Spotted!

Every now and then I spend some time seeing who visits the website of The Dutch Table, and how they found us. I love the fact that so many are interested in Dutch Food and so willing to write about it, cook it and share their stories. Most of all, I am grateful that you list the source! I am only too happy to return the favor.

The last couple of weeks, we had people visit The Dutch Table through the links posted on these websites: take some time to visit the blogs, forums and read people's stories. We are all connected through our wonderful Dutch food!


Now tell me, how amazing is that! Give these folks a round of applause, they know what good food is all about! :-)
2 comments

We are seen here, here and here....but not here!

The annual Saveur Best Food Blog Awards came and went, and I'm sad to say that we've gone another year without even a single mention! Well, sad....not really. I would love to see more exposure to our national cuisine, with all its history, quirks, oddities and influences. But I am not a super duper food photographer, I'm not an exceptional food writer, and I lack the technical skills to turn the website into an amazingly designed online miracle.

But that's really not what it's all about, is it? If I can write the recipe down, show you how it's made and what it's supposed to look like when it shows up at the table, and give you a bit of history as to why or how we cook certain dishes, we're doing pretty good! I hope it encourages you to try and make some things yourself, perhaps reminisce a bit with some of the stories, and trust that you will share this with your children, your family and a good friend or two.

- In the meantime, I am tickled pink to see that The Dutch Table's recipes and photographs showed up on the I Am Expat website, in Benjamin Gartska's article about Dutch Easter Brunch.

- Also, the news section of the website for Dutchies, a restaurant in Hermanus, South Africa, was so kind as to publish some of our pictures.

- And I loved seeing our Dutch mustard soup on the BuzzFeed's list of 15 Deliciously Spicy Dishes From Around The World!

This is what makes me happy! Real people, real interests: and as time progresses I'll continue to capture our food history online: with recipes, pictures and anecdotes. I've been doing this for four years, and I have at least four more years of material, and that's just off the top of my head.

If you don't see a weekly post, don't worry. I've been updating some of the older posts, getting some new pictures in there and re-testing and adjusting some of the older recipes. It's a labor of love, and a live project. The latest updates were Mokkataart en Honingkoek. If you join us on Facebook, on The Dutch Table's page, you'll be kept informed of all updates.

Thank you all for your kind messages, for your support and for keeping our culinary culture alive!

Nicole


3 comments

It's that time of the year again!




Every year we try to get the word out about good, traditional, yummie Dutch food. Our cuisine is not too well known, mainly because we're so humble about it, partly because it's just not very Dutch to insanely brag about something so common and ordinary. It's just food, people! seems to be the common attitude.

But we tend to forget that our food is really, really good! We have some of the most plentiful, healthy, nutritious and affordable foods, and even Oxfam's report was bragging about us earlier this year. So why not do the same? Let go of some of that Calvinistic "act normal, that's crazy enough" attitude and shout it, clad in orange, from the rooftops:

"I LOVE Dutch food! Give me bitterballen, give me hope, let me never go without my stroop!"

Or you could just nominate us for this year's Saveur Best Food Blog Award and spare yourself getting strange looks from the neighbors. That's okay, too :-)

Click here: Saveur Best Food Blog Award to nominate The Dutch Table. When asked, the URL is www.thedutchtable.com.

Many thanks!!
Nicole

0 comments

Joodse Boterkoek

Boterkoek, butter cake, is a traditional Dutch delicacy. As far as I know, the Belgians do not have anything similar to it, nor do the Germans. The French have a Breton butter cake, but that's a completely different animal. Nope, the boterkoek is most definitely Dutch, with its crunchy sides and soft, tender heart.

It's definitely not for the faint of heart, or the dainty eaters, nor for the more refined consumer. Boterkoek, since its early appearance in the thirties, appears to be a confection for the common people. It was not sold in the higher-end patisseries or bakeries in town, nor could it be found in the tea rooms of the upper classes. Even the traditional boterkoek baking pans, the shallow tart pans with the built-in slider, were not stocked in the higher-end specialty stores, according to Johannes van Dam, the famous Dutch food writer, but could easily be found in more eh...general stores like Blokker and Hema. We love the HEMA!

