"What I Cooked Today" Day 280

My parents are pretty amazing people: warm, kind and incredibly generous. Not only did they take me, Jochem, Jordi and Silvana out for dinner at De Kust yesterday (where we had the most amazing sea food dinner) they also gave us lots of goodies that have become a luxury for us: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, salmon and scallops. The scallops are what we made today. I was in the mood for a pasta dish so we boiled some spagetti and cooked the scallops in garlic, chili, parsley, white wine and butter. And it was great (especially the butter if I am to believe Jochem).

Source: The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 279

Today Jochem's father came over for lunch and we made him, if I may say so myself, a great lunch indeed! It was the perfect symphony of flavors for a Sunday afternoon: pancetta-wrapped green asparagus (out of season, yes, but one can't control the cravings of the stomach) dipped in soft-boiled egg, endive salad with pear, apple, herbs and a blue cheese dressing, and English pudding with pear, apple, spices and a whiskey creme fraiche. I was very proud of myself and enjoyed myself a lot - luckily Erik did as well!

Source: Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 278

Today turned out to be another impromptu Saturday night dinner - perhaps this could be the start of a wonderful new tradition! We were all heading downtown for Bic's belated 27th birthday drink and I was in the mood for green chili. After having gotten the necessary groceries to make green chili, Roland called me to ask whether he and Mag could join us for dinner. Sure, we said. And that's how the four of us ended up having dinner together. Also, while we were desperately looking for out-of-season green asparagus at the downtown market, we discovered a stall that sold mushrooms. Just mushrooms. In every shape and color imaginable. It was like finding a piece of priceless antique at a flea market - we were in heaven. Of course we simply had to buy some, so we settled on some tiny chantarelle and some shiitake. We made a simple bruschetta with the mushrooms as a small appetizer before dinner. The green chili, however, was consumed before a picture could be taken.



Source: Jamie's Italy and Jamie's America by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 277

Today Jochem and I made another pasta dish. We have been all about the pasta this week, I guess! It was incredibly simple to make with some red onion, sundried tomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese. Just add some spagetti and the obligatory sea salt, black pepper, dried chili and spicy olive oil and you've gotten yourself a Friday night meal.

Source: The Return of the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 276

Today I went to Rotterdam to watch Wie is de MOL?! at Ingrid's place with Chantal, Willard and Ingrid's boyfriend Martin. Ingrid lives on a beautiful street and prepared an amazing 3-course dinner for us. For starters: a wonderfully light salad of poached chicken, orange, pine nuts and pumpkin seeds. For our main course: a beef stew. And for dessert, Martin had made cheesecake. Thank you both!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 275

Although I had to work late, I actually did most of the cooking today. We made a simple pasta with broccoli and we used butter, garlic, dried chili, anchovis, basil and Parmesan cheese to flavor the dish. And, of course, we had some chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake for dessert.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

Wait!

I do have a picture! I do, I do! Pretty parsnip! Jochem saved me in my time of need. Look how pretty!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 274

Jochem cooked a wonderful pasta today with pancetta and parsnip. Have you ever had parsnip? Have it! According to my online dictionary parsnip is "a cold-weather root vegetable related to carrots. In fact, they look like ivory-colored carrots, but parsnips have a mild celery-like fragrance and a sweet, nutty flavor." Trust me - it's fabulous. Unfortunately, our camera broke down. AGAIN. We have two new batteries, courtesy of my dad, but it still doesn't work properly. How is it going to survive the monsoon in South East Asia when it can't even withstand everyday use?! So, no picture.

Source: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

"What I Cooked Today" Day 273

Today I didn't cook at all. I had a dinner date with my girlfriends and while I was working late, Bic did all the cooking. When I finally arrived way past 7 PM there was a plate of spicy noodles waiting for me with fresh prawns and lots of veggies. For dessert, I brought my chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. It was great hanging out with you ladies!

"What I Cooked Today" Day 272

Today Jochem and I traveled to Veghel to visit Okke and Loes (Jochem's older brother and his girlfriend). Although I was a bit hungover from the day before, their food was fantastic. They made a little package of chicken with vegetables and cheese which they heated in the oven in tin foil. They served it with these great potatoes and very spicy chili mayonaise AND they had bread with olive oil and Prosecco with fresh mandarin juice. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of the event because we forgot to bring our camera, but believe you me that it was great. Thank you for a great Sunday night dinner!