tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207252922024-03-08T19:48:37.435+01:00The Kitchen PantrySara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comBlogger444125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-28982021990675302132008-08-10T18:28:00.003+02:002008-08-10T19:07:53.463+02:00This blog has moved FOREVER<div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://saramaternini.com/kitchenpantry/"><span style="font-size:130%;">www.saramaternini.com/kitchenpantry<br /></span></a></div><br />Finally! After 2 months of intese coding, here is <a href="http://saramaternini.com/kitchenpantry/">my new home</a>!<br /><br />The move was smooth and painless!<br /><br />I would like to thank you all my followers here, and asking them to kindly change the link <a href="http://saramaternini.com/kitchenpantry/">to my new blog</a>! You'll find everything there, even new stuff, wow!<br /><br />I would like to thank very much mr. Blogger, but after I briefly met <a href="http://ma.tt/">mr. Wordpress</a> during the WordCamp in Milan, last May, well, what can I say, <a href="http://www.wordpress.org/">wordpress</a> rule!!! Code is poetry, afterall!<br /><br />See you in <a href="http://saramaternini.com/kitchenpantry/">my new home</a>!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-22753384123502593432008-07-30T08:45:00.004+02:002008-07-30T09:12:03.784+02:00Daring Bakers: Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh42tfylKAf8jkykHqMuV9YTOhS0cmX6qKmNp4o83HwbGOP5Yy8VI6vK75wy5vZ9B39YECGyWEDLbaCc_O06Qn_PZetM9WGmlVUtymbx27xNDnXagg8g41n3sIEE0uzUWk0bQ/s1600-h/_MG_8117+-+Version+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsh42tfylKAf8jkykHqMuV9YTOhS0cmX6qKmNp4o83HwbGOP5Yy8VI6vK75wy5vZ9B39YECGyWEDLbaCc_O06Qn_PZetM9WGmlVUtymbx27xNDnXagg8g41n3sIEE0uzUWk0bQ/s400/_MG_8117+-+Version+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5228696966659664562" border="0" /></a>I grew up in a home surrounded by a garden. Just outside the window of my bedroom there was, and still is, a big hazelnut tree. simple branches during the winter, but a lot of leaves from spring! It's one of my favourite tree, not because is beautiful or anything, but simply because it witnessed a lot of what was going on in my life! I used to do everything in my bedroom, except eating and watching tv :)<br />I remember entire afternoons spent picking up hazelnuts from the ground, together with my dog... I remember entire afternoons eating them too! :)<br />And I remember one of our dogs eating them with much pleasure! He was cracking the shells with his teeth and eating the hazelnut inside, all happy for the compensation of his efforts!<br />All this to state that hazelnut were part of my everyday late summer life for all my childhood!<br />Since I don't live any more with my parents hazelnut appear in our home only during Christmas time. A big Italian tradition is to end every meal during Christmas and New Year celebrations with a dish filled with nuts, to crack them while chatting around the table or playing cards...<br />So I wan very pleased when I saw this new Daring baker recipe!!!<br /><br />And the final result was astonishing! I made it for the 60th birthday of my dad and all my family was superpleased! My aunts and uncles were all happy :)<br /><br /><a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">Daring bakers</a> make the world happy :)<br /><br />PS: I know the picture is not up to the normal standards, but we were in a crowded restaurant and you know how people react when you take picture of food, don't you? But it shows the layers :)<br /><br />PS2: I know it's 1 moth I do not update the blog, I know I haven't yet finished the Morocco Series, but I started a new job and I still have to find a routine... But I will! :)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-57796050230519803772008-06-29T09:00:00.000+02:002008-06-29T09:15:27.772+02:00Daring Bakers: Danish Braid<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2610292784/" title="Danish braid by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2610292784_808066595c.jpg" alt="Danish braid" width="500" height="334" /></a><br /><br />One summer afternoon, Sara-Piperita goes to her usual Support Group: Anonymous Daring Bakers Challenged With Some Basic Preparation, ADBCWSBP (meetings every end of the month, day vary).<br />As usually, she meets with her fellow <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">companions</a> (some very skilled!!!), but this time is her turn to step in front of everybody and speak about the dreadful challenge of all...<br />"Hi, my name is Piperita and I'm puff pastry (and similar) challenged..."<br />A cheerful "Hi Piperita" comes from the audience...<br />Then she begin, tears dropping form her eyes, to tell her story...<br />"My problems with puff pastry began many years ago. Everybody love to make puff pastry. And many people told me that it is so simple that even a child can do it... I never could... I was always too hasty, or too afraid, or the room was too hot, or the pastry simply wouldn't puff...<br />I tried many recipes, work it in many ways, but nothing: I simply couldn't... It has always been one of the big flaws of my life..."<br />When she finishes, everybody stand up and begin to hug her... She feels sightly relived...<br />Then <a href="http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/">Kelly</a> and <a href="http://whatscooking.us/">Ben</a> come up to the group and they begin to explain that they have the perfect recipe for Danish puff pastry. [Danish is slightly different form "normal" puff pastry, as it uses yeast to boost puffness...]<br />Piperita begins to cry again, mummling: "No, no, I possibly cannot... I even tried Nigella Lawson's recipe for Danish, where she allegedly says it's possible to make it with a mixer, with not so many turns and time, but even with that easy peasy recipe, I couldn't!"<br /><a href="http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/">Kelly</a> and <a href="http://whatscooking.us/">Ben</a> try to comfort her, to convince her to give a try...<br />She finnaly surronder...<br />Sara- Piperita gave a try to <a href="http://sassandveracity.typepad.com/">Kelly</a> and <a href="http://whatscooking.us/">Ben</a> Danish pastry...<br />Sara-Piperita isn't anymore afraid of Danish pastry or puff pastry!<br />Sara-Piperita succeded!!!<br />Now she can concentrate on the rest of her unberable flaws...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2610346742/" title="Viennoiseries by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3160/2610346742_09d7f849ec_o.jpg" alt="Viennoiseries" width="450" height="551" /></a>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-23198562774254007572008-06-23T21:20:00.004+02:002008-06-23T22:01:27.138+02:00The world of wine would be safe forever if everybody would work like...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2605343868/" title="overview by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3175/2605343868_8bfc7f5d5c.jpg" alt="overview" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.marcosara.it/">Marco Sara</a>, a young wine maker from Friuli, one of the eastern region of Italy: he has just 3 acres and he make just 3 wines: Picolit, Mufis and Verduz! One better than the other! My husband, who is a sommelier and he's acknowledged among our acquaintances as a fierce wine critic, after trying them, said: "Astonishing!" That was a first, I can tell you! Thanks to <a href="http://vinix.it/">Filippo Ronco</a>, who told us we should try them!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2604513645/" title="Marco Sara's wines by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/2604513645_0e9d5c5a75.jpg" alt="Marco Sara's wines" width="333" height="500" /></a><br /><br />Or like <a href="http://www.emidiopepe.com/">Emidio Pepe</a>, a wine maker from Abruzzo, making bio-dynamic wines that will last for ever, like the astonishing Trebbiano d'Abbruzzo 2001 we were lucky enough to have at <a href="http://www.ristorantelarucola.it/">La rucola</a> in Sirmione: a white that had no problem to cast all its flavors even over roasted lamb.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2605343550/" title="Emidio Pepe's wines by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2605343550_69381873a1_m.jpg" alt="Emidio Pepe's wines" width="240" height="121" /></a><br /><br />Or like <a href="http://www.villacorniole.com/">Villa Corniole</a> and its bronze colored Pinot Gris, made from a maceration on its skins for a few days : a color and a taste that you'll remember for the rest of your life...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2604512805/" title="Villa Cornelie's wines by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3143/2604512805_cc92c51a81_m.jpg" alt="Villa Cornelie's wines" width="160" height="240" /></a><br /><br />We had the pleasure and the honor to try those and many other wines at <a href="http://www.tigulliovino.it/meeting/tigulliovino_meeting_english.htm">Terroir Vino</a>, an interesting fair of wine producers mainly from Italy (but there were two French, and you could feel the different approach with communication: French are, astonishing enough, so nice when they come to wine speech!).