Fireplace Cuisine

I spent the whole day on the couch yesterday. Fireplace on, cozy blanket draped around me and a pile of unread magazines patiently waiting on my lap. I read, had some hot chocolate, took a nap, read some more and also called my mom for a nice chat. The house cleaning and laundry would just have to wait this time. I needed a break!

It really was the perfect day to stay indoors and as a matter of fact, I was feeling rather sorry for anyone who was forced to leave their house. The wind has howling furiously and by two o' clock I already had candles lit- that's how dark it was! This was definitely a day for 'stamppot'.

For those of you who don't live in The Netherlands or aren't Dutch, 'stamppot' is a classic Dutch winter dish which consists of potatoes mashed together with vegetables such as kale, endive, carrots and even sauerkraut. It is usually served with Dutch sausage (similar to Kielbasa) or a good Dutch 'gehaktbal' (meatball). It doesn't look pretty- trust me (actually it kind of looks like jail food) but don't judge a book by its cover! It is certainly one delicious and super comforting meal!

Here is one of my favorite stamppot recipes. Serve it on a day when like me, you've also spent the whole day on the couch feeling sorry for anyone outside. It's the kind of food that you want to eat in front of the fireplace. Perhaps accompanied by a glass of lightly chilled Beaujolais.

Here's the recipe:

Curly Kale Stamppot with Bacon, Red Onions and Sausage
Serves 4

1 kilo potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
250 curly kale, sliced in thin strips
1 liter water
1 Hema sausage (THE best, if you live in The Netherlands, or just use Kielbasa)
salt and pepper
250g bacon lardons
2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 tsps mustard
200 ml milk

Place water in a large pan. Top with the potatoes, the kale and the sausage. Season with salt and pepper but go easy here as the sausage and the bacon are already salty!! No need to stir everything. Just leave it nicely layered.
In a separate pan, fry the bacon until crisp but not too crisp (no need to add oil to the pan). Drain the bacon leaving a film of fat in the pan. Add the chopped onions and a drop of olive oil to the pan if needed.
Saute the onions gently for about twenty minutes.
Drain the potatoes, kale and sausage after about 30 minutes. Set the sausage aside.
Add the milk, mustard, onions and bacon to the kale and the potatoes. Mash everything together, adding more milk if necessary.
Serve with the sausage and- ENJOY!!

Martha Fever!

Lately, I have become infatuated with everything Martha Stewart. In fact, I find myself spending every free moment browsing her website and pumping myself up with tons of inspiration. The brilliant recipes, savy housekeeping tips, fun crafts and all- American goodness always manage to put a smile on my face. I love to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea to watch Martha!

A few weeks ago I drooled while watching the episode where she gave us a tour through Skylands Grounds (her home, where Edsel Ford, yes, Henry's son) once lived. I was especially impressed with her glorious table linnen collection and at that moment decided that I would also start one of my own!

But, these golden popovers were also pretty impressive. Not just because of how delicious they were, but because I couldn't believe how ridiculously easy they were to make!

I served them for breakfast. Warm,and smothered in butter and jam!

Here's the recipe:
(I made mine in a muffin pan, so that gave me 12)

Martha's Popovers

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 scant teaspoons salt
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Generously butter a 6-cup popover tin; set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, milk, and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, and stir to combine (some small lumps may remain); do not overmix.
Using a 1/2-cup measure, gently pour batter into the center of each prepared popover cup. Transfer tin to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes more. Immediately invert pan to remove popovers, and serve.

Early, Way Too Early!

Call me a foolishly sentimental girl or maybe too much of a child at heart, but around this time of year (when almost all of the leaves have fallen from the trees) I begin to dream of Christmas. How will I decorate the house? What will I cook? When should I organize a pre-Christmas dinner party with friends? What shall I get my loved ones, and yes, what shall I get myself?

Christmas really is 'the most wonderful time of the year'!

It is no wonder that the festive season has slowly started to manifest itself around my place. Last week I purchased a few Christmas sofa cushions and a gorgeous Christmas bear. They'll fit perfectly with this year's theme- Country Christmas! And today, I couldn't resist dusting off all my Christmas CDs, lighting the fireplace and baking these chocolate chestnut muffins!

