Talk and Table Archives - Pagina 7 van 9

08/07/201316/03/2016

Talk and table Summer guest: Kathryn Schipper

Talk and table, a recipe for Kathryn Schipper

picture: Kathryn Schipper

Spring 2013 I posted an interview with Judith Works on my blog. I had invited Judith to participate in “geprekken en gerechten” (baptized talk and table by my friend Frances Mayes) Judith was so thrilled by the recipe she got rewarded, that she suggested me to invite Kathryn Schipper. Kathryn is one of the travel belles and a writer. She will fit in. Maybe she can tell about her travels. Let’s see if we can conceive a dish for Kathryn from the answers she gives to my virtual questions.Needless to say that this willl be an dish full of travel and anecdotes.

Who is Kathryn? Tell me some more

I am a third-generation Northwesterner and grew up fishing, camping, sailing and hiking in our beautiful region. My family’s roots in western North America go back a couple of additional generations; My great-grandmother used to tell me stories about being a telephone operator in the Klondike during the 1898 Gold Rush, and my grandmother on the other side came from a family that founded one of the first businesses in Vancouver, B. C., also in the 1890s.

How did your attraction for travel start?

It’s probably genetic! I have an ancestor who was a sailor on a Chilean windjammer, another who was bored living in the Midwest and went off alone to the Klondike as I mentioned. My parents took me places from the time I was very young. I remember waking up on a train in Mexico when I was six years old and seeing a woman at the station selling bananas.

You are a writer. Can you tell something about it?

I’ve always enjoyed writing but didn’t do it much until I went to work for Boeing as a technical writer when I was in my 20s. Many of my co-workers were former journalists and I found I really liked working with them, learning from them and the process of writing regularly. As an attorney (I’m licensed but was never interested in practicing law) I was accustomed to writing on short deadlines and in well-defined formats, so that carried over easily into technical writing, and into the blogging and tweeting I do now. I love the challenge of being simultaneously creative and succinct!

You live in the North West of the USA, can you tell us about this region?

It’s spectacularly beautiful, reminiscent of New Zealand or Norway. It’s famous for being rainy, although it’s constant light mist rather than tropical downpours. In the summer it’s dry and endlessly sunny, with pleasant temperatures, little humidity and lingering daylight due to the northerly location: The sun rises at about 5:00 AM and sets after 9:00 PM. Winter, on the other hand, is beyond dreary: The sun rises at 8:00AM and sets at 4:30 PM, but that’s only if you can see it! It’s never bitterly cold like Chicago, but it’s perpetual overcast and drizzle. People here are noted for technical and engineering expertise (Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon were all founded in Seattle) and many attribute that to the long, dark winters when it’s difficult to do much outdoors. It certainly gives me time to write!

What is your favorite type of country?

Perhaps because of winters here, I’m drawn to places that are warm and sunny! But I don’t like to lie on the beach doing nothing: I like places with interesting scenery and cultural/intellectual life. I’m especially fond of Italy, Spain, France (particularly Provence), Hong Kong and Bali.

Which landscape do you like the most and which one you dislike? I am very curious about that.

I’ve seen few places more beautiful than the Northwest (and nearby regions such as British Columbia and southern Alaska): Jagged green mountains plunging into an intricate network of waterways. I was surprised at how much Hong Kong and the surrounding islands resembled my home except of course the mountains there aren’t snowy. Having lived all my life in mountainous terrain I feel uncomfortable in places that are flat. I once went bird watching in Texas and couldn’t understand why I felt uneasy; I finally realized that I was disoriented because there was nothing on the horizon. I’ve also been boating all my life and love the sea; I dislike being far from it. I live on an island now and commute to work by ferry.

I understand you travel a lot, what was your most striking moment?

If I could live any 24-hour period other than my wedding day over again it would be the day in Tahiti that my husband and I went snorkeling in the morning through a rainbow canyon of coral and swirling tropical fish, in absolutely transparent bath-warm water. We then were served a banquet of luscious tropical fruit and fish, including my favorite dish in the world, poisson cru. Late that night as our cruise ship was moving to another island, I sat alone on the deck looking at the stars of the Southern Hemisphere, something I’d dreamed of doing since I was a child. It was as though everything I loved was rolled up together, and how I imagine Heaven must feel.

What are the biggest challenges for you to overcome during your travels?

I’m a bit shy and sometimes nervous to talk to local people, especially when there’s a language barrier. I don’t sleep well and suffer badly from jet lag; I hate losing travel days to feeling tired. I’m also frustrated because I’m a great nature lover and badly want to visit Madagascar, Borneo and New Guinea. Malaria is present in all of those places and I am afraid of taking antimalarial medication because I’ve heard awful stories about the side effects. I’ll eventually get my courage up, though!

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

I adore all kinds of fruit, especially tropical, and virtually anything that comes from the sea. There’s a large Asian population in the Northwest and like most people here I eat a lot of sushi, Vietnamese and Thai food.I also have a sweet tooth, especially for ice cream! There aren’t many things I’d say I would never eat. Certainly never anything endangered like turtle. I loathe very idea of organ meats like sweetbreads, and liver, with the exception of pâté, I suppose because in that dish the texture and flavor are disguised by the grinding and the spices.

Which wines do you like?

Champagne!!!! I love the crisp, mineral taste and the fact that it goes well with seafood. I also like Viognier and Sancerre. On the red side, I don’t believe in doing anything by halves; the richer and heavier the better. I like Bordeaux, the Syrahs grown here in the Northwest, and Brunello de Montipulciano.

Can you tell me something about your “foodprint” A lot of food is wasted in the Western world?

Couldn’t agree more. We’re lucky enough to have access to excellent farmers’ markets here in the summer, with locally grown berries, other fruits and vegetables. We try to get all of our produce there during the season. Unfortunately, due to our climate if you tried to eat exclusively local produce in the winter you’d be gnawing on pine needles, so we do buy produce from California at that time of year. I also have to admit that by late winter when I’m about to go mad from the dreary weather and can’t bear to look at another elderly apple, I’ll indulge in “summer” fruits flown up from Chile. But I try to keep that to a minimum. On the protein side, my husband and I are by no means vegetarians but we don’t eat much red meat, partly because of the abysmal farming practices of American agribusiness. Again, we’re fortunate because our island has several farmers raising beef and pork sustainably and making their own cheese – we try to buy from them. Locally-caught salmon and halibut are available year-round here and we get ours from an island fishmonger.

What else do you want to tell?

Come visit the Northwest, it’s beautiful!

In a glance, just by reading Kathryn’s answers and her love of seafood and spices, I knew that it was going to be “boemboe Bali ikan” Spicy fish from Bali, as my mother used to make it. How to incorporate the Dutch touch? Not. This dish is Dutch enough. Served with French haricot beans and rice. To pair a Viognier wine. Maybe one from the North West, the region she likes so much.

Ingredients:

2 lbs mackerel or other fish
3 red onions
3 garl;ic cloves
2 red Spanisch peppers
1 tsp shrimp paste (trassie)
1 tsp tamarind paste (asem)
1/2 tsp laos (thai ginger powder)
3 bay leaves
1 stem of lemon grass
1 short piece of ginger
lemon juice
oil
1 tbs cane sugar
salt and pepper
1/2 tin tomato paste
water

Preparation:

Preheat the oil. Fry the fish for a short time. Leave to rest on a plate. In a mortar crunch the garlic, finely chopped Spanish pepper, shrimp paste, tamarind paste, ginger into a blend, called a boemboe.. Chop the onions fine. In the heated oil fry the onions, put in the paste from the mortar, add the tomato paste, lemon juice, lemon grass, bay leaves, cane sugar and laos. Bring to a boil . Add the water and fried fish. Leave to simmer for another ten minutes. be cautious not to stir too much, to prevent the fish from falling apart. Season with some salt and pepper. Cook some rice and fresh haricot beans to pair the dish.

