The Start of The Holiday Season: Holiday Recipe #1: Festive Cornbread

As usual, we celebrated Thanksgiving a little late this year. It isn't a national holiday in the Netherlands and no one has the day off, so it's always better to postpone it a day or two and celebrate it either on Friday or Saturday. This year it was celebrated on Friday. I didn't make it into a big affair and instead kept it very simple. Just my family, my best friend and my daughter's friend. We had the usual dinner which included one of the best turkeys I've ever had, thanks to Kingsalmarkt and plenty of butter. After all these years, I finally learned that the secret to an excellent turkey is butter, lots and lots of it, smeared over every inch and even stuffed up its cavity. 
The food was great and for us, it was certainly the start of the holiday season. There was Christmas music and after dinner we all snuggled up on the couch to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Since then, I have been very much inspired and my head is just bursting with all sorts of easy and delicious holiday recipes, which of course, I will be sharing with you during the coming weeks. There's nothing quite like this time of year to bring out the chefs in all of us. 
The first recipe I will be sharing with you is my festive cornbread. You'll love the sweet touch provided by a little mandarin zest and juice, while the cranberries add a burst of taste and color. Enjoy it for breakfast with a pat of butter or serve it as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea - or why not?- some mulled wine!


Festive Cornbread

makes 10-12 slices

100g all-purpose flour
150g polenta flour
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 large mandarin, rind and juice (you’ll need 50ml)
100g dried cranberries
100 ml full-fat yogurt
80ml full fat-milk
2 eggs
75g sugar
150 g melted butter, cooled

Preheat the oven to 200C and line a rectangular cake tin with baking paper. Combine the flour, polenta, baking powder and pinch of salt in a large bowl. Stir in the mandarin rind and the cranberries. In a jug, whisk the mandarin juice (if one mandarin isn’t enough, use another one), yogurt, milk, eggs, sugar and melted butter. Carefully stir the wet ingredients through the dry. Pour the batter in the prepared cake tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin, on a wire rack, before cutting.

No-Fuss Holidays

The holidays are just around the corner, which means that many of us will be in a frantic stress mode. What to buy? What to wear? Where to go? What to cook? I am no exception, although I really try to make an art of carefully planning my holiday preparations. Especially considering the fact that in my case, the month of December brings four big events- Sinterklaas, Christmas, New Year's Eve and Kirstie's birthday!

For the sake of my sanity, I start by buying my presents months ahead. It sure beats the holiday rush and keeps me away from those crowded stores. I also am very much a homebody at this time of year and prefer to have Christmas dinner in my pyjamas with hubby and daughter instead of at a table filled with people I hardly know or rarely see. 

When I do entertain, I try to keep things as simple as possible and go for recipes that hardly require any brainwork. Hearty stews I can make a day ahead, a roast chicken (love the fat Dutch Kemper Landhoen chickens) or maybe even an easy oven dish, like a cottage pie. I rarely go for a multi-course dinner affair and prefer to serve these kind of dishes alone, family-style and with just a bottle of good wine as the only accompaniment. 

If I am in the mood to serve a starter, my goat's cheese tarts are one of my favorite choices. It just doesn't get any easier than this! Here's the recipe, with a video, which is in Dutch, but I'm sure even that doesn't make the dish any more complicated! 

Goat's Cheese Tarts

for 1 tart (multiply as needed)

1 small square sheet of puff pastry

1 slice of bacon

1 tsp onion confit

1 heaped tsp of soft goat's cheese

torn sage leaves

beaten egg, to glaze

salad and vincotto or balsamic syrup, to serve

Preheat your oven to 220C, line a baking tray with baking paper and place the puff pastry on the lined tray. Place the bacon on the pastry and follow with the onion confit, the goat's cheese and the sage. Fold each corner of the pastry towards the center, brush with the beaten egg and bake for approximately 12 minutes or until crisp and golden. Place a little salad on a plate, drizzle with the vincotto and top with a warm tart. I love this little dish with a nice, dry sauvignon blanc or a crisp sancerre.

