US post sneak peek...

Today I finished shooting the second of a three day shoot for the aforementioned 'All Americana' shoot I am uploading next week. I am on a shoot all day tomorrow and Thursday so will wrap the remaining shots up on Friday. This is also the post which will feature the selected shots you sent me a few months back. I thought that until 'upload day' next week, I'd give you just a little taster of what's to come... 

Once I upload the post next week I am delighted to announce I'm actually off to Tokyo and Hong Kong for 12 or so days and will be doing an 'All things Asian WKA style' on my return, followed by 'All things UK and Ireland' over the coming Aussie Winter months, so stay tuned for info on all of that :)

x

All images © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

What's for dinner @ the WKA house, Monday 28th May...

Remember I was mentioning here about the basil flavoured homemade pasta ? Well that's exactly what I'm having for dins this eve... :) Use frozen broad beans if you can't get fresh and don't forget to take off their little jackets when they are cooked or you'll end up with a dreadfully grainy yuck sauce.

Images © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Fresh spaghetti with broad bean and mint sauce, bacon, peas and pine nuts.

INGREDIENTS

For the fresh basil pasta:

4 large free-range organic eggs

400g Tipo 00 pasta flour

6-8 large basil leaves

For the broad bean sauce:

100g soft goats' cheese

3 heaped tablespoons light sour cream

1/2 cup broad beans, cooked and peeled

Juice 1 lemon

2 tablespoons light olive oil

Leaves from 2 sprigs mint 

4-5 large fresh basil leaves

1 long green chilli

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You will also need:

Olive oil for cooking

6 rashers long streaky bacon, excess fat removed, cut into tiny cubes

1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted

1 cup frozen peas

Pinch caster sugar

10 large mint leaves slices very finely

Extra goats cheese for serving

METHOD

To make the pasta sauce whizz all the ingredients in a food processor to form a smooth, light green, creamy sauce. Set aside in a small saucepan until later.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan, add the bacon bits and fry gently until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towel and set aside. Return the pan to the low heat, add the pine nuts and toss continually in the pan until lightly golden ~ take care as they can burn super fast and have a habit of doing so the minute you take your eye off them (!) drain again on paper towel and set aside.

Fill a small saucepan half-full with water, add a pinch of caster sugar, bring to the boil over high heat then add the peas and simmer over medium heat for 2- minutes, drain and plunge peas into a bowl of iced water.

To make the pasta: add flour, eggs and basil leaves into the bowl of a food processor and whizz to form a ball of dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead for 30 seconds, then wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Fill a large pot with salted water, bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Remove pasta dough from fridge, cut into 4 pieces and run each one through your pasta maker from the widest setting (1 on mine ~ I use a bog-standard Imperia Pasta Maker) ensuring you are producing a smooth, hole-free and even pasta as you work your way up the settings (going from the widest (1) to the thinnest (6) as you are rolling the dough through the machine). Note: Stop rolling at setting 5 ~ I have found going all the way to 6 makes the pasta too thin and you end up with sloppy, noodle like spaghetti which cooks in 3 second and ends up a gloopy mess.

Run the pasta sheets (keeping them very well floured as you go to avoid sticking) thought the spaghetti cutter on the pasta machine. Add all the cut spaghetti onto a baking tray and toss liberally in pasta flour to keep all the strands loose and separated. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for 2 mins or until just al dente, drain (keeping all but about 1/3 cup pasta water in the pot) then return to the pot containing the small amount of hot cooking water. Note: pasta this thin and fresh cooks in literally minutes, so take care at this stage not to over cook it..

While pasta is cooking gently warm the pasta sauce over low heat, then add cooked bacon,  toasted pine nuts and peas retaining a few to scatter over the pasta at the end.

To serve; coat the cooked pasta in the warmed sauce, spoon onto serving plates and scatter with any remaining bacon, pine nuts and the finely sliced fresh mint, a scattering of extra goats' cheese and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Healthy and Quick Weekday Office Lunch Ideas

A few months ago I came up with and idea for a food shoot for Real Living. It was based around quick and easy lunches which you can make and take to work with you, saving time and stress, money etc. I thought it would be nice to run with a Mad Men styled/inspired shoot, Sarah who is the Senior stylist at Real Living loved the idea so we worked on it together to produce some fun shots. I provided 5 or 6 recipes which featured in the mag a month or so ago. Seeing as it's a Sunday and the working week is about to start again for most, I thought it was a fitting idea to upload these recipes and maybe you can give them a bash. I'm including three directly here in WKA. All other recipes can be found here at the RL site. 

