Dutch apple pie...

Okay...for many years, I have boasted over my grandma's homemade apple pie recipe. And I'll still stand by it.

However, I think the time has come for me to pave the way for the new Queen of Pies. To welcome the new ruler of that supreme dessert.

That's right, folks, there's a new tart in town, and she's absolutely divine.

There are a few places in Amsterdam that feature the best of the best traditional Dutch apple pies...tall with a sweet crumbley crust, with apples that are perfectly straddle the border between Sweetsville and Sour Town. Winkel, a small cafe conveniently next to the Noordemarkt (near our huis), has decidedly been our favorite. We've been known to consume said pies on more than a few occasions, meeting friends from all over Amsterdam who will come our way just to get a slice.

And as good fortune has turned, I have a new Dutch friend who has the inside track to these delicious pies. She offered a small group of us a hands-on lesson in making The Pie...with ample taste-tests included, of course. :)

Donna, the Pie Goddess, is in the second picture. Her humble pupils joined her in the last picture. L to R: Christina, me, Aurelie, Donna, Jenn (the host), and Carly.

What a fun night. What a great pie.

For those of you interested in trying, here's the recipe:

Hollandse Appeltaart.

600 gr zelfrijzend bakmeel (this is "self-rising flour")
350 gr real butter this has to be at room temp - and has to be a mix of salted (275 gr) and unsalted (75 gr) butter
250 gr brown sugar (if you like it sweet go for 300 gr)
2 eggs
about 8 big apples (Goudreinet or Braeburn) also add 2 softer apples.
1 lemon
1 orange
Little glass of Calvados (not essential, but very yummy)
cinnamon

Now if you like other ingredients, like nuts and raisins, add them to you apple mixture.
Don't like raisins, but would like to try something else, try dried apricots.

As with any recipe. You like it sweeter, add more sugar.
You like it less sweet, use less sugar ;-)
But please don't use a margarine or any other low fat butter. Just use the real stuff.

Mix butter and sugar together until soft.
Add eggs (safe some egg to brush on top of cake)
Sift the flower twice (separately) then add to butter and sugar mixture.
Then mix together and let it rest.


Peel your apples and mix with a scoop of sugar and a little bit of Calvados.
Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange.
In a pan add a little butter and heat up your apples (and raisins etc.). The softer apples will start falling apart.
Heat the apples only for a short 2 or 3 minutes.

Meanwhile. Butter your cake dish and cover the bottom with baking paper.
Then line the entire dish with your cake mixture. Safe plenty for the top.
Fill with the apple mixture.
Cover the cake with the rest of the mixture, make strips and align as followed #
If you want you can add some brown sugar on the strips.

You should still have some of the mixture left.
Make different shapes of fruits or just apples and bake these separately.
You will end up with some nice butter cookies that you can use to decorate your cake.

Met poeiersuiker?...

Sent from our neighbor Ton, who is an actor/entertainer and has a regular act called "Jaap and Betty". Those pastries in the picture are oliebollen...deep-fried doughnuts, basically. Served only at Christmastime.



"Gelukkige kerst en een knallend 2008 van jullie eigen Jaap en Betty!"

(Come on...join me for the chorus..."Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhood...")

Happy Hannumas...

...Or Merry Christukah! However you want to slice it, we've got the holidays going on here in good fashion.

This will be the first year I have spent away from my friends and family in MN over the holidays. To compensate for this in-compensate-able gap in December merry-making, we've turned Helen into a beacon of Christmas and Hannukah cheer.

We had planned to get a full REAL tree this year, but considering biking our way through a tree lot and dodging bullet-like crowds on the Kalverstraat, we thought the peace might be better kept if we blew the dust off of our 2-foot tall artificial and kept it simple.

(As a side note, I learned of a nursery in Haarlem that offers Christmas tree RENTALS. The trees come in pots and are recycled year after year. No heartbreaking trips to the trash with your beloved holiday treasure. I don't know if this is becoming a trend in the US, but it really seems like a great idea. Maybe next year.)

Hannukah came earlier in the month, and we lit the menorah every night on schedule after starting one day late (D travelled right in the middle of those eight nights, so we got a little off track) - and having yet to light the last one (seems so final...we keep putting it off).

D said a prayer and sang a song in Hebrew the first night or two, and after that we added a totally goy-accessible feature to our ritual. Every night, we (or I, if D was out of town) listened to music by different Jewish composers each night (kicking off with Adam Sandler's famous Hannukah Song, ramping up to Rodgers and Hammerstein, Sid Robinovitch, Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Lerner and Lowe).

(Needless to say, Hannukah could last a few years straight and we couldn't get to all of the fabulous Jewish composers in history. But nice to start somewhere.)

