The first documented "original" Bolognese recipe by Pellegrino Artusi from 1891

We've been (slowly) watching Stanley Tucci's "Searching For Italy" and I've been inspired through watching it to recreate some of the dishes mentioned. In particular, the traditional dishes that kicked off the phenomenon that is now Italian cuisine.

A simple chicken pasta in tomato sauce

Very recently, I had a friend visit. She's from Canada and she jokes that she's the whitest of white when it comes to her taste in food. What she means is that her taste buds can't handle spice and heat. Not that we're being culturally inappropriate about her ethnic background or anything like that. Plus, she's allowed to make jokes about herself. We had an afternoon where I needed to throw together a quick lunch for us before taking her to the train station to catch her train back to the city and this was the result.

Gluten-free bread that tastes like real bread. No cardboard allowed

I have a friend who is gluten-free. An inherited genetic immune disorder that hits when she reached her early 20s. She said to me that she'd never tried Vietnamese banh mi when she visited Vietnam because she couldn't find gluten-free baguettes there. I told her I'd experiment with some gluten-free baguette recipes and make her banh mi. For those of you who don't know, Banh mi is a Vietnamese sandwich on a crisp baguette filled with savory ingredients like pâté, meats, pickled vegetables, and fresh herbs. It's delicious.

The best, easiest, fastest, and tastiest crispy pan-roasted potatoes I've ever made

Honest confession. I hate cooking potatoes. They always take longer than I like for them to cook and I never allow enough time. That said, this is about the best roast potatoes I've ever made and they're about as fast as roast potatoes go and taste fantastic. Super duper easy too.

Focaccia charcuterie board with baked Brie

I was influenced by social media for this recipe. I saw a quick video suggesting that I use focaccia as the board for a charcuterie board and then piling the charcuterie ingredients on top. Then tear and eat. The focaccia was amazing.

Classic chicken and sage stuffing with a twist

Right, don't laugh, okay? But the truth is, sometimes I have very basic tastes. Any Aussie who's any Aussie will have had a BBQ chicken or a charcoal chicken or a Coles or Woolies roast chicken at some point in their lives. If you're an Aussie you will know what I am referring to. I think Americans call them rotisserie chicken?

Mango cream parfait

I'm not big on dessert since I'm a diabetic, so you won't find me baking a lot of cakes and cookies. But I had this idea that I wanted to serve a dessert with Christmas lunch. A friend mentioned a trifle, and I thought, hey, it's mango season and I could do a twist on a traditional trifle. No cake since your girl barely bakes.