Pochi giorni al Natale e molte cose da fare, ultimi regali, preparare menù allettanti ed infiniti, mille dolci e  gli auguri a tutti ...già, non ci avevate ancora pensato? E non ditemi che anche quest'anno invierete i soliti auguri tramite sms scrivendo "Buon Natale, zio"... naaaaahhh, non fatelo è preistoria!!!
Attenzione, sto per fare una offerta che non si potrà rifiutare.
Quest'anno potrai fare di più grazie a Sky potrai inviare gli auguri molto cinematografici e un tantino mafiosetti. Basterà collegarsi  al sito Don Natale e permettere all' applicazione per Facebook di connettersi al tuo profilo e così in pochissimi e semplici click, avrai affidato i tuoi mafiosi auguri di Natale al Padrino Don Natale.  Il mafioso più simpatico del web!
Quest'applicazione creerà un video personalizzato utilizzando le informazioni contenute su facebook tue e del tuo amico.
Potrai pubblicare il video attraverso Facebook o altri social network e persino in e-mail .
Adesso non mi resta che augurare a tutti quelli che passeranno da qui  un mafiosissimo Natale in compagnia di Don Natale.
Un abbraccio, Barbara

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Ciao a tutti! Era un po' che non scrivevo... Mi era presa un po' di pigrizia... ma ora eccomi qua! Domani è il mio compleanno e qui a Manchester, tanto per cambiare il tempo è imbarazzante.
Chissà che mi regalerà il mio maritino, è un po' che me lo chiedo. In realtà io non sono una che ama le sorprese, ma sotto sotto spero che mi porti a fare una bella cenetta intima in un bel ristorante! (Speriamo che legga questo post!!!)


Ingredienti per 2 persone

• 180 gr. di riso carnaroli 
• 1\2 bicchiere di vino bianco
• 1\2 litro di brodo
• 1 cipolla
• 50 gr. di pecorino toscano 
• pepe bianco
• sale allo zafferano 
• 4 cucchiai di olio di oliva 
• 1 zucca gialla 

Hi everybody! It's been a while since my last post, I know... I felt so lazy lately... but now I'm back! Tomorrow is my birthday and here in Manchester, as usual the weather is so embarassing.
Since a while I'm wondering which will be my husband's present. Generally I do not like surprises, but I truly hope that he will bring me out for a cozy dinner in a nice restaurant! (I hope he will be reading this post!!!)

Ingredients for 2 people

• 180 g. carnaroli rice
• 1\2 white wine gla
• 1\2 l. of stock
• 1 onion
• 50 g.  pecorino toscano 
• white pepper
• sea salt
• 4 table spoons of extra vergin olive oil 
• 1 squash

First of all, cut the pumpkin into small pieces and eliminate seeds and filaments but don't break the shell, so that becomes your serving dish.
In the meantime, saute a chopped onion in the oil and when it is golden, add the pumpkin.
Finally after about ten minutes add the rice, stir and add the wine, when it is vanished add a ladle of hot broth every time you need until the rice is perfectly cooked.
Turn off the heat, stir and add olive oil, pecorino cheese and white pepper.
Place it into the pumpkin and serve.
I chose to decorate with chive's flowers.

Hi everybody, I am Emanuele, Barbara's husband. Today she's not in the mood to write a post so I said to her :" If you want I'll write one for you! " not expacting her to allow me to do that, but here we go!  This week we went back to London for a couple of days and we also visited some dearest friends.
We walked again through the streets already lighten up for Christmas and we said to each other:"Wow! it's beautiful... " and it reminded to me when once, an idiot told me that London was an ugly city, too crowded and that "hasn't got air"! I told that to Barbara and we laughed about it.
That night during the dinner, our friend Mark asked to Barbara:"Which is the best thing about Manchester?". And with that typical expression of her which doesn't admit any doubt, she answered:
"It's when you are at Manchester Piccadilly, on a Virgin Train, on your way to London Euston!".
We all bursted in a laugh. Sometimes my wife really has some brilliant ideas!

