2007...

A new year, a new beginning.
Good resolutions, firework, lots and lots of oliebollen and a chance for 20 million in the new years eve lottery.
That last one didn’t come true of course, but the oliebollen part made it up quite all right…

As I already let you know with my ‘Things to Eat before You Die’-list, oliebollen are one of my favourite things in the world.
But, needless to say, only oliebollen from my family recipe. The average bol that is sold during this time of year in the special pastry stalls is a bit too greasy for my taste and has nothing, or maybe, when you’re lucky, 4 raisins as filling. Not really my taste. We like our bollen as they were made intentionally: properly filled. The trick is to use eggs, lemon zest ànd juice and lots and lots (and lots) of apples, raisins and currants. A delicious, sweet, airy and moist bol with a golden brown, crispy layer will be the result.

I love oliebollen. It’s strange you can attach so much to customs; it happens still occasionally through the year, mid June for example, that I would kill for a fresh, still warm bol - we however haven’t made them ever on a different day then the 31st. It’s just not right. We wait a year, and then eat for 3 days nothing else than oliebollen. Period. (and we are of course at least a month sick of them afterwards…) ;)

Oliebollen are one of the most well-known Dutch things. Although not everybody makes them their selves, making them is in our family a true tradition. We start bright and early with our batch, call how it’s going with the others and the next day tasting and comparing the golden beauties with the rest…

So, a new year.
"Let's hope it's a good one, without any fears."
Up to new starts, hopes, wishes, opportunities and chances.
And of course...Tasting Life!


Superbollen, Oliebollen (“dough balls”) makes about 45
- 800g (6 cups) flour
- 16g (1 Tbsp) salt
- 4 eggs
- 40g fresh yeast
- 0.6L (2 ½ cups) milk
- 2 Jonagold apples
- 3 Goudreinet apples (if you don’ have these apples, just use firm, sour apples)
- 200g yellow sultana raisins,
- 200g blue sultana raisins,
- 200g currants
- 3 lemons - the zest of 3 lemons, and the juice of 1/2 lemon
- 100g (1 stick/½ cup) butter

- a deep-frying pan with fresh deep-frying fat (sunflower oil)
- kitchen paper and napkins
- powder sugar

1. In a small saucepan, heat about 0,2L (1 cup) of the total 0.6L until it’s tepid. (about 40°C - 104°F) Pour the warm milk in a small bowl and crumble the yeast over it. Stir gradually until it’s completely dissolved, cover up and set to rest on a warm place.

2. Peel the apples, chop them in 4 pieces, remove the core, and cut the parts into tiny little pieces. Put the apples together with the raisins, currants, lemon juice and lemon zest in a large bowl and mix well.

3. In the biggest basin you have, (or a clean bucket) sift together the flour and salt. Make a small hole in the centre and insert one egg. Mix with the electric mixer fitted with the dough hooks until the egg is completely inserted. Then add the second egg and repeat this process until all eggs are added.
In a small pan, melt the butter. Heat in the ‘milk’ pan the rest of the milk until tepid.
Add to the flour/egg mixture the yeast mixture that was resting and mix until well blended. Add the rest of the milk and mix until combined, to end with mix the melted butter in. Change the dough hooks for the whisk hooks and mix until the whole mixture is one smooth mass. Scoop the filling in, mix well, cover up with a damp towel and set to rest on a very warm place for 1 to 2 hours. Now the dough will have risen and doubled in its size…

4. Heat the deep-frying fat until it reaches 180ºC. take an ice scooper or two tablespoons and stick the spoons in the heated fat for a couple of seconds. (this will prevent the batter from sticking to the spoons) take a big spoon full of dough, round it a bit, and carefully dip it into the oil. Repeat this, but don't have more than 6 of them into the oil at the same time (this also depends on the size of your pan). Fry the 'oliebollen' for 6 minutes, 3 for each side, until they are nice gold brownish.

5. Take the oliebollen out and let them leak out on kitchen paper until they are completely dry. Serve warm or cold with lots and lots of powder sugar. The oliebollen will keep for 2,3 days, but they are best the first day. Keep them in a bowl covered with a towel.

Have yourself a...

