Tag: cooking

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)5 Comments

BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

StefanGourmet

I like to BBQ under two conditions: (1) using charcoal instead of gas and (2) marinating the meat yourself (or by a reputable butcher). Using charcoal makes for a much hotter grill that enables you to cook food with a crispy outside and a juicy inside and a real smoky BBQ flavor. Pre-marinated meat is usually low-quality meat with a marinade that overpowers the taste of the meat. Pre-cooking the meat sous-vide is not a requirement but certainly a good idea, as it makes for more tender meat, easier BBQ’ing (it is always cooked perfectly as soon as the outside … Continue reading BBQ’ed Lamb skewers with Balsamic (served on a Pink Piano)

Cooking9 Comments

‘Greek’ Pasta Salad

StefanGourmet

Pasta salad is great to bring to a BBQ or other ‘bring your own food’ event, since you can load it with veggies, it’s easy to keep (even outside of the fridge for a bit) and most people like it. I’m calling this ‘Greek’ since I’m not claiming this is in any way authentically Greek, but it has been inspired by using typical Greek ingredients such as oregano, olives, bell peppers and feta cheese. I brought this to a BBQ the other day and it vanished within a few minutes. With the general instructions for pasta salad given below, you … Continue reading ‘Greek’ Pasta Salad

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)10 Comments

Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

StefanGourmet

I picked up some more roe deer venison, which is still in season in the Netherlands, and created this ‘Italian style’ dish that is not an existing dish that I know of. You could also use regular venison or even veal or beef for this, but venison makes it just that bit more special. You can cook the involtini sous-vide or in the oven. Ingredients For 2 generous or 3 normal servings 400 grams (0.9 lbs) fillet of roe deer venison or regular venison 50 grams (2 oz) pancetta, chopped 25 grams (1 oz) dried porcini mushrooms 2 cloves garlic, … Continue reading Stuffed fillet of Venison (Involtini di Capriolo)

4. Dolci (dessert)12 Comments

Strawberry Cake

StefanGourmet

We have a group of young friends that we like to have over for dinner because they know how to enjoy good food and wine and like to learn about it. Recently 8 of them came over for a do-it-yourself dinner party, where everyone was helping with the shopping, cooking, etc. and we had a great time. You can imagine it was a bit chaotic, so I don’t have photos of everything. We started with home-made sushi and sashimi, of which I don’t have enough photos to blog about. So we’ll leave that for another time. Then we made home-made … Continue reading Strawberry Cake

1. Antipasti (appetizers)13 Comments

Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

StefanGourmet

Insalata Caprese is almost too simple to blog about, but I do have some interesting tips to provide. At the risk of writing the same thing over and over, this dish is a classic example of Italian cuisine that relies completely on the quality of the ingredients. Use the best flavorful ripe tomatoes you can find, fresh fragrant basil, the best extra virgin olive oil you can afford, and last but not least the best mozzarella you can afford (and find!), preferably buffalo mozzarella. Real fresh buffalo mozzarella is very hard to find outside of Campania, the region around Naples … Continue reading Insalata Caprese, how to improve the taste of Mozzarella

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)8 Comments

Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

StefanGourmet

This is an elegant seafood pasta that I like to prepare. As always, the quality of the ingredients means a great deal. I used fresh scampi, but you could also substitute with jumbo shrimp as long as they are ‘wild caught’ and have the heads and shells to make some wonderful shrimp stock. Frozen scampi or shrimp are also fine, but the scallops must be fresh (since frozen scallops release too much water when you try to sauté them). The delicate flavors of scallops and scampi or shrimp go well with fresh tomatoes, zucchini and basil and just a tiny … Continue reading Linguine with Scampi, Scallops, Zucchini and fresh Tomatoes

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)14 Comments

Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Ossobuco is a classic Italian dish from Milan that most people know as veal shanks braised in tomato sauce. Originally, the veal shanks were actually braised in veal stock with just a hint of tomato. I like this classic version, because it gives a meatier flavor. With sous-vide cooking, you could braise the veal shanks at a lower temperature to obtain a different texture. This time, I’ve used Modernist Cuisine’s recommendation for veal shanks, which is 72 hours at 62C/144F. The meat comes out with a classic flaky structure and is very flavorful but just a bit dryish, and that’s … Continue reading Classic Ossobuco alla Milanese sous-vide

