Retro Cuisine!

Today's chef is sweet Nicole from Retrospettive, who lives in Rome, Italy. She has been doing these adorable little purses, which for me as being well known for a bag-o-maniac (nicknamed by my hubby), couldn't help to keep my eyes off them.

Pink Perch Bird mini Clutch Coin Purse
“Spaghetti alla Carbonara”

This is a typical Roman dish.
It’s a simple recipe to prepare but make a good carbonara it’s not easy as it seems…but I have some little family secrets!!

Ingredients for 4 persons:

500g Spaghetti

100g Bacon

4 eggs (1 per person)

3 table spoons of Pecorino Cheese

3 table spoons of Parmigiano CheesePepper (as you like it)

Olive oil Salt (just a spoon in the boiling water for the Spaghetti)

White wine

Method:

Cut the bacon in little cubes, than put them in a frying-pan with some olive oil.

When they are half cooked add some white wine and simmer under reduced.

When the bacon is brown, turn off the fire.

Meanwhile, boil the water in a big saucepan and when the water is boiling (and only when is boiling!!) put the spaghetti and a table spoon of salt.

Whisk the yolks in a cup with added pepper (as you like it), the Pecorino cheese and the Parmigiano, and two spoons of water (or milk if you prefer), the result must be very creamy.

The pasta must be cooked “al dente”…that’s very important for Italians!! and this is the hardest thing to cook pasta because you have understand by tasting the right moment in which the pasta is not too tough but not too wet!!

When the spaghetti are ready put them in the frying-pan with the bacon on fire for 1 minute, than put all in a bowl and now (never before because we don’t want the “omelette effect”) put the cream on and blend.

Some pictures below that I took to share with you:

1. Ingredients: here there are the main ingredients to prepare my recipe

2. Bacon: here there I am frying the bacon

3. Eggs: here I am whisking the eggs with pepper, Pecorino cheese and Parmiggiano

4. Spaghetti: spaghetti in boiling water

5. Argo my love: my beloved dalmatian Argo trying to steal some food!

6. Final result: There we are! Our spaghetti are ready!

My god...my friend silvia it's a worse photographer than me, but...then, here's me...Nicole!!

Till then, hope you enjoy my dish!

A Birthday Dish Made Out Of Love!

Birthday celebrations are always so cool and fun especially when it is personalised specially with cooking for your loved ones. Believe me, the taste of the dishes on this very day taste so much different than any other days. Done with love, with the mood, ambience, brings out the essence of the dishes.

Today, I am sharing the TGIF dish from Judit, creator of Vadjukta.
Holding 3 careers in her life, a sociologist specializing in media research, a freelance journalist and a crafter for her own jewelry label, Judit makes a time out from these and prepared a very healthy birthday dish to share with her family on her father's birthday.

(*click on the pictures above to go to her Etsy shop)


Photos and recipe below is contribute with the courtesy of Judit.

Roast Chicken with Beetroot
I have to admit, that I am an impulsive cook: I rarely cook from books, and rarely keep the portions written in recipes.
I go for instinct: "some" salt or pepper, and a "little bit" of this or that.
This was the situation concerning my Dad's B-day lunch...but my family got used to my creations.
This time I made something simple with beetroot, because I just love roasted beetroot, and it is very healthy as well!

On the pics: The preparation pics show the ingredients, the mixture and the roasted chicken.

Ingredients:
- chicken (breast or leg, I used 4 full legs)
- leek (1)
- beetroot (2)
- oil
- optional: garlic, tomato
- salt, pepper, thyme and Juniperus communis (Sorry, I found only the latin name of it!)

Well, making this dish doesnt require much methods:
Just put the ingredients into a big saucepan, slice the vegetables, pour the oil and sprinkle this mix with the spices.
Put the whole mix (covered) into the oven for 45-50 minutes (but this also depends on the heat the oven can give!), and uncover it for the last 10 minutes.
I served it with brown rice and braised sweet peas.

