Queen of Hearts Queen of Spades

One of my favorite characters from Disney's Alice in Wonderland is, of course, the magnificent Queen of Hearts: she is so mean, so pushy, so overbearing, so merciless that it's a real pleasure to watch her punishing a very annoining Alice!
To the contrary, in the book, I stand with Alice against the dictatorial Queen...
And now my mind is wondering in the realm of how wrong are some adaptation, especially for young minds, ready to be shaped and that will never read the original book...
But back to the recipe!!!
It happens that I own those cute cutters in the shapes of the symbols of a deck of cards, and sometime I remember to use them!

Carrots and courgettes pie

Puff pastry
1 courgette
1 carrot
1 onion
1 glass of milk
Salt and pepper
Egg yolk to brush

Preheat the oven at 180° C.
Lay the puff pastry and cut it to cover completely a cake mold (remember that you need to cover this pie, so cut wisely!).
Dice the vegetables. Warm the salted and peppered milk.
lay the vegetable inside the covered pan, cover with the milk, then cover the pie with the remaining puff pastry. Decorate the pie with the shape of your choice, brush with the egg yolk and bake until golden and puffed.

Madly baking!

"Waiter there's something in my bread" really encouraged my bakery instincts! After the bread I baked yesterday my only thought was: "Bake! Bake! Bake!"!!! Plus I was truly inspired by some of the wonderful entries, and especially by Patricia's recipe, so I hope she won't mind if I made something similar, yet different, to her wonderful Berry Twist Bread!
It was days I was looking for something not to sweet for breakfast, but I didn't want to wait for an entire overnight fridge rise (as fo the French brioche), so I've used the basic recipe for Stollen, from Patisserie Maison, and I changed it just a little, to meet my objectives...

15 g of fresh yeast
13 cl of lukewarm milk
100 g of strong flour
300 g of flour
2 tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of grounded nutmeg
4 egg yolks
75 g of melted butter

60 g of raisins
40 g of pistachio nuts

4 tablespoons of marmalade

First make the dough. As usually I've used my wonderful Kenwood chef with the kneader hook.
In the kneader bowl dissolve the yeast in the milk, let it rest for 10 minutes, then add all the ingredients, except raisins, pistachio nuts and marmalade.
Begin to knead at the lowest speed and after 10 minutes, knead at speed 2 for 5 minutes, then lower the speed at minimum and knead for another 5 minutes.
Make a ball and let it rise for 1 hour and half, covered with a tea towel.
After the given time, knead a little (by hand this time) and begin to add raisins and pistachio nuts. Once they are completely mixed with the dough, roll it out on a floured surface on a rectangle 1 centimeter thick. Spread it with the marmalade (I've used homemade orange marmalade), roll it, fasten the ends, and let it rise for another hour in a cake pan.
Preheat the oven at 170° C.
Once is well risen again, bake it for 30 minutes.

Serve cold with a nice mug of coffee!
Enjoy!

Waiter, there's somenthing in my... bread!

I find this monthly challenge very interesting, not only for the funny title, but even for the theme they choose! And it's indeed a challenge fo me: never made a pie before and I'm not so much of a bready person. I like to eat bread, but make it sometimes seem to long and complicated... But since I discovered how a wonderful kneader is my Kenwood chef, well, why buying it when I can make it??? And, by the way, in Milan you can only find the worst bread in the world, so...
This bread is a complete invention: I had some provolone piccante and some pine nuts in the fridge (the pine nuts were in the fridge because I've toasted them some weeks ago...) and I wanted to use them together. And as the thyme is blossoming on the balcony, I added some fresh springs... Et voilà!