And now today's dish, a Polenta with sousage and mushrooms ragout.
Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 people

• 150 g. of semolina flour
• 4 fresh sausages
• 30 gr. dried mushrooms 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 minced onion
• some juniper
• 1 minced carrot
• salt and pepper
• 1 table spoon of EVO 

Sauté the olive oil with the chopped onion and carrot, for several minutes.
In the meantime, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water.
Finally, add the sausages coarsely chopped (if you like it rustic like mine, otherwise mince with a knife) and the juniper and bay leaf. Sauté on a high heat for a few minutes and then simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat, covered.
Prepare your polenta and serve with a bowl of lentils.

Polenta con ragù grossolano di salsiccia e funghi

Ciao a tutti, sono Emanuele, il marito di Barbara. Oggi lei non ha molta voglia di scrivere un post e io per scherzo le ho detto:"Se vuoi te lo scrivo io!" non pensando che lei accettasse ed invece eccomi qua!
Questa settimana siamo tornati a Londra per un paio di giorni ed abbiamo anche rivisto dei cari amici. Abbiamo rifatto dei giri per la città addobbata a dovere per Natale e ci siamo guardati e detti:"Caspita! E' proprio bella..." e allora mi sono ricordato di un idiota che una volta mi ha detto che Londra era brutta, che c'era troppa gente e che a Londra "mancava" l'aria! Ho ricordato a Barbara quell'episodio e ci siamo fatti una sonora risata. A cena quella sera, ad un certo punto il nostro amico Mark chiede a Barbara:"Qual è la cosa più bella di Manchester ?". E lei, serafica e con quella sua espressione tipica che non ammette ombra di dubbio ha risposto:"Quando sei a Manchester Piccadilly su un Virgin Train diretto a London Euston!" Siamo scoppiati tutti in una fragorosa risata. A volta mia moglie ha delle uscite geniali!

Il piatto presentato oggi è invece una buonissima Polenta con ragù grossolano di salsiccia e funghi.
Buon appetito a tutti!

Ingredienti per 2 persone

• 150 gr. di polenta ramata
• 4 salsicce di suino
• 30 gr. di funghi secchi 
• 1 foglia di alloro
• 1 cipolla tritata
• 1 carota tritata
• sale & pepe
• ginepro
• 1 cucchiaio di olio evo

Author: Barbara Lechiancole

Versione italiana in basso


Hi there!
As you know we live abroad since a while and one of the bad things is the distance from our families.

Ingredients per 2 people

• 1 celeriac
• 1 potato
• 1 onion
• 200 ml. vegetable stock
• Extra Virgin Olive oil 
• grated nutmeg
• 1 spoon yogurth
• salt
• chives

Peel, wash and cut in small pieces the potato, celeriac and onion.
Soutè some extra virgin olive oil with minced onion, and after a few minutes add potato and celeriac. Brown for 2 minutes, than add hot vegetable stock and cook for about 25 minutes and finally blend it.
If it is too dense add an extra ladle of stock.
My best help for this is the Philips hand blender, so efficient and easy to use.
Sprinkle with salt, nutmeg and serve in a bowl with yogurth and chives as garnish.


Crema di sedano rapa

Con l'autunno arrivano le zuppe calde e colorate, che io amo moltissimo e finalmente credo di poter dire senza ombra di dubbio, che ho convinto anche mio marito, sulla bontà delle creme e ha smesso di storcere il naso quando le trova in tavola.
Oggi una bella zuppa a base di questo tubero strano in Italia, ma molto comune in UK, dove l'ho scoperto ed apprezzato.
Sono semplici da fare e con una bella baguette di pane caldo non si può non fare la scarpetta.


Ingredienti per 2 persone

• 1 sedano rapa
• 1 patata
• 1 cipolla bionda
• olio di oliva 
• noce moscata
• sale
• 200 ml. di brodo vegetale
• yogurt 
• un filo di erba cipollina per decorazione

Sbucciate, lavate e tagliate in pezzetti il sedano rapa,  la patata e la cipolla.
Scaldate l'olio ed aggiungete la cipolla , dopo qualche minuto aggiungete la patata e sedano rapa. Fate saltare e insaporire per qualche minuto.
Aggiungete il brodo caldo, facendo cuocere per 25 minuti, a fuoco medio e coperto.
Infine riducete in crema con un frullatore ad immersione. Il mio insostituibile aiutante in questa ricetta è un Philips, in pochi attimi si ottiene una crema densa che inizia a sprigionare tutti i suoi profumi.
Aggiustate di sale e pepe e unite un abbondante grattugiata di noce moscata. Servite in scodelle con un poco di yogurt ed erba cipollina come decorazione.

