Monthly Archive for maggio, 2013

Eton mess

Published by Lucina, on 31 maggio 2013 in cakes, Dolci and English Recipes. 1 Comment

Eton mess

What a peculiar name for a sweet, don’t you think? Translated in Italian this would be “il pasticcio di Eton“. Hardly a recommendation in truth!  So who or what is Eton? I hear the Italian people ask…Well, it’s one of the most famous public schools in the UK.  And by the way,  be aware of a false friend  here. “Public school” doesn’t mean “state school” (= scuola pubblica in Italian). It means “private school”. Eton is in fact, one of the oldest, most traditional, exclusive and expensive boarding schools for boys in England. Many famous people went there, including the current Prime minister David Cameron….But what has a public school got to do with the sweet? Easily answered: apparently it is  traditionally served on 4th June at Eton College’s annual cricket game against the pupils of Harrow School.  And now let me tell you exactly what this “mess” is….: it’s basically a Pavlova gone wrong, in other words a mixture of whipped cream, crushed meringues and strawberries (but there are variations using other soft fruits), all folded together. As to the meaning of its name there are several theories out there, which I won’t go into, as life is too short (go on Wikipedia if you are interested). Whatever its origins it is an easy dessert to put together and rather yummy, particularly if you make your own meringues which, ladies and gentlemen, I DID! In that respect it’s an ideal way to use unwanted egg whites. Continue reading ‘Eton mess’

Panna cotta al rabarbaro. Laura in cucina

Published by Candida, on 26 maggio 2013 in Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

   E così mentre me ne sto tranquilla a Mosca, quando meno me l’aspetto ricevo una mail dalla mia dolce bambina: “la cucina di casa è aperta anche senza di te :)”. Ecco cosa succede a far le donne emancipate che vanno in giro per il mondo. Chi va via perde il posto all’osteria. Morto un re se ne fa un altro. La mia cucina ha un’altra eroina che addirittura prepara le foto per il blog.

Ho davanti a me due vie:

1. la regina cattiva e cercare al più presto un cacciatore

2. far buon viso a cattiva sorte e godermi la nuova dolce vita che mi si prospetta in famiglia

Intanto che ci penso faccio il mio dovere e posto la ricetta e la foto speditemi da Laura. Continue reading ‘Panna cotta al rabarbaro. Laura in cucina’

Tuna steak with pistachios and sun dried tomatoes

Published by Lucina, on 23 maggio 2013 in English Recipes and fish. 1 Comment

tuna steak with pistachios

Before I share with you this quick but impressive recipe let me update you on both Tomik the sourdough and Herman the German. I know some of you will be curious to know whether they are still alive and thriving. Well….the simple answer is : YES to both. Tomik is a happy little chappy AND I have now given a couple of his “babies” to friends (David and Annalisa, if you are reading this , I am keeping an eye on you! :-))so his legend goes on! Herman is also doing well and doing the round. I got him back last week, fed him, used him to make a lovely carrot, almond and polenta cake and passed him on again. I’ve worked out that I all I need to do to create a new one is to use my sourdough starter and feed it with milk, sugar and flour. Simple! Now to the tuna recipe of the day. As you know fresh tuna is really expensive but now and again it’s nice to treat oneself to a nice steak. If the quality of the fish is good and the tuna is fresh there is nothing better to eat and you don’t need any fanciful recipes to cook it. You can simply marinate it quickly in a bit of olive oil and lemon and grill it. The mistake I used to make in the past was overcooking it. I hadn’t cottoned on to the fact it has to be pink inside so I always ended up with a disappointing dry steak. Continue reading ‘Tuna steak with pistachios and sun dried tomatoes’

Semifreddo veloce ai lamponi con salsa di pistacchio e cioccolato bianco

Published by Candida, on 15 maggio 2013 in Dolci and Ricette in Italiano. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Spesso è la spinta cromatica che ti ispira. A volte è la pigrizia: non vuoi uscire, vuoi fare un dolcetto e devi usare quello che c’è a portata di mano.

