During the month of August, Amsterdam will be welcoming one of the most anticipated events of the year, De Parade. This traveling theatre festival visits various cities throughout Netherlands including Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Visitors are treated to performances by wandering entertainers, children’s programs and my favorite, the food fair!
The food fair is one of the most popular features at De Parade. An international food booth offers a great variety of cuisines in snack portions or full meals. This year, De Parade will take place from 6 August until 22 August at the Martin Luther King Park on Amsteldijk between the Beragebrug and Utrechsbrug.
Gates are open from 3:00 p.m. until midnight.
This week, our food travels will take us on a trip to Amsterdam for a refreshing summer dessert. Hangop is an old Dutch recipe that is not only delicious, but healthy as well! Plus, this treat is extremely easy to put together.
Berry Hangop
4 c plain, strained yogurt
1 lb fresh strawberries (or any berry of your choice)
5 tbsp sugar
1 vanilla bean
sugar to taste
¼ c balsamic vinegar + 2 tbsp (optional)
2/3 c fresh chopped basil (optional)
Sweeten the yogurt with sugar to desired flavor and whip in the seeds of the vanilla bean.
To make the sauce, puree berries, sugar and a teaspoon of water in a food processor or blender. If you wish, add the vinegar and basil to the mixture for a unique topping.
Bonjour, Travelers! I hope you’re staying cool in this hot July sun! I think the perfect treat to enjoy on days such as this would be a light, cool mousse. French for “lather” or “foam”, mousse used to be a specialty that was only served in French restaurants until the 1960s. It can be flavored with any number of things: orange, vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch, etc.
This week, let’s take a trip to France for a cool, creamy chocolate mousse recipe.
Mousse au Chocolat
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 egg whites
• 6 oz unsalted butter
• 6 oz bittersweet, semi-sweet or dark chocolate
• ¾ c sugar
• 4 tbsp coffee
• Pinch of salt
Beat egg yolks and sugar together until it becomes a thick yellow mixture.
Melt chocolate and coffee together, slowly add butter and beat until mixture is smooth, then add egg yolk and sugar mixture.
Beat egg whites and salt until stiff. Add 1 tbsp sugar and beat for 2 more minutes.
Add approximately 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, stir well and then add the rest.
Chill well for at least 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream, strawberries or as is, it’s delicious no matter what!
Hello, Travelers! I hope everyone is doing well on this fine Wednesday afternoon! If you recall, back in April I wrote a blog about the famous gastronomy of Brussels. I spoke of waffles, beer, chocolate and Frieten (fries) but did not mention one of the tastiest treats of all – cheese croquettes! Yum! Today, for our World Cuisine Wednesday, I will finally share a recipe straight from Belgium. Genieten! Jouir! Genießen!
Belgian Cheese Croquettes
1 c milk
2 egg whites
2 tbsp butter
3.5 oz shredded cheddar
3.5 oz breadcrumbs
4 tbsp flour
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cumin powder
Black pepper to taste
In saucepan, melt butter and two tablespoons of flour. Stir constantly and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add milk, bring to a boil, still stirring constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 2 more minutes.
Remove from heat and add spices, then refrigerate for 2 hours.
Form approximately 10 croquettes from the refrigerated mixture.
On three different dishes, put breadcrumbs, flour and egg whites. Roll each croquette through flour, then through egg whites, and lastly through breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for one more hour.
To cook, deep fry approximately 4 minutes or until golden brown.
Dobry Wieczor, Travelers! Today we will travel to Poland for our recipe of the week: pierogi. Pierogi are dumplings containing a filling of your choice. You can add potatoes, sauerkraut, cheese, cabbage…the list goes on. This dish is a popular one, every country has their own variation, but I will show you how to prepare it as though you were dining in the heart of Krakow or Warsaw. Today’s recipe will be for pierogi with cheese filling.
Polish Cheese Filled Pierogi
This recipe is made in two parts: the cheese filling and the pierogi.
Cheese Filling
2 c cottage cheese
6 tbsp currants
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp butter
½ tsp cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Cream eggs and butter together. Mix in remaining ingredients until well blended.
Pierogi
2 eggs
2 c flour
½ c water
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
On a kneading board, shape flour into a mound and make a hole in the middle. Drop eggs into the hole, cut flour with a knife. Add water and salt, knead until firm.
Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes, covered with a large warm pot. Roll the dough thin and cut circles with a large biscuit cutter.
Meanwhile, put a pot of salted water on to boil.
Spoon in a small mound of previously prepared cheese filling to one side on each circle of dough, moisten the edge of the dough and fold over, making sure to press the edges firmly together to avoid filling from coming out.
Drop the pierogi into the water, and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Make sure not to overcrowd the water with too many. With a perforated spoon, gently lift the dumpling from the water. Do not pile them one on top of the other.
To prepare for serving:
Layer pierogi in a large baking dish, cover with foil and heat at 275° for about 40 minutes or fry pierogi in a small pat of butter over medium heat until lightly browned.