Today I want to offer you a classic English afternoon treat: the legendary scones served with clotted cream and jam and, of course, together with a cup of tea sweetened with milk. Clotted cream is one of the richest and indulgent creams  I've ever came across. I'm not a big consumer of cream or butter, but the clotted cream makes me literally melt!



Ogni tanto ritorno e così in un pomeriggio piuttosto tranquillo, voglio proporvi un classico dolcetto da pomeriggio inglese: i mitici scones, rigorosamente accompagnati con clotted cream, marmellata e naturalmente non facciamoci mancare neppure una tazza di tea fumante addolcita con del latte.

Inizio ringraziando innanzi tutto Kitchen Aid e ringrazio di cuore  tutti per una partecipazione così grande al contest Get an AID in the Kitchen, che ha visto partecipare 200 ricette rosse , rosse chiare, rosse scure, tutte rosse, poco rosse, rosse liquide e rosse salate e rosse dolci.
E' stato un impegno molto serio analizzare e giudicare queste ricette; molte erano bellissime, originali, stupefacenti.

These days, I was thinking about what is hidden behind the multifaceted universe of foodblogging. Those who come across my blog without being a foodblogger, perhaps don't know that there are different groups on FB where we are talk, having a great time, about all the problems related to this strange "activity". Is nice to know that I'm not the only fool in the world, who to photograph the dish, striving for the best shot (which in my case never comes) makes the family eat cold dishes. Or even worse, makes a family member eat a wonderful dish with a restaurant-like presentation whilst the others only get a ladder of food thrown in the plate! ha!ha! ... It 'nice to know that other people too are suffering with your same illness. The evening, before falling asleep, instead of saying the prayers, we think about how to combine two unusual ingredients ... Varied and interesting world is this one!

Più in basso versione italiana

Is there a more comfortable dish than a pasta with beans? It is such a warm hug and I can still hear my father's voice saying "Do you fancy pasta with  beans for tomorrow lunch?".  My mom answers  "Yes", but I, polemical in nature, I answered that I couldn't decide  what I wanted to eat the next day, then my brother came to slyly say "I prefer lentils ...", although we had eaten them the day before. I believe that he still says that with his sing-song voice. Only the people who know us can lough to this! However, we are a democratic family: my father cooks and my father decides. :). Pasta and beans.
This is to emphasize that the pasta and beans, must be thought of as early as the night before, to put them to soak!

Today I'd like to talk to you about  Petra Salis Alma. It is a new brand of natural products for face and body and they are looking for a new face for their Campaign on their web site. Send 2 photos, possibly without makeup and the most voted photo will become the new testimonial and will win the complete line of their products.
However if you take a look on their page on FB, everything is explained there.
I just wanted o talk about thata because the people behind this project are so special!

And now the legendary Tuscan chestnut cake! The Castagnaccio!

I am realizing right now, that I never published a proper side dish, like if being a "side" dish, it woudn't be worthy of having a post all by itself. But the side dishes normally are vegetables and represents all that is wellbeing and color, so in this post I do apologize to all the side dishes that I have met along my Food Blogger's life and I chose not to publish, because they were just a side dish. So today we have got a Mr. Side Dish.


Ingredients for 4 people

• 400 gr. of  sprouts
• 200 gr. of boiled chestnuts 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce 
• crushed chilli

This is a "Classic" indian dish and is a very mild Curry and will be loved by those who like round and not so spicy flavors. It is not the original version, if in the indian cusine has ever existed one version only, so this one is my own personal interpretation of this dish. Everyone loves it when I cook it at home!

