Author: admin

Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich

Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich

The delicious combination of seasoned grilled chicken with bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato is hard to resist. You can get creative with your mayonnaise to give your Club Sandwich a signature flavour and take your sandwich to the next level.  I’ve added Balsamic vinegar and 

Cherry Chocolate Bars

Cherry Chocolate Bars

When you live overseas, you often have moments of nostalgia which invariably include craving a food or flavours from home.  Although I’m not one to eat chocolate bars on a regular basis, if I could arrange a steady shipment from Australia it would be for 

Dark Chocolate Tarts

Dark Chocolate Tarts

If you love rich dark chocolate and love the idea of a chocolate filling topped with dark chocolate ganache sitting inside a chocolate pastry shell, then you will fall in love with these tarts.  You could use this recipe to fill a round 24cm tart tin, or do as I did and fill 8 smaller tart tins, (with removable base) measuring  8cm (base) 10cm (top diameter).  Honestly this recipe is so rich, that half of one of these tarts was more than enough to satisfy any chocolate craving, so maybe go smaller… or cut thin slices from a large one. 
Pastry
  • 250g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa
  • 125g sugar
  • 150g butter
  • 1 egg
  • pinch salt
  • 2 tablespoons milk
Filling
  • 200g dark chocolate (70%) chopped
  • 3/4 Cup (185ml) cream
  • 1/2 Cup (125ml) milk
  • 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 100g peanuts, chopped roughly

Ganache

  • 150g dark chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons cream

Decoration

  • orange zest
  • pistachio nuts chopped finely
  • purple sprinkle is edible sugar flower dust (optional)
  1. Beat flour and butter in mixer until it resembles fine breadcrumbs & add cocoa.
  2. Add egg and milk. Process until dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
  3. Roll out pastry dough and line each tart tin with pastry. Trim excess, and place in freezer for 15 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 180°C. Cover pastry bases with a square of baking paper & fill with ceramic pastry weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove paper and weights.  Bake for a further 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Reduce oven to 160°C.
  5. Place chocolate, cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.  Whisk in eggs until well combined.
  6. Divide roughly chopped peanuts between each pastry shell, covering the base.  Pour chocolate filling into pastry case, (covering peanuts) and bake for 20 – 30min. (until filling is set).
  7. Make the ganache.  Combine chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until the chocolate melts, then remove from heat. Cool ganache to room temperature, then spread over each tart.
  8. Decorate by sprinkling pistachio and orange zest on top.

 

Rabbit Roulade with Lardo di Colonnata

Rabbit Roulade with Lardo di Colonnata

Per la ricetta in Italiano, clicca qui per il sito e video ricetta del Antica Larderia Malfada.   This month This Tuscan Life featured a story about a special ‘lard’ known as Lardo di Colonnata.  It’s a wonderful and informative article which features a traditional Tuscan 

Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce

Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce

  Meatloaf is one of those recipes that can evoke good or bad memories from our childhood.  I remember before discovering this recipe, my mother made another version of meatloaf (obviously no BBQ sauce), and I never loved it.  Actually I hated it.  I think 

Cherry Brandy Chicken

Cherry Brandy Chicken

This is a vintage recipe from my mother’s repertoire and one that I grew up with.  It will impress at any dinner party, and is much easier to put together than what it appears.  It’s also a quick recipe that you can easily make after a busy day at work,  as it requires no preparation beforehand, and from start to finish, it can be ready in 45 minutes. 

This recipe requires a can of cherries, and although you can add fresh cherries when they are in season, like I did, you also need to buy the pitted cherries in a jar or a can because the syrup is an integral part of the recipe.

 

Cherry Brandy Chicken

  • 8 chicken pieces or 4 chicken breast fillets
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons of Brandy or Cherry Brandy
  •  580g can or jar of pitted cherries, in syrup.
  • 190ml cream
  • Slivered, toasted almonds
  • salt & pepper
  • Fresh cherries can be used to decorate the finished dish if they are in season.
  1. Heat the butter in a large frying pan and sautè the chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Turn all pieces skin down to continue cooking.
  2. Heat the brandy, pour over the chicken and set aflame.
  3. Pour the juice/syrup from the cherries into the pan, cover and cook for 30 minutes. (Chicken fillets may take less time, it will depend obviously on how thick they are cut).
  4. Toast slivered almonds carefully in a small pan, being careful they don’t burn.
  5. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and cover to keep warm.  Add the cherries to the pan juices and season to taste.  Add the cream and stir through.  Heat without allowing it to boil.  (If necessary, you can thicken the sauce with a heaped teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in boiling water).
  6. To serve: Spoon sauce over chicken and top with toasted almonds.

*This is delicious served for lunch in the summer with some rucola or baby spinach leaves.  During the winter months, serve it with some roast potatoes, or on a bed of wholemeal rice.

Pollo con Ciliegie e Brandy

Questa è una ricetta dal repertorio di mia madre.  È una ricetta che lascerà stupefatti i vostri ospiti a qualsiasi cena, ed è molto più facile da realizzare a quanto sembra.  È una ricetta veloce che puoi fare facilmente anche dopo una giornata impegnativa al lavoro, in quanto non richiede alcuna preparazione preliminare e dall’inizio alla fine può essere pronto in 45 minuti.

La ricetta richiede le ciliegie denocciolate e sciroppate. Anche se è in teoria possibile aggiungere le ciliegie fresche quando sono in stagione, come ho fatto nelle foto, è necessario acquistare le ciliegie in scatola perché lo sciroppo è parte integrante della ricetta.