'Tis the (early, way too early) season!

Chocolate Chestnut Muffins
Makes 12

185g unsweetened chestnut puree
100ml hot milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
170g caster sugar
100ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
250g flour
pinch salt
2 tsps baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
4 tbsps cocoa powder
100g hagelslag (Dutch chocolate sprinkles, the dark variety, or just chop up some chocolate!)

Preheat oven to 200C and line a muffin tray with liners.
Put the chestnut puree in a medium-sized bowl. Heat milk until almost boiling and add to the chestnut puree. Whisk in to incorporate. Add the vanilla extract, sugar, oil, eggs and whisk thouroughly.
In a another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Also add the hagelslag (or chopped up chocolate).
Stir all the ingredients gently, just until combined. Remember, muffin batters hate being vigourously stirred!!
Fill your prepared muffin pan and bake the muffins 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool and enjoy!
Oh, and get ready for your house to smell like heaven!

Halloween!

What did you do this Halloween?? I decided to throw a spooky, somewhat elegant Halloween dinner party!

I really wanted to make a whole production of it this year, our first year in our new house. The plans started months in advance and I had the help of a very good friend- Miss Martha Stewart. Those of you who know Martha (or me)can probably imagine what that meant- lots of crafty decorations, a carefully planned menu and attention to the tiniest of details. So there we were, tearing into black construction paper, thinking of the spookiest tunes to play and putting together a disgustingly appealing menu!

The menu:

Appetizers
Pina Ghoulada with Monster Eyeballs:I won't mention the incident with RED food coloring that took place. Now that was scary as hell!

Escargots- simply because they look creepy- but taste heavenly!

Starter
Slime Soup: There simply is no Halloween without this one at my house!

Main
My Texas Chainsaw Chilli accompanied by Nigella's Blood and Guts Potatoes

Dessert
Chocolate Chestnut Death Cake with Glossy Mud.

The dinner was rounded off with chocolate- covered goat poop and an assortment of liqueurs.

And of course, we enjoyed this ghastly meal overlooking the graveyard!

Hope you also had a fun Halloween!

Read Me in Family Matters Magazine!

The latest issue of Family Matters Magazine is out! For those of you who aren't familiar with the magazine, FM is a Dutch publication mainly aimed at expatriate families (even though the Dutch seem to like it too!). Not only does it cover just about every topic of interest to today's modern parents, it also looks fantastic. And that's why I'm so proud to have joined their team of talented writers!

My contributions to this issue are:

Hide and Don't Seek:
Clever ideas for getting your children to eat more fruits and veggies.

Tutoring Helps:
Covers the types of tutoring help available to children in The Netherlands.

What's Cooking?
Why cooking with your children is not only fun, but also essential.

Of course, you'll also find many other interesting articles, so go grab an issue, curl up on the couch with a warm drink and enjoy!

Lucky

Sometimes friends jokingly tell Hans how lucky he is to have me as a wife. Imagine that- a home-cooked meal ready on the table every day after he comes home from work! And look at the dinner parties I host! And how tidy my house (usually) is! Superwife!
Well, I certainly don't consider myself utterly virtuous just because I do what I love, and that, of course, is taking care of my family. The great thing is that my family also takes care of me!

Who could possible be more lucky than a wife who hears "I'm going to cook you breakfast this weekend"? Not just toast and coffee, but a proper cooked breakfast complete with grilled mushrooms, tomatoes and the best scrambled eggs ever. It doesn't end there though. Sometimes I get surprised with gorgeous dinners (like the time I was served Beef Wellington), complete with candlelight and lovely music.

The little one is also one heck of a culinary cutie. She's there to help with the preparation of anything sweet and she doesn't mind rolling all the meatballs for my pasta sauce.

Honestly, I think we're a lucky family.

