​A Croatian peka is a large metal baking dish with a bell shaped dome lid. It is used to cook food in an open fireplace, with hot embers placed on top of the dome for even, slow cooking. Meat, poultry, fish and vegetables can all be cooked in this way. 

Now I don't have a peka, I have a large round Turkish electric oven, so I have worked out how to make a 'peka', without having a peka. If you are looking for a traditional recipe, just click the link above the recipe, it can be found there.

​This is a great way to cook octopus. The flavour of the octopus intensifies, and when you have a bite of octopus with the potato and it all has been coated in the delicious sauce that is in the pan, you get one extremely tasty bite of octopus and potato.

My husband added the olives, which we love, but if you don't like them, don't add them.

This is easy to make and looks amazing at the dinner table.

​Recipe adapted from www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/octopus-peka 

1 x ​2 kg octopus
4 garlic cloves, crushed
250ml light extra-virgin olive oil
1.5kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
​Vegeta, to taste
10 French shallots
4 large carrots, quartered lengthwise
1 lemon, juiced
6 small rosemary sprigs
8 large olives, optional
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges, optional
250ml dry white wine
​

To clean the octopus, use a small knife to carefully cut between the head and tentacles of the octopus, just below the eyes. Grasp the body of the octopus and push the beak out and up through the centre of the tentacles with your finger. Cut the eyes from the head of the octopus by slicing a small disc off with a sharp knife. Discard the eye section. To clean the octopus head, carefully slit through one side and scrape out any gut from inside. Rinse under running water to remove any remaining grit.

Once cleaned, use some tongs to lower the octopus into a pot of barely boiling water, simmer for approximately 20–25 minutes. Remove, drain and cut into quarters. (Simmering helps with the tenderisation process and also removes water from the body of the octopus. If you do not remove the latent water in the octopus, the dish will become more like a stew.

Preheat your turkish oven to 300C.
​
​Combine the garlic with 150 ml of the oil and set aside.

Line the bottom of the peka pan with the potatoes, sprinkle with a little vegeta, to taste and drizzle with the remaining oil. Add the French shallots, carrots, olives, lemon wedges and octopus. Season liberally with about 1½ tablespoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and drizzle over the garlic oil. Squeeze over the juice of a ½ lemon and garnish with rosemary sprigs.​

​Cover the pan with aluminium foil. Place in your turkish oven and bake for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, pull out the peka, remove the foil and turn over the octopus, potatoes, carrots, garlic and shallots with a large spoon. Pour over the white wine and return the pan, uncovered, back into the oven.

Cook for a further 30 minutes. If you find that the liquid in the peka has evaporated more than you like, add a little more oil and white wine to remoisten.

Remove the peka from the oven and squeeze over the remaining lemon juice before serving.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/croatian-octopus-peka.html 
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​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

Recipe adapted from www.newideafood.com.au/

Serves 2-4 (depends on your glass size)
500g piece seedless watermelon, rind removed
½ cup lime cordial
1/3 cup vodka
6 cups ice cubes
4 thin slices fresh lime


Cut watermelon flesh into 3cm pieces. Place in a blender. Add cordial, vodka and half the ice cubes. Blend until combined. Add remaining ice cubes. Blend until smooth.

Pour into serving glasses. Decorate with lime slices. Serve immediately. ​

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/vodka-watermelon-and-lime-slushie.html
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​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Our Eating Around the World Adventure has taken us to Italy, and I had to make lasagna.

The lasagne we know best is the version from Emilia-Romagna, with bechamel and bolognese, and that is a lasagne that I make often and I love.  The Calabrians make their lasagna (in the south of Italy lasagna ends with an ‘a’ not an ‘e’, for ages I couldn't figure out which was the right spelling, now I know both are) with layers of mozzarella instead of bechamel, and include layers of chopped boiled egg and ham or mortadella as well as mince. 

Now one of my kids does not like my lasagne with bechamel, but he absolutely loves this bechamel free version. This is a really, really good lasagne. And it is so easy to make. 

The sauce is made up in minutes, and it is a really wet sauce, it needs to be to cook the lasagna sheets, then you just build it up, super fast, super easy. It bakes for about an hour, and you get a truly tasty lasagna.

I just made this for a New Years Day party and it was a really party hit. I even baked it earlier in the day, up to the removing of the baking paper and foil part, then I just put it back in the oven for 20 minutes to heat up when needed, then removed the baking paper and foil and baked for about 20 minutes until browned to my liking.

If you don't love bechamel, like my son, this is a great lasagna to try.

​Recipe adapted from Matt Preston's cookbook 'Yummy Easy Quick Around the World'

Serves 6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1 brown onion, chopped
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary leaves
500 g pork and veal mince
1 × 700 ml bottle tomato passata
250 ml (1 cup) red wine
500 g (5 cups) coarsely grated mozzarella
70 g (1 cup) finely grated parmesan
12 dried lasagne sheets
80 g thinly sliced ham, cut into 4 cm pieces
80 g sliced mortadella, cut into 4 cm pieces
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced 
​

​Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole dish over medium–high heat. Add the onion and carrot, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for a further 1 minute or until aromatic.