 

All images © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Wholemeal wrap with poached chicken, lemon, walnut and tarragon yoghurt mayo 

A great, healthy way to cook chicken with minimal effort or time. The chicken in turn pairs great with the lemon and tarragon. The yoghurt adds a zesty zing and the crunchy toasted walnuts are great for adding extra texture. Bringing the filling to work in a jar or Tupperware container avoids the dreaded soggy lunchtime sandwich. 

INGREDIENTS 

Handful walnuts
1 free-range chicken breast, cut into 3 long strips
8-10 whole black peppercorns
2 small lemons
1 stick celery, very finely sliced
Small bunch fresh tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup Greek style, runny natural yoghurt
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 wholemeal wraps or 2-4 slices wholemeal/multigrain bread

METHOD 

Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F).

Scatter walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the pre-heated oven for 10-12 minutes, remove, cool and roughly chop.

Half-fill a medium-sized saucepan with cold water. Season with a little salt and add in the whole black peppercorns along with the zest and juice of one lemon. Bring to the boil over high heat for 5 minutes to infuse flavours, and then add the chicken strips. Turn heat down to low, cover saucepan with lid and poach chicken for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Turn off heat. Remove chicken from pot and slice into bite-sized small chunks.

In a medium-sized bowl add the toasted walnuts; celery; chopped tarragon leaves; yoghurt; mayonnaise; zest and juice of remaining lemon and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the chicken and coat thoroughly.

Place into an airtight container or jar and chill in the fridge over-night or until required.

Bring container to work, chill until lunchtime and serve in a wholemeal wrap or multi-grain bread

Serves 1-2
Prep. Time: 30 mins

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Pearl barley and puy lentil salad with sweet potato, broccoli and roasted baby tomatoes, spicy mustard vinaigrette dressing 

This salad is a great low GI lunch option as it includes pearl barley; sweet potato and lentils, ensuring the afternoon munchies stay at bay. There’s no need either for fiddly bottles of dressing to be brought with you into the office as it can be dressed the night before and still tastes great the following day. 

INGREDIENTS 

½ cup pearl barley 

½ cup puy (French) lentils 

1 small lemon 

3-4 small fingerling sweet potatoes, scrubbed, skins on, sliced into thin slices (approx. 1cm) 

Small head broccoli, head cut into small florets 

Handful baby vine or punnet cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVVO)
Olive oil for roasting
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD 

Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F).

Place baby potato slices onto one half of a non-stick baking tray, place cherry tomatoes onto the other half, and drizzle both with a little olive oil and season with salt and black pepper.

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft in the middle when tested with a small sharp knife. Set aside. Place pearl barley in a small saucepan along with 1½ cup water and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and barley cooked ~ you’ll know when it’s cooked when the texture is soft but still a little nutty with it still has a little ‘bite’ to the barley.


At the same time, repeat process in another saucepan with the lentils. Cooking as above or as per your packet’s instructions.


Rinse both the barley and lentils in cold water and drain thoroughly before adding both into a large mixing bowl. Add a small glug of EVVO and squeeze over the juice of 1 small lemon. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and add a pinch of salt.


Using one of the same saucepans used to cook the barley/lentils, half fill with cold water, bring to the boil over high heat then add the broccoli florets. Cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes then drain and plunge into a bowl of iced water ~ this helps the broccoli to retain it’s bright green colour when cooked and cooled. After 2 or 3 minutes of cooling in the iced water, drain broccoli again and add to barley mixture along with the roasted tomatoes and sliced sweet potato. 
In a small bowl whisk together the mustard; vinegar; cumin and EVOO, pour over salad. Tossing well to coat everything evenly. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until required.


