Foods that I miss in the Netherlands
For some reason, the Dutch don’t put *both* meat and cheese onto a sandwich. Lunches at work feature trays of sandwiches with either/or, and I’ve become known as a bit of an ‘ugly american’ for reconstructing ham and cheese out of bits of other sandwiches. I have it on good authority that the British also don’t mix the two…maybe it’s just a US thing.
With Thanksgiving only a month away, thoughts naturally turn towards turkey (kalkoen), but I can’t remember seeing it an any form in the Albert Heijn. Chicken in many forms, and the occasional capon, but no turkey (and no duck). (as an aside, my Van Dale suggests that rood worden als een kalkoen is colloquial Dutch for go/turn purple in the face).
Snack Crackers. I hate to confess it, but I often had a box of Cheez-Its or Oyster Crackers under the van seat for nibbling while I was driving kids hither and yon. Crackers, from Saltines to Wheat Thins to Goldfish to Triscuits to Ritz to Club crackers… I’m cured now to where I really only miss it with a slice of cheese in the evenings. But how did the Dutch manage to miss out on the whole aisle of Nabisco goodies?
Feeling a bit nostalgic, I suppose…
Oreos…did I mention the lack of Oreos…?
Labels: Food and Diet, Idle chit-chat
posted by Dave Hampton at
1:11 PM
5 Comments:
This is a fun post!
A good old sub sandwich with thin-sliced deli meats, fresh veggies, cheese & a mayo/mustard sauce or something just as delicious.. Fantastic! I make these for my husband on occasion. I wonder, when he eats his lunch, what his colleagues are thinking. But then again his colleagues travel the world just like him & are exposed to so many other varieties. At least they will see his lunch & know his wife made it for him ;-)
The Oreos, I've found at AH, but the package is one similar to those snack-packs we had in the States. 4 cookies per pack in a 4-6 package [?] box. I am comparing them with the snack-packs which had the Nutter Butter snack-packs.
The snack crackers I loved very much, but an upside to the blahs: They're getting more Ben & Jerry's at the AH, I noticed last week! Priced very spendy, but it's nice to find ;-)
I swear yesterday I was moving faster than I was thinking. I forgot in my comment to mention a poelier. Assuming you didn't already know this, a poelier specializes in poultry. I have ordered a whole turkey from one of my local poeliers. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. Sometimes AH carries the kalkoen breast filets. But I really love the old traditional whole roasted turkey on Thanksgiving! Try looking on ilocal.nl for your nearest poelier to see if it's worth it for your Thanksgiving ;-)
Perfect, thanks! I was just commenting at Canadian in Clogs that it must be a meme this week: there've been turkey posts at several locations.
The alternative is to hook up with an ex-pat holiday dinner. When I was at Cambridge, the US Alums in Cambridge, MA, sponsored a thanksgiving dinner for all of the expats at the school. The vice-chancellor gave a talk explaining how the British didn't understand the holiday and weren't sure that they liked it, while the cooks served turkey sausage wrapped in bacon (their heart was in the right place). It was 1 pm and the wine flowed freely: I don't think many of us made it back to classes that afternoon. Memorable!
My bf's work buddies knew when I was visiting because his lunches would contain meat, cheese and veggies. Now that I live here his co workers just expect it from him lol. Or the fact I send him to work with leftovers. I even have the kids transformed to the American/Canadian way, their sandwiches always contain something other then the one slice of cheese or one slice of meat.
I had a horrible craving for poutine, but alas finding cheese curds... no such luck.
I know that I can get the turkey breasts, but I want a whole turkey..I'm going to have to break open the piggy bank for christmas dinner and go to the butchers.
Oh and dill pickle chips... mmmmm
Now I'm hungry.
I don't think the dutch do duck very often. Most ducks here wonder around exuding self confidence and a sense of safety. I honestly saw one try to walk into a bar last year. Whenever I have tried to order duck in a resturant (unless it's chinese) I go a look taht made me feel as I had just ordered the roast dalmation.
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