The "other" collages above show us:
my father, my sister and my sister's boyfriend while having a hard time eating my dish
:-)

Mee Goreng / Indian Fried Noodle

Thick yellow noodles fried with minced mutton, potatoes, tomatoes, bean sprouts and served with cucumber.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb yellow egg or chow mein noodles
½ lb boneless mutton [goat meat] [Substitute: lamb] [Variation: dried squid [reconstituted] or fresh squid]
½ tsp light soy sauce
1½ tsp dark soy sauce
black pepper
a pinch of sugar
½ cup ghee or vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cups bean sprouts
2 potatoes, peeled, boiled [al dente], halved, cut into small thick slices and tossed in ½ tsp chili powder & ½ tsp turmeric powder
1 fried bean curd cake, sliced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
juice of 3-4 limau kasturi [kalamansi lime] or 1 kaffir lime [Substitute: key lime]
2 cups lettuce, chopped for garnish
10 shallots, thinly sliced, fried golden brown for garnish
2-3 red Serrano chilies, sliced for garnish [optional]
3-4 limau kasturi [kalamansi lime], cut into halves [Substitute: 1 kaffir or key lime, cut into wedges]

Seasoning Sauce Ingredients :
2 tsp or to taste, chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp tomato ketchup

To Prepare :
1. Slice mutton or lamb and marinate [20 mins] with ½ tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp dark soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and black pepper
2. Heat wok, preferably a cast iron wok to smoking hot, add 4 tbsp ghee or veg oil, add onions, stir-fry for a few seconds
3. Add marinated mutton or lamb and stir-fry briefly [medium-rare or medium], remove mutton, set aside for garish
4. Combine chili powder, turmeric powder, soy sauce and tomato ketchup with 1 tbsp water
5. Add sauce to wok, bring to a rapid boil, allow to thicken slightly
6. Add noodles, stir-fry to thoroughly coat noodles with sauce
7. Add bean sprouts, salt to taste, stir-fry
8. Add potatoes and fried bead curd, stir-fry
9. Push mee/noodles to sides of wok, add a little oil, pour in beaten egg, cover with mee and leave to set for about 1 min
10. Add lime juice and stir-fry noodles well until 'dry' and slightly charred
11. Dish onto individual serving plates
12. Garnish with the cooked mutton or lamb slices, chopped lettuce, fried shallots, sliced fresh red chilies, a limau kasturi half, or a wedge of kaffir or key lime
[Note: the squeeze of lime is what brings the flavors together!]
- and serve

Keeping Yourself Nice and Cosy with Zsuzsa's Goulash Soup.

Beautiful listings as always from Zsuzsa of ZsBCreations, a Hungarian residing in The Netherlands with her family. I am in love with her signature earrings always embedded with touches of elegance and opulance. Today, being Friday the 13th and is the selected one to be featured, Zsuzsa is a great sport in believing this day is going to be special and fun for her to share her recipe - Goulash soup, with us.
Love her!

(Click on the pictures above to go to her shop)


Recipe and pictures below are contributed with the courtesy of

Zsuzsa from ZsBCreations.

I cook very international but I am Hungarian, so I guess that leaves me no other choice than to make goulash soup for you.

This is actually a very easy to make soup, perfect for cold days.

The secret lies in the ingredients, so unfortunately nobody can recreat the authentic taste of a good Hungarian goulash soup otside of Hungary.

Of course, you can always try.

Recipe for 4:

1kg beef

2 onions

2 tbsp oil

3-400g veggie mix for soup

1 red pepper

2-3 tomatos

3-4 potatoes

1 tbsp caraway

2-3 tbsp paprika powder

1 liter watersalt,

pepper

The original Hungarian recipe requires beef shank, but feel free to use any kind of part of the cow, the only thing is, that you should clean it from the fat and tendons.

Dice the meat into 2cm cubes, chop the onions to small pieces, slice the veggies, the tomatos and the red pepper.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot, than add the onions and let them saute till translucent.

Than add the paprika powder (preferable Hungarian home made :)), one-two-three seconds, stir and add the meat and the caraway.

Fry meat till sealed and add the water.

Let it cook till the meat begins to be tender (that can be 1-2 hours depending on your pot, the meat, the weather).

Add the tomatos, the peppers and the vegetables, a little later the diced potatos.

If everything is well cooked, season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve it with (homemade) white bread and some chili peppers for the tough ones :)

xoxo,
Zsuzsa

Schnitzel Wiener Art by Kreativlink

This TGIF I am very honoured that Renate from Kreativlink took some time off from her busy schedule to contribute her recipe to us.

Renate lives in Austria and she dedicates her time on making beautiful and creative journals.
Even I am captivated by her extensive usage of fabrics and mediums to create them, and I must share the fact that I am one of the many proud owners Renate's gorgeous journals!

In addition, I was Renate's Easter secret bunny too, and she received my present with a big smile. :)

Please visit her etsy shop, or her website, by clicking on the highlighted links.

Recipe and pictures below are contributed with the courtesy of
Renate from Kreativlink.

