Three coloured parmigiana

Ingredients:

• 1 big sized aubergine
• 1 mozzarella 
• tomato sauce
• basil pesto
• basil leave
• salt

How to make it:

1. Cut the aubergine into slices, not too thin.
2. Cut also the mozzarella into slices.
3. Fry the aubergine in deep oil, and put it on some blotting paper in oder to dry the excess of oil.
4. Place a slice of aubergine on a plate, put a teaspoon of basil pesto, a slice of mozzarella, a teaspoon of tomato sauce, another slice of aubergine and mozzarella and fix it with a toothpick.
5. Grill for 5 minutes in the oven. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Mozzarella in carrozza

                                  

Mozzarella in carrozza

Ingredients:

• 1 mozzarella (about 125 g)
• 8 slices of sandwich loaf
• 2 eggs
• salt
• some water, flour and milk

How to make it:

•  Cut the mozzarella into 4 thick slices
• Place the mozzarella slice on a sandwich loaf slice, and cover it with the other slice of bread
• Dip the borders in the flour, then in the water.
• Now dip the whole "sandwich" in the milk but not dip it too much!
• Place the sandwiches on a baking tin or a big plate
• Whisk  the eggs in another plate and add some salt
• Now pour some of the whisked egg on the sandwiches
• Wait 5 minutes, to allow the egg to "sink" in the bread.
• Turn the sanwiches and do the same thing (pour on the other side some whisked egg..)
• Warm some oil in a pan, and fry the sandwiches one per time, allowing them 3-4 minutes per side.
• Enjoy warm and cheesy, like these!

Happy birthday Hero

 

   

                                 Happy Birthday Hero!!!

(Hero back in 2007)

 

Hero just turned 3 and I wanted to share with you his birthday...He's been in our family since Apollo passed away :( and he has filled our lives with joy, happiness and love..:) Hope you enjoyed his birthday with me!

Love,

Annalisa

Brezel

Ingredients

• 1kg flour "00"     
• 25 gr brewer's yeast
• 600 cl water
• 1 tbsp salt

Pour the flour in a large mixing bowl, add salt, melt brewer's yeast in warm water;  pour it in the mixing bowl and knead.

Now put the dough on a large work surface (or the table), and knead for about 15 minutes, until it gets smooth.

Put it again in the mixing bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise from 1.30 h to 2.30 h.

place the dough on the table again, divide it into small pieces of 100 gr weight each. Now form from each piece a roll 1cm thick and 60 cm long.

Now give it the shape of a brezel...it's not that hard, just follow this rough guide...

place them on a baking tin, brush them with some yolk whisked with some water, sprinkle on some cooking salt. Bake at 230°C, for about 15 mins, until they look brown. Enjoy!

Clubhouse Sandwiches

Clubhouse sandwiches

All you need to make clubhouse sandwiches is:

• Sandwich bread slices (3 slices per each sandwich!)
•  lettuce/tomato
• Bacon
• cheese - cheddar is perfect
• cocktail sauce
• olives to decorate

Grill bacon until it's crispy; place the ingredients in this order: spread the cocktail sauce, put the lettuce/tomato, bacon, cheese. Repeat this for each of the 3 layers of the sandwich.

To finish, decorate with an olive on top (maybe help yourself with a sandwich stick).

Hope you liked!

Annalisa

Tropea red onions au gratin

 

What will you need: 

•  8 middle sized tropea red onions
• 400 gr bread crumble
• 50 gr pecorino cheese
• 1 dl extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper and parsley

How to make it:

• Peel the onions and cut them into slices 
• Put the onions slice in a saucepan with some oil, and cook them on a low heat.
• In another pan, prepare a mixture with the breadcrumble, the oil, salt, pepper, pecorino cheese and parsley.
• Pour the mixture in the saucepan which contains the onions and cook au gratin for 40 minutes, on a low/ medium heat.

Enjoy!

Semolina dumplings alla Romana

Hi everyone!

Today I wanted to show you this quite easy but very tasty dish we call "Gnocchi alla Romana" (Semolina dumplings). This can be a very great comfort dish, and it will be even better when warmed in the microwave  or in the oven with some more cheese on!