<br />Forget Vinitaly and its Barnum circus: get back to basic! A desk, few bottles of wine, some pieces of Ligurian focaccia, and your glass: that will make your day and your tasting experience!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-76918315933337260562008-06-12T08:01:00.004+02:002008-06-12T13:02:28.710+02:00Day 5 to 6 Meknes and the King<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2572653664/" title="Bab Monsour and Sunset by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2572653664_d366202c86.jpg" alt="Bab Monsour and Sunset" height="500" width="424" /></a><br /><br />[Discalimer: I know I came back from Morocco like ages ago, but I know you want to know more about our adventures there ;) and by the way, I'm cooking almost nothing lately, so... :P]<br /><br />Leaving Fès, I decide to enter fully in Moroccan life: I bought a newspaper! We consulted our guide on which newspaper we should buy: not too much on the side of the king, not too Muslim, not too rightish... I know: we are crazy! We always look for the local counterpart of Manifesto or Liberation!!! And in French, of course, as neither of us could read Arab...<br />I anyway ended up with the wrong one (I'm capable of forgetting the title of a newspaper in 10 meters walk), on the side of the king, whom, by the way, is a very cool and good looking person, so it was kind of ok!<br />And we discover, just 4 minutes before to take the train to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meknes">Meknes</a> that the king would be there, in Meknes, for the agricultural forum during the same days we would be there! How exiting!!! On paper... Because at the end we just had two glimpses of his car and nothing else...<br />Back to our trip!<br />By the time we arrive in Meknes I have the biggest flu of last year: hate Moroccan thermal excursion! So I don't remember much from the city...<br />I reckon it as something beautiful, with no too many tourists and all festive for the king...<br />I think there were some amazing monuments, as usually, but I was sniffing my nose constantly...<br />There is one thing I remember vividly: the Riad we went to!<br /><a href="http://riadmeknes.blogspot.com/">Riad Feloussia</a>, and Lionel and Sonia, its owners!<br />The Riad has only 2 bedrooms, one more beautiful then the other! the restoration of the Riad was undertaken by the owners altogether with Moroccan architects and carpenters, using traditional materials and trying to preserve the original feeling of the place! The bathroom in our room was bigger then our sitting room at home!!!<br />They even have a terrace looking on the main square: a treat you'll want to enjoy even under the midday sun!<br />Uh, something I remember: not far from Meknes lays Volubilis, a Roman archaeological site! Very nice... Very hot and sunny, but very nice!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2572653180/" title="Volubilis and a French man with an italian hat! ;) by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/2572653180_5fb9a35799.jpg" alt="Volubilis and a French man with an italian hat! ;)" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Uh, something else: Christians prisons! Creepy!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2572662388/" title="Christian prisons by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2319/2572662388_1f7505e5ca.jpg" alt="Christian prisons" height="500" width="333" /></a><br /><br />Ah, and of course we got lost, somewhere, looking for an exit, but fooling ourselves inside a labyrinth of streets and covered alleys... We really felt inside a scenario of Prince of Persia! (actually I was constantly saying it... ;D)<br /><br />We ate both on the street (in Meknes they have the best bread we ever tried in Morocco), in restaurants (Le Collier de la Colombe, where we had as a dessert a Pastilla au lait which was AMAZING!!!) and at the Riad.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2572653486/" title="Pastilla au lait by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3156/2572653486_f2bf15280d_m.jpg" alt="Pastilla au lait" height="240" width="160" /></a><br /><br />At the Riad we had the pleasure to eat camel tajine (actually dromedary): kudos Zora, the Moroccan girl who cooked it!!!<br /><br />For more pictures, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/sets/72157604912335141/">here</a>!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-44635828042095739692008-05-30T07:09:00.004+02:002008-05-30T07:32:30.959+02:00Food 2.0 NomNomNom<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2508174051/" title="Give me cake!!!! by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2508174051_c717813202.jpg" alt="Give me cake!!!!" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Sunday 18th May 2008 I was <a href="http://www.cookeryschool.co.uk/">here</a>, teamed with <a href="http://asliceofcherrypie.blogspot.com/">her</a>, doing <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/$latest_news/2008/04/21/announcing_the_first_food_20_nom_nom_nom_event">this</a>.<br />We cooked all <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/piperita/sets/72157605157691618/">this</a>.<br />We where among <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/participants">other people</a>, all cooking astonishing meals!<br />Everything was organized by <a href="http://london-underground.blogspot.com/">her</a> in partnership <a href="http://trustedplaces.com/">them</a>, with some outstanding <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/sponsors">sponsors</a>!<br />I spoke about it <a href="http://blog-en.san-lorenzo.com/2008/05/food-20-nom-nom-nom.html">here</a> and <a href="http://sl.san-lorenzo.com/2008/05/food-20.html">here</a> (Italian version) and there we published our entry even <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/team_3">here</a> (recipes included!!!And thanks to Julia for the wonderful job she did!)!<br />We had fun! Loads of fun!!!<br /><br />Now, after the <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/judges">tasting competition</a> (which we won!!!!! Yeah!), there is the on-line competition. And as you have just one food blogger in your mind, and you love her so much, <a href="http://www.webjam.com/nom_nom_nom/team_3"><span style="font-weight: bold;">GO and vote for us</span></a>! We Need you!!!<br /><br />P.S. I know this entry is kind of cryptic, but is there a best way to oblige you to go around the net than giving you cryptic hints???? ;)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-73148795545307259292008-05-28T23:12:00.000+02:002008-05-29T08:38:56.588+02:00Daring Bakers: Opera<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2532644565/" title="Opera by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2532644565_80963c18b3.jpg" alt="Opera" height="477" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Opera is a dessert I always wanted to try, but never found the courage! It is one of those dessert so complicate dan with so many different passages and layers, that, honestly, if it wasn't for the Daring Bakers, I would probably be still here wondering about it!<br />Funny thing is that before to make it, I wanted to compare the given recipes, a mix of Dorie Greenspan and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty's recipes, with the French recipes, but I couldn't find it!<br />Among my cook book collection, I have to French desserts bibles: Ph10, by Pierre Hermè and Larousse de desserts. None has the recipe for Opera. And that looked strange, given the fact that both books are filled with monstrous recipes, so difficult that sometimes I read them, I think about them I dream them, but I do not dare making them (and I'm not revealing which one is the most dreaded, because it will be my choice for the Daring bakers challenge I'm going to host in 2009!)! I wanted to have a look at the French recipe not because I wanted to change the recipe of the challenge, but just for comparison. Has it never occurred to you to have in front of you a recipes, especially desserts, and want a "second opinion", just to be sure, just to have a different view? To me it happens all the time!!! :)<br />So my only reference for this traditional French dessert were American recipes! Perfect! I mean, my French husband wasn't so sure about it, but I mean, is HE the daring baker??? No, he's not, he's just French! :P<br />And as the recipe turn out PERFECT, he could say nothing!!!!<br /><br />The only problem I had was the fault of the white chocolate: I like the taste (even if sometimes it tastes too much of vanilla!) but I hate working it! It spoils in a matter of seconds!<br /><br />I did a big rounded cake (jelly rolls are rare and difficult to find in Italy), and bakes the joconde in 3 different pan: 2 of the same size and one tinier, as I had only 2 pan of the same size.