Rolls

One nice thing about the V&D department store is, that they sell all kinds of self-made rolls for relatively low prices. So, for breakfast for tomorrow I bought one cinnamon roll (some kind of puff pastry), a chocolate croissant (yes that's right -- a croissant not only stuffed to the max with chocolate, but also smothered in it; and on top of that, white chocolate shavings).

For lunch, I bought a mini focaccia with sundried tomato. I put some mozzarella on top of it, Tiroler schinken (dried ham from Tirol, Austria), and some roasted pinenuts. Toasted in the oven for 7 minutes made for a very nice lunch.

Family Day

Every year, N's mother's family celebrates their family day. Each year, one of the families gets to organize an activity and everybody gathers at their city. Also, N's grandmother (her mother's mother) celebrates her birthday (her 91st this year -- and still going strong). This year both activities were combined.

This year's activity was organized by N's parents, and they organized a chocolate workshop: grouped by three, everyone had to make some type of chocolates. More on that in a later post, I'm supposed to get some pictures from that from C.

Grandmother's birthday traditionally takes place in the same conservatory of a typical country-restaurant, where we're traditionally served a nice buffet and we're traditionally served by the same waiter. There's a regular scheme there, that's repeated each and every year: First, two cups of coffee with some pastry (choux or those squared cake things pictured above), then either vegetable or tomato soup and then the buffet itself.

Since every year, it's (supposed to be) exactly the same, we make fun of meeting the same waiter again, being subjected to the same scheme again, introducing new family members to the scheme and making remarks about things that did change ('The waiter is not wearing his glasses anymore' or 'Last year, there was another table arrangement').

I won't bore you with other family peculiarities, but instead show you some pictures of the buffet instead.

A typical Dutch cold/hot buffet, served by a restaurant like this, consists of:
- cold meat/potato salad
- cold salmon/potato salad
- smoked salmon
- smoked eel
- Dutch shrimps (smaller than more familiar ones, but I like them better, they've got more flavour)
- cold cuts of meat
- melon with prosciutto
- brined raw herring (Dutch traditional), served with raw onion
- sliced baguette
- sauces (garlic, cocktail etc)
- satay
- beef
- ham with peppercorn sauce
- pork in champignon/cream sauce
- rice
- potato sides (potato croquettes, deep fried potato parts)

...and probably some other things which I have already forgotten.

You can go as many times as you like, and each time you go you can get a new plate.

That's basically it. Dessert is a buffet again: it includes several types of icecream, tiramisu, a chocolate fountain, puddings etc. but I'm not that much of a dessert type of person.

So, anyway, I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to next year's traditional visit again :)

Waking Up

Now, I could start this blog post by stating this is another milestone: this is a live blog post! That's right, I'm typing this while I'm still at the spot I'm writing about. Long live WiFi at the Coffee United!

But let's not. Otherwise, you, my fine readers, might get the impression I lead a pretty worthless life, when I consider live blogging a milestone. Then again, maybe you already did have such an impression. Ah well, whatever.

N & S regularly meet at this place, and I got to go along. Now N has gone off to her day of lectures and stuff and S is working at our table, also with her laptop.

I had a small latte mocha java (supposedly a foamed up chocolate milk, but I didn't taste any actually) with a chocolate cookie, the one pictured in front. Now, if only I had brought my laptop adapter so I could sit here the whole day...

KFC Bucket Design Contest

For whatever reason, KFC in the Netherlands has set up a bucket design contest. What a unique chance to combine two of my favorites: Kentucky Fried Chicken and designing! I didn't make something special, but in my perception something better than the crap that has already been submitted :-)

On more technical design details: the design template was a mere .png at just 200 pixels/inch (199,974 pixels/inch to be precise). Downloadable logo imagery was also offered just as .png. All in all, it doesn't quite reek of professionalism. I hope a 200 px/" image will scale up adequately, if it's to be printed in real-life size on the buckets (which is part of the first prize -- your design printed on buckets). Perhaps you'll just need a lower resolution for these kind of things.

