Grilling in Groningen

It’s good to get out of town now and again. Even if the town in question is Amsterdam and you’re new to said town. After 5 weeks of heavy networking, 2-5 meetings a day with new people, biking like mad in order not to be late to said meetings and telling my story over and over again..well, I really needed a break.

Enter good friend Richard Kastelein of Agora Media Group, Expathos and a handful of other fascinating businesses (the man has his own wiki page for Pete’s sake!) and his lovely family; all lovely ladies, which includes his wife, three beautiful little girls, the cat and the dog.

After a smooth and relatively short (by US standards) train ride I arrived at the lovely town of Groningen, which is the northeastern most province of the Netherlands. It’s a nice sized town consisting of just over 185,000 residents and a good sized college which makes for a busy and ever changing mix of inhabitants.

After dropping off my bags our primary mission was to shop for that evening’s dinner via the local fish and vegetable market where Richard promised we’d find everything we needed for our grill fest.

Thankfully his little girls (ages 4-7) all enjoy fish so fish it would be. Here’s a nod to feeding young children foods parents eat..no chicken nuggets in this household! So off on our bikes we went with grocery bags tucked away and the lovely Spring day surrounding us.

When we arrived we did a quick visual tour to plan the meal…we’d grab the whole salmon last and head to a nearby Moroccan shop for olives, pita,  and hummus first then load up on veg, fruit, fresh herbs and local eggs.

Richard had a blast as I described uses for some vegetables he was unfamiliar with or whose uses extended beyond raw salads. I explained how the common red radish takes on a mellow, almost sweet flavour when tossed in olive oil and roasted in a hot oven; it’s red skin turning a beautiful pink with the slow caramelizing of internal starches. Same could be said for the long, white daikon radishes we passed. Roasted slowly in the oven, grilled over coals or sliced thinly for pickles, it really is a versatile vegetable whose radishness (I couldn’t help myself) is easily tamed with a bit of extra care.

Yet we opted to keep things simple, kids in mind, and try not to press our culinary luck too much with new additions to their existing repertoire. It was hard not to buy more than we needed because everything looked, smelled and tasted so good. I’m not afraid to admit that I spend more money on food than any other item in my life; more than shoes, clothes and cosmetics combined. To me there’s nothing more amazing, enjoyable or easy to share with others. Clothing styles come and go but great food is timeless and universal.

In the end we opted for simple side dishes of rosemary and garlic roasted baby red potatoes and grilled peppers with a little grilled fennel bulb. A cold cucumber and fresh dill salad was also included since the girls love cucumber. From the sea we chose to grill a whole salmon with a mix of fresh rosemary, red onions, garlic, fennel, olives and lemon; a blend of Mediterranean flavours that would perfectly match the weather, be easy to assemble and appeal to our young dinner guests.

Cycling back we stopped off at another square for a freshly made “Stroopwafle” which I have affectionately renamed “Crackwafle” since it’s my opinion that you can’t eat just one of these addictive, caramel centered, thin waffle-walled cookies. They are so addictive in fact that I have to force myself not to buy them when I go to the store..and yes, they come covered in chocolate as well! Pure sin.

Back at Richard’s we got to work prepping and talking shop. Seems cleaning fish and veggies goes quite well with talk of internet marketing, blogging, online publishing and social TV. Richard’s passion for Convergent Media, where all fields of on/offline communication cross to provide a true high point of social interaction, is akin to my love of fusion cuisine; where drawing from the various communication cultures blend into one harmonious and powerful way of connecting to each other. Where spices, herbs and raw ingredients blend in my world so does communication platforms merge in his. It all made for a great and delicious mix.

I’m not going to list any actual recipes in this post because we didn’t follow any. We used our collective experiences to create an incredible and simple meal that had us full-bellied and smiling by the end of the night. Breakfast the next day only extended the fun as we played “Duck, duck, goose!” with an incredible mix of duck and goose eggs from the market.

It was a weekend of pure food and shared experience that none of us will soon forget. Until next time gang!

Denmark on a Fork

True Danish pastry

While driving cross country from Germany to Jutland, Denmark  it’s hard to imagine that pork is the main stay of the Danish diet. With nary a pig in sight amidst the wild lilac bushes, horse pastures, Lego Land and the constant whirl of electricity producing windmills, Denmark leads the industry in green wind power equipment manufacturing by the way, it makes one wonder where all of that pork comes from?

Such thoughts quickly faded away as our hosts, old family friends, greeted us with a late breakfast spread worthy of Holger Danske, the sleeping Danish warrior. Now I’m not much of a breakfast person but in the face of such a delicious Koldt Bord, an assortment of cold, sliced meats, cheeses, vegetables, pork pates and seafood spreads, along with a multitude of jams and breads I was hooked. In Denmark the open face sandwich or Smørrebrød is king be it for breakfast, lunch or a quick snack. Your Smørrebrød can be made on moist, thinly sliced rye bread (always buttered!) know as rugbrød but may also be featured on any of the crisp rolls common to Danish bakeries.

The crowning jewel is a taste of true Danish pastry served individually or in the shape of an open circle with its golden edges rolled inwards towards the filling.  After seven years of hearing my husband denounce what I knew of as “Danish Pastry” as unworthy imitators of the flaky sweets he survived on twenty-five years ago as an exchange student, I was more than a little eager for the “real deal”. As promised, the flaky, buttery pastry was spectacular and a very far cry from the overly frosted, often soggy and rarely flaky Danishes most of us are used to. For our first breakfast we were treated to a ring of pastry meant to be sliced and shared at the table. Filled with a sweet cream reminiscent of French pastry cream but richer in color and egg yolks combined with dollops of white icing demarcating each serving. It was well worth the wait.

Granted not every visitor to Denmark will have the opportunity to eat so well in a private home and if it does happen it is a special event for all reserved for visiting guests and family.  Though eating out is a luxury for most Danes, due to high prices, it’s a must for most tourists. One thing to keep in mind is that Denmark has opted not to join the EU so your buying power with the Danish kroner will not go as far as your Euros will within neighboring EU countries; so do budget accordingly. Eating out will also be particularly hard for vegetarians since Denmark’s cuisine is heavily meat based and it’s not unusual to have seemingly vegetarian items like potatoes or cabbage cooked with meat fats or bits of pork.

If it’s meat you crave though you will have many options from plump sausages to cutlets, roasts or Smørrebrød piled high for a hearty mid-day lunch or filling dinner, you will not be left wanting.  On route to Kronborg castle in Helsignor we ate a great lunch at a local eatery; one of many which lined the cobble stoned pedestrian walk through the center of town. Shop doors stood open to the Spring weather displaying curred meats, incredible local and imported cheeses from around the world and stylish clothing beckoning visitors and locals alike to take a look inside or sample a taste. It was a great way to take in the full measure of Danish cuisine where stinky cheese on sweet rye bread is cherished along with a nice cold beer or shot of icy Aquavit.

Even if you can’t get to Denmark any time soon there’s no reason why you can’t create your own Koldt Bord feast at home. Most grocery stores carry the wonderful bricks of the thinly sliced rye bread you’ll need to create your Smørrebrød and the rest can be left up to your imagination. With grocery chains like Loblaws now carrying vegetarian pates and tofu spreads the vegetarians in your life with have just as much fun creating their own delicious masterpieces right along side you.

Tak !

True Danish pastry

Mmmm, more meat…

Not healthy but very tasty

Sausages, potatoes and brown gravy

Breakfast in Denmark