They say that Christmas is the season to be jolly...it is also time to gourmetten. Actually one can gourmetten any-time, but Christmas is a time when families come together anyway...so why not gourmetten. Here is a website in English to give you an idea of what it is: https://dutchcommunity.com/2013/11/27/gourmetten-a-deliciously-dutch-culinary-phenomenon/ Then a few pics to show you how we do it. First the tables all laid out with the utensils and some of the meats and veg: Then there is a side-table for extra's: You can see some of what we use when gourmetten: The idea is to lay out meats cut into small, pan-sized portions. The same goes for veggies. You can also cook eggs, pancakes and pretty much anything...just on a smaller scale. Then after a few pauses to get your breath, you start again, but at some point it is time to stop with the savoury things and it is time for desert. The sky is also the limit with this. One can flambée things like banana's, you can melt chocolate and make caramel...use nuts, sprinkles or cherries in syrup. The following two foto's show my two desserts. The first one was a piece of the Christmas tree-shaped vanilla ice cream covered with cherries, melted chocolate and whipped cream. The second dessert was similar to the first except I used more cherries, some blueberries and a ton of diverse sprinkles. Just looking at all this probably just makes you feel a bit queezy. It was a bit over the top, but that is the idea...you do not do this every day.
Not queezy, just drooling! What a beautiful Christmas "gourmetten!" Did anyone have room for dessert after all those lovely meats and side dishes? (I am not showing this to my husband--don't want to give him ideas for next year since I am definitely not up to providing such a feast!).
What a fun and cozy dining adventure. It does remind me of our fondue dinners which were very popular in the early years of our marriage. We have a fondue restaurant here in Knoxville, the Melting Pot, which we enjoy going to.
JANE--Thanks for the nice compliments. Yes, everyone had not only room for the desserts, but also for seconds ! They held back, knowing that there was a dessert coming. We did not tell then what sort of dessert it would be, so I think that they were curious. The children were not interested in dessert until they saw the adults flambé-ing in the dark. Then they also had to have some. Hiya GAIL-- So good to see you here. Glad you liked the thread. You are right that it is similar to fondu-ing. We do that here as well. CAYU--it was....it was. Oké ISLAND--I'll leave the door standing ajar for you. KK--I just know that you would enjoy it, especially with a Malaysian twist. You guys have delicious foods there. Heh heh heh NETTY-- Drop by sometime, for a taste.
