Manu's Menu - Part 1

CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE MINI CUPCAKES

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Manu

If you follow this site more or less regularly, you already know that I love small desserts… I love the fact that they are (almost) guilt free and even more I love the fact that you can eat 2 or 3 different desserts for the calories of a single big one. You see, I love to taste and hate to choose! So, the more I can try, the merrier I am! Today I want to share with you the recipe for some chocolate mini cupcakes, topped with a delicious orange flavoured butter-cream and decorated with candied orange zest. Divine. I think chocolate and orange make one of the best flavour combinations EVER! And don’t they look pretty? Perfect for a classy tea party or a more informal get together. Enjoy them with a hot cup of tea and click here, here and here for more mini cupcakes ideas ! Continue reading →

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Posted in Baking, Cakes, Desserts, Finger food, Tea Time | Tagged baking, chocolate, cupcakes, desserts, finger food, Mini Cupcakes, orange, party, party idea, sweets, tea time | 1 Comment

ABBACCHIO A SCOTTADITO

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Manu

Today’s Regional Italian recipe is from the region of Lazio, the region of Rome. It is a very simple dish made up of grilled marinated lamb cutlets. The term abbacchio indicates a little lamb in the local dialect and “a scottadito” literally means “à la burning finger”… I know it sounds funny, but these cutlets are traditionally eaten with your hands and served so hot that you do have to be careful not to burn your fingers with them! I love these cutlets and I always eat them when I am in Rome! Being that I live too far away now, I have learnt to make them at home and today I will show you how. They are traditionally cooked on charcoal, but you can barbecue them or grill them on a griddle as well. They are great for barbecue season! Enjoy! Continue reading →

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Posted in Finger food, Gluten Free, Italian, Mains, Meat, Regional Italian Dishes | Tagged barbecue, BBQ, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, grilled, Italian, Italy, lamb, Lazio, main, meat, Regional Italian dish, Rome, rosemary | 3 Comments

SPICED BANANA UPSIDE DOWN CAKE – BOLO DE BANANA

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Manu

It is time again for the “Secret recipe club” reveal! I am sure you all know what the club is about, but for the few of you who still don’t know about it, here goes a brief explanation. It is a great concept… each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in turn someone else will be assigned your blog. All you have to do is choose a recipe, make it and blog about it on the specified date. The only rule is to keep it a secret! If you are interested in learning more, or want to join the club, please visit the Secret recipe club website.
The blog I got assigned this month was Denise’s From Brazil to You. I was so excited when I opened her blog and read a little bit about her life. Denise was born and raised in Pernambuco, Brazil and now lives in Texas, USA. Like me, she shares the love for her country through her cooking and she blogs about it. Like me, she has 2 beautiful daughters. I can so relate to her. Unlike me though, she is a trained chef as she attended the California Culinary Academy, graduating in Culinary Arts – Le Cordon Bleu program and she teaches others how to cook. How cool is that? In fact, her recipes are all so good that it was really hard to choose only one… I only knew that I wanted to try something from Brazil, a country that has always fascinated me. I went through her archive a few times and after bookmarking at least 10 recipes (!), I settled for this amazing looking Bolo de banana, aka Spiced Banana Upside Down Cake. Why? Well, it is getting cooler down here and in this weather I am always looking at new cake ideas to have with a hot cup of tea… and, have you seen those caramelised bananas as a topping?? I really liked the spices added to it, as they give the cake a little extra kick. I also loved the fact that the base of the cake remained fluffy and moist… it was a real treat! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe Denise! Please, make sure you drop by Denise at From Brazil to You and check out her beautiful site! Continue reading →

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast, Cakes, Desserts, South American, Spices, Tea Time | Tagged baking, bananas, Brazil, Brazilian, breakfast, cake, caramel, cinnamon, cloves, moist, nutmeg, snack, spices, sweets, tea time, the secret recipe club, upside down cakes | 17 Comments

SPICY TUNA SALAD SUSHI ROLL

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Manu

So here you have it. My first sushi roll ever. I decided to go the easy way and make a tuna salad roll as a first attempt and boy was it good! It is really easy and fast to make and it tastes delicious. You can make it as spicy (or as mild) as you like by adjusting the amount of wasabi to suit your taste buds I was a bit worried about rolling it, but it was much easier than I expected. I suggest you cover your sushi mat with cling wrap, so it does not get dirty. I love the contrasting flavours and textures of this roll: spicy and soft tuna salad, tangy rice and crunchy refreshing cucumber! Perfection! As I said, this was my first experiment with sushi and as it was a big success, you can definitely expect more sushi recipes on Manu’s Menu in the future, as I get more “daring” with it! For now, enjoy these Spicy Tuna Salad Rolls! Continue reading →

