery shopping every day, which allowed me to buy just enough food for one or two meals and created very little waste. But as a new mother, this is now impossible. Instead, I find myself freezing a lot of food and raiding the freezer when I don’t have time to cook (which is often).I also hope it’s another way of curtailing waste!
Are you working on a new book?
I would love to write a novel about French wine one day. At the very least, it would give me the excuse to do some delicious research.
If you were to start all over in the Netherlands, what would you want to teach us? I know this is a though question.
It would be wonderful to discover the regional cuisine of the Netherlands—I’m more of a sharer than a teacher!
Last but not least, do you want to share anything else in my blog? Please be welcome

Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog—I’m very honored! I would be delighted to connect with your readers via my blog, www.annmah.net, or Twitter  and Instagram (@annmahnet).

 002 (7)picture: Ann Mah’s delicious book. 

The recipe:

Ann Mah tells she is a sharer, likes French food and  and Beaujolais wines, wants to know about Dutch rijsttafel, dwells on soupe au pistou. She takes a global tour in her daily meals from, mornings in India, Middle Eastern food for lunch and dinner from the country where the Sun rises, Nippon.
To stay with her book I would make Ann my easy bean and confit de canard dish. Not a real cassoulet, that is not for me to do, since I am just a Dutch guy. (wouldn’t like to offend the confrères du cssoulet) You may either choose to make your duck confit yourself. But when you buy a good brand form the Bresse or so, like the one of Georges Blanc in Vonnas, it makes you a hearty and warming dish. So fill you plate and share it with a good glaas of Juliénas. Ann may thanks for your answers and bon appétit!

Ingredients 4 persons:

1 tin/jar of confit de canard
2 large pots of white beans/cannellini beans
1 carrot
1 red  bell pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
2 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp pimentón de la Vera or piment d”Espelette
1 glass of white wine

4 pork sausages

salt and pepper
chopped parsley

Preparation:

Open the tin/jar carefully  and get duck bolts out of it and place them in a baking dish. Preheat  the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 356 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the meat  in some of its own  grease for 20 minutes until crispy.
Cut the onion, carrot and bell pepper into small cubes. Chop the garlic finely. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a skillet p and fry the pork sausages on. Remove the sausages when they are done from the skillet and  put them on kitchen paper towel. Then add 2 tbs duck fat to the skillet and fry the vegetables and garlic. The garlic last, because it can burn and add bitterness. Add the thyme, paprika and pimentón  Followed by the beans. Cut the sausages into pieces and put back into pan. Pour the glass of wine and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Add some extra salt and pepper. Serve the beans in big dish, together with the crispy fried duck bolts. Garnish with some parsley. Serve the dish with bread e.g a crisp baguette.
Let’s not waste food. What to do with te leftover grease from the confit? I always put it in a clean jar to keep it in the refrigerator  The fat can be kept for quite a while and it is delicious to fry  potatoes or vegetables in it.

Het is vrijdag, echt eten met de groenten van Jon.

 foto: Echt eten in mijn keukentje.



Echt eten met de groenten van Jon. Het kookboek, dat met de Gouden Garde Publieksprijs 2013 werd bekroond.  Een boek vol recepten volgens het 80/20 principe, dat hij hanteert. Minder vlees en mooie eigen geteelde groenten. Niets uit pakjes en zakjes. Geen toevoegingen. Jonathan is hier heel ver mee gegaan toen hij zijn restaurant Vork en Mes begon.
Vorig jaar oktober was Jonathan Karpathios te gast in mijn blogserie gesprekken en gerechten. Een inspirerende en bevlogen man, kok, tuinder en tegenwoordig ook varkenshouder als ik zijn blog mag geloven.*
Jonathan gelooft in de kracht van seizoenseten. Handelen met lokale producenten. Eerlijk vlees en eerlijke producten. Dat alles komt in zijn keuken. En als je hem aan het werk (zo noemt hij het zelf niet) ziet, geloof je het meteen. De man ondersteunt door zijn team glundert als hij verhaalt over zijn passie. Gelardeerd met wat Griekse zon.