Serves 1-2
Prep. Time: 30 mins 

* * * * * 

BBQ chicken, spinach and pasta frittata 

This is a lunch idea, which you can make the night before for dinner and keep a slice or two over to bring to lunch with you the following day - therefore covering both dinner and lunch in one go. It is great eaten either hot or cold. If you want to make it as a single serve, simply reduce the below ingredients to ¼ (using just 1 small cooked chicken breast).

INGREDIENTS 

200g dried baby elbow pasta
Extra virgin oil (EVOO)
1 small-medium BBQ chicken, skin removed, fresh torn into bite-size strips or chunks
1 small red and green capsicum seeds and talk removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
5-6 scallions, thinly slices
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
200g baby spinach
Handful basil leaves, finely chopped
10 medium-sized eggs
100g vintage cheddar cheese, grated – plus extra for topping
30g Parmesan cheese, grated
Pinch chilli flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges for serving (optional) 

METHOD 

Half-fill a large pot with salted and oiled water, bring to a rolling boil over high heat, add the pasta and cook for 8 minutes until almost al dente. Drain and toss in 1 tablespoon EVOO. Allow pasta to cool, then add into a large mixing bowl, along with the chicken; capsicums; scallions; garlic and basil, stirring to combine. 

Add ½ cup water to a small saucepan, bring to the boil over high heat, add the spinach an cook over medium/high heat for 1-2 minutes or until just wilted, drain and squeeze out excess water then chop finely. Add to the above pasta ingredients.

Crack the eggs into a measuring jug, whisk together then add the two grated cheeses; chilli flakes and a good seasoning of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together then pour into the pasta mixture, coating everything together thoroughly.

Tip the contents of the bowl into a large, deep frying pan ~ note: you will need to use one which you can place under a hot grill, so be mindful of plastic handles etc.

Fry over a low to medium heat for 10-15 minute or until the egg is just set. Remove the frittata from the heat, sprinkle the top with a good handful of extra grated vintage cheddar then place under a hot grill until the top is golden and bubbling.

Serve hot or cold, with a wedge of lemon (latter optional).

Serves 4-6 

Prep. Time: 30 mins

A sweet treat shoot in Sydney's Rose Bay

Bunny Ear Cupcakes

Recipe can be found here

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies | Recipe by Ali Irvine

Chewy Meringues with Passionfruit Cream

Recipe can be found here

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies | Recipe by Ali Irvine

All Photos © Katie Quinn Davies

This was a pretty little shoot I did a few months ago for the April Easter issue of Real Living Magazine. I love some of the lifestyle pics I got of the little girls and boys who were perfect little models for the shoot. Sarah Ellison styled it so beautifully ~ as per usual, she has such an incredible eye. We shot it at a stunning house in the utterly gorgeous area of Rose Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Everyone on the shoot was slackjawed as we walked into the house, it was utterly stunning (!) ~ a mix of Italian meet Georgian in style and reminded me a lot, at least on the inside, of the sort of houses you'd get in parts of Ireland, I could help but potter about the place in-between food shots to capture it's beauty and small details.

As these recipes are not mine, I am linking to the RL site so you can access them ~ how insanely cute are those Bunny Ear Cupcakes?!?!

Secretly still a bit of graphic designer at heart...

Even thought it's pretty much been three years since I worked as a graphic designer, after spending the previous 12 or so years working so intensely in that industry, I still very much think and visualise my work with a graphic designer mindset, I suppose I always will ~ I used to eat, drink and sleep design and still do for the most part. I am a huge typography and illustration fanatic and am always looking for the graphic details in the locations and subjects I shoot. Here are a few quick and casual shots I took behind the scenes at one or two studios I shot in recently...

All images © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Images no. 1 thru 6 shot @ B2 Studios, Alexandria, Sydney

Images no. 7 thru 15 shat @ Mark Roper's Studio in Melbourne

Holy Moly - TWO posts in less than THREE days! ;)

Images © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

(Note ~ this above pasta in the bottom pic only has a few leaves of fresh basil through it, to do this just add it to the eggs and flour in the processor. I will feature a recipe later this week using this flavoured pasta along with some other flavouring ideas).

