FavorFlav’s Sabina Posthumus’s favorites
Everything at FavorFlav’s Sabina Posthumus’s place is wonderfully solid and wonderfully homely. But don’t touch her cheese flips, or she’ll completely lose it.
Always in the fridge
‘Butter, because I want nothing to do with liquid baking butter or packets of margarine.’
Favorite drink
‘Tea. And not a herbal infusion or green tea with flavors like lemon geranium, chia berry or toilet freshener, but simply a solid pot of black tea, preferably Earl Grey, not too weak and scalding hot. I can easily drink a liter of it.’
Favorite family recipe
‘My father makes divine osso buco. I try to recreate it, but it still tastes different when Dad has stirred the pot. My sister introduced the tradition of “sandwich night” in her family: baguette with salads, herb butter and dips for dinner. My nephews love it, and so do I. My other sister gives me vegan recipes to try. And then I have a stepfather who makes fresh tagliatelle with a sauce of Gorgonzola, Parma ham and a ridiculous amount of garlic, and a stepmother who serves an outrageously delicious quark-and-whipped-cream cake. I still miss my grandmother’s rendang and my mother’s babi pangang. So family love really does go through the stomach.’
Favorite ingredient
‘Fresh ginger makes me happy. For a while, I grated it into almost everything; that’s waning a little now, but it’s still a favorite. Just the smell makes me happy. I chop it into curry, but also add it raw to a carrot salad with honey and mint. Just not in tea—see the first question.’
Favorite hangover meal
‘I already get a hangover when I smell a beer, unfortunately. Fried eggs with bacon and cheese make me feel enormously better. And a couple of paracetamol, of course—cooking isn’t magic.’
Guilty pleasure
‘It changes with the seasons, but at the moment I’d say cheese flips. Those chips that turn your hands orange. I wipe my greasy fingers on the cats, so they get something out of it too.’
Favorite (budget) kitchen tool
‘It isn’t even a real kitchen tool, but it’s more economical than that: a jam jar. I make salad dressing in a small jam jar: just put everything in, put the lid on and shake. It couldn’t be easier. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t do that.’
I always buy this ready-made
‘Puff pastry. All that turning, resting and rolling—I’m not getting involved.’
If I could eat only one cuisine for the rest of my life
‘Of course you’re supposed to say Italian or Japanese, but I think I’d choose French cuisine. I simply love those classic things like steak tartare, steak béarnaise, îles flottantes for dessert or an omelet Sibérienne. Plus that baguette. So yes, that’s what I’d go for.’
Strangest dish I’ve ever eaten
‘Sushi with the innards of a squid—that was pretty weird. It was served at the table while we were on vacation in Japan. I only found out afterward what we had eaten, because the translation program on the phone didn’t work in the restaurant. Slimy with chunks—not something I’d repeat.’
Never again
‘That sushi ranks high on the list. And the tripe in Lyon too. It’s stomach, and it stinks. Apparently not everything in French cuisine is equally festive.’
When I don’t feel like cooking
‘Then I call the Thai place for number 49, chicken with black pepper sauce. The delivery driver already knows which address to go to when I place my order.’
The best cooking tip I’ve ever received
‘Stock cubes are our friends. Sylvia Witteman says so. I’m perfectly willing to make my own stock, but come on.’
My last meal
‘Gratin dauphinois—I think it’s so divine. And it’s a billion calories per bite, but who the fuck cares if it’s my last meal.’
Read also:
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- You don’t have an allergy, you’re just a whiner
- When a trip to the supermarket is just as much fun as a festival or a weekend away
Photo: Jörgen Caris
