Happy Diwali! Sunday will mark the beginning of Diwali (दिवाली), the “festival of lights”, a 5-day Indian festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Light is the symbol of the celebrations and many clay lamps filled with oil are lit during the 5 days of the festival. As part…
Coca de Espinacas a la Catalana #TourDeManger
Today marks the start of a classic European bicycle race: The Tour De France. To celebrate this, Sarah and Tim from Curious Cuisiniere are hosting a fantastic event: Eating The Tour De France! The idea is to share a dish from one of the regions of the Tour de France race route and to post it…
Espinacas a la Catalana
Today I am taking you back to Spain, to Catalonia to be precise. I have realised I don’t have many side dishes on the blog, so this recipe for Espinacas a la Catalana is an attempt to fix the problem. When I was a child I used to dislike spinach. They tasted bitter and just…
Hot Cross Buns with Honey Butter
Today’s recipe is not Italian. In fact, I had never eaten Hot Cross Buns before moving to Australia 8 years ago. Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten for breakfast on Good Friday and they are marked with a cross to represent the crucifixion of Jesus. Traditionally these buns are made with lots of spices (especially…
HOT CROSS BUN CUPCAKES
How cute are these?? That was my reaction when I first saw these beauties over at Not Quite Nigella’s site! Lorraine always has amazing ideas and this was one that stuck to my mind. I saw them last Easter and knew then that I HAD to make them. You see, I discovered hot cross buns…
PANETTONE
Merry Christmas everybody! I know you will be very busy in your kitchens today (or at the malls, getting your last minute Christmas shopping done!), but I just could not stop myself from sharing this special recipe with all of you today: Panettone!
BISCOTTI DI FICHI – FIG COOKIES
Today, as part of my series on Regional Italian Cuisines, I want to share with you the recipe for a very traditional Christmas Sicilian sweet: biscotti di fichi. They are made with the same dough and filling of Buccellato (the traditional Sicilian cake I have shared with you last year), but they are a bit…
PASTA WITH SICILIAN STUFFED ARTICHOKES
Today I am sharing a pasta recipe – Pasta with Sicilian Stuffed Artichokes – in a guest post at Chef Dennis’ blog, A Culinary Journey. I think pretty much all food bloggers know Chef Dennis. He is a very talented chef, but above all he is a very kind person and someone who is always ready…
BEEF MEATBALLS AGRODOLCE
Today’s recipe is a great addition to any potluck or buffet meals. I love it also for picnics and barbecues and it works perfectly fine both in winter and summer… it is one of those versatile recipes that is good to have handy any time of the year. Agrodolce means “sour and sweet” in Italian…
BAKED EMPANADAS
Today’s recipe is not Italian as you may have guessed. Empanadas are a South American delicacy and are very popular in many countries. I have actually learnt that there are many different kinds of empanadas, many different fillings and doughs and different ways of cooking them too! I guess it is one of those dishes…
APPLE STRUDEL – APFELSTRUDEL – STRUDEL DI MELE
Today’s Regional Italian dish comes from the northern region of Trentino – Alto Adige that borders with Austria. This region (and some areas around it) was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it shares many culinary traditions with Austria and the surrounding areas. It seems that Strudel was born in the area now known as…
BUCCELLATO – CUCCIDDATU
Buccellato is a Sicilian cake traditionally eaten during the holiday season, especially on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve… so it had to be featured on the Sicilian Street Food New Year’s Eve Party I organised for this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 event! It is a ring shaped shortbread cake filled with dried figs, raisins, candied fruits,…
PASTA CON I BROCCOLI ARRIMINATI – PASTA CHI VRUOCCULI ARRIMINATI
As I have announced in my Vitello Tonnato post, I have decided to dedicate one post a week to Italian cooking, focussing each time on a different region. There are so many fantastic traditional recipes in Italy that it can be a daunting job to choose from them, but I am having lots of fun…
CHOCOLATE COVERED MARZIPAN RUM BALLS – MY GUEST POST OVER AT SANDRA’S EASY COOKING
A few days ago I got an email from Sandra of Sandra’s Easy Cooking asking me if I would write a guest post for her fantastic blog. Would I?? Of course I would! I felt so flattered and honored to be asked by one of my favorite foodies to be a guest over at her…
KASHMIRI PULAO
When we first moved to Sydney we did not know any good places to dine out in the city, so we asked around and received a few great suggestions. One of these quickly became one of our favourite restaurants: Abhi’s Indian Restaurant. The food is fantastic and some of their dishes are just plain delicious. …
