Stay-at-home-dude.com chef’s knife

Hi Dudes,

today I would like to show you my new Stay-at-home-dude.com chef’s knife. I sewed a knife sheath made of felt and added my logo. The knife is produced in Thailand, is really sharp and easy to sharpen with a grindstone. It has a total length of 28 cm. The blade is 16 and the handle is 12 cm long. It’s my favorite knife because it’s thin, but at the same time stable enough. I use it to cut meat, vegetables and for everything that has to be chopped. Like every other sharp blade it should not be washed in the dish washer.

I also own two much more expensive knifes, but I always use this one. It’s obvious that the geometry of these more expensive knifes is more precise than this one, but I think with this knife you get the best value for money. It’s sharp, it’s light and it looks good.

If you want to buy my chef’s knife, just click here and I will make one for you. The price is 14 EUR and includes the knife and the sheath. The shipping cost vary from country to country and are charged additionally. The photos here show my prototype.

Venison fillet with brussel sprouts and jerusalem artichoke (19)

Hi Dudes,

yesterday I have startet a new Facebook page that will be synchronized with this blog. The Facebook page is not meant to replace my blog, but to make it easier for me to share content. Visit my new page at www.stay-at-home-dude.com/facebook, like it if you want and stay updated.

Today I want to present a new recipe that I bought at a grocery store called “BILDER & DE CLERCQ”. I really like the concept of the store that is located just around the corner of our flat in Amsterdam. It provides recipes and all the ingredients in exactly the right quantities needed to prepare a dish. Forget about buying too much and throw away food. Every dish is presented on it’s own table. 14 different dishes are always available and each week three new ones are introduced.

(Source: BILDER & DE CLERCQ)

Beside the dishes the store also offers wine, fresh bread and a selection of other products. You can also go there just to have a cup of coffee. Visit the store www.bilderdeclercq.nl and take a look at the products they offer.

(Source: BILDER & DE CLERCQ)

I was really excited to try out one of the recipes. So yesterday I went to the store and bought a dish. I selected “Venison fillet with brussel sprouts and jerusalem artichoke” especially because I never had jerusalem artichoke. The following images show what I bought and how the products are wrapped.

For 2 people you need
PREP:  5 min
COOK: 30 min
LEVEL: easy

Venisson fillet / 2 x 250 g
Brussel sprouts / 300 g
Jerusalem artichoke / 350 g

Thyme / 2 sprigs
Garlic / 2 cloves
Butter / 2 tablespoons
Olive oil / 5 tablespoons
Port wine / 100 ml
Sea salt / 1 teaspoon
Pepper
Preparation
1. Heat up the oven at 180°C. Wash the vegetables and cut the Jerusalem artichoke in half. Take an ovenproof dish and add the sprouts, artichoke, mashed garlic, thyme sprigs and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Spice with pepper and sea salt and mix all together well. Place the dish in the oven for 30 min. 
2. Take the meat out of the fridge and put it aside on a plate so it can adapt to room temperature. Start to brown the fillets steaks 10 min before the vegetables are ready. 
3. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to a big pan. Heat it up and fry the fillets at high temperature for 2 to 3 min from each side. Remove the steak from the pan and wrap them in aluminum foil and put them aside. 
4. Deglaze the pan with port wine and add the rest of the butter. Let it boil down till the sauce is reduced and thick. Spice up with salt and pepper. 
5. Serve on preheated plates and enjoy together with red wine. 

It’s a delicious dish and we really enjoyed it. In my case the vegetables have been a little bit too long in the oven. Shame on me;-). Enjoy!

Fried rice with shrimps (18)
Hi Dudes,

today my all new stay-at-home-dude flyers have arrived! So now I am ready to spread out the word.

This year I start with a traditional dish from Thailand. Fried rice with shrimps is always nice. If you prepare the rice an hour before you start cooking, the rice has cooled down and has a better texture.

