Fennel develops a great flavor when it is braised slowly until it lightly caramelizes and becomes mushy, and it pairs well with fish. In this case I chose whiting, and used the heads and bones of the fish to make … Continue reading Risotto with Braised Fennel and Whiting
Smoked eel and celeriac go very well together, and I’ve already posted about risotto and pasta with this combination. Even more refined are these ravioli stuffed with a creamy filling of celeriac and smoked eel, and served with a creamy … Continue reading Smoked Eel and Celeriac Ravioli (Ravioli di Anguilla Affumicata e Sedano Rapa)
Sea scallops are one of my favorite foods. This quick and easy preparation makes them shine: they are pan-fried and then finished with a sauce of white wine, lemon, capers, and anchovies. The sauce is pretty hefty, but the scallops … Continue reading Scallops with Capers, Anchovies, Lemon, and Wine (Cape Sante in Padella)
This post was inspired by two of my blogging friends. The idea to use riso venere, black rice, came from ChgoJohn. Black risotto can be made in two ways: by using squid ink to make ordinary risotto black, or by using … Continue reading Black Risotto with Crab and Artichoke (Riso Venere con Granchio e Carciofi)
To celebrate a friend’s 20th birthday, I got him a vintage port from his birth year and an accompanying dinner. Since I know he loves blue cheese, it wasn’t difficult to decide what to prepare to go with the vintage … Continue reading Steak with Blue Cheese, Belgian Endive (Witlof) and Mushrooms
Calamarata is a pasta shape from southern Italy that looks like rings of calamari, and it is most often served with a seafood sauce. This fish ragù is very simple and can be prepared while the pasta cooks (provided that … Continue reading Calamarata al Ragù di Pesce (Pasta with Fish Ragù)
Recently we were on vacation in Cabo Verde, an archipelago off the coast of Senegal where the sun always shines. We were there for the weather, 25ºC/77ºF and sunny, not the food. There is an abundance of fresh fish, obviously, … Continue reading Seared Tuna: to Sous-Vide or Not to Sous-Vide
This pasta dish is quick and easy enough to serve for a weekday meal, and special and delicious enough for a dinner party. It takes less than half an hour to prepare, and only a few ingredients are required. The … Continue reading Fusilli with Smoked Eel and Celeriac
The first time I made Red Snapper Veracruz, I used the last of the pickled jalapeños that Richard had sent over. The Veracruz was so outstandingly good that I wanted to make it again, and so I had to make … Continue reading Jalapeños en Escabeche (Pickled Jalapeños)
These tartlets are a new side dish that I invented because I wanted to prepare something with cavolo nero (black cabbage), the Tuscan cousin of kale. Since cavolo nero is a typical ingredient from Tuscany, I chose to combine it … Continue reading Kale and Chestnut Tartlets (Sformatini di Cavolo Nero e Castagne)
I dedicate this post to Richard and his Baby Lady, as they did not only inspire me to create this dish, but also taught me the techniques as well as donated the chiles used. And I also think they’d enjoy … Continue reading Chile Ancho Relleno (Ancho Stuffed with Pork)
When I saw this original way to prepare zucchini as a side dish on the blog of my Italian blogging friend Bea, I knew I had to try it. I’m glad that I did, because it is absolutely wonderful. Zucchini … Continue reading How to Turn Zucchini into a Wonderful Side Dish (Contorno di Zucchine)
Quail legs are a perfect snack to serve at a party. When they are cooked right (sous-vide first to make them tender and then finished under the broiler to enhance the flavor and add some crisp) they are unbelievably delicious, … Continue reading Quail Legs Sous-Vide: The Perfect Cocktail Snack
A piadina (plural: piadine) is a flatbread made from flour, lard, and milk or water, stuffed with salumi (prosciutto, mortadella, etc.), cheese and vegetables (such as arugula and tomatoes) and then toasted, from the region of Romagna. If you can find squacquerone, … Continue reading Piadina Romagnola
This was the secondo of our Christmas dinner — yes I am running behind a little in posting as I also still have to post the primo — loin of hare with a sauce of port and amarena cherries and brussel sprouts with … Continue reading Hare Loin with Brussels Sprouts
