Yvette van Boven is an author, restaurateur, and recipe developer of excellence. Her first book, Home Made, appeared in 2011, followed by Home Made Winter in 2012 and Home Made Summer in 2013. 2014 was a year of pause for this busy author but later this year we will all welcome Home Baked, appearing in October 2015.
Suzen and I enjoy the Winter and Summer books, though we really do not distinguish seasons with them. There are recipes in each to try year round. Or ones we love so much that we won't wait for the right season. The Winter Gingerbread recipe is just fine on an August night.
Yvette was born and raised in Ireland of Dutch parents. Now she divides her time between Amsterdam and Paris. Her food is eclectic European, homey, a bit eccentric perhaps to an American, and decidedly delicious.
The first thing you notice about Home Made Winter, after the recipes of course, is the book layout and the photographs by Oof Verschuren. Take a look at the picture of the book cover above. It’s a work of art. It’s the Cardamom Cake with Whole Pears and White Chocolate, a recipe in the book and one that you really can do at home. You eat with your eyes, too.
Winter and Summer are beautiful books with food photos that are unsurpassed. They are visual invitations to rush to your kitchen. The food looks delicious but more importantly it looks elegantly doable. It’s exciting food but still seem to be something that mere food mortals can attempt. And with the picture as a template, it would seem that we can really, actually, honestly duplicate that picture.
Winter has chapters that follow a European life style. Yes, there is a chapter for tea time with recipes that probably taste at their best if you are sitting by an Amsterdam canal with a real European espresso, perhaps with sunshine, perhaps with snowflakes anointing your beverage.
Here’s a tour of the chapters and some representative, slightly spectacular recipe ideas:
- Breakfast, Brunch & Lunch
Bannock Bread [a giant cast iron skillet biscuit that I will blog about tomorrow, superb]
Homemade Butter
Irish whiskey Soda Bread
Grapefruit and Lime Curd
- Cakes & Sweet Things for Tea Time
Quinoa Apple Cake
Pecan Caramel Tart
Guinness Fruit Cake
Cardamom Cake with Whole Pears and White Chocolate
- Drinks
Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur
Winter Cocktail with Vanilla Ice Cream and Cranberries [still drinkable in April!]
Clementine Negroni
- To Start
Lemon and Dill Popcorn
Butternut Squash Crème with Goat Cheese Cream & Sage
Irish Potato Soup
Split Pea Soup with Squash and Yogurt
- Main Course
Baked Risotto with Cauliflower Gruyere & Crisp Bread Crumbs
Mushroom Fondue with Roquefort & Brie
Mashed Potatoes with Brussels Sprouts, Orange & Smoked Sausage
Dessert
Upside-Down Pear and Nut Tart with Calvados Syrup
Poached Pears with Goat’s Milk Brie & Red Wine Jelly
Cinnamon Citadel Cake with Chocolate Ganache, Ginger Confit & Dark Rum
When I started writing this book, I liked it. Leafing through it again to find these sample recipes, I have decided I love it. The recipes ideas here are both attractive and “different.” A main dish with mashed potatoes and oranges [+ sausage, too] is not something I ever saw before. The Cinnamon Citadel Cake is a tower of cake and fruit and goodies that looks medieval. I think Suzen and I have to try this, perhaps our next Christmas dessert, but I'm going to post the recipe for you soon. You won't have to wait for a Christmas present.
When you go through this book, you won’t immediately understand it at first. There is no “fried chicken” or “meatloaf” title to guide you. The combinations, the looks will be just peculiar, at first, and then attractive and then quite possibly intriguing. This is a fun cookbook, one that invites you to take a different path to new looks and new flavors.
Get Home Made Winter and enjoy these ideas. I’m blogging about Home Made Summer later this week. And, tomorrow, you’ll learn about that Bannock Bread and why it made Suzen and me so very happy with Home Made Winter from the very first bite.