Fun Weekend for Two

This weekend Kirstie slept over a friend's house so hubby and I decided to spoil ourselves a little bit. Something we really needed after a week of hard, but fulfilling work.
Our first stop was dinner at Hemel op aarde (or Heaven on Earth), one of our favorite local restaurants. It was rather quiet that Friday evening, but we didn't mind. The food was good and the company even better. We ordered a nice bottle of wine and enjoyed a lovely meal while discussing plans about the future and talking about all the little things husbands and wives talk about.
One of the plans made that evening, was to visit Haarlem the next day. We had been there just a few days earlier on an assignment but since it was work, we really didn't get much of a chance to wander around at our leisure. This time though, we felt like we had all the time in the world. The sun was shining, it wasn't as cold and there was even a market in the town square. I love markets so it was a real treat to be there on that day. We grabbed some croissants from one of the bakers and took our time checking out what was on offer.
After that, we walked through some of the shopping streets and came across a window where the book I collaborated on was being displayed. It gave me a little shot of joy. I'm secretly hoping this will be one of many!

Sinterklaas and Christmas are just weeks away, so there was somewhat of a festive atmosphere in the city. We didn't do any holiday shopping though, but after a lot of walking, we did grab a bite and a glass of wine at Grand Cafe Doria. Our hot meal of Dutch krokets filled with beef ragout and thick-cut fries was devoured outside, under heating lamps, of course!

After lunch, we checked out some museums. One of them, the Archeologisch Museum, was especially interesting. We marveled at the wide variety of fascinating artifacts gathered after excavations throughout the city. Prehistoric spearheads and coins, jewelry and clothing from the 15th century, tableware from the 17th century, a helmet left over from the Spanish Inquisition and even, get ready for this...a piece of human excrement!

It was a fun day out for both of us. We look forward to going back with Kirstie and showing her around the city. She's been there before, in fact many times, but only in diapers! Time to change that!

Dutch Delight: Gevulde Speculaas

I was in Haarlem for a photoshoot yesterday as part of an assignment for a Canadian magazine. We've been to Haarlem in the past many, many times. In fact, it was more or less our Saturday hang-out for quite a while. I really enjoyed going back to the city yesterday, even though it was absolutely freezing outside! We spent a good three hours photographing some of the best sites (and there are a lot!), so at a certain point, both of us could no longer feel our feet! But that was definitely the only thing to complain about.
Haarlem has a charm, a certain friendliness and warmth which really makes it a wonderful place to visit. Personally, I will always associate Haarlem with two things: our family trips and the excursions we took there when I was studying Dutch Culture and Art at Leiden University. I still remember walking through the city and listening to the stories told by one of my favorite professors, Dr. Marion Boers. She spoke about the art and history of the city with such passion and told us many a charming story about the hofjes (hidden almshouses) scattered all throughout the city. We took many excursions around the Netherlands back then, but Haarlem was one of my favorite places to enjoy both academically and touristically.
Even though my heart is French, I felt a great sense of pride and happiness when I was walking through the streets of Haarlem yesterday. How lucky am I to live in such a fabulous European country as the Netherlands! The beautiful Renaissance architecture of some of Haarlem's buildings and the city's old-world charm, reminded me once again why I decided to pursue an education completely devoted to the Dutch language and culture. And because I needed to celebrate that, and share my enthusiasm with you, I decided to bake a treat that is very Dutch and very typical for this time of year -- gevulde speculaas. These thick, soft Dutch spice bars are filled with sweetened almond paste and topped with a scattering of almond slivers. They make the house smell absolutely divine and they are child's play to make.
Eet smakelijk!


Gevulde Speculaas
Makes 16 spice bars

For the cookie layer:
300g all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
pinch of salt
175g soft butter
2 tbsps Dutch koekkruiden (pumpkin pie spices)
75g raw cane sugar
80g dark brown sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 tbsps full-fat milk
For the filling:
300g amandelspijs (almond paste) cut in large cubes
1 tbsps sweet liqueur of choice, I used butterscotch but amaretto would be fab too
one whisked egg
a scattering of almond slivers
To brush over the dough:
one whisked egg


Put all of the ingredients for the cookie layer in the food processor and pulse until the dough comes together. Remove the dough from the processor and shape it into two fat disks. Wrap them in cling film and refrigerate them for at least three hours. Clean out your processor bowl and pulse the almond paste cubes, the egg and the liqueur until it becomes soft and creamy. Wrap the paste and also refrigerate for at least three hours.
Take the cookie dough and the paste out of the fridge half an hour before you want to bake the bars. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a square 20x20 cm baking pan with baking paper. Roll out half of the dough and fit it into the baking pan. Spread the filling over the dough, roll out the second disk of dough, place it over the filling and tuck it around the edges. Brush the top of the dough with the whisked egg, gently carve a checkered pattern on the dough, making sure not to carve all the way through the first layer. Scatter with the almond slivers and pop in the oven for 35-40 minutes. Check ten minutes before the end of the cooking time and cover the speculaas with foil if it is getting too brown. Allow to cool briefly, finish cutting into squares and serve!