<br />But I solved the discrepancy among the 2 different size with blueberries!<br />My layers, from bottom to up:<br />- joconde, big size (wet with syrup)<br />- buttercream<br />- joconde, little one (wet with syrup), with a round of blueberries on the side<br />- buttercream, covered with blueberries<br />- joconde, big size (wet with syrup)<br />- chocolate mousse<br />- chocolate glaze<br /><br />As it was made of different joconde size, I had to restrain the cake in a ring, so I could fill it in a easier way.<br />Of course, as usually, I unmoulded to fast, and the chocolate glaze went on the side... After this challenge I can say with no doubt that I'm not cut for good and perfect looking desserts: I just cannot! I'm a pasticciona!!! (that in italian means kind of goofy but that makes mess all the time!)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-62413362132116789412008-05-19T10:29:00.000+02:002008-05-19T10:29:00.775+02:00Day 3 to 4 Up and down Fès<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494844626/" title="Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/2494844626_6d1ca02758_o.jpg" alt="Fès" height="215" width="550" /></a><br /><br />First we went down, then up, by another street, and then down again, to the bottom, and then, too tired to go up again, we took a petit taxi to go up... And like this for 3 days. And we didn't get tired of it... I would go up and down in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fes">Fès</a> for ever!<br />Even on a busy Sunday evening, pushed by everybody, shove by (stinky) donkeys and (rude) porters.<br />Because in Fès they push! All the time! And after 2 days you stop too to say "pardon" (French pronunciation, remember!)!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494027023/" title="Medina, Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3247/2494027023_363930bec5_o.jpg" alt="Medina, Fès" height="750" width="500" /></a><br /><br />That's strange, because in Paris and Milan they push you all the time, but I don't stop to say "Scusa" or "Pardon" and I get always pissed by rude people all the time. Especially in Paris, in the underground: gosh, they are SO rude...<br />But in Fès no, they are not rude (except porters), they simply do not have the same concept of physical space we have: they are not afraid to touch a stranger in the street, they are not afraid of physical contact, they are not afraid of people. They smile, they chat, they walk around, for leisure or going to work or school, always smiling.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494026791/" title="From the terrace, Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2123/2494026791_6f385c5912_o.jpg" alt="From the terrace, Fès" height="750" width="500" /></a><br /><br />And if you had the enormous fortune to live in Fès, well, you would smile too!<br />We left our hearts in Fès! It is the most beautiful city we have been in Morocco, where we had our first understanding of Moroccan life, our first real touch of what life is there.<br />It's very difficult to describe it, but it's the most fascinating city I ever been too. You cannot see it or understanding in 1 or 2 days. Even 3 are not enough. It's tiny, but mesmerizing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494026103/" title="From the terrace, Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/2494026103_6e204893b8_o.jpg" alt="From the terrace, Fès" height="354" width="500" /></a><br /><br />And our personal advice is to save money, eating in the street, to be able to go and eat to <a href="http://www.palaisdefes.com/">Le Palais de Fès</a>, on their terraces! The food is amazing, but the view is what is important... That view... It will never leave my mind... Ever... Le Palais de Fès does not have sign outside his door. Once you arrive down down and you arrive at R'Cif, and it looks like you are going out of the Medina but you are not, you arrive on a main street (don't bother to look for singpost: there aren't), follow it, and soon you'll find on your right a cinema. There is a little square before the cinema. From the center of the square, cinema on your right, main street behind you, you'll see a door, surrounded by green ceramics. That's the entrance to the restaurant. Then you go up and up and up...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494023735/" title="Palais de fés collage by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3070/2494023735_7940372089_o.jpg" alt="Palais de fés collage" height="750" width="500" /></a><br /><br />And be brave and go down until you find a part of the city tourist less, le quartier Andalous, on the eastern border of the Medina, and you can see real Morocco... And you eat a lot of nice, simple and tasty stuff, for nothing, as usual!!!<br />So tasty I couldn't wait to take a bite of the potato puff before to take the picture!!! :P<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494027293/" title="The Fry Fair of Fés by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/2494027293_2847a6fdc4_o.jpg" alt="The Fry Fair of Fés" height="330" width="500" /></a><br /><br />P.S. There is a way to enjoy Fès without the pushing: take a walk around 8am! Unforgettable!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494025543/" title="Outside the Medina, Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2121/2494025543_a3e6991962_o.jpg" alt="Outside the Medina, Fès" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /><br />For the whole set of pictures, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/sets/72157604912335141/">here</a>!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-77931878570312958932008-05-15T15:05:00.003+02:002008-05-15T15:29:43.751+02:00Day 2 Rain going to Fès<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494022661/" title="Sunset in Fès, Bab Bou Jeloud by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2264/2494022661_76af4d017a_o.jpg" alt="Sunset in Fès, Bab Bou Jeloud" height="600" width="400" /></a><br /><br />We took the bus at 6.45 am and leave Marrakech on a cold but sunny morning.<br />We have in front of us 8 hours of bus ride, in the mountains. Fun!<br />As soon as we leave Marrakech and we begin to go up, the weather changes and it becomes grey, rainy and cold!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494022405/" title="On the road to Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/2494022405_30b0ef75fb_o.jpg" alt="On the road to Fès" height="267" width="400" /></a><br /><br />We freeze in the bus, we freeze during the 3 stops we are allowed to go out of the bus to eat!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494840860/" title="Mint tea and not as good as it looks pastry by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2402/2494840860_ff3495b515_m.jpg" alt="Mint tea and not as good as it looks pastry" height="160" width="240" /></a><br /><br />First stop in the middle of the mountains, for breakfast: mint tea and some kind of patisserie. And, on the contrary of what you can think about looking at those pictures, the best thing was not the pastry in the back of the tea, but the rounded mega biscuit, that we called polentone: made mainly of butter and semolina, it's delicious!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494840918/" title="Polentone by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2494840918_580c57021a_m.jpg" alt="Polentone" height="145" width="240" /></a><br /><br />Back in to the bus, next stop in Kenifra for lunch (no picture, too cold!).<br />You have to know that on our first draft of our tour we wanted to make a night in Kenifra, just to cut in two the long journey to Fès. When we went to consult the lady of the Moroccan tourist office in Milan, she asked us why on earth we would like to stop there, as it was a city (more village) with nothing to see. My answer was (with a dreaming tone!): Because we want to watch real moroccan life goes by... She gave me one of the strangest look I've ever seen!<br />On second thought we decided we couldn't waste 1 entire day there, so we ended up doing the whole trip at once.<br />And, honestly, I do not know if it was the rain or the mud caused by the rain, but thank god we decided not to stop!!! Let's say we didn't have the best impression of the city and the tourist office lady was absolutely right!<br />Then the road again, the rain again and at last, Fès!<br />I do not want to spoil you all the wonderful thing we saw and we did in Fès. Allow just to say that if one day we really decide to go to live in Morocco, Fès will be our first choice, above ALL.<br />I give just a bite for now! Mind: it was sunset!