All posts tagged: pasta

Pasta with Roasted Capsicum and Kavurma (Beef Confit)

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There is a dish called Kavurma, a slow-cooked meat dish, which is also common in Balkan countries. But the kavurma I’m talking about is a charcuterie version, specifically called Rize (a name of a region famous for Turkish tea, butter and bread, etc.) Kavurma. As good jambon or ham is always missed here, I look out for an alternative when I’m not smuggling some from neighbouring countries. When I was at Beykoz for Mother’s day brunch, a small village less than a 30-min drive from where I live – 10 mins from my previous flat, I found a new delicacy called Kavurma, which is like beef confit. This natural greenery is a haven for me and I’m blessed to have it at an arm’s reach. It’s a breathing place for my soul enduring the honking cars and crowded streets throughout the week. While in a small butcher’s there, buying some meat for dinner, my eyes caught something that looked like the confit one would see in European delicatessens. I jumped at the opportunity to have …

Authentic Carbonara Sauce Tutorials / Friuli–Venezia Giulia Wine

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I came back from the lovely 3-week long holiday, though my mind is still wondering in Jura, and certainly my Jura report is still continuing as you can see. What welcomed my return was delicious surprises gifted from several like-mind people who loves cooking and appreciate good food. I see is as a perk for being a foodie and for having a blog to show to prove it. The generous guests from Italy and Canada each brought such precious gifts for me and Mr.O. The gifts include home-smoked Canadian red salmon, 5 huge pieces of Parmesan and Pecorino cheese, each about 1kg, and some other local cheeses, real Italian pasta, and a white wine from their hometown, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. There was also a bottle of Dhara wild olive oil, a gift from Larissa. I’m grinning ear to ear, looking at all these goodies. Even while in France, I was sent a packet by Pulltex, whose corkscrew I’d been using – I love the chic design. The corscrew is special to me because it was a …

Chilli Prawn Linguine / Plum Cardamom Upside-Down Cake

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This classic pasta with prawns is always a winner at any dinners. My plan was to make pasta with scampis just lightly tossed in olive oil and fresh herbs but as I couldn’t get scampis that day, I had to switch to prawn pasta, which wasn’t a disaster but less interesting than scampis. This is the last post about the weekend’s scampi night. (Scampi Night Part 1 / Scampi Night Part 2) – (update: sorry, the posts seem to have disappeared when changing the blog address.) But you can still read the menu of the night to imagine what it was like. It’s strange to call it a scampi night when there isn’t any scampis on the menu, right? What I realised from the last event was that I should have a chalk board menu. Why? I made the menu first and went to pick up groceries just to learn that I couldn’t find the things I had wanted to cook and wrote on the menu. That makes me think why I often like restaurants …

Mini Blue Voyage and 3 min-One-Pot Pasta

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I was on a surprise holiday for the entire las week. I ate, swam, ate, swam, ate, swam at luxury resorts – of course, not at my own expenses. I am more of a rough-it type – and the last two days I was out in the most beautiful cove in Fethiye, which is on the route of Blue Voyage. I was privileged to be on a private boat of an amazingly honourable and hospitable man. Spending time in the sea surrounded by luxury yachts and millionaires was quite an experience that one could dream of. I’ve always fancied owning a boat and living on it, sailing all round the world – who haven’t? Sleeping on the boat was like sleeping on a rocking cradle, which I was comforting and help to sleep better. The meals cooked onboard were exquisite, too. Why is food cooked at the camp so delicious? Is it the simplicity or the surroundings giving a relish to the food? Is it simply that you have more appetite when outdoors, being active? …

smoked salmon carbonara

Salmon Leek Carbonara -Quick&Easy

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It’s been dull and grey for a week or two here; just as well that I’ve been doing a fair bit of work on the computer. While spending more time online than usual , I’ve been discovering an unusual phenomenon regarding the ever-growing and ever-changing culture surrounding wine. For a start, Wine Folly, which is like a wine guide for dummies, is a new generation wine geek site, integrating technologies and entertainment into wine education, using visual effects, videos, Facebook and Twitter. Now you are beginning to see more and more wine blogs reaching out to wine drinkers across the globe through social media. It is quite revolutionary, but on the other hand, I couldn’t help but to question this new trend, so called “Digital Wine Communication”. What is funny though, is that the blog, Miss Vicky Wine, that was passed on to me by a French friend of mine a long ago is one example of the trend. And EWBC, which hold conferences around the world and whose last event was held in Turkey …