dark chocolate truffles with orange

   A last minute dinner invite. I know I am expected to bring something made by me -  a little naughty habit I have given them through the years. What's to do, then? A rummage in the pantry, of course.

   And here is what came out of it: some dark chocolate, a bit of cream cheese, an orange, a bottle of Cointreau....

Rabbit 'dos e brusch' as of old.

     My local butcher shop is really a gourmet boutique. It's owners, Giovanni and Franc, virtually introduce you personally, one by one and with a lot of paw shaking, to the animals that gave the meat they sell (lol, I am no vegetarian!). What's more,  the prices are incredibly pop. Naturally this is only possible beacuse I have the very good fortune of living in the hills of Monferrato, in Piedmont. It is not surprising then that over the years a large number of my Turin's friends have fallen into the habit of stocking up on meat every time they come visiting. I myself, during my 'German years', used to regularly export (possibly illegally, who knows?!) 3 or 4 weeks worth of supplies in the car boot.

     No surprise then when the other day Giovanni sold me a rabbit with the recommendation to cook it for about 15 minutes longer than usual, since it came from the rabbit hutch of his neighbourgh. Hence, it had been lovingly raised and nurtured as was always done on our farms, eating grass rather than pelleted feed. It was laso clear that its life of rabbit 'as of old' had lasted well over the classical eye blink of the industrially farmed animal.

    I could not but honor this beauty by using it as the main ingredient of an ancient recipe of the Asti tradition: the coniglio "dos e brusch" (literally, sweet and sour rabbit) as illustrated by the maestro Giovanni Goria in his manual Cucina del Piemonte Collinare e Vignaiolo - a real must for anyone interested in real Piedmontese food.

chocolate cake with port glazed pear

I rarely eat puddings and cakes, and even more seldom do I cook them. I've always been more of a savoury foods person myself. During these last few days however, there was someone in my household who felt pretty much sorry for himself, recovering, as he was, from a minor op. Hence, a few extra cuddles were due. Here is one of the concessions I produced myself in...