A Special Japanese Meal

Giving cooking lessons is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Not only because I am passing along my passion for food, but also because the people who have walked into my house as students have left as friends. Food creates an incredible bond, and even though I knew that before, it became even more evident after I started giving my lessons. The choosing of ingredients, the preparation of the meal, the joy of sitting down to something incredibly tasty which we've made together, and all the wonderful chats that take place in between, have always left me with a smile on my face and a sense of fulfillment.

Shortly before Christmas, Yukiko, my Japanese student, came over to make a pumpkin stew, muffins and pepernoten. Yukiko is a pleasure to work with. She knows quite a lot about food herself and she always delights me with her stories about Japanese food and culture. During our first meeting, I expressed an interest in learning to cook authentic Japanese food. I shamefully admitted that this was one area in which I felt completely lost and I told her about the 'Japanese' meals I've cooked in the past- which in fact, weren't really Japanese.

In between our baking, Yukiko reached into her bag and pulled out a beautifully wrapped, bright pink present. I was surprised and overwhelmed by her generosity. Under that pink paper was a gorgeous book of authentic Japanese food, by none other that the 'Nigella' of Japan, Harumi Kurihara. I immediately dug into the book, grinning and noticing how every page was an utter example of culinary refinement- one of the reasons I find the Japanese kitchen so special.

This weekend I decided to make Gyudon, a Japanese meal of beef strips simmered in wine, soy sauce and mirin, usually served at lunch. Yukiko tells me that Gyudon is normally accompanied by miso soup and pickles, but I served it with some steamed wild spinach and it was delicious. The meat had a touch of sweetness and a lightness on the palate which I especially enjoyed. An extra bonus was the fact that the dish did not call for a speck of fat! So, very friendly on the hips as well, which is never a bad thing.


Once again, I want to thank Yukiko for her thoughtfullness and generosity. We thouroughly enjoyed our Japanese meal!

Here's the recipe:

Gyudon
Serves 4

- 500g onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 200ml white
- 100ml water
- 500g thinly sliced beef strips
- 150ml soy sauce
- 150ml mirin
- 4 tbsps sugar
- cooked white rice and pickles, to serve

1. Bring the wine and water to the boil and add the beef. Allow it to simmer for a 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce, the mirin and the sugar. Cover and let this cook gently for a few more minutes.
3. Remove the lid, add the onions and let it cook for approximately 2-3 more minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
4. Serve over white rice and drizzle with a little of the cooking juices.

Going Bananas About Banana Muffins!

I'm very lucky to have access to a shop that sells all sorts of expats products, things that remind me of being back home, like Lifesavers for example, or Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. Every once in a while I head there and stock up on what I consider essentials- baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract and 00 flour. I usually come home with a lighter wallet because there's so much I can't resist. Last time I was there, I saw this amazing Italian porcini stock and fell in love with its very retro packaging! Baking products are especially hard to resist. Things like flavored baking chips and all sorts of extracts.

When I first got Nigella Express, there were two recipes that immediately caught my attention- the Banana Butterscotch Muffins and the Chocolate Mint Cookies. I desperately searched the above mentioned shop for both butterscotch chips and mint extract- to no avail. So when my my father (who lives in new Jersey) asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I didn't have to think twice. Not only did I get the chips and the extract, I also got some peanut butter chips and some cooking magazines! Very kind, indeed.

Last Sunday I finally decided to give the muffins a shot. I called in my little helper (Kirstie) and together we baked the moistest, most delectable muffins ever. And believe me, I'm not exaggerating! I thought Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins were my favorite, but these butterscotch babies have kicked the chocolate ones right out of their prime position!

I think this recipe is definitely one to try soon!

PS: Oh and good news! Last week I saw that my Dutch blog was mentioned in Elle Food's website (the Dutch one)! It was called "mouth-watering"!!