10 g of fresh yeast
2 pinches of sugar
300 ml of warm water
100 g of strong flour
100 g of semolina flour
400 g of hard wheat flour
150 g of provolone piccante (but emmenthal or mature cheddar will be fine too), grated
60 g of toasted pine nuts
Few springs of fresh thyme, minced

In the kneader bowl crumble the fresh yeast, add sugar and dissolve everything with the warm water. Once the yeast is begging to bubble, add strong flour, semolina flour, 300 g of hard wheat flour, cheese and thyme. I haven't added salt because the cheese is very savory.
Knead until you have a nice and silky ball, adding more flour if needed. Transfer the ball in a glass bowl, cover it with film and let it double in a warm environment (45 minutes - 1 hour will do).
Preheat the oven at 200° C.
Once the bread is doubled, punch it and work it a bit, then resize it in a ball and lay it on a floured baking tray, covering it with the glass bowl upside down. Let it rise for 30 - 45 minutes.
Once is well risen, dust the surface, make criss cross cuts, and cook it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until knocking on the bottom you can hear an empty sound.
Let it cool completely before to slice it. Yeah, I know it's hard to resist to freshly baked bread...

Enjoy!

Verrines, again and again and again...

Ok, I have to admit it: I'm obsessed with verrines... It's that once you've started making them, your only thought will be about making them every time someone come along... They are so cute, so fast and so flexible that they scream: "MAKE ONE"! Now do you understand why on the last Cuisine et vins de France there were at least 20 recipes with/in them? Do you realize why in France they sell special glasses? (though mine were bought and made in Italy) And I even fund a wonderful catalogue that sells them in plastic, in different shapes...
And this one was practically invented: I said to my French hubby (that lives in Italy since 2001, but verrines must be in French dna...) "I would like to make verrines for tonight's dinner, possibly with rillettes..." And we came up with this: on the bottom goose rillettes, grated carrots, blanched broad beans and some swirls of fresh goat cheese coated with just a little bit of pepper... They liked them... And someone (and I'm not saying the name, but begins with F) said that my first attempts weren't so good... Well, as the proud cook I am, I thought about it, and I found on this very blog my first attempt with verrine... But maybe, judging by the date of the post, it was my first published attempt...

Strolling around Milan, second part

Free your mind, listen to my voice and imagine what I'm going to describe you.
An interesting building, modern, all glass and metal, headquarters of the most important economical newspaper in Italy. A big hall, very airy and with loads of natural light. The opening of a little (very very little) exposition about ten "food bag" realized by ten young designers and (supposedly, as I haven't seen any...) pictures of the new Ferran Adrià collection of tablewares. On the sides of the big hall two buffet station with some young chefs preparing, live, the buffet, a mix of wonderful little dishes, spoons and verrines.
And now fill all the big space, plus the big garden, with a crowd (between 200 and 300) of hungry people, elegant, chic, between mid forty and sixty, all well dressed, struggling to eat something free. People, judging by their dresses, that could pay a dinner at the restaurants of those young chefs with the blink of an eye, instead they were pushing and shoving just to arrive to the buffet, stealing non finished dishes, gulping down as much food as they could, as famine was just knocking at the door...
I was trying to make my way through when I realize that I was far too young and too polite to compete with those people, so I began to make my way to the backstage and take pictures... While I was there I distinctly heard one of the chef angrily saying to an old man (tie and jacket, very elegant, maybe in Armani or other expensive fashion stuff): "Could you please wait until I finish the dish before to take it? I'm just asking you to be polite" and the old man waited there, grumbling...
If you were able to imagine that, well, welcome to Milan during the Design Week!

Coming to the real purpose of my visit to this "show": in the middle of the big hall there was this little stand with the ten creations, and I have to say that, despite the absolutely useless meaning of some objects (some were disposable bags made with environment unfriendly materials... Enough said), others were really interesting, like the vertical Bento... The long awaited pictures of Ferran Adrià new collection were unseen, as long as there weren't the ones hanging from the high ceiling, so practically invisible to the human eye...

All this had at least two good points of view (and I assure that I went there will all the best intentions...):
1- I was able to meet a new Italian food blogger, Roberta, that I was checking out since some times, as she writes very clever (and ironic) posts. We strolled around Milan with some of my friends for the rest of the night!
2- The beautiful, wonderful, amazing bag containing the press kit: orange, leather (or something very similar!), perfect for carrying around papers: I love it!

