I made carrot and corriander soup, asparagus quiche and chocolate cake (with dark chocolate ganache, milk chocolate nest, white chocolate shavings, chocolate eggs and a chocolate bunny).Yum.

carrot and coriander soup

easter chocolate cake

easter chocolate cake

There is only one way when it comes to comfort food and it’s the Italian way. And in this case i’m talking about Pasta alla Siciliana. Unfortunately I watch too many films so when I hear Sicily I think of all amazing films based there or around Sicilian families. The Godfather (‘In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.’ ‘Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.’- Where can you hear lines like that?  Forget about it!), Cinema Paradiso (‘Life is harder then films’), The Leopard (‘Yes, love, of course! Fire and flames for a year, ashes for thirty. I too know what love is.’ – do you know what I mean?…Precious!).

I also love adjusting my menu to what I’m watching, and I got Sopranos Box for my birthday, so I’m expecting to make a lot of this pasta dish and long hibernating evenings….Lots of Italian wine too.

Pasta alla Siciliana

pasta (any, I use fusilli, penne, gnocchietti, orechiette, etc)

aubergine

2 shallots

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

olive oil

1/2 cup of sour cream or ricotta cheese

can of chopped tomatoes

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

chopped handful of parsley

vegetarian parmesan

1. In a pan, warm olive oil and add chopped shallots. Wait till they are translusent, add garlic and pepper flakes.

2. Fry for 2-3 minets, then add diced aubergine. Cover and fry till aubergine softenes. Add chopped tomatoes.

3. In the meantime boil pasta.

4. When tomato sauce thickens, add salt and pepper, cream or ricotta (or both if you feel decadent), parsley and drained pasta. Mix well, add parmesan and serve with a bottle of wine (each) and Italian themed film on the side.

Buon appetito!

pasta alla siciliana

pasta alla siciliana

pasta alla siciliana

Anyway, this time I’m working so I’m not going to watch it on the day, just Red Carpet (best fuel to the critisism).

So no cooking or baking, simple snacks and lots of alcohol, after all, most of the speeches you can’t listen to without being slightly sedated…

Oh, how I love watching the room feeled with anticipation and botox! Let’s the joy commence!

And boy, oh boy, was he right…I mean, about crappy birthdays, I still think meeting him was a highlight…

Anyway, birthdays. My mother never made a big issue of anyone’s birthdays.  I never had a hoopla. There was never a wild party or even a party come to think of it. When me and my sister were a little bit older she always used to make a birthday cake for me, so she was the only one making a bit of a fuss.

Because of the way we were brought up I never payed attention to my birthdays and I never know how to act when someone mentions it.

So this year I decided to treat myself to a bit of a me time. Boyfriend went away with the band to record a new album and I could indulge myself the way I wanted without him trying to upstage my efforts to do so.

Forget about Breakfast at Tiffany, Breakfast on Pluto or even Breakfast Club. It was all about Breakfast in Bed. Not just breakfast in bed. The whole day in bed. My plan was to stay in bed all day, watch films and eat and drink whatever I felt like. And don’t assume I stayed in bed in my dressing gown. Oh no…I decided it was time to glam up, dress up and doll up.

For breakfast I made myself croissants, and the recipe you can find in the blog under dessert section. The only difference was, they were plain ones and bigger than the ricotta ones.

breakfast in bed

breakfast in bed

breakfast in bed

And then I had lunch in bed and dinner and a little dessert. I made raspberry cupcakes with white chocolate icing.

Raspberry cupcakes with white chocolate icing

Ok, I know people say in baking you have to measure everything correctly…Well, I wasn’t in the mood for measuring so I combined let’s say 60g butter with 60g sugar, added 2 eggs and about 120g of flour, and a spoon of baking powder. Then I added a splash of vanilla and a few spoons of almond milk. After that I folded in the batter 200g (?) raspberries. Oh yeah, and I prebaked oven in the meantime to 180C. After all the mixing I spooned the mixture into paper cases and baked the cupcakes for about 20 min. I let them cool and then melted white chocolate (100g) in about 150g heavy cream over simmering water. When it cooled, I piped it onto my cupcakes. And funnily enough, it worked, they were yummy. Oh, and I forgot to mention, I added a bit of red colouring to the icing to make it pinkish. Just because I felt like it.

raspberry and white chocolate cupcake

And you know what…? I had the best day ever!!