Add the mince and cook, breaking up any lumps with the back of a wooden spoon, for 4–5 minutes or until well browned. Add the passata, wine and 500 ml (2 cups) water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. (The mince mixture will have more moisture than a traditional lasagne; as there is no bechamel you need this extra liquid to cook the pasta.)

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6 cm deep, 30 cm × 22 cm baking dish with a little oil.

Combine the mozzarella and parmesan in a bowl.

Spoon about ½ cup of the mince mixture over the base of the dish and cover with four of the lasagne sheets. Top with one-third of the remaining mince mixture, then one-third of the ham and mortadella, one-third of the egg and one-third of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layering twice, but before the final layer of egg and cheese, drizzle over 60 ml (¼ cup) water.

Cover with a sheet of baking paper and then foil, and bake for 40 minutes.

Increase the oven temperature to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Remove the paper and foil and bake for a further 8–10 minutes or until golden. 

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/calabrian-lasagna.html 
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​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​I do love a margarita, and I love making variations of the classic margarita.

This one is refreshing and delicious.

Sometimes I even add the mix into a blender with the ice to make it more like a slushie.

​Recipe adapted from Walter Burns' cocktail book 'The Ultimate Cocktail Encyclopedia'

Makes 1

45ml tequila
30ml cointreau
30ml cranberry juice
20ml lime juice
20ml simple syrup
​

Rim the glass with salt - moisten the glass rim with a piece of lime and place upturned onto a plate of salt.

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well.

Strain into a chilled margarita or cocktail glass.

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The 12th country in our Eating Around the World Adventure is Italy.

Now this post is not about the food I have cooked since starting our adventure. Rather, this is the Italian food I have already cooked and have posted on my blog. I have named it Part one as it is food I had already cooked.

I grew up on Croatian food, however, a lot of the food we cooked had Italian influences. Why, because my dad is from Lastovo and my mum is from Zadar, and both of these places were ruled by Italy around the 1920's to mid 1940's. Words we say even are influenced by Italy, we call a tomato a pomidor for instance and I grew upon pasta suta. 

So the food that the world considers Italian, is also some of the food I grew up on. 

Italian food is fresh, it's light, it's comfort food, it's hearty, it's simple, it's rich, it's flavourful, it's delicious.

Italian food is all about the quality of the ingredients rather than on elaborate preparation. It's simple food, done well. The food varies from region to region and each region has it's own special dishes.

I find Italian food crowd pleasing, I love seeing families crowded around the table sharing food, and Italian's have mastered this. 

So here is what I have cooked so far, some things are Italian, some may be Italian style, but we love them all. Stay tuned as Part two will be all the new things I have learnt.

Eggs in Purgatory
Crumbed Eggplant with Tomato Basil Sauce
​Goats Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers
Italian Chicken Pasta Salad​
​Tagliata for Two
​Veal Saltimbocca
Braised Chicken Marylands with Wine and Tomatoes
Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana
Chicken Saltimbocca
Woodman's Chicken-Pollo Alla Boscaiola
Slow Cooked Lamb Shank and Bean Ragu
Cannelloni
Chilli Prawn and Tomato Spaghetti
Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine
Creamy Bacon Fettuccine
Creamy Mushroom Linguine
Fettuccine Alla Carbonara
Fettuccine with Mud Crab, Garlic, Chilli, Lemon and Parsley
Fresh Tomato Pasta
Italian Omelette
Lasagne
Macaroni Eggplant Cake
Macaroni Milano
Oven Baked Meatballs in Cheesy Tomato Sauce
Pappardelle Carbonara
Short Rib Ragu
Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti Marinara
Spaghetti Pizzaiola
​Spaghetti Puttanesca
Spaghetti with Clams
Spaghetti with Clams
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni Crepes
Spinach and Ricotta Shells
​Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese
Tomato Prawn Risotto
Pork Campagnola
Cotoletta
Roast Pork with Garlic and Rosemary
Baked Snapper with Parsley, Chilli and Oregano
Fried Calamari
Potato Gnocchi
Rosemary Garlic Foccacia
Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil
Bocconcini, Basil and Prosciutto Balls
Eggplant and Olive Bruschetta
Homemade Foccacia Pizza
Marinated Mini Bocconcini with Basil and Prosciutto
Pizza
Roasted Capsicums
Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
Almond Bread
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Cannoli Cake
​Blueberry Crostata
Chocolate Salami
Christmas Sandwich Cookies
Mixed Nut Biscotti
Tiramisu Torte
Apple Fritole
Baked Ricotta Cheesecake
Nutella Cheesecake
Blood Orange Granita
Mango and Banana Yoghurt Gelato
Orange Granita
Orange Sorbet
Tequila and Orange Granita
Watermelon Granita
Coffee Creams
Strawberry and Vanilla Pannacotta Fruit Cups
Strawberry Pannacotta
Triple Chocolate Pannacotta Mousse
Vanilla Bean Pannacotta
Vanilla Pannacotta with a Berry Compote
Vanilla Pannacotta with Strawberry Champagne Jelly
Yoghurt and Vanilla Pannacotta with Raspberry and Pomegranate Jelly
​Mocha Tiramisu
Campari Crush
Homemade Limoncello
Limoncello Blush
Moscato Strawberry Lemonade
Sgroppino
​

Eggs in Purgatory: My kids absolutely love this, it is one of their favourite breakfasts of all time. Eggs cooked in a tomato sauce, delicious.