After this "sociological study" (as Roberta called it) of rich people struggling for free food, we headed to the opposite part of the city, via Tortona, filled with studios and young artists. The amount of people there was this year was amazing (and frightening! Too many, too many!).
There we visited a very amusing and appealing exposition by Marti Guixé, a very wit Spanish artist: he reinterpreted food, transforming it in pieces of conceptual art, like the lollipop you eat and after you can spit the seed inside to let a new plant grow, or like serigraphed peas or olive atoms... That was fun and far more the most "design food" I've seen...

Disclaimer: this post, especially the first part, is intended to be read as an ironic piece. True, but ironic!

Strolling around Milan

Milan becomes really international few times a year: during the fashion shows and during the Salone del Mobile. I normally avoid the real fair (pure chaos) and I prefer strolling around all the events in center of Milan.
My day, chronologically (here the pictures I took this morning):
8.30 am meeting at Princi for the first likemind.mil (I was there since 8 am, but that's me...): at the acme of the breakfast we were 6 and that's not bad for the first time! Present at the event were: myself, Elena, Andrea, Eddy and Friend, Zeno (fantastically late!) and briefly Sara (Sara amica stordita as she signs herself in this blog comments!). We chit chatted until 10.30, continued creating "more blogs to the masses" that began last month at the Ancona likemind and opening Andreas' blog!
10.30 am heading to Triennale for Design food experience, an exposition of pictures of food integrated in famous design objects. Not even the food or the objects were present at the exposition (the only exception was the always present Louis Ghost), but pictures of it... Did I like it? Well, to me it seemed the usual useless and meaningless exposition, but that's only my humble thought... And sorry to say it, but the picture were not even so "good": the world is full of ASTONISHING food photographer, why don't ask him, her or him (just to give you few names. And if we really want to stay stucked in Italy, you can always ask her or her) to do it??? In the booklet they don't even say who took the pictures... And at the end, where is the experience??? Design food experience: where, which, how? Boh...
11.30 am heading to Ingegnoli for the exposition Kitchen Garden. Far more interesting than the one before, the location was astonishing: in one of the oldest garden center of the city you can find different areas with new kitchens, chefs cooking, tasting and interesting (but not memorable) food settings.
12.30 pm heading to Teatro Smeraldo to buy two of the few reaming tickets for Tori Amos concert of the 31st May 2007!!!

That's all (for now) folks... Tonight I'm heading to the presentation of a more interesting event: stay tuned for more news! And don't forget to take a visual look of my day here!

Verrines, strange stuff and other food pics...

Well, verrines are absolutely at their highest in France! You see them everywhere, salted, sweet, to take away... They put inside a verrine practically anything!
And maybe in two, three, four years some "clever" Italian chef will begin to use them telling everybody how smart he is... Well, we'll know he's wrong!



Now tell me: who on earth we'll be attract by something that taste like a chewing gum or banana bonbon??? I found it quite strange to see those horrible stuff in French display, but apparently those are Mediterranean flavours...



Some patisserie, just randomly taken from a BAKERY display! Understood? They sell this in bakeries in France... Try to find something like this in an Italian bakery, or even in a patisserie...

B&B

With my friends sometimes I joke about the bed&breakfast treatment they get when they sleep over: I have to be forgiven for the crazy cat in some way! But at the end it's not so much of a joke! With the due advise, if someone is coming to sleep over I prepare something for breakfast: pancakes are a rare treatment (only best friends get them! ;-P), but yeasty floury stuff or puddings are normal.
Friday night I attended with Deirdré (among others) to the Pandemia dinner in Milan, and as she leaves outside the city, she slept over. So I prepared those little plum cakes for Saturday morning (after the cat woke everybody up at 6 am sharp!)!

2 eggs
90 g cane sugar
120 g flour
2 pinches chemical yeast
100 g melted butter
1 grated apple
50 g of pistachio nuts

Preheat the oven at 180° C.
Whisk sugar and egg until foamy. Add flour, yeast, melted butter, grated apple and pistachio nuts and mix everything.
I cooked them in four little pans, 10x5 cm, for 30 minutes. To be sure they are cooked, pierce the centre with a toothpick: if it comes out clean and dry, they are cooked.

Road Food

Just a sandwich, made with some cold smocked turkey and a frittata (Disclaimer: I don't complete agree with this wikipedia entry... I cooked mine entirely in a skillet, turning it once...) I made with courgettes and gorgonzola.

