Sailing

At our annual sailing trip, this time also including Big-L, along with S, E and J, we usually don't care too much about dinner, since the outdoors will always make you hungry. We started the trip at friday evening and ended sunday in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful (even hot) and it was very nice and all, etc. -- but of course you're interested in the food we ate during that trip!

Well, that friday we had some fries with mayo and croquettes. Because there were Endless Amounts of Fries, we had plenty leftover. During that dinner and also afterwards, Big-L had a very influential role in halving the beer supply for the weekend. Later that evening, probably when the effects of that role had kicked in, he specifically requested for the cold fries leftovers to be served for breakfast the next morning, on a sandwich, with peanutbutter. The rest of us, not having had such an influential role, promised to remind him of that the next morning.

So, here it is, the proudly presented Cold Fries Sandwich with Peanutbutter:

Unfortunately, I cannot describe the gustatory experience this culinary curiosity has led to, but I'm sure Big-L himself will want to comment on that. We might, however, draw some conclusions from the fact that he withdrew after just a single bite and made us promise to stop him from expressing silly wishes after having had a few beers.

Ah, the joy of beer-influenced decisions.

The next day, we had macaroni and cheese, with some ketchup and diced ham.

After boiling some macaroni, we added two bags of grated cheese and a tin of diced ham, along with a tin of tomatoes. Unfortunately, the pan was too small to add another tin of diced ham (which while waiting for the macaroni to boil, started to decolor -- and the cooking only took 7 minutes). Luckily, the two bags of grated cheese did fit in. However, because of the heat of those days, the cheese had already started to melt beforehand and had formed a large lump. Because of that, it wasn't easy to make it melt and mix it evenly throughout the pasta. Big-L and S, being the hard-working sailors, were offered portions containing the most of that lump. Strangely, they didn't quite enjoy it, just chowing away on yellowy unshapely somewhat cheesy lumps which they felt was directly clogging their arteries and making their stomach ache. They made us promise to never do this again too. Well, E, J and I did enjoy our portions (which might have had something to do with us missing out on that cheesy experience). E and I promised to eachother that when we would be making a boating trip ourselves someday without people complaining about our cooking, we would gladly eat this every day!

All in all, this trip turned out to be great, however, for our next trip, we will probably have to provide for a lock on the beer supply, a cooling device and other dinner options.

I can't wait for Big-L's comments on his culinary experience!

Burger King Mountain Burgers

At long last! After some Blogspot problems, I'm finally able to post a small review on the Burger King Mountain Burgers. They're the temporarily available trio of burgers at the BK over here. According to the commercials shown on TV, they're supposed to celebrate some kind of rugged outdoor life. You know, for those occasions when you're at the office and feel like making a campfire, or feel like canoe'ing down that flight of stairs because it resembles a river.

A and me went to sample two of the three varieties. A had the Blue Cheese variety, and for myself, I chose the Rocky Cheese. The third burger that completes the trio would be the Smoky Barbecue.

As so often is the case, the real deal is a far cry from the grand version pictured in the ads. In this case, the disappointment was not in the flavour, but in the size. The ads and also the pics shown on the menu displayed in the restaurant, made it look like the burgers would be Whopper-sized. Not so. Their diameter was that of a regular burger.


This one, shown above, is the Blue Cheese variety. It didn't have actual blue cheese on it, but instead came with a blue-cheese-sauce. A will post his thoughts on this one in the comments below.



The one shown here, is the Rocky Cheese. Flavourwise, it was A-okay! Each Mountain Burger comes with two patties. Then, on mine, there's a slice of fried cheese on top. That is topped with some kind of barbecue sauce, a slice of tomato and some lettuce. It makes for a very fine burger. The cheese is of a very lightly flavoured kind and provides more of an extra protein-boost than an additional flavour. It combines well though, with the overall experience. The bbq-sauce is very thin, it ran off the sandwich. It has a slight pinch of heat to it, which in turn helps spice up the overall burger-experience.

All in all, despite the fact that the burger comes smaller than expected, it's a nice one. I wouldn't mind ordering it again. One last note, both positive and negative, on the fries. Negative: I ordered Twister Fries, but I got regular ones. I didn't feel like going back to the counter to ask for the ones I ordered but instead just ate the regular ones. Positive: even the regular fries are so much better than the McDonald's variety (I won't even mention the soggy KFC ones). The crust is very thin and seems extra crispy. Twister Fries are even better than that, as they not only come twisted, but also with some additional flavour-enhancing spices. One might beg to differ (N does), but in my opinion these are the best fries.

Dinner at 't Koetshuys

Last night, we had dinner at 't Koetshuys (the Coach House), with Fr&Fi. For appetizers, we had a little basket of bread with pesto and garlic butter.


I had the pleasure of sampling the weekly fish dish, which was butter-fish, served with a citrus-sauce and some vegetables.


N had lamb rumpsteak. Both dishes were very nice. Fr & Fi both had a tilapia fish dish.

There were also some fries and a little salad with it.

Fi was a little pressed for time, and unfortunately the kitchen was giving in to the pressure of a full restaurant, so our food got served a little late (like, after an hour or so). We got the staff's apologies and even some discount coupons for a next visit.

