In which we return from Europe

Jeff and I recently spent two fantastic weeks in Europe, with stops in Paris, Amsterdam, London and Stockholm. It’s good to be home again, and although I miss the constant dining out for all meals, I am happy to eat simply at home for the next little while.

Eating well in European cities on a budget is a little challenging, but definitely can be done. Like most things in life, a little bit of advance research makes all the difference. I gathered suggestions from friends and a few online resources, and have to give extra props to the travel section of the guardian.

We also saved money by steering clear of tourist traps – cheesy restaurants that clustered around the largest tourist sites and districts in most cities we visited. Paris and Amsterdam were a couple of the worst offenders. Usually all we had to do was walk a few streets away to find better food at better prices. Choosing hotels located further away from the busiest parts of town helped a lot too.

Some of the food highlights of our trip included:

Van Kerkwijk – Amsterdam.

This place was amazing. Excellent food, friendly service. Rather than perusing the menu, your server simply tells you what’s on the menu that night, you choose, you eat, you swoon. Fantastic atmosphere, no reservations required. Chefs are inspired by what’s in season, and prepare simply cooked but phenomenal food. I had a great pumpkin soup as a starter and a very nice steak, and finished with apple pie with whipped cream (we were in the Netherlands after all). Jeff had the house pate and chose the veal, which came with a nice apple chutney.

Cafe Gruter – Amsterdam.

I was looking for gezellig in Amsterdam, and found it not just at Hotel Zandbergen, which was so comfortable and homey and well, gezellig, but also in spades at this cafe just down the street. I had the best sandwich of my life, to date.

Chevre, bacon and a drizzle of honey

Ulla Winbladh – Stockholm

Our dear friends’ wedding reception took place here. I was lucky to sit beside someone who has lived in Stockholm for many years so I asked her to help me choose a fantastic meal that would really represent Swedish cuisine. I had reindeer tartar with pickled chanterelles, gotland truffle and croutons to start and grilled pike-perch with langoustine tail, langoustine broth, grapefruit and fennel salad, lemon aioli and boiled potatoes*. Quite possibly one of the best meals of my life. Fantastic wedding cake too. Also one of the best weddings I’ve ever been to; small, simple, elegant, and gave us a reason to visit Stockholm!

*No, my memory isn’t that great – just copied and pasted from their menu!

Husman’s Deli - Stockholm

When you go to Stockholm’s Saluhall, you should go to Husman’s Deli for lunch. In addition to selling all sorts of lovely things for people to take home, you can find a seat at their counter and have a nice hot meal. I had Swedish meatballs (how could I not?) and Jeff had a corned beef hash with cubes of potato and beetroot. Simple but extremely delicious.

Princess Louise – London

This is a fantastic pub. We met up with Jeff’s uncle, aunt and cousin here for a few pints but also mixed with some warm and friendly locals. The pub is partitioned off into sections, and each section has their own access to the large, circular bar. A beautiful example of a restored Victorian pub.

Pret – London

When we first arrived in London, I was tired, crabby and hungry. I needed food, NOW. ASAFP. Went to a Pret, had a fantastic sandwich and a cup of tea, and felt immensely better almost immediately. Our time in London was quite limited, so we ended up in Pret a couple more times, mainly for quick breakfasts. Their chicken, roasted stuffing & fruity chutney sandwich was my fave.

Now for a quiet word about Paris. I wanted to come back from my trip and tell you about fantastic places to go and eat in Paris. I really did. Paris has captured everyone’s imaginations for so long as one of the pinnacles of eating experiences, and yes, we ate very very well while visiting. I think the bar is set so high there that we couldn’t help but eat well and I think we just started to take it for granted. Even the pizza we had in a dodgy-looking hole in the wall was brilliant.

I can tell you that we were happier with places we discovered ourselves than we were with recommendations from others. There was something about the happy accident of stopping somewhere neat because we were hungry and the place felt right – like Le Cafe Divan on rue de la Roquette – we went twice because we liked it so much,  or Folie’s Cafe, which was near our hotel.

Sometimes by the time we took the metro, got ourselves sorted, oriented and headed toward somebody’s restaurant suggestion, making sure that we weren’t there too early or too late, there was no way it was going to be able to live up to the hype. We also had some great meals, with lotsa wine, and by the time I glided out, I couldn’t be bothered to take a quick photo of the restaurant name, or note the address, because all I cared about was getting back to the hotel.

However, this is what I do remember:

I like pastis now. A nice server brought me some Ricard and showed me how to add the correct amount of water. Delicious apéritif!