Crumbed Eggplant with Tomato Basil Sauce: This crumbed eggplant is very easy to make, they are great hot or cold, are great with or without the sauce. They are just delicious.
This is lunch, this dinner, this is party food, this can even be breakfast for me.

Goats Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Flowers: I love zucchini flowers, they are one of my favourite things to eat. When they are in season this is one thing we love to indulge in, it truly is a seasonal treat. We love it with a cheese filling, and this one is delicious. Simple, elegant, delicious.

Italian Chicken Pasta Salad: This is probably more Italian inspired, rather than Italian, but I added it as it is my go to clean out the refrigerator pasta after I have had a party. It's packed full of flavour and I really enjoy it.

Tagliata for Two: This is how I like to eat a steak, I have never really liked getting a big steak on a plate and eating it myself, I love thin slices of rare steak on a shared platter with either a delicious rub, or like this with a sort of dressing, served with a salad, absolutely delicious. This is something my family loves for dinner.

Veal Saltimbocca: This has got to be one of my families favourite meals. This is simply put, amazing. It is so quick and easy to make, you will have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

​Braised Chicken Marylands with Wine and Tomatoes: I loved the simplicity of this dish, it is such a great weeknight meal. It smells amazing while it is cooking and it tastes amazing to. This is a favourite of mine.

​Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana: This is a family favourite, we all love it. Some of us prefer eggplant, some of us prefer chicken. I make both and everybody is happy. Quite often I'll crumbed and cook the chicken and eggplant the day before and I turn the leftovers into parmigiana the following day.

​Chicken Saltimbocca: This is something I cook when I don't feel like cooking. After a little preparation, you pop it in the oven, and all you need to make is a quick burnt butter sauce and your done. Simple and tasty.

​Woodman's Chicken-Pollo Alla Boscaiola: I love cooking in the oven as it means after a little preparation, I can sit back and relax while dinner is baking. This dish was delicious, I mean really delicious. The aromas that waft through the house promise something special and you hope it will taste as good as it smells, and this one certainly does.

​Slow Cooked Lamb Shank and Bean Ragu: This dish is delicious, the meat was soft, falling off the bone, delicious. The sauce was rich and delicious. The polenta a perfect accompaniment. I love oven baked stews, once you do the initial prep work, you place it in the oven and you don't have to do anything else. Well here after one hour you just remove the lid and turn the shanks over, that's it. This is a great lazy weekend dish.

​Cannelloni: Using the words of my friend 'this is sensational'. We really loved this Cannelloni, my kids said they loved it more than lasagne.

​Chilli Prawn and Tomato Spaghetti: This is a great quick mid week meal. This is so easy to make and is cooked in the time the spaghetti is cooked.

​Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Fettuccine: This is so easy to make, when the pasta is cooked, so is your sauce. This is so fast to make, and tastes so good, you really do have dinner on the table in 20 minutes, with very little effort, but a great end result.

​Creamy Bacon Fettuccine: This is by far my favourite creamy pasta dish. This is my kids favourite pasta dish. It is so easy to make, by the time the pasta is cooked the sauce is done. It is a cheap dish to make, just a few ingredients and you get this delicious meal to serve to your family and friends.

​Creamy Mushroom Linguine: Every now and then we have a meat free nights and this is the perfect dish for it. Luckily we all love mushrooms. This is a simple, tasty mid week meal. 

​Fettuccine Alla Carbonara: This is what I cook when I don't feel like cooking, it's that easy that I just have no excuse to cook. Now this version does have cream, and traditional carbonara does not have cream, but it's so good, I can get over this little addition.

​Fettuccine with Mud Crab, Garlic, Chilli, Lemon and Parsley: What do I say about this recipe, how do I describe this dish. This was perfect, this was delicious, it was delicate, it was an experience. Every bite you have is a wow moment bite, it is the perfect balance of flavours. You taste everything that is in it, but nothing overpowers anything.

Fresh Tomato Pasta: This recipe is easy, it is full of flavour, it is like bruschetta that is mixed through pasta. I love it as it is fresh, it is tasty and it perfectly showcases fresh ripe tomatoes. The only thing you cook, is the pasta. You just toss hot pasta through the diced up sauce and you get something really special.

Lasagne: This is one really good lasagne. My kids absolutely love it, I love it. My family and friends love it. Making a lasagne takes a bit of time, but each step is quite simple. This one is very popular at parties and feeds many people. Bonus is, it freezes well.

Macaroni Eggplant Cake: I love eggplant, I love it a lot. This dish for me was delicious, my whole family loved it. The pasta filling on its own was delicious, but adding the eggplant was amazing. 

Macaroni Milano: My kids absolutely love this pasta, it is quite hard for them to stop eating it. There is never enough leftovers for school lunches, as after dinner, they keep picking at the pasta throughout the evening. They love sausages, they love pasta, put it together and I have three very happy children.

