Hutspot

I have long wondered about my Grandpa Vellinga's food that he called husput. The internet, being a wonderful thing, helped me out. It turns out, I had been misspelling a well known dish called Hutspot. or hotchpotch (hodgepodge) But the dish that my dad describes is more like Stampot, which contain kale. Many recipes I found contain meat or sausage, (Hutspot met klapstuk)  but I suspect that meat was a rarity in the Vellinga house, and that they just had the vegetables. 

My dad has been making "Potato Cheese Soup" since we were children.  It is based on his memories of this dish.  I will leave you to search the internet for your own recipes,  but basically all it is, is boiling potatoes, carrots and onions together, and mashing them with milk and butter until they are like mashed potatoes. 

Hutspot met klapstuk from http://www.holland.com/us/tourism/article/hutspot.htm 

·         500 gram (1.1 lb) beef chuck rib roast

·         400 ml (13.5 fl oz) water

·         1/2 beef bouillon cube

·         1 bay leaf

·         8 black pepper corns, whole

·         1 tablespoon flour, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

·         6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

·         8 large carrots, peeled and diced

·         4 large onions, peeled and sliced

·         Salt and pepper

Add the water to a Dutch oven or a braising pan, add the bouillon cube and stir until dissolved. Add the beef, the bay leaf and the pepper corns and braise on low heat for approximately 90 minutes or until beef is tender.

Remove the meat to a serving dish, discard the bay leaf and peppercorns and stir the dissolved flour into the pan juices. Stir scraping the bottom of the pan, loosening any meat particles that may be stuck. Bring the heat slowly up until the gravy starts to thicken. Pour the gravy over the meat and set aside, keeping it warm.

In the meantime, place the potatoes on the bottom of a pan, and add water so that the potatoes are just covered. Put the carrots on top, and finish with the onions. Add salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and boil for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Pour off the cooking water, but save it. Mash the potatoes, carrots and onions until you achieve a mashed potato consistency. If you need more liquid to make it smoother, add a tablespoon of cooking liquid at a time. Taste, adjust with salt and pepper.

Serve the hutspot family style on a large platter, slice the beef and serve with the gravy.

Grilled Chicken

Make a brine of 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 quart of water.  Cut chicken breasts horizontally to make them about 1/2 inch thick, freeze the leftovers for another meal.  Soak chicken for 1 hour.  Rinse.  Preheat grill pan, and coat with 1 T olive oil. (panini pan, cast iron skillet, non-stick skillet, even a waffle iron will work in a pinch) season chicken to taste with herbs of your choice (garlic, rosemary, sage, or Italian seasoning are options) and grill chicken breasts until no longer pink. (about 4 minutes per side).  If desired, these can be made into chicken sandwiches. 

Roasted Vegetables

Adapted from http://cookingventures.blogspot.com/2009/10/roasted-vegetables.html
Longer-Cooking Veggies

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
2 to 3 medium potatoes (preferable Yukon Gold or Red Bliss), peeled and cut into 3/4" chunks
1 cup or so of baby carrots (cut in half or leave whole)
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp sugar (optional but nice)
1 TBSP dried, chopped rosemary
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Liberal amount of salt and pepper to taste
Quicker-Cooking Veggies 
1 bunch of asparagus, fibrous ends removed and remaining pieces cut into thirds
1 large onion, cut into strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1" chunks
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Crusty Bread or Bread Bowls

Place oven racks in the top third and bottom third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 425F. Coat the inside of two rimmed sheet pans with some olive oil.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the longer-cooking veggies and toss to combine. Split the veggies between the two sheet pans. Bake 20 minutes, switching the sheet pans between the top and bottom racks halfway through the cooking time.

Right before the 20 minutes is up, combine the quicker-cooking ingredients. After the longer-cooking veggies have been in the oven for 20 minutes, take the sheet pans out of the oven and stir the veggies – using a spatula as needed to scrape up any that may have stuck to the pans. Add half of the quicker-cooking veggies to each sheet pan, toss again, and return to the oven for another 18 to 23 minutes (switching the pans halfway through) or until the veggies are as soft as you like. During baking, if the veggies look a little dry, add additional olive oil as needed.

Before serving, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. If desired, toss with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve in bread bowls or with crusty bread.

*Variation

Peel and cut white and sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes.  If making ahead, put cubes in a bowl full of cold water, so they won't brown.  Dry with a towel, and toss with 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Bake at 425 for 40-45 minutes, turning half way through cooking time.  Add other veggies and seasonings as suggested in the online recipe.

Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Mix:

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 c cocoa

Add: 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

Mix well

Add:

2 Tablespoons vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix well

Chill for a couple of hours or overnight.  Make into balls.  Roll in powdered sugar.  Bake 10 minutess at 350.

Chocolate Crackles

Frosted Cowpies

1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 Tbs vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Powdered sugar

Mix butter and cocoa. Add oil, sugar, and eggs. Mix well. Add vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients and fold into wet.
Chill for a couple hours or overnight. Roll into walnut sized balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 350. Makes about 60

Pumpkin Spice and Filing

Part of the perfect fall look. Boots, ugly sweaters and pumpkin spice.

3 T Cinnamon
2 t Ginger
1 1/2 t Allspice
1 1/2 t cloves

Add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice to 1 cup of cream and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Whip. Optional 1 cup canned pumpkin. (Mom says it doesn't add to the flavor and messes up the texture.)
Goes great in cream puffs and makes you look fancy.

Grandpa Vellinga's Cheese and Potato Soup

How my dutch grandpa got his kids to eat vegetables, while basically negating all their goodness with cheese.
Good fats, right?

3 qts cubed potatoes
1-2 grated carrots
1-2 stalks grated celery
1/4 cup dry onions

Cook until tender. Make a thick white sauce in a large pan
3/4 cups flour
1 cube butter
1 1/2 - 2 qts milk
1 Tbs sugar
Salt
White pepper

Mash or beat vegetables with some cooking water until mostly smooth. Should be soupier than mashed potatoes. Mix with white sauce and 2-3 cups grated cheese until very thick. Serve with Butter Dips

Yummy Pototoes

aka "Utah Funeral Potatoes" aka "Traditional Easter Potatoes"

Insert Fiddler on the Roof line here. 

6-8 medium potatoes, boil with skins on and cool
1 stick butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Bread crumb or corn flake topping

Cooke potatoes, grate on to melted butter in casserole or 9x13 pan. Combine soup, onion, and sour cream. Pour over potatoes, top with cheese and bred crumbs. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.