01/05/201303/10/2016

Talk and Table, Joanne Harris, magical food

picture Joanne Harris by David Sandison

Magical, inspired by fairytales. Food that gives the characters of her books wings. I read Chocolat, Lollipop shoes and Blackberry wine. All books by Joanne Harris. A very imaginative writer. From French and British origins, what a combination. With a plethora of novels on her name. Curious about her life and works I invited her to join Talk and Table. Since I occasionally write culinary stories with fancy figures like Pelle Grød from the North. Let’s see what Joanne answers. For me it will be a hard task to create a dish for her containing food from the low countries that would have brought love or passion into someones life. Let’s try it, maybe it will give me wings….

Who is Joanne Harris and what would you like to share with us?

I am a British-French author living in Yorkshire, where I was born. I was educated at Cambridge University, and was a teacher of Modern Languages for fifteen years before giving up to write full-time. I am married, with a 19-year-old daughter. Arguably, none of this really tells you who I am. As for what I have to share, you’ll find a lot of that in my books. I’ve been writing them since I was in my teens. Most of me is hidden inside…

You come from Yorkshire, can you give a description of that region and what is special over there?

Yorkshire is the largest county in England, and is divided between the fading industrial centres of the North and some of England’s most dramatic and beautiful landcsapes. In literary terms, I live halfway between THE FULL MONTY and WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

It seems to me that growing up in a candystore and having a healing grandmother is a youth full of tales. Has this been inspiring?

I find inspiration in many things and in many places. Some of my books have been inspired from my childhood, from members of my family, aspects of my cultural heritage and the folklore and history of the region in which I live.

You are a romancier. In another life, would you do it again? Or would you like be something else?

I’ve been many things and lived many lives. I don’t regret any of them.

Your prose speaks to the imagination, certainly with me. Sometimes I write culinary fairytales for fun. In your books you combine a lot of imagination with food. How do you do that?

I don’t really plan these things. Instead I let them evolve naturally. We all have a shared relationship with food that speaks to us on a cultural and emotional level, and which resonates deeply with the stories and folk-tales of our childhood. I like to use this to explore the nature of character and relationships. The role of food in fairytales is a very important one, with its implications of magic, transformation and knowledge. I like to bring some of that into my own stories.

My parents were/are very French oriented. De last two decades there has been a shift from French to Italian cuisine, certainly in my generation. Do you notice that too?

There are so many types of French cuisine, or Italian cuisine, that if there has been such a shift, it is mostly based on (faulty) perceptions of what French or Italian food is really like. French cookery is generally (and wrongly) assumed in England to be very elegant, perhaps even complicated, whereas Italian cookery is perceived as being simple and approachable. In fact, both countries share a heritage in which food plays quite a similar role, and in which the strict regionalization of dishes makes for a wide variety of culinary styles. I suspect that if there has been a shift in preference, this may be based more on the increasing popularity of holiday destinations in Italy than anything else. The perception of Italian food in England is still mostly centred around pizza and pasta dishes, whereas the English perception of French food is based on a tradition of haute cuisine, very far removed from the regional dishes the French still prefer.

On French society. Or the country side. It is clearly present in you books. Did you experience change of this country in the last decades?

Of course. The relationship between town and country life in France is changing continually, as it is in England. The rise (and fall) of tourism, the EU, the change in immigration policies, differences in agricultural methods, the job situation – all affect this relationship, which means that over the past thirty years or so there has been an increasing movement from the rural parts of France into the cities, with an increasingly wide division between town and country living. Perhaps this is why my French stories resonate as they do – reminding people of a nostalgic past that is becoming increasingly difficult to remember.

What do you like the most in the UK and in France? And what could be better?

I don’t normally think in such terms. I like both countries for what they are, and for what they represent to me on a personal and emotional level. I live in England, and I may visit France a couple of times a year. As such, any comparison would be rather unequal…

Culinary speaking, you must have tried a lot of French cooking. Which one is your favorite recipe? And naturally which wine?

I have lots of favourites, depending on the region and the season. From my family’s region, the Vendée, I like shellfish and seafood – skate in black butter is a childhood favourite, as are: mackerel in white wine; razor clams with chilli and garlic; mussels cooked in seawater and samphire; grilled sardines; black pudding and apple; roast lamb with rosemary; boudin blanc with rye pancakes. I like lots of different kinds of wine, but my favourite to celebrate with is Château d’Yquem, which we could never afford when I was a child, but which I now occasionally like to buy…

If you were to start a new life in the Netherlands, what kind of thing would you do? And what would you like to uncover? I know this is a though question.

The great thing about being a writer is that you can write anywhere. I see no reason to change what I do because of where I happen to living. But I might write stories set in the Netherlands instead…

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

Just a big thanks, to you and to your readers, for your interest and support. I have such a terrific time writing my books, and I’m always happy if they allow people to connect, to dream or to see the world in a different way. Keep reading, keep cooking, keep writing.

picture: books by Joanne Harris

The recipe:

From this cornucopia of answers and directions, I thought of making a dish with some chocolat in it. But that would be to easy. I think Joanne deserves a dish, that contains a certain sweetness, a touch of bitter, some spice and wine. She says she likes fish dishes and classic ones like roast lamb. For her I’d make a dish from turkey breast filled with dades, almonds and a dash of XP dark sweet sherry. And I’d add some spices. Served with a spaghetti full of fresh chopped parsley and chives. This bunch of tastes will do something with you. Like the prose of Joanne. To pair this dish I’d suggest a white viognier wine form the slopes of the Languedoc. A viognier from domaine de la Baume, full of tropical fruits, a hint of bitter and a dash of fresh acidity.

Ingredients serving 4:

4 turkey breasts
150 g dades
100 g white almonds
1 chili pepper
1 ts of cinnamon
1 ts of ginger
1 glas of XP cream sherry
1 glas of white wine
salt
black pepper
butter
oil
parsley finely chopped
chives finely chopped
300 g spaghetti

Preparation:

Put the turkey breast between two sheets of cling foil. Flatten the turkey by hitting with the bottom of a pan or kitchen hammer. Chop the dades and almonds. Soak them in a bit of cream sherry. Add the ginger and cinnamon to it. Put a table spoon of this mixture on every turkey breast. Make rolls, that you tie up firmly with some kitchen thread. Season the meat with salt and black pepper.
Heat some butter and a dash of oil in a pan and quickly fry the meat. Get the involtini out and put them on a plate covered with aluminium foil. Cut the chili pepper in small rings and fry them shortly in the butter. Pour in the white wine and the rest of the almond/dade mixture. Leave to simmer shortly. Put the meat back in this gravy and leave on a low fire for about 10 minutes until done. Cook the spaghetti al dente. Stir in the green herbs and some olive oil. Serve the turkey involtini on a plate, with the spaghetti and a dash of the sweet gravy on top.

20/04/201317/03/2016

Talk and table: free range cook Annabel Langbein

picture: Annabel Langbein (internet)

In February I met free ranger Annabel Langbein from New Zealand on a lunch, held in a restaurant that cooks with it’s own vegetables and other selected produce from nearby. Lunch was served and all gathered around the table to talk about cooking free range style with local or homegrown produce. Annabel told about her way of life and her style of cooking. She had a lot to tell on food and the enjoyment you can get cooking and producing. More people should do that. It was a very inspiring afternoon and I wanted more. Suddenly I got the idea to invite Annabel for my series “gesprekken en gerechten” (talk and table) Based on the answers she gives I am going to conceive a recipe, that will please her and ofcourse my readers. I think that in her recipe New Zealand free range cooking will get a Dutch touch.

Who is Annabel Langbein and what would you like to share with us?

I’ve been involved with food all my life and writing and publishing cookbooks for the past 20 years. I live in New Zealand and grow most of my family’s fresh food in organic vegetable gardens and orchards at our home in Auckland and our holiday cabin on the shores of Lake Wanaka in the South Island. In my television series Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook [http://www.24kitchen.nl/programma-free-range-cook ] and books [http://www.bol.com/nl/p/de-free-range-cook] I love showing people how easy it is to bring fresh, seasonal food into today’s fast-paced world. You can find out more about me and try lots of my recipes on my website at annabel-langbein.com

You come from New Zealand, can you give a description of this country and what is so special over there?