I know it’s needless to say, but I’ll do it anyway:
It’s really almost Christmas now!
I hope this info is not new or comes with a shock for you, because otherwise I think it would be smart to make some plans and get going (!)
What are you doing this year with Christmas? A 15 courses menu? (it wouldn’t be a surprise with you foodies!) Eating out in a Michelin worthy restaurant? Nothing? Or like us, having a buffet with all kinds of little snacks and other tasty things?
I’m in charge of the dessert section this year -what else?- and decided to go for a few different sweets and desserts, simply because I couldn’t choose…
One of them is this rich chocolate cake with hazelnuts. This is the kind of cake that gets only better and better the longer you wait…perfect for Christmas!

I’m always careful in the kitchen - did you know 58% of all indoor accidents happens in the kitchen?! - but this time I was extra careful, as I still have last Christmas etched on my memory...
Last year me and my mom were hostesses, so on Christmas morning after breakfast and presents, we got back in the kitchen and prepared the final things for dinner. It was nice, but busy and slightly chaotic, and their was still a lot to do.
I was just making a piecrust: butter, flour and sugar were in the bowl, the hand blender was cheery grunting, and the dough was ready to be made into a bal. I putted down the blender and placed my hands in the bowl.
I wanted to have as well the last bit of dough that was sticking in the blender, so I, clearly without thinking, went for it.
10 minutes later we were, me still in my pj’s, at the first aid post. When my finger touched the blade, the power switched on and -luckily!- only my fingernail didn’t survive. Merry Christmas indeed! ;)

So this year I made sure nothing needed the blender…
I haven’t tasted this cake yet of course, -that would be rude!- so I can’t tell you how it tastes, but judging the ingredients, the look, the soft inside versus the crunchy outside, and the incredible smell, it’s only really promising…

Have a great time, merry Christmas everybody!



Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (for 10 till 12 people, adapted from La Dolce Vita)
- 250g (9oz) chocolate (minimum 70%)
-115g (1 stick/½ cup) butter, softened
- 5 eggs, split
- 140g (¾ cup) finely granulated sugar
- 50ml rum/cognac
- 100g fine maizena
- 150g (1 ¼ cups) hazelnuts, roasted

1. Preheat over to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 22cm (9 inch) round cake pan.

2. In a small saucepan, mix the chocolate, broken in little pieces, and the butter over low heat till the chocolate is melted. Take the pan of the fire and let to cool a bit.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together to a thick, creamy mixture. Mix in the chocolate mixture, rum, maizena and hazelnuts until well blended.

4. Whisk the egg whites until stiff (but not dry!) and fold them carefully in the chocolate/hazelnuts mixture.
Scoop this mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 till 40 minutes.

The cake is ready when it’s dry and firm to the touch, but still a bit wet and silky inside. The top is as well cracked, but that’s how it should be.
Let the cake in it’s for until it’s completely cooled, take out on a serving plate and dust with powder sugar.
Optional: serve with a big dot of mascarpone and strong coffee…Yum!

Paris, Je t‘aime…The Sweet Life (part three)

It’s by now already quite some time ago since my trip to Paris. Exactly 25 days. Already way too long…
I told extensive and detailed about it earlier, but I wanted to tell and show you in brief some other sweet (and very tasty) things we did.

Our dinner at Ladurée on the Champs Elyseé for example.
I had the Bonaparte Salad - with Scottish smoked salmon, salmon eggs, blini, olive oil, lemon juice, seaweed tartare and black olives cream…- and it was absolutely amazing.

Simple perfection. Made with only the best ingredients, this was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

But I said that as well about their Ladurée Salad and Club Champs-Elysées. And from seeing the queue of people waiting to be seated and their plates and expressions, I can conclude everything is amazing here!

For dessert we had the Tarte Tatin, the Coupe Fraise-Coquelicot and the Eclatant Fraise Figue.

The Tarte Tatin was without a doubt the best out of these three.
Sadly, I have not even one good picture of the food or our royal seating, as a result of that charming candle light…

So you just have to go and check out yourself if I’ve made you curious…;)

We consumed more for lunch the next day at BE, Boulange épicier, a fusion of a "boulanger" and an "épicier" - baker and grocer.

We read that BE had the best sandwiches of Paris, and since the store is owned by no one less than Alain Ducasse and Eric Kayser, this wasn’t so hard to believe.
The wonderful perfumes from freshly made bread welcome you when you step into this beautiful little store packed with goodies and the best products. You can buy your pasta, jams, chocolate, little jars and spreads here, and of course your lunch (!)
Soups, salads, sandwiches, and a whole arrange of desserts: fruit salads, pastries, tartlets and muffins...