Today I finished shooting my feature for Delicious Magazine's August issue (we shoot 3 months in advance, which is the norm for most editorials) anyway I was going through my fridge and cleaning out all the bits and pieces left over from the shoot ~ herbs, veggies etc etc.., last night on Masterchef Australia (yes, I've become hooked on it again ~ that's the problem when you look at the first episode!) one of the guest chefs made an amazing looking pasta dish which had been stuck in my head all morning, so I decided it was pasta for dinner and confirmed it so upon spying I had all the ingredients left over in the fridge for my favourite, quick and easy, super-duper, uber-flavoursome home made pasta dish; Spaghetti with Lemon, Garlic, Chilli and Mint.

I hoped to get a few more recipes shot but alas the days are shorter here now and my light disappears, so I'll try to get them shot over the coming days... 

Until then, this is what I'm eating tonight with the better half and I thought you guys might like to do the same... :) x

Homemade Spaghetti with Lemon, Garlic, Chilli and Mint

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 large free-range organic eggs

400g Tipo 00 pasta flour

2 large shallots, very finely diced

6 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

2 long red chilli, de-seeded & very finely diced

2 large lemons

Large handful fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

Olive oil for cooking

Sea salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Add flour and eggs to the bowl of a food processor and whizz to form a ball of dough, turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead for 30 seconds, then wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.

Fill a large pot with salted water, bring to a rolling boil over high heat.

Remove pasta dough from fridge, cut into 4 pieces and run each one through your pasta maker from the widest setting (1 on mine ~ I use a bog-standard Imperia Pasta Maker) ensuring you are producing a smooth, hole-free and even pasta as you work your way up the settings (going from the widest (1) to the thinnest (6) as you are rolling the dough through the machine). Note: Stop rolling at setting 5 ~ I have found going all the way to 6 makes the pasta too thin and you end up with sloppy, noodle like spaghetti which cooks in 3 second and ends up a gloopy mess.

Run the pasta sheets (keeping them very well floured as you go to avoid sticking) thought the spaghetti cutter on the pasta machine. Add all the cut spaghetti onto a baking tray and toss liberally in pasta flour to keep all the strands loose and separated.

Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 mins or until al dente (Note: pasta this thin and fresh cooks in literally minutes, so take care at this stage not to over cook it) drain (keeping all but about 1/3 cup pasta water in the pot) rinse pasta well under cold water then return to the pot containing the small amount of cooking water.

Heat 1/3 cup of olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan and warm over medium heat, add the shallot and garlic and fry together for 3 - 4 minutes, then add the finely diced long red chilli, juice and grated zest of 1 lemon cook for 2-3 minutes. Using tongs or a pasta spoon, add the cooked spaghetti to the pan, along with 1 - 2 tablespoons pasta water, tossing everything together well. Cook in the pan for a further minute then turn out onto one large serving platter or 4 individual ones.

Into the same pan add a tablespoon of olive oil, the juice and zest of the remaining lemon, dried chilli flakes, chopped mint leaves and lots of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch or crushed sea salt flakes. Cook for a further minute or so to infuse all the flavours then pour over the pasta and serve immediately with extra lemon wedges and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Book Giveaway

I quickly wanted to update this post to let you all know the winner of the Kylie Kwong Book Giveaway is...

Kari Crowe.

Kari runs a blog too called Fork, Meat and Spoon. Kari, big congrats, I'll get onto posting your book to you ASAP.

To win the latest cookbook as mentioned in my last post (see here) aka Maggie Beer's 'Maggie's Verjuice Cookbook', simply leave a comment below on this post or the last mentioning the title of a recipe you often make yourself and one which you'd like to see me cook, style and shoot for inclusion in a post all about 'My Top 6 Favourite Reader's Recipes' which I'll feature in the coming months. The recipe which receives the best feedback from the feature will win Maggie's book!

Note: Please keep in mind though I would prefer if the recipes are your own and not taken directly from a cookbook. Also I just need the title for now, if I think it's a good fit, I'll contact you directly for the recipe.

I'm back!

Finally, I was able this weekend to get some time to update the blog, God it feels like an age since I have been able to get a moment of time to sit down and put stuff together. It's been driving me mad, I've spent every day of the past 2 weeks saying to myself over and over "I have to update the blog, I have to update the blog!!" juggling shoots 4-5 days per week and working every second weekend on my Delicious contributor feature means I nowadays get so little time to myself. 