Here's the recipe:

Banana Butterscotch Muffins

3 very ripe bananas
125 ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
250g flour
100g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g butterscotch (or chocolate) morsels

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.
2. Mash the bananas and set aside.
3. Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs.
4. Put the flour, sugar, bicarb of soda and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the egg and oil mixture followed by the mashed bananas.
5. Fold in the butterscotch morsels and scoop into the prepared muffin tin.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Market Surprises

Wednesdays and Saturdays are much anticipated days for me. Why? Because on those days my city holds an enormous farmers' market! I love heading out bright and early, with my colorful (and very stylish) straw basket in hand, and my shopping list, which I almost always end up ignoring.

There's so much to love about the market. I love the way in which the fruit and vegetable stands reflect the seasons- bright green asparagus and peas in the spring, ripe, juicy peaches in the summer, gorgeous pumpkins in the fall and creamy yellow heads of chicory in the winter. Everyone is out and about and people are tasting everything from tiny bits of cheese to little rounds of sausage. There are stands selling Dutch treats such as stroopwafels, made right before your eyes and served warm and gooey in red and white checkered paper cases. Or thick- cut fries, salty, piping hot and crowned with a generous dollop of mayonnaise. Stall holders are shouting the sales over the hustle and bustle and everyone is trying to move about with baskets filled to the brim. I get such an immense feeling of pleasure being in the middle of all of this.

The best thing of course, is coming home and trying to decide what to make with all my beautiful finds. Last weekend for example, I couldn't help but notice the huge onions- hard and unblemished, and screaming to be turned into an elegant onion soup or a savory jam. I purchased a few kilos along with the rest of my vegetables and moved on to the cheese stand where the stall holder tempted me into buying three of the most creamiest pieces of Brie along with our weekly chunk of Dutch Boerenkaas. As I was paying, I noticed that they also had a few bright orange sections of Mimolette. How could I resist?

And today! My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw that the cheese stall was selling tubs of real crème fraîche! Not the pale, thin stuff they sell at the supermarket, but the real deal, all the way from Normandy, France's cream capital! I could hardly wait to get home and taste this stuff!

At lunchtime, I sort of gobbled down my sandwich, hardly able to contain myself. Dessert was going to be a little bowl of crème fraîche topped with a spoonful of preserved berries. As I opened the tub, I was amazed at how buttery and fluffy the cream looked. I dug into its perfect surface with the tip of my spoon and brought it to my lips. Fantastic! Velvety smooth with a slight tang. This stuff was sinful! Again, the market managed to surprise me. I immediately made a mental note to go back and thank the lady who sold me the cream.

So tonight we're in for a market day dinner. Yet another highlight of market day. I've already baked a crusty loaf of bread and will be serving that with some lentils accompanied by garlic sausages, a lemony chicory salad and for dessert, a vanilla scented pear clafoutis made (and served) with the real deal!

Cooking Class Treats

Even though my students and I discuss menus beforehand, I very much enjoy making a little something myself prior to a cooking class- as a surprise. Sometimes it's pretty simple, like a nice dip to go with chopped raw veggies, and sometimes it might be a little more elegant, perhaps a dessert to finish off the lesson on a sweet note. The element of surprise seems to be very much appreciated and I'm always very flattered when I end up writing the recipe for them to take home afterwards.
Last Friday I opted for a both simple and elegant dessert in the form of a delicately sweet pear tart. I came up with the recipe the night before and got busy on it early the next morning, hoping for the best and allowing myself some time for any little mishaps or full- blown kitchen disasters. I'm happy to report that the tart came out very much to my liking (and to my student's who ended up going home with a a few generous slices).
I made the tart using the "king of pears", the flavorful and very aromatic Doyenne du Comice- my absolute favorite. The custard was made with crème fraîche and spiked with a touch of rum for a little bit of a kick. Serve the tart cold to really enjoy its classic, clean flavor.