Tenderloin, prized for its tenderness, is an expensive cut of beef. A tenderloin tapers towards one end, and the ‘tip’ of the tenderloin is not suitable for tournedos or châteaubriand. Tenderloin tips are therefore available at about half the regular … Continue reading How to Save 50% on Beef Tenderloin
Since I had some lovely homemade sausage, I thought it was time to try another Italian classic: ravioli filled with sausage and potato. Another version of sausage ravioli is with ricotta and spinach, the Bartolini version. As I wanted the … Continue reading Sausage and Potato Ravioli (Ravioli di Salsiccia e Patate)
For Christmas I got a meat grinding attachment for my stand mixer, and so I can finally make my own salsiccia. Italian pork sausage (salsiccia) is an important ingredient for many Italian primi piatti, like risotto al barolo con salsiccia, malloreddus alla … Continue reading Homemade Italian Pork Sausage (Salsiccia Fatta in Casa)
This is the antipasto I prepared for our Christmas dinner. It was inspired by a dish we had at Devero** in Italy in June. This was what the dish at Devero looked like and what I wrote about it in my review: … Continue reading Scallops, Chicken, Bergamot
They say crocodile tastes like chicken, but I had never tried it myself to confirm. When I saw frozen crocodile tail fillet on sale (still not cheap by the way at 60 euros/kilo or US$ 32.50/lb), I remembered reading a … Continue reading Crocodile Sous-Vide with a Root Vegetable ‘Swamp’
I’ve had a tabletop smoker for hot smoking for years and I use it often, for instance to make hot-smoked salmon or hot-smoked scallops, or to smoke a brisket or a ham hock before cooking it sous-vide. Such a smoker … Continue reading Cold Smoked Salmon
Sometimes I get a request from a reader that leads me to discovering a new dish. For instance malloreddus pasta with fennel and sausage, now one of my favorite pasta dishes. This time it was Himeros who requested my take … Continue reading Gnudi (Basil Ricotta Dumplings)
Our favorite dish during our recent dinner at Inter Scaldes was the caviar with corn and oxtail. I liked the combination of corn and caviar so much, that I made something inspired by the dish at Inter Scaldes (certainly not … Continue reading Caviar with Corn
After four years of cooking sous-vide, the longest cook I had done was still 72 hours. So far I had not encountered a cut of meat that required more. Then I read about oxtail sous-vide, cooked 100 hours at 60ºC/140ºF, and … Continue reading Oxtail Cooked Sous-vide For 100 Hours
Cannoli are Sicilian tubes of deep-fried pastry stuffed with sweetened sheep’s milk ricotta. Traditionally they were prepared for carnevale, but nowadays they are prepared year round and not just in Sicily. The stuffing can be enriched with chocolate chips, candied fruit, … Continue reading Cannoli
Are you looking for an original dish to serve for Christmas that is tasty, not too difficult, but different from anything you’ve ever had for Christmas before? Then this might just be it! You need to be able to source … Continue reading Salsify à la Clayton with Duck
For yesterday’s post with tips for making homemade ravioli I needed some photos, and prepared a filling with duck and orange. First I braised duck legs in orange juice with the ‘holy trinity’ of onion, carrot, and celery as well … Continue reading Duck Orange Ravioli (Ravioli d’Anatra e Arancia)
Making risotto the traditional way, adding stock by the ladle and stirring all the time, takes me about 35 minutes from the moment I start sweating the onion to serving. We love risotto and I usually prepare it once a … Continue reading Is Pressure Cooking a Better Way to Prepare Risotto?
Kibbeling is one of the most popular Dutch fish snacks. The name has been derived from kabeljauwwang (cod cheek), although nowadays a lot of kibbeling is no longer made from actual cod cheeks but from other pieces of cod, hake, or haddock. When I … Continue reading Kibbeling (Fried Cod Cheeks)
This somewhat eclectic dish came about when Teun and I were playing in the kitchen and decided to get some inspiration from the Plated Dishes volume of Modernist Cuisine. More and more I am getting the impression that these dishes … Continue reading Fusion Risotto with Oysters, Salsify and Avocado
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