It’s mid of November: all over the internet food blogs indulge in Xmas cookies, Xmas cakes, Xmas whatever – Xmas dinner suggestions didn’t surface until now. I’m not so ready for this Xmas business at the moment … I think some fresh & easy to prepare weeknight dinner is also appropriate. I also didn’t start any Xmas baking so far. I’m not in Xmas mood so early in November – although everywhere in food stores…
All started w/ a pumpkin, a superb Hokkaido. (As you might know by now Hokkaido is my favorite pumpkin – next comes butternut.) In my trusted food store I got a Hokkaido of 1600 g which resulted in 1350 g after trimming & scraping out the seeds & the soft mess. What to do w/ such a lot of pumpkin? For a start I decided to bake the Hokkaido in my oven – only w/ some…
I had a fine butternut sitting on my kitchen desk for some days & decided to try an approach for a soup w/ lots of vegetables. I had some carrots, some frozen peas & some spring onions. What else? There was some bacon in my fridge & I thought it might be a fine add-on concerning the flavour. … & of course I had some of this dark green, intensive pumpkin seed oil for the…
… & my series of pasta dishes continues while we are still in Northern Spain! I learnt from Juls’ Kitchen that „pasta w/ meatballs“ originally isn’t Italian, but an American invention (same as for Alfredo, chicken parmigiano …), however, there’s also some pasta recipe from Jul’s granny creating very tiny meatballs. Inspired by this post I started my own version of pasta w/ meatballs. I managed to create some creamy pasta w/ lots of pesto…
What is this all about? At the moment we are in Northern Spain near Barcelona … so the classic Spanish tortilla is part of the menus. I always liked tortilla since I made the 1st acquaintance of it in a holiday trip on Formentera – decades ago! So I unearthed my post on tortilla … which introduces also a tortilla w/ pasta! Let’s resume … I made a tortilla – straightforward (see photo on top).…
We are still in Northern Spain … & there is a great offer of courgettes! So I remembered my post for courgettes in soffrito – no sooner said than done … (Although it’s an Italian recipe it’ll work fine in Spain.) Some time ago … my better half & I planned to do a roasted chicken … & I meditated on what to cook as a partner to the meat. Both of us opted for…
Another day – another approach to one-pot-pasta! Today we are dealing w/ pasta in a thickened mix of fish, tomatoes & onions flavoured w/ thyme. Even now in Northern Spain a one-pot-pasta dish is one of my favorites – because it’s so easy & there are only few ingredients … no issues w/ availability of more extraordinary input into my pan. In my oldest Italian pasta cookbook (Vincenzo Buonassisi’s Nudel & Nudel – have a…
At the moment we are in Northern Spain … roast potatoes (or baked potatoes) are my all-time favorite – you may have noticed in my Instagram. When here or in Southern France I very often just prepared a baking tray w/ these absolutely delicious potatoes … I admit I prepare the roast potatoes in a simple way … & I start always w/ 1 kg because this fits nicely on a baking tray. Some olive…
What to do w/ leftovers? For a dinner event during weekend I prepared lots of oven-baked vegetables. It was delicious accompanied by some chicken filled w/ lemons & rosemary, a generous mix of fresh basil leaves & pressed garlic under the skin for especially flavoring the chicken breasts. (Maybe you think that the vegetables accompanied the chicken …) We all enjoyed the dinner …, however, some of the oven-baked vegetables remained on their plate afterwards…
The Italians invented aperitivo. When staying in Milan as well as in Rome some years ago we were happy about aperitivo. It starts in late afternoon & let you have some wine or Spritz or cocktails together w/ a selection of savory bits & bites usually presented as a buffet. Until early evening you may indulge in drinks & food … You get prosciutto, salame, green & black olives, marinated vegetables, small tramezzini, pizza bits, salads ……
Is there any surprise in a potato salad? Yes: you may add Mediterranean herbs for a delicious summer & holiday flavour … Some years ago I made this potato salad rather spontaneously because suddenly all the rainy weather in Germany cleared up & sun came back w/ fine temperatures fit for some last BBQ events in the garden. … & a real bit potato salad is always one of the best companions around (together w/…
We are still in the South – now in Northern Spain near Barcelona. It’s summer & it’s hot. So all we need for dinner is a pasta dish … Did I ever mention that we are true pasta lovers? All’ ammiraglio … Let this melt on your tongue! We are dealing w/ a very simple & very easy spaghetti dish – quick & dirty! … it looks so innocent! Be careful: it’s really hot &…
We are still in the south aka Mediterranean area … now in Northern Spain. So I made an approach to a vegetable casserole filled w/ Mediterranean vegetables – a simple dish you may prepare anytime & everywhere – as I did some years ago for the 1st time. So let’s start … Suppose you need a batch of vegetables for a roast or a BBQ or whatever. How to prepare it w/o too much trouble…
In the south – we are now in Northern Spain … & when roaming on my blog I found this recipe which I adapted somewhat for a dinner. (I worked w/ tortellini, Spanish bacon, white onions … & it was fine!) However, let’s start w/ a streamlined version of the original recipe! My very 1st encounter w/ one-pot-pasta: my better half & I got a food & wine basket as a present from friends containing…
When we started our trip to Southern France, end of 2022, we made a stop-over in Montpellier. If you like details: we arrived in the afternoon of 30th of December, stayed in Montpellier for New Year’s Eve and restarted to Carcassone on 1st of January. I remember that it was rather cold and rainy … except of New Year’s Day when suddenly the sun appeared on a blue sky. We then enjoyed a lazy coffee…