If you follow Manu’s Menu, you will remember that I decided to start a little series on home-made liqueurs in the weeks before the holiday season. The reason is simple: home-made liqueurs make the perfect Christmas gift, both on their own or as part of a Christmas hamper filled with different home-made goodies. On the…
Home-made White Chocolate Liqueur
Italians like to make things at home. This includes tomato sauces and preserves, pasta, sausages and smallgoods and, of course, liqueurs. Home-made things are better on so many levels. For one thing, you know exactly what went into your food and then everyone knows that food prepared with love always tastes better. I have always…
Glacier Fusion Daiquiri
I must admit that I love all rum based drinks the most and Daiquiris are among my favourites. They are easy to make (and to play around with) and I really like the fruity varieties (I do have a thing for sweet drinks). For my daughter’s Frozen birthday party, I wanted to prepare something for…
Pomegranate Mojito
Mojito is one of my all time favourite drink. It reminds me of my time in Cuba, a place I love dearly. I have already shared with you the recipe for the “original” Mojito, made with lime and mint leaves. There’s nothing better than a minty Mojito, especially on a hot summer evening. It is…
Pomegranate Daiquiri
The last few weeks have been rainy down here and the weather has turned from hot into “cool” (I won’t say cold, as we probably get about 2 weeks of real winter here in Sydney and even then, it’s a much milder winter than my childhood winters). Autumn has definitely come and I am quite…
Green Tea Latte #SundaySupper
This week Sunday Supper is turning “green” in honour of St. Patrick’s Day. We will be sharing recipes for green foods from beverages all the way to desserts (and everything in between), so make sure to check out all the links at the end of this post! So, green it is and what’s greener than…
Watermelon Margarita
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought of sharing a cocktail recipe. The very first time I had a margarita, it was in Tijuana. I was 19. Yes, I know what you think… but no, I hadn’t gone there to drink to my heart’s content. In fact, I have never been big on…
Creamy Nutella Liqueur #nutelladay
Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Michelle from Bleeding Espresso have declared February 5th “World Nutella Day 2014″ – “a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella”. Raise your hand if you like Nutella!!! If I had to ask this question in an Italian classroom… I would probably be surrounded by…
COFFEE AND VANILLA LIQUEUR
Like every year, I made some edible gifts to give my friends for Christmas. Last year, I had successfully made some Bailey’s Irish Cream, so this time I wanted to experiment with other flavoured liqueurs. I love Kahlua, so I thought I would try that. I found lots of recipes and in the end I…
CHAI
Today is the time to share the recipe for one of the most comforting beverages ever: Indian chai. I see all kinds of chai drinks around and it’s become quite a fashionable drink… so much so that it’s often not the original Indian chai any more and it can get quite confusing. So, what is…
CHAI MASALA
You probably don’t know this, but my family has been hit by a brutal bout of flu… the kind that gives you 104F fever. It is so irritating as it is summer here and it’s really not the time you would want to catch the flu (if ever there is a time!). Also, both my…
Blood Orange Margarita
There’s no better match for ghost stories and pumpkin lanterns than a Blood Orange Margarita. Bright, tart, and just spooky enough for grown-up treats. Happy Halloween, everyone! I can’t believe October is almost over. It feels like Christmas is already peeking around the corner. My parents will be visiting soon, and we are already planning…
MAI TAI
During my stay at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa, I took part in their “cocktail class”, during which the bartender showed us how to make their signature drink: Mai Tai and I am here to share it with you all! Apparently, even though this cocktail has become famous as a Polynesian classic, it…
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. …
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…
CUBA LIBRE
Who’s up for a drink?? Today I want to show you how to make one of my all time favourite cocktails: Cuba Libre (or Rum and Coke). It is really very easy and does not require any particular skill… it is basically a mix of… rum, coke and lime juice on ice According to the…
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…
MIMOSA COCKTAIL
Today I want to share with you a very easy recipe for quite a sophisticated drink: the Mimosa cocktail. This delicious and pretty looking drink is basically made of sparkling wine mixed with fresh orange juice, could it get any easier? As tomorrow we celebrate International Women’s Day, I thought this would be the most…
ITALIAN STYLE HOT CHOCOLATE WITH WHIPPED CREAM
Italian winters can be really cold. I miss the short days, cosy evenings and heart warming food that we used to have during those cold months. The truth is, it never gets that cold here. One of the special treats we would have in winter was hot chocolate. The Italian hot chocolate is creamy, thick and sinful. …
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…
Halloween Punch
A glass of Halloween Punch becomes strangely inviting when lychee “eyes” peek through the deep purple drink, a spooky surprise for both little ghouls and grown-ups. I still remember my first Halloween in Australia. Back in Italy, we never really celebrated it, so I didn’t grow up trick-or-treating or making themed treats. Here, however, my…
STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI
Today I want to share with you the recipe for one of my favourite drinks: Strawberry Daiquiri. I love the sweet and sourish taste given by the combination of strawberries and citrus juice. I also love rum… I must admit it is my favourite liquor! There are many different recipes for Strawberry Daiquiri out there…
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…
ROSE LASSI
Today is Mother’s Day!!! I will be celebrating this special occasion with my family and we will have lunch at our favourite Indian restaurant, Abhi’s Indian Restaurant about which I wrote a review a few months ago. One thing that we will surely have is lassi. My girls LOVE mango lassi and that’s the thing they…
TEQUILA SUNDOWN
Valentine’s Day is coming soon! I will be sharing the recipe for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift in my next post, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I thought of sharing a drink recipe. I would have wanted to re-create a more distinct “sundown” effect in the drink, but I had no luck… I tried it…
ICED ESPRESSO
I love coffee… well, I am addicted to coffee. Not to the brewed coffee but to espresso. I restrict myself to no more than 2 a day, but I could drink so much more. Only the smell of a freshly brewed espresso in the morning sets the day in the right direction. You know what…
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…