When you live in New Zealand you feel really connected to nature – it is so beautiful here and so easy to access the outdoors. We only have four and a half million people so there isn’t any population pressure. It’s also unique in covering a long latitude, so in the far north the climate is almost subtropical while in the south you get cold winters and snow. That means you can drive through the landscape and encounter so many different environments and things growing. In the north we grow avocadoes and citrus and subtropical fruits and in the south we grow cherries and almonds and berries. As a culture we spend a lot of time outdoors – hiking and picnicking and at the beach.

You invested a lot of energy in restoring your house and starting a vegetable garden? In another life, would you do it again? Or would it be somewhere or something else?

At our family cabin in Wanaka we started from scratch with nothing, just wilderness, and then started to build the cabin in 2000 and plant trees and create a garden. I don’t regret a minute. It’s the most beautiful place in the world, and as we have a natural water supply from springs it makes it a gardener’s paradise.

Your style of cooking and recipes speak to the imagination, it is all so laid back and easy, certainly with me. How do you do that?

It’s kind of a joke really as I come from a long line of engineers. I never got the gene for being good at maths or physics, but I do know how to engineer a good recipe. I think of a recipe as like a road map. I am a kinesthetic learner so if I cant understand a recipe then I don’t expect my audience to!

My parents were/are very French oriented. De last two decades there has been a shift from French to Italian cuisine, certainly in my generation. Do you notice that in New Zealand too?

Maybe here it’s more of an Asian shift. We have a lot of immigration from Asia and that exposes us to the flavours of ginger and chilli and lemongrass and fish sauce – fresh, clean, light tastes that people seem to love. They make it easy to start with a simple, fresh ingredient and create something really delicious. These days going to the supermarket is like stepping into a global pantry – you can buy Japanese vinegar and soba noodles and wasabi, Thai sauces and Moroccan couscous and spice pastes, Iranian saffron, Greek olives, Dutch chocolate. It makes it so easy to cook everyday food that tastes interesting.

What do you miss the most from New Zealand, when you are abroad?

My bed! And my friends. And I miss my garden – I love to live in a natural environment and feel connected to the rhythms of nature.

I recently hosted the Dutch foodblogger’s event. My question was: ”who would you invite to your table, what would you cook, which wine is served and what do you talk about?”Many bloggers send in an item. What would your post be?

My favourite thing in life is gathering people together around the table over fresh, simple food and some nice wines – the food and wine are the conduit to a good conversation. I don’t have many fantasies about my ultimate dinner party guest, but someone from back in history like Catherine de Medici would be pretty interesting – she was the one who really put French food on the map. I would want her to bring her entourage of cooks and for them to cook what they cooked then, and I would probably cook a piece of fresh fish and some vegetables from my garden.

Culinary speaking, you are very experienced in free range cooking now with local produce, which one is your favorite recipe? And naturally which wine?

My goodness – it’s hard to pick ONE favourite recipe. I am very much the kind of cook who always loves inventing something new, and cooking according to the harvests of the season and the weather… Right now I am really enjoying roasted salmon with cherry tomatoes and a fresh basil pesto. It’s so easy you don’t really need a recipe – just slather salmon fillets with pesto and sprinkle over a little olive oil, salt and pepper and a grating of lemon zest. Scatter cherry tomatoes around the tray (and if you want some thin slices of zucchini or some olives) and roast for about 8 minutes at 250˚C. It’s as simple as that and it just tastes so good! Serve it up with couscous or new potatoes and some lightly cooked greens. So easy and so fresh and vibrant.

If you were to start a cooking school in the Netherlands, what would you want to teach us? I know this is a though question.

I love teaching so it’s not such a tough question really. As I never learnt to cook professionally I like to show people how easy it is to get to a great result, and not always have to be a slave to the recipe. Once you know a method, like the roasted salmon above, then you can change out the flavours. That salmon is equally as good with a teriyaki glaze on top, or you can take both those ideas and apply them to chicken – it will take longer to cook but the flavours will work really well together. I like to start with whatever is in season and is really fresh and then build my menus around that, so you learn to cook resourcefully, and get the best flavours without waste. I often think that learning to cook is a bit like learning to play music. You need to know the notes and the tones and then you learn a few chords of what goes together and then build out from there. Most of all I like to show people how much fun they can have, and how cooking brings people together and is such a simple way to build a good life.

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

I love the idea of sharing recipes – they are like gifts handed down from family to family and friend to friend. Simple things like this give texture and fabric to our lives. In the recall of where the recipe came from or where you ate it there are memories to cherish, as well as new memories to create when you serve that dish to someone you love. I’ve just created a new section on my website where people can upload their recipes and share them with my online community of foodies. I’d love for any of your readers to contribute a recipe. Join up at – http://www.annabel-langbein.com – we’ve got quite a few Dutch friends already!

picture: Annabels newest book

The recipe

I have conceived a recipe for Annabel, that has a feel of autumn. The colors of fall. Inspired by the paintings of the 17th century, the Dutch touch is in the use of orange zest, cinnamon and nutmeg. And needless to say, the mashed potato stew. We eat a lot of this so called ‘stamppotje” in the Netherlands. To add some bitterness to the sweetness of the gravy I suggest a stew with Brussels sprouts. Bitter and sweet. And topped with a salty grated cheese round. When I think of a wine, I think of a young Burgundy pinot noir. But I know New Zealand has a lot of good wines to offer form this grape. Or you might want to combine this dish with a dark beer.

Ingredients 4 people:

4 pork chops

150 g/ 5 oz dried apricots

1 glass medium sherry

2 cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs zest of orange

pepper and salt

butter 1 kg potatoes

500 g/ 1lb 2 oz Brussels sprouts

warm milk

nutmeg

chopped chives

grated old Dutch cheese.

Preparation:

Grate the old Dutch cheese on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Make small flat rounds from the grated cheese. Like crisps. Bake them briefly under a hot grill and leave to cool. Rub the pork chops with pepper, salt and cinnamon. Heat the butter and fry them. Cut the dried apricots into small pieces and let them soak in the sherry. Remove te chops form the pan and keep them warm under some aluminium foil. Pour some warm water in the pan to make a gravy. Add the apricots, sherry, cloves and orange zest and allow to simmer. Put the pork chops back into the pan. Add a little extra butter. Clean the sprouts and cut them in halves. Cook them briefly in hot water. Boil the potatoes. When they are cooked, add some butter and warm milk and make a mash. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Mix the mashed potatoes with the sprouts and stir in the chives. Serve the pork chops with some apricot gravyy and the mashed potato stew dish on a plate. Put the crisp cheese rounds on top

07/03/201318/03/2016

ACBM op zoek naar verloren tijden

foto Nancy place Stanislas (internet)

Opzij cupcakes, opzij nieuwerwetse fratsen, in papiertjes met hartjes, met glazuur, met crèmes en in allerlei kleurtjes. De madeleines komen eraan! De oermoeder van alle cakejes. Geen gedoe, maar gewoon bedacht door ene Madeleine uit een dorp in Lotharingen. Zij bakte ze in een schelpvorm voor de afgezette Poolse koning Stanislas, die in 1738 de hertog van Lotharingen werd. Zoals zovelen tegenwoordig was hij een echte cake adept, want behalve de madeleine wordt ook de baba au rhum aan Stanislas toegeschreven. Hij liet de traditionele kugelhopf cakejes drenken in Malaga wijn. En noemde deze Moorse cakejes Ali Baba.
Ook een andere Bekende Fransman (heet dat zo?) uit de negentiende eeuw had iets met de madeleine. Marcel Proust doopte ze in zijn jasmijn thee, terwijl hij gezeten op het terras van een hotel in Cabourg mijmerde over deze cakejes als metafoor in zijn grote werk “à la recherche du temps perdu”. Op zoek naar de verloren of is het de in te halen tijd? Die vraag kun je stellen. Daarom bombardeer ik de madeleine tot vervangster van de cupcake. En waar ga ik ze in dopen? Dat heb ik al bedacht. Een stroperige, donkerbruine, zoete PX sherry. En dan maar mijmeren.