​Oven Baked Meatballs in Cheesy Tomato Sauce: So I have tried many a many meatball recipe and I have not been very impressed. But I was given this recipe from a cousin of mine and we love it. This is a fast recipe to make which is great on busy days, and it tastes lovely, my kids absolutely love it.

Pappardelle Carbonara: ​Some nights you just feel like making something quick and easy for your family. This is what I make on those nights. This is the second carbonara recipe on my site, but I had to add it, not because it is better than the other one, in fact I love both of them, but it just deserved to be here, as we loved it so much. This one to adds a bit of cream into the sauce which is not in a usual carbonara.

Short Rib Ragu: This is my new favourite pasta sauce. I never thought that beef spare ribs could taste this good and make a sauce that is so rich, yet so tasty, every mouthful was amazing. This is probably the pasta sauce I repeat the most.

Spaghetti Bolognese: After years of making bolognese and absolutely not liking it, I finally came across this recipe and I have never tried another. This one cooks for two hours and has a deep, rich flavour. I add no 'hidden' vegetables as my kids eat vegetables all the time so I don't need to hide anything. This is just a simple bolognese that I consider the best.

​Spaghetti Marinara: Like with the bolognese, I have had a few just okay marinaras in my day. I played with a few recipes and I came up with this version, and we love it. Since then I have shared this recipe with friends and they love it to. It's easy and delicious.

​Spaghetti Pizzaiola: This is just a variation of a bolognese that I make when I don't have time to make my normal bolognese. It cooks in half the time, so if I'm time poor this one is great. My family loves it.

Spaghetti Puttanesca: My husband's favourite pasta of all time. This is what I cook when I'm too tired to cook. This is one of those dishes that come in handy when you come home from work and you have no idea what to cook. You look in your pantry and refrigerator, and with a few simple ingredients (which you should have in your pantry or refrigerator), you can whip up this quick, flavoursome, satisfying meal.

​Spaghetti with Clams: Sometimes I get asked what I would consider is my signature dish, now with everything I have cooked I always find that a difficult question, but if I had to choose just one dish, it would be this one. This is a dish I can probably make blindfolded as I have made it so many times and it is so easy to make. This is delicious and so easy to make.

Spaghetti with Clams: I love clams and I love pasta, so this dish was always going to be something I love. The version above of Spaghetti with Clams is tomato based. It has a completely different flavour to this one, my husband actually prefers the tomato based one. I love the tomato based one also, very much, but I love this one to. I love the taste of pasta, I love the taste of clams. So in this recipe the simple flavours of pasta and clams shine. My kids love both dishes also.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni Crepes: Most days of the week we have some sort of meat on our plates, but every now and then I like to have a meatless day. I made this as this is what I like to eat, I love cannelloni, I love spinach and ricotta. I made it with crepes which worked perfectly. These look fancy and really do taste great.

Spinach and Ricotta Shells: This is one of my daughters favourite dishes. She absolutely loves it. This is really easy to make and quite fast to make. It makes quite a few so would be good at parties, you can prepare the cheese filled shells earlier and refrigerate them covered until needed.

Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese: Spaghetti Bolognese is something my kids request all the time, however I am not a huge fan of it, neither is my husband. Here is a recipe all five of us enjoyed. The kids loved it, and me and my husband were pleasantly surprised to find we enjoyed it to. Now I have yet to find a quick Bolognese recipe that I have liked, so this one is also a slow cooked one, as I find the flavours are always better when slow cooked. 

Tomato Prawn Risotto: This is a lovely dish to make when the cooler weather starts.This is a great mid week meal, lovely flavours, simple to make.

​Pork Campagnola: Every now and then I get surprised by a dinner I prepare. I had cut this recipe out of a magazine years ago and came across it recently and thought I'd give it a try. I expected it to be good, but I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. The meat was super tender and the flavours all worked so well together, my family loved this.

Cotoletta: The Italian version of the schnitzel. I like to make mine with fresh breadcrumbs, or breadcrumbs I make from stale bread, homemade is best here. The store bought variety I love are panko breadcrumbs. Use whatever meat you like, pork or veal schnitzels, chicken thighs or veal or lamb cutlets.

​Roast Pork with Garlic and Rosemary: Here is an easy recipe for you all. I absolutely love this one. This roast pork is so full of flavour, very moist and is one of the easiest dinners you will ever prepare. This is my daughter's favourite roast pork dish.

​Baked Snapper with Parsley, Chilli and Oregano: I was watching Italian Food Safari one day and I saw a snapper being baked standing upright, immediately I thought how impressive that looked, I had never thought to bake a fish propped up on its belly. This was so easy to make, and once you have the fish all the other ingredients I always will have in my house.

Fried Calamari: This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari. Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made.

Potato Gnocchi: My family loves gnocchi, just not the packet ones, so after trying a few recipes I found this one was our favourite. They are brilliant, they turn out perfectly every time. 

​Rosemary Garlic Foccacia: Here is a great bread recipe for you all to make. This is so easy to make, anyone can make this. And the flavour, it is seriously OMG good.

