Breakfast on the Bridge

Sydneysiders already know, but for us Aussies living OS it came as a surprise. The Sydney Harbour Bridge was "carpeted" with lawn and 6,000 lucky people were chosen though a ballot to have Breakfast on the Bridge on Sunday 25 October 2009 between 6.30am and 8.30am.

Foto by Anjepani

The government also provided some recipe ideas for the picnic

The NSW Government organized the event as part of Crave Sydney.

Halloween - Witches' fingers

Another "vintage" idea, last year's find. Witches' fingers. Served as apetizer together with an avocado dip (pretty green, mate!). A friend of mine when she arrived for dinner - by the way, dressed as a witch, black hat and all - was rather surprised and could not stop laughing. She was not expecting a theme menu and she had never seen these cute fingers :). Neither had I, to say the truth, until I did some research on the net to decide the menu.

I used a pate brisee recipe

200 g. of flour,

130 g. of butter,

6 tblpns of water,

a pinch of salt,

peeled almonds.

Mix the ingredients, let the dough rest for 25 minutes. On a lightly floured wooden board roll the pastry into a few long ropes, cut them to measure, shape the like fingers and using a knife make wrinkles on the knuckes.

Use almonds as nails.

Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 180°C oven.

Halloween - The Spider Web Cake

Getting ready for Halloween? Here is the first "vintage" idea, still great fun though. I saw it on the net and used it last Halloween.

The cake I made is called "Orange Brasiliana".  I made the spider web using tempered white chocolate. The filling is just a thin layer of orange marmelade prevoiusly mixed with some brandy.

No recipe for the spider, sorry. It's real. :)

ORANGE BRASILIANA   recipe by  Ramona P.


Blend in the mixer:
a whole unpeeled orange (take out seeds first),
150 ml. of sunflower ( peanut or rice oil),
4 eggs,
200 g. of sugar (white or brown),
250 g. of self-raising flour.

Fold the batter in a 26/28 cm diameter cake tin and bake at 180° C for about 40/45 minutes. The cake is ready when the surface is golden brown.

While the cake is baking, make the orange syrup. Heat 200 ml. of orange juice together with 150 -200 g. of sugar, dipending on how sweet you like the syrup to be. Bring to the boil then simmer for a short time to obtain the syrup. Pour it on the cake when it is just out of the oven (still hot) after you have pierced  it with a skewer so that the syrup can moisten the inside of the cake.

Bread with Flour Mix and Sour Dough - World Bread Day

Under translation :)

I did not realize that today it was World Bread Day, seeing I made bread anyway, I will simply post the picture of the bread rolls I made. Nothing fancy. Had I known I would have thought of something special.

Bread with Flour Mix and Sourdough

125 g. of sourdough,
63 ml. of water,
125 g. of wholemeal flour,
125 of flour 0,
63 ml. of water,
250 g. of kamut flour,
150 ml. of water,
9 g. of salt,
the usual handful of sunflour seeds or whatever you like best

First rising
125 g. of sour dough,
125 g. of wholemeal flour,
63 g. of water,
lievitazione: circa 24 ore in frigo oppure una notte a temperatura ambiente

Second rising
impasto ottenuto,
125 g. flour0,
63 g. water,
lievitazione: circa 24 ore in frigo oppure un’ora e mezza a temperatura ambiente (questo tempo è indicativo perchè dipende dalla temperatura della cucina)

Impasto
impasto ottenuto.
250 g. of kamut flour,
150 ml. of water,
una generosa manciata di semi di girasole, oppure di olive o noci

lievitazione: circa 2 o tre ore in teglia

Dopo aver lavorato un po’ l’impasto dargli una forma tonda, schiacciarlo pochissimo e delicatamente. Fare le pieghe così: Iniziare prendendo un bordo a piegarlo fino a toccare il centro, continuare con un altro lembo. In tre volte si avrà un giro completo. Lavorare così per una decina di minuti e poi dividere l'impasto in quattro. Formare i panini tondi. Metterli a lievitare su una teglia coperta con carta forno spolverata di farina. Tenere sempre umida la superficie dei panini (con uno spruzzino) e prima di infornare bagnare di nuovo e poi spolverare di farina fatta cadere da un passino.

Cuocere in forno preriscaldato a 230°C per venti minuti, poi abbassare la temperatura a 190°C e cuocere per altri quindici minuti.

Blog Action Day - 15 October 2009

A political decision is moral if it contributes to the maintenance of the conditions and processes that are humanly favorable in the biosphere. Ervin Lazlo, L'uomo e l'universo Di Rienzo Editore, Roma, 1998

Una politica è morale se contribuisce al mantenimento delle condizioni e dei processi umanamente favorevoli nella biosfera" da Ervin Lazlo, L'uomo e l'universo Di Rienzo Editore, Roma, 1998

Yogurt and Almond Milk Cake

Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th Daniela C. added various threads to our CI forum to cheer up those of us who were not participating to the members meeting in Bordighera. I though hers a really sweet idea.

On Sunday morning I cuddled myself by making this cake.

I got the idea when I opened the fridge and saw two yogurts with almond milk that had been staring at me already in the last few days. I slightly changed my favourite cake recipe and here is the result.  It's a simple cake, ideal for breakfast or five o'clock tea.

