Belgian Endive in Ham

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Belgian Endive in Ham

Not many people are familiar with Belgian endive and even less know how to prepare it. It’s no big mystery really and you certainly don’t need to be a kitchen princess to prepare this dish. All you need are these step by step instructions and you’ll be ready to surprise your family with a unique European dish.

Ingredients for four people

4 sticks of Belgian endive

4 big slices of cooked ham

Flour

Butter

Cheese

Breadcrumbs

Salt

Water

Preparation

Wash the Belgian endive under cold running water. Don’t cut off the stems. The stem is what keeps the endive leaves from falling off during the cooking process. Place the endive in a pot, add plenty of water and a flat teaspoon of salt.

When the water boils, turn down the heat and let the endive simmer until soft by the stem. To test, insert knifepoint near the stem of the endive.

When soft, scoop the endive out of the pot with a fork and place them in a strainer.

Prepare the sauce

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a saucepan and add four tablespoons of flour over moderate heat. Stir with a whisk. Add the water in which the Belgian endive was cooked until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add a generous helping of cheese. If the sauce is too thick, a little bit of the endive water.

Prepare the Belgian endive

Roll each stick of Belgian endive in a slice of ham and secure the ham with a toothpick.

Place the endive in an oven dish. Pour the cheese sauce over the endive in ham. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Grill in the oven until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

For those who are in a hurry, white sauce or cheese sauce from a packet works just as well.

Day 98: What's for Dinner

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 98: What's for Dinner

If ever there was a cat who loves to eat, it’s Greyson. Even though he, along with Charlotte, Holly, and Halley has a supply of dry nibbles to snack on during the day, come 6:00 p.m. Greyson feels it’s time for dinner. Dinner being wet food.

He usually sleeps the whole afternoon but around 5:00 or 5:30 he wakes up and after a quick grooming session he starts to talk. Actually, I should say, he starts to moan, because that’s what it sounds like.

He walks around the place meowing his head off. Some might think this nice, a cat that ‘talks’ but believe me, it can get a bit much. First, it’s a little meow, then a stretched moan, and eventually he turns it into an opera. 

That's when I usually ask him “Greyson, what? What is it? What do you want?” 

Then he gives me a look that says… Can’t you understand a word I’m saying?

If talking doesn’t get the desired result, Greyson switches to plan B… following me wherever I go and walking in front of my feet. I pay attention of course, but every now and then he gets in my way. When I tell him “Greyson, I nearly tripped over you. Can you move please?” I get another look, a look that says… feed me and you won’t have that problem.

Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Charlotte, Holly, Halley, and Greyson gets their food around 6:30 p.m. and not before. Greyson is resourceful though and now puts plan C into action … he jumps on the countertop and looks at me. That will do it.

Once I go to the cabinet where the cat food is kept, he comes with me. He’s in business now and he doesn’t want to miss any of it. I retrieve two cans and three plates. One plate is for Halley and Greyson, one plate for Charlotte and one plate for Holly. Holly never eats with the others, don’t ask me why she’s been like that ever since she was a kitten.

As for Charlotte… she is a very nervous cat. The slightest sound or movement and she abandons her food and goes running. So, I feed her on a separate plate in a separate room where she has peace and quiet.

As for Halley and Greyson, they don’t care what goes on around them. The world can fall apart around their ears, it’s foodie time and any tragedy will have to wait until their belly is full.

While Halley is a very quiet eater, the same cannot be said from Greyson… he smacks. Seriously, when he eats, it sounds like he’s drinking. Smack, smack, smack. When he’s finished, he makes some more funny noises by licking his lips over and over again.

Cats and their food… it's unlikely I'll ever forget to feed them.

Day 78: Fries with a side order of ... mitten

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 78: Fries with a side order of ... mitten

It’s a question every woman, or man, hears on a regular basis ... “What’s for dinner?”

In our house, it’s no different. Tonight, when I asked Dieter what he felt like for dinner he had no idea. So I made some suggestions. 

Rice with veggies and chicken ... no, not in the mood. 

Mash potato with beans and sausages ... no, that didn’t appeal. 

Potatoes with fish and a salad ... no, he didn’t feel like fish. 