Cooking48 Comments

Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

StefanGourmet

I’ve blogged before about Modernist Cuisine, the amazing set of books by Nathan Myhrvold et al. On pages 2-26 and 2-27 they explain how to “make your electric broiler perform like a wood-fired oven” to make pizza. I was intrigued by this, as I’ve been trying to bake proper pizza in my domestic oven for years and have had only moderate success. The problem is that, even though my oven can be heated to a pretty high temperature of 300C/575F, the pizza takes 10 minutes or more to bake and the crust will then be chewy rather than crispy on … Continue reading Real Pizza in a domestic oven using an Aluminum plate

General6 Comments

10,000 views and a second chance for early posts

StefanGourmet

According to WordPress statistics, as of today this blog has been viewed 10,000 times since it started almost 7 months ago. It’s great to see that the average number of daily views has gone up from 12 in December to 99 so far in June. I looked at the stats and noticed that some of my earlier posts still have a very low number of views and no likes, even though some of my best recipes are among them. To celebrate 10,000 views, I’m giving the best of my earlier posts a second chance. All these posts have no likes … Continue reading 10,000 views and a second chance for early posts

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)5 Comments

Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

StefanGourmet

I was intrigued by this recipe by Pasta Princess since it involves flambéing the shrimp, and decided to make my own version with some alterations. As far as I’ve been able to find out by googling, Fra Diavolo is a recipe that is typical of the Italian kitchen in the United States. Nevertheless I tried to make this recipe like I believe it might be made in Italy. I like Pasta Princess’ suggestion to serve this over home-made pesto fettucine, but since I made this after work and didn’t have time to make fresh pasta, I used linguine as this type is … Continue reading Linguine ai gamberoni alla Fra Diavolo (Linguine with flambeed shrimp, garlic and chile pepper)

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)17 Comments

Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

StefanGourmet

The inspiration for this risotto came from our wonderful dinner at De Librije, where the sea scallops with veal marrow, black garlic and a smoky jus of roasted celeriac was one of our favorite dishes. This is by no means my version of the same dish, I mainly used the idea of pairing scallops with smoky celeriac. At De Librije the dish was paired with a white burgundy from Cotes-de-Nuits, and I also happened to have one bottle of a white Cotes-de-Nuits 2006 left so we drank that with it (and I also used one glass for the risotto). Ingredients … Continue reading Smoked Celeriac Risotto with Scallops

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)11 Comments

Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

StefanGourmet

Emmy Cooks blogged recently about “an automatic bond among people who spend the day in serious contemplation of what to eat next”. When I read that, I realised that I am such a person, too. I also realised that I also feel this bond with my fellow food bloggers out there, even without ever having met them yet. I don’t think about food all day, but I do care a lot about what I eat and make an effort to eat well as often as is pratical. I think this is only logical as I believe that food is something to enjoy … Continue reading Penne with Asparagus and Goat cheese

Secondi di Pesce (fish dishes)8 Comments

Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

StefanGourmet

Sea bream cooked in a salt crust is a great way to prepare this lovely fish that is used all around the Mediterranean, including Spain, France and Italy. I had tried to make this once many years ago, but it got too salty. A few weeks ago I was telling my Italian friend about this experience while the waiter at the restaurant in Luguria where we were having dinner was filleting the orata al sale. He had overheard our conversation and said that I should try it again because it is very easy if you leave the scales on, dry the fish carefully, … Continue reading Sea bream in salt (Orata al sale)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)12 Comments

Pork Belly sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Next to beef short ribs, pork belly is a meat that is often mentioned on eGullet as a favorite for sous-vide. I usually don’t eat pork belly, but I thought I’d give it a try and was not disappointed! Modernist Cuisine gives 60C/140F and 65C/149F, both for 72 hours, as ‘best bets’ for pork belly sous-vide. I tried both, and liked 60C/140F much better because it is as tender as 65C/149F, but much more juicy (the 65C/149F was really dry). Please note that at this temperature the fat doesn’t render, so you end up with layers of tender meat and … Continue reading Pork Belly sous-vide

Asian cuisine6 Comments

Chicken Ramen sous-vide

StefanGourmet

Since it’s K.’s birthday today, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about a recipe from her blog $35 a week that I tried. Thanks for the recipe and happy birthday! The recipe she used asks for a slowcooker, so I couldn’t resist to use sous-vide instead. I had never made ramen myself before. The chicken came out very juicy and tender and I was happy with the overall result. I do wonder whether you actually need a slowcooker (or sous-vide setup) to make something just as good, so that’s something to try next time. I’ll just sauté the chicken … Continue reading Chicken Ramen sous-vide