Ultimate Chicken Pie

Baby, it's finally getting cold out there! This morning it was a mere 4C and I could definitely feel the chill tear through my coat and go straight to my bones. Granted, I am a royal wimp when it comes to cold temperatures, but if the predictions for the upcoming winter are right and this is just the beginning, I don't think I'll make it without buying some sort of eskimo suit. Perhaps I'm better off pretending to be a bear and happily hibernating in my house until the springtime arrives.
Even though I am not much of a 'winter person' (Christmas excluded, I can't get enough of Christmas!), I love the comfort food that comes with the colder months. In a cheeky way, it feels as though the 'r' in the month is my greedy ticket to ride. The perfect excuse to eat everything that's seductively rich and not feel an ounce of guilt for doing so!
Perhaps one of my most-loved comfort foods is the very down-to-earth yet very delicious chicken pie. I love a good, creamy chicken pie. One with tender mushrooms, a little mustard and a delicate blanket of golden pastry haphazardly tucked over the filling so that some of it temptingly drips down its edges. It's the kind of meal that I long for on those dark, gloomy nights when the summer seems cruelly far away.
Here's my ultimate chicken pie recipe, which feels like a warm cuddle on a cold, wintery night. Enjoy!


Ultimate Chicken Pie
Serves 4

1 tbsp mild olive oil
knob of butter
4 chicken breasts, sliced
1 leek, cleaned and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp flour
250g mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsps creme fraiche
100ml white wine
200ml chicken stock
few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
2 tsps Dijon mustard
275g ready-made puffed pastry
1 egg, lightly whisked

Preheat the oven to 200C. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, season and cook, for 4-5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic and flour and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the creme fraiche, stir in the wine and let it reduce a bit. Add the stock and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the thyme and mustard and cook for 5 more minutes. Spoon into a pie dish. Unroll the pastry on a floured surface and roll it out just a little more. Round off the corners to trim into an oval shape. Tuck the pastry all around the edges of the pie. Do this inside the pie, not over it. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it’s a rustic pie!  Slash the surface of the pie with the point of a knife and brush with the whisked egg. Place the pie in the oven and allow it to bake for 30 minutes. It might be a wise idea to line the bottom of your oven with foil in case of any drippings from the pie. Serve and swoon!

Cinnamon Buns

I had a craving last week that was pretty much driving me insane. Two words: cinnamon buns. There was nothing I wanted more than a warm, fragrant cinnamon bun. A big, fat one. Glazed, of course. The only problem was that the craving hit at around 10PM. No yeast in the house, no raisins and no shops open in the neighborhood to run to. I had no choice but to go to bed dreaming of the buns I would be making the next morning.
For me, baking up a batch of cinnamon buns has a certain 'forbidden fruit' factor. The thing with them is that they're too darn irresistible. If I make cinnamon buns, I can't just make one, which pretty much means that I will undoubtedly be tempted to eat way more than I should. And no, they don't sell proper cinnamon buns here, so it's not like I can go buy one, satisfy my craving and move on. But I'm all for being naughty and I am a firm believer in the philosophy behind life is to short...
The next morning I get to the shops, buy my ingredients and start working some cinnamony magic. I knead the soft, aromatic dough and patiently wait for it to rise. Then I roll it out and fill it with a mix of raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon. Little buns are formed by rolling the dough into a long sausage and then cutting it into even pieces. More rising time and I'm getting more and more impatient, especially when the buns go in the oven and their scent teases me without mercy. But the reward is sweet. Make them and tell me if you agree...

