Eet Smakelijk- Eat Deliciously (The Netherlands)

Next up comes the menu planning. We had learned that pancakes are a staple in The Netherlands. Pancakes very different from the variety that we make here.  Pancakes that are more like a crepe and have meats and veggies in them are very common. Being that I am a non-red meat eater, I migrated toward the white meat options. In The Netherlands the cooked meat and veggies get mixed into the pancake before it is cooked, but we knew that one of our guests is an incredibly picky eater and it was clear that I would have to modify a few things, or else have a hungry dinner guest. Since we were unsure what the picky eater would want, we separated everything and then rolled it all up like a wrap. I realized that we were being less authentic, but in the end I think the flavor was the same and it was good, and as we learned from our Moroccan Dinner, it doesn’t really matter how it looks, it is likely to still taste fantastic.

The beautiful candles came from Rijks Museum in Amsterdam.

We started with Mustard Soup.

The pancakes (and the separated filling).

The less than authentic mode of eating the Dutch Pancakes, as mentioned above.

For drinks we had black currant juice which was the closest I could get to Cassis, which is a popular drink in The Netherlands. Though, I will admit that the adults jumped an ocean and added rum, not Dutch, but yummy.

Our guests did a great job of researching a few Dutch dishes as well and they brought two sides to have with our meal.

Sausage.

Hutspot.

As we wrapped up our tour of The Netherlands, we looked back on what we had learned, reviewed another set of Trivia questions and as always took a deep breath. A deep breath like the one that comes out at the end of a holiday, after all of the guests have gone home and the prelude to the big event has passed. Another successful meal done. Another country checked off of our list. With all of our enjoyment of learning about The Netherlands and eating the foods, I am certain that we would thoroughly enjoy a trip there and who knows, maybe I'd even be able to find some Dutch music that won’t take me back to junior high. 

(See my adventures of searching for Dutch music here)

** The tile of this post, Eet Smakelijk is pronounced "ATE Smahk-A-Lick"