by Krista | Nov 3, 2010 | Compatriot Wednesday
After a great costume party with my cooking club this weekend, we decided to keep things simple Monday night with appetizers and wine. We had a small group this week, and it was wonderfully cozy and laid back as we puttered about the kitchen, stretching our dining into a 3-hour graze.
We started with mounds of tender French bread dipped in copious amounts of fruity olive oil, balsamic vinegar and an assortment of herbs.
Jon presented us with another of his amazing inventions: Roasted Mozzarella Potato Slices with Pistachio Portabella Cream. It was a truly crazy ensemble of flavors, but boy oh boy was it ever good!! The potatoes were crispy and salty and the cream, oh my, it was fabulous. I don’t even like mushrooms and I ate every last bit!
I made mini Zucchini Tarts with puff pastry, pesto and roasted zucchini topped with toasted Parmesan. Mmm, I love those savory little morsels!
Jenny dazzled us with not one, but THREE kinds of roasted pumpkin seeds: Salted, Worcestershire, and Cinnamon and Sugar. Mercy – they were all scrumptious and toasted to perfection.
In keeping with my newly established tradition, I now present two more of my beloved cooking cohorts: Toby and Cameron. Toby makes the most fabulous soups and is my fellow World War II history addict. (Foyle’s War, anyone?) Cameron is our resident meat master, and with a bit of smoke and his own special rubs and sauces can turn any meat (even SPAM!) into perfection. Cameron just returned from South Africa and very soon I’ll be featuring a fabulous South African dinner he made with his awesome girlfriend, Robin.
I sure am blessed with a lot of wonderful cooks in my life. Who are some of your favorite people to cook with?
Jon’s Roasted Potato Slices with Portabella Pistachio Cream
Ingredients:
3 small Yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/8″ thick
olive oil
salt and pepper
paprika
mustard powder
Several slices mozzarella cheese, cut to fit potato slice
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 baby portabella mushroom, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp tomato paste
salt to taste
1/4 cup pistachios
1 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp dried basil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400
- Slice 3 small potatoes 1/8″ thick
- Toss potato slices with oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and mustard powder.
- Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake until crispy (approximately 20 minutes)
- For Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in saucepan and saute onion and mushroom until onion is transparent.
- Add garlic, 1 Tbsp tomato paste, and salt, and saute 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
- Add pistachios to food processor and chop finely. Add onion/mushroom mixture and yogurt and blend until smooth.
- Just before potatoes are done, place a slice of mozzarella cheese on each potato slice and bake until cheese melts and begins to brown.
- As they come out of the oven spoon some of the yogurt sauce over top and sprinkle with dried basil.
Krista’s Mini Zucchini Pesto Tarts
(Makes 12)
Ingredients:
1/2 package puff pastry sheets, thawed and cut into 12 squares
1/2 jar pesto (sun-dried tomato is my favorite, but olive tapenade works well too)
1 baby zucchini, sliced thinly
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place puff pastry squares on cookie sheet and top with layer of pesto.
- Toss zucchini slices with olive oil, salt and pepper, and arrange on top of pesto, about 4 slices per square.
- Sprinkle each square with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until pastry has puffed and cheese is golden.
- Serve warm.
by Krista | Nov 2, 2010 | Gulliver Tuesday
Every time I’ve visited my brother Ryan in Amsterdam he’s taken me to breakfast at Hiene for the best French toast I’ve ever had in my life. It’s the sort of French toast you dream of on chilly, Fall days or cool, Spring mornings: thick, fluffy, crisp on the outside, tender-but-not-mushy on the inside. Slicked with butter and drizzled with keukenstroop (a molasses/treacle syrup), it is the perfect accompaniment to a tiny cup of espresso.
I always looked forward to dressing warmly and walking down the Prinsengracht, admiring the canal boats with their rooftop gardens, wondering what it would be like to live in one.
We’d check both ways for bicycles whizzing past, then cross the bridge and find a table for two on the red brick sidewalk where we could people-watch while we ate.
If we were especially ravenous we might try their Eggs With Everything – scrambled eggs piled with anything they felt like: salad, leftover ham, a bit of sauce – or a big bowl of steaming Dutch pea soup. But no matter what else we ordered, we inevitably got French toast.
The same older woman always waited on us: whisper thin, platinum blond hair, dressed all in black with a voice steeped in cigarette smoke. She was lovely and adored my brother, her lined face creasing in a smile at his approach, knowing exactly what he would order.
When Ryan sent me a ticket to join him and my family in Europe for Christmas this year, one of the many things I was looking forward to was our traditional breakfast at Hiene. I was heartbroken when he told me Hiene had closed.
I know it’s a very little thing, hardly worth mentioning, but Hiene was such a special place to me. A spot of delicious food and hours of great conversation with my brother and assorted friends who joined us over the years. I shall miss it.
Ryan assures me he has found a few new places that are really good. As long as he’s there to tease me dreadfully, make me laugh, and regale me with outlandish tales, I know they will be.
This is my contribution to Wanderfood Wednesday.
by Krista | Nov 1, 2010 | Bootstrap Monday
The rain is thundering down outside my window this morning making me want to stay inside, warm and cozy. Instead I shall brave the weather with a bright pink scarf tossed jauntily around my neck, and start my day with Christmas music and a hot cup of cinnamon apple tea.
How was your weekend? 🙂
Saturday was gloriously lazy and restful. I slept in, read a good book, then got this urge to bake and whipped up a roasted pork pie and an apple-cranberry galette. Mmm. My apartment smelled SO good, I tell you!