Nodig 12 stuks

bakblik in schelpvormpjes (Carrefour)
2 eieren
merg van een vanillestokje
125 gram fijne suiker
100 g witte gezeefde bloem
125 g boter
1/4 tl bakpoeder
1/2 el citroenrasp erg fijn

Bereiding:

Verwarm de oven voor op 200 graden. Meng in een kom de eieren, citroenrasp en vanille. Voeg beetje de suiker toe terwijl je met een garde blijft kloppen. Klop het geheel tot een mooie massa. Na vijf minuten kan het meel en bakpoeder er beetje bij beetje bij. Klop tot een luchtig deeg. Als laatste kan de gesmolten en afgekoelde boter er door worden geroerd.
Vul de schelpvormpjes met 2/3 beslag. Bak de madeleines ongeveer 10 à 12 minuten. Als de randjes loslaten zijn ze gaar. Snijd de cakejes los en laat afkoelen.

04/03/201318/03/2016

Talk and table Jeff Titelius, a travel wizzard

foto Jeff Titelius the travel wizzard

For some time now, I’ve been following Jeff Titelius, a travel wizard and freelance writer. He is the founder and writer of http://www.eurotravelogue.com. Our conversation started on the social media, because Jeff never seizes to send out the most beautiful pictures and stories. I became an ardent follower of his posts. Whether it is about Alsatian villages, olive oil from Bramasole or even our own tiny country The Netherlands, Jeff tells you a story. He has stories on snowy Bavaria, golden Tuscany, city life in London and Paris on which he poses the question could these two cities be your gateway Europe? That is when I came in. I invited Jeff to join my series “gesprekken en gerechten” ( Talk and table) Let’s see if we can conceive a dish for this multitalented guy, from the answers he provides to my questions. Needless to say, this willl be an international dish travel and foreign exciting ingredients to be in it.

Who is Jeff Titelius? Tell me some more.

I am freelance travel writer inspired by all things European, from storybook villages nestled in majestic settings, to magnificent art and architecture, to intriguing cultures with centuries of history, and the pure visual romance of scenic landscapes throughout the European continent. Wanderlust courses through my veins and my passion for exploring new places runs deep. I daydream of European adventures 24/7 and look forward to this lifelong journey to undiscovered worlds. With journal and camera in tow, I am off!

How did your attraction for traveling start?

I fell in love with Europe upon first setting down in 2005 in the Eternal City of Rome. On this first journey, I traveled throughout Rome, hopped onboard a train to Florence and then embarked on an overnight train to the City of Light, Paris, France! I spent a few days or more in each of these three cities and experienced everything I could in the little time I had! And boy, was it worth it.

Currently you are very busy with eurotravelogue, when did you start these activities?EuroTravelogue was founded in March 2011, however, I began travel blogging in 2007 with my very first site, [chuckle] TheEuroTraveler.com. It’s very basic and contained articles from my first journey I desribed above. From that point on, I fell in love with writing and the rest is history.

What is your favorite country?

This is a tough question to answer because I have loved every country I have visited, but if I have to choose one, right now it would be Italy! I can’t get enough of the hilltop towns, ancient architecture, scenic wonders of Tuscany and of course, the food!

Which means of transport do you like the most and which one you dislike? I am very curious about that

Without a doubt, train travel is my favorite, especially the overnight train I took from Florence to Paris. It turned out to be such an unexpected adventure and throughout the journey, I couldn’t help my childlike enthusiam from beaming as we rocked and rolled along the rails past breathtaking landscapes, towering Alpine mountain peaks, emerging from tunnels to some of the most spectacular vistas I have ever seen.

You traveled around Europe like a man in love, what was your most striking moment?

You hit the nail on the head with that statement my friend, and I just may borrow it for my site! I am a man in love, in love with Europe–the people, the cities, the history, the landscapes–among all that there is to see and do!

Are there differences between American and European travelers?

I think the only difference between American and European travelers is the matter of preference for final destination. Regardless of where our travels take us, we all share the love of travel for travel itself–to explore new places, meet new people, make new memories; all the while we revel in each of the moments along the way and seize the day, every day of our journey.

You talk a lot on Renaissance art. What do like like the most about it?

My passion for Renaissance art began in college, with my art history studies. I had the good fortune of being taught by passionate professors whose love of art and experiencing art abroad, was brought to life in every lecture. It was during my very first class when we studied Michelangelo and Raphael and from that moment on, I knew a new love was born and a fire ignited within to see and experience all of the art we learned about. And, I have experienced a great deal of it. When I arrived at Florence for the very first time and Rome as well, my passion reawakened never to dim again. I seek out art discoveries on every journey and you can read more about those experiences in our ArtSmart Roundtable: a company of fellow bloggers whose passion for art and travel runs as deep as mine.

With whom would you like to travel one time and why?

I would love to travel with Rick Steves because he shares my passion and love for Europe. Plus, he’s traveled to just about every city and country throughout.

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

Love, love, love Italian food, all of it! But I think the French bake the best bread in the world and I prefer their pastries as well. As far as food, I like to try everything once but being not much a meat eater, I don’t explore much of that. Give me pasta, fish, bread filled with tomatoes and mozzarella, and I am good to go.

Which wines do you like?

Love all whites, dry whites from Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Liebfraumilch, Pinot Gris and some Reislings from Alsace as long as they are not too sweet. For reds, I love a hardy cabernet sauvignon as well! Not much into Merlot but love a good Pinot Gris. As for champagne, extra-dry and brut tops my list.

Can you tell me something about your “travelprint.” Are you a conscious traveler?

In all of my travels, I endeavor to minimize my carbon footprint as much as possible–from recycling my towels and linens to reduce energy consumption and seeking out the most energy-efficient modes of transport such as train and hybrid cars when available. We all need to care for our mother Gaia!

What else do you want to tell us? Do not be shy

All I can say is that my passion for Europe is a flame that burns bright, an eternal flame of my love to explore this fascinating continent and experience all that I can before I depart this wonderful world in which we live!

foto Jeff visited North Holland

The recipe

Every traveler knows, that part of the journey is smelling the scents of a country, eating local food, that is prepared with love. Drinking the wines. Jeff will have savoured a lot of different dishes around Europe. Herring from the Low Countries, Alsatian choucroute, Bavarian sausages and pretzels and the fully Mediterranean kitchen of his beloved Tuscany. Jeff longs for the Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Bramasole, full of sun. For Jeff I’d make a fish stew with a savoury tomato sauce, topped with gremolata, an Italian mix of chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest.
To pair this dish, I suggest a white Rhône wine, e.g. a wine from Chusclan Laudun, a blend often made of grenache blanc, marsanne et rousanne. A white wine with a fruity and crisp character.Ingredients 4 persons:4 pieces of cod or another white meat fish (about 1/2 lb or 225 g each)
2 onions
1 big carrot
3 celery sticks
4 cloves of garlic
zest of 1 lemon
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1tbs of fineley chopped rosemary
2 tbs flour
1 red chilipepper
a bunch of parsley
pepper and salt
olive oil to fry
1 glass of dry white wine

Preparation:

Mix two tablespoons of flour with pepper and salt. Gently get the fish through the flour. In a big pan you preheat some oil and fry the fish until lightly brown. Get the pieces of cod out and put aside for a while. (under some aluminium foil to keep it warm) Cut the carrot, onions, celery, chili and 2 garlic cloves in very fine dices. Put some oil in the pan and start to fry these so called odori till light brown. Add the glass of white wine, the chopped tomatoes, a pinch of lemon zest and the rosemary. Leave to simmer for about 20 minutes. Season with some extra salt and pepper. Meanwhile chop the other two cloves of garlic, the parsley very finely. Put in a bowl and add the rest of the lemon’s zest. That will be the gremolata on top. Put the cod back in the pan and let the fish warm for another 10 minutes. Serve each piece of cod on a big plate, with some sauce and on top the gremolata. As a side dish I suggest a bowl of spaghetti with a good splash of olive oil.

