….. from our trip to Stockholm……

….. here we among others visited Riche.….

….. where I tested a new variant of: Spaghetti all Vongole classico:

Sandwich Vongole

I will guess it can be made like this:
400 gr. clams
400 gr. cherry tomato
1 sprig of parsley
a few basil leaves
1 clove garlic
chilli q.b.
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

bread

Do this:
Clean the clams and keep them in salted water for at least 2/3 hours. Put them in a pan with a lid and let them cook.

Meanwhile clean tomatoes.

When the clams have opened, strain the liquid and keep it all aside.

Chopped parsley, basil and a clove of garlic and fry it in a pan in olive oil. Add the liquid and reduce until it remains only the fund.

Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of chilli, then cook over high heat for about 10 minutes, then add the clams, and cook for a few more minutes.

Meanwhile, grill the beautiful bread.

Serve as desired and garnish with a handful of basil and parsley.

Tips: it is a good idea to serve the bread aside, so the juice from the clams does not soak it.

Photos: private, woman-hood

….. and in a few hours we go home ….. we are a little tired today….. after a long night testing a couple of the city’s many outdoor bars.

Södermalm is the island that never sleeps, and the island you never really need to leave. Whatever the time of day or night the city is alive and the possibilities are endless. Me? I love this captivating, charming part of the city….. it use to be inhabited by the poorest residents of Stockholm, but now it is home to entertainers, actors and artists.

Södermalm is rich in contrasts; here you find fashionable malls, cozy cafes and trendy Bohemian shops….. but you can also travel back in time, as here you will find buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries….. or you can choose to relax in one of the many green oases this part of the city has to offer……

….. but what ever you choose, stay awhile and be seduced by the timeless sunset framing a picture perfect Stockholm.

Photo: private, woman-hood

….. and have been here for three days……….

Stockholm is the city of dreams….. YES, life here can sometimes seem like a dream….. but if you rub your eyes, you will realize that you are actually awake and that your time in Stockholm will be field with unforgettable experiences (they are out there, just waiting to happen).

….. with its 750 years of history and rich cultural life, the capital of Sweden is offering something to everyone….. art, music, fashion, design, food, shopping or night-life, no matter what your interest are, Stockholm has more than enough to offer any urban traveler.

This is a city that reflects life and growth over the centuries….. with its well-preserved houses and buildings Stockholm attest to how a small island at the outlet of Lake Mälaren grew in to the Swedish capital, a multicultural metropolis and one of the most beautiful capital cities in the world.

Photo: private, woman-hood

….. chocolate….. and lavender….. two flavors which are a great match (it tastes a little flowery and slightly spicy), and if you combine these two flavors in a brownie….. you have created a lovely sticky classic with a spicy twist.

1 plate / 24 pieces
350 g soft butter
6 dl sugar
3 dl cocoa
1 dl light syrup
½ teaspoon salt
6 eggs
3 dl wheat flour
2 tablespoons lavender
400 g dark chocolate (70%)

Fudge icing
3 dl whipping cream
1 dl milk
1 dl light syrup
400 g dark chocolate (70%)

Do this:
Set the oven at 175 degrees

Mix sugar and butter to it becomes white and creamy

Add cocoa, syrup and salt and mix

Touch an egg at a time and finally turn the flour in

Chop the chocolate roughly and add it together with the lavender

Put baking paper in a baking sheet with sides and pour batter in

Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes

Let cake cool

Boil the cream, milk and syrup. Take the saucepan of and let it cool slightly

Chop chocolate finely and stir it into the hot cream mix to the chocolate melts

Butter glaze on cake and let it cool to glaze solidifies

Cut the cake into the desired number of pieces and serve it with light whipped cream and fresh lavender flowers

I am off to Stockholm today and will be there the next four days.

Have a lovely day
Lizzy

….. on the chocolate theme, that you must visit if you are in the areas around Kivik in Sweden: Österlen Choklad. Its an unbeatable candy factory which is located in an old school!

….. chocolate ice cream with Italian influences.

Ingredients
200 g dark chocolate 70%
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dark rum
4 egg whites
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 cup cream
2 cup Greek yogurt
5.1 dl Muscovado sugar 
 Garnish / Topping:
0.5 dl Muscovado
1 box fresh strawberries to serve

Do this:
Melt the chocolate in a water bath or microwave.
Whisk egg yolks and granulated sugar until fluffy and white.
Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar to a white foam.
Whip the cream until fluffy and fold in yogurt.
Stir chocolate and rum into egg mixture, and add creamyoghurt and finally the beaten whites.
Add nearly 1 ½ cup of Muscovado sugar (there will be some lumps of sugar in ice cream batter).
Fill in any form or bowl and top with the rest of the Muscovado sugar.
Freezer for at least four hours (it has to be “semi-frozen”).
Scoop into glasses and serve topped with strawberries.

….. food experiences in my life, they Italian ones are top of the list….. Italians are very focused on quality when it comes to food.

No matter where you are in Rome, you often just have to round a corner, if you want to enjoy a meal. And these great meals are one of the many reasons, why I just love my holidays in Italy….. and as you may have noticed, I try to bringing a little piece of Italy with me home, every time I’m there.