I am currently working away when I get a second in-between photo work to test and write the recipes I have compiled for the USA post which I have been yabbering on about for the past few months. I can assure you it is in the works and I'll be starting to shoot it this week. There are a lot of recipes (about 20 ~ eeeek!), all ideas I put together in my head whilst I was away in the States. On that note I had a ball ~ a great time, some work, mostly play but a great chance to get away from work and chill out with Mick. I will upload some of the photos I took in the US post. 

This filler post is a bit of a mish-mash of just a snippet of everything that's been going on for me over the past while. As I have been finding it hard to get any extra time outside of work and the US post to focus on anything else, I felt this post should really be a bit of an update on what's been happening. 

Self-saucing mocha choc pudding

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

100g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa

60g brown sugar

25ml crème de cacao (optional)

25ml strong espresso coffee

100ml milk

1 egg

50g butter, melted

For the topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Dutch cocoa

1 teaspoon dried espresso coffee powder

250ml boiling water

METHOD

1.    Preheat oven to 180˚C, fan-forced.


2.   Butter a 17cm (1.0L) pudding bowl and set aside until required.

3.   Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa into a large mixing bowl, 

add sugar and stir to combine.

4.   Add the crème de cacao, coffee, milk, egg and melted butter, 

stir well to combine thoroughly using a wooden spoon or electric beater.

5.    Pour into pre-prepared pudding bowl and place on a baking sheet.

6.   To make the topping add brown sugar, cocoa and dried instant coffee powder into a bowl and stir well to combine, 

scatter the whole lot liberally over the top of the pudding then pour the 250ml of boiling water over the top again.

7.   Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until top has risen and sauce below bubbles up through pudding.

8.   Serve hot with vanilla bean ice cream.

All recipes can be found in the current ABC Delicious Magazine June 2012 issue.

Photography, recipes & styling © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Above is a few quick pics of a selection of AHHHMazing chocolate I purchased in Williamsburg, Brooklyn during a trip over for the day on my recent trip to the NYC. 

Some of the packaging alone is incredibly beautiful and the chocolate utterly scrumptious ~ my husband Mick has been screaming at me to shoot this packaging as he was dying to try the chocolate inside! Today I finally managed to get a few moments to shoot it albeit a very dreary, dark day today in the studio due to rotten weather. 

I will be writing and testing some recipes using all this incredible gourmet chocolate in the coming weeks and will shoot and post the results on the blog. Stay tuned... :)

In the meantime, check out some of the companies whose product I am currently munching on...

Big Picture Farm ~ how beautifully simple is that bag of toffees?

Cacao Prieto (THE most amazing, beautifully illustrated packaging ever!)

Packaging almost identical to the sort of design I used to do myself: Askinoise Chocolate Company (I just adore the outer packaging wax-style bags tied with a twine).

Mast Brothers ~ the one any only, now infamous Brooklyn company, it was really great to visit the store and factory in person.

Super funky and uber unusual flavours @ Xocolatldedavid

And my fave ~ complete with Willy Wonka style packaging I was drawn to this the second I laid eyes on it, love, love LOVE it! ~ Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Co.

I spent the day with Valery Rizzo and my long time buddy Melina Hammer, having lunch at Marlow and Sons and then a wander around the area, all planned out so kindly by the fabulous Valery. Unfortunately it was raining pretty heavily so made for a pretty soggy day and not the most camera friendly, but I managed to get one or two snaps along the way...

* * * * * * * * 

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies 2012

Over the last few weeks I have been shooting for the Sunday Life with Kate Gibbs, Kate is a journalist, author and cook. She writes a weekly column for Sunday Life in The Sun Herald called 'The Perfect…' and is a regular contributor to the SMH on food and travel. Kate writes food features for The Wall Street Journal and also writes for The Foodies Guide to Sydney, The SMH Good Cafe Guide and SMH Everyday Eats. Kate has 11 years’ journalism experience and has written for Russh, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Frankie magazine and others. The interest in journalism began at London’s The Evening Standard newspaper. Her first cookbook, The Thrifty Kitchen, was published by Penguin in 2009. Her second cookbook After Toast: Recipes for aspiring cooks, will be out in September. Kate’s grandmother Margaret Fulton is also in the food business.