Ingredients for 4 people

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
• 1\ 2 cm. of grated ginger
• small jar of greek yougurth
• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 table spoon of garam masala
• 1 tea spoon of turmeric
• 4 table spoons of vegetable oil
• sea salt, ground black pepper
• coriander
• crushed chilli
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 banana
• 1\2 lemon juice

La vita è sempre più caotica e studi recenti dimostrano che specialmente in tempi di crisi come quelli odierni, i nostri impegni tendono ad aumentare, accavallandosi l’un l’ultro, proprio per la necessità di una riconcorsa di un tempo migliore. Così sempre più spesso a fine giornata siamo stressati e stremati, da appuntamenti improvvisi e impegni ritualici, come i figli a scuola, lo sport, la spesa. Finalmente un’azienda mostra una sensibilità rara, venendoci in soccorso, mettendo in prima linea La Persona e non più solo un consumatore finale. Parlo di DPiù, perchè ha per primo compreso e realizzato, che il consumatore ha necessità diverse da quelle di un tempo e di più che è un attento osservatore delle consumatore, sceglie di semplificare la vita, il momento dello shopping e renderlo più conveniente e più soddisfacente sotto vari profili. Infatti grazie all’apertura di nuovi mercati e differenti scenari di approvvigionamente merci, nonchè i crescenti volumi oggi Dpiù è in grado di proporci una spesa con un risparmio di oltre il 30% sulla concorrenza. Naturalmente i prezzi scendono ma la qualità continua a migliorare, grazie alla severa selezione dei produttori e delle innovazioni tecnologiche, fino al controllo diretto dalla materia prima al prodotto finale.
La gamma dei prodotti DpiU’ comprende: frutta e verdura fresca, carne e pane fresco, alimenti surgelati, prodotti salutistici e orientati ad una alimentazione equilibrata nonché una gamma sempre crescente di prodotti dedicati alle intolleranze alimentari. E per venire ulteriormente incontro al pubblico c’è un piano di estensione degli orari di apertura e riduzione massiccia delle file alle casse, proprio perchè al centro della spesa ci siamo noi. 
E noi finalmente troviamo un’azienda pronta ad ascoltare i nuovi bisogni accorciando le distanze. E tu Sentiti DIPIU’! Perchè da oggi puoi! 




 Here I am with another recipe coming from my mother's kitchen.
With this simple sentence, I want to tell you that if you like spicy stuffed vegetables, you should definitely try this appetizer. It's very tasty!!!



Ingredients 

• 320 gr. green olives 
• 50 gr. salted capers 
• 60 anchovy fillets 
• 1 kg. of hot peppers 
• 200 gr. tuna in oil 
• 500 gr. white wine vinegar 
• olive oil in abundance 

There are dishes that we discover late.
For example this risotto, which seems to be typical of the Apennines, which is part of the county where I come from. I've never met it in my culinary experiences until this summer, when going to pick up blueberries at the Abetone, to make the classic liqueur "Mirtillino". I met there a very nice lady who told us that they are used to make risotto with blueberries. I was so curious so I asked her for the recipe. It is a simple risotto, but a completely new in color and taste.
I will prepare it again very soon, we loved it.

più in basso la versione italiana.

Chi ha problemi a lasciare commenti, (forse esiste un nr. massimo di commenti che blogger permette) può lasciare il link della ricetta sulla pagina FB

This is a very special post, because I want to give the Numbers, but the numbers need to be accurate: 365 blogging days with 118 posts, 3250 comments, 480 followers, 80 thousand visits, too many recipes still to be done, and only 1 Big Thanks to multiply for an infinite number of times, to be delivered to the people who assiduously and mysteriously come here and even to those who do not come back :)
It seems to me the best opportunity to present my first Contest in collaboration with Kitchen Aid, yes, them!
You can find the rules right down, and they are very simple and few.

 Get an "AID in the Kitchen".

 Rules:

 - The Contest includes all categories, so you can prepare recipes that range from Appetizers to Desserts, where it will be a RED element in the final presentation of the dish.
 - The banner must be displayed in the recipe and posted in your blog and to apply, just leave a comment in this post with a link to the recipe.
 - You have to send one recipe only, that must be made specifically for this contest.
 - For those who do not have a blog, they can enter the contest by posting the recipe and the photo on my Facebook page, by inserting the banner of the initiative in their own Facebook page or Twitter, talking about the contest.
 - The contest begins on September 10 and ends on October 30, 2011 at midnight. The recipes submitted will be judged on:

 1) originality of the recipe and use of the color RED
 2) photo slide show
 3) will be paid particular attention to those recipes made with low fat content.

 I will be supported in the difficult task of choosing the winner by the photographer Riccardo Bartalucci, who will give his opinion on the photography.
 The winner will be announced the day after the deadline.
 I proudly show it to you: here in all its splendor and as someone said "It could be yours, if you will take part!"