Kemphaan Bake- Autumn on a Plate

Every Saturday, we head to the farm for fresh, local produce. What I love about this weekend ritual is that it's so much more than a little ecologically-friendly shopping. Before we even have a chance to start filling up our baskets, we've petted goats and cows, stopped by the pond to admire the fish, laughed at the monkeys (rescued from just about every horrible situation you can imagine) and visited the turtles and iguana.
This is a joy for Kirstie- and for us. She loves to see all the animals and we love to show her what food really is and where it comes from. One time, we were lucky enough to arrive just after the carrots were harvested. We encountered a HUGE pile of carrots and Kirstie was allowed to take one home. That evening she had it for dinner.
These days we' re not just getting our veggies from the farmers' market, but also from the greenhouse where we pick them ourselves. I strongly encourage all parents to see if something like this is available in their area. It will teach a child so much about nature and about food.
This dish is a tribute to my local farm. It's autumn on a plate- and it's made with beautiful, local food.

Kemphaan Bake
Serves 4

2 tsps butter
2 tsps mild olive oil
3 leeks, chopped
2 tsps dried thyme
3 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 small pumpkin (about 800g), peeled and sliced into small, not too thick chunks
40g butter
3 ½ tbsps flour
400 ml warm milk
freshly-grated nutmeg
3 tbsps grated Gouda cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Add the leeks and the thyme and saute on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the corn and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin, increase the heat to medium-high and cook for a final 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Make the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat. As soon as the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk vigorously until the mixture becomes a paste. Slowly start adding the warm milk, whisking as you go. The sauce will start to thicken. Continue to whisk for at least five minutes. Season with the grated nutmeg and salt and pepper. Add the cheese and whisk until the cheese is melted.
Pour one third of the sauce into an oven casserole. Arrange half of the vegetable mix on top of the sauce. Cover with more of the sauce, top with the rest of the vegetables and finish with the sauce. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and allow to cook for another 5 minutes under a hot grill. Serve immediately.

Want to visit our local farm? Have a look here: Stadslandgoed de Kemphaan

Rainy Day Cooking

What's not to love about slow-cooked tomato sauces?
I love the way they make the house smell as they patiently simmer away on the stove. This particular sauce was exactly what I needed on a rainy, autumn afternoon. It bubbled gently for almost three hours- and boy was it worth the wait!

Here's the recipe:

Sausage and Sweet Peppers Sauce
Serves 4

2 tbsps mild olive oil
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
300-350g sausages, sliced
3 bell peppers, halved and thinly sliced
1 can of whole tomatoes (400g)
2 tsps smoked paprika powder
125g green olives (drained), save 3 tbsps of the brine
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed casserole. Add onion and garlic and allow to saute gently for about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and add the sausages and the thyme. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the peppers, the tomatoes and the smoked paprika powder. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add the olives with three tablespoons of the brine, the tomato paste, the sugar and salt and pepper. Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook covered for two to three hours. Increase the heat to medium-high about 10 minutes before serving and allow to cook uncovered.
Serve with pasta.

PS: The picture shows the sauce 15 minutes into the cooking time!

Morning Decisions

It's Sunday morning and I creep downstairs before anyone else. This will give me enough time to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee- and enough time to plan a leisurely breakfast.

Perhaps it's because of the early-morning chill, or maybe it's because I've promised myself to return to what I love most (cooking and making my house a home), but this morning the thought of muffins just won't let me go. I'm not good at making decisions so I veer between a recipe with the prunes I bought back from Agen this summer to one with the three little apples I picked from our tree a few days ago.

And then I catch a glimpse of a lonely, forgotten lemon. It has been patiently waiting to jump into something delicious for a whole week- to no avail.

I take heart and happily start to bake these tasty little muffins:

Zingy, Nutty Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

200g flour
80g oatmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
pinch of salt
75g mixed chopped nuts of choice
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
125g whole yogurt
2 eggs
80ml sunflower oil
175g raw cane sugar
juice of ½ lemon

Preheat oven to 200C and line a muffin tine with paper liners or grease the muffin tin and dust with flour.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, baking powder, ginger, salt, nuts and lemon zest.
In a jug, whisk the yogurt, eggs, oil, sugar amd lemon juice.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine. Remember, don't stir your muffin batters too fanatically!
Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
These muffins are perfect with a cup of milky Earl Grey.