21/01/201318/03/2016

Judith Works, Coins in the Fountain

foto: Judith Works (internet)

Some while ago I posted a tweet on a Byzantine history book I was reading. Immediately Judith Works reacted. A conversation began and we started to follow each other. Judith is a woman from Portland, Oregon, who decided to go to Rome and start all over again. She ended up at the FAO, but perhaps that is a thing she certainly wants to comment on herself. She wrote a book “Coins in the fountain” When in Rome Judith still throws coins in the Trevi fountain. A way to keep returning. I immediately started to research and found a lot of adventures. I invited Judith to participate in “gesprekken en gerechten” (baptized talk and table by my friend Frances Mayes) Let’s see if we can conceive a dish for Judith from the answers she gives to my virtual questions. Needless to say that this willl be a dish full of travel and with a Roman hint.

Who is Judith? Tell me some more

Life was routine until I decided to earn a law degree. Then a chance meeting led me to run away to the Roman Circus (Maximus) – actually to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization next door – where I worked as an attorney in the Human Resource department. After four years my husband and I returned to the U.S. But we missed La Dolce Vita: the sweet life with wonderful food and wine and the endless history that Italy offers. The gods smiled and another opportunity came along: six more years in Rome, this time working for the UN World Food Programme. Now retired and living near Seattle I wrote a memoir about our many happy and sometimes fraught experiences. It’s titled Coins in the Fountain, in memory of the many times I threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain to wish for yet another return to Rome.

How did your attraction for Rome and Italy start?

It started in a very round-about way. I always wanted to travel but had done little except Mexico and one trip to Europe during my first marriage. When the ferry from Dover docked at Hook of Holland I knew from the first moment I put foot on the Continent I wanted to see more. New marriage brought a man who agreed. And, a miracle and several years later, an opportunity came. A friend had returned from Rome and told me about working for the United Nations there. I applied and was selected. If he had said Paris, London, Amsterdam or Oslo it would have been the same. But once in Rome and getting over the shock of becoming an expatriate (or innocent abroad I should say) I knew Italy was as close to perfection as you can find.

You wrote a book, “Coins in the Fountain” Can you tell something about it?

Here’s the “book blurb”

Pasta! Vino! Hill Towns! Coins in the Fountain will transport you to Italy where you can find out what it’s really like to live the expatriate life. It’s all here in the story of a couple who said “NO!” to middle age boredom and made a dash from a small-town in Oregon to cosmopolitan Rome when the author went to work for the United Nations. In between actually working there were Italian weddings to attend, music to be heard, a close-up with the Pope, travel with the wine club and country weekends in Umbria where the Etruscans still seemed to be lurking about. A brush with the Italian medical system, an auto accident with the military police, a fall in the subway, interactions with an excitable landlord and helping pick grapes at harvest time all became part of their daily adventures. And of course there were many new friends like the countess with her butt-reducing machine and the count who served as a model for statues of naked horsemen.

Unexpectedly taking up early retirement, the author’s husband met strange vegetables in his valiant efforts to learn to cook Italian-style. When not struggling in the kitchen he played golf on a course where the rough featured snakes and unexploded bombs and crewed on a sailboat that came close to disaster on the way to Greece.

Part memoir, part travelogue to off-beat sites in Rome and elsewhere, you will be amused and intrigued with the stories of food, friends and adventures. You, too, will want to run away to join the Circus (the Circus Maximus, that is). And before you depart Rome, you will never forget to throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure a return to beautiful Rome and enchanting Italy.

You worked at the FAO, what did you experience over there?

My work was very interesting and challenging because it was the first time I had been in a true international environment with colleagues coming from every corner of the world. Many were in working in the field in difficult situations trying to provide aid while coping with war and natural disasters. My own job was more bureaucratic with work on pension, pay, credit union and medical issues including medical evacuations or even on occasion a staffmember’s death.

What is your favorite type of agriculture?

I love the beauty of orchards, when apples, peaches, oranges and lemons decorate the trees; but most of all I love olive trees with their silver-grey leaves and bright black olives in the late fall. Unfortunately our climate does not allow them or citrus to be grown but we have lots of apple, pear, peach and apricot trees in the Pacific Northwest.

In Rome we had the pleasure of an olive tree on our terrace providing some shade for us and our orchids.

Which plant do you like the most and which one you dislike? I am very curious about that

We have an extensive garden surrounding our house here in the cool damp Northwest. My favorite plants are rhododendreons which flourish from later winter to early summer splashing color in everyone’s gardens including ours. Our current garden has invasive plants like creeping ivy and vicious blackberry vines – hate them.

I was still in Rome I’d have to say mimosa is my favorite which always heralded spring days and International Women’s Day.

You traveled a lot, mention 100 countries out of 200, what was your most striking moment?

A hard question to answer. In the end I’d have to say it was sitting on one of the towers at Ankor Wat, Cambodia shortly after the Pol Pot regime collapsed. I was there as part of a UN World Food Programme mission, evaluating food aid distribution for workers who were trying to clean up and restore the ruins. As I sat contemplating the past, presence and future the sun set in the west and a full moon rose over the horizon. It was so overwhelming that I slipped a story about it in my book when I wrote abut WFP.

What was the biggest difference for you to overcome when you moved to Rome?

There were many but perhaps moving from our private home with lot and garden to an apartment house where, with the exception of one other person, no one spoke English.

What is you attitude to Rome nowadays?

I do love eternal Rome. It always brings mixed feelings because of the challenges of some aspects like the bureaucracy. When I was there last spring I saw firsthand how hard the economic crisis had hit with many shops closed. I read Italian news regularly and the economy and political situation is always to the forefront. But still…how can you not get a tear in your eye when you gaze at the Trevi Fountain or sit in Piazza Navona sipping a prosecco.

Can you tell something about your voluntary work in art and literature?

I serve on the Board of Directors for the Edmonds Center for the Arts, our local performing arts center bringing everything from jazz to rock to classical music and dance. On the literary side I am on the board of our local writer’s conference called Write on the Sound (we’re on Puget Sound in the State of Washington). I’m President of our local Edmonds library support group, Friends of the Edmonds Library, and am a founding ”mother” of a new group called EPIC which is just beginning – so far we have writing classes and speakers, and will have a literary contest this spring.

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

After ten years in Italy I like Italian food, especially pasta dishes. My husband, bless his heart, became the cook while Iwas working there and he does a great job. In the winter he whips up an excellent pasta carbonara – always a favorite that brings back many memories. Otherwise it depends on which country we’re in – had wonderful rijsttafel in Amsterdam and Bali; lamb and souvlaki in Athens; lovely small oysters in Brittany; stroganoff in St Petersburg and Cape Malay cuisine in Cape Town. But I admit cowardly skipping the fish maw on the breakfast table in Shanghai; stuck to dim sum and other items that looked familiar. I’ll soon be there again – maybe I’ll be more daring.

Being on the West Coast and having a large Asian population Seattle and the surrounding area has marvellous Thai, Chinese, Japanese. Vietnamese and Korean food.

I’m sure I’d eat just about anything if Iwas starving. Since I’m not I do not eat farm-raised salmon or anything that could be considered endangered. I don’t like the thought of eating horse or the donkey sausage hanging in a window in one of the towns in the Alban Hills outside Rome.

Which wines do you like?

For celebrations Champagne is never wrong; for sitting on our deck in the summer looking at cruise ships passing by on their way to Alaska I love a glass of prosecco. For warm winter meals there’s nothing like a Brunello or something else thick and red like Barolo. And for a glass before dinner a good malbec is nice. When traveling we try local wine and beer although sometimes the results are unusual like the Egyptian wine we jokingly called eau de Nil.

Can you tell me something about your “foodprint” A lot of waste we have in the Western world?

