I do have to work on Friday. I will leave the office ASAP, but can't confirm a time yet.

tsunami, I have not been able to find a GOOD Thai that serves lunch...sorry!

ladyroots,

do you know a thai in amsterdam or otterlo?
please make a reservation.

we will arrive very early in the morning, just in time for a breakfest (7.00 - 8.00 am)

Tsunami,

Will you and your girlfriend need to stay the night? If so, that is ueberhaupt kein Problem. We've got an air-mattress upstairs that is always ready, in case things get carried away. Hopefully you won't mind. Mandy and I slept on one for almost a year, for no apparent reason other than we just didn't want to buy a bed. (Man, we've got to sound like complete hobos by now.) But it could save you some cash, too, which is always a bonus. A Euro saved is a Euro used to buy smokes, someone famous once said. Just kidding; I don't smoke...just thought it would be funny. Maybe StevieC said that, or I just dreamed it. Wierd. Alright, let us know, here or by e-mail. And looking forward to your lamb dish ideas. Mandy suggested roasted potatoes and steamed veggies, but keep in mind this is only the second time we've had lamb, and we're pretty much clueless; that may all sound haute normal. 'Help wanted,' so to speak. The wine I can manage well enough, but we should be considering the food first, at least that's the way they teach it in Utrecht! And I think they're right on!!! Wish we could be there, everyone. Please make a toast to me, as we'll be making every effort to be there next time. O.k. Late-skies.

Soll denn doch getrunken sein,
trinke nur vom besten Wein.
- Goethe

tsunami, you might have misunderstood my post: the *GOOD* Thai restaurants in Amsterdam just don't do lunch. There might be a place in Utrecht (I assume you mean Utrecht when you write oterloo), but it might be tricky with your scedule. Plenty of GREAT plavce to have lunch in Amsterdam, but more classic / French cuisine. If you want me to reserve a (non-smoking!) table, just say so.

Oh, and pfalzman94:

StevieC, Ronnie/Lady Roots, JoeA, ANYBODY--can you give Mandy and me some helpful hints on what to make alongside lamb for our occasion in Kaiserslautern. As much as I want that couscous salad again, I think we'd only be holding back an opportunity to branch out even farther into the world of fine cuisine if we simply tried to mimick your perfection again, Ronnie. I still have dreams about that salad, and people making comments about saving Euro for smokes(). So, again, not only great ideas if you please (and if have the time), but also where we might come across the recipes. I'm going to be researching some Harvey Steiman items on the left side here, but we've had trouble finding some of his ingredients in the past. That could still be a problem either way. Also, wine pairings...What would be your best recommendations to accompany a nice lamb dish and its possible sides? We really appreciate your help. Thanks a lot!

P.s. Can you ask Tsunami the overnight question for us, too. I think he may have already left the comfort of his desktop for the week. Alright, have a load of fun "y'all".

Soll denn doch getrunken sein,
trinke nur vom besten Wein.
- Goethe

Pfalzman94: Ah yes, that Couscous Ronnie made was delicious!

Without trying to be too exotic, I normally make roasted potatoes with the leg of lamb I cook (and will be this Sunday). Just chunk potatoes (leave skin on), parboil them, then put them in a roasting tray. Add some olive oil, a couple dabs of butter, rosemary, salt & pepper (and any other seasoning you like). Don't over-saturate the potatoes with oil since you will want the skins to dry out a bit and get crispy. Shake the tray around to cover the potatoes with oil and seasoning and then roast at the highest heat level in your oven, uncovered, until they brown. For the last few minutes, put under the grill (if you have one) to really crispen them up. Be sure to move them around during this process to get all sides crispy and browned. Ideally, the end result should be a crispy outside with a soft, puffy, inside! I serve this with some type of steamed vegetable such as green beans.

Anyway, this is just one possibility. There are many others. Perhaps a post on the food board will provide more options.

The best match for lamb is a big, full-bodied, red. The wine can be young and with tannins such as the Quinta do Crasto we had a few weeks ago. Cabernet Sauvingnon, Syrah/Shiraz, etc. are usually good matches with lamb.

