For all of his innate healthiness, my husband’s favourite pasta sauce is Carbonara. I don’t mind a jot as it’s easy to prepare as opposed to a tomato based pasta sauce which requires a long time simmering and splattering scarlet splodges Jackson Pollack-style all over the stovetop. I was watching Nigella Feasts on DVD and saw her making this and I thought that the addition of the waiting wedge of Gorgonzola in my fridge would be a good partner.

It’s not exactly low fat but I figure that 2 eggs is a lot healthier than a cup of cream so I felt no guilt or remorse adding in the Gorgonzola. Besides only a small amount is needed to impart its distinctive aroma. Coupling the taste of Gorgonzola with bacon and parmesan and you’ve got a virtually remorse free zone based purely on the taste alone.

I also have a thing about freshly grated nutmeg. I find the pre-grated stuff taste like a pale imitation of freshly grated nutmeg with its brain-like interior so I risk skinning my fingers with the whole nutmeg seed thanks to my Microplane extra fine grater.

I never know how to plate pasta attractively so I played with the pasta trying to imitate how I’ve seen it done at restaurants. I wouldn’t say that I exactly got the hang of it but I did hopefully a reasonable imitation of it. I even tried to replicate the swirl of the spaghetti to the Barbara Barry plates.

Click here to read the full story

I don’t know if sometimes I should be committed to an institution or not. I admit that there’s a part of me that looks at something difficult and rubs my hands with glee thinking “Hmm I’d like to try that”. And that’s the part of me that probably should be institutionalised. I’m studying for my Ps and my husband keeps telling me that it’s not that hard, that millions of people already have theirs and that that should prove that it is indeed something easily within reach to an able bodied person. However a perverse part of me knows that if only 5 people in the world had a Driver’s License, then I’d be more interested in joining that club than one where millions of people belong. It’s utter foolishness for the most part as if I try, I probably wouldn’t get in but it’s the want in me that desires it.

This item was the best looking of the very gorgeously photographed 3 Star Chef book by Gordon Ramsay in the section he calls “The Dark Arts” (so Harry Potter, love it). So naturally I wanted to try and make it. I knew that I would have to make some adjustments (I used strawberries rather than rapsberries, I made honey ice cream instead of milk and one mousse type was canceled based on the amount of time it took to do another part, but more on that later). So was I able to recreate a 3 Michelin star restaurant dessert? Not exactly really and not without some adjustments to his recipes. I have to say that there were some crucial details missing for those who have never made the tuiles before and some things were just so not possible that I abandoned the recipe and made my own version (the directions for Italian Meringue for the mousse).

I had some issues with parts of this recipe so I’ve included the easier version which I know worked. I wouldn’t want my readers to go through the trauma of a failed recipe. And this dessert was actually served at Royal Hospital Road as seen on the Stomach Expansion blog. So without further ado, please take my hand and I welcome you to the saga that was the Strawberry and Mint Mille Feuille with Honey Ice Cream!

Click here to read the full story

If the name doesn’t sound dreamy enough, perhaps the look of these delicate frosted rose petaled cupcakes will convince you to make them. The cakes themselves are light as air, much like an unusual flavoured Angel food cupcake. It’s a simple-ish, light cake – specifically lemon with a cardamom pop in almost every bite. If you prefer your cupcakes, a little milder tasting you could certainly halve the amount of cardamom and crush them to disperse the flavour a bit more rather than having a concentrated pop when you bite into a seed.

The cake part is not overly sweet and barely contains any oils or butters and would be perfect with a cup of tea (I’d think coffee might overwhelm it). I found that this recipe made about 9 1/2 cupcakes but you may find it makes a round dozen if you have slightly smaller cases. And whilst you can technically eat the rose petals, I can’t say that I relished the petal I tasted. One thing to note that is if you refrigerate the cupcakes with petals atop, they will become “wet” and lose their fabulous glacial beauty so if you need to refrigerate them, add the petals on before serving. And it goes without saying that with this name it is best served to your loved one or your wannabe loved one in lieu of a piece of poetry.

Click here to read the full story