Italian Kiwi – Recipes, Travel, and More!
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Venetian Butter Cookies (Bussolai Buranei)
The Venetian butter cookies that you’ve been longing to hear about Last year we went for a trip to Venice, and I suddenly realized that the time has drifted away and I’ve told you nothing yet about our time there! So, today I’m going to rectify that. Sorry that I’ve kept you in…
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Strawberry Tart with Italian Crema
A hankering for strawberry tart Strawberries are everywhere right now, except in my garden. At the moment I have lots of plants, some of which have flowers, but nary a strawberry in sight. I’m hoping that they’re just being coy and will start popping out strawberries galore at any time now. As soon…
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Roasted Leg of Lamb
Time for a terrible confession The flowers (and weeds) are popping up in the garden right before our very eyes, and hoards of German and Scandinavian tourists are arriving in the area, so that means it’s Spring! We had my husband’s family over from Italy during the Easter weekend. I decided to make…
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Elsie’s Fingers (Sugar-Rolled Biscuits)
Bringing back a traditional NZ cookie These biscuits from New Zealand, called Elsie’s Fingers, are a very old (as far as history goes for New Zealand!) cookie that was an integral part of the childhood of anyone born before the 80’s. I remember often snacking on Elsie’s Fingers for afternoon tea when I…
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Fresh pasta (Maltagliati) with Lentil Sauce
I know that since my post last week on making fresh pasta at home, you’ve all been madly producing kilos and kilos of the stuff. It’s hanging off every hanging surface you have: chairs, clotheslines, broom-handles, and now….what to do with all that bounty?! Just a boring old tomato sauce doesn’t make the…
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Fresh Pasta: How To Make It Easily At Home!
It’s finally time to make fresh pasta This post is way overdue! I’ve been writing for nearly two years now, and haven’t yet put up a post on how to make fresh pasta……and I call this an Italian cooking blog??!! Shame on me! I’m just lucky I haven’t had my Italian passport revoked…
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Ginger Slice from New Zealand
A classic square from the annuals of my childhood cookbook I’m back from New Zealand and, after a week of sleepless nights, finally over the jet-lag! While I was there, my mother made ginger slice, which whisked me back to my childhood faster than that Back to the Future dude went all over…
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Arancine (Sicilian Rice Balls)
What are arancine? When you go to Sicily (I’d love to write “whenever” meaning that you and I go often!), you see arancine sold everywhere. I first discovered them when I went to Sicily for the first time. Ha! This is for those of you who have been reading my posts for a while:…
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Pavlova: The Monster Meringue from New Zealand
The Big Debate About Pavlova So, already with the title I wrote “Pavlova: the Giant Meringue from New Zealand”, I’ve made any Australians reading this fume and yell at their computer screens, “But it comes from AUSTRALIA , not New Zealand!!!”. Welcome to the secret Cold War between New Zealand and Australia! Each…
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Focaccia di Leonarda
Discovering the focaccia success secret I had the pleasure of watching Leonarda, a friend of mine from Puglia, make focaccia last week. I had tried over the years to make focaccia but for some reason, no matter what I tried, the focaccia always came out hard like a plank of wood. Leonarda very…
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Sausage, Spinach and Beer Risotto
Risotto with a difference! This risotto with sausages and spinach has an extra special guest hitching along for the ride. Instead of using the usual wine to make the risotto, you actually use beer. It gives the risotto an extra depth of taste, especially if you pair it with good pork sausages. I…
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Crumiri (Crunchy Cornmeal Cookies)
Crumiri and cappuccino: a breakfast made in heaven! Whenever I am in Turin, one of the first things I do on the first morning I’m there is go to the bar and drink a cappuccino (of course!) and grab a biscuit to munch on that is made with polenta flour. The cracking of…
