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…
VANILLA AND LEMON MINI CUPCAKES
I think mini cupcakes are among the prettiest sweets ever. There is nothing more beautiful and elegant than small, bite sized spongy cakes covered in a coloured swirl of fluffy icing. I only recently discovered these treats, but they quickly became a favourite of mine to bake and I often take them to parties and…
GNOCCHI ALLA SORRENTINA
This week’s Regional Italian dish comes from Campania and more precisely from Sorrento. I am sure that all of you have heard of this beautiful coastal village, which is renowned for its world famous lemons (from which the best limoncello is made). I would love to share with you the recipe for limoncello, but as…
GÂTEAU BRETON
Bretagne is the area of France I love the most (together with Provence). I went there only once, as a child, but it was so breathtakingly beautiful that I remember it clearly. I have the memory of eating a fantastic fish soup in a restaurant in the walled city of Saint-Malo, while it was raining…
MUSHROOM AND ASIAGO CALZONI
The other day I had some Asiago cheese left in the fridge and while trying to figure out what to do with it, I stumbled upon this recipe. I also happened to have all the other ingredients, so I thought of trying it out for dinner. It was really tasty! I loved the contrasting flavours…
SEEKH KEBAB
Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of my favourite Indian/Pakistani dishes: seekh kebab. Whenever we eat out, we never fail to order some as an appetiser. They are made of minced lamb with spices and are cooked on skewers, traditionally in a tandoor oven. They are usually served with hari…
GARLIC NAAN
Naan is my favourite Indian bread… and I always order garlic Naan when we eat out. My girls love it too (they are both bread lovers) and as I have been baking much more bread since I started blogging, I had to try and make these at home. I have to say that they came…
BAKED LASAGNE
Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of the most iconic Italian dishes ever: lasagne. It is a dish for special occasions or Sunday lunches spent with family and friends… so it is more time consuming than a mid-week dish. But I can guarantee you that you will not mind the…
RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE MACARONS
This recipe is long over due! I made these macarons with my mum when my parents came over for Christmas! They were to be given to my mother’s work colleagues on her return to Italy and they were a success! I have also been asked for the recipe… so ladies, here it goes! Apologies for…
EGGPLANT INVOLTINI
I think I have already said this but eggplant is one of my favourite veggie. You can make so many things with it and it always tastes so good! Today I am going to share with you the recipe for what has to be my all time favourite side dish (that can easily double up…
LAMINGTONS
Lamingtons are squares or rectangles of sponge cake, dipped in chocolate icing and coated witn desiccated coconut. They are another iconic Australian food and I served them with tea for my “Come have some Aussie tucker, mate!” party. I had never made them before but was very happy I did as they were so much…
DAMPER
Here is what Wiki says about damper: “Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread prepared by swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travelers. […] Damper is an iconic Australian dish. […] Damper was originally developed by stockmen who travelled in remote areas for weeks or months at a time, with only basic rations of flour, sugar and…
BRIOCHE BURGER BUNS
I made these buns to serve with the Aussie Burgers I prepared for my “Come have some Aussie tucker, mate!” event that I organised as part of Foodbuzz’s 24×24 program. They were sensational! Soft and brioche-like… just like a burger bun should be. You can see what I mean from the pictures below… the dough…
COCONUT-CHOCOLATE CHIP SHORTBREAD COOKIES – THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB
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…
BALSAMIC, MAPLE & MISO GLAZED PORK SPARE RIBS WITH SWEET & SOUR CAULIFLOWER QUENELLES
Our April 2012 Daring Cooks hosts were David & Karen from Twenty-Fingered Cooking. They presented us with a very daring and unique challenge of forming our own recipes by using a set list of ingredients! Here they go: List 1: Parsnips, Eggplant (aubergine), Cauliflower List 2: Balsamic Vinegar, Goat Cheese, Chipotle peppers List 3: Maple…
WHOLE WHEAT CHEESE CRACKERS
The other day, I was drooling over checking out Foodgawker and when I saw these, I just could not get over them. I don’t know if it ever happens to you… you know, when you see something that you “just have to make”, right then and there! Well, I was lucky enough to have all…
CABBUCI
If you are a regular reader, you will know that I have spent almost every summer holiday in Sicily up until I moved to Australia. I used to stay at a place called San Vito lo Capo, the same place where the Couscous Fest takes place. It is a beautiful little village with one of…
FRUIT TARTELETTES
The other day, I made Genovesi Ericine and had some pastry left! I looked in the fridge and also found some crème patissière… and decided to whip up a quick dessert, one that I used to love as a child. Whenever we had people over for lunch, they would never come empty handed and they…
PORK FILLET WITH A HONEY & MUSTARD GLAZE AND FRIED ARTICHOKES
This is one of those recipes that I have been making for such a long time that I do not even remember where I got it from! It is very simple, yet delicious. The pork is tender, juicy, sweet and tangy. I love to serve it with fried artichokes, the way my mum makes them. …
ONION FOCACCIA
After sharing with you the Basic Focaccia recipe and the recipe for Focaccia with Olives, today I am going to post the recipe for my absolute favourite: Onion Focaccia! I love the taste of soft Focaccia topped with sweet onions… mmmm… I am getting hungry just by writing about it! The recipe is the one…
BAKED WITLOF WITH HAM AND SWISS EMMENTAL
Today I want to share with you the recipe for a comforting side dish. I love witlof (endive) and I usually eat it raw, but when I saw this recipe, I coud not resist and I had to try it. It was fantastic and I will definitely make it again. It could be a good…