Fries with a salad and steak ... yeah, that was a good idea.

Off Dieter went to the store to buy everything that was needed. In the meantime I tidied up the house, did the dishes, and folded some laundry.

When he came home, I emptied the shopping bags and pulled out a bag of frozen fries. 

“And this?” I questioned holding up the bag. 

“They didn’t have good potatoes,” Dieter said. “So I went for frozen fries instead. Less work for you.” 

Well, that was considerate but I don’t really like frozen fries. Oh well, just this once it would have to do.

I placed the frozen fries on a tray and shoved them in the oven. About five minutes later I smelled something burning. I opened the oven and noticed a tiny piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven. Could that be what cause the smell? Surely not.

Another few minutes later the smell intensified and when I opened the oven grey smoke wafted out. The fries looked good though, beautifully golden, so I wasn’t too worried.

When the fries were ready, the smoke that came out of the over stung my eyes and took my breath away. Something was not right with this oven and it had to cleaned.

To pull the tray out of the oven I grabbed a mitten from the countertop and looked for the other one. I looked left, I looked right, I couldn’t find the other mitten.

“Dieter, have you seen an oven mitten?”

“No.”

Darn, where could it be? With no time to waste, I grabbed a dishtowel and pulled the tray with fries out of the oven. And wouldn’t you know it ... there, in the oven was the other mitten. I carefully fished it out and threw it in the sink.

How did the mitten get in the oven ... well, that’s easy to explain. When the oven is not in use, I store heat resistant trays, a vegetable strainer and oven mittens in the oven. Usually I take them out when placing something in the oven, but this time I’d obviously forgotten.

So we had fries, salad, and steak for dinner, with a side order of oven mitten. 

Stupid, I know, but we've all done stupid stuff, right? The bottom line is, before turning on the oven, check that nothing is in there that doesn't belong.

Day 26: Something stinks

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 26: Something stinks

I’ve heard some people complain that they don’t have enough inspiration for their blog. They should come to my house for a week, they’ll have inspiration coming out of their ears.

For instance …

When Dieter came home yesterday, I asked him what I ask most days … “What do you want for dinner?” 

He suggested tater tots with chicken and tomatoes sprinkled with basil. That seemed like a good idea.

So off to the supermarket we went. As we wandered from aisle to aisle we picked up tomatoes, cat food, cat litter, 7Up, coffee, and lastly the frozen tater tots.

Once home I placed the tater tots and the chicken in the oven, cut the tomatoes, mixed them olive oil and went out on the balcony to cut some basil.

While waiting for the tater tots and the chicken, I made the cats their food. By the time I placed their plates on the floor they were all at their usual spot.

Instead of eating their dinner though, one after another lifted their head, stuck their noses in the air and sniffed. Greyson and Halley went outside on the balcony, while Charlotte and Holly went to my bedroom. I wondered if there was something wrong with their food. If one didn’t want to eat, he or she might not be feeling well, but all four of them …

Dieter who sat in the lounge with his laptop also stuck his nose in the air. “Pffff, the neighbors are cooking something stinky,” he commented.

This is nothing unusual. Some of the neighbors on our floor are from exotic countries and cook exotic dishes. Some produce a nice aroma, others downright stink.

Tonight, they weren’t cooking a smelly dish though, I was, and the stench came from my oven. When I opened the oven door to check I nearly keeled over … OMG what a foul smell. I didn’t understand it, I had made tater tots before and never had to deal with this kind of smell. 

When I looked at the bag, I got my answer … these were not the regular tater tots, these were tater tots with cheddar cheese.

To cut a long story short … the tater tots ended up in the bin and Dieter went to Burger King for fries.

Once the stink had cleared, the cats came back inside and finished their dinner.

Day 5: Food

Day 5: Food. What’s for dinner?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m fresh out of ideas as what to make for dinner. If you’re the same, I have two recipes for you and if you serve them together, I can guarantee you, it will be a big success.

The two are “French fries” and “Tomate crevette”. In case you don’t know how to make them, relax, I’ll tell you step by step (with pictures) how to go about it.

