Tomorrow we celebrate the Chinese New Year: 新年快乐! This is going to be the Year of the Horse… I have read that people born in the Year of the Horse are clever, kind and energetic… they sometimes talk too much, but are cheerful, talented and love to be in the centre of a crowd. 2014…
Archives for January 2014
Herb filled Chicken Rolls with Puff Pastry
Today’s post is about a very elegant recipe. It is great for a special occasion (I made this during the Christmas holidays) or a romantic dinner… It requires a little extra work, but it is much easier than what it seems. These Herb filled Chicken Rolls with Puff Pastry are delicious! I love the filling as…
Manu’s Podcast: The Tough Life of Food Bloggers – Thoughts on the Table
Great news! Today I am back as a guest on Thoughts on the Table, at my friend Paolo’s Quatro Fromaggio and Other Disgraces on the Menu! And it’s another podcast!!! This is the 3rd podcast we have taped. In the first podcast we chatted about my role as a food blogger, about food photography, the challenge of cooking traditional…
Peach Melba
Happy Australia Day to all my fellow Aussies! In honour of our National Holiday, I thought I’d share with you a special dessert: Peach Melba. This delicious and very easy to make dessert of peaches and raspberry sauce with vanilla ice cream was invented in the 1890’s by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the…
Green Bean, Tomato and Potato Salad
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a delicious and healthy side dish. This Green Bean Tomato and Potato Salad is very special to me and eating it always takes me back in time. My mum would often make it in summer when we were holidaying in Sicily. It is a very…
Lamb Gozleme
I love Gozleme. Did you know that the name “Gozleme” comes from the word goz that means “eye” in Turkish? Apparently it derives its name from the little round black spots that form on the dough after cooking it! Since discovering this little tasty pocket of Turkish goodness, I have tried many different fillings and…
Ras Malai
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…
GAMBAS AL AJILLO #SundaySupper
This is a special post for me. As you might have guessed from the title, I have finally joined the Sunday Supper Movement! I had been considering it for a while and decided to take the plunge and go for it over our summer (weird, I know…) holidays! I am very excited and honoured to…
3 YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!
Today we are celebrating my site’s 3rd blogiversary! It feels like yesterday that I started blogging. I still remember how hard it was to choose a name for the blog. I wanted something catchy, but easy to remember… and I wanted something that represented me. That’s how Manu’s Menu came about: I liked the way…
ARANCINE WITH SPINACH
If you have read my latest post, you will know that I am hosting this month’s challenge at the Daring Cooks! I chose to challenge my fellow daring cooks to make Arancine from scratch, including risotto! I also shared 3 different recipes with them: Arancine al Ragu’, Arancine al Burro and Arancine agli Spinaci. The…
MANU’S PODCAST: AUSTRALIAN FOOD – THOUGHTS ON THE TABLE
I am very happy to announce that today I am back as a guest on Thoughts on the Table, at my friend Paolo’s Quatro Fromaggio and Other Disgraces on the Menu! And it’s another podcast!!! After the fun experience of taping the first podcast (where we chatted about my role as a food blogger, about food photography, the challenge…
THE DARING COOKS’ JANUARY 2014 CHALLENGE: ARANCINE
This month’s challenge is very special for a few reasons. For starters, our hostess, Manu, graciously stepped in with very little notice and created an entire amazing challenge in pretty much no time at all. Secondly, Manu managed to do all of this while publishing her very first e-cookbook. Seriously, you simply must check it…
DELIZIA ALL’AMARETTO
If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, chances are you have already seen a picture of this cake. It was so delicious and it looked so pretty, that I couldn’t resist and gave everyone a sneak peek of it. We had if for our New Year lunch and it was very successful. It is…
PARMIGIANO REGGIANO TARTS WITH COTECHINO
If you follow Manu’s Menu quite regularly, you will remember me saying that Italians always have cotechino for New Year’s Eve. It is like having turkey for Thanksgiving… it’s a given and something that can never be missing from our table. I have shared with you a few recipes for it during the years… from…
PAIN AUX RAISINS
Remember that a few months ago I shared with you the recipe of how to make the perfect French Croissants? Well, today I am back with another French breakfast classic: Pain aux Raisins. During my frequent Parisian visits as a child, I would always have pain au chocolat for my breakfast, while my parents would…
IMPEPATA DI COZZE – PEPPERED MUSSELS
Today I am back with a recipe for my Regional Italian dish series! I am taking you all to Campania and Naples with a delicious and very easy to make dish: Peppered Mussels. All you need, besides mussels, are garlic, good quality extra virgin olive oil, parsley and… pepper. The more pepper the better. This…
COUSCOUS PUDDING WITH CANDIED ORANGES
Couscous is a favourite at our home. Also my little ones love it, so I make it often. And I often have leftovers… actually, I confess… I make more on purpose to have leftovers. I love making all kinds of salads with it (see my Couscous and Herb Salad and Couscous, Olive and Orange Salad) and…
CAPPELLACCI WITH SAUSAGE AND PORCINI
Happy New Year everybody! I hope you had a fun (and food) filled New Year’s Eve and I wish you all the best for 2014!!! Today I want to celebrate the beginning of the new year with a special recipe. We had these on Christmas Eve and they were a huge hit. Every year we…