I had to stop buying pain au chocolat every time I saw a pâtisserie because good pain au chocolat is not an endangered, rare species in Paris like it is in Toronto.

I’m addicted to Nutella again.

We got great results by asking locals where they like to eat. Whenever I had a conversation with a shopkeeper, I would ask them for advice. Everyone likes to talk about their favourite places to eat, and Parisians are no exception.

Rue Mouffetard is where I’d like to spend the rest of my life. If you check out my latest Flickr uploads, it will quickly become clear.

Damson Plum Clafoutis

damson plums

It’s a beautiful September day today, with golden light and an air of richness and plenty. I decided to have at our long-neglected, weed-filled backyard this morning, which we barely sat in all summer.  We must not have noticed our damson plum tree blossoming in the spring, but today on the branches hung just enough ripe plums to fill a small colander. This is only the second time it has produced fruit since we moved here three years ago, and the first time we managed to harvest the plums ahead of the squirrels.

In a further nod to kismet, I just happen to have all the ingredients in the house to make a clafoutis. It’s in the oven right now, and the lemon/vanilla/cinnamon scent is starting to waft through the house.  Between tending to the garden and doing some spur-of-the-moment baking, I feel like quite the domestic goddess!

damson plum clafoutis

Yogurt Strawberry Banana Smoothie

breakfast of summer

I’ve named this smoothie in the order that the ingredients get chucked into my blender. I don’t have precise amounts for you, and I usually make this when I’ve got one eye on the clock and most of my mind trying to decide what to wear to work. If I had to guess I’d say I use about a cup of plain yogurt, about 6 strawberries and a whole banana, and it always ends up fitting into a pint glass.

This smoothie is my go-to breakfast for summer. It’s gentle, cooling and absolutely delicious.

all set to liquefy

What makes this smoothie a joy to make is my blender. Not just any blender can tackle frozen strawberries and I had to find one that could pulverize them within seconds. Happily, after a quick online search, I found many websites and forums praising Oster’s ability to handle frozen strawberries. I ended up buying an affordable 12-speed Oster and it performs very well.

Honey-Thyme Marinade for Pork

“That’s going into the rotation!” Jeff said as we finished the pork loin. I had planned to have leftovers for a sandwich, but the pork was just so tasty that we couldn’t stop.

Sweet and aromatic, this marinade from the Globe and Mail takes very little time to make and imparts so much flavour.

3 tbsp honey

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp thyme

1/2 small red onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

Pulse all ingredients in food processor. Pour into large freezer bag containing 1 pork tenderloin (or indeed any pork – about 2 servings worth).

I don’t know what I did before I discovered the simple concept of freezing meat right in its marinade – the meat marinates as it defrosts in the fridge. This marinade works well with the freezer method, and helps me stock up on pork tenderloin when it’s on sale at my favourite grocery store, Lady York Foods.

Chocolate birthday cake

There’s magic in the phrase “chocolate birthday cake”. It makes me think of childhood birthday parties, with silly paper hats, off-key singing by kids missing their
front teeth and pink and blue candles from the grocery store.

I baked this for my older brother, whose birthday lands just a few days after my own. In fact, I was brought home from the hospital on his birthday, and as family folklore has it, he was disappointed that his “birthday gift” wasn’t a puppy.

We’re both a bit nuts for chocolate – growing up I had to hide my holiday candy stash and keep close tabs on how much of my solid chocolate Easter bunny was left each time I took a bite. This is the kind of cake batter that we would always fight over to see who got to lick the bowl clean.

Chocolate layer cake

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of buttermilk.

Spoon into 2 greased and parchment-paper-lined 9-inch (1.5L) round metal cake pans. Bake in centre of 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean.

Let cool on rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on rack.

Chocolate icing

1 1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tbsp vanilla

3 cups icing sugar

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled

In bowl, beat butter until fluffy; gradually beat in cream. Beat in vanilla. Beat in icing sugar, adding about 1 cup at a time. Beat in melted chocolate until fluffy.

Makes 16 to 20 servings.

Caldo Verde

I am a sucker for recipes with short ingredient lists. Who isn’t? When this recipe for Caldo Verde popped up in my RSS feed, I saved it for a rainy day. Literally.

Onions, garlic, potatoes, chicken stock, fried chorizo and shredded kale. Hearty, warming and healthy – it’s the kind of soup that makes you extra glad to be in for the night.