We ordered a lentil salad, 2 pesto/mozzarella/tomato/basil sandwiches -which were served onto indeed one of the best breads I’ve ever tasted: It was soft, slightly sweet and a bit brioche-ish. Amazing… - The last sandwich was a larger, sweet raisin pain, with roquefort and pear. Wonderful.

I’m glad we went, but it was a bit disappointed since we expected a real restaurant. BE is a wonderful store, with wonderful food, but more for take-away.

-----

Stop three.
We heard so much about Berthillon and their ice cream in flavours like caramel and chocolat amar, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and just had to go.
So on Saturday morning, after our morning coffee and croissant, we ‘shopped’ ourselves down to Île Saint-Louis - one of the two little islands in Paris, surrounded by the Seine.
We rushed pass the Notre-Dame, with just one intention: Berthillon.
The lack of an immense line was our first hint. When we arrived on 31, Rue St. Louis en l´Ile, we found Berthillon…

Yep. 100% Closed.
%&$*^(%#$!!!!
I’ll leave it by this. If I start expressing my feelings more, I know I will not stop anymore…

But if we want ice cream, we will get ice cream.
Berthillon drove us straight to their opponent:

Amorino!
Amazing Italian-style ice-cream, with quite a few locations in Paris. (Just look out for a flying little Italian elf and you’ll find Amorino...)
Absolutely delicious. I’m not really an ice cream expert, I almost never eat ice cream, (I prefer something with a bite…) but my sister, who happens to be an ice cream expert, approves it as well.
Very nice is you can choose as many flavours as you want. 20 flavours in just one scoop? No problem. The mango and caffe were my favourites.
(I just discovered their website, click on the flavours and see them in close-up. *drool…*)

The last thing I want to share is this pain au chocolat from Fauchon.
Their macarons couldn’t compare with Hermé’s, (they didn’t even come close…) but their pain au chocolat beats hermé’s easily. It was the best pain au chocolat we ever tasted. Buttery, flaky, as light as air and so chocolaty…*sigh*

This were my Paris highlights part I, II and III. Hope you enjoyed it, - I sure did! - and up to the next trip! ;)


Ladurée Champs Elysées
75, avenue des Champs Elysées
Tel : 01.40.75.08.75

boulangépicier
73 bd de Courcelles
Tel : 01 46 22 20 20

Fauchon
place de la Madeleine 24-26-30
Tel : 01.70.39.38.00

Paris, Je t’aime: A little Investigation… (part two)

If I were a cookie, I would be a macaron. No question.
The flavour, the texture, the colours, the shape -
it’s just the best cookie.
The taste of the crunchy and slightly chewy outside, and soft and smooth inside…:it’s heaven between 2 little shells.

Making good macarons - not to be confused with the coconut macaroon - is however difficult and a real art. You can find in almost every sweet cookbook a macaron recipe and on Google more than 28.000 hits will appear on your screen from recipe sites and fellow bloggers, but the recipe for the perfect macaron is, and will probably always be, a question for us humble human beings.

The basic macaron is made of almond flour, icing- and granulated sugar and egg-whites but what amount or what the masters include extra? Perhaps Pierre spits for his final touch 3 times in the batter or David Holder gives each macaron a little blessing before he let them enter the shops... Who knows. (note: if you do know - please send me a mail!)

Macarons don’t exist here in Holland. The average Dutchman does not know what it is - and doesn’t care - and considers a bought slagroomtaart (cream cake) as a true delicacy. Well, bon appetite - Grrr…
That’s another reason why I’m so delighted about Paris. Everywhere you look are little (and large famous ones…!) bakery’s, patisseries and chocolatiers with the most beautiful display windows, loaded with freshly baked goods.
You name it; croissants, pain au chocolat, millefeuilles, éclairs, madeleines and of course…macarons (!) In every thinkable colour and flavour, beautifully lined up, waiting to be bought.
What do you think about marron et thé vert matcha or perhaps a huile d'olive et vanille macaron?