Even though both recipes sound French, let me assure you, they are Belgian specialties. And take my word for it, being from Belgium (born and raised) I know what I’m talking about.

French fries

To make good fries, it’s vital that you start off with a good potato. In my experience, a russet potato is the best. And not only does the potato have to be the right kind, it has to be rock hard. If the potato is slightly soft, it cannot produce a good fry.

Once the potatoes are peeled, place them in cold water. The colder the better and leave them there for about an hour.

Next, take a clean towel and thoroughly dry the potatoes. Place the towel on the kitchen counter and cut the potatoes into thick slices, about the size of a finger. Then cut the slices into fries, also about a finger thick.

When you’re done, work the towel over the fries so that they’re as dry as possible. Next, place the fries in a pot and cover them with the towel.

In a french fries cooker, pour about a liter of oil. This can be sunflower oil or vegetable oil and heat it up to maximum temperature. If you have an electric cooker a light will tell you when the oil is ready. If you have a stovetop pot, drop one fry in the oil. When it sizzles the oil is ready.

Place the raw fries in the oil and turn down the heat. After a few minutes, lift the fries out of the oil, leave them to cool for about one minute and then place them back in the oil.

When the fries are golden brown, lift them out and shake off the excess oil. Place kitchen paper on a serving tray and pour the fries onto the tray. The kitchen paper will absorb any remaining oil.

Lightly sprinkle with salt. Serve plain, with mayonnaise, ketchup or gravy.

 Tomate crevette

For a family of four, take four tomatoes and plunge them into boiling water for no more than 10 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and submerge them in ice cold water.

With a sharp knife, peel the skin off the tomatoes, slice off the ‘hat’ and remove the inner flesh.

Mix about 200 grams of shrimp with mayonnaise and some salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the tomatoes and put the hat on top.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

There, that’s it, that’s all there is to it.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

How to make ‘tomat crevette’

Yesterday’s blog post “How to make the perfect fries” received a record amount of views. Just under 5,000 people showed an interest in this Belgian recipe.

As far as I could tell there were no Belgian readers, but in other parts of the world men and women are now a step closer to putting perfect fries on the table.

Statistics show that this blog is most popular in France, closely followed by the United States. Other readers are from Romania, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Latvia, Cyprus, Philippines, Ukraine, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

So now that a good number of people know how to make perfect fries, they might wonder what to serve with those fries. In short, anything and everything goes. You can serve fries with steak, with an omelet, with goulash, with a salad … you name it and it works.

However, in Belgium we are particularly fond of serving fries with “tomat crevette”, which is a tomato stuffed with shrimp.

If you want to make this, there’s nothing to it. Even if you have two left hands at cooking, you can’t go wrong with tomat crevette.

What you’ll need for two people:

Two tomatoes

200 grams of shrimp

Mayonnaise

Pepper and salt

Preparation:

Take the tomatoes and plunge them in boiling water for no more than 10 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and submerge them in ice cold water.

With a sharp knife peel the tomatoes, slice off the “hat” and remove the inner flesh of the tomatoes.

Mix the shrimp with mayonnaise and some salt and pepper, spoon the mixture in the tomatoes, and put the hat of the tomato back on.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

There, that’s it, that’s all there is to it.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

How the make perfect French fries

Being from Belgium, land of the best chocolates, pastries and French fries, I am frequently asked how to make those delectable cakes, tarts and petit fours.

I tell everyone the same thing … I have no idea. When baking skills were handed out, I was not exactly in the front row. In fact, I think I wasn’t even in the room.

As for making the perfect French fries, there I can help you out.

To make good fries, it’s vital that you start off with a good potato. Finding the right potato can take a while. You might think that all potatoes are suitable for French fries, but nothing is further from the truth. And not only does the potato have to be the right kind, it has to be rock hard. If the potato is slightly soft, it cannot produce a good fry.

Once the potatoes are peeled, place them in cold water. The colder the better and leave them there for about an hour.

Next, take a clean towel and thoroughly dry the potatoes. Place the towel on the kitchen counter and cut the potatoes into thick slices, about the size of a finger. Then cut the slices into fries, also about a finger thick.

