Almond Biscotti

Biscotti are Italian twice baked biscuits (cookies) that are dry and crunchy. They are the classic dunking biscuit (cookie). Traditionally, they are served with espresso or dessert wine, but they can also be dunked in milk. With commercialization, biscotti now come in all sizes, with a variety of additions including chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit and more.

These biscotti are easy to make and crammed packed full of flavor and almonds. You can spruce up this basic recipe by substituting the almonds

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Thick Crust Pizza Dough

I’m racking my brain to think of someone I know who doesn’t like pizza. I suppose there could be a couple of people I know, but they are usually the people who are on a low-carb/gluten-free diet. Anyways, safe to say, I love pizza. In the past, I’ve worked hard to perfect a thin, crispy, yet light pizza base (crust). It took me over 4 years to do so. When challenged

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Perfect Panettone

I was first introduced to panettone in 1999 by an Italian colleague. Panettone is the most wonderful bread ever. The last 2-3 years, I made an effort to buy one to scoff over Christmas. Before you know it, the whole panettone had gone! I mean, what is there not to love? The bread is light, fluffy, lightly sweet, slightly dry and fruity. The weird thing is why do people only enjoy it over the festive season? It is such a wonderful bread, that it should be enjoyed all year around!

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Chicken, Broccolini and Pesto Pasta Salad

As you may have noticed, I’ve been working like a looney to try and catch up with this blog. This recipe marks the last one on the to-do list, and it’s a corker!

I was daydreaming one day, when I thought up this incredibly delicious creation.

Many of you will know that I like to make dishes that most people would find challenging, such

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Greek Salad – My Way

One of J’s favorite dishes (believe it or not) is Greek salad… the real authentic version, with chunky vegetables, and no lettuce in it. However, I always find this is a little sparse, so I add a few mixed lettuce leaves . To call this a Greek salad maybe an abomination, but I’ll live with it for now. The addition of lettuce leaves is completely optional.

Mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion,

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Cheesy Whole Wheat Grissini (Breadsticks)

 

Grissini originate from Italy and are long, pencil-thin sticks of crisp and dry bread. They are about the right size to stick up your nose, if you’re that way inclined. They are great to snack on, or to enjoy with soup or as an appetizer.  

You know, I’ve never purchased grissini, nor have I ever thought about making them until I stumbled across a recipe in one of my baking books. They looked simple to make, and I knew they would be a hit with my roasted butternut and red pepper soup.

If you have no experience in baking bread, do not be afraid.

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Greek-Inspired Quinoa Salad

 

Long gone are the days of thinking salad is boring and consists mainly of lettuce. The variations and combinations are countless – some are based on greens, some are based on tomatoes, and more substantial versions are based on grains or pasta. Unfortunately, there is a huge misconception that all salads are healthy… in essence, they can be, until you drench them in creamy salad dressings. A lot of restaurant’s salads contain more calories and fat than a main course (entrée).

I’m fortunate enough to enjoy salads without the creamy dressings. I simply love salads that are served with freshly squeezed lemon juice, or with a smidgen of lemon juice and olive oil dressing… herbs also go a long way.

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Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato, Arugula and Feta

  

This happens to be one of the most delicious vegetarian dishes that I’ve come up with. Perfectly cooked pasta is tossed with roasted red peppers, roasted baby plum tomatoes, baby rocket (arugula) and feta cheese. This combination creates a flavor and texture sensation that will simply tantalize your taste buds. We enjoyed it hot, but it will also do well as a pasta salad, especially for a summer barbecue.

The dish features heavily on baby rocket (arugula), which is something we love. It’s aromatic, peppery and packs a punch for a salad leaf. If you’re not a big fan

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Soft Polenta with Ratatouille

 

I’ve eaten polenta on numerous occasions, and it’s always been so bland and tasteless. When set and cut into pieces, it’s boring, and when soft, it brings back bad childhood memories of being forced to eat disgusting semolina with a splat of jam. Urgh… UK school dinners (or more correctly lunches) in the 80’s.

Polenta was one of those things that I thought I just hated. That was until J ordered vegetarian polenta at The Olive and Grape for lunch. Two things were weird – he went for a vegetarian dish, and it was polenta?!?

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Insalata Caprese

 

I cannot believe I’m writing an entry for caprese salad! It’s one of the simplest things in the World. It’s also one of my favorite salads of all time, and that’s why we had it for our starter for Valentine’s Day. It’s amazing how just a few simple ingredients can make such a delectable salad. The trick is to use the best quality tomatoes and mozzarella you can find. In the best mozzarella, I mean Italian imported buffalo mozzarella. Imported buffalo mozzarella is like heaven

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