fijne Koningsdag (Dutch Meal)

Every Dutch celebration needs Orange Bunting, right?

Dear Dorky,
Fijne Koningsdag! (According to something I just looked up on line, that is meant to mean Happy King's Day. Sorry if I messed it up. But at least you didn't have to listen to me actually try and say it!

At the beginning of the year I decided that every month I was going to cook a meal from a particular nation and last night was the turn of the Netherlands. I might do a post one day about the other three months I've already done at some stage (Indian in January, Japanese in February and Welsh in March) but today I want to tell you about how last night went.

Tulips aren't easy to find in Australia
at this time of year, so I had to go
with fake ones,. 

We had one guest, our parish priest, Fr Trenton. His father is Dutch, was actually born in Den Haag! Trenton showed up in a Netherlands football strip, although he later admitted he hates football. He plays rugby union so I teased him and said he can't cope with not using his hands when he plays. But that's a whole different story. Because he was wearing bright orange Dad had to get in on the act as well, but the only bright orange thing he had was a safety vest. Mum found a nice peachy coloured shirt and I wrapped a Holland bandanna around my head. Suitably attired, we had a lovely meal and a lovely evening.

Decorating the table is important. So we have
Delft Blue ceramic clogs, a ball of Drop (blechy!)
a napkin folded like a tulip, and a postcard.

We had Dutch beer - Arc Valley. It was actually really good, and considering it didn't cost very much we were pleasantly surprised. I found, with your help, a Dutch grace we could say and I tried saying it in Dutch (So glad you weren't there - you would have laughed at my pronunciation, although there were no evil sch words so yay). Then we said it in English, and then we had our meal.

First we had bitterballen. I found the recipe for these on an Australian site, taste.com. I'd found a couple of other recipes for them, including one on a Dutch tourism site, but the quantities were a bit easier on the site I used. I served them with German mustard. I know that's probably a bit naughty, but I didn't want to buy more mustard, and it worked out rather well.

Onion Stew, Stamppot and Beans ready
for people to serve themselves. 

Bitterballen - Beef  croquettes basically

Onion Stew, Stamppot and
Beans, all dished out

For our main meal we had Onion Stew, Stamppot (of course) and green beans. After all your talk about how gross stamppot is, we were all happy to discover that it was rather yummy. I was meant to use endive but couldn't find any, so I used rocket instead. It also had bacon in it, so you wouldn't have been able to eat it, but it was very tasty. Maybe I can try making mashed potatoes like this again, with bits added. It was delicious.

Best dessert in the world, poffertjes. 

Desert took me ages and ages, but it was worth it. Poffertjes. Of course! I even managed to find the packet mix I get when I'm visiting you. Gotta love the international section at Coles supermarket! By the time I'd made enough for the four of us, I'd figured out the tricks to make them taste better. Have the pan on a medium high heat (I always want to put things on the highest temp, but that wasn't working). Add melted butter into each of the wells on the pan, and give the poffertjes a chance to cook before turning them over. At first I was getting frustrated because they'd stick, and I thought it was because I'd not added enough butter, but if you leave them long enough they cook through and flip over easily. I'll try to remember that when I make them again (Tonight! I still have half the batter left). I served them with whipped cream, strawberries and icing sugar. Oh, and a bit of melted butter on before you add the toppings. That makes a yummy difference too.

This is a really good choice
for poffertjes mix. 

I'm pretty sure I gained 15 kilos from the meal, but calories don't count when it's a national celebration. Right?

Next month is Lebanese food, and I'm already making plans. I used to work at a Lebanese take away and just looking at the recipes is bringing back fond memories. I can't wait!

Hugs,  Dorky