I recently read that half of the world’s food is wasted, much of it in the third world due to lack of transportation, storage and efficient distribution methods. Here in the West we have our own problems, not of too little but of too much, especially of processed foods which we try to avoid. Our own family food footprint isn’t large as we buy in small quantities only being two of us. But, we do throw some out from time to time I’m sorry to say.

In the Netherlands we have a scholar Mrs Louise Fresco. She states in her latest book, that only local produced and organic food is not enough to feed the world in the long run. Do you agree?

I would like to disagree but, unfortunately, I think she is correct. How would it be possible to feed everyone with shrinking land available and inadequate water resources combined with an ever-increasing population? I can’t imagine feeding the population of Mumbai that way – they can’t get enough of any kind now. Another problem is that organic food is more expensive, at least here where I live.

Happily for us in Puget Sound we have an ample supply of organic food in most grocery stores and speciality stores. We buy most of our food from these sources, much of it coming from local farmers and ranchers, and from our Farmer’s Market in summer.

What else do you want to tell?

Since we “met” by you saying you were reading a book on Byzantine history I’d like to add that I am fascinated by mosiacs – from the ancient Romans to the modern like Gino Severini’s work in Cortona. Ravenna is one of my favorite spots in Italy along with Monreale near Palermo and of course Hagia Sophia and the Chora in Istanbul.

My blog: http://aLittleLightExercise.blogspot.com is mostly travel essays but the title is based on an old novel set in Sicily where the author describes the monastic life: “The monks lived according to the motto ‘Good food and drink, not forgetting a little gentle exercise.’” It seemed to be an excellent receipe for living the good life.

My book can be found on Amazon with the link: http://www.amazon.com/Coins-In-The-Fountain-ebook/dp/B005M2RLAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358548498&sr=8-1&keywords=coins+in+the+fountain

foto cover of Judith’s book (internet)

The Recipe for Judith

Kaleidoscopical is the word for the life and adventures of Judith. She traveled a lot. Did a lot of different things. She volunteers. Changed her life many times and in many directions. Wrote a wonderful book on living the good life in Roma. An above all she likes mosaïcs form all over the Mare Nostrum. For Judith I have a pasta dish, containing Dutch mussels, a dash of chili pepper, parsley, grapes, zest, curry and turmeric powder to give the penne some color and spice. Topped with a grilled langoustine. Of course there is wine. I would suggest a white one, made from the viognier grape varietal from the Languedoc in Southern France. Apricot flavours to match the spicy hints in this dish.

Ingredients 4 persons:2 lbs/ 1 kg Dutch mussels, cleaned, preferably from Zeeland
4 big langoustines
1 chili pepper in rings
1/2 container of small wild cherry tomatoes (red, ornage and yellow)
1 red onion in rings
1 package of penne rigate
chopped parsley
1 red bell pepper
2 glasses of white wine
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup/ 250 g of seedles grapes in halves
1 tbs lemon zest
1 ts turmeric powder to color the penne
1/2 tbs curry powder
water
pepper and salt
olive oil

Preparation:

Bring to the boil some water and cook the penne rigate according to the instructions on it’s package. Chop the red onion in rings, do the same with the chili pepper and garlic. Cut the red bell pepper in rings, halve the tomatoes, chop the parsley and put aside for later use. Grate some peel of the lemon, preferably an organic one.
Put some oil in a pan and gently fry the chili, onion, 1/2 tbs of curry powder and garlic. Add one glass of white wine and a glass of water. Add the mussels and bring to a boil. Cook for about 8 minutes and when the mussels are done, throw away the non openend ones. Put te mussels aside for later use. Grill the langoustines until ready. Put them under some aluminium foil. Pour some oil in another big pan and add the penne and 1 ts of turmeric powder.
Then add the mussels and bell pepper rings. Stir fry and add another glass of white wine. Leave to simmer for a short while. Season with some salt and pepper.
Put the dish on 4 big plates, garnish with the chopped parsley, halved grapes, halved tomatoes and some lemon zest. Put the grilled langoustines on top.

05/01/201318/03/2016

Louhans kippenhoofdstad, waterzooi

foto: de adellijke dames uit de Bresse

Elke maandagmorgen is het een gekakel van jewelste zo vlak buiten het plaatsje Louhans in de Bresse Bourguignonne. Louhans is een mooie landelijke marktplaats met arcades waaronder de warenmarkt plaats vindt. Extra muros ligt een gigantisch terrein. Van heinde en verre komen de kippenverkopers naar hier om het mooiste pluimvee van de wereld te verkopen, de Bresse kip. een kip in de kleuren van de drapeau national. Rode kam, witte veren en blauwe poten.
In tegenstelling tot onze Nederlandse (plof) kip, heeft de poulet de Bresse een adellijke status. En een eigen AOC (appellation d’origine controlée) Dit merkt deze kip ook tijdens haar opvoeding. De jonge kippen groeien buiten op het veld op en eten van het lekkerste graan, mais en verse pieren. Als ze mooi en sterk zijn gaan ze nog een week of zes op stal. Dan worden deze vrolijke schrokoppen nog bijgevoerd met het fijnste graan en pap. Als er geen blauwe ader meer is waar te nemen onder de trotse vleugels, is het tijd voor een uitstapje naar Louhans. “Waar de kiekens je in de bek vliegen”, aldus Gene Bervoets in het programma Gentse waterzooi.
Voor het foodblog event van januari dacht ik in eerste instantie aan de klassieker poulet de Bresse al la crème, maar die wordt het niet. Ik ga voor een Vlaamse klassieker en dan bedoel ik niet het bedwingen van de Muur tijdens de ronde van Vlaanderen door de heren wielrenners. Nee, mijn inzending wordt een Gentse waterzooi. Van Bresse kip natuurlijk. De dorstige mens wil ook wat, dus als witte wijn ga ik voor een Muscadet Prestige, gemaakt door een bevriende wijnboer uit Saint Géréon aan de Loire. Op deze wijze hebben we weer een aardige tour de food gemaakt.

Nodig voor 4 personen:

2,5 l groentebouillon (vers of van blokje)

1 kip in stukken, karkas mee laten trekken in bouillon

3 stengels bleekselderij

1 prei in ringen

3 wortels in stukken

8 vastkokende aardappelen

200 g knolselderij in blokjes

1 bosje peterselie fijngehakt

2 eierdooiers

4 dl room

boter

peper zout

Bereiding:

Snijd de kip in stukken. Maak er filets en bouten van. Het karkas van de kip kun je aan de bouillon toevoegen. Als de bouillon getrokken is en heet kan het karkas er uit. (Schuim eventueel de bouillon af) Voeg de kipdelen toe en laat ongeveer 20 minuten koken.
Snijd alle groenten in grove stukken. Zet de groenten en aardappel even aan met een klont boter. Haal de kipdelen uit de bouillon en haal het vel eraf. Voeg de kip toe aan de groenten en voeg de gezeefde bouillon toe. Laat alles 10 tot 15 minuten sudderen totdat de aardappelen en groenten gaar zijn. Voeg 3/4 van de room toe en verwarm mee. Maak de waterzooi op smaak met peper en zout.
Roer de eierdooiers los en voeg de rest van de room toe. Haal de pan van het vuur en meng dit losjes door de waterzooi
Schep de kipdelen en groenten in bord, lepel er saus over en garneer met gehakte peterselie.
Serveer er een boerenbrood bij in stukken, zo komt de pan saus ook mooi leeg

01/01/201318/03/2016

Mijn blog in 2013, what’s new?

Goedemorgen, gelukkig Nieuwjaar! De kruitdampen zijn opgetrokken en de stilte van de eerste ochtend van het jaar omringt me. Een nieuw jaar, een nieuwe ronde, een tabula rasa, schone lei. Ik heb er zin in dit jaar. Sommige onderwerpen op mijn blog gaan verdwijnen, sommige veranderen andere gaan extra aandacht krijgen. Nieuwe dingen ga ik toevoegen. Heerlijk vooruitkijken nu. Een heel jaar vol blogs over eten en wijn ligt voor me. Een korte samenvatting van mijn voornemens:

Gesprekken en gerechten:
Met deze serie ga ik onverdroten verder. De Engelstalige wel te verstaan, de Nederlandse versie was niet zo levensvatbaar. Ik noem het voortaan “Talk en table”‘ naar het idee van schrijfster Frances Mayes. Op de rol staan Jeff Titelius, reiziger in hart en nieren, Joe Wolff, koffiehuis expert (en dan bedoel ik niet dat soort koffiehuizen in Amsterdam) en Kate Hill kook”ster” uit de Gascogne. Ik verheug me op hun verhalen.