Our tree is as sweet as ever. Sitting on our dining table, it has a constant view of the canal, watching the world go by morning, noon and night. Brenda gave me a table runner as a wedding shower gift that is a perfect tree skirt. And for a little tree, it's boasting quite a few ornaments, including the plastic keyboardist that mom bought for me years ago and the (ahem) star of "David" that I bought last year at Macy's.

With great sincerity, I wish this blog entry was accompanied by real live hugs and laughter and sugar cookies with you in the US, but in the warmest electronic kind of way, we want to wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season and a fabulous 2008.

Fijne feestdagen,
Lynn, Dave and #5

Life imitating art imitating life...

After waiting a year or two to do it, Dave and I recently had three pieces of ours beautifully framed by a local frame smith.

Here's our gallery:

1) I love Pringles. Without doubt, I have got the fever for the flavor of a Pringles' and there doesn't seem to be a cure.

This ailment over my love of the tennis-ball-can-wielding snack chip is no secret. So when D and I had dinner two years ago with his firm's chief marketing officer, it wasn't altogether shocking that the topic came up. And in a strange stroke of good fortune, it turned out that he had been part of the marketing team that launched THE original Pringles product and its accompanying campaign ("newfangled potato chips...great taste and less waste").

Forget Graceland. I was in the presence of a Pringles man.

Out of complete goodness of heart, he shipped us this piece. An original mock-up of the the first Pringles advertising campaign.

I want to be buried with this some day.

2) I have a friend in MN named Megan Jackson (married to long ago children's ministry partner and dear friend Kyle Jackson) who is a very talented artist. As a wedding gift, Zanny and Mike commissioned Megan to make a piece for us. It's a beautiful tribute. I love it. We gave it a big new frame to give it proper attention on our wall.

3) From what I hear, D and I totally drew the long stick on this one. Alaina painted this for a school project, focusing on the work of (you guessed it) Van Gogh. There have been more than a few people shocked that a (then) 8-year old painted the replica of VG's "Sunflowers." We weren't the only ones in the family who wanted this painting, but Alaina wanted us to have it as a wedding gift. Beth had it beautifully framed and I shipped it here from MN this summer.

4) In the last couple of years, we've had the wonderful opportunity to take some trips with D's family when they come to visit. One of them was to Istanbul, one of our favorite cities in the world. D and I bought this ink sketch on papyrus from a street artist on a trip with Norm, Brenda, Aud and Craig.

The good times just get better...

Dave and I hosted our second muziekavond last night and are still reeling in afterglow 20 hours later.

The afternoon offered a surprise when, two hours before guests were to arrive (and Carly was up to her elbows in vol au vent pastry baking), Heren blew a major circuit and we were without power...up until 15 minutes before guests started arriving.

(Note to self: Although finishing up the whites, starting a load of dishes, warming the oven AND running all of our recording gear might win me a GE Multi Tasking purple heart, perhaps I should save my Martha Stewart savoir faire for a day when we aren't expecting 30 guests at our door.) (Noted and noted again.)

But with the angel-like help of Daan and Rodrigo (neighboors...Piraat's parents) and their kitchen, and Carly's ability to punt, the night went on. And went on with lots of style and heart.

Because we had prepared to go on in the dark, every candle in the house had been drafted to light rooms and hallways, leaving an absolutely stunning ambience (in fact, both D and I were almost a little disappointed when the power came on and our house was filled yet again with electric light. There's something so quiet and still about a candle-lit room). We kept the candles burning throughout the night.

The program was a highlight of what was happening in French music and art from roughly 1880-1910. Specifically Monet, Debussy and Ravel. I played four solo piano pieces and had the absolute delight of playing Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano with my dear friend and violinist Estee Dwan. During the entire music program, Dave had slow-transitioning images of about 20 of Monet's paintings beaming through our stained-glass windows, covering our ceiling.

Since I have such a hankering for witty yet intelligent banter (as I truly find myself altogether quite entertaining), I mixed the music up with some basic explanations of how this music came to be...tracing the roots of tonal music and what that is, to the eventual deviation from it around the turn of the 20th century.

To help with this explanation, Dave helped me create a handout (see above). I was trying to explain the relationship between the tonic, dominant and sub-dominant chords (the I, IV and V), and how the hierarchical structure of tonality started to dissipate and change with Debussy.

(Translation: the I, IV, and V..."Three chords and the truth..." = the foundational composition "colors" for classical music - Mozart, Beethoven, romantic music - Schubert, Brahms, Liszt...not to mention nearly every country, gospel, blues and rock and roll song loved and cherished today).

(Needless to say, D and I iterated more than a few times..."who does this with their spare time?" Apparently, we do.)