And some wonderfully tasty strawberries we bought in a street shop in Camargue!

P.S. Both pictures were taken by Il Francese, my sweeeeet hubby...

Likemind Milan, Italy

Lately my life is at a turning point! Everything is changing, and the long awaited turn I was expecting for my 30th birthday has finally arrived (2 years and half later, but finally!).

Anyway, this just to invite you, oh dear reader/commenter/friend, to the first likemind "made in Milan" (for the other Italian likeminds, click on the title of this post): April the 20th, 8.15 am, Princi, Via Ponte Vetero 10, Milan.

Come as you are, bring yourself, your ideas and a smile (and if you have a dog bring it too: you will make me happy!!!!)! You will be welcomed by me, Deirdré, Zeno and Eddy!
Coffee present, so, don't worry, we will allow a few minutes to wake up after the first sip!!!

P.S. This meeting will be reminded to you so many times that you will come just because you will be so sick to hear about it that you will feel the sudden urge to check it out! ;-)

Easter madness

For Easter, in Italy, we don't decorate much... No bunnies in the courtyard, no eggs search... Just some chocolate eggs...
But in France, they are mad about Easter decorations! They were everywhere!

Camargue, I love you!

For our Easter vacation we've been off to France: Alsace, Rhone valley and Camargue.
I was long awaiting to visit Camargue, and I was fully rewarded!!! A tour along the little streets, far for tourists, surrounded by nature, birds and wild animals, altogether with unknown people that tell you how to spot a little frog on a tree or a family of wild boars...
Just wonderfully amazing!
Soon the rest of the trip, with a short visit to the bistot of one of the most famous, three Michelin stars French chef!

Una nave piena piena di...

A ship loaded with... And my answer to this childish game was always: POTATOES!!!
But not in this case!
Here how I filled my bagels: ricotta mixed with stracchino (just because I hate average cream cheese and I prefer to make my own personal idea of it!) and grilled vegetables marinated in balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice...

Enjoy, have a good Easter and Easter Monday (those bagels are of course perfect for Easter Monday picnic!!!)!

Bagels, please!

I'm Italian and I've almost ever lived in Italy (if you take off some month in France and some others in England...). And that should be enough to explain you which kind of relationship I can have with bagels: none! I've seen them in movies, on tv, but I've never ate a REAL one in my life. Once I ate a very expensive one from this chain, but I don't know if they were the real thing... So, now that I gave you the background of what I can know about bagels (rather nothing...), I can explain you why I came up making them!
Monday night we went to the movies early, so I decided I had to fill my afternoon making something handy we could eat in the theatre. Searching searching, I thought, well, bagels! I've never make them and they always seemed so nice! I took the only possible book I could trust in the matters of baking and I began.

15 g fresh yeast
250 ml warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
350 g flour + more if needed
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon oil (I've used extra virgin olive oil)
1 tablespoon of black treacle

In the kneader bowl (or any bowl if you are so crazy to knead this by hand: your choice, not mine!) crumble yeast, add sugar, then water, mix and let rest for 20 minute, until it foams.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the black treacle, and begin to knead on medium low speed. After 5 minutes (with the kneader, at least 10-15 by hand) touch the dough and if it's too wet or vaguely sticky, add flour: drier the better. Knead for 5 minutes more.
Oil a glass bowl, form a ball with the dough, then coat it with little oil and let it rest in the bowl, covered with plastic, for 1 hour. the dough will be ready when pressing your thumb the imprint will remain.
Punch the dough (thinking of the face of someone you hate: it always works!) then divide it in two, roll each piece in a big sausage, divide each in four. Take each of your piece, make a little ball, then begin to roll it in a long sausage. Form a circle, close it well and leave to rest on a floured surface, covered with a tea towel, for 20-30 minutes.
In the meanwhile, preheat the oven at maximum and bring to the boil a large pan full of water ( you won't need it too deep, just 5 centimetres). When the water is boiling, dissolve the black treacle. When the bagels are puffed, and the water is boiling, add each bagel to the water, two at the time, and cook for 30 seconds each side. Lay them, well distanced, on a oiled baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until shiny and golden.

