Merry Christmas everybody! I know you will be very busy in your kitchens today (or at the malls, getting your last minute Christmas shopping done!), but I just could not stop myself from sharing this special recipe with all of you today: Panettone!
GREEN LASAGNE WITH STRACCHINO, ARTICHOKES AND SAUSAGE
When I think of comfort food, the first image that comes to my mind is a plate full of lasagne… no matter how they are made (with a classic beef sauce, with pesto or with any other ingredients), lasagne represent comfort food to me (and the majority of Italians). They are easily going to be…
PISTACHIO AND CARDAMOM SEMIFREDDO WITH ROSE CREAM
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a special dessert. A few weeks ago, my friend Abeer from Cake Whiz asked me if I wanted to be a part of a special project she was working on for Christmas. She asked a few of her favourite bloggers to come up with a Christmas…
BISCOTTI DI FICHI – FIG COOKIES
Today, as part of my series on Regional Italian Cuisines, I want to share with you the recipe for a very traditional Christmas Sicilian sweet: biscotti di fichi. They are made with the same dough and filling of Buccellato (the traditional Sicilian cake I have shared with you last year), but they are a bit…
MARRONS GLACÉS
Whenever I think of marrons glacés, I think of Christmas. They are not Italian, as you would have guessed by the name, but these delicious little chestnut sweets are a very common treat at Christmas time in Italy. I am big fan of chestnuts in general and I really enjoy chestnut sweets of all kind,…
CHOCOLATE FUDGE
Who doesn’t like chocolate?? Well… I know a couple of people who are not crazy about it, but really… not many, right? When it comes to home-made Christmas gifts, chocolate never fails and I try to always include something chocolatey in my little hampers. This year I made my favourite fudge! I made it for…
CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH ORANGE AND MINT GLAZE
A little while ago, my friend Diane from Muppys asked me if I wanted to take part to this year’s Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I checked it out and immediately said yes. The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap brings together food bloggers from around the world in a big cookie swap: you sign up, receive…
SOFT VANILLA & PINK SALT CARAMELS
I made these caramels to give away as presents for Christmas this year. I had wanted to try and make my own caramels for ages, but all the recipes I came across had corn syrup as one of the ingredients and I wasn’t very keen on it… especially since I have never seen it around…
HOME-MADE BAILEYS IRISH CREAM
Baileys is at the top of my list of favourite liquors. I love it plain or in cocktails… and I also use it to make sweets. I make a killer Baileys Ice Cream and I always recommend it to people who want an easy ice cream recipe that does not even require an ice cream…
LASAGNE VERDI
Today’s recipe is a variation on the classic Baked Lasagne that I have already shared with you in the past. The main difference is that this dish is made using “green” pasta sheets that are made with spinach. You can find a tutorial on how to make your own green pasta dough here. I can…
FISH COUSCOUS
I finally get to share with you what we ate on Christmas day and one of my all time favourite dishes: fish couscous. It is a traditional and ancient recipe from Trapani, the town in Western Sicily where my mum is from. In fact, this is a “guest post from my mum” who is presenting…
AUNT MARIA’S ALMOND PARFAIT
Almond parfait is my favourite semifreddo. I love the crunch of the almond that contrasts with the otherwise soft ice cream like texture! It is a traditional Sicilian dessert, very popular in the area of Trapani, the city where my mum was born. I have already shared a recipe for almond parfait when I first…
BUCCELLATO – CUCCIDDATU
Buccellato is a Sicilian cake traditionally eaten during the holiday season, especially on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve… so it had to be featured on the Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party I organised for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event! It is a ring shaped shortbread cake filled with dried figs, raisins, candied fruits,…
CARBONE DELLA BEFANA – SWEET COAL
I thought of taking a little break from my Sicilian Street Food Party series of posts, to share this recipe with you. In Italy, Christmas holidays always end after January 6th as we celebrate the day of the Epiphany and the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the baby Jesus. That is also the last occasion…
IL SICILIANO COCKTAIL
Sicily is very famous for its citrus fruits… be it lemons, mandarins or oranges. So, one of the drinks for the Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party that I organised as part of Foodbuzz’s 24×24 program had to have some citrus in it. I chose orange, because it is sweet and I have a…
POMEGRANATE MARTINI
I always associate pomegranate with Christmas and New Year. It is very common to see it on an Italian table during the holidays. I love its intense ruby colour and the juicy, yet crunchy texture of its seeds. I think it is one of the prettiest fruits that exist! Being very common in the Mediterranean…
PROFITEROLES
Maybe not everyone knows that profiteroles, also known as choux pastries, are originally from Italy. In fact, they were introduced in France by Caterina de’ Medici, wife of Henry II of France, together with many other dishes. I love choux pastries or bignè, as we usually call them. They are so light and fluffy and…
SNAPPER EN PAPILLOTE
I am not a huge fan of fish… I like it, but when given the choice, fish is never on top of the list. The truth is, I like fish that is not easily available in Sydney: sardines, anchovies, small mackerel… However, on Christmas Eve, we tried to follow the Italian tradition of eating fish. …
PARMIGIANO REGGIANO FAGOTTINI IN CHICKEN BROTH
In Italy, a typical Christmas Eve dinner always includes some stuffed pasta, better if it is home-made and “di magro” (which means without meat). We often serve this pasta in chicken broth and it is such a comforting food! So, to follow the tradition, I decided to make stuffed pasta and serve it with chicken…
PAIN BRIOCHE
Pâté is one of the things I love the most and it always makes an appearance on our family table for special occasions… and this Christmas Eve was no exception. I also found a quick recipe for pain brioche, which is the ideal bread to serve pâté with… and I am sharing it with you,…
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Today there won’t be any recipe on MsM… it is the time to celebrate and above all it is the time to enjoy the company of your loved ones. My parents have been here for a couple of weeks already and we are all having a great time together. The kids especially are having a…
DULCE DE LECHE
My husband has a very sweet tooth… and he LOVES condensed milk and everything made with it. I must admit that I instead don’t usually like overly sweet desserts… but I have a weakness for anything caramel. A few years ago, in Palenque – Mexico, we had a fantastic dinner in a restaurant called La…