‘-Sometimes I’m thinking, is love actually possible in life? Does it actually exists?

-Love?

-Yes, love. Is it actually possible to happen?

- Well, they show love quite often on TV…Like some people are in love or talk…

- Yes, I’m thinking in real life it’s actually not possible…’

Don’t try to remember which film is it from. If you are not Polish, you wouldn’t know. You can see the clip here though.

I don’t have a single romantic bone in my body. I was lucky to be brought up during communism where people didn’t believe in frills like that. Parents also didn’t hug you or told you they loved you (hold on, surely not just my parents??)…

And Valentine’s Day…what is it all about that on one day you have to go over the top, roses are overpriced and you have only the right to celebrate it if you are in a relationship.

I say, it should be an occasion for single people to party wild and celebrate being with someone who understands them the most – themselves.

So, although I’m not a romantic, I love parties and gatherings of people I like, or love even…

And for that reason only, this year I’m baking and cooking for them.

valentine's day decorations

The menu:

Asparagus and pea risotto

Chocolate cheescake

Tiramisu

asparagus and pea risotto

The recipe for tiramisu you can find in dessert section in this blog, the only difference this time was that I made individual tiramisu for everyone.

tiramisu

tiramisu

The recipe for chocolate cheescake was adapted  from Cook Vegetarian.

Chocolate cheescake

For the base:

175g digestive biscuits

1 tbsp muscovado sugar

1 tbsp cocoa powder

75g butter melted

For the filling:

100g dark chocolate

50g butter

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp dark rum (I use honey vodka)

3 medium free-range eggs

40g moscovado sugar

1tbsp flour

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

250g vegetarian mascarpone cheese

fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Crush the biscuits, sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor. Add melted butter and mix well. Press into the bottom of spring-form cake tin. Set aside.

2.To make the filling, place chocolate, butter, cocoa powder and rum into a bowl set over simmering water until everything has melted together and is smooth. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and brown. It might take 10 minutes.

4. Add the flour, vanilla and mascarpone and whisk briefly until incorporated. Add the chocolate mixture and blend to combine. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes. Cool and serve with raspberries.

chocolate cheescake

Happy Valentine’s Day all single people!

chocolate cheescake

So to say farewell to the Dragon’s year and welcome Snake’s Year I cooked my absolute favourite dish.

It’s Ching-He Huang recipe and I love it!

sichuan-style aubergine and tofu

Sichuan-style Aubergine with Tofu

3 tbs groundnut oil

1 large aubergine sliced into batons

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 cm fresh root ginger, grated

1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (I replace it with chilli flakes if I run out of fresh one)

1 tbsp chilli bean sauce or chilli sauce

200g Cauldron Original Tofu, drained and diced

For the sauce

100g vegetable stock

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp cornflour

1 spring onion

1. Heat a tablespoon of  oil in a wok over high heat. As the wok starts to smoke add batons of aubergine and stir-fry until browned. Cook stirring for few minutes until softened, then remove from the pan. Add small drops of water while cooking to create some steam . Once cooked, transfer to a plate and keep to one side.  Add further tablespoon of oil and lightly brown tofu. Set aside with the aubergine.

2. In a small measuring jug combine all the ingredients for the sauce and stir to mix well.

3. Reheat the wok and add the remaining oil.  Add garlic, ginger, chilli and bean sauce, cook for a few seconds. Place the aubergine and tofu back  into the wok and pour in the sauce. Bring to the boil. Simmer till the sauce has thickened to your liking, then stir in some spring onions and serve immediately with jasmin rice.

胃口好

sichuan-style aubergine and tofu

We used to dress up like we were going to walk the red carpet, make some food and drinks (we couldn’t really afford champagne back then, so usually we settled for sparkling wine). And we used to watch the awards all night till early hours. We had so much fun doing that every year. Usually we were talking over it most of the time but I treasure moments of making fun of some of the speaches, coming up with the phrases we used later over and over again (‘Andrew, how lovely to see you from so far away’ – Oscars 2000)…Me falling of the chair when I heard the Award went to someone who in my opinion didn’t deserve it….Aaah, memories…

When I moved to UK we tried to keep up with the tradition and in my first year I watched it with a group of new friends and commenting on the whole thing with my friends in Poland via Skype or text messages. But then it all changed. It just wasn’t the same, we were all working so we couldn’t really stay up all Sunday night.