Time for a little comparing examination (!)
I wish I could have sampled from every shop I came across, including Maison du Chocolat and Laduree but it was just too much. Very unexpected and kind of new for me, but there was just too much good food.
I’m still bummed about that last one. Especially because now I read EVERYWHERE that Laduree has the best macarons…
Well, nothing to do about it; I just HAVE to go back - o boy, what a pity…;)

So I stayed with Fauchon and Hermé.
I lost my heart to Fauchon when I was ten. It was my first time in Paris and I sat in the beautifully decorated tearoom behind my chocolate tasting plate, all feeling special. Such an experience for a little girl.
And Hermé; do I have to explain?? I was just dying to go to Hermé - I read so much about him and his incredible creations and his latest book PH10 is standing so high on my wish-list…(hint!)

For my comparing, I got from both a chocolate and a coffee macaron -
Fauchon (below) and Pierre Hermé (above), and the 2 flavours; coffee (left) and chocolate (right)

The results:
*drum roll….*
It wasn‘t very difficult:

Fauchon’s macarons are fine. Great even if you haven’t tasted the perfect one. They have a very soft (in my opinion too soft…) centre but a good, strong chocolate/coffee flavour. They are chewy, have in proportions very thick shells and little filling and chewing is not really required with these macarons.
Hermé’s macarons are simply heaven. Compacter, a good bite and an explosion of flavour. And as you see on the picture a perfect, thick ganache centre, which will soften and melts deliciously in your mouth…
Easy calling: Hermé is the winner(!)
*yeeh, yeeh! Applause, applause…*

Wow, now I haven’t even written something about his almighty shop or my other purchases(!)
See here two wonders of the master Pierre Hermé;

The Plaisir Sucre - From bottom to top: hazelnut dacquoise, milk chocolate-hazelnut spread, a layer of chocolate ganache, a dark chocolate sheet, another layer of chocolate ganache, a chocolate sheet, chocolate mousse, and one last chocolate sheet…

And the Surprise Ball - I’m not 100% sure what was inside here but I think…- a chocolate biscuit layer, chocolate ganache, a chocolate sheet, more ganache, mascarpone and caramel, covered with a thick chocolate layer…

I was speechless - how does he come up with it??
It was just perfect. Heaven. Al the flavours 'fit' with each other.
And so is his entire shop - everything looks incredible and is made with such care, love and preciseness.
Amazing.
Well, I definitely know what I want for Christmas this year…


Pierre Hermé
rue Bonaparte 72
Tel: 01 43 54 47 77

Rue de Vaugirard 185
Tel: 01.47.83.89.96

Fauchon
place de la Madeleine 24-26-30
Tel : 01.70.39.38.00

Paris, Je t’aime…(part one)

I’m back from Paris. And I’m not really liking it. Sure it’s nice to be in my own home again, but what I already knew has been confirmed once again; Paris is the best, most beautiful city in the world.

We stayed our 3 full-planned, beloved days at Hotel Chopin, a charming little hotel located in the small passage Jouffroy, right near the Grands Boulevards. Lovely decorated, welcoming classical music playing in the hallways and great service. I really recommend Hotel Chopin for a short stay in Paris.

Although I didn’t think the whole multiple pages long - ok, actually multiple novels long - list to-do could all have been visited, we yet succeeded to do almost everything that stood on the priority list…

One thing I really wanted to do, was to visit L’as du Falafel.
When I read about it on David Lebovitz’s site, I immediately started to crave. And I can tell you; it is really so good. My saliva production is running up by just seeing the pictures...
Imagine a fresh, soft pita crammed with the best, delicious, hot and crispy chick-pea balls, a generous amount of delicious marinated red and white cabbage, soft aubergine, some fresh slices of cucumber, hummus and the best garlic sauce that isn’t too strong, over dominated or thick at all. That’s L’as du Falafel. There’s no doubt; L’as du Falafel is toujours imite jamais egale. (always imitated, never equalled)

Some other tasty goings were Laduree, Fauchon and the master Pierre Hermé. (but I will come back to these later - they really deserve their own post…)