Red Velvet Cake

I’m a big fan of Philosphy’s bath & shower gels. I give them out as hostess and birthday gifts and love receiving them too.

Hmmm - how do these recipes taste?

They always smell amazing and the recipes printed on the bottles give me something to read while I’m soaking in the tub. I’ve often wondered what the recipes would taste like. So, when I got Red Velvet Cake bath gel, along with Sweet Creamy Frosting (body lotion) for Christmas and with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I decided to give ‘em a try.

The verdict? The cake was extremely delicious, if on the very sweet side. There’s a lot of sugar in there! And, it’s not every day that I go through an entire pound of butter -  two sticks in the batter, two in the frosting. The recipe calls for two ounces of red food colouring, but I only had one 28 ml bottle, which is about half of what the recipe calls for -  but it didn’t seem to matter.  As you can see in the photo, the batter is a perfect colour match to the bath gel! Not that it matters for epicurean purposes, but it proves that Philosphy’s chemists did their homework!

matchy-poo

Oddly enough, there’s a distinct cherry note in the bath gel fragrance that doesn’t correspond with the flavour of the cake – it tasted more like a light chocolate cake than anything else.

Red Velvet Cake; in all its triple-decker glory

Red Velvet Cake

And, if you’re curious, here are the recipes from the containers:

Red Velvet Cake
2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter – room temperature
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring
2-1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy, add eggs one at a time, mix well after each egg. Mix cocoa and food coloring together, add to sugar mixture; mix. Sift flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour batter into three 8-inch round greased and floured pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Sweet Creamy Frosting
3 c confectioners’ sugar
1 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 tbsp whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Note: I don’t have a stand mixer (yet) and normally my trusty little hand mixer can handle any job that calls for mixing or beating. However, this recipe almost killed the motor of my little guy. It might have had something to do with how cold the butter was – room temperature in the depths of Canadian winter in an old house does not make for silky, easy mixing butter! At any rate, it made my want-o-meter for a stand mixer flare up.

Beef Bourguignon

Aromatics

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I’m turning my attention back to the stove and my dutch oven. I had a craving for a beef stew and Lynn Crawford’s recipe for Beef Bourguignon is the best I’ve made. I like that it doesn’t have  tomato paste as one of the ingredients…I don’t want tomato overtones interfering with the beefy, mushroomy, thyme-y goodness.

I found this recipe on the Food Network Canada app that I downloaded to my iPod, but you can also find it here.

Beef Bourguignon

Erwtensoep, aka Snert, aka Dutch Pea Soup

In which I learn that chatting and cooking don’t always mix.

I’m Dutch. Well,  I’m mostly Frisian. Well, actually I’m Canadian, born to mostly Frisian parents who emigrated to Ontario in the early 195o’s.  In spite of my heritage, I’ve never cooked any proper Dutch food, although I have many happy memories of pea soup and kaiser buns on wintry Saturday evenings as a kid.

One of my Dutch-Canadian friends is quite the cook, and emailed me his favourite Dutch Pea Soup recipe. We conspired to meet up at my place and make the soup together – I was a bit sqeamish about the pig’s ear and trotter the recipe calls for. Dave showed up with his big soup pot, Dutch cookbook, and various necessary pig parts (along with adding flavour, rendering the collagen thickens the soup).

Dave's bounty

Necessary pig parts

simmering away

The conversation and beer flowed freely, and although this post was originally going to be about getting back to my roots and the macabre aspect of cooking with recognizable portions of pig, I learned other valuable lessons that day.

1. It takes a cook with more experience than I have to talk while cooking.

2. It takes a cook with more alcohol tolerance than I have to drink while cooking.

3. If something smells like it’s burning, it probably is.

4. Taste before adding salt.

There. That should be enough foreshadowing.  Prep done, salt added and soup simmering, Dave and I moved into full conversation mode. His partner, Paul asked politely, “is something burning?”, which was immediately pooh-poohed by Dave and I.

When the time was up, we served the soup, thick enough to stand a spoon upright. Dave and I quietly noticed that the entire bottom of the pot was caked with burned soup. No matter, we just scooped a little more carefully to make sure we didn’t dislodge the burnt bits. As we began to eat, silence fell over the table. I have never eaten anything so salty before in my life. I was in the process of choking down my own first bite when Paul sputtered “I can’t eat this!”

So, as for our triumphant batch of soup, not so much. All that planning, sourcing ingredients, imagining if it would be as good as the soups of my childhood…and all I got was a good laugh.

