Simon's Cat - Icecapade

Simon's Cat is back... sillier than ever ;))

Brownies

Brownies... Venice style :D

110g plain chocolate, broken into pieces, 110g butter, 225g caster sugar, 2 eggs, beaten, 110g plain flour, sifted, ½ teaspoon baking powder, 110gc hopped walnuts, pinch of salt

Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Stand the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water until it melts. When melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients. Spread the mixture into a greased, 18 x 28cm shallow baking tin and bake in a preheated oven, 180°C/350°F/Gas 4, for 30 minutes. If you can resist, let the mixture cool in the tin for 10 minutes - it will sink a little bit. Then cut the brownies into 8-10 'squares' and cool on a wire rack.

Africa for Norway

Now the tables have turned... It's Africa for Norway ;))

Roast carrot soup with pancetta croutons

Like usual another delicious Good Food recipe...

700g carrots, cut into batons, 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, skin on, few thyme sprigs, plus extra to garnish, small knob of butter, 2 onions, finely chopped, 700ml chicken stock , made up with 1 cube, 6 tbsp double cream
For the croutons: 6 slices pancetta, 2 thick slices rustic bread , cut into soldiers (we used sourdough), drizzle olive oil

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the carrots, half the oil, the garlic and thyme in a roasting tin. Season and toss everything together. Pop in the oven and roast for 45-50 mins, or until tender and beginning to turn golden.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil and butter in a large saucepan. Tip in the onions and cook over a low heat for 10 mins until soft. When the carrots are done, remove from the oven. Squeeze the soft roasted garlic cloves out of their skins and pop in the saucepan. Tip in the carrots and discard any woody thyme stalks. Pour over the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins.
To make the croutons, wrap the pancetta around the soldiers, leaving the ends of the bread exposed. Put on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil and grind over some black pepper. Bake for 10 mins until the pancetta and bread edges are crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
While the croutons are cooking, blitz the soup with a hand blender, then sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing to get as much liquid through as possible. Add 5 tbsp of the cream, heat through and season. Adjust the thickness with a little water, if you like. You can chill the soup for up to 1 day at this point, or freeze for 2 months. Reheat before serving. Serve drizzled with the remaining cream and garnished with thyme, with the croutons.

Adele - Skyfall

The best Bond ever....

Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream

450ml (16fl oz) whole milk, 15g (½oz) cornflour, 50g (1¾oz) best possible cocoa powder, 75g (2¾oz) golden granulated or caster sugar, pinch of salt 

Mix 100ml (3½fl oz) of the milk with the cornflour to a smooth paste. Set aside. Mix together the cocoa powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat the remaining milk to simmering point, then pour in a steady stream over the cocoa mixture, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps from forming. Return the mixture to the hob in a stainless-steel pan, cooking over a very low heat at barely simmering point. Stir the bottom constantly to prevent scorching; it can easily catch, so take care. Cook for six minutes, then add the blended cornflour, whisking again to prevent lumps. Return to a simmer and cook for two minutes until thickened and smooth.

Strain the mixture into a clean container and cool in an ice-water bath, stirring often to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least four hours (this 'ages' the ice cream so that the water and fat cells mingle and the ice cream has better body and melts more slowly once frozen).

Freeze and churn in an ice-cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Serve with cashew nuts and a pinch of lightly toasted ancho chilli seeds ground up with sea salt, or with sweetened whipped cream and grated dark chocolate.

The Script - Six Degrees of Separation

Wisconsin Cheese Soup

1 cup sliced carrots, 2 cups chopped broccoli, 1 cup water, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, 2 cups milk, 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine carrots, broccoli, water, and bouillon. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside. In a large saucepan, cook onion in butter over medium heat until onion is translucent. Stir in flour and pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil, then stir in cheese until melted. Stir in reserved vegetables and cooking liquid. Heat through, and serve with fresh crusty bread.

