January 1 - Dutch Doughnuts for New Year

Serving Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts) on New Year's eve is a Dutch tradition. So when my husband learned that I am serving oliebollen on New Year's eve, he was very happy.





Oliebollen
Ingredients
1 cake yeast (2/3 oz)
1 cup milk
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup raisins (washed to soften)
1 apple, peeled and chopped
oil for deep frying
confectioner's sugar











Preparation Time (at least 4 hours)
Mix the cake yeast with 1/3 cup lukewarm water and let it stand for at least 15 minutes or until bubbles appear.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt.
Add the yeast, milk and egg to the flour mixture and mix.
Mix the raisins and apples to the batter.

Leave the bowl in a warm place.
Let it stand until the batter doubles in size.


Cooking Time (20 minutes)
Pour oil in a deep fryer.
Shape balls using two spoons and drop them in the deep fryer.
Cook the doughnuts for 7 minutes or until brown.
Drain the doughnuts on absorbent paper.
Cover thickly with confectioner's suger before serving.

September 17 - Bitterballen

My husband is off to Netherlands and here I am trying out the bitterballen. Bitterballen is a Dutch typical appetizer that is prepared like croquettes but shaped like a ball. They were originally served with bittertje, a small glass of Dutch jenever, that's why is called "bitter ball".

The main thing he told me when preparing bitterballen is not to use ground meat. It is not a meatball. For this, I used beef chuck pot roast.

It is also a ragout, meaning you can use any leftover meat. Since I did not have any leftovers, I made my own boiled beef first before making the bitterballen.

It is typically served with mustard, or any dip of your liking.

Since I am serving bitterballen as church snacks, I increased the portions 4 times as much, about 70 pieces of bitterballen. If you are just serving to a small group, then 2 cups of shredded beef should be fine.

It is also good to prepare bitterballen ahead of time and store them in the freezer.



Bitterballen

Ingredients:
4 lbs beef chuck pot roast
1/4 cup salt
1 tbsp peppercorn
1 cup or 2 sticks butter
4 cups flour
8 cups broth
4 packets unflavored gelatin (1 oz)
5 tbsp parsley flakes
2 tbsp nutmeg
juice from 1 fresh lemon

4 eggs, yolk and white separated
1 cup milk
bread crumbs
flour
oil for deep frying

Preparation Time (overnight)
Place the beef chuck pot roast in a big casserole.
Add the salt and peppercorn.
Add enough water to cover the meat, about 10 cups.
Let it cook in low heat for 4 hours until the meat is really tender.
Strain the broth and set aside.
Shred the beef using two forks.
Chop the shredded beef as well.
In a large pot, melt the butter in medium heat.
Add the flour and mix it to make a roux.
After 10 minutes, slowly add 8 cups of the beef broth.
Mix it thoroughly for 5 minutes.
Add the gelatin and mix it well.
Add the parsley, lemon and nutmeg.
Mix 8 cups of the shredded beef.
Mix it thoroughly for another 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat.
Add the egg yolks and milk.
Transfer the mixture in a large shallow pan.
Cool it in the refrigerator for 5 hours or overnight to make it firm.


Cooking Time (1 hour)
Heat enough oil in a deep fryer.
Place 2 cups of flour in a bowl.
Place the egg whites with 3 tbsp oil in another bowl.
Place 2 cups of bread crumbs in a third bowl.
Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop, scoop enough mixture to make a 1.5 inch ball.
Dip it in the flour, then in the egg whites mixture, then in the bread crumbs.
Make at least 5 balls before frying them together in the deep fryer.
Fry them for at least 5 minutes.
Serve warm with mustard.

November 7 - Curried Chicken Dish That Kids Will Love

Here's one chicken curry recipe that my kids ended up liking. Curry powder is a bit spicy but adding some milk to the dish made the taste mild enough for my kids.

The original recipe called for sliced mushrooms. It was not that appetizing for the kids. So for the second time, I substituted the mushrooms with carrots and sweet peas.

I still think that color is a big factor when it comes to dishes that kids would enjoy.


Curried Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

6 chicken legs

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1 big sweet onion, thinly sliced

8 small (or medium) carrots

1 can sweet peas

2 tbsp curry powder (West Indian)

1 cup of milk

2 tbsp corn starch

Cooking Time (30 minutes)

Heat the butter in a large frying pan or Dutch oven.

Rub the chicken legs with salt.

Fry the chicken, skin side up.

After 10 minutes, turn the chicken on the other side.

Place the onions and carrots on top of the chicken and let it cook for 10 minutes.

Strain the sweet peas from the can but save the liquid.

Put the peas in the pan.

Mix the liquid with 2 tbsp curry powder.

Pour the liquid on the chicken and cook for 5 minutes.

Mix 1 cup of milk with 2 tbsp corn starch.

Pour it around the chicken and carefully mix it with the curry.

Cook for another 5 minutes.

October 15 - Vegetable Soup for the Cold Autumn

The first days of October are the toughest time of Autumn. It is getting colder and our bodies are starting to acclimate to the changing weather. It is even tougher when it becomes windy and kids have to play soccer in the freezing rain.

Dutch Vegetable Soup
Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
1 cauliflower head, cut in small pieces
2 cup diced carrots
2 cups diced celery stalks
15 pieces of Brussels sprouts, cut in halves
2 tbsp minced scallions
8 cups of chicken broth
2 cups cooked white rice
2 tbsp minced parsley







Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Using a large pot, saute the vegetables (except parsley) in butter for 15 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and the cooked white rice.
Simmer for the next 30 minutes.
Mix in the parsley in the last minute.
Serve with some sausages and bread.

October 7 - A Real Dutch Steak

Potatoes is a Dutch staple as rice is to a Filipino.

I appreciate the way the potatoes are "fried" the Dutch way. They are cooked in butter and taste really sweet and creamy.

As for Dutch steaks, they are simply seasoned with salt and pepper and also fried in butter.

Dutch Steak

Ingredients:

4 boneless ribeye steaks, .4 lb each

3 tbsp butter

salt and pepper

1/2 cup cream

Preparation Time:

Pat the steaks dry.

Season them with salt and pepper.

Let them stand in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight.

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Heat the butter in a Dutch oven pan or fry pan.

Fry the steaks on high heat, for 10 minutes on each side, for medium well.

Set the steaks aside.

Pour the cream on the pan.

Stir it gently for 5 minutes to make the gravy.

Pour a tablespoon of the gravy on the steak.

Serve the steaks with home fried potatoes and sweet peas.

Home Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

15 small gold creamer potatoes, thinly sliced

3 tbsp butter

1 cup water

salt

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Melt the butter in a large frying pan.

Put the potatoes and water.

Season with salt.

When the water is all dried, fry the potatoes gently until they are lightly browned. Serve warm.