And what is Italy, if not fresh pasta

Basic Recipe
This is a simple delicious dough. The dough is more than enough to any pasta for 4 people and if you make ravioli there will be enough for about 25-30 pieces.

Ingredients:
5 dl durum
4 x organic egg

Do this:
Measure out the flour on a breadboard and make a big pit in the middle.
Crack the eggs into the pit and beat them with a fork.
Whisk the flour into the eggs with a fork, little by little.
Use your hands when dough begins to merge until smooth, soft and elastic (for about 10 minutes).
Cover dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge before it rolled out.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll out one at a time. Cover the rest with plastic film and place them in the fridge. Flatten pasta dough with your fingers and run it through the pasta machine thickest level. Roll the dough through the machine all levels by the thinnest level.
Shape to any pasta: spaghetti, tagliatelle or ravioli.
Cook the pasta al dente in about 3 minutes in salted water.

Enjoy a fresh pasta with truffles. Quick, easy and luxurious!

Ingredients:
Fresh pasta
1 x carrot
0:25 pc celeriac
0.5 pc leeks
1 x small can black truffles

Do this:
Boil salted water.
Add the pasta and boil (depending on brand and thickness).
Peel roots, vegetables and leeks and make long “spaghetti straws” of them using a potato peeler.
Boil them briefly in water, together with the pasta for a couple of minutes.
Drain water from pasta and vegetables.
Divide into 4 deep bowls.
Stir in olive oil and shave little slices of truffle over.

….. that people tend to exaggerate when they add topping, and often end up with something more reminiscent of a vegetable tart than a pizza.

Try to keep it simple!

Pizza with potatoes, mozzarella, rosemary, thyme and tomatoes

6 tablespoons tomato sauce
4 cooked new potatoes
A small handful of fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon thymetips
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
85g mozzarella

Smear the tomato sauce evenly over the pizza base. Slice the potatoes into 0.5cm/¼ inch thick slices and toss in a bowl with the rosemary, thyme, a good glug of olive oil, a small squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Scatter them over the pizza base and put small torn-up pieces of mozzarella into the gaps. Cook until crisp and golden.

Venerdì Santo e buon appetito

Lizzy

….. for many Romans….. at noon, the small Trattoria and Ostaria start calling as irresistible sirens.

Soon my Italian friends will be seated in their favorite café….. and just the thought makes me long for the raw cozy atmosphere, that always occurs when the steaming dishes are served….. together with a few glasses of the golden Frascati wine….. which can lift the mood considerably and might get a discussion flowing lively between tables….. often it may seem as if the Italians quarrel….. and they properly do, but they feel wonderful doing so….. and nothing is as good as a nice lunch quarrel.

Ever since the antiquity, the cafes have been like a magnet at lunchtime….. the word “Trattoria” is also derived from the term “tracta” which in medieval times was a kind of dining ticket that pilgrims could use in special inns, where the pope gave them a free meal….. and at that time as well as today, lunch was a dear occasion for Romans to interrupt the day’s work…… and one of the most fascinating things about Rome, is that constancy.

Anyway, all this talk about lunch has made me hungry….. it is time for pranzo, a high value - loaded word in Rome….. translated, it means lunch.

And what’s Rome without pizza?

And a nice and easy pizza dough is the foundation for a really good pizza.

Ingredients
50g fresh yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt flakes
0.5 dl olive oil
3 cup warm water
7 dl Italian wheat flour

Do this:
Mix yeast, sugar, salt, oil and lukewarm water (37 degrees).
Stir in flour, little by little, until you get a firm and elastic dough.
Jas dough in the bowl, under a tea towel, in about 25 minutes.
Divide the dough in 4 pieces and roll them out with rolling pin on floured board.

….. while Rome wakes….. and you move from pleasant sleep to reality….. accompanied by the quiet murmur of a fountains in the background….. darkness fades behind the open shutters, and dawn breaks forth….. closely followed by the sounds of a moped moving up the street….. then a car alarm and a couple of dogs….. sounds which separates night from day.

Delicate tones of church bells spreading happiness….. meanwhile the waiter in the bar downstairs at street level, warms his espresso machine….. steam passing through the filters under high pressure, and the sound of the indispensable transistor….. in short, a new day is on its way!

Fountain is still there. The continuous sound of water. Light spreads through the room….. joy trickles down along your backbone….. you are awakened to another day in Rome.

….. first stop is the local bar, which provides you with today’s first espresso; a freshly baked cornetto and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice….. and now you are ready for some happy hours of joy.

Cornetto

Ingredients
1 Roll (250g) fresh chilled puff pastry
100g Nutella
75 g Of dark quality chocolate 70%
100g Marzipan
1 Orange, grated
1 Organic eggs
Almonds
Icing sugar

Do this:
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees, hot air.
Divide puff pastry once lengthwise, and then each half into four pieces.
Spread a dollop of Nutella on the short side of each puff pastry square.
Chop the chocolate roughly, grate marzipan and orange zest and spread over pastry squares.
Roll the pieces from the short side and put the rolls with seam side down on a sheet of baking paper.
Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with almonds.
Bake them golden in the center of the oven, approximately 20 minutes.
Dust the icing sugar on top of bread before serving.

Buongiorno

Photos: Private, Woman-hood