<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494842954/" title="Sunset in Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2387/2494842954_ebb3fa4377_o.jpg" alt="Sunset in Fès" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494841112/" title="Sunset in Fès, Bab Bou Jeloud by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3224/2494841112_240bcd988e_o.jpg" alt="Sunset in Fès, Bab Bou Jeloud" height="267" width="400" /></a><br /><br />And then we ate our first Moroccan sandwich, made of marinated meat (with onion, garlic, coriander and other spices difficult to sort out), grilled in front of you, and actually in front of the butcher too, and filling the wonderful Moroccan bread (you can see it in the back) all together with a spicy sauce! Delicious!!! Shall i tell you how much was it? I dunno, because maybe you won't believe me... We ate in the street, walking, and we bought from a stall where there was all moroccan people... And I think we pay it anyway more then Moroccan do, but it was 2 euros for 2 big sandwiches... Nothing!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2494024323/" title="Yummy by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2281/2494024323_d56b7361a8_o.jpg" alt="Yummy" height="333" width="500" /></a><br /><br />For the whole set of pictures, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/sets/72157604912335141/">here</a>!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-51889143064704022042008-05-08T06:30:00.000+02:002008-05-08T06:30:00.677+02:00Day 1 Marrrakesh, a first bite<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2470619166/" title="Riad An nur, Marrakech by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2470619166_3a6295d781_o.jpg" alt="Riad An nur, Marrakech" height="800" width="533" /></a><br /><br />We left home on a Friday night, heading to my parents home, in Varese, where we left the cat and we slept few hours before leaving for the airport (Malpensa is much nearer to my parents house then to our home in Milan) at 4.30 am on a Saturday.<br />3 hours flight with <a href="http://www.easyjet.com/">EasyJet</a> from Milan to Marrakech, just the time to chat with a nice Moroccan woman living in Italy and traveling to her parent's house in Beni-Mellal, half way between Marrakech and Fès, as we will discover the day after...<br />We land in Marrakech the early morning of a wonderful sunny saturday (Morocco is two hours behind Italy) and we catch the bus heading to the city.<br />It's a short ride, 20 minutes at most, to arrive to the souther part of the famous Place Jemaa El Fna, which we do not explore then, but we begin to look for our riad: a little treat we indulge ourselves, as it will be the most expensive of all our trip.<br />The riad is on the map of the Guide Vert Michelin, but we soon discover, in the wrong location. Really in the wrong location!<br />But mind: we are still naive, we do not yet know how to act with "helpful" Moroccans...<br />And you have to know that Medinas, the Moroccan old city centers, are a labyrinth of noisy, narrow and cul-de-sac streets, with few exits and you get easily lost. And there isn't street names... And when there are street names, they are in Arab alphabet...<br />We were approached in the street by an old lady (you can normally trust women in Morocco, but they rarely speak to strangers) whom speaks only arab. She's trying to help us, we understand. So when she turn to a young guy explaining him (we suppose, as the conversation is in Arab) we are trying to find <a href="http://www.riadannur.ma/">Riad An Nur</a>, we gladly think that in the end, what all the travel guides tell you, is not really true: people in Morocco are genuine helping strangers in the street...<br />And of course we were WRONG. The young guy put us in the hands of another young guy who tells us to follow him. We of course follow him. But after 20 minutes going endlessly around the labyrinth, with no clear aim and we the feeling that he's just trying to making us feel even more lost, we decide we do not need is "help" anymore and we prefer to call the riad for specific directions.<br />But this guy is still following us, saying he know where to bring us, he knows where the riad is, he's helping us...<br />We kindly tell him, please, don't worry, we call the riad and they'll come to pick us up, thanks for your help... Nothing. He doesn't go away. And I tell you that the situation is beginning not only to piss us off, but to worry us...<br />We call the riad and the gentleman on the phone tell us to wait for him in front of the "bureau de tabac" (tobacconist). Only we do not find a bureau the tabac, because the guy that was trying to "help" us listened to everything, he's ahead of us and (supposedly) saying to everyone to give us wrong direction. We asked to the bureau de tabac if it was one, but they told us, no, sorry, we are not... But they were!<br />After looking around for 20 minutes, always followed by the guy, we finally find the riad gentlemen, Faissal whom get rid of the strange guy in a sec...<br />From that day we learned that never, under any circumstance, you should trust anyone who's approaching you in the street in Morocco. They seem nice, they smile at you, but all they want from you is money for nothing. They do not care about you, they do not care you are lost. They are just after your money, as a tip or a percentage on a selling or a room, in a way or another they just want your money. Sure they are not just trying to help.<br />Anyway, after this weird start, we enter the riad, and WOW!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2470619068/" title="Riad An nur, Marrakech by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3235/2470619068_52d000c207_o.jpg" alt="Riad An nur, Marrakech" height="525" width="350" /></a><br /><br />First of all, there is silence.<br />Then it's fresh, calm, clean...<br />It's a paradise, with a luxurious garden, wonderful suites, shadowy patios and sunny roof top...<br />And then,suddenly, we are affected by what we called "The Riad syndrome": you don't want to go out any more. You just want to stay there, lying on the bed, or on the sofa, or on the terrace, taking a refreshing shower, or a nap, or just reading... You want the riad be your home. Forever.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2469797149/" title="Riad An nur, Marrakech by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2193/2469797149_797571c47f_o.jpg" alt="Riad An nur, Marrakech" height="167" width="250" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />But deep deep inside you, you know you cannot...<br /></div>And so you go out of the door and boom: another world, another dimension! Noise, children loudly playing in the street, mopeds with their noisy horns, people trying to get you in their shop... But you begin to adjust and you like the outside too, because at the end you know you have a refuge...<br />Anyway, we forced ourself to go out because we had to eat and to buy the ticket for next day bus to Fès.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2470619280_da7de71467_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3154/2470619280_da7de71467_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So we go to the bus station. And suddenly, again, people asking us, in any language "where do you have to go?" And I'm almost starting to answer, but then I think why someone should care? And so we decide to ignore them: we knew, from the travel guides, it was better to travel with CTM, because all the others companies have very poor services. We find the CTM ticket counter and we buy our tickets for the day after 7 am bus to Fès: 8 hours of bus riding...<br />Then we head to Place Jemaa El Fna to eat.<br />We survey some stalks (constantly harassed by everybody, trying to convince us to eat at their place) and we chose one full of Moroccan people.<br />We have our first tajine de poulet au citron (Chicken with confit lemon Tajine) and grilled meat, with bread.<br />Bread was the most amazing discover of Morocco: the best we've ever tried! And you know why? Simple: is cooked in a wood oven. But I have time to tell you all about it!<br />Finally we can head back to our paradise!<br />A paradise with a kitchen, where, for not too many dirham (at least not compare to Europe, but a lot compare to the Morocco), you can have your dinner, cooked expressly for you by the riad cook (whom is normally the woman housekeeping the whole facility too). Moroccan cuisine, of corse! Salads, tajine, fruit salad, mint tea.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/2470619598_428e906e61_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2416/2470619598_428e906e61_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2470619720_cc5407a4a2_o.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2470619720_cc5407a4a2_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2394/2469797631_3b5984d719_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2394/2469797631_3b5984d719_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A luxury we'll experience again during our trip!