  • 8 pezzi di pollo o 4 petti di pollo
  • 2 cucchiai di burro
  • 4 cucchiai di Brandy o Cherry Brandy
  • 580g di ciliegie denocciolate sciroppate
  • 190ml panna
  • Mandorle tostate in scaglie
  • sale e pepe Q.B.
  • ciliegie fresche per guanire il piatto se sono in stagione (facoltativo).
  1. Scaldare il burro in una padella grande e cuocere i pezzi di pollo leggermente su tutti i lati. Girare tutti i pezzi di pollo a pelle in giù per avere la pelle del pollo dorata a fine cottura.
  2. Scaldare il brandy in una piccola pentola, versare sopra il pollo e infiammare.
  3. Versare il succo / sciroppo dalle ciliegie nella padella, coprire e cuocere per 30 minuti. (I filetti di pollo possono richiedere meno tempo, dipenderà ovviamente da quanto spesso vengono tagliati).
  4. Tostare le mandorle con cura in una piccola teglia, facendo attenzione a non bruciarle.
  5. Rimuovere i pezzi di pollo dalla padella e coprirli per mantenerli caldi. Aggiungere le ciliegie nella padella e condire con sale e pepe a piacere. Aggiungere la panna e mescolare. Riscaldare senza farla bollire. (Se necessario, è possibile addensare la salsa con un cucchiaino di maizena sciolto in acqua bollente).
  6. Per servire,  mettere la salsa sopra il pollo e decorare con le mandorle tostate.
    * Questo piatto è delizioso servito in un pranzo in estate accompagnato di un insalata di rucola o spinacini. 
     Durante i mesi invernali, servirlo con patate arrostite o su un letto di riso integrale.

 

Rocket, Fig & Pecorino Salad with Honey and Balsamic

Rocket, Fig & Pecorino Salad with Honey and Balsamic

This is such a quick and easy salad to throw togther, essential to make during Summer when you’ll find fresh and seasonal summer fruits in abundance at your local market.  In this recipe, savoury and sweet flavours marry well together, and although this would be 

Flourless Chocolate, Orange & Almond Cake

Flourless Chocolate, Orange & Almond Cake

I first made this cake when I had to come up with a Gluten Free alternative for a wedding cake.  It is dense and rich like any flourless chocolate cake and the bittersweet orange taste is a perfect companion to the sweetness of the sugar 

Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad is delicious all year round but is particularly enjoyed as a meal during the hot Summer months.  I’ve ordered this a couple of times while out in Italy, and it’s usually a little disappointing.  My favourite go to recipe for Caesar Salad is my mother’s recipe and the one I grew up with.  While grilled chicken wasn’t included in original recipes it is often on the menu as an option, an extra ingredient to add to your Caesar Salad.  I like the addition of grilled chicken because it transforms this salad into a substantial meal.  This recipe is for 4 generous servings.

Caesar Salad

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 3 anchovy fillets
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 2 egg yolks (raw)
  • 2 whole boiled eggs
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 3 tablespoons Red Wine vinegar
  • freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 heads of Cos lettuce
  • 1/2 cup chopped bacon or pancetta (pan fried)
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly made croutons (see method)
  • 100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Black Pepper
  • 4 chicken breasts
  1. In a food processor, blend together the garlic, anchovy fillets, capers, egg yolks, hard boiled eggs, Dijon mustard, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper.
  2. Add Olive Oil, vinegar and lemon juice, and continue blending until smooth.  Taste and adjust lemon or pepper if required.  Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble salad.
  3. Cook bacon or pancetta in a frying pan until golden and crispy.  Allow to drain on absorbent kitchen paper. Chop roughly.
  4. Add some rustic Italian style bread cut into cubes into the frying pan with any remaining bacon fat and add a splash of olive oil if necessary.  Fry bread until toasted and golden.  If you prefer the crunch without the fat, you can toast the bread in th oven.
  5. Cut both chicken breasts through the middle, without cutting through, to form one large flat piece. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper and brush with olive oil.  Heat a frying pan until hot then place the chicken breasts on it and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through.  Slice for serving.
  6. Assemble the Caesar Salad.  Firstly remove the outer leaves from the cos lettuce.  Using your hands, roughly tear the lettuce leaves and place in a large bowl.  (Some people like to leave the leaves whole).  Toss lettuce leaves with a couple tablespoons of the dressing, half the crispy fried pancetta and half the croutons.
  7. Equally divide the lettuce on four plates.  Add grilled chicken breast slices.  Add the remaining crispy pancetta and croutons on top of chicken.  Using a serving spoon drizzle extra dressing over, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with a little freshly cracked  black pepper.
  • If you wish to make a crispy cheese basket like I did to serve your Caesar Salad in,  just place grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese (I used a mixture of both) in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Watch carefully as it melts and starts to bubble and turn golden.  Turn off heat and set aside frying pan.  Wait just a couple of minutes and slide cheese into a bowl.  As it cools it will harden and maintain its shape.

** (A poached egg on top wouldn’t be out of place for a decadent brunch)!

BABINGTONS TEA ROOMS

BABINGTONS TEA ROOMS

  Since 1893, Rome has boasted a traditional and very elegant English tea room.  Stepping inside Babingtons with the promise of tea, cake and scones, you have to remind yourself that you’re not in England, but instead sitting in the very fashionable Piazza di Spagna in the