Lucullian delights - an Italian experience

So much to say - Shepherd's Bread

2012-05-16T10:00:00.000+02:00

I can't believe myself it but I managed to bake this month's Bread Baking Babes bread and I loved it. I really must get better on that front because it is such a great way to discover new breads and to share it with you so that you too can bake them! But first I have some other things to tell you. First of all I know that there have been and still seem to be issues with accessing

Spuds with a twist - Potatoes With Broad Bean, Cheese, Mint and Sesame Seed Filling

2012-05-14T15:33:00.001+02:00

On Thursday I'm off to England where I will teach food photography at Plate To Page Somerset with my friends Jamie, Jeanne and Meeta. It feels unreal but this time I will go unless I break a leg or something. Or war breaks out. Or something worse (and that would be horrid things happening to my family). Like the nightmares I'm having in this period, I wake up ever so grateful I was only

The Curse of the Lemon Moon - Lemon and Rosemary Pannacotta

2012-05-10T10:34:00.000+02:00

Lemon and rosemary is an unbeatable combination be it in savoury dishes or sweet ones, I never tire of those two and together they sparkle! OK, maybe I am exaggerating a little but it is a great combination, you have to agree with me on that. I used to have lemon trees in vases because I like to make my own Limoncello but lately they don't seem to agree with me; the best one I had

An all year round dish - Egg, Cheese and Bread Pudding With Vegetables

2012-05-07T11:11:00.000+02:00

After a week of blog vacation it feels good to be back and I can tell you that I have a long list of things I want cook up and post here. I clearly needed time off to recharge the font of my inspiration and feel the motivation to create new dishes (if anything ever is new) for Lucullian but now I have almost too many things I want to try out for me and you. Not only did the pause do good but

enjoy the silence

2012-05-02T19:34:00.001+02:00

This week is not a recipe week because in-between national holidays I'm full of work that has to be dealt with urgently so please be patient and enjoy the images and my silence!

only images today

2012-04-29T13:27:00.000+02:00

Why didn't I think about it before? - Chili Pepper Farinata

2012-04-26T09:33:00.000+02:00

Yes really, why didn't I think about it before? We all love hot food in this family, at least in one form or another so why didn't I ever think about adding some heat to a farinata? Such a simple thought but it took me ages to break out of the mould of the traditional Italian farinata which is made with chickpea flour, water, salt, pepper and maybe onions or something else. I have made many

A promise to my daughter - Roibos and Vanilla Muffins With Chocolate Chips

2012-04-23T09:36:00.002+02:00

Dark white. Seeing white through my camera often surprises me because the camera doesn't adjust nuances and shades like my brain does. There are so many whites: shining white, bright white, eggshell white, cream white, blue white, snow white, dirty white and dark white - the list is long. And it doesn't surprise me because if white is all colours come together, there are even more

Old favourites and Links on Sunday

2012-04-22T11:40:00.000+02:00

I have been going digging in my archives for old photos (that watermark is just to watermark them) to post some old favourites of mine, I think this will be a new feature here on Sundays. As to the links I have no excuses, just the usual mix. Maybe these will make you discover a new book to read: 1 and 2 More bookdom. This is for my children. And all other children without too much money.

Just a lot of talk

2012-04-19T17:58:00.001+02:00

HA - those were my last famous words, I thought I was going to Sicily to teach a workshop but the day before I would have leaned back in the chair on the airplane to Catania, they phoned and asked me to postpone it to a later date. The day before. Sometimes I surprise myself with how I take things, I would have expected me to get angry but I just felt kismet, that was not to be this time. I

Doing it my way - Italian Chicken Pie

2012-04-16T10:55:00.001+02:00

This last week I have been working on the workshop I'm doing in Catania, Sicily this upcoming weekend, it is quite a feat for a visual person who is naturally concise to talk for 8-10 hours but it is such an interesting subject that I am totally enjoying working on it! And I am looking forward to finally visit Sicily, it is a treat to be able to be invited to a place like that and I feel

It's raining here - Links on Sunday

2012-04-15T09:30:00.000+02:00

I love symmetry, non-symmetry and great composition. I like people, places and things that stick out and some of these really do! I found this via friends on Facebook, irresistible! scary to see Creativity is always inspiring, it seems so obvious but...

Make life sweeter - Madeira Marinated Strawberries With Toasted Sponge Cake

2012-04-10T14:38:00.001+02:00

Strawberries are devious little buggers, they look like the key to the promised land of sweetness but you can never be sure if they live up to that promise or not. How many times haven't you bought strawberries without that wonderful sweetness the best of them have? It often happens to me when I buy them at the supermarket but as I already know it is a gamble, I buy them with the scope of

Evidence

2012-04-09T14:13:00.000+02:00

I will be back tomorrow with a recipe but today I can't resist posting some photos from around here.