Another culinary highlight was going to G. Detou and La Grande Epicerie.
G. Detou is a beautiful, little, old and dusty epicerie with the most diverged professional baking supplies. And what about some caramels au beurre sale from Bretagne, or the best blue pigment? (I have a fabulous chocolate layer cake with blue frosting in mind for it’s first project…)
La Grande Epicerie Paris is a gigantic, wonderful culinary shopping Walhalla. I could spend a whole day just looking at everything, walking a bit among the display-windows with fresh pasta and little anti-pasta bites, the bread section, tea and coffee, and the stock of mysterious little pots and jars. Even the meat section looks good and appealing here. So you can understand I couldn’t leave without a little extra something. I got a package of super cute little purple and pink biscuits, that look a bit like mini macarons and I found coloured sugar that I can’t wait to use…

Of course this trip wasn’t just one big eat feast - but it was indeed quite close to it… - I still have a few withdraw symptoms left from all the sugar and chocolate and I can really use a little break and give my body a little peace for a while. But just a little while of course… ;)


L'As du Falafel
34, rue des Rosiers (Marais)
Tel: 01 48 87 63 60
Closed Friday evening and Saturday for Sabbat

G. Detou
58, rue Tiquetonne
Tel: 01 42 36 54 67

La Grande Epicerie Paris
38, Rue de Sèvres
Tel : 01 44 39 83 47

A Great Weekend

My little half-sister Katoo is the ultimate chocolate monster. She’s almost 4 now and this weekend she came to visit her two big sisters in the city. These two days were way too short and we had, as always, a wonderful time. We absolutely spoiled her to dead now we had the opportunity, we got her some little girly presents, we watched Cinderella, went out to the bakery, danced, watched some more Cinderella and of course devoured a whole lot of chocolate…

That’s why I made these cupcakes. It’s clear it can’t get more chocolaty or sweeter than this; these cupcakes contain melted chocolate, cacao powder and chocolate chunks, along with the best chocolate frosting and some Smarties on top.
And they tasted absolutely great.
Sweet, brownie-y, and perfectly between dry and moist. They are also very nice without the frosting but that first bite in a frosted one, when your teeth go through the glaze, then the dry, crumbly top and finally threw a delicious moist inside…
Well, nothing will beat that.
And I’m happy I wasn’t the only one who liked them…

A weekend with cheery Tootje is always a pleasure, but this weekend turned out to be even better when Saturday morning the bell rang and my brand new camera had finally arrived(!)

It’s the Olympus E500 and it’s without a doubt the best toy ever!
I’m now like an annoying paparazzi photographer, walking through the house going click, click, click…
And the quality of my pictures - every shot looks like it popped right out a professional photographer catalogue(!)

I love it! Can’t wait to get going and discover all it’s features…=)

Oh yes, one last thing about the cupcakes -

Make sure you buy enough Smarties if you have a specific colour in mind; my plan was to decorate them only with pink Smarties - well, every package contained about 3 pink ones…

A little Smarties fact to end with; Did you know 17 thousand Smarties are eaten every minute in the UK?
You sure can decorate a whole lot of cupcakes with that…(!)
Enjoy! ;)

Chocolaty Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)
- 150g (5,4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate
- 250g (1 cup/2 sticks) butter, cut into pieces
- 350g (1 3/4 cups) sugar
- 5 eggs
- 120g (1 cup) flour
- 4 Tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 150g (5,4 ounces) chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate, cut into little pieces.

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and prepare 24 cupcake cups on a baking sheet.

2. In a large saucepan, melt chocolate and butter while stirring. Add sugar, stir until blend completely, and let cool for 10 minutes.

3. In another bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

4. With an electric mixer, beat chocolate mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and make sure each one is completely absorbed before adding the next.

5. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and mix well. Scoop into the prepared cupcake cups - this is easy with a ladle - and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Store in an airtight container or continue with the frosting.


Chocolate frosting (enough for 24 cupcakes)
- 250g (9 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 250ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 300g (2 cups, packed) powdered sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Reduce heat and add the chocolate. Let stand for one minute, then stir to combine. Add butter and vanilla and mix well. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat with an electric mixer until combined. Continue to beat until light and creamy. This frosting can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Before piping on the cupcakes, let stand for a few minutes or pop it for 20 sec. in the microwave.

4. Fill pastry bag with the scoopable frosting and pipe onto the cupcakes. Decorate with smarties/m&m’s before the frosting is completely hard. Store in an airtight container.
These cupcakes will stay for an surprisingly long time good - even on the 5th day they taste heavenly…

Prinsjesdag & Royal Cookies

Every third Tuesday of September - as tomorrow - is Prinsjesdag.
Prinsjesdag, literally translated day of the princes, is the official opening of the Dutch parliamentary year. On this day the Queen rides in her Gouden Koets (Golden Coach) all the way through The Hague. She begins her route at the Noordeinde Palace and ends at the Dutch Parliament on het Binnenhof.