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2470619526/" title="Minaret, Marrakech by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2386/2470619526_e3dbfd395a_o.jpg" alt="Minaret, Marrakech" height="525" width="350" /></a><br /><br />Next, Day 2 Rain going to Fès<br /><br />P.S. Let's say I wasn't SO inspired when I wrote this entry! ;) I hope to be less boring and more catchy with the following! :)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-63283297497398973862008-05-06T09:39:00.005+02:002008-05-15T15:55:09.300+02:00Morocco, the land where time stops...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2469690575/" title="Mint tea in Fès by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2240/2469690575_b1d87666ed_o.jpg" alt="Mint tea in Fès" height="800" width="533" /></a><br /><br />Morocco...<br />That's where I've been in the last two weeks... And that's where I would love to live the rest of my life!<br />Morocco...<br />A beautiful country, made of sand, sea, ocean and imperial cities...<br />Morocco...<br />The land where time really stops! At first we thought it was our watch, but soon realized that the whole country is inside a time capsules, where hours seem days, days seem weeks, weeks seem months...<br />For the first week I kept asking what time it was, and then suddenly saying: "That cannot be true! It cannot be still SO early!"... Then, little by little, the watch wasn't an issue any more: our day was scanned by the prayer callings coming from the minarets and filling the cities with their melodic verses... It wasn't any more a matter of what time it was: we were living fully (and, honestly, still are) in the Moroccan way...<br /><br />Our trip was fairly classic for a two week first exploration of Morocco. We toured the imperial cities and did a short escaped towards the desert.<br />Moroccan currency is <span style="font-weight: bold;">dirham</span>. It's better you change you foreign money at the airport: the rates are very good (at least for euro) and there is no commission. Don't do the grumpy tourist that try to pay everything in US dollars and get pissed if robbed! ;)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Credit cards</span> are accepted only in few places and they normally add a commission of 5%. On the other hand there is plenty of cash dispensers.<br />We travelled in <span style="font-weight: bold;">public transports</span>, train, buses and taxis.<br />We stayed mainly in awesome <span style="font-weight: bold;">riad</span>, the traditional Moroccan house: a cube with no outside wall windows, but windows facing the inner court where there was a large open area, with a fountain or a garden, with lots of light. It normally comes with a huge terrace on the roof. We booked all of them before to go (and I strongly recommend it!).<br />We used two <span style="font-weight: bold;">travel guides</span>: an old Routard, from 2000, and a newer Guide Vert Michelin, 2007. Both weren't up to the task, honestly. Maybe we should have used the Lonely Planet instead, but we wanted to keep it French, for once...<br />As none of us can speak <span style="font-weight: bold;">Arab</span> (or should I say Moroccan?), we spoke <span style="font-weight: bold;">French</span> all the time. It's not that Moroccan people doesn't know any other foreign language, they do, but French is more natural for them. And French is anyway the second language of Morocco. French is essential if you want to go to Morocco by yourself.<br />We didn't bought a carpet but if you want to, we strongly recommend you to look up the prices for Moroccan carpets in your country, so at least you know against which price you should <span style="font-weight: bold;">haggle</span>. Because Morocco is the land of haggling too! 99% of what is sold doesn't have a price tag, and Moroccan just love to haggle! A lady on the train told us that they haggle for tomatoes and carrots too!!!<br /><br />In the next weeks I will publish an accurate account of our trip, full of pictures and stories...<br /><br />Do not expect too much <span style="font-weight: bold;">food</span>! Not because we didn't have it, but because after the second tajine, looking all the same, you stop taking pictures...<br />Moroccan food is very very good, but, unluckily, it doesn't excel in variety: tajine, tajine, grilled meat, tajine, fried fish, tajine again and then, on friday, couscous and then tajine again... And then, of course, their wonderful patisserie! But I don't want to spoil the fun of reading the next posts!<br /><br />Stay tuned for:<br /><a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/05/day-1-marrrakesh-first-bite.html">Day 1 Marrrakesh, a first bite</a><br /><a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/05/day-2-rain-going-to-fs.html">Day 2 Rain going to Fès</a><br />Day 3 to 4 Up and down Fès<br />Day 5 to 6 Meknes and the King<br />Day 7 to 9 Salè and Rabat, the old and the new<br />Day 10 The hot train and the harassing city<br />Day 11 The (almost) desert<br />Day 12 to 14 Too much harass, too much heat and too much almond milk<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2469690541/" title="Marrakech by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/2469690541_e61e1a38d4_o.jpg" alt="Marrakech" height="703" width="550" /></a>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-16431673469995968912008-04-16T07:41:00.004+02:002008-04-16T08:46:32.656+02:00Canned peaches from Monate's Lake<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2413364382/" title="Madeleine with Monate Lake's canned peaches by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2326/2413364382_dd7bff7c48.jpg" alt="Madeleine with Monate Lake's canned peaches" height="500" width="449" /></a><br /><br />I was born in the Lake region of Italy: only around <a href="http://www.vareselandoftourism.it/en/index2.html">Varese</a> there are 7 lakes (famous for a hard bike tour): Varese, Maggiore, Comabbio, Biandronno, Monate, Ghirla, Ganna ! Well, do not imagine lakes of the size of an American lake: no, nothing like that! They small lakes, but very very picturesque... Those lakes are very lucky with the climate, and always blessed with mild weather.<br />Once, many years ago, I was wandering around the <a href="http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/">Lake District</a>, in England, and I suddenly felt like I was home: the two landscape are very similar!<br />The <a href="http://www.illagomaggiore.com/?set_language=en&cl=en">Lago Maggiore</a>, being the biggest of the 7 (Maggiore means bigger), is well known and very beautiful... But all the other lakes are a popular destination during the summer, especially Lago di Monate, being one of the few where you can bath, and being very clean too! :)<br />Around Lago di Monate, there are several orchards, and the most famous are peaches, especially canned peaches.<br />Forget all about the normal, chewy and tasteless canned peaches you find in supermarkets: those are something else!<br />First of all, they are still firm! And they are not all the same: each halve is different from the other, because that's nature: nothing is exactly similar to the rest!<br />And then the flavour: awesome! Fresh, almost as if just picked from the tree!<br /><br />For the picture above, I just drained them, blended them and then use them as a sauce for madeilenes! :)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-37856433922189200022008-03-30T10:33:00.005+02:002008-03-31T11:10:56.729+02:00Daring Bakers: Perfect Party Cake<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2375979097/" title="Daring bakers Party Cake by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2375979097_43c3ecde06_o.jpg" alt="Daring bakers Party Cake" height="800" width="531" /></a><br /><br />[Update: the pictures were added Monday, 31 March 2008, at 8.56, Italy Time for the reasons explained below]<br /><br />Oh gosh, it's today! I though it was for tomorrow!<br />I was freely going around the net this morning, when I hit my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">FaceBook</a> page and saw a random status message from Jean Aw, <a href="http://www.tastespotting.com/">Tastespotting</a> founder, saying "... it's that time of month ~ the Daring Bakers have struck again..." (I think on the daring baker day she receives hundreds of picture of the same cake: must be real fun for her! ;) and I thought: oh my, is it TODAY?<br />Then I saw that <a href="http://www.creampuffsinvenice.ca/">Ivonne</a> poked me (always on FaceBook), as to wake me up, and then it struck me: IT IS TODAY!!! and my pictures are on the other computer! F@#§*!!!<br />For pictures you should wait the early morning of tomorrow, which means that in some part of the eastern world will be still sunday, so I should be "safe"! :)<br />And if you do not believe me I made it, you can ask to my friend <a href="http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/">Sara</a>: she ate it at the beginning of March, when I made it, and she loved it! Although she asked me repeatedly for the recipe and I was oblige to tell her that it was a secret! :P<br />This cake was honestly AMAZING!!!