1. I really need to quit confusing smeerkaas (spreadable/smearable cheese, just as it sounds) and roomkaas. The former is not something you’d want on a bagel, though it’s OK on crackers.
2. I don’t like Fleurie all that much, and Beaujolais in general may not be my favorite even when it’s not nouveau. (This one is 2007) Though it was a lot better with the cheese “course” than with the corn on the cob I’d had as dinner (benefit of eating alone is weird whatever-I-want-meals dessert is cherries) so maybe it just needs to go with heartier flavors.
3. Cole slaw must be a Dutch dish, because rendered in Dutch spelling (kool sla) it literally means cabbage salad.
4. I don’t understand soup stock, unless you cook a hell of a lot more than I do. I mean, I know how to make it and I know how to use it, but unless it keeps in the freezer for six months at a pop I don’t quite get how you make sure to have t ready when you need it and not to toss out 5/6 of it. They do have the boxed stuff here, and I’ve been known to use that as a handy soup base but it never tastes the same.
5. My culinary horizons would be vastly expanded if I didn’t dislike the taste of eggs. I’m fine with them in things like pancakes, French toast, Caesar dressing or Hollandaise sauce, I just don’t like eggs qua eggs. Too bad because they show up a lot in both Dutch and Taiwan cooking, not to mention Julia’s kitchen.
6. The concert that’s been going on somewhere outside most of this afternoon is really pretty good. Given how clearly I can hear it up in my 29th floor flat, though, I think I’m glad not to be closer to the speakers.