Havasi Drum & Piano Project - Freedom

Totally amazing artists, an unexpected concert, a lovely evening ;)

Mushroom & Leek Tarts

3 cups flour, coarse salt and pepper, 2 3/4 sticks butter, chilled, 6 tablespoons ice water, 2 pounds mixed mushrooms - stemmed, cleaned and thinly sliced, 2 large leeks, thinly sliced into rounds, 16 ounces goat cheese, at room temperature, 1/4 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

In a food processor, pulse the flour and 1 tsp. salt to combine. Cut 2 sticks butter into small cubes. Add to the flour and pulse until pea-size pieces form. Drizzle in the ice water; process just until the dough starts to form a ball on the blade. Knead briefly to blend. Halve the dough; pat into 2 disks.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees . on a floured surface, roll out each dough half into a large rectangle or circle. Transfer to two 5-by-14-inch rectangular or 9-inch round tart pans; press in evenly. Prick the dough all over with a fork; refrigerate for 10 minutes. Cover the dough with parchment and fill with pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and pie weights; reduce the oven to 375 degrees . Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the crust to a rack to cool completely.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium-high heat. Add half of the mushrooms and cook until most of their liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are soft and brown, about 10 minutes; season and transfer to a bowl. Repeat with 2 tbsp. more butter and the remaining mushrooms. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp. butter in the skillet. Add the leeks and cook until softened and just barely browned, 6 to 8 minutes; season.
in a small bowl, whisk the goat cheese, milk, eggs and a generous pinch of pepper. Divide the goat cheese mixture between the crusts; spread to cover. Divide the leeks between the tarts, sprinkling evenly on top of the cheese. Cover with the mushrooms. Return the tarts to the oven; bake just until the cheese mixture sets, about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the tarts with parsley and thyme. Serve within 3 hours.

Fly with Air New Zealand

I want to fly with them too :))

Tiffin Cake

Thank you Lilly in the kitchen blog for the recipe ;)

100 gr dark chocolate, 100 gr milk chocolate, 75 gr butter, 200 ml condensed milk, 150 gr crushed digestive biscuits

Melt the dark and milk chocolates with the butter and the condensed milk. 

When everything is homogenized add the crushed biscuits. 

Pour it in a buttered dish and place it in the fridge for 2 hours. 

Cut it into pieces and serve.

Penne with Gorgonzola and Spinach Sauce

1 onion, 1 garlic, 1 tablespoon oil, 250 fresh chopped spinach, salt, pepper, 400 gr penne, 150 gr Gorgonzola, 200 ml milk, 200 ml cream, 1 teaspoon sauce binder

Saute the chopped onion and garlic, add the spinach, season it with salt and pepper, add a little water or wine if necessary. Cook for 5-10 minutes till the liquid evaporates.

Cook the penne in salt water.

Cut the Gorgonzola in small cubes and add it to the spinach together with the milk and cream and the teaspoon of sauce binder. Cook for another 5 minutes, till the cheese has melted. Add the pasta and serve.

Rea Garvey - Wild Love

Hey, I never gonna get enough of your wild love ...

WDR Radio Orchestra: Star Wars flashmob!

I want to see live a flash mob like this....

Xavas - Gespaltene Persönlichkeit

Hey, hey the new album from Xavier has just arrived :D

Jensen Ackles - Angeles

Just one word: YUMMY :D

Jennifer Aniston security tapes

She is really a funny, funny person...

Taxi - Esti iubibila

Funny, funny, funny :D

The Script - Hall of Fame live in Dublin

Now this is busking....

Mama n-are cratima, ma-ta are :))

Lindt Commercial

One of the funnies commercials I've seen in a long time...

The Script - Hall of Fame

Waiting for the #3 album :D

Cosmote Commercial

Un batranel cu pulovaras si gherute la manuta declanseaza... panicuta :)))

Red Onion Pinwheels

1 puff pastry dough, 2 red onions, 100 gr bacon cut into small cubes, 250 gr chopped fresh spinach, 200 gr grated parmesan, 1 teaspoon sweet mustard, 1 teaspoon sweet chilli sauce, 1 beaten egg, some sesame seeds or black cumin seeds

Fry the chopped onions in oil, add the bacon and the spinach. Saute for a couple of minutes, add the mustard and the chilli sauce, season to taste.
Unroll dough on work surface. Spread spinach mixture on rectangle to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. 
Starting at long side of rectangle, roll up; seal long edge. With serrated knife, cut into 20 slices. Place cut side down on cookie sheet. Brush with egg. Sprinkle with the cumin seeds and put it in the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve while warm.

