Tuesday, June 28, 2011

We The Foodie People...Week 4: Dutch

Hallo! Yes, yes, I know...I should have posted yesterday as I promised, but my little one is teething, so I spent yesterday morning trying to soothe her, doing research for food this week and get the grocery shopping done...ugh, I really don't like grocery shopping alone. Then last night, we went up to a private estate sale...only everything was FREE! Oh, and Ben didn't get his post up last week, so you'll be seeing a BUNCH of pictures this Thursday! We've been busy and have added things to our home...which is always fun. But why am I updating you on the "life" side of our lives? Food is my department!

While I was doing my research for the Dutch week, I was surprised to find out that the food is very similar to Northern French food...oh-so-good! So buckle up and get ready for a breeze through our week of Dutch food!


Okay, so I couldn't help it! Lilyana has to make an appearance no matter what we're talking about! Cute, eh?

Her father began reading out loud before she was born. When I was pregnant, she would move around when he spoke and when he poked her, she'd poke him back. *laughing* They're so cute together. She still loves to hear him read...and we're already getting her started on "foodie" books! The Duchess Bakes a Cake is one of her favorites...I think she loves the contrasting colors in it...oh, and the cake!

Dutch Day 1: Gehakt in bladerdeeg...or, seasoned ground beef in puffed pastry with salad and bread. It was sooooo wonderful to have salad again! The beef dish was interesting, not a favorite of mine, but then again, I'm not a huge fan of ground beef. Ben really liked it, though!

And here we have Varkensrollade...or herbs and garlic rolled in pork, with buttered Brussles Sprouts (YUM!!!) roasted potatoes and bread. Eating Dutch food was fun, because they eat a huge variety of meat and fish. This one had a nice buttery sauce, too. I'm a saucy person... *grin*

See! What did I tell you! Here you see me making another sauce for the next day! Yes, I wear that apron a lot...it's comfy, cute, coordinates with my kitchen, was made by a very good friend of mine and if those excuses aren't good enough, then I'll just say that I love it!

Ahhhh, it was really hard to decide which meal was the favorite this week, but this was one of them!
Flensjes met zalm, or Crepes with Salmon. I called them Dutch Enchiladas. *smile*
The filling had butter, spinach, cream cheese, parmesan, and salmon. We had marinated tomatoes and bread on the side.

Okay, so Ben didn't learn that it was considered bad table manners to play with food at the table...but if you look at this picture of my plate two years ago, I guess I haven't learned either (mine was a smiley face, too).

A peek at the inside of our Dutch Enchiladas...I'm going to have to make those again!

Summer time is here again, and that means it's time to can!! I got 14 pounds of strawberries for $1.14/pound, so I canned some pie filling. Now I need to work on my cherries and pick my blueberries...

Cherries? Okay, so we've learned that when I eat cherries, the cherries run through the baby...

A gift from my true love...and it matches my kitchen!!! Homemade ice cream is sooo good!

Lilyana really enjoys looking at our food. I think she's going to be a foodie baby and grow up to be a foodie person like her parents.
Kipfilet met sinaasappelsaus...Chicken fillets in an orange sauce. This dish was very...different. The sauce over the chicken had fresh orange juice, Grand Mariner, and a bit of a kick from the cayenne. I served it with brown rice and fresh steamed broccoli.

Oooo, you can't see all of it, but Ben's waiting for me to put the camera down so that he can eat his crepes and homemade ice cream. Speaking of homemade ice cream, I need to go make some more.

Sorry baby, you have a few more months before we give you any!

Okay, so we had to take the RV down to the RV fixer-upper, which meant leaving Holland and heading into the Basque Country...talk about foodie people! Just when you think the main course is on it's way, they bring something else! A restaurant not for the faint of heart...
And I have no idea what my husband is doing....

We were back in Holland on Saturday, and Saturday usually means saving the best sounding meal for last.
Gegrilleerde mahi-mahi op z’n Curaçao or Grilled Mahi-Mahi, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and grilled potatoes. Another meal on our favorite list.