​Tomato Soup with Pasta and Basil: This is one of my favourite soups. I am not normally a fan of tomato soup, but this one is different. Actually this is the only tomato soup I enjoy eating. It is quite quick to make for a soup, as it is ready in just over 30 minutes, and what I love is that it is made with fresh ingredients.

​Bocconcini, Basil and Prosciutto Balls: This I like to serve when guests arrive for a party, they go well with drinks, great finger food. The basil with the prosciutto with the bocconcini, it just works so well. 

​Eggplant and Olive Bruschetta: This is a fabulous recipe. It is so full of flavour, it is beautiful. It is great for parties as you can prepare it earlier. I love it for a light lunch, it would be great in sandwiches. It is truly so nice, I love it. I love it with ham, but it is optional.

Homemade Foccacia Pizza: This pizza is delicious. This pizza is easy to make. The dough is so good. It is a no knead dough, which is fabulous. All you have to do is cook a potato, then mix the dough ingredients together, spread it into a baking dish, let it rise for 1 hour, spread on the topping and bake. And you're done. And the flavour is amazing. The dough is the fluffiest, softest dough/bread you will ever eat. It is amazing.

​Marinated Mini Bocconcini with Basil and Prosciutto: This is the marinated version of the bocconcini, basil and prosciutto balls I showed you above. I love these, they are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. The long green chilli adds flavour more than it adds heat.

Pizza: After trying many, many different pizza bases I feel I have found the best pizza dough ever. It is really simple to make, and you get gorgeous pizza with whatever topping you like. The dough works every time, and you get three large rectangular pizza bases out of the dough mix.

​Roasted Capsicums: Roasted capsicums are amazing, they are so full of flavour and need to be served with any antipasto platter. This to me is not only food for entertaining, I am quite happy to top a slice of bruschetta bread and eat them as a snack or as a light lunch.

Tomato and Basil Bruschetta: This is so light, so fresh, I just love it! This is very simple to make. I love to serve this when I have people over for lunch, on arrival I serve this with drinks. It is also a great way to use up leftover basil that I bought for another recipe, I simply make this and have it in the refrigerator as a healthy go to snack.

Almond Bread: These biscuits are the ones where if you try one you just can't stop eating them, you have to have more, they are so addictive, no one can ever stop at one. These are so popular with family and friends whenever I make them.

​Chocolate Olive Oil Cake: This cake is lovely, it is rich, it melts in your mouth, and it doesn't contain dairy or flour.

​Cannoli Cake: I love a good Cannoli, they are amazing, so when I came across a recipe for a cannoli cake, I had to try it. What a great cake. It is made from two sponges, soaked in an orange syrup, sandwiched together with a ricotta 'cannoli' filling. Then it is all covered in a vanilla cream icing. 

Blueberry Crostata: This Blueberry Crostata is delicious. It OMG every bite is amazing and just delicious.

​Chocolate Salami: This was really easy to make. It just takes a few minutes, then you let it set and it's ready to eat. It's also great as you can make it in advance for parties, or if you are getting unexpected guests.

​Christmas Sandwich Cookies: These are delicious and look amazing to. These are really easy to make, use what ever cookie cutter shapes you have, and don't think you can't make these on other occasions, mother's day flower biscuits would be appreciated by any mother, easter egg shaped cookies would be amazing etc. And for the filling, strawberry jam, apricot jam or use whatever is your favourite jam flavour. And Nutella, my daughters favourite is truly delicious, and don't forget lemon curd.

Mixed Nut Biscotti: Previously I showed you how to make almond bread, but here I used an assortment of nuts. I loved the flavour I got by putting in a variety of nuts, absolutely delicious. Quite different from just using almonds. They were crisp, exactly how I thought they should be. You cannot buy them like this, they just taste so much better when you make them yourself. And they are so easy to make.

Tiramisu Torte: For my mother's 70th birthday I thought I'd change one of her favourite desserts into a cake. It was a hit, the flavour combination was delicious. This is something I'm sure to make again and again.

Apple Fritole: This is like a simple cheat's version of fritule. They are made with baking powder instead of yeast. We love these as a quick doughnut fix. They are soft and like a fritula, and something that can be made in minutes.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake: After years of eating the store bought version I finally decided to give this dessert a go. I love the creaminess of the ricotta filling, and the pastry, it holds it shape perfectly. For me, this is one of my favourite desserts of all time.

​Nutella Cheesecake: This ones for all the nutella lovers out there. This was delicious, creamy, smooth, rich, beautiful. I enjoyed every bite. It is a really easy cheesecake to make, and honestly if you love nutella, you really should make it.

​Blood Orange Granita: This is something my kids ask for every time blood oranges are back in season. This granita is beautiful to look at. And the taste was lovely, both sweet and tart, a lovely balance. It is a very refreshing dessert to have after dinner, just beautiful.

Mango and Banana Yoghurt Gelato: Okay, so this one's not really gelato. It only has three ingredients, banana, mango and yoghurt. Blitzed together and you get this delicious gelato like soft serve. It was delicious. I thought I'd put it here as it was like gelato, only easier.

