I love this mid-century serving dish that belonged to my late grandmother. I wish I could say that I recall her using it as a serving plate for appetizers at dazzling cocktail parties, where her sharp-dressed friends drank Sidecars and listened to jazzy music coming from huge loud-speakers. But I can’t. Although my grandmother was […] Read more…
Easy never goes out of fashion, nor do crumble bars, nor does Christmas. That’s why I love to make this dessert with its sweet, tart filling for the Holidays. You can make it well in advance (it even tastes better the next day!), you can safely take it to your sister’s dinner party without being […] Read more…
We already had a practice run for Christmas. Petra brought a beautiful bottle of vodka from Berlin en Tal thought of these blinis to go with it. Of course, a perfect combination but also without the vodka these blinis are a showstopper. This recipe is also featured in this month’s issue of the Dutch culinary […] Read more…
For all our friends in the US who want to finish off Thanksgiving with an almost classic Pecan Pie (almost…this one contains chocolate), and for all our Dutch friends who might want to celebrate Thanksgiving or just feel like making a delicious pie (I could happily eat Pecan Pie 365 days of the year). Read more…
When I was young, Easter wasn’t complete without matzos with butter, sugar and garden cress – something I still eat around this time of year. In Berlin, the stores and bakeries are filled with chocolate eggs and bunny shaped bread rolls as of early February. Whoever celebrates Easter with a brunch, can’t go without lots […] Read more…
Our New Year’s Eve tradition is to begin and end the evening with champagne. But not without having an array of appetizers within reach or we won’t make it until midnight. These are some of the appetizers we’ll have this year, all easy to prepare: Warm Marinated Olives, Parmesan Crisps, and Goat Cheese with Cranberries […] Read more…
Dresden, a two-hour drive from Berlin, is the hometown of the real Christstollen (Christmas Stollen). It’s serious business: about 130 bakers make these famous breads every year. There is one more or less secret basic recipe, but all bakers make their own variations. Traditionally, you should buy a stollen two to four weeks before Christmas. […] Read more…
My Danish friend Ulla, who opens a coffee shop in Berlin next January, is a great cook and also knows how to bake the most delicious cookies. For her traditional Advent Party she made eight different versions, among which these crispy ginger cookies with raw licorice powder. Cookies with licorice? It may sound odd, but […] Read more…
I just love the Advent season in Berlin! In a way, I find the four weeks before Christmas even nicer than Christmas itself. Every Sunday, we celebrate together with friends, drinking the inevitable Read more…
What I like about Thanksgiving is that people start cooking several days in advance. The day before yesterday my American friend Maren called me and invited me over to prepare some of the traditional dishes with her. There’s nothing better than cooking with friends! We made one of her mother’s recipes: a delicious, spicy cranberry […] Read more…