So, for those of you who have been trying our recipes, we talked about this week and settled on the enchiladas!

Flensjes met zalm
Dutch Enchiladas
Makes 18 crepes

Crepes:
3 eggs
pinch of salt
5 oz flour
1 cup milk

Filling:
1.5 oz butter
1 oz flour
1 3/4 cup milk
½ cup whipping cream
6 oz grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
½ tsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb 5 oz fresh spinach
4 oz cream cheese
3 tbsp chopped basil
2 eggs
5oz salmon fillets cut into strips

Crepes: Lightly beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Add the flour and milk and mix into a smooth batter. Let it settle for 30 minutes. Make the crepes in a crepe pan or a 6”frying pan. For every crepe put a bit of butter in the pan.

Spinach and salmon: Melt the butter, mix in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Mix in most of the milk and all the whipping cream, let simmer for 5 minutes. 2 oz Parmesan, coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Put the sauce to the side.

Heat the oil and stir fry the spinach until it is reduced. Drain and squeeze out the juice. Chop the spinach. Mix the cream cheese with the remainder of the milk (1/5th cup), basil, 3 oz. Parmesan, the eggs, spinach and salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 395ºF. Divide the filling over the crepes, place the strips of salmon over the filling and roll them up. Pour one third of the sauce in an oven dish. Put the crepes in and pour the rest of the sauce over them. Sprinkle the remainder of the Parmesan over the dish and cover with aluminum foil.

Bake covered for 30 minutes and 15 minutes more after discarding the foil.

Yup, she's tired again! And so am I! But there is work to be done and I'd better get going before she wakes up.

Enjoy the recipe and if you try it, let us know what you think!

7 comments:

James McDonald said...

Well done. I wish we were there! You will have to bring some recipes when you come our way.
With love from all, especially me,
Dad of the East

JB said...

Ymmm. This looks like a good week. I am so a sauce person - I can not stand dry meat.

Ben was taught by his his Dad not to play with his food, but his Mom always liked to set up his plate with faces or dinosaurs or something else imaginative! Can't keep those artsy types down!

I love the third picture of Lilyana, the overhead of you and I will like a picture of Ben's new haircut!

Love all three of you, Mumsie/Grandmum

Anthony said...

I think you all should open a restaurant.:)All of these pictures look like they came out of a New York bestseller cookbook!:)The crepes look REALLY good. You will have to make them again! Thanks for sharing!

Anton, Esq. to be

Lauren said...

Wow, those do look yummy! I've never really experimented with Dutch food, so I'll have to try your recipe sometime!

Mikaela said...

Those crepes look incredible (and they do remind me of France!)--I can't wait to try them!

Rebecca said...

Just wanted to let y'all know how much I am enjoying your"foodie" series. I love reading about all the different recipes (I'm rather adventurous in the kitchen) and I really enjoy the pictures. I haven't been brave enough to try any of the recipes yet, but I'm sure I will soon.
~Rebecca

Simply Tiffany said...

Dad,

Oh I'll definitely bring some recipes over! Especially some of the Ethiopian recipes that I've been using this week! YUM!

It was your love for foreign foods that got me started! LOVE YOU!

Mumsie,

*laughing* There is a time and place for everything, I guess. His smiley face was funny...

I love her HUGE headband...it's too cute on her. Oh, yes...there will be a picture of his hair cut in the next post. Love ya!

Anton,

Restaurants are a TON of work...trust me...been there, done that! Though, I have to admit, that using our idea to start a restaurant would be kind of fun...

Oh yes...the crepes are a keeper! :)

Lauren,

This was the first time that I've ever tried Dutch food. It was really good, and I love how they cook with lots of fish... :)

Mikaela,

Dessert crepes will always be my favorite, but these were good with salmon. If you do try them, let me know how you like them! :)

Rebecca,

Thanks! We enjoy experimenting and eating. :) Well, if you do try any of them we'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

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