So this year I decided to bring tradition back and make the night out of the Gloden Globes (especially that I didn’t have to go to work next day).

Drinks were flowing, snacks were prepared – crostinis, popcorn, roasted nuts, macaroons and creme de la creme – orange cupcakes with chocolate and orange icing.

popcorn bags

table setting - gold theme

setting the scene

macaroons

house decorations

table setting

crostini

orange and chocolate cupcakes

Orange and chocolate cupcakes

• 150 grams  unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

For the frosting:

200 grams of dark chocolate, 200 of double cream, 1 tablespoon of orange extract

Preheat the oven to 180 C

Using mixer, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the orange extracts and zest and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to cool completely.

For the icing, temper chocolate, mix with cream and orange extract, cool slightly and when it starts setting, pipe onto your cupcakes or using palette knife spread on your cupcakes.

In other words I was just being lazy, doing what you should over Christmas – do nothing, eat, drink, and be merry…

But here it comes, christmas party menu:

Beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

For the beetroot soup you need:

2-3 beetroots (fresh)

1 carrot

1 parsnip

1 onion

3 pints of water

salt

pepper

dried marjoram

oregano

lemon juice from 1 lemon

1 spoon of olive oil

1. Boil water in a pan. Add olive oil.

2. Peel all the vegetables , cut them into big chunks (onion in half) and add to boiling water.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. After few minutes add lemon juice. Boil for 15-20 minutes, taste and add more seasoning or lemon juice if you need to.

5. You can take all the vegetables out of your pot (we need clear beetroot soup) and add herbs and a dash of an olive oil.

I’m not going to lie, you can make yourself mushroom parcels (like tortellinis with porchini mushrooms). My sister does. But I bought them frozen from a Polish shop (one can only do a few things at a time).

mushroom parcels

beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

Next thing on the menu were Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

beetroot and goat cheese terrine

beetroot and goat cheese terrine

You can find the recipe in ‘Fresh’ by Anna Olson

I served it with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa’s recipe:

You can find it in her book ‘Back to Basics’

or on the Food Network website here.

For the main we had Spanakopita (Spinach and Feta in Filo Pastry). I tried different variations of  this Greek dish but my favourite recipe which I used over and over again is Jamie Oliver’s from his ’30 Minute Meals’  book

There were two deserts. One of them was mince pies in filo pastry, dead easy. You need to cut filo pastry into squares, brush with melted butter and arrange in a muffin tin. If you feel artistic and have time arrange them with corners making a star. Fill them with vegetarian good mince meat, zest of lemon and fresh cranberries, bake till golden and sprinkle with icing sugar and maybe little sugar snowflakes…?

mince pies in filo pastry

And there were also Gingerbread Cupcakes.

Christmas gingerbread cupcakes

Christmas gingerbread cupcakes

And the recipe you can also find on the Food Network website here.

This year, for the first time in 5 years, I got Christmas off from work, so me and Boyfriend flew to Poland (yay!)

Before we did, we invited a few friends over for ‘Christmas Dinner’ to celebrate with them.

The Menu

Beetroot soup with mushroom parcels

Beet and Goat Cheese Terrine with Rocket and Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Spanakopita (Spinach and Feta in Filo Pastry)

Gingerbread Cupcakes

Mince pies in filo pastry

And lots and lots of red wine.

Recipes coming soon…

If I could choose my dream party I wanted to be invited to, it would be Ina Garten’s party. I mean, hello! There’s no competition.

For the Halloween party this year I took my inspiration for the menu from Barefoot Contessa’s books.

Halloween Party menu:

Starter:

bruschetta with peppers and gorgonzola

spiganarda with roasted vegetables

Main:

pumpkin risotto

desert:

chocolate cupcakes with orange icing

drinks:

red wine

coffee martini

Let’s talk about starters.

Bruschetta with peppers and gorgonzolla

I found this recipe in Ina Garten’s book ‘Back to Basics’.

You will need:

baguette (or any bread you fancy)

yellow, green and red pepper

2 tablespoons of drained capers

gorgonzola

salt

pepper

olive oil

fresh basil

1.Slice baguette or your choice of bread. You can brush your slices with olive oil and toast in the ovcn but I found them too dry, so to make them crusty on the outside and soft inside it’s better to toast them on the grill pan (really hot).

