Christmas in July at Carluccio’s – St. Christopher’s Place, London

Summer is over, so it seems. I’m really trying not to be ungrateful as we did have some very lovely days in June and July (I think), but as we tumbled into August (and we really did, as I write this, there are only a couple of weeks left before the little rugrats go back to school and my M25 journey is hellish once again) the weather really did start to go downhill. I can remember a couple of days this month when we had some really torrential rain. Certainly not what I’d expect to see in the “height of summer”. I really do feel sorry for brides and grooms (mostly brides as I don’t think grooms care so much) that got caught up in it.

Rucoletta Italian Restaurant | Hidden Gem in the Heart of St Paul’s

I love Italian food, so was delighted when I was offered the opportunity to visit Rucoletta, a quaint Italian restaurant, just a stone’s throw from St Paul’s cathedral. What exactly is Italian food? Ask many this question and they will tell you “pasta and pizza”. Even if it were “just” pasta and pizza, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a cuisine so refined. Wikipedia states that Italian food is tomatoes, all kind of meat and fish and pecorino cheese. I was about to put this to the test.

Diciannove Launch Party | Crowne Plaza Hotel, 19 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6DB

**Pronounced ditSan”nOve**

What a lovely evening Sally and I had on Thursday at Diciannove – an Italian restaurant within the Crowne Plaza hotel in Blackfriars that has renamed and recently revamped itself. Usually PR events are much the same. Drinks and food that the proprietors THINK you want to sample thrown at you. Followed by an A4 sheet of paper with the offering and many links to ensure that you post SOMETHING to ensure the restaurant gains coverage. I have to love Roche because they get it right. They don’t make me FEEL like I have to post anything on the Internet or give any coverage to events. I guess their clients just have such an air about them that I feel that I will want to tell people “look here! You must go!”

Restaurant Review | Spaghetti House Italian Cafe, Tufnell Park, London

Another week, another adventure with foodie partner Chanelle.

This week – Spaghetti House in Tufnell Park. “NOT THE CHAIN!” I yell in unison each time I tell someone about this restaurant.

Spaghetti House is actually a small Italian run café that has been around since the late 1970’s. Walking past, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a greasy spoon, set on a cross junction facing a fruit and veg cum off licence, Boston Arms Irish pub (beautiful building) and The Hideaway bar which let’s face it – should be hidden.

If you were to walk past Spaghetti House and have thoughts of “caff” greasy spoon – more fool you.

My aunt first took me to Spaghetti House about three years ago. I distinctly remember being completely in love from first sight and insanely jealous that I lived nowhere near this fantastic place – I would have been in there at least once a week. In my head remembering how great it was I had visions of lobster, caprese salads and lugs of wine and walking away with a heavy stomach AND pocket.

Restaurant Review | Bar Remo Italian Restaurant, Central London

Have you ever had the pleasure of dining at Bar Remo? My cousin Daniel chose this restaurant as the venue of his birthday meal back in May 2011 and it was a fantastic choice. A lovely homely family run Italian that’s been open for I don’t know how long but certainly since the 80’s. The walls on the ground floor are adorned with autographs from iconic greats such as Sophia Loren and some other people who I can’t remember right now. The wood fire pizza oven is located on the ground floor where you can see the chefs kneading away at dough for pizzas and pizza breads. Downstairs you’ll find the kitchen where more chefs sweat away whilst cooking Spaghetti, Gnocchi and alike.

Speaking of Gnocchi…

The first time I visited in May I had Spaghetti Carbonara which was lovely, however I had a serious case of food envy as my cousin Serena had ordered the Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cheese. When she couldn’t finish all of her food (a popular routine of hers) I started to get stuck in quickly forgetting about my pasta.

Recipe | Home cooked Italian food | Ragu sauce inspired by Tony Soprano

when Tony wasn’t dealing with waste management, he was shoveling spoonfuls of his ma’s baked ziti into his gut

Over Christmas I treated myself to The Sopranos complete boxset. All 7 glorious seasons of it. My other half and I have been religiously working through each season and we’re currently up to season 4. Aside from the gratuitous violence and my romantic affection for New Jersey, the other thing that keeps me glued to the screen is the food. The glorious dishes of Baked Ziti, Quail Sinatra-Style, Minestra, heaving helpings of Sunday Gravy and the obligatory marinara sauce makes my mouth water, and I remember once again why Italian is my absolute favourite genre of food.

Inspired by one of my favourite food bloggers I decided to try my hand at Ragu with Gremolata. This was my weekend project planned about a week in advance.

I spent a good amount of time researching recipes to decide which was the best guide. I favoured Delia, my all-time favourite food blogger Helen Graves and for good measure, a random recipe I stumbled across online. I concluded that I would combine all three.

Recipe | Healthy Quick Food | How to make Classic Tomato Marinara Sauce

We all have cravings and penchants for foods that others might consider weird – myself included. But one friend who’s tweets I follow on Twitter caught my attention for the wrong reason as I deemed what he eats to not be “food”.

Concoctions such as “ham and cheese sandwiches with HP sauce”, “french bread, ham and cheese, croissants with philly and jam and a cappacuino and hot chocolate”.

This boy needed to be taught a thing or two about simple dishes that are easy to cook and are SO much better for your diet.

Recipe | Jamie Oliver Recipe | Simple Baked Lasagne | From Jamie’s Dinners

I always mean to document my lasagne on the rare occasions that I make it and last time I cooked it, I made sure I took ample photos. I got the recipe from Jamie’s Dinners – a Jamie Oliver cookery book that I use on a regular basis. It’s an essential book for any kitchen.

Check out my photos below.

The core ingredient that makes it is butternut squash.

I’ve attempted to make it without & The Man has NOT been impressed.

Note – I skip the pork belly. In my opinion it’s not needed.