Questa volta è la somma delle due. Volevo un dolcetto colorato per una seratina con Meret ma non avevo voglia/tempo di uscire. Ecco quel che è venuto fuori. Il verde, dunque, NON è pesto!!!

 

Ingredienti

Per il semifreddo

100 gr di lamponi surgelati

200 gr. di zucchero

250 gr. di ricotta

Per la salsa

200 gr di cioccolato bianco a pezzetti

200 gr. di pistacchi sgusciati

30 gr. di burro

 

Inizio preparando il semifreddo: frullo tutti gli ingredienti e li metto un’oretta in freezer (se di più mescolo ogni tanto)

Poi sciolgo il cioccolato fondente a bagnomaria con il burro, trito i pistacchi e li incorporo al cioccolato.

Ecco tutto. Servo il semifreddo inaffiato dalla salsa a piacere.

Blueberry sourdough pancakes

Published by Lucina, on 10 maggio 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 1 Comment

blueberry sourdough pancakes

Not another sourdough recipe, surely!!! Enough already! I hear you say. Well… I must say it’s addictive stuff this sourdough malarkey! Now that Tomik ( read: my sourdough starter, and sorry if I am beginning to sound like a one trick pony!) ) looks well established, bubbly and happy I have been racking my brains for ways to use the excess. In order to feed hungry Tomik I have to discard half of it every day and replenish it with equal amounts of flour and water. It’s a chore, I tell you! Plus it’s costing me nearly as much as my cats! Anyway, if I don’t use it, I lose it, so to speak, and I hate throwing good food away. So rather than chucking it in the bin I have been forcing the excess on friends and colleagues and also scouring the internet for new cooking ideas (as the number of people interested in adopting a sourdough baby is very thin on the ground). There are loads of recipes out there that use sourdough, not just for making bread. They mainly come from the States, where sourdough is very popular. You can make all sort of things with it. Continue reading ‘Blueberry sourdough pancakes’

Herman is dead! Long live Herman!

Published by Lucina, on 4 maggio 2013 in cakes and English Recipes. 5 Comments

Herman the German friendship cake

What an apt title (for those who have followed the story)! I bet you are all curious to see a) whether Herman the German friendship cake was a success and b) what my venerable Italian friends thought of it. If you recall, the day I “gave birth” to Herman was tactical as I wanted his demise (read: the cake making) to coincide with the discussion of the book which took place at my house today. And by the way if you are curious to know what we discussed it was Il fu Mattia Pascal by Pirandello. Wonderful , thought provoking book! Anyway, back to the cake.  I confess I was a bit apprehensive about it. I very nearly baked some scones as a  reserve, JUST IN CASE. The truth is I have a reputation to uphold: I can’t fail in front of an audience!  Anyway in the end I decided to place my faith in Herman and decided not to have a back up. WEEEEELLLLLL…… Continue reading ‘Herman is dead! Long live Herman!’

Crostata doppio cioccolato

Published by Candida, on 2 maggio 2013 in Chiacchiere/Chatting and Dolci. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

Questa ricetta viene da un vecchio post di un blog che frequento ogni tanto, Vaniglia, ma è tanto vecchia che non sono più riuscita a trovarla. Comunque, avendola fatta più volte, me l’ero appuntata e modificata. Ora non so più, infatti, fin dove arrivano le mie modifiche e fin dove è la ricetta originale. Non è difficile, ha solo lunghi tempi di riposo. La cosa bella di questa crostata è l’idea della crosta croccante di cioccolato subito dopo la frolla e prima del morbido della crema. E’ una cosa che si può applicare a tante altre crostate, anche con la frutta come feci qui. L’altro giorno l’ho fatta per una vendita di beneficienza ed è andata via subito!

Continue reading ‘Crostata doppio cioccolato’