Orange Granita: My kids love granita, they love the little icy crystals that melt in your mouth, they love the burst of fresh flavour they get with every spoonful. This orange version came about as my uncle had an orange tree and every year I had an abundance of oranges.

Orange Sorbet: Two ingredients, that's it. I know authentically probably not a sorbet, but it's delicious, so it's okay. This had the perfect balance between tart and sweet, my kids loved it. You really should try this sorbet, it is so easy to make and tastes great, very refreshing actually.

Tequila and Orange Granita: This is like a cocktail in a granita form. So refreshing, I love the tequila in it, just don't be tempted to add more, as alcohol won't freeze if too much is added. I know tequila is not Italian, you could easily substitute something Italians like with orange juice.

Watermelon Granita: My family is on a granita frenzy, we love them. And the fact that they are so easy to make, makes me want to keep making them. This was another hit with us. The beautiful pink flakes of ice, that melt in your mouth on contact, brilliant. The addition of lime to contrast the sweetness of the watermelon, brilliant. This dessert is beautiful to see and eat, very refreshing. It is amazing how something so simple can be so pleasing to eat.

​Coffee Creams: This dessert is super easy to make, and I love it. Normally I drink coffee without sugar, so this to me is like eating a coffee with sugar. It is deliciously creamy, looks amazing and I love how it wobbles on the plate, just like a panna cotta should. 

​Strawberry and Vanilla Pannacotta Fruit Cups: Here is a fun dessert that looks so pretty, and the best thing about it is, not only does it look amazing, it is so easy to make, and you know what else, it tastes as good as it looks. So if you are looking to impress someone on Valentine's Day, a birthday, an anniversary, whatever you are celebrating, this dessert is a perfect way to do it. ​

​Strawberry Pannacotta: This pale pink strawberry pannacotta is just beautiful, beautiful to look at, beautiful to eat. It is yoghurt based so it has this lovely flavour that is quite refreshing. This is so easy to make, one of the easiest desserts you could ever make.

​Triple Chocolate Pannacotta Mousse: When you put the three flavours of this dessert in your mouth together it really is an OMG moment. It is rich, it is creamy, it is luscious, it is divine.

Vanilla Bean Pannacotta: My first ever pannacotta that I ever made and it was perfect! It set perfectly, it wobbled like a pannacotta should, it was creamy not rubbery, it came out of the mould with ease. The flavour was beautiful, it was divine. This is what started my adventure into these kinds of desserts.

​Vanilla Pannacotta with a Berry Compote: This is my most repeated pannacotta recipe. I make these all the time. People ask for this recipe all the time. It is absolutely delicious. A perfect little dessert.

​Vanilla Pannacotta with Strawberry Champagne Jelly: For Italians I would just use prosecco. This is a dessert that everyone needs to try. This is so easy to make, looks amazing and tastes amazing. The champagne adds a touch of class to this beautiful pannacotta.

​Yoghurt and Vanilla Pannacotta with Raspberry and Pomegranate Jelly: My family absolutely love panna cotta, this is a dessert that does not last very long in my house. Here the combination of the panna cotta and the jelly works perfectly together. I like to make this for parties as one, it is very easy to make and two, it can be made ahead of time. 

Mocha Tiramisu: Most people have a version of a Tiramisu that they love. I have two. This version is what I call my 'kid friendly' version, as there is not too much alcohol in it. I love the hazelnut chocolate that is in it, I love the bite it gives. I have been making this for years and I know this will be a recipe that I will keep on making.

​Campari Crush: ​This one is perfect on a warm day, it's refreshing and super easy to make.

​Homemade Limoncello: I first got the taste of homemade limoncello from a friend of mines dad. His limoncello was so different from the store bought that I fell in love with the flavour. Now traditionalists will only make it with pure alcohol, this version is with vodka. I know some people will say it isn't the same, but I love it. I have made it with rakija (Croatian spirit) and although it was nice, it was strong for me. With the vodka, I have tried a few brands now, but my two favourites were Smirnoff (red) and Tito's. These two were recommended by GZ who I got the recipe from and I agree, they are the best. 

​Limoncello Blush: My husband made up this one. There was no cold white wine in the house, so he got creative. There was a bottle of Limoncello in the freezer (thanks Joanne) and some Cran-Pomegranate juice in the fridge. Put the two together and you have a lovely refreshing little drink.

​Moscato Strawberry Lemonade: It's that time of year again when parties are being had everywhere. Here is a great drink that would be perfect at your next party, whether it be a birthday, Christmas or New Years party. This drink is light, it is pretty and it tastes lovely. It is also great as you can make large quantities of it, or just keep making it fresh as it runs out, as it is that simple.

Sgroppino: This is truly amazing, I will describe it as the best 'slushy' I've ever had. This I could drink forever.

Next Stop: Part 2 Italy-all the new things I have tried.

