We've been having quite a cold snap here in Amsterdam, not just the few days of below freezing temperatures we normally get, but several weeks of sub zero temperatures. It was the coldest NYE in a decade, and definitely my coldest winter in my decade plus in the NL. When the sun is shining and I've got on my requisite 4-5 layers of clothing, I don't mind the cycle ride through the cold, crisp air to work. I am a  sunshine and warm weather kinda girl, but even I'm not impervious to the delicious exhilaration that one can experience in proper cold weather.

I must have been a good girl this year, because I got not one, but two cookbooks for Christmas. Granted, one came to me in the form of gift certificate to Waterstone's (thank you to E's parents), but hey, I'm not picky as to how my cookbooks come to me. I choose to use my gift certificate on Tessa Kiro's Falling Cloudberries, because I've been eyeing it ever since it came out in 2004. It's a wonderful medley of family recipes encompassing her Finnish and Greek Cypriot roots, as well her childhood in South Africa and her adulthood in Italy. It may sound like a unlikely mix, but I assure you, it works. Recipes bound by love and memories are surely the only way to go.

The second new addition to my cookbook library was a gift from a good friend who knows just how big my crush on Nigella Lawson is, and decided I needed to expand my Nigella cookbook collection. Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, is just what the title proports, pages and pages of scrumptious meals, not only for the holiday season, but every occasion. I love Nigella's unabashed love of butter, heavy cream and bacon, as well as her penchant for turning every meal into a party. I'm certainly not going to wait for an opportunity to crack Feast open and give one of her decandent desserts a try.

So, I wonder, am I the only one who makes statements like, "I'm not going to buy another cookbook until I've cooked a recipe from every cookbook that I already have," when defending yet another cookbook purpose to my DBF? Do you too suffer a compulsive desire to own every beautiful cookbook in the world? Really, I'm curious. How many cookbooks do you own? What's your favorite cookbook and why? What was your first cookbook? Details, folks, give me details!

Lastly, if any of you happen to have either of these two cookbooks, let me know what you liked or disliked about them, with emphasis on any favorite recipes that you've prepared from them.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a quiet January, and if this weather keeps up, it'll be all about comfort food. I've got these cookies on my mind, I'm craving spicy smoky chorizo paired with chickpeas, and plotting a chicken and dumpling extravaganza, while dreaming of the sourdough pancakes, which will hopefully be the by-product of a successful sourdough starter project with Rachel. So many food experiences, so little time!!!

I hope the New Year finds you all healthy, happy and tucked up somewhere warm with those you love.

Sometimes nothing can beat the winning combination of protein, fat and carbohydrate, otherwise known as beef pie. buttery flaky pastry soaked in red wine laced beef gravy surrounding succulent chunks of melt-in-your-mouth beef is like manna from heaven on a cold winter's night. Especially, if you've been suffering a lingering case of winter sniffles, as I have the past three days.

I never got the opportunity to post about the Thanksgiving Twofer Pie, because E and I arrived back from Spain on Thanksgiving evening, and the following weekend we had back-to-back dinner and cocktail parties (of which the later was hosted by yours truly). As a result this is a (very) belated TWD post of sorts, and as I announced last week officially my last. I thought the pie was divine, but more importantly I didn't want to miss the opportunity to feature the wonderful gift I received from my best friend Carrie (who was over from Scotland to celebrate her 35th with me), my very own Porta Torta!

I got to spend last Saturday afternoon shopping on two of my favorite shopping streets in Amsterdam with two good friends (and ex-colleagues) of mine.  Though the temperatures were hovering just below freezing (a bit of a rarity these days in the NL), we had fun diving in and out stores, and chit-chatting away about life and cooking.