Ma Bourgogne:
Rond dit thema valt nog heel wat te bloggen. Recepten en wijnen gelardeerd met foto’s uit deze mooie streek.

Wijn:

Zal het smeersel blijven van mijn blog. Ga in 2013 weer nieuwe wijnen ontdekken en proeven. En erover berichten. En bij vragen over wijn, weest allen welkom.

Foodblogevent:
Ga zeker weer mee doen. Ik hoop dat dit jaar het zoet- en bakgehalte af zal nemen en er meer mannen een bijdrage gaan leveren aan het event. En dat het geheel wat meer verdieping krijgt. We gaan het meemaken.

Dit nieuwe jaar betekent ook een start van een aantal nieuwe dingen. Ben heel benieuwd wat de respons hierop zal zijn.

www.thuisafgehaald.nl:
Naast het schrijven over eten wil ik mensen dit jaar ook laten proeven van mijn kooksels. Sinds korte tijd sta ik op de site www.thuisafgehaald.nl. Een forum waarop kokers en afhaler elkaar ontmoeten. Heb je zin in iets lekkers? Kom dan eens iets afhalen. Eventueel met een lekker wijntje erbij!

Restyling blog:
Op korte termijn ga ik actief aan de slag met mijn vriendin Esmée Scholte. Zij opperde het idee om mijn blog opnieuw in te richten. We gaan hard werken aan het resultaat.

ACBM:
Het broeide al een tijdje, maar 2013 wordt het geboortejaar van de “ACBM” Intimi weten al een beetje wat dit betekent. De Anti Cupcake Behaviour Movement. Deze beweging is ontstaan als reactie op de overkill aan zoete gerechten. Ook wil de ACBM regelmatig tegengas geven tegen gewriemel met eten… Kan nog spannend worden.

En als laatste nieuwtje:

Gereons keuken thuis:
De laatste loodjes wegen het zwaarst. Iets later dan de bedoeling was komt komend voorjaar mijn eerste boekje uit. “Gereons keuken thuis” Vol verhalen, recepten en wijnen.

Heel wat werk aan de winkel dus, het nieuwe jaar. Straight forward! Ik heb er veel zin in!

Ik start vandaag met een simpel soepje. Goed tegen katers of voor mensen die gewoon back to basic willen na al het feestgedruis. En de wijn sla ik vandaag even over.

Nodig 4 personen:

1 kg iets kruimige aardappels
2 uien
2 tenen knoflook
1 prei
halve knolselderij
125 g spekblokjes
water
1 bouillonblokje (kip)
bieslook
potje crème fraîche
peper en zout

Bereiding:

Schil de aardappels en snijd in stukken. Maak de selderij schoon en snijd in blokjes. Was en snijd de prei in ringen. Snipper de ui. Pel de tenen knoflook. Verhit wat olie in een pan en bak de spekjes uit. Fruit daarna de uien mee. Doe de knoflook erbij en alle groenten. Bak kort aan. Zet alles onder water en verkruimel het bouillon blokje in het vocht. Breng aan de kook. Laat alles een half uur rustig pruttelen. Controleer of alles gaar is. Pureer de soep met een staafmixer en voeg de crème fraîche toe. Maak de soep af met wat peper, zout en fijn geknipte bieslook.

30/12/201211/01/2016

Gesprekken en gerechten, cuisinier Bill Smith

picture cook Bill Smith

I invited chef Bill Smith to join in in my blog series “gesprekken en gerechten” American writer Frances Mayes suggested me to invite him for this series. She calls him a prince. Bill is a man from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who I follow on Facebook. He is the proud owner of a reaturant Crook’s Corner. Bill is the creator of many original recipes in his cookbook called Seasoned in the South. And I hope a wine lover. I know he takes a beer with him when foraging for ingredients. For instance honeysuckle to make sherbet. Now my curiosity became even bigger. I immediately ordered his book and started to read. In the Netherlands we do not know much of the cuisine from the Southern states. The USA are more than burgers or an incidental Cajun style dish as Bill proves. Time to send him some questions and based on Bill’s answers he will be rewarded a “southern style” Dutch recipe. To pair with a wonderful wine.

Who is Bill Smith and what would you like to share with us?

I was born and raised in Eastern North Carolina. This very much informs the way I cook today. I didn’t set out to be a chef. It was just good luck that I stumbled upon this profession.

You come from Chapel Hill, can you give a description what makes this place so special?
Chapel Hill is a university town so although it isn’t a large city, it has sophistication. People tend to be progressive in thought and less judgemental than in other places. It is very pretty and is halfway between the beaches of North Carolina and the Smoky Mountains. Because it is so attractive, intersting people choose to live here.

You invest a lot of energy in cooking, escpecially when it comes to Southern dishes, can you tell something about it?

Cooking, or things associated with cooking, take up almost all of my time. Our menu can change every day if I choose for it to. It varies with the season. We are lucky to have a large community of farmers and artisans who cater to the food community here. This makes a seasonal menu easy. This restaurant was Southern before I came to work here, but since I was born in the South I already understood what was expected of me. I actually don’t think about “Southern” so much. It just happens.

Your book speaks to the imagination, the recipes, certainly with me. How do you do that?

Every recipe has a story, whether the person who is cooking it knows it or not. I had some sort of history with most of the things in my book. And, I see the dinner table as a lot more than just a place to eat. People who might disagree about religion or politics are liable to come together around food.

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?

My first serious cooking job was in a French restaurant so my technique is certainly oriented in that direction. I still cook the way I learned to there. In this country from the end of World War II to maybe the mid 1980s, French food and style was seen as the most sophisticated. In recent years people have become able to see the whole world with ease so naturally France has had to share the stage with other cuisines. Still, when I have a wonderful meal in a French restaurant or taste a classic French vintage, I feel an affection and respect for that country.

What would you miss from the USA when you would live abroad ?

Foodwise, probably fried chicken. Culturally, there is a kind of self confidence that we seem to have here that I find appealing

Culinary speaking, you are very experienced in cooking, which one is your favorite recipe?

I have a lot of favorites and they seem to follow the season. By August each year, I have grown tired of dishes with fresh tomatoes. Yesterday at the market I found five different kinds of winter greens so I made gumbo z’herbes for dinner. It’s a Lenten stew from Louisiana, so today that is my favorite recipe.

Do you like wine and if you do can you tell me about your favorites?

I do like wine and I like many kinds. Champagne is always a favorite. I like the European classics like Bordeaux, Riojas, and such. I also like Vinho Verdes from Portugal, reds from Chile, whites from Austria and New Zealand.

Maybe you van tell a thing or two on North Carolina? I have never been there but it is often portrayed a wonderful state. So different.

North Carolina is lucky in that it has a strong working class and middle class tradition. There is wealth of course as well. There is a tradition of caution and moderation in it’s politics, although there are the ocasional glaring exceptions to this. We were lucky in the second half of the last century to have had a series of forward looking leaders. The weather is mild, there are many medium sized cities rather a few large ones and the are scattered across the state. Much of North Carolina is still rural.

You learned to cook form your Grandmother and grand mère, can you explain some more on this subject?

I grew up in a time when women for the most part remained in the home rather than worked. My great grandmother, grandmothers and aunts were all good cooks and cooking was an important part of their lives. I grew up with the expectation of good food. I was expected to eat everything that was put before me. All this is a good professional foundation for me.

If you were to start all over in the Netherlands, what would you want to teach us? I know this is a though question.