<br />As everybody else experienced, this cake was marvellous!<br />At the beginning I was a bit concerned about the fact that no yolk are used in cake base, but this trick turned out to be so clever! I had a wonderfully light and fluffy base!<br />And for once I turned off the fan in my oven and baked the cake with heat coming from below and the upper part, and it came out perfectly flat, not in a dome shape like all the other time I baked a fluffy base!<br />I was relieved I wasn't obliged to make the buttercream: I'm in a low sugar kind of diet, so buttercream will be so wrong for me! So I decided to go for whipped cream, with little sugar.<br />I used blackberries jam (without sugar) for the filling and raspberries for the final touch, that as usually with me, turned out to be fairly simple, although right now I'm carving in front of Ivonne and <a href="http://tartelette.blogspot.com/">Tartellete</a> pictures, just to name two! :) And you can check out all the others <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">here</a>!<br />I promise, tomorrow first thing in the morning, the pictures! Wait for them!<br /><br />P.S. I forgot that a shot of the cake was <a href="http://kitchenpantry.tumblr.com/post/29164054">already on-line</a>, in a Nigella Lawson style, with a friend holding it! :D<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2376814884/" title="Daring Bakers Party cake, cut by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2376814884_2be402963c_m.jpg" alt="Daring Bakers Party cake, cut" height="240" width="160" /></a><br /><br />[note to self: it's not the first time FaceBook saves my butt, so stop saying bad thing about it, ok?]Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-872275483719509992008-03-27T21:36:00.007+01:002008-03-27T22:06:29.454+01:00The Recipe Writer's Handbook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.recipewritershandbook.com/images/cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.recipewritershandbook.com/images/cover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Here I am, neglecting my blog since ages and then, what do I publish? A book review! Not even a recipe and not even a picture! Bad Sara, bad!<br />But my book review is more useful then anything you can think of... My book review is about a book, as you can easily understand for the title, that will change your life...<br />Ehm, let's say it will change your way to write recipes, then your life, I dunno, it's your choice!!!<br />I bought it when I already decided that writing recipes was too boring for me... Don't ask me what made me push the "buy it" button on amazon. Let's simply thank I did!<br />The book as a simple structure: philosophy, style, testing, terminology, preferred spelling, metrics... Ok, nothing life changing there.<br />The life chancing experience lays in the reading of all this.<br />You have to know that in Italy the concept of an handbook is not very clear: we are not a self-help society, that's it. If we have to write an handbook, well, we use so many word to go to the point that most people get lost in between. Or at least I do.<br />In the <a href="http://www.recipewritershandbook.com/">The Recipe Writer's Handbook</a> you cannot get lost: you simply follow the trail they lay in front of you and you are on and rocking, baby!<br />Soon you'll see all the wonderful flower that will blossom form my reading, and to be sure to follow them, do not forget to check out <a href="http://themakingoftheperfectbite.blogspot.com/">my other blog</a> (update will soon come!).<br />And if you feel lonely and you miss me too much, check out <a href="http://kitchenpantry.tumblr.com/">my tumblr too</a>.<br />and if you feel very social, well, <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2007/07/food-blogger-20-how-to-recognize-one.html">look for me on social networks</a>: there are many where I'm fairly active!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-9897418459005912002008-03-11T16:04:00.003+01:002008-03-11T16:22:13.575+01:00Kheer, Indian rice pudding<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2326170481/" title="Kheer, Indian rice pudding, the rose bud by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3123/2326170481_64536eb7a6_o.jpg" alt="Kheer, Indian rice pudding, the rose bud" height="800" width="532" /></a><br /><br />I have recently became accustomed to <a href="http://www.bollywoodworld.com/">Bollywood</a> movies! They rock!!! I love them!!!<br />So, when my friend <a href="http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/">Sara</a> (my Bollywood movies pusher) proposed a Bollywood night, well, I jumped in with great pleasure!!! :)<br />And I proposed to bring an old favourite of my husband: the Indian rice pudding.<br />It's a really soothing dessert, fairly simple, but worthy to the best tables, as my friend <a href="http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/">Sara</a> is! :)<br />I will never stop to thank her for her Thanksgiving turkey!!!<br />And as she always scold me that I should write recipes, because, at the end "you have a food blog and that's what you should do!" (and she's right, I know, but it's SO boring writing recipes!!!), here's the recipe! :)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1,2 l milk</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">75 g basmati rice, rinsed</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">100 g sugar</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">150 g raisins, golden and Corinth</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">1 piece of cinnamon</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">6 cardamom</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">2 teaspoon rosewater</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Flaked almond and rose bud to adorn</span><br /><br />Bring the milk to boil. Add the rinsed rice and stir with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes, then leave it to cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally, on a very low fire.<br />Add sugar, raisins, cinnamon and cardamom and cook for another hour, stirring frequently.<br />At the end of the cooking time, it should look like a cream.<br />Far from the fire add rose water, stir and transfer everything in a serving bowl. Cover with the flaked almond, adorn with the rose buds and let it cool.<br />Enjoy it in front a nice bollywood movie!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2326986372/" title="Kheer, Indian rice pudding by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3172/2326986372_dcd15dc46e.jpg" alt="Kheer, Indian rice pudding" height="500" width="332" /></a>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-85980557563094409472008-03-06T08:32:00.006+01:002008-03-06T11:45:05.151+01:00This is, may be, too much...This morning I was happily going through my March issue of <a href="http://www.olivemagazine.co.uk/">Olive</a> (courtesy of my kind friend <a href="http://www.sarahblow.com/">Sarah Blow</a>), one of the prominent British food magazine, and I found an article titled "Cheap Shots. Even Michelin-starred chef need to know how to cook on a budget. Olive reveals how the professional cut down on food bills without compromising quality".<br />Well, well, well...<br />I began to read and after few lines I thought: "WTF (and not in <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/02/wtf.html">David's exception Welcome to France!</a> ;D)!!!"<br />Do they really think we are all so stupid that if <a href="http://gordonramsay.com/maze/">Jason Atherton</a> tells us that he uses FROZEN PEAS for <a href="http://gordonramsay.com/maze/">Maze</a>'s pea risotto we simply think "oh, how cute, how sensitive" and we do not make the equation: "WTF, why should I pay that ridiculous amount of money for his frozen pea risotto and they do not even have the guts to write it down on the menu they are using frozen ingredients???" I do not know in Uk, but in Italy there is a law that oblige you to do so...<br />And it's not just by chance that the advertisement of the exact brand of frozen peas used by Jason Atherthon appears on the side page of this article... That's sad, you know? That's the lowest advertisement can get...<br />And <a href="http://oloroso.co.uk/index.php">Tony Singh</a>, stating the Italian Extra-virgin Olive oil is over-priced and he prefers cheap Greek olive oil... WTF! Simply say you prefer Greek, but do not spit on one of the best products in the world (which, by the way, for its quality, it is not over-priced!)... And then he goes on saying that he uses only Normandy butter!!! Which, of course, it is not over-priced, right?<br />WTF! Who do you think you are making fun of???<br /><br />Really, do they really think this is good publicity?<br />Do they really think that stating that frozen peas are used in one of <a href="http://gordonramsay.com/">Gordon Ramsay</a>'s restaurant will attract more people because they feel they are "frugal"???<br />Common... We are not THAT stupid...