Happy Easter and I'm a Happy Saveur Food Blog Awards Finalist

2012-04-06T18:49:00.000+02:00

A week with good things (most important) and a few bad things (but that will change) but what else could I expect from life really? Everything served on a silver platter? Magari as you say in Italian... First of all I wish you a Happy Easter or whatever you may be celebrating, Easter is my favourite holiday because it means spring to me, I remember the many lovely Easters I passed as a

A quick bite when on the go - Crostini With Lemon and Mint Peas

2012-04-03T16:14:00.000+02:00

So many great things are happening right now that I just cannot concentrate enough on making a nice post with an interesting recipe right now but as I have a bag with fresh peas waiting to be used, I wanted to post this little treat. The good thing is that you can make it with fresh peas in the brighter season and with frozen peas in the darker season when you need some colour to cheer you

Flowers and Links on Sunday

2012-04-01T13:41:00.001+02:00

It's the 1st of April, here are the facts! And here and here you have some examples of nice April's Fools jokes I don't know how to describe this, look and marvel at the faces. Irresistible, I can hardly make one side in the same colour so this is way beyond me! And to finish-read and ponder the words by Walt Whitman.

Let's do it healthy - Chocolate and Cinnamon Oats Smoothie

2012-03-29T14:12:00.000+02:00

This is really a quick post because today I am working on shooting my monthly contribution to Sale & Pepe and I really did the photos for this post because I wanted to test out the light settings, this is a smoothie I have been doing for a while and as it is quick and easy to make, it was the ideal food to shoot on a busy day like this! CHOCOLATE AND CINNAMON OATS SMOOTHIE 1 serving

A treat for every season - Cannelloni With ZucchinI, Ricotta and Tomato Sauce

2012-03-26T12:21:00.000+02:00

I see a totally beautiful day outside my kitchen door so I will try to make this post short so that I can go out and sit in the sun instead. I want to sit there listening to the birds, feel the breeze and look at my daffodils slowly moving but I suspect that that will not be my only sensorial fare, usually I also hear cars hooting on their way up here along our narrow road where you better

The importance of light - Sunday links and photos

2012-03-25T12:37:00.003+02:00

I like Russian writers a lot, old ones I mean because I can't say I have read much of Russian contemporary literature, so this is really interesting for me too look at. For you too I hope. Love at first sight! I think this is the right way to do interior design! Easy and unpretentious but you need to be patient I suppose. Liberate yourself. Just do it! And my last link is to the blog of

Spice up your life - Spicy Oven Roasted Potatoes

2012-03-22T10:58:00.000+01:00

"Only a mediocre man is always at his best." ~W. Somerset Maugham I'm don't like citations much but when I heard this one earlier today, I fell in love. I have very strong feelings about mediocrity and how it rules the world; it seems to me that mediocrity is what people feel safe with and therefore like the most. I dislike when I produce mediocre work in whatever field it may be, I rather

Italian workshop and a Monday celebration cake - Oat Cake With Cherry Jam

2012-03-19T10:05:00.000+01:00

I don't know if you do it, some of you do I'm sure, but I study food photography a lot. I get all the books I can find about it though I know most of it already but there are always some nuggets of gold to find. What I really learn from is studying food photos that I like for some reason (and also the ones I don't like) and by thinking about it. You'd be surprised to know how much there is to

Spring and a glimpse of a daughter (for once) in collaboration with Links on Sunday

2012-03-18T08:53:00.000+01:00

On my birthday my husband presented me with an envelope with cut out letters that I was supposed to put together in order to find out what his birthday present was. A chaotic anagram so to speak. Here you have some already put into order. Small is beautiful too Have fun! I haven't had anything about astronomy for ages so it's time now. I had some nice times here, dragging planets around,

Parcels of goodness - Short Crust Pastries With Romanescu Cabbage, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Almond Filling

2012-03-15T13:59:00.000+01:00

Cauliflower is nice but Romanescu cabbage is even nicer, it has a sweeter taste and it looks even better: it is famous example of fractals in food and with its strange forms and beautiful green colour, I never get tired of it. I photograph it every year but I am never satisfied, I never feel that I manage to show its splendors. Maybe that is because it needs to be seen tridimensionally and

A dish to remember - Spicy Rice Cake With Tomatoes and Pancetta

2012-03-12T12:22:00.000+01:00

First of all I want to thank you for all your warm comments on my ramble on food blogging, it just proves what I always say: I have the best readers there are! Some of you are even too nice, I might get carried away by the nice compliments and turn into a spoilt old brat. Or a grump although the nice spring weather here is doing its best to de-grump me by filling my mind with sunshine. It