Ronan Keating - Fires

Coffee Semifreddo

It's a really easy recipe, from Laura's Adamache blog ;)


You will need:
180 gr condensed milk, 50 gr coffee and 250 gr whipped cream

Mix the coffee and the condensed milk, add the whipped cream and fold carefully for 2-3 minutes.
Pour it in small silicon moulds and put it in the freezer for 3-4 hours. 
Serve them sprinkled with cocoa.

Simon's Cat - Window Pain

Mushroom Tart with Sage & Asiago

2 LBS mixed mushroom, cleaned, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 12 fresh sage leafs, salt and pepper, 1 sheet puff pastry, plain flour, 1/2 cup shredded asiago

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the larger mushrooms in half. Heat the oil in a large pan and saute mushrooms, onion and garlic until the mushroom is golden. Add sage and season with salt and pepper. Roll out the puff pastry in a little flour and place it on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until fluffy and golden, about 12 minutes. Slice and serve hot or cold.

Thanks http://sweetpaul.typepad.com/ for the recipe ;)

Ceatatea Neamtului

Singura poezie din copilarie care mi-a placut....

Five Minute Chocolate Pots

200 gr dark chocolate chopped, 1/2 tb vanilla extract, 300 ml single cream, 1 large egg

Whizz the chocolate, vanilla and a pinch of salt in an electric blender. Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan, remove from the heat, pour over the chocolate and blend. Add the egg, blend then pour into the ramekins. Chill in the fridge for 3 hours, before serving, decorated with physalis or raspberries.

Easy, no?

And taaasty tooo :D

Chocolate camera

Me want one!

Can I have one?

Pretty pleeese :D

Carmina Burana

I want to see a flash mob like this... live :D

Tortino al Fondente con Cuore di Marmellata di Arance

140 g dark chocolate, 110 g butter, 3 tbs single cream, 1 teaspoon flour, 1 teaspoon Maizena, 50 g sugar, 2 eggs, 4 tbs orange jam

Melt the chocolate together with the butter and the cream. 

Beat the eggs, then add the sugar and mix till you have a fluffy cream. Add the flour and the maizena and the cooled chocolate cream.

Butter and flour 4 ramekins. Fill them 1/2 and put them in the fridge for an hour. 

Heat the oven at 200 degrees Celsius. 

Take the ramekins from the fridge, add the tablespoon of jam, and fill with the rest of chocolate cream.

Bake for 15 minutes and serve warm with icecream.

Tongue Tied

Isaac's Live Lip-Dub Proposal

The cutest wedding proposal I've seen in a while...

Happy birthday Maru

The cutest cat on Facebook is 4 years old. Happy Birthday :))

TIFF Advertising

The new video for TIFF Festival in Cluj...

Rea Garvey - Heart of an enemy

Cheese & Bacon Lasagne

Like usual a big thanks to Good Foods Magazine ;)

3 large onions , halved and thinly sliced, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 300g pack lean smoked back bacon, chopped, 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in rich juice, 20 basil leaves, roughly torn, plus extra to serve if you like, 250g pack fresh egg lasagne 

For the white sauce: 600ml milk, 50g each butter and plain flour, generous grating fresh nutmeg, 50g grated Parmesan

Fry the onions in the oil for about 15 mins until golden. Add the oregano and bacon and fry for 5 mins more, stirring frequently. Tip in the tomatoes, season and bubble uncovered for 5 mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. 

Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Pour the milk into a pan and tip in the butter and flour. Whisk continuously over a moderate heat to incorporate the flour, then simmer, stirring until thickened. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. 

Spoon a third of the tomato sauce on the base of a lasagne dish. Top with a third of the lasagne sheets. Then top with a third sauce, a third lasagne, the last of the tomato sauce and finally the last sheets of lasagne. Pour over the white sauce and scatter with the cheese and an extra grating of nutmeg. 