All you need for this yummy dish is:

• 1 lt milk
• 250 gr semolina
• salt
• 50 gr butter
• some grated parmesan cheese (about a cup)
• some more butter ( about 50 gr)

How to make it:

1. Boil milk, and pour all the semolina in. Cook it, and stir it until it looks dry and homogeneous.
2. Add 50 gr of butter, keep on stirring. Pour it all on a wet tray/big cheese plate or just the table (make sure it's wet!!!)
3. Spread out the mixture on the table, 1 cm thick.Then, with a glass, cut some discs out.
4. Put some butter in a casserole, place the discs side by side, add some more butter, sprinkle on some grated parmesan and add another layer of semolina discs, repeating the process.
5. Bake in the oven at 200°C or grill them, until it becomes brown and the surface looks crispy.

Enjoy!!!

Sponge cake recipe

I promised you all particularly to Camp Stanhope blogger that I would have posted this recipe, since you have seen it on hubby birthday post! It is an easy sponge cake and a very light one. All you need is...LOVE! as usual, when you are in the kitchen and some other ingredients..Let's see them!

• 7 eggs
• 200 g sugar
• 100 g potato flour
• 100 g flour
• a pinch of baking powder 

How to make it:

1. Separate the eggs yolks and whites in two different bowls.
2. Add the sugar to the bowl containing the egg yolks, and mix it with a wooden spoon, until it becomes creamy and very soft.
3. Beat the whites to stiff peaks.
4. Incorporate the whites to the yolks.
5. Sieve the flour and the potato flour, and slowly add the baking powder.
6. Pour in a cake tin, and bake at 150 °C for about 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Happy mother's day

   

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to every mum and mum-to-be! To celebrate, I thought I could make a cake. I hope you like it, because I am going to post the recipe this evening. This cake is the same I prepared for my husband's birthday and it's relatively easy to make, very good and light ( it has no butter!).

I just realised that I like to decorate cakes and decided to take some time for it. I have also coloured the cream and frosted some rose's petals. The writing is made with chocolate, and I have added a ribbon to make it look like a book. I hope you like it!

And thought I could post this cute short poem:

As a child you walked before me,

To lead by example.

As a teenager you walked behind me

Looking out for my back

and being there when I needed you.

As an adult you walk beside me

So that, as two friends,

we can enjoy life together..

Happy Mothers' Day, Mom

Happy mother's day,

love,

Pasta with rocket pesto

  

Rocket pesto is a very tasty yet light pesto which I like to make during these warm days of spring...Summer is still a bit far this year I think, because days are a little bit cold and rainy, but weather forecast says we'll have better weather from tomorrow...today it was sunny too, hope it holds!

But now, I am going to give you the recipe of this very easy sauce..All you need is:

• 1 garlic clove
• 1 glass of extra virgin olive oil
• 50 gr Parmesan cheese (grated)
• 50 gr Pecorino cheese (grated)
• 50 gr pine nuts
• 100 gr rocket
• salt

It is really easy to make, you just have to take your mixer and...

1. Set aside some rocket leaves and pine nuts, to garnish your dish ( I only used the leaves)
2. Put all the ingredients in the mixer + half glass of oil, and start it at the low speed.
3. Add the last half of the olive oil and mix at high speed.
4. Garnish your pasta with the leaves and the pine nuts and of course the sauce!

Enjoy!

Of course I used the rocket I had in my plot, it's so good! 
  Here's the pesto:

I hope you like the dish of today!

Awesome giveaway @Moogie & Pap blog

Hi dear readers,

today I am publishing this entry to let you know about this awesome giveaway going on Moogie' blog.

Why don't you just click here and have a look (why not a try!?!?!?) at it??

She's been sooo kind and generous to give these wonderful glasses, plates, candles and what's more???

A wonderful apron made by her!!!It's awesome, you should REALLY go and have a look, and why not, give it a try!!!

love,

Annalisa

here's the link to the giveaway!

Good luck everyone!!!

1st May, Sant'Efisio/St.Ephysius- Cagliari

Happy May Day to everyone!

1st of May is a very important day in Cagliari. It is the day in which we celebrate the festival of St.Ephysius, the patron saint of Sardinia and Pisa, a Tuscany city.

Nothing much is known about his life, apart from his birth place, Antiochia(Turkey) and his martyrdom place, Nora (Sardinia) in the year 303 A.C., under Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus empire. He eventually fighted with the emperor's troups and persecuted Christians, but after a telltale sign - he saw a cross in the sky and heard a voice blaming him for his persecutions- he decided to convert to Christian religion. He is important in Sardinia, particuarly in Cagliari for different reasons: the main reason why he is celebrated with such a huge festival and religious event is that Sardinians asked him to rescue them from pestilence in 1656, May 1st.

The second reason why he is celebrated on another day,the Angelus Monday, is due to the pray Sardinians did to St. Ephysius in order to be released from French revolutionaries in 1793.