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Posted in Appetisers, Finger food, Fish, Gluten Free, Japanese, Mains, Rice | Tagged dinner, fish, Japan, Japanese, lunch, main, maki, mayonnaise, nori, rice, roll, seafood, spicy, sushi, sushi roll, tuna, wasabi | 3 Comments

SUSHI RICE

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Manu

I have been wanting to try and make sushi at home ever since I started blogging, but for one reason or another, I always postponed this project. Since my eldest daughter started school, I have so little time to dedicate to the kitchen and with the days getting shorter, I leave all the “important” cooking for the weekend. There is nothing worse than preparing a wonderful dish and not being able to take decent pictures of it for lack of sunlight! So, when my daughter was home for her autumn break, I decided to go for it and I made my first sushi at home! I could not believe how easy and quick it was to prepare and it tasted so good! I was really impressed! I don’t know why, but it was something that had always intimidated me and I though it would be really hard and complicated… but it’s not. So, if you like sushi and would love to try and make your own, please do. It is really REALLY easy! Also, you can either make your own sushi seasoning or buy the ready made one. I actually wanted to make my own, but I could not find dashi at my local store… they did however have sushi seasoning, so I used that and it was pretty good! Today I will show you how to make the sushi rice that can be used for all sushi recipes. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow to see what I made with it! Continue reading →

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Posted in Appetisers, Fish, Gluten Free, Japanese, Mains, Rice | Tagged appetisers, Asian, gluten free, Japan, Japanese, main, rice, sushi, sushi rice, vinegar | Leave a comment

BAKED APPLES EN CROÛTE WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Manu

Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!
What can I say? Yet another great challenge! I was so tempted to try the Beef Wellington… but then I saw some apples on my bench-top It was a gloomy, rainy autumn afternoon… and I decided to make something sweet for this challenge. Besides, when will I get the chance to make something sweet for the Daring Cooks again?? This is a 100% “autumn recipe”: apples, pumpkin pie spice, walnuts, butterscotch… need I say more? I LOVED it and though it is a recipe that requires a little extra time to put together, it is all worth it. Breaking the flaky crust to reveal the tender apple filled with crunchy caramelised walnuts is almost a mystical experience. And do you see that butterscotch sauce on the top? It is as yummy as it looks! Eating this, made me forget the rain and brought a big smile to my face. Pure comfort food and highly recommended! Enjoy! Continue reading →

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Posted in American, Baking, British, Daring Cooks, Desserts, Fruits, Sauces, Spices, Tea Time | Tagged apples, autumn, baked, baking, butterscotch, caramel, Daring Cooks, dessert, en croute, fall, pastry, pumpkin spice, sweets, tea time, walnuts | 8 Comments

KOTHEY MOMO

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Manu

Today I want to share with you the recipe for Momo, the Himalayan Dumplings. I had them for the first time at a Nepalese Restaurant a little while ago and I simply loved them. There are many variations of momos and they can be filled with yak, mutton, chicken, pork, vegetables… The filling varies mainly from area to area. Momos are common in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and the surrounding regions of India. They are most commonly steamed and served with a clear soup or they can be pan fried and served with a spicy tomato chutney. I chose to make pork and ginger momos and to pan fry them, as I love the crusty dumpling skin! These kind of momos are known as kothey momos and they are delicious. Also, I did not make them too spicy, so my little ones could enjoy them too, but feel free to add extra chillies if you like. I love biting into one of these and find such a juicy gingery filling! Try them and I am sure you’ll love them too! Continue reading →

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Posted in Appetisers, Chinese, Indian, Mains, Meat, Sauces, Street Food | Tagged Asian, chutney, dinner, dumplings, ginger, Himalaya, Indian, meat, momo, Nepalese, pan fried, pork, pot stickers, spicy, Tibetan, tomatoes | 1 Comment

SPINACH, PEAR AND TALEGGIO STRUDEL

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Manu

I have always had a thing for cheese… and Italy, like France, is the cheese lovers’ paradise. There are so many different cheeses and they vary from region to region (and sometimes from town to town!). You could spend years tasting all of them. And I like them all. Hahahaha Taleggio is very high on my like list, second only to gorgonzola. It is a soft cow’s milk cheese made in and named after the Taleggio Valley in the Italian Alps. It has a very strong aroma, but it is mild in flavour and it is great to make anything with melted oozing cheese. You get the picture, right? Today I want to share with you a recipe for a savoury strudel filled with Taleggio, spinach and pears. All these work beautifully together and this dish makes an elegant vegetarian appetiser or lunch idea. It is great eaten with a salad or on its own. Enjoy! Continue reading →

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