There are some flavours that I think are a perfect match and ricotta and lemon are definitely on the top of the list. It is a very common combination in Italian pâtisserie and when you try it out, you will understand why. Ricotta is a very mild cheese that is often used in Italian sweets…
PEAR AND GORGONZOLA RISOTTO
If you follow this blog more or less regularly, you already know I have a huge love for blue cheese. And to me, gorgonzola is the king of blue cheeses… I guess I am also biased as I was born not too far from a place called Gorgonzola, from where the cheese supposedly originates. I…
Granita al Caffè con Panna
Smooth, icy, and layered with cream, Granita al Caffè con Panna offers a refreshing contrast of textures that turns simple ingredients into an effortless frozen coffee dessert.
POLENTA CONCIA
Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!…
FAGIOLI ALL’UCCELLETTO
Today’s Regional Italian dish is from Tuscany and more specifically from the beautiful city of Florence. It is a very simple yet tasty recipe that can be served as a vegetarian/vegan main dish or, as it is common in Tuscany, as a side to barbecued Italian sausages. Fagioli all’uccelletto is an ancient recipe made of…
LABNEH
If you follow this blog, you know that cheese is my weakness. I can do without dessert, but if I see cheese… well, I have to have some! After making home made yogurt, I had to try my hands at making home made labneh. I had seen a picture of it on my friend Sawsan’s…
FOCACCIA AL POMODORO – CHERRY TOMATO FOCACCIA
After sharing with you the Basic Focaccia recipe, the recipe for Focaccia with Olives and the one for Onion Focaccia, today I am going to post the recipe for another one of my favourites: Focaccia al pomodoro (aka cherry tomato focaccia)! I remember as a child going to the baker right after school and buying a piece…
WHEY PANCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY MAPLE SYRUP
As promised, today I will show you another way to use up all the whey you have sitting in your fridge after making Greek style yogurt. If you have any more after making Ayran that is! I did a bit of research online on how to use whey and I read that it is often…
AYRAN
After making home-made yogurt, I was left with quite a bit of whey and no ideas on what to do with it! Luckily, I asked my friend Sawsan from Chef in Disguise and she gave me the perfect recipe: Ayran. Ayran is a savoury yogurt and whey drink commonly found in the Middle East. I…
HOME-MADE YOGURT
A couple of months ago, my friend Sawsan from Chef in Disguise posted a beautiful tutorial on how to make home-made yogurt. Since I saw it, I knew I had to give it a try too! This was my first time at making yogurt, but I remember my mum making it often when I was…
TROFIE WITH WALNUT SAUCE
Today I want to share with you one of my favourite recipes. Well, it is actually a double recipe as I am going to show you how to make Trofie from scratch with a tutorial AND how to make a delicious, very simple and light walnut sauce to serve them with. Trofie are my absolute…
MINI CHEESECAKE CUPCAKES
I love cheesecake… who doesn’t? I have made my share of no-bake cheesecakes, but to tell you the truth, I still have to make a baked cheesecake at home. Don’t ask me why, but baking a cheesecake always intimidated me. After making these little gems though, I think I am going to have to bake myself…
Sweet Sushi
Cake shaped into sushi-style bites creates a fun dessert option, with Sweet Sushi fitting easily into birthday parties and buffet-style celebrations.
SOFT PRETZEL BITES
And 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. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in…
MASALA DOSA
The first time I ate a masala dosa I was still quite new to Indian food. I think it was the second Indian dish I had ever had (the first being tandoori chicken) and I loved it so much that it quickly became one of my favourite take-away dishes. More than 10 years have passed…
DOSA AND COCONUT CHUTNEY
Over the next couple of days I am going to share with you some South Indian recipes. Today I will show you how to make a “basic” dosa from scratch. Dosas are very thin and crispy crêpes, made from a fermented batter of blended lentils and rice. They are delicious and I can never get…
FLOUNDER SHORTBREAD COOKIE POPS
As I have written in my previous post, yesterday was my eldest daughter’s 5th birthday. She had a small celebration with her friends at school and I made her a Little Mermaid yogurt cake to take with her. You may remember that last year I had made Hello Kitty cake pops to give to her…
THE LITTLE MERMAID YOGURT CAKE
Today is my eldest daughter’s 5th birthday. I cannot believe it’s already been 5 years since I first held her in my arms… she was so small! And now she’s growing to be a beautiful and sweet girl. I will be very busy in the next few days as we will be celebrating her birthday…
FRUIT SALAD EN PAPILLOTE – MACEDONIA AL CARTOCCIO
Our July 2012 Daring Cooks’ host was Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie! Sarah challenges us to learn a new cooking technique called “Cooking En Papillote” which is French and translates to “cooking in parchment”. As I already said in my Baked Feta post (the first of the recipes I created this month), I was really…
BAKED FETA
After hosting the June 2012 Daring Cooks’ challenge and making a few batches of Cannelloni, I was even more curious to see what this month’s challenge would be! I must admit, I had never thought about what goes “behind the scenes” of one of these challenges, but after hosting one I can tell you… it’s a…
MANGO AND PASSION FRUIT MACARONS
And here it goes… another way to use that delicious Passion fruit Curd you have in the fridge! I have made my share of macarons in the last few months, but this was the first time I filled them with a fruit based curd. I can tell you one thing: I loved them, and I…
Baby Shower Shortbread Cookies
Celebrate a sweet new beginning with my Baby Shower Shortbread Cookies decorated with soft colours, playful shapes, and homemade royal icing.
PUMPKIN GNOCCHI WITH BUTTER AND SAGE
I love making flavoured gnocchi and these pumpkin gnocchi are particularly tasty. They are actually made with a mix of potatoes and pumpkin, so they are as soft and pillowy as potato gnocchi, with a hint of pumpkin flavour and colour. Don’t they look beautiful? I like to make these especially in autumn/winter when pumpkins…
CANNELLONI AL PESTO
Today I am going to share with you the last of the recipes that I provided to my fellow Daring Cooks for this month’s challenge. It is another one of my favourites as I love pesto and making cannelloni with it takes this dish to a new dimension! I have also shown them how to…
ROOIBOS TEA AND LAVENDER SORBET
And 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. Each month you are assigned a participating food blogger to make a recipe from and in…
CANNELLONI DI MAGRO
If you have read yesterday’s 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 Italian Cannelloni from scratch, including fresh pasta and sauces! I also shared 4 different recipes with them and I am also going to share them…
THE DARING COOKS’ JUNE 2012 CHALLENGE: CANNELLONI
Manu from Manu’s Menu was our Daring Cooks lovely June hostess and has challenged us to make traditional Italian cannelloni from scratch! We were taught how to make the pasta, filling, and sauces shared with us from her own and her family’s treasured recipes! WHAT?? Yes, you read that right!!! I was this month’s hostess…








