Dave’s email for ERWTENSOEP:

2 cups split green peas (dried)
2.8 L water
1 pig’s trotter, 1 pig’s ear (you need these to thicken the broth with the natural gelatin, you can find them at a Portuguese butcher)
1 cup bacon squares ( I use about for strips cut up, I tried butcher cut squares but I found it kinda’ gross)
4 frankfurters (sometimes I use the sometimes I don’t)
1 Lb potatoes
1 celeriac ( it’s worth finding, usually at an independent produce vender)
1 bunch celery greens ( leafs, sometimes found attached to the celeriac, again worth the search)
2 leeks, 2 onions
3 table spoons of salt (yes it seems like a lot but necessary)

Wash the peas, soak for 12 hours (unless you use quick cooking peas which is more common and is what I use) and boil gently in the water they were soaked in for at least 2 hours. Cook in this liquid the trotter, the ear and the bacon for one hour. and the potatoes (diced), salt, celeriac (pealed and diced), cut up leeks, and chopped up celery greens. Cook until smooth and thick.

I usually take OUT the pig’s ear and trotter before adding the veg.

Add the frankfurters in the last 10 minutes (again optional)

The longer the soup simmers the better, usually about 3-4 hours.

AWESOME THE NEXT DAY!

Romantic and Delicious Montreal

A street scene on the Plateau

 

We’ve just returned from a quick trip to Montreal, mainly to catch our breath after a busy spring and summer, and to celebrate our wedding anniversary. While there, Jeff and I made a pact to visit at least once a year from now on.

I need to tell you about some of the places we went.

If you ever need a take-no-prisoners romantic, romantic, romantic meal, please make a reservation at les Heritiers. The food will live on in my memory for the rest of my life. I lucked out by grabbing a perfect Cote du Rhone from the dépanneur near our hotel – the restaurant is a BYOW (bring your own wine) and the wrong wine could have diminished the experience. Probably the most seamlessly perfect evening out ever – perfect service, food, hell, even the other diners were perfect too. It was like being in our own little world for the evening. Like being in a movie or something. THAT good.  You will get lucky that night. You’ll notice that I keep using the word perfect. That’s because it was. Perfect. I almost don’t want to tell anyone about the place. But I’ll tell you.

Jardin Nelson was the only place worth going (imho) in Old Montreal – very pretty, very touristy, but they make a mean Kir Royale and I got quite tipsy. Food was good, but the bill got expensive very fast – we had just arrived and went there right after the long drive and checking in to the hotel.

L’Express is really buzzy right now and if you’re in the mood for a bustling Parisian bistro, this is the place. Don’t expect to have a quiet conversation though. My steak-frites was kind of meh, but everything else was fantastic. The appetizers could have been meals, and it affected my ability to eat my steak. Not BYOW.  They don’t have a website but googling it will give you what you want to know. This was an AskMefi suggestion. More $$ than les Heritiers.

Le Saint Bock – pub on St. Denis
The 3 Brewers WISH they could be this place. I was really tipsy (see above KIR ROYALE) so I had water, but Jeff’s pints were delicious. Two nice men kept stealing glances at me so either I was really drunk, or devastatingly attractive to them. Not sure, but the men of Montreal are a bit more on the gregarious and lascivious side than their Toronto compatriots, which is a nice change for an old married lady like me.

I don’t have to tell you about Schwarz’s. Didn’t have to wait in line – which is a rare thing. That’s twice now. We seem to have a lot of good luck with that place. Walked past a huge lineup on our way out. Tried to keep smug smiles off our faces.

Ate breakfast at the hotel we stayed at – Auberge Bonaparte – currently #2 rated on TripAdvisor. Very romantic, comfy, free wifi, great cooked-to-order breakfasts, excellent service. If you know anyone looking to celebrate an anniversary or get engaged or get wrapped up in romantic cliches, mention it to them.  No bar fridge, which was a bit of a huh? moment when we arrived but no big deal with at least 2 deps within a stone’s throw. Rooftop terrasse was empty so we stargazed with drinks up there at night. Nice view of Notre Dame which is right around the corner – woke up to church bells.

Marche Jean Talon – kind of rushed through it on our way home unfortunately, but remember resolving that if we ever take a sabbatical and live temporarily in Montreal, that I’d look for an apartment near this market. Wish I had more time to browse and a cooler with an ice pack to bring perishables home.

City vibe=Paris+NYC’s lovechild. But that’s only an approximation. Goddamn these people know how to live, eat, garden, smoke and drink.