Here's the recipe:

Simple Yet Elegant Pear Tart
Serves 8

For the pastry: (enough for a 28cm tart pan)
*300g flour
*pinch of salt
*150g cold butter, cut into small squares
*1 egg yolk, whisked
*3-4 tbsps ice water
*2 tbsps bread crumbs

Put the flour, salt and butter in the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of the ice water and pulse again. Add the other two tablespoons of water, one by one, pulsing after each addition. The dough should come together after the third tablespoon has been added, but if that's not the case, add a little more water. Remove the dough from the bowl and gather it into a fat disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it for at least thirty minutes. Take it out of the fridge about five minutes before using it. Prepare a 28cm tart pan and roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle with a circumference of about 32cm and a thickness of about 3mm. Transfer the pastry to the prepared tart pan and refrigerate it again for thirty minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C and blind- bake the crust for 12 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for a further three minutes. Sprinkle the crust with the breadcrumbs and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

For the filing:
*550g Doyenne du Comice pears, about 2 large pears
*400ml crème fraîche
*2 eggs, whisked
*1 tsp ground cinnamon
*2 tbsps rum
*100g unrefined brown sugar

Preheat oven to 220C. Peel and core the pears and cut them in half. Cut each half into slices, not too thick and not too thin. Arrange the slices on the crust in a wheel pattern. Bake the pears in the crust for 10 minutes. Make the custard by beating the crème fraîche together with the eggs, the cinnamon, the rum and the sugar. Pour the custard over the pears, cover the pan loosely with tin foil and and bake it for a further 40 minutes. Remove the foil and allow the tart to bake 10 more minutes. Let the tart cool completely on a rack before serving. Best served chilled.

Comforting Food

Hi again, and happy 2008! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and that there was loads of good food on your table! May the new year bring you all the health, love, peace and happiness in the world! Unfortunately, our holiday didn't run quite as smooth as usual. My dear mother- in- law suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve and days later our beloved Siberian Husky suddenly became very ill. So, in a way, it was a very bittersweet season. One thing it made us all realize more than ever though is just how important family is. Although there were tears, there were also shoulders to cry on.

I did manage to cook some nice things- Nigella's Chocolate Fruitcake, my first stollen (inspired by Julie), bagels, a gorgeous ham and some cupcakes for Kirstie's school Christmas party. Although I did take a few pictures, they didn't seem to come out to my liking. Perhaps because life wasn't just right at the time. Anyhow, I'm glad the food worked out fine! My only kitchen disaster (miraculously enough) was Kirstie's birthday cake which ended up in the garbage bin. Thank goodness for her strong preference for store- bought profiteroles!

Yesterday I finally managed to really get my groove back and felt the urge to get creative in the kitchen again. On the way home from a day out in the city, I quickly scribbled a recipe for Comforting Creamy Mustard Chicken. It turned out really delicious- meltingly smooth with a hint of tang from the mustard, and oh-so- comforting! I served it with some noodles, a sprinkling of parsley and a glass of Mâcon Villages Chardonnay, also used in the dish. The meal was lovely, not only because of the food, but also because next to me was my beautiful little girl, happily eating along, and across the table from me was the most wonderful man in the world, making me laugh, snapping pictures of me (in my pyjamas, with no makeup!) and telling me how much he loved me.

Despite troubles, life is still good.

Here's my comforting recipe:

Comforting Creamy Mustard Chicken
Serves 4
*2 tbsps olive oil
*1 large shallot, finely chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, pressed
*800g chicken thigh meat, cut in rough chunks
*3/4 tbsp fleur de sel, or to taste
*freshly ground mixed pepper, to taste
*2 tbsps cognac
*350ml Mâcon Villages Chardonnay
*250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
*1 tsp dried tarragon
*1 tbsp Dijon mustard
*70ml single cream

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a heavy- bottomed casserole. Saute the shallot and garlic 5 minutes, making sure they don't brown. Add the other tbsp of the olive oil, turn up the heat and brown the chicken (seasoned with the salt and pepper) stirring continuously for about five minutes. Lower the heat, add the cognac and let it absorb, about 1 minute. Now add the wine, put the lid on the pan and let this simmer gently for 50 minutes, stirring now and then. After the 50 minutes, add the mushrooms, tarragon and mustard, turn up the heat and let it reduce uncovered, and stirring frequently, for about ten minutes. Take the pan off the heat, add the cream, stir well and serve over freshly cooked noodles.