Wiener Schnitzel
Well, not really. A real “Wiener Schnitzel” is made from veal, but as I don’t like that, I used pork. It goes well with chicken or turkey too but then it’s just a “Schnitzel Wiener Art”.

But first, let’s see what we need to make it.

The meat (escalopes), eggs, flour, breadcrumbs (don’t know wether that’s the correct translation for Semmelbrösel…), oil and salt.

The very important thing is to get the meat really thin. I use this “Schnitzelklopfer” and stomp it really hard.

A great way to get rid of aggression and u know...

When it’s nicely thinned, give it some salt and turn it over in flour first.

Add the egg in.

Lastly, add Semmelbrösel (Breadcrumbs).

You should now have a nice paniertes Schnitzel... or coated escalope, or such…

Give enough oil into a pan and when it’s nicely hot, put in the little "beasts".
Roast until it turns nicely golden brown.

Serve with fresh salad and some rice on the side.
French fries work too.

And don’t forget to make silly photos for Swee!

Swee: *LOL*

All Time Favourite Brownies

This week's TGIF feature is a classic dessert - brownies made by Anna from TheHouseofMouse. Besides using her meticulous hands on making lovely and adorable felt characteristic mice, Anna loves to whip up delicious meals for her husband - Mr. Mouse, and herself.

Following recipe is her little write-up and photos to share with you.

"The recipe I want to share is my all time favorite dessert. I have a sweet tooth and so anything chocolate is good as far as I am concerned.

This recipe is for Dark Indulgent Chocolate Brownies – for those who have never had brownies before they are like small slices of a thick cake with chocolate chunks in – deeelishooous!

I learned how to make brownies from my mother, although this particular recipe is my own variation because I like to mix chocolate orange chunks into my brownies. If you don’t like chocolate orange you can easily substitute this ingredient for a filling of your choice. Walnuts work well, or even mint chocolate.

Recipe:

350g (12 oz) plain chocolate, broken into pieces

350g (8 oz) margarine

2 teaspoons instant coffee

2 tablespoons hot water

3 extra large eggs

225g (8 oz) caster (superfine) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

75g (3 oz) self raising flower

350g (12 oz) dark chocolate orange bar, broken into pieces

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/Gas 5. Grease and base line a 30x23cm (12x9inch) roasting tin with greaseproof paper. (Pic above) Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl with the margarine over a pan of hot water, siring occasionally.

When it has blended leave it to cool for at least 15 mins.

Dissolve the coffee in the hot water.

In another bowl, mix together the coffee, eggs, sugar and vanilla essence.

Gradually beat in the chocolate mixture.

(Pic above) Fold in the flour and chocolate orange pieces, and then quickly turn out into the prepared roasting tin.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until firm to the touch and a dull crust has formed.

Leave to cool in the tin.

(Pic above) When the cake is completely cold cut into squares.

__________________________________________

We discovered that it is not easy to take a good photo of someone when they are eating. my hubby Mr Mouse wasn’t very keen on being photographed, as you can see. And I am far too vain to show you any of the awful photos he took of me.

Instead I will leave you with a common image when I have made brownies – us picking up every last crumb!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my recipe and feel like trying it out for yourself!

It really is yummy-licious! "

- Anna

Prawn Fried Rice

One of my favourite dish is the Prawn Fried Rice. For this fried rice dish, it is important to use the freshest prawns you can get. Get prawns the size of about 2 inches in length (before shelling). Shell the prawns and cut them into smaller cubes. That is my preference anyway. You can leave it whole if you want… especially if you want to impress your guests with bigger looking prawns.

Below is my recipe.

Ingredients

3 rice bowls of cooked white rice (preferably left overnight in fridge)
1 rice bowl measure of medium prawns (shelled and cut into smaller pieces)
½ rice bowl measure of carrots (diced small)
½ rice bowl measure of French beans (diced small)
3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
4 shallots (sliced thinly)
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons cooking oil

Seasoning

2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
2 teaspoons light soya sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and white pepper powder to taste


Method

Heat oil in wok on and fry shallots on medium heat till golden brown. Remove and set aside fried shallots.
Add garlic, carrots and French beans and stir well for a minute. Add prawns and stir well till prawns turn red. Push ingredients aside by making a well. Add a tablespoon of oil in the center and break eggs into the oil. Once eggs are semi-cooked, add rice and push ingredients into it.
Stir evenly and press rice to separate grains from one another. Add seasoning. Fry the rice for about 3 minutes and until the seasoning is evenly distributed.
Dish out and garnish with fried shallots.