For 2 people you need

PREP:  25 min
COOK: 5 min
LEVEL: easy

Jasmine rice / 1 cup
Eggs / 2
Shrimps / 12 
Garlic / 2 gloves
Spring onion / 2
Soy sauce / 2 teaspoons
Oyster sauce / 2 teaspoons
Oil / 1 tablespoon
Tomato / 1 medium
Cucumber / 1 small
Lime / 1
Pepper / a pinch
Thai chili / 2
Fish sauce

Preparation

1. Wash the rice and add 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cups of water in a pot. Close the lid and bring it to a boil and simmer at low temperature for 15 to 20 min. Check the bottom of the pot for water. If all of it has gone the rice is ready.

2. Wash and prepare the vegetables. Finely chop the garlic, slice the chili and spring onions. Cut the tomato and cucumber in slices. Wash the shrimps and dry with kitchen paper.

3. Use a wok or a big pan at high temperature, add oil and eggs. Stir the eggs, add garlic and shrimps.
Stir-fry for 2 min than add rice, soy and oyster sauce.

4. After 2 min add spring onion and serve it with slices of tomato, cucumber and lime on a plate. Fill a small bowl with fish sauce and add the chopped fresh cilii.

ทานให้อร่อยนะ

Hi Dudes,

I have arrived in Schwäbisch Hall, my final destination on my kitchen tour 2013. Feels good to come back home to the city were I was born. The last event took place at a LAN party at Jochen’s place. It felt like being transported back to the past, playing old school games, hanging out with friends and staying up all night long. Because we were 14 people, I decided to prepare lasagne. As dessert I made vanilla ice cream with raspberries and roasted almonds. I think everybody enjoyed it.

At the end of my tour I wish everybody a happy christmas and some pleasant days with your families. On my tour I have thought about a couple of new ideas for my blog for 2014. Many thanks again to all hosts and all the support on my tour. It was a trip I will never forget.

 

Hi Dudes,

on Friday I arrived in Stuttgart and stayed in the kitchen of Dani and Bernie. Domi joined the kitchen team and we had a relaxed evening with a lot of good food and drinks. A big thank you for hosting this event!

We prepared a 3 course menu starting with a “Flädlesuppe“, a swabian soup made of bouillon and pancake stripes, and followed by the main dish trout with herbs and ricotta-spinach dumplings.
As dessert we made baked apples with vanilla ice cream. After the dessert Bernie offered a selection of different whiskies.

Hi Dudes,

now I am back again in my old shared flat in Konstanz. Feels good to come back. I spent more than 2 years in this flat together with Marc and Eric. So today I will cook in  a kitchen I am used to. Let’s see how it works out and how the results are. 
But first I take a walk trough the old city center and the christmas market. Than I will meet Andre to buy all the ingredients for dinner. Unfortunately, it’s so foggy that I can not take good pictures. Instead I add some of my photo library. Stay tuned for the kitchen story and the recipes. 

And here is what we prepared for dinner in Konstanz. We startet with a fennel-curry soup with salmon, followed by an Indonesian style grilled chicken with lemon-chili crust and tagliatelle, chicory and parsnip. For dessert I prepared apple-blueberry cream with almond crumbles.

We had a good time together and I thank Marc and Patrick for hosting this dinner. Also many thanks to Andre and Andre for joining the action. It was a nice to have you all around. I decided to add the preparation of every dinner, when I have reached my parents place. Tomorrow I will head on to Stuttgart. Be ready!

Hi Dudes,

yesterday I arrived in the charming city Freiburg. I have spent here 12 months at the Fraunhofer ISE working on my thesis and as a research assistant. I had so much good memories when I arrived with the bus from Karlsruhe. For me Freiburg is one of the most livable city in Germany! I climbed the Münster of Freiburg, walked through the city and drove on the mountain “Schauinsland”.  On its peak we had an amazing view into the valley and the winter sunset.

Together with Matze and Jan we cooked in Jan’s kitchen. Our plan was to watch the latest Warren-Miller’s ticket to ride skiing movie (www.skitheworld.de) at the CinemaxX Freiburg at 8 pm. The movie was the perfect inspiration for the winter season that has just begun. Because of this we did not had much time to prepare food.

But luckily, I brought some pieces of the cheesecake from Karlsruhe with me. As a main dish we than prepared a pistachio-risotto with fish and vegetables. It was the shortest kitchen-stay on my tour.