Following a brief intermission, Estee and I continued with a few Christmas pieces I arranged for piano and violin which involved much improvisation between the two of us. It was a blast. I think we could've played all night.

There is something pure magic about these nights. Maybe that's just the voice of a host speaking, but I really believe that there's something special brewing. Neighbors and friends from every corner of the globe coming together to enjoy food, wine, music and each other. There are new introductions being made in every corner of the house, each one doing its bit to tighten the belt around this ever-shrinking small world.

And it would be deceiving to omit mention of my joy being able to play at these events...to try new pieces, to talk about the connectivity between art and artists over the last three centuries, to have a reason to think through what communicates best...to have a living breathing canvas. It's an amazing gift to me to be able to do this.

Doing all of this with Dave is the best...my partner in crime, my creative counterpart, technical manager, host-with-the-most, and unabashed cheerleader. I love you, sweets. You're the best.

To those of you reading from overseas, I enthusiastically invite you to any of our future muziekavonden here. We have a glass of wine poured for you...

Cheers.

It's beginning to look a lot like Sinterklaas Dag...

It's beginning to look a lot like Sinterklaas Dag,
Everywhere we go.
You can tell by the Zwarte Piets,
Loitering in the streets,
And oliebollen sold in every square...

Ah...can't you just hear it? Bells ringing. Children singing. Packages rustling as happy shoppers head for home. The sweet patter of kruidnoten dropping on the floor.

Sinterklaas has officially descended upon Amsterdam. In fact, he and his white horse arrived in Centraal Station last weekend - along with his black Petes - after a long trek from his summer home in Spain.

Yep. It's Sinterklaas season. And I'm all in this year.

I just returned from the Amsterdamse Golf Club after spending three hours providing the live soundtrack for Sinterklaas's arrival.

Santa Claus does a bit of a costume change when he charges over the Atlantic. That red velvet sleeping cap is replaced by a tall pointy pope hat. The elves get some relief as the black-faced Petes act as his helpers. But other than that, a lot of the story stays the same.

Equipped with a book of Sinterklaas liedjes, I entered the ring of festivities fully hoping that my Dutch skills were sufficient enough to slide unnoticed into this cultural cornerstone. With the help here and there of some sympathetic volwassen (adults), I don't think the kids had a clue that there was (shhh!) an American at the helm.

Well, until Sinterklaas himself invited me to shake his hand and chat for a few minutes (with a microphone in hand). After a few moments of witty banter, I became named "Miss America" by Big Red and remained the occasional butt of holiday jokes throughout the night.

[Here's basically what was registering in my mind: (in Dutch) blah blah blah blah blah....(in English) isn't that right, Miss America?!...(cue: LAUGHTER)]

Well, the opportunity to lead a roomful of Dutch folks in rousing choruses of "Hoort wie klopt daar kinderen" and "Zie ginds komt de stoomboot" (just to give the full picture, the Sinterklaas songs sound not unlike what one would swing a stein to at Oktoberfest)...priceless. It was great.

I hope that your next week is full of chocolate letters, thoughtful poems from your family, and that you've been good enough this year to avoid being shipped off to Spain (that's where all the naughty children go) (how's THAT for political correctness?!??!).

Ho ho ho,
Lynn

International Man of Mystery...

Recent weeks have unfolded in not-uncommon ways, but just yesterday, it dawned on me how fairly NOT common our not-uncommon days are. Well, at least compared to the way of our lives only a few years ago.

In the last four weeks, we have hosted numerous business guests for dinner. Sergey and Myrina from the Ukraine, Andreas and Monika from Hamburg, along with their two daughters. Although the husbands in each of these scenarios spoke reasonably understandable English, the wives and children had to make do with hand gestures and facial expressions.

I'm becoming pretty fluent in these. You wouldn't believe what the Ukrainian hand gesture for "what do you do in your leisure time" looks like.

We also had the chance to catch up with Jerde senior designer David Rogers over a nice leisurely homemade dinner and bottle of wine. He was on his way to Stockholm having come from England the day before.

In the midst of these social-business gatherings, Dave has managed to make his way to five different countries...from the U.S. to Romania to Belgium to France, with Sweden and England thrown in there.

Last but not least (and this one just put me over the top), Dave is in London today to meet a client who has been communicating with Dave's colleague in Hong Kong. So check this out...American-born Dave, living in Amsterdam, is going to London to meet with Israeli clients who are interested in a project to be built in India.

I mean...are ya kidding me?!??!?!

Wishing I would've paid more attention in Geography lessons all those years, I do my best to at least know which country my husband is in at all times.

I don't know how you do it sometimes, Dave. You're the best R-Moe that is.

Love you...
me