I was having a sunday tea with my good friend K. and we were craving for something sweet, so we decided to order two pieces of pie, she had the apple crumble and I ordered the chocolate cake, it really looked nice but the taste was a bit disappointing. Although I'm a big fan of ' Greenwoods' the cake was very dry and I could really taste it wasn't a fresh one..I didn't finished it and ordered an other tea instead...too bad :(

Oke.. so the plan was that I would make dinner for D. and myself at his place, watch movies and have a relaxed Saturday night, but eventually we changed plans, time can be such a bitch sometimes, at 18:30 I was still busy getting my stuff done...so  D. called me where I was at, and then he came with the brilliant idea to just go out for dinner, well that's an easy question right?! He convinced me to go to this Moroccan restaurant in 'de pijp' area of Amsterdam, I'm always in for something new, so off I went! First impression of Mamouche is that the smell is really amazing, the whole place smells like delicious food and I love the open kitchen in the back.

The place was really packed. We ordered a delicious bottle of white wine (I forgot the name..) and I was really looking forward to the food we ordered. I don't like to complain but the waiter was really slow and not paying any attention to our table, for instance he never poured our wine in for a refill and he forgot to bring the bread with humus we asked for 2 times. Luckily the starter came on our way, the way they made the plate up was really nice and most important it was really REALLY TASTY, the scallops were very tender, combined with the small salty olives gave that whole dish that extra touch. So after the starter we both forgot about the lousy waiter and were really looking forward to our main dish 'Spicy Seabas' and the 'Chicken Tajin'.. we waited over more then an hour for the main dish, we eventually cancelled it because they haven't even started preparing it after 60 minutes and we lost our appetite. I would love to come back again cause that starter made me wonder for more.. and I hope the service will be better then. I'm just saying, the food would even be more tastier if the service was good too.

xoxo
The Cookteaser

Tonight I went out for a quick bite with my good friend R. This was a sort of a goodbye diner because R. will be travelling in Asia for several months to do some charity work and to explore and see more of the world.. Love it!
One of the best Thai restaurants I go to is 'Bird' they also have a snackbar ( I always go there for take away or have a nice quick hot lunch). Their across each other at the main asian street; Zeedijk, the asian 'hood' of Amsterdam.
What I think which are the best dished to order there :
READ MORE...

During my break from work I went out to get some fresh air and to get some liquid fuel for the day. When it comes to being an expert of Ice coffees it's ME! I try them everywhere and I must say.. Two For Joy beats the rest by far! For 4,20 Euro I get my favorite drink, I order mine with soya milk instead of regular milk. And see for yourself..the way they serve the drink  is already something to look forward to!
I love it that they don't crush the icecubes together with the coffee, so the taste of the coffee stays more intens.
Now get my ass together and back to work!

xoxo
The Cookteaser

Restaurants & Bars I tease:

The people who work here are always very friendly and they'll bring you your coffee, so not like all other coffeeshops that you order your drink and then still have to wait for them to make it, and just when your coffee is ready someone else already took that lovely seat behind the window with the nice view...familiar scenario right?!
 READ MORE...

I posted some new things on the tabs 'Tips'  &  'Restaurants & Bars I Tease', watch me closely as I will update my blog everyday.. But give me a break you guys.. I'm doing this all by myself!! So don't expect a whole A-Z list of things alright?! JEEZZZ.. ;)

xoxo

The Cookteaser

Today I made myself an easy to make dish, spicy meatballs (beef) served with fresh salad leaves, tomatoes and redbeets. When I grill my balls (haha that sounds funny right?!) I never use oil, the meat has it own oil, just make sure the pan is hot enough then you won't be needing any oil. I marinated my balls with, chopped garlic, very fine chopped red union, a lot of dried chilli flakes, a spoon of red curry paste, some soya sauce an egg and last but certainly not least some finely crushed cashewnuts. that gives the meatball just that extra bite...

If you like to have your salad with some extra dressing, get your balls out of the pan when they're still pink from the inside, and put some sweet chilli sauce in the pan together with half a lemon juice and some soya saus. let it all mingle together for 1 minute and you're done!

NEED I SAY MORE!?!? .. I think not! this is not just a pie.. NO this pie was made with much care and love by me..you'll taste the difference.

To look fabulous when be delivered, the Polka-Dot pie needs to have her beautysleep first, as we like to have ours in the bedroom she like to spend her sleep in the fridge.... the whole pie is filled with juicy, fresh fruits.. every time you take a bite you'll taste a sweet blueberry or a sweet&sour velvet red berry to lift up the pies taste.... yummmm..

OMSG (Oh My Sexy God) The Official Launch of my food-blog at the Canal House was a great success!  the response I got was beyond my expectations. Thank you all visitors for being so interested and kind to me, I must say, this afternoon when I was all alone in that big kitchen of the Canal House preparing all the food and pies I felt alone and scared..all those 'what if' questions popped op in my mind.. But now the event is over.. I still can't believe what a success it was..! I have to sleep, but I can't because of all the adrenaline rushing through my body. I enjoyed every single minute of being there. If you like you can follow me on facebook to stay updated whenever I posted something new. I will post some more pictures of the event soon!
PS. a very very special thanks to all my lovely friends who attended the event and thanks for being so supportive, thanks for picking up the phone in the middle of the night to give your opinion on my design for the logo, thanks for lifting me up with positive thoughts when I felled insecure.. Words aren't enough..but still..Thank You..!! I love you guys! without yall I would be lost!
xoxo
The Cookteaser.

Let's celebrate together The Official Launch of  'The Cookteaser' tonight (scroll down for all details of the event, time location etc..). Now I'm starting to feel a bit nervous, just finished working and I have a whole list of things I have to get and do. Tonight I'm going to start with the polka-dot pie, that's the only pie I'm making beforehand because it has to be cooled for more then half a day in the fridge to make it taste perfect !
If you want to spice up your life, start by eating my 'Refreshing Spicy Mango Salad', this will be served in a nice portion (not to big, not to small ) so you have just enough place left in your tummy to add a piece of pie to it....Conclusion of the day : there's actually nothing much I ask of you readers.. just be hungry and I'll meet you there at the Canal House.
Can't wait!
xoxo

During work at Mondriaan Fonds I went for a quick break with a colleague of mine to check out the small organic market which takes place once a week every wednesday on the Haarlemmer Square. I couldn't stop staring at all those amazing products, so beautifully made and presented. Next time I'll skip lunch at work and get some nice macarones and muffins.. Maybe I'll see you there next week ;) I will post some new recipes soon, but I'm so busy working and arranging everything for the event this thursday. I'm really excited
about it!

xoxo
The Cookteaser

p.s. you better be hungry!