The biggest event is the one of the 1st May, and it's been celebrated for over 350 years. Every year many tourists come to see this beautiful festival which is truly breath taking, it is also one of the biggest Mediterranean festivals, because it involves the biggest number of towns which parade showing off their beautiful traditional clothes.Everyone takes part in it, from men to women, young to old people. It is a joyful, religious and cultural event that everyone should really see once in his/her life. So I thought I could show you some pitcures of it, the pictures are not mine this time, cos I haven't gone there this year, but I have taken them from the web, from the website "blog del sole"(a wonderful photo-blog, by the way!)

The Saint.

Hope you liked how Cagliari celebrates the 1st day of May!

Chilli with meat

• 1 can of mexican beans
• 500 g of ground beef ( minced meat)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 minced middle sized onions
• 1 mashed garlic clove
• 1-2 fresh chilli pepper (make sure to remove the seeds!)
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp Ariosto aglio e peperoncino
• 400 gr (1 can) chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 425 ml water
• 1 stock cube
• salt & pepper
• 1 chopped red pepper

***

Pour 2 spoons of the oil in a saucepan, let it sizzle then add ¼ of the ground beef you have prepared; leave it in the saucepan to brown, then remove it and place it on a plate or another pan, and proceed with the remaining meat. The best thing to do is to brown ¼ of meat per time, in order to cook it equally.

Now add the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and add the minced onions, mashed garlic and the fresh chilli peppers. Let it brown for some minutes ( about 3) mixing with a wooden spoon every now and then.

Now add the flour and Ariosto aglio e peperoncino, stir for 3-4 minutes; add the beans, the chopped tomatoes and the meat you previously cooked, then tomato sauce, water and the stock cube. Stir til boil, add salt and pepper, add the fresh red chopped pepper, lid and let it cook for at least 2-3 hours on low heat stirring it about every 15 mins.

Ariosto seasonings & some tasty dishes!

Dear followers and readers, today I want to introduce you to a very useful and tasty italian product, Ariosto Seasonings. The italian seasoning brand also launches a nice initiative, which can be found out on their website where you can find the email address of a very kind Mr. Lo Presti who will explain you how to take part in the initiative. All you have to do is hosting a logo of the brand on the sidebar of your blog, and post a recipe in which you use the products he will send you through the post. Just write him an email, he will answer quickly and fully!

And now, let me show you some of the dishes I prepared using the products I received just the other day. I got some bags of different seasonings, 2 boxes of seasoning for potatoes and meat and a bag of bread. On the first picture, you can see bread crostini, a starter dish for which I used Ariosto Aglio e peperoncino seasoning...Easy to make, but very spicy & tasty!

And now the potato chips, for which I used the Ariosto potato seasoning...needless to say that they are incredibly better with it!

This last dish was the one my family liked the most! Chicken titbits with roasted potato. For the fried chicken I used Ariosto IMPAN, a great ready cooked bread; All you have to do is to dip the meat in milk and then roll it in the bread.The result is wonderful, brown, crispy, and tasty!

For the roasted potatoes I used the same seasoning I used for the chips. To prepared this type of roasted potatoes, I first put them in a saucepan filled with cold water, let the water boil and then strain the potatoes. Place them in a casserole or a baking tin, pour on about 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, add some butter and of course, Ariosto seasoning for potatoes! Bake at 220°C, til they brown, and you will see what a great result you will have!

I hope you liked the post of today, my aim was to let you know this great Italian brand and the opportunity I was given from this company to try their products doing a very little and simple thing like a post on my blog. Believe me, it is worth the try!

Enjoy! And don't forget to give it a try!

For more infos, visit the website that I linked above.

A brave dog..!

I had a very busy weekend and I am sorry if I didn't manage to catch up all the nice posts of all my followers and readers, I will find anyway some free time to comment everyone today.

As I was saying, Saturday was a very busy day, we received a call from the vet asking for one of our dogs for a blood transfusion for another poor little dog who had a cancer and had to be operated, and so needed blood.

So we decided to help him and we took Hero to the vet...We were really fearing that something could go wrong, but fortunately Hero wonderfully overcame it and he's now feeling good again. We really hope that the dog he helped is feeling better too, and that he will manage to live many years more!

But just wanted to show you how is Hero now, (they obviously had to cut his hairs), since on Saturday he was feeling sleepy and in a daze because he has been sedated with medicines.

He had also some little prizes for his bravery....Gut dog!