I have never been to your country so I’m not sure what you do or don’t already know there. I suppose I would choose some traditional East North Carolina recipes, cook them and tell you the stories that come with them.

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

Recently it has occurred to me that while most of my friends are retiring, I am busier than ever. I have asked myself why. This is a hard job for someone of my age. I have decided that as long as it remains interesting, I’ll continue doing it.

picture: Book from Bill’s cooking

The Recipe

Having read all the answers of Bill Smith, I tought let’s go to the Deep South of the Netherlands, the region of Southern Limburg, where there are still many old recipes to be found. Bill does not know our country nor the traditions, so I chose for “Knien in ’t soer” or Rabbit cooked in a sweet and sour sauce. One of the main ingredients is apple syrup from the orchards of this province. People from the South are often called Burgundian, because of their attitude to food and drink. I hope Bill likes this all time traditional. The wine I suggest is a a crisp young white wine from the Mâconnais (southern Burgundy) to match the sweet and sour taste of this dish.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

1 rabbit cut in parts (about 3 lbs)
1 red onion
1 big carrot
1/2 celeriac
6 stems of parsley
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
10 juniper berries
1 1/2 cup of white wine vinager
1 cup of water
2 tbs of apple syrup
2 tbs flour
butter
pepper and salt

Preparation

Cut the rabbit in pieces. Chop the onion in rings, cut the celeriac and and carrot in cubes. Chop four of the parsley stems very finely. Put the vegetables and rabbit in a bowl. Add the parsley, juniper berries, cloves and bayleaves. Pour a mixture of water and vinager on top, stir and leave to marinate four about 12 hours in the fridge.
Pat the pieces of rabbit dry and season them with pepper and salt. Heat some butter in a frying pan and fry the rabbit parts golden brown. Get the meat out and cover for a while. Add some flour to the butter and stir. Gently pour in the vegetables and juices from the marinade. Put to a boil, get the rabbit parts back in and leave to simmer for about one and a half hours.
When the rabbit is done, put it an a big plate. Mix the apple syrup through the sauce and stir. Maybe some extra seasoning is necessary. Put the sauce and the cooked vegetables over the rabbit meat. Garnish with some parsley. This dish can be served with either cooked potatoes or mashed ones.

31/10/201218/03/2016

A Year in Burgundy, film maker David Kennard

Picture of David at showing in Paris (excerpt from picture on website)

This Spring I read about a film called “A year in Burgundy” Caught by curiousity and being a Burgundy addict, I tried to find out what this film was all about. I found a webpage www.ayearinburgundy.com It turned out to be a documentary by film maker David Kennard. He filmed during a year the cycle of wine growing and producing in one of my favorite regions. I discovered this filmer traveled and stayed a lot in Burgundy. Time, I thought, to invite him for my blogseries “gesprekken en gerechten” And time ofcourse to ask about the film, that was first shown in August this year during the International Pinot Noir festival.. Needless to say that David’s reward recipe willl be a Bourguignon one. A nice wine to pair, pinot noir cépage, will be part of this reward.

Who is David Kennard? Tell me some more

I am British by origin, but have lived in San Francisco for 25 years. I have been making films for more than 30 years – for the BBC, for PBS in the USA, and for worldwide cinema and TV screens. My company, InCA Productions, can be found at www.incafilms.com

How did your attraction for Burgundy and its wines start?

I have made films on everything from classical music to astronomy – over 100 of them. I’d always wanted to make a serious film about wine-making, which featured the wine-maker as a real artist. Happily, I met Martine Saunier, a French woman who has imported great wines from Burgundy to the USA for 40 years, and she persuaded me that Burgundy was the place to film.

You undertook a great project by filming a year in the lives of winegrowers, bravo, what was the most remarkable moment?

The harvest has to be the most exciting moment in every wine-maker’s life: you have all the drama of the weather (will the summer storms ruin the grapes before they can be picked?) and all the joy of seeing great grapes come into your winery.

I know that wine making is very difficult and harsh. And you only can harvest once a year. I remember in 2008 that a total harvest was wasted by hail. Did the winemakers tell you about that?

Yes, they did. And there were hail storms in 2011 as well (though not as bad as those of 2012!). Many bad things can happen to grapes: frost, mildew, rot as well as hail. It’s a tense drama!

What is your favorite type of agriculture?

Anyone who produces artisanal food: families who really care for their products. You can taste it in the results!

Which plant do you like the most and which one you dislike? I am very curious about that

I love everything in the vegetable world: even the weirder vegetables. Everything except what the Americans call “squash”. But they must all be under-cooked – they must crunch in the mouth! And frankly, fruit is even better!

You traveled a lot through France, and I heared you were now doing a film on Champagne. What do you like about France?

I speak good French, having lived and studied there. Many Dutch, as well as English people have a second home in France. I think we appreciate the rhythms of life in the countryside there. And it’s very picturesque.

Are there differences between American and French winemakers?

You see the difference in the sense of history which French wine-makers have. In many cases, people have been making wine for almost 2000 years in French wine regions: the Romans started it. So you have long traditions and a great respect for ancient wisdom.

How was the film “A year in Burgundy” received on the International Pinot Noir Celebration?

Very well. We had many interesting reactions. Since then, it has been seen at private screenings in London, Paris and New York. It will be given a World Premiere at a California Film Festival in January 2013.

Will your film appear in Europe?

Yes, it will be distributed worldwide: first to cinema screens (it is 88 minutes long) and then on DVD and in a shorter version on television.

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

I honestly like everything, apart from dog and cat, which I once tried in China. Snake, on the other hand, can be delicious. Generally, however, I avoid eating meat, except on special days.

Which wines do you like?

Pinot Noir has to be the subtlest grape. It is the hardest to grow and get “right”. It has such a complex

What else do you want to share?

Cooking, like wine-making, has to be a source of JOY! Too much snobbery, or too much complexity, ruins both of them.

Picture the vines of Mancey

The Recipe

David is a earthy man, does like to film the efforts of people making real things. He loves earnestt produce. In the case of his winefilm, it were the brave vignerons from Burgundy. Since David avoids eating meat, I will make for him a recipe containing chestnut mushrooms, girolles and cèpes with plums and balsamic vinager sauce. Next to it a tarte tatin of pumpkin, turnips and carrots. Done in the from of the known Burgundy rooftiles.The wine I present is the Bourgogne Cuvée spéciale made from pinot noir in our own village Mancey. A ruby red wine made by the vignerons in the South of Burgundy. Sun, soil and earthly tones caught in one wine.

Ingredients 4 persons:

2 big carrots

3 turnips

4 tbs brown sugar

1 lb/450 g pumpkin

6 sheets of puff pastry

3 tbs of butter

thyme

pepper and salt

8 oz./250 g chestnut mushrooms

10 oz /300 g girolles

10 oz/ 300 g cèpes

4 oz/ 125 g dried plums

one shallot

1/2 ts nutmeg

butter

olive oil

2 cloves

2 tbs balsamic vinager

1/2 glass red wine

chopped parsley

Preparation:

Peel the pumpkin, the carrots and turnips and cut them in thin slices. Melt the butter in a pan and start melting the sugar. Add a dash of red wine vinager and leave to simmer until caramelized. Put the slices of pumpkin, carrot and turnip rooftile style in a greased baking tin, pour the caramel over the vegetables and add some thyme, pepper and salt. Cover the whole with puff pastry. Bake for 25 minutes in an oven on 180 ºC or 356 º F. When it is ready leave it to cool for a while and then turn over the tarte tatin on a dish.

Gently clean the fresh girolles, cèpes and mushrooms with some kitchen paper or a brush. make sure you remove all the sand. Soak the dried plums in some red wine. Preheat the butter and oil in a frying pan. Quickly fry the shallot and add the mushrooms. When these are browned a litlle add the nutmeg, cloves, pepper and salt. leave to simmer for a while. Get the mushrooms out and put them in a slightly warm oven. Add the balsamic vinager, red wine and the slices plums. leave this sauce to thicken. Serve the warm mushrooms on a plate together with a slice of the tart tatin and finish the dish with the sauce.