Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook: Pistachio and Candied Orange Peel Ciabatta / Il Ricettario del Mulino di Maroggia: Ciabatte al pistacchio e scorza d’arancia candita

Ciabatta mon amour. As you well know, I have tried out and made several ciabatta recipes as its such a versatile dough that I never get tired of experimenting. This time around I wanted to make a version for Maroggia’s Mill Cookbook that lends itself beautifully to whip up a quick and delicious bread and chocolate, strictly extra dark, snack. Don’t you agree that pistachios and orange peel are the perfect match to enrich this simple dough? What are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves!

Pistachios, Anchovies and Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini / Arancini ai pistacchi, acciughe e mozzarella di bufala

Summer is over. Fortunately the days of sweltering heat wave are only a distant memory. I do not know about you but this summer’s heat was reall unbearable to me. I stopped counting on the sleepless nights spent gasping for fresh air. Oh what a relief when the first rains came, finally, in late August. Finally the right climate to bake and experiment with doughs. July and August were particularly intense, with a lot of hard work to come up with a good recipe for croissants and different projects and works that popped out of the blue to both my surprise and delight. This year is ending definitely better than it started and I hope that 2016 will see a new chapter of my life unfold, hopefully one of many stimulating collaborations.

MTC Challenge May: Orange flavored Babà with Saffron Cream and Chopped Pistachios / MTC Challenge di Maggio: Babà aromatizzato all’arancia con crema allo zafferano e pistacchi tritati

When I read this month’s MTC Challenge recipe I jumped for joy. Babà! A sweet treat that has always fascinated me, a leavened which is not easily baked at home. In short, a real challenge! I thank Antonietta (not Antonella as I called her wrongly in my excited comment to the post on the official page of MTC Challenge…I do have a problem with names…) from the blog La Trappola Golosa, for throwing such a high standard challenge and especially for providing us with a GOR GE OUS recipe.

Daring Bakers: White Chocolate and Pistachio Flower Brioche / Daring Bakers: Fiore di brioche al cioccolato bianco e pistacchio

Beauty surrounded the Daring Bakers this month as our host, Sawsan, of chef in disguise,
challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads. Who knew breads could look as great as they taste?

This month Daring Bakers is hosted by one very good blogger I’ve been following since the early days of my blog, Sawsan of Chef in disguise. Her choice fell on a recipe and shape I know quite well, a recipe that brought a good share of luck to my life landing me to Azione with whom I collaborate every now and then and to an interesting collaboration with Maroggia’s Mill: the Brioche Flower.

Saffron and pistachio marshmallows / Marshmallows allo zafferano e pistacchi

Marshmallows, there’s something addictive, joyful and yet quite childish about the fluffy pastel colored candies. The danger of eating these candies lies in two factors, one being the effective impossibility of stopping munching on them resulting in stomach ache and nausea, the other would be appearing a little childish to the eye of anyone older than 14. But let’s face it, how many of you have to fight the urge of grabbing a marshmallow packet while waiting in queue at the petrol station counter?

Millefeuilles Seventh Heaven / Millefoglie al settimo cielo

“Thousand tests to tame it, a thousand experiments to find it,
A Millefeuilles to bring them all and in the Paradise of saturated fat bind them.”