Recipe adapted from www.newideafood.com.au/

Serves 10

​125g punnet raspberries
2 limes, thinly sliced
1 cup dry gin
750ml bottle sparkling crisp apple juice, chilled
375ml can lemonade, chilled
750ml bottle sparkling rose wine, chilled

Berry Ice Cubes:
250g punnet strawberries, hulled
600ml bottle raspberry flavoured soft drink
​

To make berry ice cubes, cut strawberries into quarters. Divide half the strawberries among two x 12-hole ice cube trays. Fill with raspberry soft drink. Freeze. Reserve remaining strawberries in a covered container in the fridge. 

Up to 1 hour before serving, combine raspberries, lime, gin, apple juice and reserved strawberries in a large serving jug. Cover and refrigerate to chill.

Just before serving, add lemonade, rose and berry ice-cubes. Serve immediately. 

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/gin-gle-bells-sparkling-punch.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060704619764/

​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Now this cocktail is not only easy to make, but it is good.

This is refreshing and just the perfect party drink in summer. It really is a festive Christmas cocktail.

The watermelon puree can be made up to one day ahead. Keep, covered, in the fridge. You can replace the grenadine with a good quality raspberry cordial, if preferred.

Now I have given you two methods to make it, with pulp or without pulp. If you make it without pulp the colour of the cocktail will look like the bottom of the cocktail above. I actually make it with pulp, as you can't even taste the pulp and I don't mind the frothy part as it still tastes good and it means it's faster to make. You decide what you prefer.

You can also double the recipe and just make it in a large jug for parties.

This is a fun, simple Christmas party drink, perfect on a hot summers day.

​Recipe adapted from www.newideafood.com.au/ 

Serves 2-4, depends on glass size

1kg piece seedless watermelon, chilled
½ cup orange-flavoured liqueur
1 tablespoon grenadine
2 teaspoons lime juice
4 cups crushed ice
Small watermelon wedges, to serve
Lime wedge, to serve
​
Method 1-No Pulp: Cut rind from watermelon and discard. Chop watermelon into pieces. You need 600g (about 4 cups). Place in a blender. Blend until pureed. Strain through a sieve into a large jug to give 2 cups watermelon juice. Discard pulp. 

Add liqueur, grenadine and lime juice to watermelon puree. Stir well.
​
Just before serving, place 1 cup crushed ice in each glass (1 cup-capacity) Divide watermelon mixture over the ice. Decorate with small wedges of watermelon.
​

Method 2: With Pulp: Cut rind from watermelon and discard. Chop watermelon into pieces. You need 600g (about 4 cups). Place in a blender. Blend until pureed.

Add liqueur, grenadine and lime juice and ice to watermelon puree. Blend until the ice is crushed.

​Divide watermelon mixture into your serving glasses. Decorate with small wedges of watermelon and lime.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/santas-boozy-watermelon-slushy.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060704607944/

​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Another great summer cocktail. This one is tropical, fresh and delicious.

Pisco is a South American Grape Brandy, if you don't want to buy it or can't find it, just use white rum.

You will need about 7 passionfruit for this recipe. You can also pulse the passionfruit juice in a food processor for 1 second, before straining, this will help break the juice sacs and give you more passionfruit juice.

​I love when you make drinks in large jugs, so much easier, give this one a go at your next gathering.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook 'Eat Drink Share'

Serves 8

3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
3/4 cup (180ml) water
3/4 cup (180ml) passionfruit pulp
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 cup (375ml) pisco or white rum
3 cup ice cubes
3 cup (750ml) soda water
1 small lemon, thinly sliced
1 passionfruit, quartered lengthways, extra
8 sprigs fresh mint


Stir sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat; cool. Refrigerate until cold.

Press passionfruit pulp through a sieve over a small jug or bowl. Return 1 tsp of the seeds to the jug; discard remaining seeds.

Just before serving, combine 1 cup of the sugar syrup, the passionfruit juice and reserved seeds, lemon juice, pisco (or rum) and ice in a large jug. Add soda water, lemon slices and passionfruit wedges. Stir gently and serve topped with mint.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/passionfruit-pisco-punch.html 
Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060704598653/

​Here is another mojito that I love. It's easy to make and perfect for Christmas party cocktails.

Don't throw out the rhubarb, you can use it to flavour smoothies, have it with ice cream or serve with porridge, cereal or yoghurt.

You can make the rhubarb syrup three days ahead of time, just keep covered in the refrigerator.

Add extra soda water if needed, this is to taste.

​Try this, it won't disappoint.

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Eat Drink Share'

Serves 8

300 gram rhubarb, cut into 10cm lengths
2 cups (440g) caster sugar
2 cups (500ml) water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds scraped
8 limes (720g) chopped coarsely
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup (250ml) white rum, chilled
1/3 cup (80ml) elderflower cordial
1 cup ice cubes
5 cups (1.25L) soda water, chilled


Place rhubarb, sugar, water, nutmeg, vanilla bean and scraped seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered, for 5 minutes. Cool.

