amo la cucina

Snapshots of one family's obsession with food.

[amolacucina]

amo la cucina turned 3 today!

Sadly, haven't been able to keep up with posting.....

[amolacucina]

Easter lunch with the family

[amolacucina]

Little sister's home baked bread

[amolacucina]

Christmas (2)

Christmas lunch isn't Christmas lunch without mamma's homemade tortellini in brodo. This year we went for a more pared down, simple lunch: roast turkey and roast pork and a variety of salads, some sourced from our own gardens.

[amolacucina]

Christmas lunch with the family (1)

I know Christmas was ages ago...... Here we are getting ready for lunch at little sister's house. Prosciutto, a heavenly cheese selection, Prosecco or Pimm's. Although the weather report didn't augur well, it ended up being a sunny day so we were able to eat outside.

[amolacucina]

Alberto's birthday falls not long before Christmas so this is not the first time that we eat mince pies on this occasion. Never a bad time to eat a fruit mince pie, I say. Lots of yummy things to eat for an afternoon gathering: cheeses and prosciutto to start, followed by freshly fried cinamon donuts, mince pies, and then a tropical inspired mango and passionfruit pavlova as the birthday cake. Oh so lusciously yummy.

[amolacucina]

Little sister's jam tart

[amolacucina]

Getting ready for champagne cocktails

[amolacucina]

Easter (set 3)

To finish off the delicious lunch, there was of course the traditional Italian Colomba (Easter dove cake), but there were also lots of other more tempting treats. My brother's wife is the creme caramel maker extraordinaire in the family. She manages to get the consistency perfect every time. No bubbles, just velvety goodness. She keeps alive the memory of her grandmother by making her fruit cake on these family occasions. My niece had fun decorating the chocolate cup cakes she made and I made a frangipane tart with figs from mamma's garden.

I should also mention my nephew. He took a lot of these photos. Need I say, I think he is pretty good.

[amolacucina]

Easter (set 2)

[amolacucina]

Easter (set 1)

Having saved these drafts at the time, I have neglected posting them so they are now frightfully out of season. My main blog, tiziana regina has kept me busy but that is no excuse...

Easter Sunday lunch this year was hosted by my brother and his adorable wife. They have a spectacular outdoor area - perfect for entertaining. We were lucky to have perfect weather - neither too hot nor cold as we had lunch on a long, beautifully set table. 

(More to come...)

[amolacucina]

Papa's birthday high tea (2)

[amolacucina]

Papa's birthday high tea

Big sister once again hosted a family occasion. This one was for papa's birthday which will take place later this month when both he and mamma will be in Italy. There were all manner of sweets: sponge cake, individu.al bread and butter puddings, jelly cakes, ricotta cheese cake, almond bread, rum balls, Florentine apple cake amongst other delicacies.

[amolacucina]

Party sweets

Chocolate walnut brownies and Turkish delight tarts. Click here for recipe.

[amolacucina]

Birthday cake

Layers of banana and walnut cake sandwiched together with whipped vanilla cream and fresh bananas. Naturally, if you want it this size, you have to double or triple the recipe. A couple of skewers pushed through the layers help it keep its shape. Decorate with flaked coconut and voila!

[amolacucina]

Summer days

An impromptu lunch on a hot summer's day at brother’s house. Young ones delighting in the company of their elder cousins, all enjoying the barbequed seafood, salads and luscious summer fruit. Afterwards, why not have a dip in the pool (designed by the family’s favourite landscape architects, Stutterheim Anderson).

[amolacucina]

Christmas Lunch (Part Six)

To our delight, the kids were happy hanging out and playing before lunch, in no apparent hurry to open their presents. We did this after lunch and before the sweets. We are forever trying to keep things simple: the traditional Panettone, Pandoro, and fruit mince pies. There was chocolate too, but no creamy desserts. Who needs them after such a feast?