The majority of you know that, even though I now live in Australia, I was born in Milan – Italy, by Sicilian parents and even though I was brought up in one of the most glamorous and fashionable cities of the world, I have always been attracted to the simple yet amazingly delicious food that…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
FOODBUZZ 24×24: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Since I moved to Australia from Italy 5 years ago I haven’t gotten used to the “reversed” seasons yet. For someone who has spent the majority of her life in the Northern hemisphere where it is summer in July and winter in December, I have to live with the seasons reversed and believe me, it…
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…
ONLINE BAKE SALE FOR JAPAN – THANK YOU!
I am sure you all know that Manu’s Menu took part to the Online Bake Sale organised by Sabrina from The Tomato Tart to raise money for Japan. The Bake Sale took place on March 30th and 31st. The aim was to raise $2,500 for Second Harvest Japan, the main food bank of the country…
ONLINE BAKE SALE FOR JAPAN – MANU’S MENU SNEAK PEEK
As many of you already know, Manu’s Menu will take part to the Online Bake Sale for Japan organised by Sabrina at The Tomato Tart. More than 90 food bloggers around the world have come together to support the initiative. Each of us will bake one or more goodies that will be put up for…
SFINCIONE PALERMITANO
This is another traditional Sicilian dish. This time we are talking about Palermo. For people who like food, Palermo is paradise. People really enjoy their food and there are so many great dishes, that it is very hard to choose what to eat! My dad is from this wonderful city and I have been lucky…
JAPAN – HOW WE CAN HELP
Maybe you do not know this, but my family and I were scheduled to leave for Japan on March 28th. We had been planning this holiday for over 2 years and my husband and I had been dreaming about visiting the “Land of the rising Sun” for a long time… We had planned our itinerary…
PANNA COTTA “TRICOLORE”
This is the last dish of the menu that I have created to celebrate the 150 years of the Unification of Italy. When I decided to make a theme menu for the occasion, this dish was the first I pictured in my mind. I knew I wanted to make a layered sweet to represent the…
FIRST EVENT AND… SECOND AWARD!
As all of you know, I am Italian. Even though I have been living in Australia for almost 5 years now, I was born and brought up in Italy. On March 17th 2011 Italy is celebrating its 150 years of Unification, so to celebrate I thought I would host a special event on my website. …



