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)6 Comments

Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

StefanGourmet

I was at the supermarket deliberating what I was going to make for dinner and noticed a bunch of radishes. I don’t eat many radishes and when I do, I usually eat them raw. But I remembered reading somewhere on a blog (don’t remember which one, might have been Emmy’s) that you can also eat the leaves and so I decided to make pasta with radishes. I turned out quite nice and was definitely something different. Cooking takes the edge off the radishes sharp taste. I might add pancetta next time or something else to complete the taste profile, but … Continue reading Pasta with Radishes (Orecchiette ai Ravanelli)

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)9 Comments

Boeuf Bourguignon à la Conor

StefanGourmet

I had not made Boeuf Bourguignon in a long time, but was inspired by Conor’s post to make it again. As Conor rightly points out, there is no such thing as an official recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon. The only mandatory ingredients are beef (boeuf is indeed French for beef…) and red Burgundy wine. Conor’s recipe looked OK and since he seems to know what he’s writing about I decided to follow his recipe, including using pancetta even though that’s not very French (but I like pancetta better than bacon). I was not disappointed because it turned out delicious and my husband … Continue reading Boeuf Bourguignon à la Conor

4. Dolci (dessert)6 Comments

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

StefanGourmet

I decided to make Emmy Cooks’ strawberry frozen yogurt when my parents came over for dinner, as I remember my mom loved frozen yogurt when we visited the US together back in 1991. I substituted the kirsch with 12-year-old balsamic vinegar and some of the sugar with honey. Thanks Emmy for the idea! This dessert was part of the following dinner: Antipasto: Octopus carpaccio; wine pairing: Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva 2006 Primo: Jerusalem Artichoke risotto; same wine Secondo: Roe deer venison with roe deer jus and roasted green asparagus; wine pairing Elio Grasso Barolo Vigna Chiniera 1998 Dolce: … Continue reading Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)35 Comments

Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

StefanGourmet

One of the tastiest and most prized types of game is venison from roe deer. A roe deer (Dutch: ree, French:  chevreuil, German: Reh, Italian: capriolo) is a small species of deer that is very picky about its food. If you cannot find roe deer, you can substitute with regular venison. I recently bought a nice back of roe deer venison, part of which I turned into carpaccio and the rest I served like this. The nice thing about buying the whole back was that I also had bones to make a great jus. By cooking the venison sous-vide, you can serve … Continue reading Roe Deer Venison sous-vide with Roe Deer Jus

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

StefanGourmet

Octopus can be very tough and bland, but when you cook it sous-vide it will be tender and flavorful. I wrote about sous-vide octopus (Insalata di Polpo) before, but since octopus sous-vide is so good and I saw a nice idea on GialloZafferano that enables you to slice the octopus more thinly, I decided to write about it some more. The photos on GZ suggest that you can actually get slices of octopus ‘sausage’, but since there is no ‘glue’ to hold them together that doesn’t happen and the slices fall apart. It still looks great, and the thin slices make the … Continue reading Carpaccio of Sous-vide Octopus (Carpaccio di Polpo)

1. Antipasti (appetizers)12 Comments

Hot-smoked Scallops (Coquilles St. Jacques)

StefanGourmet

I remember very well the first time I tasted a scallop, which was at the christmas party of PricewaterhouseCoopers (one of my first employers) in 1998 as an hors d’oeuvre. Scallops, also known as Coquilles St. Jacques, are perfect as a hors d’oeuvre because they taste fantastic and are exactly the right size. I didn’t know what they were, but liked them straight away and they have been one of my favorite foods ever since. Although I had never heard of hot-smoked scallops, I thought it would work well and so I tried it and found out that it works … Continue reading Hot-smoked Scallops (Coquilles St. Jacques)

4. Dolci (dessert)8 Comments

Home-made Vanilla Ice-cream to end a wonderful dinner party

StefanGourmet

So far I’ve been blogging mostly about single dishes, and I thought it would be nice to share with you also how I combine those dishes into a full menu. As I explained on this page, a full Italian menu consists of four courses. I like to pair wines with that as well. We had a special visitor from Australia over for dinner, so I wanted to spoil him with something nice. We had: Antipasto: Roe deer carpaccio with herb salad with a 2008 red Sancerre Raimbault Primo: Scallop and parsnip ravioli with a 2005 Chassagne-Montrachet (that was unfortunately already … Continue reading Home-made Vanilla Ice-cream to end a wonderful dinner party