Enjoy the meal! I'm sure it will be great!

steve,

sorry, i really did get that worng.

we thougt to go saturday morning to otterlo have lunch at otterlo-or-utrecht (ladyroots suggestet a japanese, that's fine to us!) than go to you're home
amsterdam we can see also sunday, but let's talk tomorrow.


pfalzman,

yes, it would be great about the sleeping, tahnks!
saved money for sleeping will be pressed into "better" or highter priced wine


all,

from now, i'm on road and not back here until 15th

Safe driving Tsunami; and see you tomorrow

pfalzman: I agree with Joe on the wine choice to pair the lamb. We most often drink a nice full bodied Portugese red next to it, but that probably would not surprice you. (Try to find Niepoort Redoma (red), yummie yummie).

Anyway, I think Ronnie should give you the recipe on the salad. i can just tell what in there, but it will never be as good as Ronnies.

Anyway, have fun when Tsunami is dropping by.

Totally agree with joea on the roasted potatoes. I often make that with lamb too.
Aside from matching it with a full bodied portuguese red (which if obviously a combination from heaven ), I think a nice, not too OTT, aussie shiraz will work great.

The recipe for the couscous salad is dead simple: add dried figs, red pepper (sweet as well as fresh chili or spanish) and spring onion to the couscous before you add water. roast some cashew nuts. Add boiling water to the couscous. Don't overdo it, unless you like couscous-porridge. You can always add some more water if the couscous remains crunchy. Let it cool down for a few minutes, then add feta cheese (a good, munchy and stinky one!), cashews and rucola (I don't know the proper English translation of that, is it rocket lettuce?? Anyway, you're in Germany and over there it's called rucola as well). Finish it of with some good olive oil, vinegar (or lime juice), pepper and salt. That's all actually. I tend to variate the ingredients a lot, just add what you think will do nice.
Of course it is better to use fresh figs instead of dried ones, but they are hard to find this season. If you do use fresh ones, add them after the whole water thing; you don't want your beautiful fresh (and expensive) figs tasting like water!

Have fun!

Now, how did this emerge into a cooking thread? I bet it's all Stevies fault, after reaching three pages with this one, he has clearly set his mind on going into four pages!

Four pages...yeah, cool!

Am I looking forward to tonight! tsunami arrived yet, Ronnie?

Have agood weekend - I look forward to the tasting notes - food included

April TAA/TATW is Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella

Actually, the cooking misdirection was all me. My bad. To be honest, I didn't even remember until just now that there was a Cooking section on the forums. Duhhh. Of course, I'm just making my contributions to ensure the success of the four page OL thread. But I appreciate all your input. We've got some pretty good Shiraz here at the house, and I think we'll probably pair the lamb with the 2001 D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie we picked up in Utrecht. Good idea? Other options:
'99 Penfolds St. Henri's Shiraz
'00 " Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
'01 E. Guigal CdP
'01 Torbreck The Factor (too OTT?)
'99 Chateau Reynella B.P. Shiraz
and I also have a yummy 2000 Pinot Noir from one of the finest wineries in Deutschland, Oekonomierat Rebholz. It took the top red wine prize for Germany in the 2002 Gault-Millau. Let me know which wine you think might work best or better? Hopefully this fits in the OL category: I mean, you're just helping me make the right wine decisions so we can make it a memorable experience, right? Have fun tonight, you lucky folks, you! Just make sure one of the Tsunami's is sober enough to come crashing into Kaiserslautern . If he has any questions about the route here, just have him ring; I think he's got our number. Peace!

Soll denn doch getrunken sein,
trinke nur vom besten Wein.
- Goethe

Almost forgot; I think I stated a few weeks back that I picked up a bottle of Taylor's '97 VP--well, correction, as I'm assuming there is a substantial difference between VP and Late Bottled Vintage, correct? I did not mean to mislead anyone, or come across as the "one-upper". My apologies. Looking through the collection downstairs, I looked the bottle over and it's hard to miss the big "LBV". When Ronnie and The Gang (this could so be the name for a kick-a$$ blues band, ya dig. Anybody in?)said they couldn't find it hardly anywhere in Holland, I said to myself, "How did I come across such a gem?" Anyway, is this '97 Taylor's LBV still of comparable quality? Hopefully. Man, what does it take to get this thing to four pages? I'm trying guys, and not so artificially either--I've got some good questions here, right?

