As the last post of the year, I had to share with you a cotechino recipe. That’s because Italians always have at least one slice of cotechino on New Year’s Eve! It’s a tradition that I love to keep alive even down under. I often make my own cotechino (you can find my tutorial and…
HOME-MADE COTECHINO
A few months ago, I took part in a Daring Cooks challenge about salumi. At that time, I chose to make Salame Cotto, and it was a great success. That, and the fact that I regularly make my own Pork Sausage, encouraged me to try my hands at making another popular Italian meat product: Cotechino….
SAFFRON GNOCCHI WITH SAUSAGE AND PORCINI
Todd, who is The Daring Kitchen’s AWESOME webmaster and an amazing cook, is our September Daring Cooks’ host! Todd challenged us to make light and fluffy potato Gnocchi and encouraged us to flavor the lil pillows of goodness and go wild with a sauce to top them with! YESSSSS! I love gnocchi of all sorts,…
PAN FRIED SICILIAN PORK SAUSAGE WITH FENNEL
Sausage is one of the meats I used to love the most while growing up. I still do, but now I am much more selective and try to make my own sausage every time I can. There is nothing better than fresh, home-made pork sausage: you know what’s in it, you choose the cuts of…
Homemade Sicilian Pork Sausage with Fennel
Fire up the grill for Homemade Sicilian Pork Sausage with Fennel. Juicy, flavourful, and easy to cook, it’s made for outdoor meals and relaxed gatherings. Few recipes take me back to my family’s kitchen quite like Homemade Sicilian Pork Sausage with Fennel. It’s something I’ve been making for years and have always wanted to share…
ALBÓNDIGAS EN SALSA DE ALMENDRAS
The June Daring Cooks’ challenge sure kept us rolling – meatballs, that is! Shelley from C Mom Cook and Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to try meatballs from around the world and to create our own meatball meal celebrating a culture or cuisine of our own choice. Wow! What a great theme!…
Kothey Momo (Pan-Fried Dumplings)
Ready to upgrade your dinner? Kothey Momo brings together crisp bottoms, soft dough, and juicy filling in one perfect bite that’s simple to prepare and always worth the effort. I first tried Kothey Momo at a Nepalese restaurant and loved them from the first bite. My version uses pork and ginger to give the filling…
HONEY AND GINGER PORK STIR FRY
Maybe not everyone knows this, but my eldest daughter has started her first year of “big school” in January. It is all very thrilling and exciting for all of us, though this has also brought a huge change in our routines. Let’s put it this way… I am now spending more time on the trains…
SALAME COTTO
For the January-February 2013 Daring Cooks’ Challenge, Carol, one of our talented non-blogging members and Jenni, one of our talented bloggers who writes The Gingered Whisk, have challenged us to make homemade sausage and/or cured, dried meats in celebration of the release of the book Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman…
SAUSAGE AND FENNEL RISOTTO
I don’t think I have said this before, but when I was expecting my eldest daughter, I used to have very strong savoury cravings and risotto was always on the top of my list! The great thing about risotto is that it is like a white canvas that you can paint with any flavour you…
ADORA’S PORK WITH GARLIC, ONIONS AND CHILLI
I love this recipe! I have discovered this beauty on Adora’s Box a little over a year ago (thank you Adora!) and the whole family got hooked. Needless to say, I have made it many times already as it is the perfect midweek dinner: quick, but delicious! I have slightly modified Adora’s recipe as I…
PINEAPPLE & COCONUT GLAZED PORK SPARE RIBS
Today’s post is a “fight-against-waste” recipe! I had a nice rack of pork spare ribs in the freezer, so I gathered all the left overs I had in my fridge and built up a recipe from there. I also did some research on the web and saw I could make something yummy out of these…
COTECHINO WITH LENTILS
Today I want to share with you a classic Italian recipe: cotechino with lentils. I don’t think there is a single household in Italy that will not serve this dish on New Year’s Eve. It is a huge tradition. Also, lentils are supposed to bring good luck and money in the new year, so we…
PORK MEATBALLS WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Thai is one of my favourite Asian cuisines. Believe it or not, there were no Thai restaurants in Milan, at least up until 6 years ago! Some Chinese restaurants would serve some Thai dishes, but they obviously did not have a lot of variety. That’s why, the moment I saw it, I bought this little…
GREEN LASAGNE WITH STRACCHINO, ARTICHOKES AND SAUSAGE
When I think of comfort food, the first image that comes to my mind is a plate full of lasagne… no matter how they are made (with a classic beef sauce, with pesto or with any other ingredients), lasagne represent comfort food to me (and the majority of Italians). They are easily going to be…
PAELLA MIXTA
Our Daring Cooks’ September 2012 hostess was Inma of la Galletika. Inma brought us a taste of Spain and challenged us to make our very own delicious Paella! Paella!!!!!!!!!! When I saw this month’s challenge I couldn’t have been happier. When I lived in Europe, Spain was my favourite place to travel to. I have been there…
CAVATELLI CON RAGÙ DI MAIALE
Today’s Regional Italian dish comes from the small region of Molise, in the South of Italy (though, to be precise, the same dish with small variations is widespread in many other Southern regions, like Puglia or Campania or Basilicata). Molise is a small but beautiful region, famous for its pasta and extra virgin olive oil. …
CANNELLONI DI CARNE
As you know, I am hosting this month’s challenge at the Daring Cooks and I challenged my fellow daring cooks to make Italian Cannelloni from scratch! After posting about the first recipe I shared with them (Cannelloni di magro), today I will show you how to make beef and pork Cannelloni, which is another classic…
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…
BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH CARAMEL MISO SAUCE
The March, 2012 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Carol, a/k/a Poisonive – and she challenged us all to learn the art of Braising! Carol focused on Michael Ruhlman’s technique and shared with us some of his expertise from his book “Ruhlman’s Twenty”. Ohhh how I loved this challenge! I must admit I have loved…
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. …
CHAR SIU AND CHAR SIU BAO
Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles! Sara chose awesome Char Siu Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Char Siu, and filling from scratch – delicious! When I saw this month’s challenge I was really happy as I had already made Char Siu once and we had all liked it, so…
SWEET AND SOUR PORK FRITTERS
Sweet and sour pork has always been my favourite Chinese take-out food. I am sure I have already said this, but I am a big fan of anything sweet and sour. It must be my Sicilian genes (it is a common cooking style over there) or my love for vinegar… whatever the case I never…
OLIVE ALL’ASCOLANA
This has always been one of my favourite antipasti, perfect along a good glass of chilled white wine while waiting to serve dinner. I have never seen it here in Sydney and I was looking for the perfect occasion to try and make it at home. And what better occasion than my series on Regional…
MAIALE AL LATTE – PURCIT TAL LAT
This week’s Regional Italian recipe takes us to Friuli – Venezia Giulia, Italy’s most North-Eastern region that borders with Austria and Slovenia. This region has been a part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire for many years and thus has many cultural and culinary similarities with the other regions and Nations of the area. It is a region that…
MOO SHU WITH CHINESE STEAMED PANCAKES AND HOME-MADE HOISIN SAUCE
The October Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Shelley of C Mom Cook and her sister Ruth of The Crafts of Mommyhood. They challenged us to bring a taste of the East into our home kitchens by making our own Moo Shu, including thin pancakes, stir fry and sauce. When I saw this I was a bit…
PORK ROAST WITH APPLES AND PRUNES
This is another one of the dishes I have learnt from my mom. She used to make it often on Sundays and it is a fantastic and juicy roast. I guess apples and pork are a classic combination, but it is one that I never get tired of. The sweetness of the apples goes very…
