If you follow me regularly, you may know that I am off for a short holiday with my family for some well deserved R&R. While I am gone, I thought I would leave you in good company. I have wanted to host some guests on Manu’s Menu for a while and this sounded like the…
WHOLE MEAL PITA
I love home made bread. I think there is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked bread in the house, at any time of the day. Maybe not many of you know, but some of the best bakers in Milan are actually of Arab origin. And they make fantastic bread. One of my favourite…
PORK ROAST WITH APPLES AND PRUNES
This is another one of the dishes I have learnt from my mom. She used to make it often on Sundays and it is a fantastic and juicy roast. I guess apples and pork are a classic combination, but it is one that I never get tired of. The sweetness of the apples goes very…
SWEET AND SPICY CHICKEN WINGS
Chicken wings are a delicacy that I have started to appreciate only recently. Growing up I would always eat chicken breast… no thighs, no wings. I know, thighs are supposed to be tastier and juicier, but I never really liked them. Since moving here I have eaten chicken wings made in different ways and found…
RED ONION TARTE TATIN
This recipe was one of the first recipes that I had decided to try out when I bought the recipe book in which it was published. And then, for one reason or another, I never got around to making it. The other day I was looking for another recipe and I saw this one. I…
SALMON WITH POMEGRANATE MOLASSES GLAZE
Salmon is a kind of fish I have always loved. When I was little, it wasn’t a very common fish in Italy… it would actually be a rare find at the local markets and would be quite expensive, but now it has become quite common and very popular. It is also the only fish that…
CURRY PUFFS
I love Thai food. It is the first Asian cuisine I learnt to enjoy. I love everything about it: textures, flavours, spices, smells… the full package. Whenever we go out to eat Thai, curry puffs are always among the appetisers we order. I love these crunchy little parcels of fried pastry filled with all kinds…
BAKED ANELLETTI – ANELLETTI CA CARNE CAPULIATA
Today is Father’s Day here in Australia… so happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! On such a special occasion, I usually ask my husband what he would like to eat and his answer is always the same: anelletti! This is definitely his (and my father’s) favourite dish. It is the most popular…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
FOCACCIA CON LE OLIVE
In Italy you can find all kinds of focaccia and after finding the perfect recipe for plain focaccia, I decided it was time to start jazzing it up a little. I made focaccia con le olive for Victoria’s birthday as it is very common to find it at birthday parties in Italy and also because…
PANINI AL LATTE – MILK PANINI
I guess we all have memories of our childhood birthdays… I was born in February which is often the month of Carnevale in Italy, so I used to have dress up birthday parties. It was a lot of fun. There would be games, prizes, music and lots of laughter! If I think back about the…
CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY MINI CUPCAKES
I have only recently discovered the “world of cupcakes”. I had never eaten one before moving to Australia and I had not made any up until a month ago when I made my Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes for the first time. Victoria adores cupcakes: she cannot resist them! Whenever she sees them at a party,…
VICTORIA’S 4TH BIRTHDAY
As many of you know, these last few days have been quite hectic for me as I have been organising my eldest daughter’s birthday. Victoria turned 4 on July 16th and we had a nice and quite family day. We hid her birthday presents and she had fun finding them and opening them. She loved…
TRIPLE SALTED CARAMEL CUPCAKES AND THE GIVEAWAY WINNER
I must admit it: I am officially in love with salted caramel! I have discovered only recently and now it is on the top of my “sweet treats” list! As always when I like something, I have to find a recipe to make it at home so that I can have it whenever I feel…
ADRIANO ZUMBO – MACARONS REVIEW
A couple of weeks ago I started a section on reviews. If you have missed the first review of the series, make sure to check it out as it was about some of the best pizza in Sydney at Caffe’ Moretti. Today I am changing topic: no pizza, no Italian food at all. Since I…
MOUSSAKA
This is definitely not an Italian recipe. As everyone knows moussaka is a traditional Greek dish. I still remember the first time I ate it. I was in Paris with my parents and we went out for dinner in the area of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, an area filled with little French and foreign restaurants. I was a…
FOCACCIA
Since moving to Australia I had not had a piece of focaccia! That is 5 years… a long time for someone who literally grew up on it! I remember my mom buying some from the baker’s everyday and giving it to me to take to school to eat during recess (or as we say “ricreazione”). …