Cinnamon Buns
Approximately 16 buns

For the dough:
225 ml full- fat milk
80g butter
1 ½  tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
550g flour, plus extra for the kneading and rolling
2 ½ tsps active dry yeast
80g caster sugar
½  tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
For the filling:
40g melted butter
100g light brown sugar
100g raisins
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
For the glaze:
70g icing sugar
2 tsps boiling water

In a small pan, heat the milk and the butter until the butter is melted. Take the pan off the heat, add the vanilla and let cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the beaten eggs. In a big bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the cooled milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well with a floured wooden spoon. Flour your hands and dig into the bowl, kneading the dough inside the bowl. The dough will be sticky, so keep your hands well- floured! Of course, you can also do it the easy way and use a standing mixer, like a Kitchen Aid. Transfer the dough to a well- floured surface and knead it there for a further five minutes if you're doing it by hand, and an extra minute if your dough was kneaded with a machine. Sprinkle the dough with more flour as necessary. Form the dough into a ball. Wash out your bowl and rinse it with hot water, dry it and sprinkle some flour both in the bowl and on your dough. Return the dough to the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea cloth. Set the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise for 2 hours. Punch down your dough and knead it on a floured surface for about a minute. Roll it out to a rectangle of about 27 X 40cm. Brush half of the melted butter over the whole surface of the dough. Make the topping by combining the sugar, raisins and cinnamon in a small bowl. Divide this mixture over the buttered dough. Roll the dough from the long side and slice it into 16 even pieces. Line a 26 X 37 rectangular baking tin with baking paper (leaving a little hanging over the edge) and place the buns in the pan. Brush the buns with the remaining butter. Cover the tin with plastic wrap and the tea towel. Allow the buns to rise for additional 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C. Pop the cinnamon rolls in the oven for 30 minutes. Check half way through to see if they are not getting too brown. Cover wth foil if necessary! Set the tin on a rack to cool slightly. Remove the rolls from the baking tin by lifting them up with the baking paper. Make the glaze by whisking the sugar with the water. Drizzle the glaze over the buns. Enjoy!

Candy Apple Muffins for the Kid in You

On gray days, there's nothing like staying inside and spending your free time cooking frivoulous things. Like muffins. For some reason, I've always associated baking muffins with a return to childhood innocence. More so than cookies. Cookies can be very grown up (I've made olive oil and dark chocolate cookies which are meant to be enjoyed with port), but muffins are food for the kid inside of me- and there's still quite a lot of that!
I wanted to bake some muffins yesterday and decided to look to the season for inspiration. It didn't take long to figure out I wanted to make them with apples. Apple muffins are for the autumn what strawberry shortcake is for the summer. But what to throw in along with those apples? Aha! One look in the pantry and the deal was settled. I was finally going to use that bag of butterscotch chips my parents had sent me last year from the States.
What can I tell you except that these muffins are blooming brilliant! And I know that sounds rather big-headed, considering they are my own muffins, but  how else can I describe them? They tasted like the candy apples we made at grade school every year between Halloween and Thanksgiving. One bite and I was suddenly that pig-tailed girl playing hopscotch and trading Bazooka Joe comics.
Try them, I double dare you...

Candy Apple Muffins
Makes 12

250g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped
200g butterscotch chips
80ml full-fat milk
2 eggs
200g sweetened applesauce
2 tsps vanilla extract
100g light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 200C and line a muffin tin with liners or butter and flour it. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Add the apples and the butterscotch chips and stir well with a wooden spoon. In a jug, whisk the milk, eggs, applesauce, vanilla extract and light brown sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently fold. Fill the muffin tin with the batter and pop in the oven for about 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack. Eat them with a glass of milk...

Cooking with Jamie

I'm a huge Jamie Oliver fan, and I'm a Francophile, so when the Dutch Jamie Magazine announced they were having a cookalong to go with the French chapter of his book Jamie Does, I simply had to join in. And not with one recipe, but with seven. For a whole week, I tried one Jamie recipe a day. From hearty autumn salads to his chunky pork terrine.
I had written about the book for the Dutch site Ze.nl earlier this year, but I had not gotten around to cooking anything from the French chapter. Mainly because I found those recipes (pumpkin pie, gratin, rustic salads, terrine) more fit for the cooler months. I did, however, make some recipes from the Greek chapter, like his souvlaki with tzatziki, which was an amazing meal for two on a sultry summer evening.
Just as I expected, the French chapter had some fab recipes which were really a pleasure to cook. My favorites were probably the courgette and rice gratin (transported me to an auberge in the French countryside!) and the roquefort salad. The warm quail salad was kind of a flop, but I'm pretty sure that had nothing to do with the recipe but rather with the old and tough quails I was unfortunate enough to take home. I also learned some new things, like how to make my first terrine!
If you don't have the book, it's definitely one to add to your collection. No one can take you on a taste adventure like Jamie can!
PS: My roquefort salad got published on the Dutch Jamie Magazine website! Pretty cool, no?