This is one of my grandmother Bice’s recipes: she used to make the best ever Bolognese sauce. This is not the Bolognese you are used to. It is a version that requires less tomatoes than what we would normally put in ragu’. Ragu’ can be either made with mince (which is what is commonly known…
Archives for August 2011
MAKE-AHEAD FROZEN MARGARITAS – THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB
In the past few months, I have seen quite a few posts mentioning a “Secret recipe club”. If you know me, you will also know that I am very curious by nature so I had to find out more and in the process I actually ended up joining the club! What is it about? For…
TARALLI
These could be considered the Italian equivalent to pretzels, they are that famous! They are typical of Apulia, a region in the South of Italy, but you can also find them in the surrounding areas. Well, nowadays you can easily find them everywhere in Italy and I often find them here too! Anyhow… on my…
MOJITO – COOK AROUND THE GLOBE
When I visited Cuba back in 1998, I learnt to appreciate rum and all rum based drinks. Since then, my 2 favourite cocktails have been Cuba Libre and Mojito, which was made popular by one of its most famous admirers: Ernest Hemingway. Whenever I drink a Mojito I get to relive the memories of one of…
RISOTTO CON SCAMORZA AFFUMICATA – MY GUEST POST AT AN ITALIAN COOKING IN THE MIDWEST
Today I am a guest at my friend Pola’s beautiful site: An Italian Cooking in the Midwest. I was so thrilled when she asked me to write a post for her! Why?! Well, because I love her site. We have many things in common: we are both Italians living abroad and trying (hard) to maintain…
DUCK LIVER PATÉ WITH ONION JAM
I love paté. All sorts of patés. It is another one of the goodies I used to enjoy in France and now miss a lot. True, you can find paté here too but there is not the same variety that you find in France. One of my favourite lunch items in Paris is definitely a…
BAGUETTES
As many of you already know I spent quite some time holidaying in France as a child. My parents have always loved our transalpine cousins and whenever possible they would squeeze in a few days to visit France. I wasn’t too happy about it back then… l would have preferred to visit different places… not…
SEDANINI WITH SWORDFISH AND EGGPLANT
This is another typical Sicilian dish. Sicily is very famous for its fresh fish. This pasta can be made with different fresh herbs. I personally like it with continental parsley and mint, but basil goes well with it too. It is usually served with busiati and you can have a go at making some by…
STUFFED CRESPELLE
This is definitely a “winter dish” and one of my favourite comfort foods. There is nothing better than to dig your fork into a soft crêpe-like wrap covered in béchamel sauce and grated Parmigiano and seeing the vegetables and cheese filling oozing out of it… Ok, if your mouth hasn’t started watering by now, there’s…
APPAM AND AMBOTIK
Mary, who writes the delicious blog, Mary Mary Culinary was our August Daring Cooks’ host. Mary chose to show us how delicious South Indian cuisine is! She challenged us to make Appam and another South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with the warm flat bread. When I saw this month’s challenge I got really excited: after…
SEMIFREDDO AL TORRONCINO WITH HOT CHOCOLATE SAUCE
Semifreddo is a typical Italian dessert and it can be made with different flavours. Even though it is a cold dessert (semifreddo literally means “partially cold”) and it is very similar to ice cream, we often eat it for Christmas. That is why I chose to serve it as one of the desserts of my…
I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!
I am sure you are aware of this fun game going around in the blogosphere: it is called the Seven Links Challenge! Over the past couple of weeks I have been reading beautiful posts about this game, where bloggers choose 7 of their posts that deserve to be recognized and talk about them. I was…
TORRONE MORBIDO E TORRONCINI AL CIOCCOLATO – CHOCOLATE COVERED HONEY AND MIXED NUT NOUGAT
Torrone is one of the most popular sweets eaten in Italy for Christmas. It never fails to make its appearance on our Christmas table. It comes in many variations… it can be hard as a rock, soft and chewy, plain, covered in chocolate, flavoured with fruits, almond based, hazelnut based… you name it. I had…
GINGERBREAD MEN
These are definitely not Italian traditional cookies, but I have always loved them and I have made them every Christmas since moving to Australia (my girls leave some on a plate for Santa to eat on Christmas Eve along with a glass of milk…). I guess you could say it’s an “acquired” tradition in our…
BEEF FILLET ROAST STUFFED WITH PURÉED CHESTNUTS
I have always loved meat (much more than any seafood) and beef above all. And what’s better than beef fillet? Nothing! I have to say that Australian beef is among the best in the world, so I consider myself very lucky to able to enjoy it whenever I feel like it. Back in Italy, beef…
POTATO, SPECK AND LEEK PARCELS
In my opinion, there is no better side dish for a steak than potatoes, in whatever shape or form, so I knew I had to make some to go with the Beef fillet roast that I prepared for my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event. The thing is, when you are making a special meal, you want…
ORANGE, FENNEL AND BLACK OLIVE SALAD AND AWARDS
My series of posts dedicated to my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event is back after a few days’ break and 2 guest posts! Thank you again Kankana from Sunshine & Smile and Erin from Big Fat Baker! This is a typical Christmas salad as it is made with winter ingredients, but I love it all…
KRAPFEN – MY GUEST POST AT BIG FAT BAKER
Today I am guest posting over at Erin’s blog: Big Fat Baker. I am so happy and honoured to be her guest! I love her site, don’t you all? Make sure you visit it now if you haven’t yet as you will find so many delicious dessert ideas! I always make sure to visit it…
BACCALA’ FRITTERS – FRITTELLE DI BACCALA’ – MY GUEST POST AT SUNSHINE & SMILE
When my friend Kankana from Sunshine & Smile asked me to write a guest post for her site I almost jumped out of my seat! Probably you guys do not know this (not even you Kankana), but she has been the first person to comment on my blog! Since then we have exchanged lots of…
COCOA GNOCCHI WITH MASCARPONE AND WALNUT SAUCE
This was a complete new recipe to me. I had always wanted to use chocolate in a savoury dish, but had never had the courage to actually go ahead and do it. Since I started blogging though, I got a bit more self-confident with my cooking skills and so I thought that my Foodbuzz 24×24…
ARTICHOKE AND RICOTTA MEZZELUNE ON A PARMIGIANO REGGIANO FONDUE
This stuffed pasta dish is the second of my series of posts dedicated to my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event. Italians always have some sort of stuffed pasta at Christmas, especially at their Christmas Eve dinner (at this meal we traditionally do not eat meat). This does not mean the meal is light though! …
WARM BAKED PRUNES WRAPPED IN CRUNCHY BACON AND SAGE
This very easy appetizer that can be made in a matter of minutes is the first of a series of posts dedicated to my Foodbuzz 24×24 Christmas in July event. I love all finger food and this is no exception. I find it a lot of fun to make and it tastes delicious. The combination…