It is hard to find food that is as versatile (and tasty) as eggs. Eggs are present in velvety sauces (Hollandaise, mayonnaise), fluffy soufflés, delicious desserts, meringues, cake, drinks, pie crusts and glazings. And more. But even preparing a simple egg can be done in numerous ways, with mouthwatering results. On this page there…
Technique
All about chopsticks
In many Asian countries people use chopsticks for eating their food. But there are differences, just as in the western world Americans wield knives and forks in a different way as Europeans. I have a small collection of chopsticks and chopstick rests (nothing special, but I enjoy it nonetheless), and thought it would be nice…
Savoury meat jelly
Solidified nectar In the past glue was made by boiling skins and bones of animals. This has led to the loss of innumerable medieval manuscripts written on parchment, (especially in the nineteenth century) because parchment, which is made of hides of veal and sheep, made such a fine glue! So don’t be surprised when your stock…
Stock, the kitchen spirit
Straight to the list of recipes The whole house, or at least the kitchen, is permeated with the delicious, warm, appetizing smell that rises from the pan on the stove: Someone is making stock. How many people still take the time to do that? And do we know what to do with the resulting brew?…
Fish Fumet
A good beef stock is made with meat bones, a good fish fumet (concentrated stock) needs fish bones. Ask the fishmonger to collect the bones when he is filleting, you’ll need about one kilogram. The bones have to be from lean fish like sole, halibut, plaice, flounder, etc., no bones from salmon or maquerel. By…
Almond paste
Rich and sweet Almond paste has been around since medieval times. Hardly anyone makes it at home nowadays. It is for sale in stores, sometimes with substitutes as beans or apricot kernels instead of almonds. There is nothing wrong with that, but the original paste is with almonds, so here is a recipe with them….
Whole smoked chicken
The recipe on this page is taken from a cookbook that I have had in my possession for years, but never used to cook out of. It seemed too much trouble. The book: Smoke and Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue. written by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison. Over 400 pages of…
Using a smoker or a pan
A recipe for hot-smoked salmon Smoking in a wok 1. The smoker On the left is my smoker, which I got in 1988. I use it regularly, and it still functions great. Newer smokers may look different, but essentially they work in the same way. 1 – The box. 2 – The foot of the smoker where…
Pastry dough according to Lancelot de Casteau
This one of the rare recipes for dough in old cookery books. Cooks knew how to prepare dough, so it was not considered necessary to provide recipes. In the cookbook from Lancelot de Casteau, dating from 1604, is a recipe for a kind of puff pastry. It is part of the recipe for ‘tourtes de…
Puff Pastry according to Hannah Glasse and John Farley
Straight to the recipe The Apple Pie of Hannah Glasse (The Art of Cookery made Plain & Easy, 1747) is prepared with a puff paste-crust. John Farley (The London Art of Cookery, 1783) has the same recipe as Glasse, but with a difference: Glasse rolls up the dough, Farley folds it. Both writers prescribe rolling out the dough…
Strawberry Soufflé
Straight to the recipe Just a puff of hot air Dessert is the triumphant closure of an elaborate dinner. It must be something special to capture the attention of the already sated eater. Hunger has long since dissappeared, all that is left is gratification of the senses. On this page is the recipe for strawberry soufflé…
Vanilla ice cream
This is a very rich ice cream, with sugar, fat and cholesterol. So, why would you want to make it? Because it is simply delicious! The secret for enjoying this ice cream is self-control. Do not make it all the time (just occasionallly), and eat small portions. Governments and manufacturers are wrong in thinking the…
Concentrated Game Stock
Back to the list with recipes for stock and soup No good stock without bones. When preparing hare, deer or whatever, and you only want to use the meat, use the carcass or ribs, or ask the shop. Sometimes you’ll have to ask in advance, so that he can collect a fair amount of bones….
Hot-smoked cod with mustard-cilantro sauce
A Chinese recipe Elsewhere on Coquinaria is the recipe for hot-smoked salmon. Here is another recipe for hot-smoked fish, but this time from China. The fifference with ‘Western’ smoking is the smoke-medium: not woodchips or sawdust, but tea leaves with rice, sugar and spices. The fish is not cured but marinated and steamed before smoking. When…
Concentrated veal stock and lamb stock
Concentrated veal stock or jus de veau is a staple in the classic French cuisine. It is used in sauces, seldom if ever as a base for soup. Veal bones are rich in gristle, which results in a stock that forms a jelly when it is cold. However, the resulting jelly is not firm enough…