I made tagliatelle alla Bolognese with my family yesterday.

It was my first time ever and the result was astoundingly amazing. Textbook. The Punkin supervised. Notice the look on her face.

"I hope Boo washed her hands...."

Like I said: This is not for the faint of heart and it requires you make a leap of faith, but the result is oh so worth it!

You will need a 12 cup bundt/angel food cake tin.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large bowl combine the following dry ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1 /2 teaspoons salt

Other ingredients:

6-7 really ripe bananas
4 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon banana extract (optional)
1 1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

In another, rather large mixing bowl place:

6-7 really ripe bananas.

Puree them with a potato masher (you don't want to liquify them)

Using a hand or standing mixer blend in 4 extra large eggs, then 1 cup of plain yogurt (I've used fat free, low fat and full fat with pretty much the same results. Mix until well blended. Now add the sugar and mix until blended. Then the cocoa powder. Now add extracts.

Now gradually add the dry mixture making sure to blend well between additions.
If you're adding nuts, do so at the very end.

Grease the cake tin. It has to be a tube tin for the best heat distribution and even baking. Pour the batter in and place it in the preheated oven.

Set your timer for 45 minutes.

IMPORTANT

After 45 minutes, lower the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.

When you check it for doneness the skewer will not come out completely clean. That's okay. Expect a little sticky batter stuck to it. It is a very moist cake.

Take it out of the oven. Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then turn it over upside down onto a cake rack and let it cool completely. Turn it back right-side-up onto a plate, cover with plastic and refrigerate to set.

Best to wait 24 hours before slicing, if you can resist!

This year I decided on something a little different....

(cue angelic choir)

Chocolate Banana Cake

All bananas and cocoa. It's amazing.

The thing I hate most about Banana Bread is it's really oily and tastes mostly of flour. After many, many, many experiments I have devised the ultimate banana bread/cake. Moist, flavourful and most importantly no oil nor butter. That's right, none.

My recipe is not for the faint of heart. It requires one make a leap of faith.

Perhaps I'll share it with you sometime. Not now, however, I have the first episode of Coupling season four to view. My darling was good enough download it for my viewing pleasure.

We had dinner guests yesterday. After researching the different recipes out there, I settled on Nigella's Ham in Coca Cola, over the numerous recipes available due to it's maximum pleasure in its simplicity of flavours.



I too made it out of amused interest and was really impressed. I left mine in the bubbling coke longer until it fell off the bone. I then sprinkled it with some brown sugar and dry mustard and blasted it in the oven. It turned out perfect. It had the right balance of smoke, spice, salt and sweet.

I'm a convert too. I can't imagine eating it any other way. I too strongly recommend you try this.

I took a pound of 'marinating' steak (read: cheap cut) and submerged it in a minty, creamy bath for about 36 hours. I then scraped the marinade off of the now much softer meat, and gently rubbed in some coriander, cumin, coarse black pepper and sea salt. I preheated a skillet, added a light drizzle of good olive oil and cooked it quickly to medium rare.

It was fabulous! Even my finicky toddler loved it.

Minty Marinade recipe:

2 cups plain yogurt
20-30 fresh mint leaves coarsely chopped to release the oils
the zest and juice of a lime

Blend all the ingredients and cover the meat well. Place it in the fridge for a day or two.

Before cooking it up (pan or bbq) gently rub in some ground coriander seed, cumin, sea salt and coarse black pepper.

I served it with plain rice and mesclun salad dressed lightly with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Cross-posted on The Witch's Kitchen!

I love ricotta, I love making my own anything from scratch, but let's be practical. It's not likely I'll get my hands on some whey, so here's the next best thing. Thanks to Erica Demane, I can! Oh, and by the way, it's just as lovely!


To make about a pound of ricotta:

2 quarts whole milk
1 quart goat's milk (or a third quart of whole milk)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup lemon juice, about 1 large lemon's worth

Pour the milk into a large saucepan. Add the sea salt and stir to blend it into the milk (the salt is very important for bringing out the flavor in the finished ricotta). Bring to a very low boil over medium heat. Add the lemon juice and stir briefly to blend. Bring back to a very low boil and cook about a minute. You will start to see little white particles coagulate on the surface. This means the curds are starting to form. Don't let the milk cook any longer than about a minute or you may wind up with hard, dry curds instead of the soft, creamy texture you are after. Remove the pot from the heat, and cover. Let the ricotta sit for about 20 minutes untouched. This will allow bigger, more substantial curds to form.

Line a colander or a tightly woven wicker basket with cheesecloth or a thin cotton cloth like a piece of bed sheet. Gently pour the ricotta into the cloth, being careful not to break up the curds too much (the best approach is to tilt the pot against the colander or basket right up at the rim; free-fall pouring may be too violent). Let this drain, unrefrigerated, for about an hour. You will now have a rather moist ricotta, the way I like it. If you prefer it drier, you can tie and hang the cheese cloth over the sink or over a bowl so the ricotta can drain more thoroughly. The ricotta is ready to use. You may refrigerate it, but it will stay really fresh and sweet only for about two days. If you plan on baking with the ricotta, drain it well.

Cross posted here.

Makes 1 x 450g jar, enough for pasta for 6-8 people

Preparation time: 10 minutes in a processor, 30 minutes by hand

Ingredients
4 packs basil, or 1 large basil plant, leaves only
25g pine kernels
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp granular sea salt
50g freshly grated Parmesan
50g freshly grated Pecorino
100-200ml extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
Wash and dry the basil leaves. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast the pine kernels lightly for 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

If you're using a mortar, pound the garlic with the salt to make a soft mush. Pound in the pine nuts, then work in the basil leaves, 2-3 at a time, with a circular movement of the pestle, until all is reduced to a silky paste. (The mixture can be frozen at this point). Work in the cheeses, then beat in the olive oil with a wooden spoon until you have a thick, dense sauce. Add more or less oil depending on the texture you like.

If you're using a processor, drop all the ingredients in and blitz to a luscious green sauce.

To serve, cook a pasta of your choice according to packet instructions. Before dressing the pasta, dilute the pesto with a tablespoonful of pasta cooking water.

To store the pesto, pour into a jar, float a layer of olive oil on top, cover and refrigerate for up to a week.

My favourite way to eat pesto is freshly made and on linguini. I sometimes cook some penne or fusilli and toss in cold leftover chicken meat and pesto for a quick pasta salad. It makes for quick and nutritious lunch.

Buon Appetito!

My husband has been spending almost every night in a recliner in our living room with the Punkin. Why? Because she is teething and I am spent. I don't even have to ask, he volunteers. He mutters reproachments at our baby girl in a cooing tone, she wriggles and giggles in his arms as they head to the darkened living room where they spend most of the night together. It's clear that Punkin wants her Daddy. How do I know this? Allow me for a moment to rewrite the Tao of Motherhood.

Found this link over here where Mr.Flea is featuring what may be the forerunner of the Italian meatball recipe.

The following confirms that my love of mussels is hard-coded.
Below is an antique Roman recipe. I can guess pretty much how each recipe evolved into the Italian recipes I know and love.



Buon Appetito!