Goodbye

Hello sweeties,
I came back in Parma yesterday night, I spent last 10 days at home with my family and yesterday we said goodbye for the last time to my dear Grandpa, who died on Monday 20th in the morning. I'm a little bit sad but I'm proud of my Grandma because she decide to donate his organs and now three people could begin a new life. This help me to make a sense to a sudden and unexpected death.
I will remember my Granpa forever and I will honour him making the things I always made with him and with all the family.
I show you this picture (2 years ago in January), where you can see Dvd with my Granpa Luigi, absorbed in the fine art of making sausages (yes, every year we make sausages, ham and other delicious things with pork meat).

Pain

I've always hoped Grandparents were immortal. But on Saturday I received a terrible piece of news. My Grandpa falled down and banged his head. He had headache so he went to rest. Actually he had a brain haemorrhage. Because of an anticoagulant medicine that he has to take for his heart, doctors could do little or nothing to stop haemorrhage. They gave him a medicine to contrast anticoagulant medicine, but it doesn't work.
Now we only have to wait. Doctors says we can't hope for something good, because his brain is completely ruined. We can see him only half hour per day, for 5 minutes. And I don't know neither if I can see him when I will come back home because there are at least three meter of snow, and roads are almost not practiable and the hospital is in another town.
So, I can do nothing, I would like to go to my grandma house, to console and help her. But she lives in the countryside and now it's really difficult to go there. But this is Life and we can only wait.

Cappello presto fatto! (Dvd hat)

Last weeks were very cold (like -13°Celsius) and Dvd forgot his hat inside his car. And his car is to the mechanic garage. So, after a day of boring study I went to the yarn shop and I bought some warn yarn to make a hat for Dvd. 

I choose a pattern on Raverly for a very simple and fast hat. 

I can show you only these picture because at the moment I have no picture of the finished hat!

I sewed it on the back side but for the next time I would like to use circular needle (now I have only one 3.5 mm circular needle but very very awkward because the cable spin around (?) ) : yesterday I bought the KnitPro Starter Kit on Get Knitted so I can learn to use circular needles too..can't wait !

Let it snow!

Hi dears,
I know, I know, I appear and disapperar..but you know, study before all other things!

In this period happened two rare events:

. earthquake, two times, big earthquake but not so big to destroy house or other things. Anyway Totoro, Dvd and I, we get soo frightened.

. Snow. Ok, it's winter and snow it's normal. Usually in the city we have just a little bit of snow, and on the  coast it's very very difficult to see snow. On the contrary, in the countryside it snow pretty much.

But this year, it's snowing also on the coast, lots of town are in trouble, some road are closed, and in the countryside, where my grandma lives, there are so much problems. There snow is taller than 1 meter, and on the house of my grandma a chimneypot fallen down! 

Fortunately here in Parma roads are free from snow, we have no problem here. However you can see the pictures of a dazed cat that see snow for the first time! 

Have a nice day!

Tartelettes!

Natalia asked me the tartelettes recipe (you can see the picture in my last post), so, voilà!

Tartelettes with extra dark chocolate and raspberry

For 9 tartelettes (more or less)

.200 g shortcrust pastry (pasta brisée)
.100 g chocolate extra dark
.125 g sugar
.25 cl whipping cream (liquid)
.2 eggs

Heat up the oven until 180°. Cut the chocolate into little pieces. Separate egg white and yolk : put egg white in the fridge and put the yolk in a bowl. Whip up the yalk with 100 g of sugar until the mixture seems to be white ( more clear) add the whipping cream and mix.
Cut the shortcrust pastry with a round cutter and put them into the round moulds.
Punch the end of pastry with a fork, put little pieces of chocolate on the pastry and then add the cream mix.
Put the mould in the oven for 20 minutes.
Take the tartelettes out of the oven and wait until the are tiepid then put the raspberry on the tartelettes.

Beat the egg whites with 25 g sugar (add it little by little) until stiff . Put a little bit of meringue on the tartelettes and put them into the oven to grill for 5 minutes until they are golden brown (and pay attention they didn't burn).  
Wait until they will be tiepid and enjoy your meal! 

!!! BUT !!!

I noted I make a mistake : first time I cooked these tartelettes I put 25 ml of whipping cream instead of 25 cl. The cream was dense and taste sooo good.

Yesterday I tried to cook again tartelettes with 25 cl of whipping cream : the cream is more liquid, and I didn't like them as the first version. 

So, next time I think I will repeat my mistake because the taste was really better! 

La prossima volta metto anche la traduzione in italiano! 

Adesso posto se no non finisco più! 

Happy Birthday!

Halo Halo!
Ieri era il mio compleanno! Non ho preparato niente, abbiamo deciso di andare al ristorante giapponese, solo io e Dvd.
Ma dato che il 25 gennaio Dvd compirà 30 anni, abbiamo deciso di dare una festa e ho provato a cucinare queste favolose tartelettes con lamponi e meringa, così se saranno buoni li preparerò per la festa.
Ho trovato la ricetta nel libro che Dvd mi ha regalato a Natale!

Hello hello!
Yesterday was my birthday! I didn't prepare nothing, we decide to go to the Japanese restaurant, only me and Dvd.
But seeing that on 25 January Dvd will be 30 years old, we decided to have a party and I tried to cook this fabulous tartelettes with raspberry and meringue, so if they are good I will prepare them for the party.
I found the recipe in the book Dvd gave me for Christmas!

Non pensate che siano bellissimi!?
Li abbiamo assaggiati e sono perfetti!! molto molto molto molto buoni!! Sono moooolto felice!!

Don't you think they are wonderful!?
We tasted it and they are perfect!! very very very good!! I'm soooo happy!!

Buongiorno!
Spero che il vostro anno sia iniziato nel migliore dei modi. Io sono già stanca, devo sempre studiare, ma più studio prima finisce tutto giusto? (auto incoraggiamento).
Scaricando le foto di Capodanno, mi sono accorta che ce ne sono alcune che non ho fatto io, ma che sono davvero carine!
In questa potete vedere il mio antipasto, un cestino di pasta sfoglia con ripieno di tonno e ricotta, vicino ad un segnaposto (i padroni di casa hanno usato i pupini della Lego e ci stavano benissimo!) :

Good morning!
I hope the new year started good (?). I'm already tired, I must study, always study, but if I study a lot, I will finish soon!
During the dinner of New Year's Day, someone took this picture: you can see the appetizer I made (puff pastry nest with tuna and ricotta cheese) together with a placeholder (really a Lego, and really nice!)

Io ho preparato i cestini e i passatelli (su richiesta) ed erano buonissimi, mi hanno fatto così tanti complimenti che starò bene per tutto l'anno :D

E' stata una piacevole serata, semplice e tranquilla, e la mattina, ehm verso l'una a dire il vero, si stava così bene che abbiamo fatto colazione fuori! 

I made nests and passatelli (on request) and they were delicious, they pay me so much compliment that I will be ok for all the year :D 

It was a nice evening, simple and quiet and in the morning (ehm at 13 o'clock I think) we had breakfast outdoors!

E poi anche una passeggiata, per smaltire la cena

And also a walk to digest all the dinner 

 In queste foto, me e il mio quasi marito e i nostri amici, Irene e Enrico.
In these pictures, me and my almost-husband and our friends Irene and Enrico .

Buona giornata e a presto!
Have a nce day, see you soon!