Soll denn doch getrunken sein,
trinke nur vom besten Wein.
- Goethe

Well, I survived day one…superb, just superb: what a great evening! No TNs yet, but as a teaser here’s the list of wines we tasted yesterday:

Starter white:
Bethany’s 2001 “The Manse” Semillion / Riesling / Chardonnay (Barossa Valley)

Starter VP:
Romariz 1994 Vintage Port

With terrine of foie gras:
Trimbach 1989 Gewurtztraminer SGN (Alsace)
Trimbach 1990 Riesling Cuvee Frederic Emile SGN (Alsace)

With broth of beef, lobster dumplings and morels:
Trimbach 1993 Riesling Clos Ste. Hune (Alsace)

With horse tenderloin and Port sauce with spring vegetables:
Gallo Estate 1994 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma)

As dessert:
Graham’s 1955 Vintage Port
Niepoort 1952 Garrafeira Port
Gould Campbell 1977 Vintage Port
Churchill’s 1998 Late Bottled Vintage Port
Kyralynovar 1999 Lapis Tokaji Aszu 6 Putt.

And tonight: day 2 of tsunami visits The Netherlands! It’s going to be great…Pfalzman94: you’re in for a great evening in a couple of days!

Stevie, what are you doing up so early today?? I didn't think there would be anything posted here yet!

Pfalzman94: You are in for a special treat when you get together with Tsunami! WOW! Supberb food and wines! Oh, and I think Tsunami was saving some of the left over wines for you to try - so you may be in for a spectacular treat! And I'm sure there will be some remaining cheese - probably about a dozen or so choices! Get ready for the wave to hit Kaiserslauten.....

Tsunami: I can't thank you and your wife enough for all of the prepartion and effort put into putting this dinner together - it was well worth it

...and all of the wines contributed from everyone were teriffic and many were once in a lifetime experiences (at least for me!)

Much more to come.....

ooooo, I CAN'T WAIT!!! TN's! TN's! TN's! Especially on those Ports, ('52!...'55! Get outta here ) Can someone there do me a favor?...Make sure Tsunami is comfortable at this point with finding his way to our house; he never did say whether he'd found good directions on Mapquest or anything. Could tonight be even better?--That would be pure insanity! Save some stuff for Mandy and Me
All your gourmet abilities are far more excellent than ours, and it's just such a treat to be able to admire what fine talents folks like Ronnie, Tsunami, et al have. Have fun tonight!

Soll denn doch getrunken sein,
trinke nur vom besten Wein.
- Goethe

Come on guys....it's almost 2:00 in the afternoon and no highlights posted from Day 2 with Tsunami

Not so impatient Joe, I was just getting to it!

Stevie did some wonderful cooking yesterday, and we had another nice bunch of wines to pair with it.

appetizers (cooked beetroot on toast with raspberry and vintage port vinegar sauce and goat cheese on top, and smoked salmon on toast with a nice limey creme fraiche underneath):
- Bollinger grande annee 1995
- Niepoort redoma reserva branco 1997

Before we started with the red wines, we finished the remains of the Niepoort Garrafeira 1952.

With the main course (Ossehaas (I don't know the proper english word, sorry) with elderberry sauce, fresh vegetables and roasted potatoes):
- Domaine de Pegau 1995 - corked
- E. Guigal Cote Rotie 1995
- Roger Perrin C9dP 2001
- Rosemount GSM 2000

Then dessert: chocolate cake, with chocolate truffle and a very nice compote (plum?).

After dessert:
- another sip of the Gould Campbell 1977 VP (still some left for today)
- Fonseca 1985 VP

It was 02.00 AM when Lady Roots and I left tsunami, andrea and stevie with the cheeses, and I can hardly imagine that they didn't drink another wine with that .

It was another great night with some wonderful wines! Right now tsunami and andrea are sightseeing Amsterdam, and their last evening in the Netherlands will be spent again at the Rootses place tonight.

[This message was edited by Ronnie Roots on Apr 12, 2004 at 07:41 AM.]

Uhem, ehhh, I was the only one making Tns, but I left them at Stevies place. So Joe, you have to wait for a few hours, since Tsunami will bring them back to me.

Thanks Ronnie! I was impatient because I heard all of the good things being planned while I was with everyone Friday night - so I wanted to live vicariously through everyone else to have the experience myself.

Another incredible evening! Looking forward to more notes from everyone

Hey, wait a minute. I just re-read Ronnie's post. What's with leaving at 2am? I recall you didn't let Stevie and I leave Friday until 3am

But I guess we all belive B-Man when he says prepare for a long evening when with Tsunami When the cheese isn't put out until 1am one night and 2am the next night - you know the OL will go until sunrise!

Oops, you got me there

It seems, you all had a wonderful pre-eastern days!!! Great wines and Ports... Did you all make tasting notes? Can you share the experiences?

Best Regards and cheers,
Joe Cave