2. Preheat the oven (180 C)

3. Cut peppers into thin strips. Arrange them on the baking tray, sprinkle salt and pepper on top, bake them in the oven till they are soft and lightly brown on the edges. Ina Garten sautes them and adds sugar but I think when you roast them in the oven, you don’t need to add sugar because they are slightly carmelized anyway.

4. Add capers into the peppers. Chop basil and add to peppers. Set aside.

5. Arrange slices of bruschetta on baking tray lined with foil. Top each one with spoonful of pepper mixture. Crumble gorgonzola on top. Bake in the oven for  few minutes, serve warm.

bruschetta with peppers and gorgonzola

Spiganarda with rosted vegetables

This one comes from Barefoot Contessa’s Parties book. Original recipe was with orzo pasta but my Italian shop run out of orzo so I decided to replace it with spiganarda. I also added olives instead of spring onions because I don’t like spring onions and I love olives.

1 aubergine

1 red, yellow and green pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced or crushed

250 grams of spiganarda pasta

salt

pepper

olive oil

lemon juice

olives

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

feta cheese diced

fresh basil chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Dice aubergine and peppers, toss them with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper on a large baking tray. Roast in the oven till they start turning brown, turning with the spatula a few times.

2.In the meantime cook pasta. Drain and transfer into a large bowl.

3. Add vegetables, pine nuts, basil, feta cheese and olives into the pasta. For the dressing mix lemon juice from one lemon with olive oil, salt and pepper, pour over the pasta.

Now, main dish. I’ve made it before for the halloween, but this time I changed my recipe a bit.

spiganarda with roasted vegetables

spiganarda with roasted vegetables

Pumpkin risotto

arborio rice

pumpkin or butternut squash

saffron

salt

pepper

1/2 bottle of white wine (pinot grigio)

2 pints of vegetable stock

lemon zest from one lemon

olive oil

knob of butter

cup of grated parmesan

chopped shallots

minced garlic

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Cut your pumpkin or butternut squash into cubes. Spread on the baking tray, sprinkle with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast till they’re soft and start to get golden brown.

2. Warm 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan (the best to use is an ironcast one), add knob of butter. After the butter melts add shallots and fry them until they are soft and translusent. Add garlic and fry for two minutes. Then add arborio rice (1/2 cup for each person). Mix and let it fry for a while till coated with olive oil and warm.

3. Add a ladle of vegetable stock at the time. Cook on low heat (not too low, if it’s too low the rice grains will stay hard, if the heat is too high it will turn into mash) till rice absorbs the liquid. Keep adding stock and wine (wine needs to be room temperature, stock can be hot, you don’t want to stop the cooking process by adding cold stock).

4. Add few strings of saffron, salt and pepper.

5. Add roasted cubed pumpkin and zest of lemon. At the end add grated parmesan. Serve immediately.

pumpkin risotto

pumpkin risotto

Halloween chocolate cupcakes with orange icing

The main inspiration for the batter came from…you guessed, Ina Garten again. This time from the book ‘Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?’.

I changed few ingredients and the icing to make it more suitable for Halloween.

So here it is:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

120 grams of usalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

pinch of salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

milk chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and pinch of salt.

3. In a seperate bowl combine buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla.

4. Beat the butter with sugar on a low speed for a minute, till fluffy and light. Add one egg at a time and beat until combined. Start adding dry ingredients and wet ingredients in 3 parts, mix on low speed till combined.

5. Add chocolate chips.

6. Scoop the butter into muffin cups, bake for 25- 30 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

For the icing you will need:

120 grams of room temperature butter

120 grams of cream cheese (you can just use cream cheese if you prefer)

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 tablespoon orange extract

orange colouring (I couldn’t find it in any shops, so I mixed red and yellow)

1. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and combine it well. Pipe it onto your cupcakes.

Couldn’t be easier!

halloween cupcakes

halloween cupcakes

halloween chocolate cupcake with orange icing

And finally…

Coffee martini

1 part of strong coffee

1 part of tia maria

1 part of blood orange vodka

1. Mix with ice in a coctail shaker and serve in martini glasses

coffee martini

coffee martini