Questo è un post molto particolare, perchè ho voglia di dare i Numeri, ma i numeri vanno dati precisi: sono 365 giorni di blogging per 118 post con 3250 commenti, 480 followers, 80mila visite e troppe troppissime ricette ancora da fare, ed 1 solo Grazie che moltiplico per un numero tendente all'infinito, per farlo giungere ad ognuno delle persone che assiduamente e misteriosamente, passano da qui e pure quelli che dopo esserci passati non ci torneranno più! :)
Mi sembra quindi la migliore occasione per presentare il mio primo contest in collaborazione con Kitchen Aid, si proprio loro!
Le regole del contest le trovate in fondo, ma sono molto semplici e poche.

 Regolamento:

- Il Contest prevede tutte le categorie, quindi potrete preparare ricette che vanno dall’'antipasto al dolce,   dove dovrà essere presente un elemento ROSSO nella presentazione. Non verranno considerati validi quelle proposte che avranno come unico richiamo al  rosso, elementi scenografici come nastrini, posate o piatti.
- Il banner dovrà essere esposto nel post della ricetta e nel vostro blog, lasciando un commento e il link della ricetta in questo post.
- Potete inviare una sola ricetta che deve essere realizzata appositamente per il contest.
- Per chi non ha un blog potrà partecipare al contest inviando la ricetta e la foto sulla mia pagina Facebook, inserendo il banner dell'iniziativa, nella propria pagina Facebook o Twitter parlando del contest.

- Il contest inizia il 10 settembre e termina 30 ottobre 2011 alla mezzanotte. Le ricette pervenute verranno giudicate in base:
 1) originalità della ricetta e dell'utilizzo del colore ROSSO
 2) presentazione fotografica
 3) verrà posta particolare attenzione nei confronti di quelle ricette realizzate con un basso contenuto di grassi.
Nel difficile compito di scegliere il vincitore ci saremo io ed il fotografo Riccardo Bartalucci, che si occuperà di dare un giudizio fotografico.
Il vincitore sarà reso noto i giorni successivi la scadenza.
Se e sottolineo se vi fa piacere potreste diventare follower del blog ed unirvi alla mia pagina FB
Orgogliosamente ve la mostro: eccola in tutto il suo splendore e come diceva qualcuno: "Partecipando potrebbe essere vostra!".

When it is summer, nobody loves to spend time cooking. So it happens that the fast-dinner becomes a   fresh salads. But to make them boring, I always try to make them look different and attractive to  both the eyes and the palate. Dedicated to those who think that salad means only green leaves :)

Have a good weekend!

As I began to think about what to write in this post, I realised that I didn't talk about our move from London to Manchester! Well, I'll talk about it now ... It doesn't really changes things to you, as you read, does it? :)
It's a city that still do not know, but I think it deserves a photo tribute. This city survived the industrial crises, and its historical center was pretty much destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1996.
It is a city that lyes at the Peak District and Lake District's feet, which means that there probably are the best England's natural scenarios, with a beautiful romantic green and places of an old beauty.
While the city is in a middle of a full renovation, there still are majestic, innovative and modern structures.
Here's my little and partial tribute and to follow, my recipe, a lobster "alla Catalana".

I really like Stuffed Vegetables in every way. I like them with meat, fish or vegetables stuffing and sometimes I just use what's in the fridge! In this case I call it the "Emptying Fridge" recipe :)
Today I will present it following my family's tradition.

Dopo una lunga pausa rientro al mio blog ma un assenza in agosto non sempre parla di vacanza. In questo caso specifico parla di passione, di tante ragazze , di una sola idea che prende forma,  di incontri  virtuali, di proposte, di entusiasmo e grande lavoro.  Ecco così è nato
Open kitchen, il nuovo food magazine e in un abbraccio simbolico stringo le 30 ragazze che hanno partecipato e contribuito a crearlo in appena 40 giorni!
Ed è a queste 30 ragazze che dedico questo post con un grazie per la pazienza, per l'amore e per la loro bravura! :)

As I've already said, I love soups and now in summer I would like to propose both warm or cold.
Today I  have prepared one with courgettes and fresh mint, which  is very fresh and dietetic.  I have added a tasty crust of bread with melted Casucavaddu cheese.
This time I've served it as an aperitif in small glasses and shared it with my husband :)

Bread is the great magic! It is the oldest and most valuable food.
Basically there are only three elements in it: water, flour and time.  The more you give time to the bread the more it will pay you out with its own perfumes and flavors, almost dormant, but never forgotten.
It doesn't demand a constant attention, but the time it requires is a time of rests, love, release and wait.
This bread is a whole sandwich bread without 18 hours leavening of refreshments and reshuffles. It is a simple version that can be done comfortably in an afternoon.
It remains soft for about 3 days!