Jan opened a premium bottle of rum called “Tres hombres” and we enjoyed it while cooking. The rum is shipped by a sailing ship without engine, from the Caribbean to Europe! An Austrian and two Dutch dudes are running this type of cargo transport and sail across the Atlantic since 2010. What a great story.

The risotto we prepared was ok, but we left out the Fennel seeds and lavender. Perhaps of this I missed a little bit of flavor. Also adding parmesan is not mentioned in the recipe, but could be a nice idea. I will try to improve it when I prepare it again.

Thanks to Jan and Matze for being such nice hosts!

For 4 people you need: 
Vegetable bouillon / 900 ml
Saffron / 0.05 g
Onion / 1
Olive oil / 4 tablespoons
Risotto rice / 300 g
White wine / 150 ml
Fennel seeds / 2 teaspoons
Lavender flowers / 1 teaspoon
Vanilla pod / 0.5
Garlic / 2 claws
Orange zest
Pistachios / 80 g
Salt 
Pepper
Chili flakes
Red mullet or zander fillet / 400 g
Olive oil / 2 tablespoons
Salz
Fennel / 1
Chicory / 1
Sea salt
Pepper

Hi Dudes, 
on monday I arrived in Karlsruhe. In 2002 I spent a couple of months in Karlsruhe and did an internship at Siemens and a small software company. So I am quite familiar with the city and made a short trip to the “Karlsruher Schloß” taking photos. Again with sunshine and blues skies – I am really lucky with the weather. I hope it goes on like this. 
I stayed for a couple of hours at my aunts place and she prepared a nice “Wurstsalat” – hmm yummy. After this we baked a cheesecake with red oranges
In the evening I traveled further to Ina and Andre.  There we made a pumpkin-paprika soup with garlic croutons and spinach-gnocchi with roasted pumpkin and spinach. I have never prepared homemade gnocchi before, I think it has worked quite well. Maybe a little bit more salt for the dough next time. As dessert we had a piece of the cheesecake we prepared at midday. You can find the recipes between the pictures below.  
We spend a cozy evening with wine, good food and music. Many thanks to my aunt Annedore and Ina and Andre for being great hosts on my tour. Next stop: Freiburg

For 3 people you need:

Pumpkin-paprika soup with garlic croutons


Paprika / 2 red small
Pumpkin / 300 g 
Vegetable bouillon / 450 ml
Cream / 50 ml
Cocos milk / 50 ml
Curry powder / 0.5 teaspoon
Garlic / 1 claw
Cinnamon bark / 1
Vanilla pot / 0.5
Butter / 20 g
Salt 
Chili powder
Olive oil / 1 tablespoon
Flat parsley / 1 tablespoon
Galgant or ginger
Toast / 25 g
Olive oil / 2 tablespoons
Garlic / 1 claw




Spinach-gnocchi with roasted pumpkin and spinach

Spinach / 250 g
Pumpkin / 200 g
Potatoes / 200 g, floury
Wheat flower / 75 g
Egg / 1
Sage leaves 
Butter / 50 g
Salt 
Pepper
Parmesan cheese
Pine seeds

Hi Dudes,

yesterday I arrived in Frankfurt. Again with great weather! Lars picked me up at the train station and showed me the most interesting places in Frankfurt. The view on top of the main tower was incredible!

Update:

I have spent a good time in Frankfurt. After visiting the city center and the christmas market we started to prepare a 3 course menu in the evening. Lars and Uli helped me to cook and we had so much fun taking pictures, drinking wine and enjoying dinner.  Starter was a tomato soup with prawns, followed by the main course chicken in sherry sauce with rice, fennel, zucchini and parsnips. As dessert we prepared Kaiserschmarrn – a very popular dessert and I think it originally comes from Austria. Many thanks to Lars and Uli for being such good kitchen host. You really helped to make this special.