Tomorrow, before leaving for my Easter vacation (Strasbourg, Rhone Valley and Camargue), I will tell with what I've filled them!

Torta al cioccolato e pistacchi

About once a month we dine with a couple friends of ours. We host alternately and each time we try our best and most extravagant recipes to please each other: we always try something new, from a different country, a challenge for the palate and the cook's skills (me and the hubby of the other couple)! When we go to dine at their home we usually bring wine and dessert. Last time my friend looked at me and told me: "Mmmhh, you have a chocolate tooth, eh Sara?" I realized only then that I brought them something like 5 or 6 different chocolate cakes in a row!!!
Yeah, ok, I'm keen on chocolate... So??????? ;-D
As usually my favourite chocolate cakes come from few sources, one of which is Nigella Lawson's How to be a domestic goddess...

For the cake
150 g chocolate
150 g sugar
150 g pistachios
150 g soft butter
6 eggs, separated
Pinch of salt

For the icing
150 g chocolate
150 ml of cream
few drops of orange-flower water

Preheat the oven at 190° C.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave and let it cool. In a food processor, dust pistachios with 50 g of sugar. add the soft butter and another 50 g of sugar. Add the egg yolks one a the time, pulsing after each add. Add then the melted chocolate.
In a bowl, whisk the egg white with the salt until they produce soft peaks. Slowly add the rest of the sugar and keep whisking until it's shiny and thick.
Add 1/3 of the whites to the chocolate mixture and pulse. Add then the chocolate mixture to the whites and mix carefully but firmly. Add the batter in a 24 cm cake pan, lined with greaseproof paper and cook for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180° C and keep cooking for another 20-25 minutes, until the cake comes away from the sides.
Allow to cool.

Prepare the icing, melting the chocolate with the cream in the microwave. Add the drops of orange-flower water, let it cool in the fridge for 30 minutes. When it's cooled, begin to whisk it until you obtain a slightly thick glaze. Ice the cake and let it rest in the fridge until 30 minute before serving.

Girl Geek Dinners Italia: the report!

In a cold, almost rainy Milan, Friday night took place the first Girl Geek Dinners Italy!
Onestly, I was rather an infiltrated, as I'm no geek (even if I would like!), but knowing the right people it's always useful!
At my arrival I was greeted by Marilena: she burst my ego up to the ceiling simply telling me: I like you blog! As this doesn't happen so often, I instantly thought that the night was going in the right direction!
I tagged myself and I head to the cloakroom were I meet Susan, my future saver from my own uneasiness!
I wondered around a growing number of women, trying to hide myself behind my camera, keeping asking myself were all the good resolutions for the night went (be brave, speak to people you don't know...)...
The people I knew: Amanda Lorenzani, the mind behind the event, introduced me to Deirdré Straughan. I spoke to Tara Kelly, then I saw a familiar face (and as everybody knows I'm useless when it come to recognize people...), saw the name tag, and yes, she was Elisa. I took a deep breath, some courage and introduce myself! She introduced me to Sara too!
The dinner began and then I was saved by Susan. she came to speak with me while I was wondering around still asking my self why on earth I'm so SHY!!! Food and cooking were our first arguments, but then, sitting at the table we were happily reached by Bruna and Beatrice and, at the other side of the table, Carlo and Luigina!
It was a very interesting night, knowing interesting people, sharing ideas, life... Drinking and eating...

Cool things I saw: the flickr cards! So cool that Saturday morning, waking up at eight, the first thing I did was buying a bunch!!! So next time I will head to each table dispensing them, as Sara cleverly did!
The coolest thing I saw: Luigina had a Moleskin/Google notebook: so, so, so cool!!! Everybody loves Google!!!
My only regret is that I wasn't able to make more connections, to know more people, but with some help from cool flickr cards, next time...

For some pics, head here and here! And for this time only, the Italian post is just under this!

Girl geek dinners: il primo appuntamento… E sicuramente non l’ultimo!