Here, in de Ridderzaal, she reads her annual speech in which she introduces the plans of the government, together with the national budget for the Netherlands for the new year.
The name ‘Golden Coach’ is in fact a bit misleading, since the wood is only partially gilded; the rest of it is painted. The carriage is decorated with symbolic motifs and is drawn by eight horses...

Prinsjesdag is a real festive day here in Holland; flags are hanged out and the whole city is orange. (the Royal name is Van Oranje-Nassau… oranje means orange!)
There is carnival, thousands of tourists come to The Hague and…we get a day off from school!
We can go watch the parade, look at the carriage, wave at the queen and - what I especially enjoy - go check out what kind of outfits with big ridiculous matching hats the royals picked out to wear this year! Maybe feathers this year? A pyramid, some vegetables, or simply some fruit?

Because my mother works in the second chamber, (part of the parliament) I grew up very close to all this and is it very fun to walk nonchalant by the tourists, past the security and go inside…!

The year I was 8 (a time where there weren’t terrorist alarms yet) my mum even found a short cut to Het Binnenhof and I could sneak all the way to the front and stand right next to the Golden Coach…=)
I’m not at all pro-royal, but yet I enjoy this day always very much.
Prinsjesdag seemed a good motive (and excuse!) for me to bake something orange, royal and of course, sweet!

I made these royal cookies with orange and ginger.

I adapted them from the classic gingerbreadmans -

added orange zest and orange juice, shaped them into little crowns and decorated them with a simple sugar glaze and orange muisjes.

These cookies are delicious, smell incredible and have a slightly orange hint. They are thin and crispy, a bit buttery and full of flavour. Although the glaze and decorating does give an extra touch, and is fun to do!, they are also delicious just plain.

Royal Orange Ginger Cookies (makes about 2 dozen)

- 420g (3 ½ cup) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

- 1 ½ tsp baking soda

- ¼ tsp salt

- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

- 1 ½ tsp ground ginger

- 1 tsp ground allspice

- 225g (2 sticks/1 cup) butter, room temperature

- 150g (¾ cup) granulated sugar

- 135 g (¾ cup) packed dark-brown sugar

- 2 tsp orange zest

- 1 egg

- 70g (¼ cup) unsulfured molasses

icing:

- 200g (1 cup) icing sugar

- 1to 2 Tbsp orange juice and 1 Tbsp orange zest

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, both sugars and orange zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg and molasses to combine. With mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.

3. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, shape into flattened disks and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line to baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Remove dough from the refrigerator, and let stand until slightly soften. (this will help keep the dough from cracking when rolled.)

On a large piece of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour, roll the dough thinly out. Place the dough and parchment paper on another baking sheet (or a tray) and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Remove dough from freezer, working quickly, cut out large cookies with cookie cutters or your self invented ones with a knife. Using a wide metal spatula (or a cake-slice) transfer cut-outs to prepared baking sheets and bake, rotating sheets halfway through, for 12 to 15 minutes, until crisp but not darkened. - they will harden more when they cool! -

Transfer cookies and parchment paper to a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate if you want.

Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Icing:

sift the icing sugar above a bowl and pour in enough orange juice to get a very thick glace. Add the orange zest and mix well. It is better to get a glace that is too thick than a soft, runny one! Spoon the glace onto the cookies and wait a minute or so till it's completely hard.

I present...

Without much further a due, I now present to you
my brand new, stunning little baby, the most valuable possession I have…

My beautiful new Dell Inspiron 1300 Notebook (!)

It feels a bit strange to sit here, by the way very comfortable, on the coach typing up this short post. This is such a luxury after the many hours I spend on the (a lot less comfortable) wooden chair behind my desk. I’m still a bit taken aback from this, for me, very expensive purchase - I’m at once completely broke…- but I'm above all just really, really happy. I LOVE it!

I’m just going to play a bit with it right now, figure some handy things out and learn a few things about it. This might take some time because I’m not, how shall I put it, a real computer expert… - maybe you’ve noticed my attempt to put categories on my blog, which are STILL un-linkable…if anyone knows how to solve this problem by the way, don’t be shy and please share your secret! - =)

So from now on, only posts from this little wire-less beauty… =)

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Five things to eat before you die...

