Italian Food Week @ Home

 

We had Italian Food week at home and it was a blast! I dug out my recipes from an Italian cooking class from ages ago and used some recipes from the Italian edition of Gourmet Traveller.  Here are some of the dishes…

Above: Cotechino with Nebiolo and Lentils (so proud ~ it looks so much like the photo in the magazine!);

Below (L-R): Oxtail Stew (a super rich Roman dish that has dark chocolate in it!), Salsa di Pomodoro con Braccioli (meat rolls with pancetta and parsley in tomato sauce, probably from northern Italy); A fresh garden salad; and, Spirali con Pesto alla Genovese (fresh pesto on spiral pasta with snow peas).

 

We also had the classic Scaloppini al Limone plus some Tiramisu and Cannoli for dessert. 

Caramel Mud

This is cake 2 of my weekly cake baking streak and I offered to make J’s fave caramel mudcake.

My bestfriend B’s husband J had his birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant in O’Connor.  It’s a great place to celebrate with friends – no corkage (and as you can see, we made the most of it) and they took their time to get the food out.

Mmm, I loved my eggplant parmigiana and cannelloni but could not forget husband B’s braised lamb shanks!

A great night was had by all!

 

Sugar Craft Day Part 2

Sugar Craft Day will take place in Moss Vale, Southern Highlands on 11 December 2010.

Theme - Christmas and Summer

• Cookie Decorating - piping + fondant
• Cupcake Art - butterflies + flowers
• Figure Modelling - reindeer

Please leave a message if you are interested to take part.

Work and Play - The Races

It’s Melbourne Cup time once again and race season is not complete without a fascinator (or two). Our manager J provided the division with some materials and we all had a bonding craft lunch hour. Here’s what I made for me and for E ~ notice that we kept the team spirit up by using some logos and publicity pictures in the pieces?

  

None of the ladies on our division won the fashion parade but we took two of the men’s with Aw’s Alice in Wonderland and Ax’s Flemington Race Course Hats!

Fairy Party Cake

My baby sister R turned four and I made her a fairy cake. It was heaps fun to make with all the sugar leaves and the mushrooms (the schrooms are my favourite!)

The cake was a Genoise sponge. It didn’t feel too spongy to me… I think it was too complicated for me to start with! And lil bro M attested to it. Hmm better luck next time…at least it looked pretty. Hehehe.

 

Asian Food Week @ Home

We’re trying out some themed dinners and the first week is Asian Food Week. This week I made some Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls, Prawn Laksa, Nasi Goreng and Hoisin Chicken.  It was great to be able to try out different tastes and textures.

 

A Card for a Giftcard

There's more and more people who are giving friends and family the gift of shopping fun and allowing recipients to pick their own presents by giving a gift card.

I made my very first giftcard card for my friend J's 30th birthday. It's a nice, unique and discreet way of presenting a gift card (the recipient unties the little bow on the right at slowly pulls the ribbons apart to reveal - tadaa! - a shopping experience gift card!).

GiftCard Card - $6 each, includes envelope.