Yet another meme .... no thinking taste matching!

And it happened again! Fate seems to try to tell me that maybe I am not supposed to post my recipe of a risotto with dutch shrimps, whisky and curry ... but I will not desist!

What happened this time ... again a meme .... and again passed to me by Elena (gosh, wouldn't it be better to start using real names in blogs?!?!). Luckily this one (started by Mara) is rather easy:

- Mention 10 combination on top of your mind
- Pass it to other 5 bloggers

The idea is to see if there are new inspirations coming out of this exercise ... so here I am, my turn to take a meme and (again) pass it from Italian to English!
So, my top of mind combinations:

1. Gray shrimps, orange and whisky
2. Lobster and vermouth
3. Raw scallops and balsamic vinegar
4. Chocolate and deer
5. Coffee and ceps
6.Raw tuna, balsamic vinegar and wasabi
7. Salmon and spek
8. Lemon and ricotta
9. Scallops, frozen foie gras and truffels
10. Oyster and gold

And I have eaten each one of these combinations of flavors either at home or in a restaurant!

Now who do I pass this one to? Let's see: Silvia of Savoirs & Saveurs, Kate of Applemint, Valentina di Le Maghe delle spezie, Jen of Milk and Cookies and Linda di L'osso e la lisca.

Ciaoo .. and tomorrow I will definitively post the risotto no matter what!

You make my day award

Well, I was going to share with your the recipe of a really interesting risotto I made yesterday ... but such is life, I got nominated for a meme. Thus, I got to continue! This one is an easy meme as it consists of naming the 10 blogs that I visit daily or so ... and I am going to bend the rules. Yes, I never stick to them anyhow :-) I will list the 10 blogs which I like the most ... but they do not get updated daily and, unfortunately, one if even on hold!

But first things first! As far as I know I was named by Adina ... who said I am an engineering in th kitchen (that is my wife I think!!!) ... and Comida de Mama ... and I hope she manages to make the souffle in my previous post or she will regret naming me!!!

As for my top10, well here it is .... if you see your name down here please follow the meme ... I will post a comment on your blog anyway or send you an email (except when I deem it inappropriate ... another broken rule!).

1. There is a blog I discovered about two months ago and that has influenced my recipes in the last two months considerably. I have already mentioned it recently, but I do it again: Mercante di Spezie. Lory has taken a break from blogging, but I still go back there to check her recipe ... and hoping she will re-start.

2. Even more recently I discovered another blog ... and it is really a lot of fun! To the point that I visit it more than once a day sometimes. It is almost a community more than a blog ... what is it? Kelablu! Massimo ... do not worry I also do not expect you will follow this meme!!!

3. Now back in time, there were two blogs which actually forced me to rethink how to take photos and cook. Only one is now still being really followed by me, but more because the blogger is the perfect opposite of me: a Flemish in Italy, while I am an Italian in Flanders! That is surely Il Cavoletto di Brussels.

4 & 5. You might think ... this guy only looks at italian blogs. Neeeeee! (this is dutch). My favourite resources for cake recipes (or better baking envy): Peabody (Culinary concoctions) and Jennifer (Use of Real Butter). I wish they were my neighbors ... I love their cakes. So rich and luxurious! I envy their skills!

6.On a very different tone, I follow the updates also on Ele. She (Elena) used to be my colleague at Philips and, then, she dropped everything to go on humanitarian missions in Africa. A brave choice from an amazing woman, who is enduring a difficult life to help others in need. Always emotional to read her rare posts.

7. Keeping the list far from food ... here is the Strobist (and I am not going to ask him to follow the meme). The best blog and resource for flash photography. I have been lurking this blog will last Xmas when Elke gave me a flash .... so now I can try to learn from reading it all over again!!!

8 & 9. Back to food .... I love to pass by Colica d'acqua (i.e. kind of translates to "water diarrea colic") and Applemint. One in italian and oen in english .... both a joy to read and always nice photos!

10. Last but not least .... one of my nominee .... Adina. Yes, I also have the feeling you are a "precisina", but as we say in italian "con il pepe dentro"!! And in the kitchen ... I think we are kind of similar.

This is all ... but before leaving to more navigation in the web-sphere a suggestion ... let's all use the Google Translator widget (or similar). If not for making our blogs easy to understand on various languages, at least to have a laugh at its translation (as my parents noticed lately)!

I have been nominated!!!

Well, I have been nominated!!! what ?! I mean for a meme .... and it is only the second time actually I get invited to participate to a meme. The rules and nature of this meme can be found here where it originates. Simply names 5 blogs that make you think, quickly describe them and invite to do the same. I have been nominated by Lory, which is an honor for me also for the kind words she uses.
To be honest, had not done it somebody else I would name her ... since her blog has been the best new entry in my list of daily visits this year. I never met her, but from how she write it comes across as a truly optimistic and sensitive person. Not to mention her nice recipes!! To me, it would be almost worth learning a bit italian to visit her blog.

So, who could I invite ... and mind if you have been already invited, my apologies, otherwise please do go on with the meme. Here is my 5 thinking blogs.

1) Kate of Appelmint. Another blog I most of the time read and rarely comment on. Amazing how much she travels and how her reciped and beautiful photos relect it.

2) Keiko of Nordljus .... honestly, the most inspiring photos I have seen so far. They speak for themselves telling the story of a recipe or a trip.

3) Francesco of tutto e' dimostrabile (eh eh you though I would name myself from the name!!!). Yes, we were classmate in high school and have not seen each other for a decade after that and a few years after it again. Still, his half italian half english blog is a nice read on trends, politics, technology, etc. Hopefully he will post again soon !!!

4) Donatella of parole di cioccolat0 ... it is always nice to see how somebody from the same part of Italy is living abroad and near by. She in the Netherlands (where I used to) and I in Belgium.

5) Finally, a close friend. Andrea of Good Morning Natlab. The name and the ties go a long way. From being colleagues to neighbors and sharing many wines till he moved back to Italy. His blog is not very active but the few posts always share something I find worth reflecting ot that remind of my past.

That was it. As you can see it is a mix of italians and not .... I would have named Lory, but she named me first. Now, time to post a recipe ... but it will be for tomorrow night.