Perhaps you have already heard about this great meme which is going round invented by Melissa from The Traveler’s Lunchbox, the “Things to Eat before You Die” also known as “The Foodblogger’s Guide to the Globe”.
For this exciting project she asks follow bloggers worldwide, to make a list of their five most amazing, most special, tastiest food experience that they think everyone should once try in their lives. Very happy and honored to be tagged by Aun a.k.a. Chubby Hubby, I’ll now present you MY list of Thing You Must have Eaten At Least Once Before You Die…


1. Ganache truffles
Nothing beats a ganache truffle. I’ve been privileged to have sampled many bonbons and other delicious chocolate creations, from Wittamer to Fauchon, and although these are very outstanding and magnifique, I simply can’t live without ganache truffles. Only a ganache truffle has that ultimately richness and deep, bitter chocolate taste which is so addictive and makes it a thing you’ll definitely have to eat before you die…


2. Laduree’s "Club Champs-Elysées"
Their famous macarons didn’t make the cut; see point 1. plus the fact that I may only list five, but Laduree’s Club Sandwich Champs-Elysées – toast with dried tomatoes, eggplant, grilled courgette, mozzarella, black olives, pine nuts, parmesan and rosemary and basil. Served with a simple mixed salad using very good quality olive oil, and Laduree’s French fries (a.k.a delicious crunchy potatochips…) – certainly did. Sounds maybe a bit strange to go to one of the best chocolatiers and order a sandwich, but try it and I know you’ll agree with me. It’s already a year ago that me and my mum ordered this delicious lunch, we went for my birthday to Paris for a weekend, and Paris was of course amazing. Since then I often think back to it and has it became one of my dearest memories.


3. kruidnootjes (ginger nuts)
Kruidnoten are a Dutch traditional candy and are being eaten for The Saint Nicolas Feast. In October the shops are suddenly loaded with them, even special brands, you can get them fresh from every bakery and behind each display-window you can see pictures from the Saint and his kruidnootjes for the children. It’s every time again special to receive them after a year waiting. These little crunchy cookies are full with flavour and it’s hard to stop eating.



4. my family recipe for oliebollen (doughnut balls)
Oliebollen are being made for the celebration of New Year’s Eve and you eat them with lots and lots of icing sugar. You can make them your self, but almost everyone simply buys them from a street booth. I find this every year again so remarkable; they’re over priced and the quality varies a lot - often they are old, greasy and tasteless. Our family recipe is on the other hand the best; every year we adapt it a little trying to get an even better bunch and we pack them with raisins, apple and citron. They are delicious. It’s a true tradition to make them and I can’t imagine starting the year without them. Of course you’ll find the recipe on January 1st on my blog…


5. The Liquid Lounge’s "Honey and Chili Prawn Skewer" in Puerto Banus, Spain.
Food always tastes better when you’re on holiday but this was without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I’ve seriously considered jumping on a plain to go back. We were there on vacation and noticed right away this little, English bar/restaurant with their big leather chairs inside and nice relax atmosphere. It is already some time ago but I can still remember the lovely ambiance and the distinct, different flavors of my dish. The prawn skewer was served with Italian Noodle, peanuts, red pepper and a coriander salad. Sweet, spicy, soft, crunchy, hot, cold…; definitely a deserved spot on the list…


Okay, now it’s time to ask some other people worldwide for their list/experiences and am I supposed to tag again five bloggers, but feel free to join and share your list as a comment, I’m really curious for the outcome…!


- Anne from Anne’s food – Stockholm
- Mary from Alpineberry – San Francisco
- Nicky and Oliver from Delicious Days – Munich
- Jocelyn from KUIDAORE – Singapore
- Gilly from Humble Pie – Canada

Kinnie and Ftira’s

Bonģu! Yes, I’m back from my vacation to Malta. All-tanned and well-rested. I have had a wonderful time and am already missing my days of lying on a stretcher next to the pool, just listening to some music…

When we landed on Schiphol Airport this morning, a nice welcome was already waiting for us; rain, rain, and more rain. Grey skies with dark clouds and bitter coldness. Will put you definitely right back on your feet in the real world again after a week of dreaming and relaxing under a blue sky…

Malta is the perfect place for your holiday if you want to rest, sunbathe, shop a little and rest some more. It’s an idyllic little island with an ideal climate; of course hot, but not at all stifling. All the time sunshine and a lovely little breeze so you get the chance to cool off a bit.
Upon the clean streets are cute English houses, all beautiful painted, little chapels, small family restaurants, trendy bistros and souvenir shops which we happily plundered.

For the evening we drove on one of the many historic, antique yellow buses, which are by the way rejected English buses. (You really shouldn’t think of the brakes and their condition when you’re on one of the chauffeur’s bumpy, high-speed rides and see the many saint figures, presumably for blessings and good luck next to him…)
We set off to Valetta or Sliema; shopped a little and had a nice dinner on one of the cities many terraces.

I loved sitting there, watching people go by and drink some delicious, cold Kinnie. Kinnie is very popular on Malta, alcohol-free and made from bitter oranges and a variety of aromatic herbs. Really refreshing and an excellent thirst quencher.
Having a freshly baked, good-filled Maltese Ftira paired with this made it perfect. This big, round, oven-baked bread with a 20 cm diameter looks a bit like a plain, toasted focaccia but has a thick dark crust and a deliciously soft white centre which Maltese call the galba, i.e. the heart. I especially liked the scrumptious, still slightly warm, tuna-Ftira; both sides of the sliced bread were coated with tomato puree, and after this packed with tuna, Maltese capers, onion, garlic and olives. finished with a good sprinkle of olive-oil, this turned out to be a simple, very filling and very tasty sandwich.

I also succeeded to be a perfect tourist and came back with a much heavier suitcase than I had on the way there - stacked with new clothes, souvenirs and local goodies; including a jar of Maltese capers, some traditional cured cheeselets, Maltese honey made from wild thyme, nougat, the famous honey rings (qaghaq ta’ l-ghasel) which turned out a bit to dry and disappointing, and of course a bottle of Kinnie!

We as well found a little book with more than 120 authentic Maltese recipes which I’m eager to use. Leafing through, I already found the recipes for a lovely Mqaret (datecake) and Kwarezimal (Lenten almond cake) which both look very tempting and promising.
And who knows, maybe they will bring back a bit of my “good-happy- vacation-vibe” and the “gone-away-from-everything-feeling”, when school and work starts all again next week…

GONE

YES!
Don't want to make anyone jealous, but...
I already packed my bags, and in a few hours i'm off to (hopefully) sunny and exotic…

MALTA!!!!!!!!!

A whole week of just relaxing and getting tanned is planned… =)
Lying fabulously on a white bounty-beach among some palm trees, drink cocktails, read books, maybe some swimming, try local food, rest, and just have a nice break before school and all the other drama starts...

yum, yum...! =)
So, I’m gone for a week! But I’ll see U later, and hopefully I'll have some new Maltese recipes...

The perfect scone…

Last month, I went on vacation to Brighton for a week. (Britain) It was my very first holiday on my own and I’ve had such a fantastic time…
(It was an organized trip for teens which came with an intensive English course; this means I had 6 hours a day lesson... - seemed handy for my blog!)
I stayed in a youth hostel with people from roughly 60 different countries (!) and met some really nice people…

What I especially miss about my trip is my morning ritual I developed over there. Since the food we got served was just AWFUL, every morning, after the others had theìr breakfast and I’d had my first cup of coffee, I would walk to “the little village bakery” across the street and ordered a perfect breakfast: 2 delicious, freshly baked fruit scones…Scones served just out the oven with an absolutely perfect texture, an amazing taste, wonderfully dry and o so crumbly; these were without a doubt the best scones I had EVER tasted. Now, back home, completely scone-less and slightly depressed, I have decided to find out the secret of this perfect scone and ‘ll get the recipe!
Although it’s very simple to make scones, I have already come across about 100 different recipes, all claiming to make the perfect one…
…With sugar or sugarless, with milk, a mixture from milk and water or buttermilk, adding no eggs, just one, or many, and how much flour? and what about the amount of butter???...
Kind of frustrating and really not helping!

OK, maybe it’ll take some loads of scones, but I will post the perfect scone recipe! :)
If anyone has any useful tips (or perhaps already the perfect recipe…) please be so kind to leave a comment! :)