YOGURT AND ALMOND MILK CAKE

for a 30 cm. diameter cake tin

250 g of butter,

4 eggs,

1 and a half cups of sugar,

250 g. of yogurt with almond milk (in Italy they are made by Yomo),

4 cups of self-raising flour,

enough milk to obtain 2 cups, yogurt included.

Work the butter with the eggs, add sugar and work again until the mixture becomes of a light colour. Using a measuring jug pour in the yogurt and fill with milk to obtain 2 cups of liquid. Fold in alternating milk and flour to avoid lumps from forming. Butter the sides of a round baking dish about 30 cm. in diameter, cover the base with a disc of buttered greaseproof paper. Fold in the batter and bake at 180 °C. Bake for about 60 minutes. Check with a skewer that the centre of the cake is cooked, turn off the oven and leave the door ajar for about ten minutes before removing the cake. After another 10-15 minutes remove the cake from the tin and place cake on a wire rack to cool.

To decorate:
Mix a nice big teaspoonful of honey with a taespoon of water over low heat. I used Robinia (Black Locust) honey. Coat the surface of the cake. Heat up the same amount of water and honey as before, off the heat fold in a nice handful of sliced almonds, coat well and the spread over the cake.

Did you know about

The almond blosson festival

Nutritional information

Australian Almond Board

Rice with prawns, toasted bread and squid ink sauce

Finally !!!!! I made it. This "rice with prawns, toasted bread and squid ink sauce" was published by Ale in Menù Turistico in her column, "Chi la fa? Lo aspetto!" that translated might roughly be "Who's making it? I'm waiting!"

My comment is : I really liked this rice, I found it delicate, balanced in its flavours, the rice was cooked to the right point and nice and creamy , the squid ink sauce was perfect with it.

I think it is also suitable to be prepared slightly in advance, and then put in the oven just before serving.  So you can keep this recipe in mind when you have guests and do not want to finish cooking at the last minute.

In tal caso lascere un po' indietro la cottura del riso e da parte un po' di salsina del risotto da aggiungere nelle formine prima di infornare. In that case, I'd leave a little 'back cooking the rice and by a little' sauce for the rice to be added in the molds before baking.  What do you think?

RICE WITH PRAWNS TOASTED BREAD AND SQUID INK SAUCE


 Recipe by Massimo Riccioli, Restaurant; La Rosetta (Rome) pubblished by Menù Turistico


Serves 4

280 g. of Carnaroli rice,
800 g. of red prawns,
3 cloves of garlic,
2 dl vegetable stock,
2 tablespoons of cognac,
1 ladle of liquid obtained from cooking prawn shells,
50 g. of bread crumbs,
2 fillets of salted anchovies,
1 knob of butter,
1 dl of extra virgin olive oil,
salt and pepper.



For the sauce:

2 sachets of squid ink,
1 tablespoon tomato sauce,
, 1 ladle of prawn liquid,
1 / 2 teaspoon of honey,
1 knob of butter,
4 basil leaves,
 salt and pepper.

Shell and clean the prawns, keeping 4 whole prawns aside for garnishing the plates.
Use the shells to prepare the sauce. Chop the tails.  Toast the rice with 2 tblspns of oil in a pan.  In a saucepan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, seasoned with two lightly crushed cloves of garlic .  Sauté the chopped prawns, add salt, then add the cognac  and allow to evaporate. Remove the garlic, add the rice and continue cooking, adding the prawn liquid first and then the vegetable stock. Take away from the heat when the rice is only be slightly underdone.  Add salt if necessary, and pepper.

UNDER TRANSLATION! :))

Imburrate 4 stampini e riempiteli con il risotto. 4 buttered molds and fill them with the risotto. Terminate la cottrua in forno a 120-130 gradi, per circa 5 minuti. End the cottrua in oven at 120-130 degrees for about 5 minutes.



Dislicate e sciacquate le acciughe, riducetele in poltiglia, poi dissolvetele nell'olio, con lo spicchio d'aglio rimasto, finemente tritato. Dislich and rinsed anchovies, reduce it to mush, then dissolvetele oil, with the remaining clove of garlic, finely chopped. Scaldate l'olio in una padella e tostate la mollica di pane sbriciolata. Heat the oil in a frying pan and toast the bread crumbs. Mescolate il fondo di gamberi e il brodo vegetale in parti uguali, e versatene un mestolino in una casseruola, nella quale avrete sciolto una noce di burro. Stir the bottom for shrimp and the vegetable stock in equal parts, and pour a ladle in a pot, in which you have melted a knob of butter.



Unite il miele, il basilico tritato e il nero di seppia, diluito in un cucchiaio di salsa di pomodoro. Add the honey, chopped basil and squid ink, diluted in a tablespoon of tomato sauce. Fate ridurre, fino ad ottenere una salsa abbastanza densa. Let reduce until you have a fairly thick sauce.



Velate i piatti con la salsa, sformate il tortino di riso al centro, guarnitelo con i gamberi interi e spolveratelo con la mollica di pane tostata. Veiled the plates with the sauce, transforming the rice cake in the center, garnish with the shrimp and sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs. Completate con un filo di olio. Complete with a little oil.