When you’re done, work the towel over the fries so that they’re as dry as possible. Next place the fries in a pot and cover them with the towel.

In a French fries cooker pour about a liter of oil. This can be sunflower oil or vegetable oil and heat it up to maximum heat. If you have an electric cooker a light will tell you when the oil is ready. If you have a stovetop cooker, drop one fry in the oil and when it sizzles the oil is ready.

Place the raw fries in the oil and turn down the heat. After a few minutes, lift the fries out of the oil, leave them to cool for about one minute and then place them back in the oil.

When the fries are golden brown, lift them out of the cooker and shake off excess oil. Place kitchen paper on a serving tray and pour the fries on the tray. The kitchen paper will absorb any remaining oil.

Lightly sprinkle with salt. Serve plain, with mayonnaise, ketchup, or gravy.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Spinach anyone?

After surgery last week, it was up to Dieter to do the cleaning, the shopping, cooking, and dishes. Breakfast and lunch was no problem, as we usually stick to something easy, but since his culinary skills are limited we had to be creative for dinners.

I suggested hash browns with lettuce and tomato and steak; spaghetti; rosti with mixed veggies sausages; and fries with an omelet.

Everything went fine until last Monday when I suggested hash browns with baby spinach leaves and steak. I’d read that the iron in spinach is good for recuperation (providing the spinach is combined with tomatoes), so that’s what we would have.

Dieter went out to the store and came back with a big bag. Considering that he only needed a packet of baby spinach, two tomatoes and a tray of meat, I wondered what was in that bulky bag.

The mystery was soon solved when Dieter pulled out a box of baby spinach leaves that made my jaw drop. Just how much spinach had he bought? The box carried the label “11 ounces/311 grams”.

“Why such a big box?” I asked him.

“A bag of spinach was $2,99,” he explained. “This box was only $4,99. So for $2 more you get way more spinach.”

I couldn’t argue with his reasoning, but who was going to eat all this spinach? It’s just the two of us and we don’t have a rabbit.

Sprinkled with salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil (we had to forego lemon juice because of my low blood pressure), the baby spinach was delicious. And because we had so much of it, we had it the next day again.

As much as I enjoyed the meals, two days of baby spinach in a row is enough for me, tonight I would like something different. I was thinking peas or mushrooms, but I’m afraid to send Dieter to the store. Who know what he’s going to come home with.

If you like my blog, maybe you will like my books.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Stuffed Zucchini

I don’t know about you, but every now and then I get fed up with cooking the same thing over and over again. I want something new, something I’ve never eaten before.

As such I subscribed to “Daily Recipes” and every day I get something new emailed to me. Most of the time I delete these messages, because a) the recipe doesn’t appeal to me, b) there are far too many ingredients, c) it’s a meat I don’t eat.

Mention deer, duck, goose, rabbit, crab, lobster, etc. to me and I’ve lost interest within seconds.

Last Thursday, that changed. I noticed a recipe for “Stuffed Zucchini”. Hello, that sounded interesting. Since I had zucchini in the fridge I decided to give it a go.

I had all the ingredients except for spaghetti sauce. So Dieter was sent to the grocery store while I busied myself with the preparation of the zucchini and the potatoes.

An hour or so later the zucchini was ready and … well, for starters the dish didn’t look like it did in the picture.

What it was supposed to look like

What it really looekd like

Dieter came to take a look and asked if he should call 911. Just in case …

Hoping for the best I dished up and … yack, this was awful. The zucchini and the sauce tasted fine, but the mince tasted like slimy cardboard.

Right away I knew what the problem was … a cup of bread crumbs was way too much. A tablespoon would have been sufficient.

In case you want to try the ingredients were:

·        

3 zucchini

·        

1 pound pork sausage

·        

1 cup dry bread crumbs

·        

1 clove garlic, minced

·        

1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

·        

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·        

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

The preparation read as follows:

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and put in bowl. Mix seeds with sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour sauce over squash and cover pan with foil.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until sausage is cooked. Remove foil and cover with mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.

Just remember, if you’re considering preparing this dish, replace a cup of bread crumbs with a tablespoon of crumbs. To give the mince added texture, add an egg.

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