I love to gnocchi, hahaha I love to gnocchi and sing!

I believe my calling is gnocchi, ( and drinking lot’s of prosecco) I make potato gnocchi, spinach gnocchi, pumpkin gnocchi and beetroot gnocchi. I use the traditional methods my Nonna taught me and use 21^st century flavour combinations to give the dishes the WOW factor that they deserve.

Beetroot Gnocchi

I love big portions, and I love small portions

I love red sauces and I love white sauces

I love to roll them, chop them and boil them until they float

I love to pour the sauce on them and gobble them up before they go cold

The thing I love more than anything else is watching others smile while they enjoy them.

Now that I have your attention and you know how much I love Gnocchi.  I will let you know that I won't be putting my recipes up here as this is my "thing" and I want to make a business out of it! So if you have some hints and tips or would like to help me on this adventure get in touch! I'll even cook for you if you do!

Artichoke & Pumpkin Gnocchi

However what I can tell you, is that I recently made Banana and Avocado muffins, and what I learnt was no matter how many recipes are listed on google – this is a terrible idea.

The intrigue was enough for me, but use this as a warning – it’s kinda gross.

So moving onto something more on trend, Kale is the super food of the hour. Recently I bought a packet of the new craze Kale chips/crisps (depending on where you live) at a well-known sandwich shop chain in London.  They are delicious and are super easy and quick to make at home, so here is a DIY recipe so you can do it yourself.

1 bag of curly Kale

¼ cup of olive oil

Sea salt

Pre Heat oven to 150 degrees C

Chop up Kale and remove spine from leaves, chopping the Kale into large pieces. *Remember the size will decrease by 60-70% once the leaf becomes dehydrated so don’t make this too small otherwise it will be hard to pick up when it comes time to eat them!

Place evenly on a flat baking tray and drizzle olive oil all over

Sprinkle sea salt across all of the Kale evenly

Place in the oven on the top shelf for 15 minutes

At 5 minutes remove the tray from the oven. You will see that the Kale has started to dry out and has shrunk in size. Lightly drizzle more olive oil and a sprinkle more salt then use a spoon to mix through.

Place back in the oven on the middle shelf for a further 10 minutes.

Remove before the leaves turn brown and set aside to cool, and add more salt because you can.

Also some fun news is that I am part of the Lidl UK campaign that is running in stores nationwide, so if you see a picture of me and my tweet - get in touch. 

Much Love

Cassie's Kitchen xx

Click here for my Facebook page to find out what else I've been up to.

Out Comes the Crisps

In goes the Kale

 

Cassies Kitchen on a whisky and culinary tour in the highlands and Aberdeenshire in Scotland.

This wee bonnie lass went up to Scotland on the weekend past for our friends Morven & Christopher's wedding in Aberdeenshire.  We have had some amazing tour guides teaching us about William Wallace, whisky export during prohibition, offshore mining and general everyday life in Scotland.   

Naturally whilst Cassie's Kitchen has been up North and on tour, I've tried a range of local dishes and experienced including eating tatties, stovies, butteries, haggis, black pudding, Scottish Salmon and went to the (voted) no 1 chipper in the UK for the freshest haddock ever.

To work off all the food, I've climbed in Castles walked through a tropical forest and a desert of cactus's. Witnessed a humanist wedding listened to the bag pipes, sampled true Scottish whiskies and danced Ceilidh dances. I've learnt about Kilts, sporrans, how to warm up bag pipes, what's included in survival training in the Atlantic Ocean and some new phrases like "Gie's a Boise!" &  "Fou'syerdouse?" (Give us a cuddle /how are you?)

Overall it's been an exciting few days.  I have also learned that the Scottish are fond of their traditional dishes, and have a proud history. Whilst taking all of this on board, I've also been instructed how to distinguish between Aberdeenian and Glasvegian. ( As I am sure your realising now, it's been a busy few days)

Whilst up north we visited the iconic Glenfiddich whiskey distillery in the highlands which has been family run since 1886. Our friend Dave played tour guide and we sampled a 12yo, 15yo, and 18yo malt whiskey.

Did you know the reason you smell whiskey ( and apparently wine) is be because the nose can smell 32 aromas but can only taste 4 or 5. - I didn't either!

I've also been super busy with Cassie's Kitchen, my new domain name is set up! www.cassies.kitchen (yep .kitchen not .com) and I'm slowly making some headway with packaging options and branding.  I've contact a few market stalls and am working toward running a pop up in London this November - dates TBC, watch this space.

I've master my signature dishes, and mapped out my offer. It will be traditional Italian methods meets 21st century flavour combinations. I will be putting a twist on gnocchi, sauces and accompanying sides, I like to describe my dishes as delicious "roundish foods" as Arancini is also on the menu.

Not only is Cassie's Kitchen moving full steam ahead, I've also been playing with some new flavour combinations on the home front. Recently I whipped up an Avocado & Chocolate mousse for sweets mid week.

To catch up on everything that has been happening make sure to click here and follow me to keep up to date movements on whats been cooking.

A rough recipe outline below for you:

1/2 large mashed Avocado
80 grams of chocolate (I used Spanish chocolate, you could use milk cooking chocolate)
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of icing sugar
2 tablespoons of milk (coconut will work also)
Sprinkle of coca powder

Melt the chocolate on the stove and mix into the above ingredients with a wooden spoon.
Once folded in, use a hand mixer until mixture thickens and is more a consistent texture.
Poor into serving cups and place in the fridge for 1 hour or freezer for 10 minutes.

For an extra "crunch" I suggest smashing up some biscuits (digestive or malt) and place in the bottom of the cups.


Ps: Check out how cute these kitchens are at George/Asda! - Love it
Cassie's Kitchen