In The Kitchen Inc, Kate writes restaurant, bar and cafe reviews, and shows the most interesting and inspiring places to eat and gastro-explore. Kate reviews new food-relevant design and books, she writes about new trends in cooking, how different ingredients are being used by our top chefs and cooks, and how to use these ideas at home.

This above dish is one we cooked and shot a few weeks back, it was amazing so I felt I had to share esp. as it's pretty easy to get your hands on my favourite food to shoot ~ pomegranates, at the moment in Aus. The recipe is here and it's well worth a shot for a great weekend dinner.

Speaking of great dinner ideas, this is a dish I featured in my Delicious Magazine's May issue, it's one of my all time favourite Italian recipes as I love nothing more-so with pasta than salty bacon and lots of chilli. I make this dish a lot as a quick and easy free week night dinner.

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies 2012 

Photo taken from my Italian Food editorial in ABC's Delicious Magazine May 2012 issue.

Bucatini All’amatriciana

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

250g free-range, good quality bacon

3 long red chillis, seeds removed

1 birds eye chilli, seeds removed

Large handful fresh basil leaves

60ml (1/4 cup) white wine

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 x 400g tins Italian chopped tomatoes

400g dried Bucatini pasta

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil for cooking

To serve:

Handful Parmesan cheese, grated

METHOD

1.     Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and gently fry over medium heat for 5 minutes then add the minced garlic, frying for a further 1 minute or two.

2.     Remove rind and any excess fat from the bacon then cut the meat into small pieces, add to pan and combine with the onion and garlic, cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring often until bacon is almost golden and crispy.

3.     While the bacon is cooking, place the 2 varieties of chilli on a large chopping board and cut into rough pieces, add the basil then chop both chilli and basil together on the board until fine. Add to the pan along with the pine nuts and stir to coat other ingredients well. You may notice the mixture will start to stick to the bottom of the pan at this stage so it’s now you add the white wine to deglazed the pan scraping all the bits up off the pan base.

4.     Add the tinned tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste (remember you may not need pepper due to the chillis so check the flavour before adding the pepper). Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse flavours (add a little water if you think the mixture needs it). Keep sauce hot whilst you make cook the pasta.

5.     Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted and oiled boiling water until al dente (approx. 10-12 minutes), drain and return to the pot. Drizzle with a little olive oil then add the pasta sauce and coat pasta thoroughly. Transfer to a large serving bowl or individual servings. Serve hot with lots of extra finely grated Parmesan cheese.

6.     Note – I always find it’s sometimes best when making this dish for the first time that you add 2 long chillis to start with then add more as you go. Some may find the birds eye chilli to hot so start out with less and add more to suit personal taste.

* * * * * * * * 

Speaking of Italian food, I thought I'd stick up some pics from a recent shoot I did for a wonderful team of designers in Melbourne - Roque. We shot about 9 pics over two days and these are some of the photos currently being featured in print adverts in Aus.

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies 2012 

Styling Stav Hortis

Last but not least I wanted to mention how utterly thrilled I was to find out for the second year in a row I won the 'Best Single Photo' award in Saveur Magazines Blog Awards (!) A total surprise and I am really very chuffed. Thanks again to all of you who so kindly voted for me, I really appreciated it. The winning pic below.

Photo © Katie Quinn Davies 2012 

Ooops, I meant to add too, I'll be back tomorrow to announce with the winner of last months Kylie Kwong book giveaway and also to give info on details required to be in with a chance to win June's book, which is a gorgeous new title by the iconic, beautiful and hugely admired; Maggie Beer.  I had the great fortune to meet Maggie a week ago at the launch party held by Penguin Lantern here in Sydney, for all the upcoming book titles for 2012. I had a wonderful chat with Maggie who is a sheer delight in person and so warm and kind-hearted. I am thrilled to be giving away a copy of her latest book; 'Maggie's Verjuice Cookbook' ~ shot by one of my most respected photographers; Sharyn Cairns. It's utterly stunning.

http://www.dailylife.com.au/food