Today’s recipe is a dessert: Poire belle Hélène is a beautiful looking treat made up of vanilla poached pears, served with a warm chocolate sauce, whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream) and toasted almonds. Need I say more? I personally love it. I think pear and chocolate, just like orange and chocolate, is a match…
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
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…
Caramel Apple Bars
Winter, I love it. I know I may be among the few people out there who prefer winter and cold weather to summer… but I have always loved it. I love short days, cozy evenings reading on the couch covered with an old woollen blanket while sipping a cup of hot tea. Even better if…
Verrine Fraicheur
Today’s dish is a very quick recipe. Going through my Visual Archive, I have realised that I do not have many breakfast recipes on the blog. I guess the main reason is because Italians are not big on breakfast. In fact, we mostly have coffee (or cappuccino) and a croissant or cookies. I personally just…
Aamrakhand
Today’s recipe is an Indian dessert. A few months ago I shared with you the recipe for Shrikhand, a smooth and airy yogurt mousse made with hung curd, sugar, saffron, cardamom and nuts. Today, I am going to show you how to make what is basically a mango flavoured Shrikhand, called Aamrakhand. The recipe is…
Strawberry Jam
Mmmm strawberry jam… who doesn’t like it? It was my absolute favourite for a long time. As a child, it would be the only one I would eat. Growing up I have learnt how to appreciate a wider vairiety of jams and preserves, but my love for strawberry jam is still there, intact. Making your…
Pomegranate Risotto
As you know, autumn has come to the Southern hemisphere. I can’t lie… I don’t mind it. I welcome the fresher air and the leaves changing colour on the trees. It is a beautiful season. And I LOVE autumn food: mushrooms, chestnuts, quince… pomegranates. In fact, pomegranates always put a smile on my face: I…
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…
JASMINE AND MANGO PANNA COTTA SHOOTERS
These panna cotta shooters are a very elegant and exotic dessert. I believe they would be the perfect dessert for any New Year’s Eve dinner party. When I smell jasmine, I am always brought back in time… you see, in the house I used to spend my summer holidays in Sicily, we had a beautiful…
BANANA BASIL JAM
Left over bananas. Why is it that I ALWAYS have left over bananas in my kitchen? Ah, yes… wait. It must be because my kids always beg me to buy them when they see them at the grocery store… they promise they will eat them and then, they don’t. I am not a huge fan…
APPLE CROSTATA WITH STREUSEL TOPPING
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a crostata that I used to make in Italy. I used to make it quite often, especially in the colder months. I love crostate and apple crostate are my favourite. In fact, one of the very first recipes I ever published on the blog was…
Mostarda Mantovana
Add something extra to your meals with Mostarda Mantovana. This traditional Italian condiment brings a zesty sweetness and a subtle spice that pairs perfectly with your favourite dishes.
CHILLED YOGURT CAKE WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE
Today’s dessert is a cold treat and it is one that is actually not too bad for you as it is made (mainly) with natural yogurt. Back in Italy there is a famous pre mixed version of this that is sold in little boxes… you mix in some fresh ingredients and there you have your…
PINEAPPLE CRUMBLE WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
Today’s recipe is a spur of the moment kind of recipe. I had some fresh pineapple in the fridge and some butterscotch sauce leftover from another dish and I knew they would taste delicious together. So, I came up with a quick dessert: pineapple and butterscotch crumble. We all loved it. The slight tanginess of…
PEACH TIRAMISU
Tiramisù is one of my favourite desserts ever. I know I still have to share with you my recipe for the classic coffee Tiramisù, but today I decided to post a less classic recipe. This Tiramisù is surely not a classic, but it is still pretty delicious. It is also kids friendly, which is quite…
PINEAPPLE AND PASSION FRUIT JAM
If you follow Manu’s Menu, you already know that my family and I have recently returned from a holiday in French Polynesia (Tahiti). Both in my travel diary and in my review of Hilton Moorea, I have told you about the amazing jam we tasted while we were there. Moorea actually has some of the…
MANGO AND PASSION FRUIT COCKTAIL
Today I am sharing with you the recipe for a tropical and yummy sweet cocktail made with Mango and Passion fruit. I actually made this last year for the first time when my friend Anna was visiting us from Italy. We cooked a Thai inspired dinner together and this was our drink for the evening. …
WHITE CHOCOLATE PASSION FRUIT TRUFFLES
I told you I would not forget about you!! So here I am with a sweet tropical recipe: White Chocolate Passion Fruit Truffles! I love passion fruit and I think it goes very well with chocolate, especially the white kind, as its slightly tart flavour combines perfectly with the sweetness of white chocolate! These truffles…
SPINACH, ROCKET AND STRAWBERRY SALAD WITH STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE
I have seen quite a few recipes of salads that include strawberries lately and I was very curious to try one myself. I usually enjoy having fruits in savoury dishes and I think strawberries (and berries in general) make for fantastic savoury ingredients as they are slightly tart and not overly sweet. I have even…
CHERRY CLAFOUTIS
Not too long ago I shared my recipe for Far Breton, a baked custard-like French dessert. I remember saying that it was quite similar to clafoutis, another classic French dessert… so here goes my Cherry Clafoutis recipe, so you can make them both and compare them, if you wish! 🙂 I like them both equally. …
WATERMELON GELATO
Today, for my Regional Italian dish series, I am going to take you all back to Sicily with the perfect summer recipe. I know, I know… it’s winter down here and it’s also been quite cold lately, but my family and friends are enjoying summer in Europe, so I thought of publishing this today. I…
CHERRY JAM
I must admit that I was not very fond of jams while growing up… I would always choose crème patissière or chocolate over jam filled sweets. It was way too sweet for me. That was until I went to Normady with my parents and some friends. We were staying at a farm and the lady…
STRAWBERRY, BANANA AND APPLE SMOOTHIE
I won’t lie… my kids, especially my 5 year old daughter, do not like fruits. Yes, I know what you are thinking “you are food blogger, and you can’t get your own kids to eat their fruits?!”… ehm… sort of. But I am working on it and smoothies are a great way to get my…
BAKED APPLES EN CROÛTE WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their…
STRAWBERRY AND LEMON CHEESECAKE IN A GLASS
Who doesn’t love cheesecakes?? I do! I must say that I discovered them quite late in my teenage years as they are not an Italian “thing” (though now they are quite popular in Italy too). I was in New York for 3 weeks as an exchange student when I was 17 and one of the (many) things…
BANANA, COCONUT AND PASSION FRUIT SMOOTHIE
Lately I have been experimenting quite a bit with smoothies and shakes. The truth is, I have been left with some ripe fruits that needed to be used and I wanted to make something light and healthy with it. Besides, I always find that smoothies are a great way to get my fussy children to…
STRAWBERRY CRUMBLE BARS
I know I have already said this, but how hard is it to get adjusted to living with inverted seasons?? It is so weird to think of Christmas as a summer holiday or Easter as an autumn holiday… in the same way, April reminds me of spring, sunshine and… strawberries. So, even though it is…