Strain rhubarb mixture over a bowl and reserve syrup. Place lime and mint in a large serving jug. Crush with a muddling stick or rolling pin to release the juice. Add reserved rhubarb syrup, rum, elderflower cordial and ice cubes. Top with soda water.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/rhubarb-and-elderflower-mojito.html 
​Pin it: www.pinterest.com.au/pin/399413060704588375/

​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

Here is the Bajan food I made this month:

Bajan Roast Pork 
​Barbados Fish Fry
Barbados Corn Pie
Bajan Mac and Cheese
Jam Puffs 
Barbados Punch
Barbados Surprise 
​

Bajan Roast Pork: This one is for a lazy Sunday. You put the roast in the oven in the morning and allow it to bake all day, while you laze about enjoying the aromas that are wafting through your house. The meat is fork tender and the crackling simply amazing.

Barbados Fish Fry: Okay, so I have been eating meat made this way my entire life, who doesn't love a schnitzel. But when I saw this I realised, I'd never crumbed fish, I've prawns and calamari, but never fish. We loved this, it was delicious. The crispy panko crumbs make this a favourite with both adults and children. My only tip, don't choose fillets that are too thin as they will get lost in the crumbs. 

Here is how you make it:

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated onion
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 - 2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno or habanero chilli
1 teaspoon finely chopped or grated garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
4 skinless snapper fillets
Salt
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, parsley, onion, thyme, chilli, garlic and paprika to form a coarse paste. Pat the fish dry, season with salt, then rub the seasoning over the fillets.
Pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl and beat the eggs in another shallow bowl. Working with 1 fillet at a time, coat the fish in the breadcrumbs, then in the egg, letting the excess drip off. Dip the fish back in the breadcrumbs.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches, fry the fish, turning once, until golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and serve with the lemon wedges.

Barbados Corn Pie: This I served as a side dish and we really liked it. It was simple, it tasted great, leftovers were lovely cold the next day. This is something I would definitely make again.

Here is how I made it:

1 x 400g can corn kernels, drained
1 x 400g can cream style corn
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup grated cheese
2 heaped tablespoons flour

Preheat the oven to 175C/155C fan forced.
In a bowl, mix all ingredients together, other than the beaten eggs, fold those in last.
Place the mixture into a greased pie plate or a 22cm square pan, or a 20cm x 30cm rectangle pan. I used baking paper so it was easier to remove from the pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the mixture is set.

Bajan Mac and Cheese: This one surprised me as mac and cheese I always have associated with the US. But I found the recipe so I thought why not try it. My kids really liked this, again it was a side dish, the flavours were lovely. In Barbados they usually use a tubular macaroni rather than the typical elbow macaroni. They also add yellow mustard to their mac and cheese. This mac and cheese can be served as a side with fish, chicken, pork or eaten on its own

Here is how I made this:

226g tubed macaroni
4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 small onion, grated
1 egg, beaten
Fresh thyme leaves, optional
1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs

Bring salted water to a boil in medium saucepan. Add the macaroni tubes to the boiling water. Cook uncovered until macaroni is tender but still firm.
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.
Drain the macaroni and return to the saucepan.
Add cheese, milk, ketchup, mustard, onion and egg. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add thyme, if using.
Pour into a greased 22cm x 33cm baking dish and top with more grated cheese. Top with breadcrumbs.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
​

Jam Puffs: Although I found this recipe while looking up food from Barbados, I think this is something that is eaten worldwide. This is simple, this is tasty and this is perfect when you are craving something sweet. Use whatever Jam you love, I even made a few with nutella. They are actually great for breakfast, afternoon tea or as a sweet treat after dinner. I have made these a few times and they go very quickly. And the real beauty, you can make as many or as little as you need.

Here is how you make them:

9 teaspoons of strawberry jam
1 sheet Butter Puff Pastry
Whisked egg, for brushing

Preheat the oven to 190C or follow instructions on the packet of puff pastry. Cut the puff pastry into 9 equal-sized pieces (you want little squares). Put a teaspoon full of jam in the middle of each pastry rectangle. Fold squares over the filling to form triangles. Crimp edges to seal, I use a fork to do this.
Place on a baking paper lined baking tray, and brush tops with the beaten egg.
Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Cool for a few minutes before serving (because the jam gets HOT).
​

Barbados Punch: I do like to try a drink from every country we visit on this adventure, and this is one I chose from Barbados. Now I just poured all the ingredients in a glass and added ice cubes, but you could also add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. This was lovely, I really enjoyed the tropical flavour combination.

Here is how I made it: 

30ml Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
7.5ml triple sec
30ml lime juice
60ml pineapple juice
Crushed Ice
1 slice lime
1 slice pineapple

Add rum, triple sec, lime juice, and pineapple juice to a blender with crushed ice.
Blend until smooth and pour into glass.
Garnish with lime slice and pineapple slice.

Barbados Surprise: This one is just plain fun, but it also tastes really good. Definitely worth making and I will play with different glass shapes to get different colour levels.

Here is how I made it:

15ml Grenadine
60ml Orange Juice
60ml rum
15ml Blue Curacao

Drizzle grenadine in the base of your glass and carefully drop in ice cubes, fill your glass with ice.
Pour in the orange juice over the back of a spoon so it sits on top of the grenadine.
In a small jug combine the rum and blue curacao, then gently pour it over the orange juice over the back of a spoon.
Garnish with an orange wheel.
​

​​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next stop: Italy