Het kookboek Echt eten met de groenten van Jon heeft een vast plaatsje veroverd in het keukentje van Gereon. Het eerste hoofdstuk geeft tips voor het maken van voorraden, want de natuur geeft vaak een cornucopia aan groenten en alles tegelijkertijd. Maak eens eigen zoetzuur, weck, vries in. Ja zelfs bieten vodka passeert de revue. Daarna gaat het boek de tuin in. Met alles van eigen grond maakt Jonathan de mooiste  groenten gerechten. We vervolgen de tocht in dit boek via de kwekerij. Zijn “jardin du plaisir, gestyled door zijn vrouw Willeke.
Van de boeren komen het mooie meel, de zuivel, het eerlijke vlees.
Uit de oven refereert aan zijn Griekse afkomst de kleftiko, zoals zo een buitenoven heet, is een aanwinst voor het restaurant. Verder besteedt het modern vormgegeven boek aan dacht aan eten uit het wild, eten van open vuur. Eigenlijk is het een groot jongensboek. Dat mij herinnert aan appels poffen boven vuur in mijn Betuwse jeugd. Of het roosteren op mijn balkon. Dat worden dit voorjaar in ieder geval meer groenten, want daar heeft het boek mij toe aangezet.

Recept voor bietenvodka

Ingrediënten:

100 g biet
1,5 dl bietensap
100 g suiker
1 sinaasappelschilletje
7,5 dl wodka

Bereiding:

Schil en rasp de biet. Kook het bietensap, de biet en de suiker langzaam in tot ongeveer 3 dl. Zeef het mengsel en laat afkoelen. Voeg wanneer het is afgekoeld de wodka en sinaasappelschil toe en roer alles goed door elkaar. Proost.

Ik vind dat iedere man het boek Echt eten met de groenten van Jon moet hebben. Groenten hebben iets stoers, wild eten ook. Het boek is een uitgave van www.karakteruitgevers.nl  (ISBN 978 90 452 0433 8) en kost € 29,95.

* het volledige interview met de kok Jonathan kun je lezen op http://gereonskeukenthuis.nl/blog/gesprekken-gerechten-jonathan-karpathios-bevlogen-kok/

foodblogevent January, Dutch mussel soup

 picture: smoking trout at Pure Market Amsterdam

Last week I attended the Amsterdam Food History Symposium organized by my alma mater the University of Amsterdam. Instantly I got the idea for my contribution for the #foodblogevent January,  hosted by Ellen Bannink from LA. She is a Dutch foodie and blogs on http://inmyredkitchen.com/ The idea was to internationalize a Dutch recipe. Many Dutch  American recipes, as a scholar said in her speech, are legacy form the Dutch immigrants in the USA. The first Dutch settlers in New York cooked their original food with the ingredients they found in their new homeland.  Even the Vanderbilts wrote down traditional Dutch dishes. My recipe comes from the province of Zeeland.  Here it is:  Dutch mussel soup with smoked eel. I wrote this recipe last year for my friend chef Robin White firom Sonoma. To pair with a great white Rhône wine, made from grenache and ugni blanc.

Ingredients:

4 lbs/ 2kg mussels
1 bottle of brown ale
1 big leek
2 celery sticks
1 big carrot
1 cube of fish stock
1 cup of  thick cream
2 tbs butter
salt and black pepper
dash of nutmeg
chopped parsley
2 filets of smoked rainbow trout
(or if available 4 smoked eels)
3 cups water
Preparation:
Clean the mussels under cold water. Throw away the open (that do not close when you tap on them) and damaged ones. In a big soup pan you bring the ale to a boil. Add the mussels and cook them for 6 minutes
Get the mussels out of the pan and get them out of their shells. Leave 12 mussels apart for later garnishing. Strain the cooking juices through a sieve and put in another pan Add the thinly sliced carrot, leek and celery. Add 3 cups of water an bring to a boil. Crumbe and dissolve the stock cube. Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes. At the end you add the cream, the mussel meat and some butter. Season the soup and give it a dash of nutmeg. Serve on 4 soup plates with some pieces of the smoked trout/ eel and mussels in their shell. top the soup with some  finely chopped parsley. Serve the soup with a firm farmer’s bread and salty butter.

 

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