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Posts Tagged ‘birthday’

  1. A festive dessert – Pistachio mille-feuille

    December 3, 2012 by Giulietta

    Did I ever tell you that I have a passion for pistachios? No?! Well, now you know it: I am a pistachio-addicted! I can’t say no to a couple (a couple?! Who believes that?) pistachio nuts, at any time and situation, I believe that “if a dessert has pistachio in it must be good” (and not just desserts… I’m not a racist!), I strongly believe that “Sicily is the promise land”.

    So when last summer I went to Calabria, even without setting foot in my promise land (I admit it, I haven’t been in Sicily, yet), I found out that pistachio flour was very easy to find. Could I ever come back home empty-handed? I definitely couldn’t, so, while a part of that treasure still lies in my wardrobe/pantry (yes, sometimes I keep food and clothing together), a part has already gone away, but it was for a good cause.

    Our heroine, in fact, sacrificed itself on a special occasion, the birthday of two people who are very important to me and who, like me, love pistachios. So I chose to prepare as a birthday cake a mille-feuille with hand-made puff pastry, pistachio custard and then garnished with a sprinkling of pistachios and a chocolaty writing (as I said, there were two party boys: no one turned 2728).

    To accompany the dessert I could choose to stay in Sicily, with a Pantelleria passito (did I ever mention my passion for passito wines?! Well, I still have many secrets), but then I decided to serve it with a Piedmontese passito, the Sulé Caluso Passito doc produced by Orsolani. This wine, sweet and fruity, would marry even better with pastries, but I think that pistachios created the right conditions for a perfect wedding, even if this dessert is made with custard and whipped cream. And, maybe it’s my love for the Sicilian land, but I’m always in favour of a marriage between Sicilian food and a Piedmontese wine, as I already shown in the past.

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    Category Birthday, Dessert and Sweets, Dried fruit, French cuisine, Holidays, Home-made is better | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,, | 5 Comments

  2. Happy birthday to me – Meringue pie in a cup (sort of)

    July 9, 2012 by Giulietta

     

    A very quick post, with a very clear intention: wish a HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY to me (I wish it to myself, 'cause you never know)! Oh, yes, I fall into the birthday's post cliche, too, but I won't keep going (at myself, of course) stating my desperation for the advancing age (but the age advances, though) or describing everything that I prepared for the celebrations in my honour. Well, actually I didn't prepare anything, there was no special celebration, I refused to cook, at least on my birthday (what the heck!).

    But, for my non-birthday (aka birthday celebrated in advance), I prepared this meringue pie in the cup (sort of), which had some success .. why did I prepare meringue pie for my non-birthday, when I don't go crazy for meringue? This remains a mystery to solve. But that's another story, which I think has something to do with mental tares I mentioned in my previous post … look on the bright side, at least I didn't turn on the oven!

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    Category Birthday, Dessert and Sweets, Egg yolks only, Holidays, Ice cream semifreddo and sorbet | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 10 Comments

  3. Happy birthday, blog!

    February 22, 2012 by Giulietta

    Here we are … Alterkitchen, a year later.

    Exactly one year ago I wrote my first posts, my because and my first recipe. It's amazing, when I look back at this year, how many things have changed in my life and how much I have changed … maybe changed is not the right word, but I certainly came back to be someone that I left dormant for too long.

    So many things changed, in my business life and even more in my personal life… some people got out of my life, some others entered it on tiptoe, others knocking down the door, and then there are some people who have always been there, and that perhaps will always be (and it's what I sincerely hope).

    Between all these changes and this weird and unlucky 2011, I realized that constants (but not too many of them, otherwise things get boring) are important .. and this blog was, despite my breaks and my syncopated or loose rhythms, an important constant. It was something to cultivate, to let grow, to follow and to love, something that brought me small and great satisfactions, warmth, laughter, sharing and new friends … and I think that friendships born around a real or a virtual table are going to last much more than what we eat together, with the mouth or with the eyes.

    I close this panegyric (a bit too mushy) with a THANKS, for your attentions, your comments and your mere presence, a THANKS to all of you who read my posts and to those who are reading me now, and I hope you'll continue to do so.

    To thank you I thought I could make you gift … from a word and paper (printed or not) fetish, I chose to give away to one of you a Moleskine recipe journal and a book (I already chose it, and I hope that will please the one who will receive it).

    After the recipe you'll find all the information about taking part to my little giveaway .. and now, to celebrate, what would you say about a piece of tiramisù?!

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    Category Birthday, Dessert and Sweets, Giveaway, Holidays, Thoughts and words | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | 28 Comments