Sunday afternoon I spent with dear friends carving pumpkins – I hadn’t done my own pumpkin since I was little! That’s mine on the bottom step above, and my pal Jenny and me carving below. 🙂 It was also my first day as a brunette – thanks to a friends wig! Friends who’ve known me for years didn’t recognize me. It was grand fun. 🙂
We carved, scooped out mounds of pumpkin seeds for roasting, then visited for ages whilst nibbling on chips with homemade guacamole and salsas, crackers dunked in hot artichoke dip, and smoked leg of lamb and smoked pork loin. Mmm. Good eatin!! Folks costumes were so fun ranging from pirates and the 3 of Spades to Napoleon Dynamite and Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly. We even had a cat with whiskers and a tail!
The apple-cranberry galette turned out so cute. A mere 8-inches across filled with an almost candied tartly sweet filling. The tiny slices are perfect little bites for satisfying a craving for something sweet mid-morning.
Do you get the urge to bake on rainy days? What is your favorite thing to make this Fall?
This is my contribution to Chaya’s Meatless Mondays.
Apple-Cranberry Galette
Ingredients:
1 apple, cored, peeled and thinly sliced (I used Honey Crisp)
1 cup whole fresh or frozen cranberries
3-4-1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch of sea salt
Pie Dough:
(makes enough for 3 galettes or 1 galette and a double-crust pie)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter-flavored shortening, chilled
1 stick butter, chilled and grated
1/2 cup ice water
Directions:
- In medium bowl stir together flours and salt.
- Pour flour mixture into food processor, add shortening and butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Dump back into bowl. (If you don’t have a food processor, using pastry blender to cut in shortening and butter.)
- Drizzle with ice water, a Tbsp at a time, and toss lightly with fork until mixture is damp and holds together when pinched lightly.
- Press dough together gently and divide into three. Form each third into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- While dough chills, melt butter in bottom of saucepan.
- Add apples and cranberries and saute over medium high heat for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and cook until juices reduce and sauce caramelizes and coats the fruit. Set aside.
- Remove one disk of dough from fridge. Place between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll out to a circle about 8-10 inches in diameter.
- Remove top layer of plastic wrap and invert dough onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Remove second layer of plastic wrap.
- Chill in freezer for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove dough from freezer. Pour fruit mixture in center of dough and spread evenly to within 1/2-inch of edges. Gently fold edges of dough over fruit, pleating as needed to make it fit. Brush with beaten egg.
- Bake 35-45 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
by Krista | Oct 29, 2010 | Fabulous Friday
Happy Friday, luvs! 🙂 I’m not feeling so well today, so I’m dressing cozily in sweater and jeans, keeping myself warm with lots of herbal tea, and looking forward to a weekend of resting and reading a jolly good book I found at a thrift store.
Last night I wrote a Master List of all the projects I’m working on and responsible for and realized with certainty that I am a nincompoop. Here I’ve been patting myself on the back for getting better at saying no, but one look at this list made me wonder if there was ANYTHING I’ve said no to! Heavens. No wonder I’m tired! 🙂
So I’ve taken my schedule in hand and am fine tuning it, organizing things by importance and assigning times to get them done. I feel better already. Important things first. Isn’t it amazing how that one little practice makes everything easier?
Once again I am slowing down, evaluating the mantras in my head that make me feel I’m not good enough unless I’m working like a whirling dervish. I don’t want to feel this incessant need to prove myself worthy of respect or love. I AM worthy of those things. So are you. Today I’m going to bask in that knowledge and let go, again, of these ridiculous expectations.
This week I’ve started adding beautiful things into my life that yank me out of work mode and help me settle.
- Reading back issues of Victoria magazine for a few minutes before work. This never, ever fails to cheer, calm and inspire me.
- Looking out the window whilst sipping a cup of tea.
- Going for 15 minute walks on my breaks at work. How good it feels to amble through town, crunching fallen leaves, enjoying all the fall decorations on the darling houses that fill the Dutch town where I live.
Do you ever struggle with this sort of thing? How do you bring yourself back from feeling your value is in what you do rather than who you are? Do you have little mantras that help you think rightly? I’d sure love to hear them. 🙂
I hope you have a GORGEOUS weekend, dear ones! A big hug to you across the miles and a reminder that you are worthy of much love, respect and kindness simply because you’re you. 🙂
by Krista | Oct 28, 2010 | Autumn
There’s something quite lovely about exploring someone else’s garden.There is no work to be done, no weeds I must pull, nothing I need to water or prune. It is pure enjoyment.
Last October my friend Amy and I entered the doors of the Museum Willet-Holthuysen in Amsterdam. The stunning 17th Century canal house was once the home of Abraham Willet and his wife Louisa Willet-Holthuysen.
After her husband died, Louisa stipulated in her will that upon her death, the home and all its contents were to be given to the city of Amsterdam. Since 1895 her wishes have been followed. The home has been turned into a museum showcasing Abraham’s vast collection of paintings, weapons, glass, and other treasures. Click here for a virtual tour.
The house provides a fascinating glimpse into Dutch life for the wealthy in the 1800’s. As much as I enjoyed the opulent bedrooms, marvelous ballroom, and cozy scullery, the garden was my favorite spot. Quiet, peaceful and beautifully laid out, it was an oasis of calm and artistry in the heart of Amsterdam.
What is your favorite garden you’ve ever visited?
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