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…
The house in France, I missed it dearly the last couple of years while living in the US. My parents own a stately home in a half deserted village in the French countryside. Once, it used to be the village school with one classroom and a school bell hanging in a small tower in the yard. Read more…
In a matter of days we went from two feet of snow to temperatures that allowed for eating outside. Spring is around the corner, but we’re not quite there yet. For me, that is the perfect time for preparing this Chicken Pot Pie, the ultimate American family dish. Read more…
Felix Austria is a tiny little restaurant in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Red and white checkered tablecloths, dark wooden furniture, bottles of the herb-lemonade Almdudler in the fridge. On the menu: sausage salad, potato salad, goulash, Marillenknödel (Apricot Knodel), and these Kaiserschmarrn, an Austrian pancake dessert. Read more…
Snow, hail, sleet, temperatures below freezing. Some days it seems that winter will never end here in Washington, DC. Well, at least it’s a good excuse to prepare one of our favorite hot winter drinks: Mexican Hot Chocolate. My daughter Rosa thinks it’s like an enormous liquid bonbon, and I guess she’s right. This hot […] Read more…
Of course we’ll eat chili bowl tonight! After having spent almost five years in the States I have come to fully embrace this spicy and flavorful tradition on Super Bowl Sunday. Every year I try to make a different version. This year I used ground beef instead of beef chuck, and I must say, it […] Read more…
It took a while for me to get acquainted with the American habit of drinking Hot or Mulled Apple Cider in winter. In the Netherlands, we do not drink our apple juice hot; apple juice typically is a cold drink. However, one day my kids asked for Hot Cider, so I started making it at […] 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…