1. Antipasti (appetizers)11 Comments

Roe Deer Carpaccio with Herb Salad

StefanGourmet

Warning: stop reading this post now if you are a big fan of Bambi. One of the tastiest and most prized types of game is venison from roe deer. A roe deer (Dutch: ree, French:  chevreuil, German: Reh, Italian: capriolo) is a small species of deer that is very picky about its food. It only eats the nicest leaves in the forest, and that’s why it tastes so damn good! The taste is so good in fact that my favorite way of eating roe deer is raw as carpaccio. Unlike other game like regular deer (venison), or wild boar, roe … Continue reading Roe Deer Carpaccio with Herb Salad

Contorni (side dishes)4 Comments

BBQ’ed green Asparagus

StefanGourmet

It is asparagus season in the Netherlands, and the vast majority of asparagus here is harvested as white asparagus. Green asparagus are available year-round, imported from South America. Sometimes local green asparagus are available. Since they didn’t have to travel as much, they are fresher, tastier and have a smaller carbon footprint. White and green asparagus are essentially the same, the only difference is that the white asparagus is harvested while the asparagus is still under the ground. Asparagus turn green as soon as they are above the ground. White asparagus need to be peeled and have a delicate flavor. … Continue reading BBQ’ed green Asparagus

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)6 Comments

Spaghetti with Tuna (Spaghetti al Tonno)

StefanGourmet

This is my “go to” recipe for un unplanned but tasty and healthy meal, as all the ingredients have a very long shelf life (so I usually have them available) and it doesn’t matter to leave out some of the ingredients. The only things you really need are spaghetti, a can of tuna, a can of peeled tomatoes, salt and olive oil. The taste will be more complex if you do use all the optional ingredients, but it will still taste fine without them or with just a few of them. Another advantage of this dish is that it takes … Continue reading Spaghetti with Tuna (Spaghetti al Tonno)

4. Dolci (dessert)19 Comments

Strawberries macerated with Balsamic & Honey

StefanGourmet

This is one of my favorite desserts in summer time. Only three ingredients, easy to make, and delicious. As with many of my recipes, it helps to use the best strawberries you can find (ripe and fragrant), nice honey and the best aged artisan balsamic vinegar you can afford. The best to use for this is the real stuff: aceto balsamico tradizionale aged for 12 or even 25 years. That stuff is very expensive, but also very good. If you live in the Netherlands, the 12-year old balsamic from De Librije is almost as good for about 1/6 of the price … Continue reading Strawberries macerated with Balsamic & Honey

Secondi di Carne (meat dishes)3 Comments

Quest for my Grandmother’s Chicken, Part 2

StefanGourmet

Some weeks ago I wrote about my attempts to recreate the memory of my grandmother’s braised chicken. I came pretty close by cooking a stewing hen sous-vide at 64C/147F for 3 days, but I was not completely satisfied with the result yet. In the meantime I have done two new experiments with chicken from the same source, once at 62C/144F and once at 60C/140F. Just a short post today to give you an update of the results. Even after cooking sous-vide for over 16 months now, the difference of only 2C/4F degrees still amazes me. I’ve decided that 62C/144F for … Continue reading Quest for my Grandmother’s Chicken, Part 2

2. Primi (pasta, risotto)4 Comments

Pasta with Broccoli (Orecchiette al Broccoli)

StefanGourmet

I make this pasta quite often, as it is tasty, healthy and quick to make. It is also convenient because the only fresh ingredient needed is broccoli, which keeps quite well in the refrigerator. It doesn’t take longer to make this than it takes to cook the pasta. Since the ‘sauce’ contains anchovies, Italians will generally not serve this with parmigiano as that would overpower the taste of the anchovies. If you do like to eat this with parmigiano or pecorino (which is also good) and you want to be authentic, leave out the anchovies. Or just make sure that … Continue reading Pasta with Broccoli (Orecchiette al Broccoli)

Asian cuisine9 Comments

Steak Teriyaki Sous-vide

StefanGourmet

After trying beef short ribs teriyaki sous-vide, I decided to try rib-eye steak teriyaki sous-vide. The main difference between short ribs sous-vide and (rib-eye) steak sous-vide is that short ribs need 48 hours at 57C/135F to get tender, but steak is already tender and only needs to be brought to temperature. The teriyaki short ribs were a bit dry because the marinade had drawn out too much of the juices. For the rib-eye steak I decided not to marinade the steak before cooking, but only to marinade during cooking. This turned out well: the steak had a nice teriyaki flavor … Continue reading Steak Teriyaki Sous-vide