Ponta Petra

The chocolate ice cream is one of the resources for refresh the summer, for the die-hard chocolate like me.
At this point of the season you cannot have a cup of steaming hot chocolate! The ice cream can even be a substitute for the usual sandwich for the lunch in office.
It is pretty simple to prepare and my mother says that once placed in the freezer, it should be stirred once every half an hour to get it creamier. And of course, as always, she will be right but, as always I did it my way without listening to her, but the result was still really good. :)

Having a blog is not just about writing recipes.
It means that you have to constantly improve the look,  write something interesting, offering something of yourself, to become good photographers and even studying food styling.
Getting to know people and be a good Public Relations Man, is certainly an important key to success for many bloggers, for many reasons. One might be because you meet someone who knows how to make a cute stamp like the one you see on the new photos. Two, because there are people who always seem to have known you since ever. And three, there is no real three, but there are 3000 of reasons why I'm glad to have met you.
Thank you Dada!

For this recipe you can use canned tuna or simply boil a cod fillet, and than make some fishballs. Well, I made ​ fish cakes and presented them with fava beans cream on green beans raft!

I know that June is not considered the right time for mushrooms, but here in England is chilly and rainy like a day of September so....
The four seasons no longer exist but you can still find some great Porcini, perfectly preserved in oil ... I know, I know... me too at the beginning I wasn't too keen on them, but once I've made ​​this dish and then eaten it, I was so pleased with the result that I thought it would be a real shame eating such a fresh and healthy dish in September \ October only!  :)
Forgiven?

There is nothing more bizarre than an English summer! this is a summer in which instead of thinking about picnics in the beautiful parks we have, we are ways more comfortable at home... outside there are 13°C and a lot of rain!
But if  is true that "eating is a bit like traveling", thanks to this beautiful dish, today I am in the stunning Bay of Naples, on a terrace by the sea, with the scent of jasmine and lemon trees, where I'm tasting, together with the people I love, a dish of the scialatelli with "pummarola" (a typical summer tomato souce)

And also this is summer ...

It's been 15 days since my last update and I am so sorry! I was so busy in the past few days and I also have a couple of excuses: the first is that I went back to Italy for a to visit my parents.
The second is that I had an epiphany! I was thinking about the number of foodbloggers that is continuously increasing, the quality of our contents, the professional photos,  the ability to invent and prepare recipes, so I decided to start a group on FB that can be found only by following a cheeky little mouse. In just a few hours an incredible number of documents have been produced that would have taken a life to be produced by a single person. Every day there are brain storming sessions that are truly engaging. It 's a group that now has the magic :), but it is a closed group. And with that I'm not inviting you, but if you would like to to have a look...  :-)

There was a time when we played hide and seek in the streets and from the balconies, adults who we did not know, but who knew us, advised the perfect hideaway. We were sure that they wouldn't tell the other team where we were hidden.
There was a time when, from the bathroom window we communicated through gestures with the bestfriend who lived across the street.
There was a time when we went to the nearby shop to buy things and we could say:"Mom will come later!" (to pay)
There was a time when on the telly, all the afternoon was for us!
And in the italian restaurant you could order "cream and ham" tortellini.
Now all this kind of things make me laugh, those games, those cartoons and those tortellini, it is a world that no longer exists, except in our memories.
It's up to us rediscover those memories now, so here is a dish from the 80s that when I was on my way home from school I used to dream about.