But in the homes of the hard workers, the farmers, the fishermen, the harbor workers and other physically challenging jobs, a small square of boterkoek was well received, together with a cup of strong coffee to cut through some of the greasy goodness. Made with (good) butter, i.e. not margarine, sugar and flour, the butter cake is probably one of the easiest cakes to make, and one of the first ones that kids learn to make at home.

Somehow there is a Jewish connection with boterkoek, as it was traditionally served on Shabbat in Dutch Jewish homes. Claudia Roden includes a recipe for Joodse Boterkoek in her book "The Book of Jewish Food", where she mentions that the boterkoek is part of "a few dishes, seen as Jewish but presenting a distinctive Dutch character."  The Dutch Joodse boterkoek, Jewish butter cake, is per definition made with candied ginger. 

Joodse Boterkoek
2 sticks (225 grams) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup (225 grams) sugar
1 1/2 cup (225 grams) all purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 cup (75 grams) candied ginger

1 egg for brushing

Mix the soft butter with the sugar until it’s creamy and fluffy, then fold in the flour. Chop the ginger into small strips and add 3/4 of the amount to the dough. Add in the egg, mix it a few more times until it appears to be a cohesive dough.

Butter a square or round baking pan (9 inches) and place a bottom of parchment paper in there. Pat the dough into the pan, refrigerate it for 10 minutes, then brush it with the beaten egg and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 of ginger on top. Bake in an 350F (175C) oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until the top is golden. The center may still be slightly jiggly.

Remove from the oven, and let cool down completely before removing the cake from the pan. Cut into small squares. Serve at room temperature with some good coffee.



10 comments
Labels:

Wentelteefjes

It's a holiday today, so hopefully you got to sleep in a bit, lounge around the house for a while and get some much needed things done. Good for you! It's not until you get ready to fix breakfast that you realize somebody left the bag with bread out on the counter all night, and now all the slices have gone stale. Ugh...but not to worry! Remember those delectable slices of fried bread your oma or mama used to make? Today is a perfect day to indulge!

These slices of stale bread, dipped in egg and milk and then fried golden in butter, are a staple of practically any country that has sliced bread on the menu. Whether you call it French toast, pain perdu, torrijas or wentelteefjes, it all comes down to the same thing: proud housemothers (or fathers) using up the food they have and making a worthy dish out of it!

The word "wentelteefje" always generates a big smile from the adults and a snicker from the kids. The word itself could be considered an insult ("teef" is Dutch for female dog and therefore also used to describe less than pleasant women), and to "wentelen" means to turn over. So "wentelteefje" literally means "turnover little b*tch", pardon my English.

But how did this name come about? Did people run around the kitchens yelling insults at the maids to flip the bread? No, of course not. The generally assumed thought is that the name came from "wentel het even", turn it over for a minute (loosely translated) which might not be correct, after all, according to this article by Ewoud Sanders in the NRC newspaper. Regional variations of the name wentelteefje include draaireuen (rotating studs) and gebakken hondsvotjes (baked dogs butts), of which the latter one sends me into fits of giggles and is making me seriously contemplate telling my non-Dutch family that this is the correct name. I know, I know! It's not right. I promise I won't.

The best thing about wentelteefjes is the combination of ease of preparation and the big smiles you get when you set the platter on the table, stacked high with golden slices of yummie goodness.

Wentelteefjes
8 slices stale bread
3 eggs
1 cup (250 ml) milk
Butter
Sugar
Cinnamon

Whip the eggs with the milk well. Heat a skillet on the stove with a little bit of butter, dip the bread slices briefly into the eggy milk on both sides, and fry them in the pan until golden. Turn them over to fry on the other side, and keep them warm on a platter until you're done.

Sprinkle with powdered or regular sugar and plenty of cinnamon!


6 comments
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)