<br />Do it, but do not say it, please! We already know you do it, but we want to think that you are not proud of it...Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-11361114069322507702008-02-29T08:10:00.000+01:002008-02-29T08:09:29.227+01:00Daring Bakers: Julia Child's French Bread<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2296058546/" title="Julia Child's French Bread by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3086/2296058546_95d35451bc.jpg" alt="Julia Child's French Bread" height="500" width="391" /></a><br /><br />I love Julia Child! Love, love, love her! Last summer I read her biography and I was just startled by her voice: clear, gentle, friendly...<br />So, when I saw this month challenge I thought: "GREAT! A dream comes true!!!"<br />I knew that when <a href="http://breadchick.com/">Mary</a> and <a href="http://iliketocook.blogspot.com/">Sara</a> chose this particular recipe they were going in the right direction toward the true spirit of the Daring Bakers!<br />Never, in the whole of my life, I would ever dared to make a bread that needs an entire day to be made!!!<br />And by an entire, I mean it: I began around 10am last Sunday and I end up with the bread ready to be cut for dinner, around 8 pm!<br />An overall 6 hours of rising it was a mystic experience!<br />Ad the rules were allowing me to use a stand mixer, I bail out, and I used my beloved one... But the time you have to wait, the fact that you have to be patient and careful while your gluten is forming to the right consistent, and the fact that you have to wait other 2 to 3 hours to let it cool before to eat... Well, it was a mystic experience!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2295265091_19a410b4ea_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2295265091_19a410b4ea_m.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Of course the bread didn't come out like the one you buy in France, even if I used French flour to make it!<br />As Julia, Mary and Sara say the problem is the home oven!<br />But I NEVER made a bread with that kind of breadcrumb!!! It was amazing! And I was so pleased!<br />Expecially beacuse, remember, I married a French! And he was very pleased to!!!<br />To celebrate we ate it with a nice Fois Gras aux pruneaux we bought last time we were in France! A glorious dinner!<br /><br />Thanks <a href="http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/">Daring bakers</a> to make me dare!!!!<br /><a href="http://breadchick.com/?p=336">Here the recipe by Breadchick Mary.</a><br /><br />P.S. I know, I know: the windows in my home have horrible dirty glass! I hate to clean windows! Every time I do it, it rains the very next day! Let's just hope my mum do not see this picture!!!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-76471125550892480802008-02-27T17:27:00.004+01:002008-02-28T14:24:27.197+01:00As seen on tv<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGbKVJRi0je2CPmFd-XolcRHWfYlOG5Vu9yMJ0GA2aDEdUAobGTfVrSo_yFhCF5ZTbfgucUTXU5Crnp1EfUasvImH5FOn8LZZCDyhyphenhyphenSWCpMSHv_zILqVXAWf419LDj4AyOclF/s1600-h/_MG_5244+-+Version+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGbKVJRi0je2CPmFd-XolcRHWfYlOG5Vu9yMJ0GA2aDEdUAobGTfVrSo_yFhCF5ZTbfgucUTXU5Crnp1EfUasvImH5FOn8LZZCDyhyphenhyphenSWCpMSHv_zILqVXAWf419LDj4AyOclF/s320/_MG_5244+-+Version+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172021084574427154" border="0" /></a>Or at least on Italian television...<br />Which I seldom watch, but just the other day I catch a glimpse of this thing pictured left... and I thought: "OMG!"<br />Then with my on-line grocery shopping it came as a nice little present. As fate was guiding me in such clear ways, could I ever avoid to try it???<br />I mean, I have to keep informed on the latest trends ALL my readers, shouldn't I?<br />So, for the only sake of this blog, I've tried it!<br />Almost two years ago, when I was still writing this blog in my mother language, I wrote a <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2006/03/dipendenze.html">post</a> about the fact that I am a <a href="http://www.ferrero.com/eng/index.html">Kinder Ferrero</a> junky! And I really am! Not only nutella (even if know I changed <a href="http://san-lorenzo.com/en">producer</a> for the simple reason that the <a href="http://san-lorenzo.com/en/store/scheda.aspx?idCategoria=163&idProdotto=196">one they sell</a> is much better), but all the range produced by Ferrero has some kind of impact on my nervous system, such as every time I take a bite of one of their product I suddenly feel happy...<br />I know that they are a big corporation, that the list of the ingredient is longer than my average post and that their international web site has music (and there is not a way to stop it!!!), but I like it and I can't help it: it a fact about myself!<br />As much as I love my husband (AND Ewan McGregor, of course!), I love Ferrero products too...<span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Collegamento" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"></span></span>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-81639421312889715542008-02-18T15:15:00.003+01:002008-02-18T15:23:38.296+01:00The new credoIt can sound very snobbish, it can sound very overconfident, but I personally feel like him:<br /><br />"Are you a blogger too? Give me your camera. I’ll take a really blurry, close-up picture of the grapefruit in my salad. When do you think people are going to start making fun of bloggers?"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.7x7sf.com/eat_drink/blog/15565812.html">Danny Meyer</a> via <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/">Serious Eats</a>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-45506338827791269412008-02-14T08:42:00.000+01:002008-02-14T11:33:30.545+01:00You are my Catcher Block I’m your Barbara Novak<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2264798748/" title="Chocolate, ricotta, yogurt and ginger spoon cake by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2264798748_9ba66bf78d.jpg" width="500" height="402" alt="Chocolate, ricotta, yogurt and ginger spoon cake" /></a><br /><br />You are my Christian I’m your Satine.<br />You are my Norman Warne I’m your Beatrix Potter.<br />You are my Lincoln 6 Echo I’m your Jordan 2 Delta.<br />You are my Frank Churchill I’m your Jane Fairfax.<br />You are my Jerome I’m your Nagiko.<br />You are my Renton I’m your Diane.<br /><br />I was never, and never will be, one of those beautiful women people turn to watch in the streets, but you turned for me.<br />I was never, and never will be, one of those girls all smiles and “yes darling”, but that’s what you love about me.<br />I was never, and never will be, one of those women that will celebrate Valentine’s day, but you don’t care either. And you don’t mind if I have a meeting (<a href="http://www.girlgeekdinnersitalia.com/">to organize this</a>) for tonight.<br />I was never, and never will be low maintenance, but that’s why you love me.<br />I always was and will always be a major pain in the @#§*, but that’s WHY you love me!<br />And, “It doesn't take a Nazi rocket scientist to figure *that* out”!<br />And I will always be the girl that makes you laugh, that makes you smile and that makes you a chocolate cake!!!<br /><br />And this year, a chocolate, ricotta, yoghurt and ginger spoon cake, all for you, with all my love!<br /><br />P.S. This post is part of the series "Only 10 people in the word understand my quotations, one of whom is me, one my husband and the other the subject of them, but he doesn't read my blog, better, he doesn't know I exists". For the rest... Well, I won't tell you my "secret": guess it! ;)Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-15503658822458766732008-02-06T13:11:00.000+01:002008-02-06T13:19:49.084+01:00Raw, part 3: lemon salmon<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2245695033/" title="Lemon Salmon by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2245695033_6ae961ae10.jpg" alt="Lemon Salmon" height="500" width="333" /></a><br /><br />As my Sorrento Lemons were such an hit with the <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/daring-bakers.html">Daring Baker Challenge Lemon Meringue Pie</a>, I thought to use them to marinate some <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-have-new-friend.html">my salmon</a> too... Well, my husband thought of it...<br /><br />As simple as sad: thinly slice some salmon fillet and cover it with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Let it marinate for 20-30 minutes.<br />Then enjoy it!<br /><br />A short note on this raw posts: <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-have-new-friend.html">as you read</a>, few days ago I bought a whole salmon of 2 kilos. I processed all that night, but as I'm lazy (and wise), I'll give slow sips of what I did with it. This doesn't mean I ate the fish, raw, after 1 week. It only means I ate it that night, took picture of it, then published it little by little...Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-26330609635259486772008-02-04T15:01:00.000+01:002008-02-04T16:20:36.416+01:00Piperita DIYWell, this is not the DNA to create your own Piperita from one of my hair: one Piperita is enough in this world I can assure you!!! ;)<br />This week-end I felt handy and so I decided, after a short conversation earlier in the week with <a href="http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/">Sara</a>, to build a light box!<br />And as I'm always thinking BIG, I built a huge light box, 70cmx70cm...<br />Anyway, let's begin from the beginning!<br />So, earlier last week I was chatting with <a href="http://www.msadventuresinitaly.com/blog/">Sara</a>, and she asked me if I was using light box, I said no, that I was simply shooting in raw and adjusting white balance (and all the rest) with <a href="http://www.apple.com/aperture/">Aperture</a>. But then I began to wonder: why don't I have a light box???<br />So I decided to build one. I search the net and I found various options, but the one that suited me most seemed <a href="http://www.philoking.com/2007/10/16/do-it-yourself-light-box/">this</a> (thanks Jason for sharing!).<br />Saturday morning, after a very good night sleep, we woke up quite early, so I popped the dreaded question: shall we go to <a href="http://www.castorama.fr/store/html/homepage/home-page.jsp">Castorama</a>, my love?<br />A little note: <a href="http://www.castorama.fr/store/html/homepage/home-page.jsp">Castorama</a> and <a href="http://www.ikea.com/">Ikea</a> are very close in Carugate, on the outskirts of Milan AND we need to move the car to go there: a major stress!<br />I think his mind went directly to a blu and yellow sign, because a fear look appeared in his eyes: he knows that everytime I say Castorama I mean Ikea too...<br />But a saint look appeared in my eyes, and a nimbus popped out of nowhere over my head, matching my saint eyes, saying: "Me? Me I want to go to <a href="http://www.castorama.fr/store/html/homepage/home-page.jsp">Castorama</a> AND <a href="http://www.ikea.com/">Ikea</a>, spend a lot of money and be in the middle of Saturday crowd??? Noo, not me: I'm a Saint!" Saint Piperita martyr from Varese, died on a Saturday morning walked over the Ikea crowd... ;)<br />Anyway, there we went, and I have to say I was extremely pleased: it was a wonderful productive morning!<br />We went to <a href="http://www.ikea.com/">Ikea</a> (I'm a major candle addicted!) and <a href="http://www.castorama.fr/store/html/homepage/home-page.jsp">Castorama</a>, but they didn't have all I needed! And when I asked the exact material I was looking for, they looked at me as if I was the crazy housewife form Brugherio (sorry, this "joke" is only for people living in Milan...) and I was asking for a ready made kit to build a conservatory... I just wanted to build a light box!<br />I bought fabric in Ikea and 1 roll of carpet tape - two sided, 4 mt long in Castorama, but they didn't have the right type of foam... So, my last chance was to look for it at the Brico in Viale Monza, actually 4 underground stops from where we live...<br />And of course at the little brico we found everything!<br />Going back home we even stopped at a neighbour market and by 11.30 we were home, all packed, weekly grocery shopping too! Very productive!<br />And then I began with the light box... With the cat help, of course, as he likes a lot foam!!!<br />And I built the monster exactly as Jason instructs...<br />My only concern was related to the size of it: too big to keep it built all the time, so, instead of using rubber tape to stick it together, I used toothpicks, as hinges... And they worked!<br />My only problem now is the weather: I need nice spring days with a lot of sun! Or better bulbs...<br />Anyway, welcome my dear light box... And to welcome you I put on a new header, thanks to the light box, <a href="http://www.apple.com/aperture/">aperture</a> and <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/index.html">photoshop</a>!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-41985237294418882932008-01-31T17:52:00.000+01:002008-02-06T13:18:59.507+01:00Raw, part 2: chirashi, kind of<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2232408975/" title="Salmon raw, part 2 by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2050/2232408975_57c241db73.jpg" alt="Salmon raw, part 2" height="500" width="333" /></a><br /><br />Well, the real <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushi#Chirashizushi">chirashi</a> is obviously different, better, with more fish...<br />I've tried my best with what I had: <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-have-new-friend.html">it</a>!<br />So I used the same thin slices I used for the <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/raw-part-1-sushi-kind-of.html">sushi</a> and instead of doing little balls of the sushi rice, I put everything in a bowl, cover it with the fish and sprinkled it with a Japanese chilli pepper mix.<br /><br />A short note on this raw posts: <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-have-new-friend.html">as you read</a>, few days ago I bought a whole salmon of 2 kilos. I processed all that night, but as I'm lazy (and wise), I'll give slow sips of what I did with it. This doesn't mean I ate the fish, raw, after 1 week. It only means I ate that night, took picture of it, then published it little by little...Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-63344246765904676122008-01-29T09:03:00.000+01:002008-02-06T13:19:33.068+01:00Raw, part 1: sushi, kind of<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2227486565/" title="Salmon raw, part 1 by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2305/2227486565_2361e0d704.jpg" alt="Salmon raw, part 1" height="351" width="500" /></a><br /><br />A short note on this raw posts: <a href="http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-have-new-friend.html">as you read</a>, few days ago I bought a whole salmon of 2 kilos. I processed all that night, but as I'm lazy (and wise), I'll give slow sips of what I did with it. This doesn't mean I ate the fish, raw, after 1 week. It only means I ate it that night, took picture of it, then published it little by little...<br /><br />With my sushi book at end, I cleaned and cut the salmon accordingly to sushi cuts, and ended up with several fillets. A good part of them is nicely sleeping in the freezer, ready to be cooked. Few of them were processed as raw... While I was doing it, I wished for a <a href="http://www.japanese-knife.com/">thin Japanese knife</a>... And I think I begin to save money for it... May be I'll be able to buy one before my eighty birthday...<br />My husband made sushi rice: he's better than me at it! You can find <a href="http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=how+to+make+sushi+rice">many recipes for that on-line</a>...<br />Once cooled, decided to make some little nice bowl, lay them on individual spoons, cover them with a thin slice of salmon fillet, and add over it some berries of pink pepper... I have to say that rwa salmon and pink pepper work like a blast: they are wonderful!!!Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20725292.post-85630774870281156952008-01-28T09:50:00.000+01:002008-01-28T10:18:41.415+01:00Daring Bakers: Lemon Meringue Pie<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2225798250/" title="Lemon meringue pie, open by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2202/2225798250_fd9a67f3f0.jpg" alt="Lemon meringue pie, open" height="500" width="438" /></a><br /><br />Ah, the American classic, the one you see in every diner in American movies! The sumptuous, meringue pie with a bright yellow cream filling!!!<br />When I read what the new challenge would be I was really excited!!! <a href="http://canadianbaker.blogspot.com/">Jen, the Canadian Baker</a> made a wonderful choice!<br />I began to read the recipe and I was a bit struck: water and not milk in the cream?<br />But, as usually with our daring bakers recipes, everything worked! Water in the cream, yes, as it's lighter, and with so much lemon you do not even notice it!<br />The lemon scent and flavour was perfect! I do not know if it was because I used organic <a href="http://tasteofsorrento.sorrentoinfo.com/prodotti/limone_sorrento_eng.asp">lemons from Sorrento</a>, the best lemon you can find in Europe, but it was the right balance of tangy and sweet!<br /><br />The friends that ate it were very pleased! And me too, even if I would preferred a harder meringue, but that's all my fault: I'm always afraid of burning meringue!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/piperita/2225798202/" title="Lemon meringue Pie by Piperita Patty, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2365/2225798202_0471dd2c98.jpg" alt="Lemon meringue Pie" height="500" width="426" /></a>Sara - Piperitahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05409230843366488250noreply@blogger.com