Venerdì sera, una Milano con il tempo pazzerello della primavera (piove? Diluvio? Sole? Neve???), un’adorabile vietta di Città Studi, un ristorante e una 70 di girl geek pronte a conoscersi!
Onestamente, sono stata “infiltrata” tra tutte queste professioniste del web da uno degli sponsor, San Lorenzo (rappresentato dalla persona del vulcanico Antonio Tombolini!) che ha fornito un favoloso Moscato del 2006, perché, in fin dei conti, io non sono mica una geek. Cioè, lo vorrei, ma sono ancora troppo indietro!
Andiamo con ordine: entro, mi registro, e la carissima e adorata Marilena (abbiamo scambiato due parole, ma di quelle giuste!) mi passa il mio adesivo e mi dice: “Il tuo blog è bellissimo!” Scusate l’egocentrismo, ma non è cosa che mi capita spesso! Entro e conosco subito Amanda Lorenzani, favolosa e solare organizzatrice della serata!
La mia timidezza mi avrebbe lasciata in un angolino tutta la sera, ma fortunatamente lasciando il cappotto al guardaroba conosco Susan, che mi avrebbe poi salvata dall’oblio!
Mi mischio alla folla che piano piano si sta formando, nascondendomi dietro la mia macchinetta fotografica (troppo piccola, mi si vede ancora!). Conosco Tara Kelly, americana che vive in Italia e parla italiano meglio di me, che, se ho capito bene (e qui il mio “stato” di geek inizia a traballare vistosamente) ha creato un sito per l’archiviazione delle password: ha senso quello ho scritto? Mah…
Mentre parlo con lei vedo passare un volto che mi sembra noto (ma non faccio molto testo: la mia incapacità di riconoscere le persone è universalmente nota!), sbircio il name tag e vedo Elisa del Moro, Le curiosità golose. Ok, prendo coraggio, vado e mi presento, visto che siamo ambedue food blogger. Iniziamo a scambiare due parole, ma inizia la presentazione di Amanda e di quattro donne che portano i loro esempi di web al femminile: Frieda Brioschi, Deirdré Straughan (che mi aveva pesentato poco prima Amanda), Beatrice Cristofoli e una quarta che non ricordo! Scusa!!! La mia memoria fa decisamente cilecca e mi sono dimenticata di prendere appunti…
Dopo la presentazione mi aggiro con aria sperduta pensando: “Troverò MAI il coraggio di buttarmi e dire: Ciao sono Sara e sono una blogger???????”. Ero ancora lì a domandarmelo quando mi si avvicina Susan e iniziamo a chiacchierare di cucina (sempre sia lodata, favoloso argomento di conversazione!). Ci sediamo a un tavolo, si aggiungono Bruna e Beatrice e di fianco a noi Carlo (che continuerà gentilmente a versarci vino per tutta la sera!) e Luigina, con i quali parleremo verso la fine della serata!
Susan installa reti WiFi per gli alberghi, Bruna è una developper Java e Beatrice fa parte del progetto Technedonne di Bologna. Gli argomenti sono tra i più svariati: le nostre vite, la condizione delle donne in Italia, la cucina (sempre sia lodata, appunto!), il barcamp, il femcamp… Mai viste prima ma sembravamo più affiatate di quattro vecchie amiche!
Una bellissima serata!

La cosa più vista della serata: i biglietti da visita di Flickr! Un’invidia! Giusto settimana scorsa volevo farmi dei biglietti da visita, ma quelli di Flickr sono la cosa più cool che abbia mai visto (ordinati giusto 100 sabato mattina!)!

La cosa più bella (e più geek!) della serata (oltre al quadernetto di Dada e alla t-shirt che ci hanno regalato!): il quadernetto Moleskin/Google di Luigina! Ci ha mandate in brodo di giuggiole!

Mi pento: di non aver fatto più conoscenze, bloccata dalla timidezza. Ma la prossima volta utilizzerò la tecnica di Sara Rosso (un’altra food blogger, americana di origine, ma milanese d’adozione!): mi aggirerò tra i tavoli dispensando i miei bigliettini da visita di Flickr! Loro mi daranno il coraggio: sono così cool!!!

Qui e qui qualche foto!