Popular recipes

Table of Contents

• Criteria
• The Sorcery
• Dishes
  • Falafel Dürums
  • Chicken Cordon Bleu
  • Liège-style Meatballs (Boulets Liégeois)
• Desserts
  • Cannelés

Criteria

Each person will end up with a different recipe book depending on their priorities. Here are mine, so you can better understand why I chose these dishes.

• I enjoy cooking with good ingredients, but I don't like doing the dishes.
• I have the budget for good products, but I hate waste.
• I don’t want 10⁸⁰ kitchen utensils! Let’s use simple tools like a knife, etc.
• I should be able to freeze the food or at least keep it in the fridge for a few extra days in case of unexpected events.
• I prefer to eat light in the evening.
• I don’t have very high caloric needs, but damn, I love eating!

The Sorcery

There are some tips and tricks that help simplify, recover, etc.

• Cook in large batches and freeze for the week
• Have a rice cooker (🇧🇪: "riteuse") with a steam basket for vegetables
• Revive old bread by making French toast

Dishes

Falafel Dürums

I use a Marmiton recipe for these. Here are a few additional tips:

• It's better to use dried chickpeas soaked in water; I find it much easier to blend.
• There's nothing wrong with freezing the falafels or even the falafel dough. Very practical!
• Also, nothing stops you from flattening them a bit so they fit better in the dürüm wrap.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Follow Chef Etchebest!

However, I have a few suggestions here:

• Add some blue cheese to truly put the "blue" in cordon bleu.
• Same with the cheese, don’t be stingy.
• He’s right, splitting the chicken breast is tricky. My first cordon bleus were gigantic.
• Once baked in the oven, I can freeze them. Later, I thaw them in the fridge or a water bath. The microwave works, but it’s much better in the pan!

Liège-style Meatballs (Boulets Liégeois)

I base mine on the official recipe from the tourism office, but I have so many suggestions that I'm not sure it's the same recipe anymore.

• Instead of meat broth, use dark beer. One of the rare times I buy Leffe. By the way, find a way to use any leftover beer.
• Soak the raisins in Peket. By the way, find a use for the Peket after fishing out the raisins.
• Incorporate the soaked raisins into the meatballs.
• Oven-baking the meatballs is crucial to ensure they keep their structural integrity once submerged in the sauce.
• During the second cooking, cover everything with gingerbread spread with mustard (mustard side down in the sauce). These slices will sweeten the dish and thicken the sauce.
• It’s well-known, but stews like this are even better the next day!

Desserts

Cannelés

Once again, a Marmiton recipe.

• I use two silicone molds, filled 2mm below the rim, because they puff up nicely in the oven.
• I bake them for only 10-12 minutes at 220°C to get a thinner crust than the original. When the temperature drops to 180°C, the cannelés deflate.
• I don’t use real vanilla, just flavoring. That’s good enough for me 🤷.
• The recipe calls for a bit of rum. I replace that with triple the amount of homemade Cointreau. Regular Cointreau should work too.
• A dash of orange blossom essence for extra flavor.
• Let them cool for 10 minutes before removing from the mold.
• They hold up very well in the microwave.