For 3 people you need:
Tomato soup with cinnamon and prawns

Onion / 1 small
Olive oil / 40 ml, mild
Vegetable bouillon / 375 ml
Garlic / 1 claw
Tomatoes / 525 g, canned
Basilcum / fresh
Cinnamon bark / 1
Salt 
Pepper
Sugar
Chili flakes
Sugar / 1 teaspoon

Toast / 1.5 slices
Butter / 2 tablespoons
Cinnamon bark / 1

Prawns / 3 à 30g 
Olive oil / 1 teaspoon
Lemon zest / a pinch, organic
Orange zest / a pinch, organic
Sea salt 
Chili flakes


Chicken in sherry sauce with rice, fennel, zucchini and parsnips

Chicken / 3 x breast, 3 x wings
Rice / 1 cup, medium
Fennel  / 2
Zucchini / 1
Parsnips / 2
Paprika powder / 1.5 Tablespoon
Onions / 2 small
Paprika / 1.5 yellow small
Garlic / 2 claws
Sunflower oil 
Sherry / 200 ml
Chicken bouillon / 150 ml
Salt 
Pepper
Kaiserschmarrn

Wheat flower / 120 g 
Milk / 250 ml
Eggs / 4
Vanilla pod / 1
Lemon / 1, organic
Butter / 4 tablespoons
Salt / a pinch
Sugar / 3 tablespoons
Rumrosinen / 1 tablespoon

Almonds / 1 tablespoon

Hi Dudes,

I have just arrived in Düsseldorf, my first place to stay on my kitchen tour. Sebo has invited me to stay in his kitchen and prepare a stay-at-home-dude dining experience. After a walk through the old city center of Düsseldorf and the christmas market, I moved on to the nice Rine promenade – the weather is cold with blue sky and sunshine and big ships are shipping on the river. I spent 15 months working in Düsseldorf and I really love this city and the people!

Tonight I will prepare a variety of spanish tapas. I will post the ingredients and the pictures tomorrow after my hangover. Stay tuned!

Update:

My hangover has last longer than I expected. I had a really nice time in Düsseldorf and say a big thank you to the kitchen hosts Sebo (with Anna and Torben) and Dirk! Sebo and Torben have designed a stay-at-home-dude t-shirt for the event in Düsseldorf that shows the skyline of the city – amazing!

Tapas on Friday were a big success.
Next day, together with Dirk, we prepared chicken breast with leek-tarragon sauce and pasta. First time I used tarragon and we liked it.

For tapas for 4 people you need:
Bacon wrapped Dates

Bacon / 12-15 slices
Dates / 12 – 15
Olive oil / 50 ml
Garlic / 2 claws
Salt 
Pepper

Tortilla española
Olive oil / 2 tablespoons
Potatoes / 2 big
Onion / 2 small
Eggs / 4
Paprika powder / a pinch
Salt
Pepper

Gambas in garlic chili oil
Gambas / 400 g 
Olive oil / 6 tablespoons
Garlic / 2 claws
Vanilla pod
Cinnamon bark
Lemon juice / 2 teespoons
Sherry / 2 tablespoons, medium dry
Red peppers / 1
Salt 
Pepper

Meat balls and potatoes in Sherry-sauce
Minced meat / 500 g (50/50)
Bread crumbs / 0.5 cup
Flat parsley / 3 tablespoons
Garlic / 2 claws mashed
Sweet paprika powder / 2 tablespoons
Olive oil / 2 tablespoons
Butter / 30 g
Onion / medium 
Sweet paprika powder / 1 tablespoon
Wheat flower / 1 tablespoon
Sherry /  8 tablespoons, dry
Chicken bouillon / 250 ml
Potatoes / 10 small 
Flat parsley / 3 tablespoons

Almond-lemon cake
Butter / 125 g
Sugar / 1 cup
Eggs / 4 
Lemon juice / 5 tablespoons
Wheat flower / 140 g
Baking powder 
Grained almonds / 280 g
Lemon zest / 2 lemon
Lemon / 2 organic
Water / 8 tablespoons 
Sugar / 0.5 cup
Cream 
The preparation follows as soon as possible. 

Chicken breast with tarragon sauce and pasta
For 2 people you need:

Chicken breast / 2 à 150 g
Wheat flower / 50 g
Butter / 30g
Leek / 1
White wine / 150 ml
Chicken bouillon / 150 ml
Cream / 30 ml
Tarragon / fresh leaves
Pasta / 250 g
Salt
Pepper