Still today, we call them "Le Sagne" ( The Sagne) instead of Lasagne, in honor of my grandmother Angela, who used to rename everything.
She had that rare ability to find a nickname for everyone and for everything, she was serious but extremely funny.
There are so many stories about my grandmother that is actually strange that I haven't still  written any of them.
It was a Sunday  afternoon and my Grandma was at his son's house. They had just finished lunch with loads of dessert too, when suddenly they knew that unexpected guests were going to visit them. My uncle, his son says: "Mom, when they will be here, I will offer them the pudding,  but is not enough for everybody and there isn't time to go and buy another one. So when I ask if you want it, please say no". Answer: "Sure, okay. "
The next scene is with the guests seated around the table while sipping coffee and when it comes to offer them the pudding, my uncle asks: "Mom, do you fancy some cake?" her seraphic answer was: "Yesssss! I am not ill!"
Because, from her point of view, you should only ask if they want food to ill people. Otherwise the right thing to do was just put the food on the table.
So here are "The" Sagne. Like "the" pots, "the" pens, "the" potatoes.
A few words about this dish: the pesto's pistachio is very delicate so I chose to combine it with a slightly spicy cheese and as result we have a fantastic balanced flavor.

• 250 gr. of lasagne
• bechamel (here for my recipe)
• 200 gr. pistachio's pesto  
• a handful of grated cheese 
• Ragusano Dop Cheese 

Prepare the bechamel (here for my recipe). Meanwhile, put up to boil the salted water for the lasagne, add some drops of oil, in order to avoid the lasagne to stick together. Now put 3 sheets of lasagne at once in the boiling water, check the cooking time on the package and when they are cooked, put them on a teatowel.
Add the pesto, directly into the sauce and turn until it dissolve completely.
Now take an oven tray and pour nice scoop of pesto sauce on the bottom, then make a layer of lasagne and sprinkle with white bechamel and pesto sauce, and finally add the both grated cheeses. Continue like that. Abound with two cheeses on the last layer, in order to get a nice crust.
My oven tray, made ​​with 18/10 stainless with a special bottom design, which doesn't allow the food to stick. It is made ​​in Italy with German and Italian materials.


Le Sagne Verdi


Ancora oggi, le chiamiamo "Le Sagne", in onore della mia nonna Angela, che era solita rinominare tutti.
Aveva quella rara capacità di trovare un soprannome azzeccato per tutto e per tutti, di far ridere nel suo essere seria.
Ci sono così tanti aneddoti sulla nonna, che è strano che ancora non ne abbia raccontato nemmeno uno:
E' domenica pomeriggio e la nonna è a casa di suo figlio. E' appena terminato il pranzo con tanto di dolce,
quando improvvisamente la notizia di ospiti inattesi e così mio zio, suo figlio, le dice: "Mamma, poi io offrirò loro il dolce, ma ne è avanzato poco. Quando ti chiedo se ne vuoi, tu di di no, tanto l'abbiamo appena mangiato". Risposta: " Certo, va bene!".
La scena seguente è con gli ospiti seduti attorno al tavolo mentre sorseggiano il caffè e quando arriva il momento della domanda retorica a mia nonna "E tu lo vuoi il dolce?" lei serafica, come sempre dice "Sssssi! Mica sono malata io!"
Perchè per lei, solo ai malati si doveva chiedere se volevano qualcosa da mangiare, mentre per tutti gli altri, andava semplicemente messo in tavola.
E così ecco Le Sagne. In fondo proprio come le penne, le pentole, le patate.
Due parole su questo piatto, il pesto al pistacchio di Bronte è molto delicato così io ho scelto di unirlo ad un formaggio dal sapore leggermente piccante e mi sembra che i due sapori abbiano un bell'equilibrio.

Ingredienti per 4 persone

• 250 gr. di lasagne all'uovo
• besciamella (qui per la mia ricetta)
• 1 vasetto di pesto al pistacchio 
• una mangiata di formaggio 
• Ragusano Dop 

Per prima cosa preparate una besciamella (qui la ricetta). Nel frattempo fate bollire abbondante acqua salata, prima di immergere le lasagne aggiungete un cucchiaio di olio, così non si attaccheranno. Adagiate le lasagne cotte su un panno pulito.
Aggiungete il pesto, direttamente nella besciamella e girate fino a farlo sciogliere completamente.
Adesso prendete una teglia e versate un bel mestolo sul fondo, poi fate uno strato di lasgne, ancora cospargete con uno strato di besciamella, ed infine aggiungete il grattugiato e il caciocavallo grattugiato anch'esso. Continuate fino al termine degli ingredienti. L'ultimo strato,  per poter avere una bella crosticina non abbondate con i due formaggi.
se!

Cucina di Barbara