Burger King Deal

This just in! Today I sampled BK's King Deal. A deal fit for a king. Or actually, fit for a pauper. Since it costs so little. It's great! Here's the deal: A cheeseburger with mini fries and mini drink for only 1,95, with a double cheeseburger version setting you back at 2,95.

I know I should post something on the Groningen test-taste event first, but since my name seems intrically linked with the BK, I just had to put this on first. Also, someone stated the infamous words "pics or it didn't happen". To which I had to oblige of course.

Now, for a little review: I must say I have actually never had a cheeseburger from the BK before. That's right, I never had a BK cheeseburger before. Because, why choose anything smaller than a Whopper? So, today was my first time.
Going by the rules of Pendleton, let's first mention the good things: I realized once again how much more I prefer the BK fries over the McD fries. They've got a crunchier crust, tastier insides... it's just perfect! I accidentally happened to have gotten one curly fry in the bag of fries also, which allowed for a comparison: curly fries have been seasoned additionally and are even better tasting. Another good point: regular Coca-Cola. No Pepsi like at KFC's.
Now for some negative points (things that can be improved): I actually didn't like the cheeseburger that much. It was kind of sticky. It didn't seem to have some onions. That, however, basically pretty much sums up the negative points.

All in all, this sure isn't a bad deal. Let's finish with a little story on why I went to the BK:
I actually had in mind to go to the McDonald's, to get a hamburger (1,-) and a yoghurt (1,-). Since I wanted to take the car for a little drive, I went to the McD's at the other side of town. However, they had blocked their own McDrive for whatever (unintelligible) reason. So, I went back home. On the way back, I passed the railway station, the only site that has a BK. I thought: for 2,- (for a Mc hamburger and yoghurt) I could also get a whole meal, going for a King Deal! Of course, once inside the restaurant, I couldn't resist going for a double cheeseburger, adding an extra euro to the final price. Also, they didn't have the King Deals displayed on any of the menu boards anymore -- no matter, I just stepped up like the pauper that I am and asked whether they were still available. And they were! How great did this day turn out to be.

And that's why I'm still a happy Kurger.

Germany

On our way to G&A's wedding in Norway, we're taking a break and spending the two weeks leading to the wedding in various parts of Scandinavia. That's why I haven't posted anything for a while now.

I'm typing this while we're in Sweden (Alingsås), staying at the home of two Dutch friends who kindly let us stay here while they're in Holland for a while. Tomorrow we'll be heading for another place in Sweden where we probably won't have any internet available, so I'll post a lot of articles now at once.

Our first stop was in Germany, where we had a great lunch at a highway restaurant: Jaegerschnitzel I believe it was. For sides we could choose from fries or baked potatoes with bacon. N chose the fries and I chose the baked potatoes.

As I love schnitzel, especially with the Jaeger-sauce (Hunter's sauce) to accompany it, I was a very satisfied Kurger after the meal. N couldn't finish her own (it was too much) by herself, so I had the pleasure of finishing it together with her. Even more satisfied!

That was a great lunch to start a holiday with.

Burger King Transformers Sixpack

Today was that most glorious of days. Apparently, there's a new Transformer's movie out there. In honour of that event, the Dutch Burger King restaurants serve a limited period only special Transformers burger. Or, should I say, six burgers?

A sixpack is offered for 4,25 (a meal setting you back at 5,95). They're six mini-burgers, all joined together by their buns. Half of them are covered in cheese, an onion ring and some red sauce; the other half are covered in one or two jalapeno slices and more of that red sauce.

The fastfood-connaisseurs we pretend ourselves to be, A and me agreed to sample some today. Because of time constraints, we had agreed to meet at 11:45 AM. I only woke up at 11:00, so I skipped breakfast and had these things for breakfast.

First, I ordered the sixpack and a separate coke to go with it. Turned out, at 6,20 that cost more than a meal. So I changed my order to a meal.

Having these for breakfast turned out to be a bad idea. I now know I shouldn't have fastfood for breakfast, or anything with jalapenos in it, for that matter.

The pack measures 17x11,5 cm or 6,5"x4,5". The buns aren't separated, but can be easily broken off.

However, it turned out, a single patty covered two buns. One of them the onion ring part, the other the jalapeno part.

Even though we are usually capable of stowing away EAM (Endless Amounts of Meat), we humiliatingly had to admit being quite stuffed after eating just two. Just two! Like, we're only worthy of a Happy Meal nowadays.

So, while A still pondered on whether to eat another set of burgers, I decided to play tough and just eat more. Bad idea. Having finished the third burger, my stomach was protesting already. But I just had to finish the fourth one. For those of you who have seen the Monty Python move "The Meaning of Life" and recognize that scene where a very fat man eats everything that's available from the menu, and eventually explodes - well, that's what I was afraid of, would happen. And they were just a measly four little burgers!


Of course, A couldn't stay behind. In the end, we both took the remaining two little burgers and fries with us home. The placemat covering the tray had a picture of a cutout-crown on it, which, the printing said, was meant for the Whopper. But, because the sixpack had beaten us, I crowned it.

We are not worthy, I guess.

Now, while typing this, I get a craving for the remains of the burger and the fries. Let's see whether I can still explode...