a place where the tod makes pop
This morning we finished watching Toy Story 3 because I fell asleep last night during the movie. I confess that the part where they are about to die is way too dramatic for children. I found myself with the tear in the corner of the eye. But then I thought… “It’s just cartoons!! How do they do it?”
After all the drama, we went to Westerpark because it’s so near and we never been there. As we walked out of our door this was the picture:
The park was just 5 minutes walking and so we found the entrance. Everything was covered in white.
The canal was nearly frozen and some stupid seagulls were standing there not knowing if that was right or wrong.
But because I had previously checked on Google maps, my real intention was to go to Bakkerswinkel which was located somewhere near this park.
And so we found it. We ordered Capuccino and scones… The scones were delicious but what I found more delicious was the steam coming out of the ground just outside the shop. It smelled like cinnamon! It was the most inviting smell ever!
Here’s a picture of the cranberry scones:
As I write this post, Sam is baking Mince Pies and I was interrupted three times to help out… So I say goodbye for now and will post pictures of our Sunday baking.
tot ziens!
This past week, there wasn’t a lot of time for cooking. Instead it was time for celebrations.
On Monday we went out for dinner to celebrate our third anniversary. Sam was in charge of booking the restaurant and so it wasn’t until 5pm that I asked him, where are we going anyway?… He didn’t have a clue. So I suggested we stay in the comfort of our neighborhood (that’s what I love about Amsterdam) and asked if he could book a table for two at the Bistrot Neuf.
Bistrot Neuf – Aux Crieurs de Vin is a restaurant in Haarlemmerstraat. From the outside and from the website it gives you the impression that it has loads of wines.
We had a glass of champagne with actually the color of champagne and not the whitish of prosecco!
As a starter Sam had garlic mushrooms on toasted sweetbread and I had a creamy soup with fish. I have no idea what kind of fish that was, but it was perhaps the same breed as the salmon, but whiter. So if Salmon is from Caribbean then the fish I had was from Scandinavia. You get the picture.
The soup was way too creamy for me. Every spoon I felt guilty regarding the amount of calories I was taking in.
Sam and I had for main course the Tornedó with mash potato (?) We can’t remember anymore. Sorry for that. But what we will not forget is the Mousse au chocolat we shared for dessert. It was incredible and I believe our friend’s mousse L. has competition on this one.
We ended our meal with a cheese platter that we also shared.
I would give an 8 out 10 to this restaurant for a first time.
Today I tried to make a lasagna out of the left overs from last night’s cod fish. The result was utter FAIL.
Instead I didn’t quit and decided to make a Torta (or custard roly poly). The cream was difficult to make. It was the first time I made custard and I had no clue of timings or whatsoever… So it was really a premiere for me.
The result was quite good and for that I’d like to “dedicate” this Torta to my great-grand-father (whom I never met) who was a great cook. The other thing I know about him is a funny episode with a Torta that my grand-mother used to tell us.
Avô Chico, esta é para ti! Para primeira vez a tua neta até nem se saiu mal e nem por isso a torta está menos direita!
After a cut in my finger and some burnings the end result of this recipe was pretty good.
The thing he says about frying scallops clockwise is bullshit. It didn’t work for me, so I had to check each of the scallops to see if they were already fried.
Nevertheless this is a winner and I’ll definitely do it again. As usual the picture without food make up:
I’m willing to give it another go to this recipe. Only because the picture looks so great.
Some things I’ll change:
Couscous -> use Jamie Oliver recipe! No lemon!
My couscous got really soggy because I left them “unattended” while I was cooking the meat.
Chicken -> use chili! Use more salt and let the the green beans cook properly. Also don’t use the humongous quantity of chicken stock they recommend.
All in all I think this recipe can be great, but to the authors of the recipe and to the editors who tested I recommend they read this book next time. Will write for food
That’s it for now!
Happy cooking!
It is a pleasure to come back home and see a nice and cosy kitchen. Organised, new, and ready to be working full steam!
Tonight I cooked something from BBC Good Food Mag.
Baked Polenta with Spinach and Goat’s Cheese
It was very nice, however I think that Polenta always tastes the same. Some notes on this recipe: more salt in the polenta and more cheese!
Here’s the end result without food make-up:
