Monthly Archives: December 2012

Christmas Stress: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime – Foodhappiness-athos

Posted on December 31, 2012 by

Do you remember learning about figures of speech at school: alliteration, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, synechdoche, metonymy, litote and the like?  One of them was, if you recall, ‘bathos’.   Bathos is all about a sudden descent in style, where a situation … Continue reading →

Posted in Contorni and/or side dishes, italian home food, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

My home-made Saffron Risotto – Risotto alla Milanese

Posted on December 30, 2012 by

For all that Risotto alla Milanese is a classic, I don’t often make it.  Indeed, time was when I’d buy a packet of Knorr’s ready-made risotto (in which the rice wasn’t even proper carnaroli or arborio rice, now that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Techniques, italian home food, Primi (first courses - usually a pasta or risotto), Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Involtini di Carne cooked without the benefit of a pressure cooker

Posted on December 29, 2012 by

I am one of those people who think pressure cookers are brilliant, not uncool at all.  I realise, however, that some people do not own a pressure cooker even though they might not think badly of them.  So here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Techniques, Herbs and plants, Pressure Cooker, Primi (first courses - usually a pasta or risotto), Secondi (main course, usually meat based), Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sausage and spare rib stew for polenta – Polenta con le spuntature

Posted on December 19, 2012 by

Polenta may not be the most exciting of dishes unless a) you are really hungry and b) you are really cold.  It is these two factors that render polenta sublime.  Polenta (the corn meal) is similar to bread, rice and … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Techniques, Herbs and plants, italian home food, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mushroom soup for parties

Posted on December 13, 2012 by

Mushroom soup doesn’t sound particularly enticing for a dinner party except for when the weather is really cold and wet and it takes forever to get warmed up once one has reached the sanctuary of a warm room, away from … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbs and plants, italian home food, Primi (first courses - usually a pasta or risotto), Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Cheese and Polenta Casserole – pasticcio di polenta

Posted on December 9, 2012 by

Aha! if this photo could speak … notice a glass of martini on the left? I needed one … that’s all I can say.  I was getting a trifle flustered, at this stage, about 6 :30 p.m. shall we say, … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Techniques, Contorni and/or side dishes, Herbs and plants, italian home food, Loving the Leftovers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments