Chickpea and artichoke paella - and Pinterest, again

Thank you for all your comments about the Pinterest issue!
Jeanette left me a comment with this link and after following Tresa’s instructions I believe the problem is now solved – would you please tell me if the pinning is working?

I like seafood but can’t eat if very often (let’s say my body and seafood don’t see eye to eye) therefore I had never made a paella in my entire life; the minute I

Ricotta and feta tart

Because Jamie Oliver’s delicious escarole and salami tart was a great dish for lunch both at my house and at the office I felt like baking another savory tart – this time I had no smoked ham in my fridge (as the original recipe called for) but a tart made entirely of cheese (there’s parmesan in the pastry!) did not sound like a bad thing. And, indeed, it was not; I just regretted not adding a

Spiced brown sugar cookies

As much as I love cooking and baking I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – so you can imagine how happy I felt when I noticed that my sister loved cooking and baking, too – I swear I never pushed her towards it: it all began with her passion for brownies and cookies. :)

After tasting some of these cookies she told me they were delicious and she needed the recipe “asap”; she also told

Cherry-plum preserves + scones

I usually do not buy cookbooks without taking a look inside their pages first – I have done that in a few occasions and got really disappointed; but after reading the reviews for "Sarabeth's Bakery: From My Hands to Yours" and seeing a photo of one of the cookie recipes I felt I would love the book – and I did. It’s full of great recipes, beautiful photos and there are several recipes for

White Christmas

Going through the holiday editions of my old DH magazines I found this recipe for White Christmas – it was easy to make and looked really good; the white chocolate, cranberry and strawberry rocky road I made a while ago had already been a hit and these bars, studded with dried apricots and nuts, were equally loved.

White Christmas
slightly adapted from the always gorgeous DH magazine

350g

Lemony nectarine cake + Bill Condon

I always say that a good director can get blood out of a stone – that is why I had a feeling that “Breaking Dawn” would be the best movie of the Twilight saga. I adore some of Bill Condon’s work – both "Gods and Monsters" and "Kinsey" are part of my list; he got a good performance out of Brendan Fraser – a miracle! – and made it possible for me to stand Beyonce and Eddie Murphy for two long

Dark and white chocolate cookies

No, these are not the traditional black & white cookies – but it was impossible for me not to think of Seinfeld after baking them.

Peace! :)

Dark and white chocolate cookies
from the always gorgeous Donna Hay Magazine

¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, chopped
100g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 53% cocoa solids
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose

Chicken pad thai with lime and peanuts

I pulled an Oliver Stone the other day while making lunch: much like he completely ruined "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" in the end I almost did the same to my pad thai by adding chilli to it – it was hot as hell and sort of difficult to eat. But we managed. So I’m keeping the chilli out of the recipe below, for your own safety. ;)

I just hope that using udon instead of rice noodles is not

Apple and lemon cakes

No inspiration for today’s post. Not one ounce of it. But please do not let that keep you from baking these cakes: they’re delicious and oh, so tender.

Apple and lemon cakes
adapted from Donna Hay’s apricot cakes

125g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) granulated sugar + a little extra for sprinkling
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon

Coconut rice pudding with toasted almonds + "Super 8"

So my sister convinced me to go watch "Super 8" with her – you see, I belong to the Goonies generation, therefore I’m always suspicious towards movies with kids – I never expect much, because I know deep in my heart that nothing will beat my favorite. But I have to say that I was impressed with “Super 8”: I thought the movie was adorable, with very well directed scenes, and Elle Fanning is

White chocolate, cranberry and strawberry rocky road

I’ve been meaning to make these rocky road bars forever: when I saw so many delicious ingredients combined I knew the candy would be great. And it really was (not to mention how ridiculously easy this recipe is).
I have the same feeling about “Carnage”: so many great actors directed by Polanski. It has got to be good. Too bad I’ll have to wait a while to find out. ;)



White chocolate,

Banana, hazelnut and cinnamon cakes and the book I am currently reading

I thought I should tell you what book I’m reading right now – after all, you helped me choose it. I decided to go for a modern classic: "In Cold Blood" – I hadn’t read anything by Truman Capote and even though I’m still in the beginning of the book I’m enjoying his narrative very much.

And since I am reading a modern classic, I’ll give you today a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks:

Pea soup, my sister's high school graduation and too many caipirinhas

I wish I could say that I made this soup for a noble reason, but the truth is that I made it for lunch because of a massive hangover. :S

It all started the night before: we’d all gone to my sister’s high school graduation prom and had a lot of fun there (I shed a few tears during the ceremony, too, I’ll admit it). Then my brother told me that I “had to try” the caipirinhas that were being

Tangerine chocolate marble cake with tangerine icing

I keep telling you about recipes that go wrong and how I do not give up on them. This cake is sort of an example: I made the chocolate orange marble cake from DH mag (#44) and it turned out miserable - an 8-cup capacity pan would not hold that much batter, but I insisted on trusting the recipe. I ended up tossing the whole cake. :(

I decided to make it again – I adore marble cakes – and used a

Lemon, lime and coconut bars and good/bad additions

I know, I know, I’ve made lemon lime bars before (and those were delicious, by the way). But there’s a special addition to these: coconut in the crust, which works beautifully combined with the lemon/lime filling.

While some additions are wonderful – in the case of these bars – some are disastrous: who would have thought that a simple mustache could do that much harm? ;)

Lemon, lime and

Chocolate orange ganache tart and all's well that ends well

I started writing this post with EBTG’s “When all’s well” playing in my mind; I explain: this tart is a result of some stressful moments, but it all worked out fine in the end.

The initial idea was baking this tart to finish up the marmalade jar I’d bought for Nigel Slater’s cake. I’d already thawed some really good pastry I had in the freezer and lined the tart pan with it; after that, I made

Orange lime jelly

We all have our favorites: the little black dress for special occasions, the CD that is always on the glove compartment, or the movie we watch over and over again and never tire of. Lately I’ve been feeling the same way about jellies – they’re the first thing that pops in my mind when I want to make (and eat) spoon desserts. I guess that once the days get colder here I might change my mind, but

Beetroot, chickpea and arugula salad and memories of mom

I’m not someone who repeats recipes, but this salad has been made and served at Maison Scarpin three times already: it goes well with both fish and chicken, and I’ve eaten it without anything else, too – a big bowl of it was the perfect light lunch.

I remember eating tons of beetroot as a kid – mom was very concerned about healthy meals, years before it became a trend – and looking at the

Peaches and cream ice pops - updated

My summer issue of the DH mag has finally arrived, but unfortunately summer is already gone. I could not resist the ice pops spread, though – each and every flavor looked so good I would have to make at least one. :)
My initial idea was making the raspberry yogurt popsicles, but I’d used my raspberries in other recipes. Luckily I still had a couple of peaches – the last ones of the season – and

Brown sugar cake with mixed toffee nuts + a list of hints and tips

I’ve told you before how much I enjoy receiving your comments and emails, I really do - they have brightened some dark days I’ve had. Since some of those emails are packed with questions and doubts I thought a list of hints and tips would be useful – and I’ve added one to the blog menu now.

I don’t mean to sound presumptuous, please – I still have a lot to learn and I do not have any