Check out the full design at http://www.eetteam.org/images/KFC-bucket.jpg.

Test-Taste Groningen

Hurray!

This blog post marks another milestone in my blogging career. With this post, I've finally caught up on all the culinary events I had to write about. Would this mean I'll keep this blog updated in the future, no matter on how an irregular basis? We'll see.

As I promised a few blog posts ago, I'd tell you something about the culinary weekend of Test-Taste in Groningen ("Proeven in Groningen", or Tasting in Groningen).

Like its big sister in Enschede, this culinary event took place in the weekend of 4-6 september. This year was its second edition. Since we already had to go to Enschede on the 5th, we went to Groningen on the 6th. Yup, that's a busy life when you have to be culinarily curious.

Apart from it being a far younger event, its also scaled down as compared to the one in Enschede. In Groningen, it's situated on two small squares, with a lot less visitors. There are 18 restaurants, both from the city and the surrounding region. You do also pay with special coins, which cost 1,50, so a little more expensive.

Whereas the Test-Taste in Enschede is visited by the general public, this event seems to be visited more by a somewhat upper class public. The little dishes also seem to be more exclusive.

On the picture shown above, there's a skinned cherry tomato filled with mackerel, served on some chopped pepper and with a scoop of tomato and pepper sorbet ice, with a basil leaf (dried or deep fried?).

Here we have several preparations of beef: some roast beef with wakame, an oxtail stock and beef rillettes with a cranberry compote.

Tapas which we didn't sample

Croquettes which we also didn't sample

Then, there had been a contest for 'Culinary Talent of the Year': every contestant had to make some terrine or pate. Mirko Karim from Holland Casino's restaurant won it this year: his entry are the three terrines shown on the first picture. Below are the other entries:

Below wasn't an entry, it was one of my bites: a salmon fish cookie on some aubergine puree, served with a cheese croquant. Very yummy!


All in all, it was nice, but not as nice as the one in Enschede. I think that in order for it to become a better event, it should be situated on a bigger square, have its coin prices lowered and its dishes be a little more common.

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.

Test-Taste Enschede

Having been home for a month, the culinary weekend that sported snack-sized morsels, bites and culinary delights took off on friday the 4th of september. In that weekend both in Enschede, the city I grew up, as well as in Groningen, the city I now live, culinary taste-events took place.

The one in Enschede is the oldest, called 'Proefeet' (test-taste). It brings back fond memories of my childhood. I guess my love for snack-sized food was encouraged by this yearly event. More on the one in Groningen in a next blog post.

The Proefeet is staged in the city center, around one of the old churches. 25+ restaurants present themselves, letting you sample some of their food for a few coins (one coin = one euro). This way the general public can get in touch with restaurants they might otherwise not have considered going to.

My first sample consisted of something with smoked salmon, from restaurant 'Amis'. Yummy! Apparently, they won first prize in the 'newcomers' section.

Tapas

N sampled some deconstructed vitello tonnato, a combination of raw yellowfin tuna and slowly cooked veal ribeye with some garlic dressing. It was from restaurant 'Mangu', which participated in the Dutch TV-series 'Mijn tent is top' (My place is the best), where four restaurant startups competed to be the best and win their investments back. Mangu didn't win, but obviously each restaurant got a lot of publicity in return.

I had their mini-croquette of confit de canard and foie gras with a compote of caramelized apple. Very nice!

Having recently read about potato twisters at Seriouseats.com, I was surprised to find them here in Holland as well. There were very long lines of people waiting to be able to sample some. They were nice. Obviously, it was just fried potato with some nice spices sprinkled over them, but the way they were presented (one long spiral) made for a different eating experience.

Cook of restaurant 'De Tropen'.

Grilled pineapple

Some kind of fish with sweet red beet-chutney and red beet chips and some salad. Very nice!

There were more things we sampled, but sometimes we were too busy eating or meeting family to take pictures. All in all a very nice event. Thanks mom and dad for taking us there!