Toffee-glazed white chocolate mud cakes

My vacation is over and tomorrow morning I'm back at work; I still have things to organize at home, therefore a quick post with an equally quick recipe (despite the steps), so delicious that will certainly put a smile on my face, even now that I no longer remember what it feels like waking up early. :D

Toffee-glazed white chocolate mud cakes
from the always delicious and oh, so beautiful Donna

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apple kuchen

The idea was to make Nigella’s apple and blackberry kuchen, but my stash of frozen blackberries was long gone (and to be honest I don’t even remember what I used the berries for). Therefore I made an apple and only apple kuchen, with a sprinkling of slivered almonds, which turned out delicious, moist and tender, adjectives very commonly associated to Ms. Lawson’s recipes; I hope the mail is

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Yogurt cake with marmalade glaze and a solved dilemma

The whole vacation song dilemma got solved after all: in the end, throughout my entire trip, Phoenix’s “1901” got stuck in my head in such a deep way that it ended up putting the other two songs aside up to this moment. Go figure. :D

Dorie’s delicious yogurt cake with marmalade glaze got stuck in my head for ages, but the “Tuesdays with Dorie” event made me completely ignore the cookbook for

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pasta alla Norma and back from vacation

After 11 wonderful days spent in the unforgettable New York I’m back home – very tired and immensely happy. The best trip of my life to a place I intend to go back to many, many times. My heart is full of joy but my feet still hurt from all the walking, so a quick meal is mandatory: this pasta dish is easy to make and tastes great, despite its simplicity – a weeknight favorite.

Pasta alla

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Melt and mix lemon bars + songs linked to my vacations

It was not like I planned it, but the past two vacation periods I had were marked by a song each: 2010's vacation was all about Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition" while the days off I had in 2011 come to mind every time I listen to Feldberg's "Dreamin". This year's vacation period, though, is linked to two different songs, and I can't choose my favorite. :D

Days off request my favorite flavor,

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Pistachio polenta pound cake

People usually ask me for advice in baking and cooking and one thing I always tell them is to read the entire recipe before actually making it: it is important to know all the details prior to preparation. That is something I learned the hard way: I can’t tell you how many times I’d already be making something, looking forward to eating it only to read “refrigerate overnight” in the middle of

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chestnut brownies

Remember my chestnut-flour-baking-frenzy? After removing the cake from the oven and placing it on a wire rack to cool, I immediately started making these brownies: the recipe called for chopped roasted chestnuts to be incorporated in the batter, but I decided to bake the brownies without them anyway. The result was a cakey brownie, very moist and delicious; I gladly gobbled up two pieces of it

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Apple, pecan and gingerbread loaf + "Top Chef"

There are shows and series I adore but never have the time to watch; “Top Chef” is one of them – I watched the first season back in the day but then never got to watch the following seasons, therefore it’s been wonderful to watch the reruns at Sony for the past months.

* spoilers – seasons 1 through 7 *

Apart from Howard, which I thought truly deserved winning “Top Chef”, I did not like all

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Orange and oat muffins

I am crazy for strawberries and my husband knows that very well: last Friday he brought home two baskets full of perfumed and delicious strawberries – it was a sweet surprise. My plans were to eat half the berries with just a sprinkling of sugar and to bake with the other half, so I set out to make the lovely strawberry cupcakes I’d seen in one of my recent purchases; I guess I was out of my

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Peanut butter and Port thumbprints

A long time ago I bought an adorable cookbook filled with recipes spiked with alcohol; but me being me, when it came to using the book I realized I did not have all those kinds of booze around the house – I don’t even have any tequila at home! – and therefore the cookbook patiently awaited on the shelf, up until the day it suddenly hit me: I had a bottle of Port begging to be used! That is how

reade more... Résuméabuiyad