Chill. If eating straight away, bake at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 for 40 mins until golden and bubbling. Scatter with basil, if you like, and serve with a salad and garlic bread. 

To freeze, cool completely, then wrap in cling film, then foil. Will store for 3 months. To serve, thaw for 6 hrs in a cool place. Unwrap and bake at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 for 50-60 mins until thoroughly heated through.

The 25th Anniversary Ballet Todes

The 25th anniversary of Todes Ballet Company :D

Tortellini with asparagus

I discovered this recipe in an italian magazine and it was worth making it, it was quite tasty and easy to make ;)

100 g frozen peas, 500 g white asparagus, 150 g prosciutto cotto, 100 ml cream, 250 g tortellini ricotta & spinach, 2 tablespoons olive oil

Thaw the frozen peas, wash and cut the asparagus into pieces about 2-3 cm long. Cut the ham into cubes and heat the oil in a skillet and cook the asparagus for about 4-5 minutes.

Add the diced ham and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the cream, stir and cook briefly on low heat. 

Cook the tortellini in boiling water, drain them and, put them in a dish, pour over the sauce and serve.

Caribbean banana & raisin strudel

A quick recipe by Delia Smith, without sugar, so it's healthy, but very sweet because of the bananas...

4 medium bananas, 50g raisins, the grated zest of 1 large navel orange, 2 tablespoons rum, 100g pecan nuts, 75g butter, 4 sheets filo pastry, about 24 x 50cm, defrosted, 2 heaped tablespoons crème fraîche, 1 tablespoon icing sugar, for sprinkling

Soak the raisins and orange zest in the rum for one hour. After that, drain the raisins and zest in a sieve over a bowl to catch the juices, pressing to extract as much juice as possible.
When you're ready to start preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and pop the nuts on the baking sheet to toast for 5-6 minutes and at the same time melt the butter in a saucepan. Then remove the nuts and pulse them in a processor to chop them small.
Now spread out a sheet of baking parchment on the baking sheet. Follow this with one sheet of filo pastry (cover the others with a clean tea towel). Brush the filo pastry all over with melted butter and sprinkle on a quarter of the nuts. Do this another three times with the rest of the filo pastry (saving some butter for the top).
Now peel the bananas and lay two, end to end, about 5cm (2in) from one edge of the pastry. Place the other two bananas directly next to them towards the middle. Next scatter the raisins and zest over the bananas. The strained rum juice now needs to be whisked into the crème fraîche, then spoon this over the bananas.
Use the baking parchment to help you roll the filo pastry over the bananas and then over again. Trim 2.5cm (1in) off each end of the filo parcel, then tuck the ends under - so you are left with the seam and the ends underneath - and discard the parchment.
Brush the rest of the butter all over and bake on the centre shelf for 40 minutes. If you like you can make the strudel a few hours in advance and bake it when you want to serve it.
Sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

Sundried tomato and pancetta quiche with parmesan pastry

A tasty quiche by Irish Chef Catherine Fulvio ;)

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting, 100g butter, chilled and diced, 2 tbsp grated Parmesan, 1⁄2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme, 1 egg yolk, beaten, 2–3 tbsp chilled water (you may need less) For the filling: 4 sundried tomatoes, chopped, 2 large eggs + 2 egg yolks, 100g pancetta, cubed, 150ml cream, 100g crème fraîche, Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 100g soft goat’s cheese green salad, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease a 23cm flan tin with a removable base or 6 x 9cm tartlet tins.
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the butter, Parmesan and thyme and rub them into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and just enough water to form a dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll out the pastry until it’s slightly larger than the tin. Line the tin with the pastry and trim the edges. Place a circle of parchment paper over the pastry and fill with baking beans.Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for 2 minutes to crisp the base. Set aside.
For the filling, place all the ingredients except for the goat’s cheese into a large bowl and mix gently. Pour the filling into the pastry case and divide the goat’s cheese over the top. Bake the quiche for 20–25 minutes, or until the filling is set. Serve warm or cold with a green salad.