For lunch we stopped in at Il Tramezzino, a little Italian sandwich and coffee joint on the Haarlemerstraat in the center of Amsterdam. The place was heaving, but in less then 5 minutes a table cleared for us and it was time to choose from their amazing selection of tramezzini, sandwiches made on pancarré: a triangular slice of white (or brown) bread with the crusts removed. While I was a bit incredulous about the price (E2,95), upon discovering that what you get is actually equates to half a sandwich, the fact that the sandwich fillings were made with the freshest and best ingredients that Italy (and the Netherlands) has to offer more made up it.

If, like me, you prefer to sample a bit of everything, then two or three tramezzini make the perfect lunch and give you ample opportunity to taste some of the fifteen plus different tramezzini that are on offer. I tried their Bresola (Bresola, Parmesan and arugula), their Pollo Picante (homemade chicken salad, roasted red pepper, arugula and a spicy sauce) and their Cocktail di Granchio (homemade crab salad), and they were all equally delicious!

I finished off my lunch with one of the best latte macchiatos I've had in an age, pressed from the most beautiful chrome  espresso machine I've ever laid eyes on, which paired perfectly with the gloriously large slice of cake that we split between the three of us. At first glance it looked like a Tiramisu number, but as it turns out it tasted far better and was booze-less. Light in texture, rich and creamy, but not too sweet, and better then I've come to expect from pastry in the NL.

If you're visiting Amsterdam or live in Amsterdam and haven't been yet, then I can definitely recommend stopping in even, if it's only to take a tramezzino to-go or a quick espresso to warm up from the cold.

Il Tramezzino

Haarlemerstraat 79

1013 EL Amsterdam

+31 (0)20 770 7131

We were desperately in need of a vacation, with sunshine, 8 hour nights and 3 hour naps, and plan-free days. All these things are easily achieved in this relaxed off-season port city on the Costa del Sol.  The Christmas lights adorning the shopping streets of the old center were the only reminder that it was the end of November and not springtime, for the rest it was all cloudless blue skies and palm trees.

If you wonder what we ate, all I can say is seafood, seafood and more seafood, with a side of pork and some arroz con leche for dessert. Heaven.

I'm not a big snacker, I like meals and if I indulge between meals it's usually something sweet, with one exception. Cheese, sometimes on toast, but preferably on crackers. No fancy crackers for me either, no I have an undying affection for saltine crackers, stemming from my childhood. My great-grandmother (still living at the ripe old age of 103) always kept saltines in her side-board, and to me they were a delicacy, as we hardly ever ate anything that came out of a package and wasn't from the health-food store. 

Things have been pretty quiet around here since I returned from holiday at the beginning of this month, for which I have been feeling terribly guilty; but that said, it's been pretty much impossible to make the time necessary to post. For this and many other reasons, I've decided to retire from the fabulous virtual baking groups that I've been participating in this year: Tuesdays with Dorie, Cookie Carnival and Daring Bakers, in order to turn my focus elsewhere. The initial reason I started blogging some three years ago, was to explore my passion for baking and cooking and work towards starting a cake business here in Amsterdam. Though my cake business is still more of a cottage industry then a full-time job, my client base is growing every month and it's time for me to focus on taking it to the next level, whatever that may be.

What I have learned about baking with the bevy of amateur and professional bakers worldwide who have and are currently participating in TWD, Cookie Carnival and Daring Bakers, is almost immeasurable. The support, advice and exchange of ideas has been nothing short of amazing, and the confidence and experience I've gained as a baker is in part thanks to the wonderful women who keep these groups up and running. I like to extend my eternal admiration and deepest gratitude to Laurie, Kate, Lis and Ivonne for making the blogosphere a sweeter place, and for . Further I'd also like to thank my fellow bloggers and bakers for all their encouragement this past year, I truly feel honored to have come in contact with so many talented and dedicated people.

I have a plethora of ideas for this blog swimming around in my brain at the moment and I'm looking forward to putting some time and effort into bringing them to fruition. I hope that at least some of you will continue to show your support for Mevrouw Cupcake, as I push ahead  to further develop this blog in 2009. Any suggestions, constructive criticism or experiences you might like to share on the subject of blogging is always welcome!