MN Little Italy 16

[TheMysticMasseuse]

I HAVE STARTED A LITTLE ITALY THREAD!!!!

hooray for me!!!

that looks amazing Minerva! Looks a bit too complex for me though-especially when I see you need crema for it and I have still havent forgotten the nightmare I had a few days ago with my torta della nonna. After googling and MNetting, Nigella's buttermilk birthday cake seems to get quite a few thumbs up- anyone made it?
lol Sputnik at the sausage woman. All normal looking people today for a change at school.

Oh I know the buttermilk birthday cake (never made it though)... it looks delicious!

WOW that cake looks lovely ...
School today only a few designer bits but seeing as summer came back there was a micro miniskirt and a halter necked top that was pretty micro as well. Of course with the LV bag.

YOu could always make a Thomas Cake Gio ... It is easy if you have the food colours. I did one one with the instant roll out icing already coloured and it was recognised !!!
Or make a train cake which is soooo easy and you can have so much fun filling the wagons with sweets !

Oh the train cake is a good idea!

how do I make a train cake Rosa?? I have
this ordered to stick on the top as I am not an artistic type nor do I have any patience so maybe I should just keep it simple. The only cake decorating I have done was piping a large "1" on ds's first birthday cake and frankly I think he could have done a better job!!

If I diddn't have to wade through 1000 pics I would post one of mine. Trust me it is very very easy. Do I have your e mail as I can e mail you one ?
Buy a swiss roll kind of cake - If you have one covered in chocolate all the better . Ask your bread/ cake shop to sell you some pan di spagna I would say 15 cm x 10 cm but you can go larger or smaller as you wish.
You need burro salato , icing sugar ( non the vanigliato stuff) , cocoa powder , mikado biscuits , small biscuits like mini oreos for wheels then sweets . Oh and a mini swiss roll or one of those masrhmallow twirly things for the funnel.

Get a tray / board and cover in tin foil.Cut a bit off the swiss roll thing so you get the front.Cut a bit of the pan di spagna so it is a rectangle and when stood up it is taller than the engine. then chop up the rest in equal size blocks ( larger is better).
Then you need to make some icing - I would use a mixer - hand or other it is a time saver. I can send you the % if needed. FUn here as you cover the blocks and rectangle in icing and if needed cover the engine ...can send you tips here its easy.
Then assemble. leave a space between each wagin and then put a bit of mikado between each one so they are attached . the rest of the mikados use for making tracks or the top edges of the wagons. Fill the wagons with sweets just stick them on the top. Stick the funnel on with a bit of icing. I used that nocciolato stuff to fill in the spaces on the tracks between the wagons and used little jelly teddies as well. I have made loads in the past and they always go down well! It really only takes about an hour or so if it is a small one. You buy everything!

Or cheat--- BUy the pan di spagna from the pasticceria . Then slice in two and spread with jam and icing ( do a buttercream - thin spread.) Sandwich together and then cover with more icing maybe just the top if you don't feel brave and then put Thomas in the middle and put rows of smarties on the outside so you don't have to pipe anything.

is there seriously someone planning to call their dd Gigliola? gosh it's awful (sorry). Now i'll be singing non ho l'eta' all day long...

I am always tempted to go on baby name threads and say please, whatever you do, don't call your dd Pippa, unless you want her never to set foot in italy. i actually have a friend called Pippa and i can't help sniggering every time i say her name (i am juvenile like that).

Minerva, if you start studying from scratch, what will you go for? we can maybe support each other throughout it. i am scared by the psychology prerequisites, studying for 2 years +, and then when will i have my third baby (answer: never, which is probably why dh is so supportive of me studying)...

re the sausage look, i have been giving it some further thought.. here at work i regularly see extremely sausagey women in leggings/ miniskirts/ tight dresses etc and they seem to absolutely love themselves. perhaps i should jsut wear what i like rather than what i think looks unsausagey on me?

No, I do not think the OP is going to go for Gigliola. But this is after all the thread where Macarena has been one of the suggestions, so who knows?

MM, I think you should wear what you think you feel good in - I think sometimes it is the confidence that makes someone look attractive, more than the clothes or looks (or maybe I am kidding myself!).

At least you have had the guts to check out the pre-req of the course you want to do. I have not even done that yet, and I am thinking about medicine, which is about 2 gazillions years of studying. And of course I have the issue of when the hell I am going to have no 2... At least I am not the only one - I wish I was still in London where changing careers is far easier...

would you consider a medical professional that is not medicine (iyswim)? i always thought that physiotherapy must be a great job... as would midwifery (though a bit more gory...)

ooh fantastic thanks Rosa. How do I sort my profile so you can email me?

hello, sorry to interrupt. I have a question for IT_Eng families but it has nothing to do with cake. Can I join or shall I start another thread?

womble join in and ask away cake is only one of the several hundred topics that get raised on here...
Gio You need to cat me or I need to Cat you I think in order to get e mail addresses mine is my full name so am a bit loathed to give on here .

grazie Rosa. I'm moving my DCs back to UK next June, (current ages 5 and 4) they speak English but have Italian sentence structure (can't do question forms and keep mixing up the vocab, keep saying anyone instead of no-one) Just wondering if any of you have similar problems and how you handled them, how the DCs fitted in at school, whether other kids tease them etc. etc.

Franca has just done the reverse from the Uk - Italy I expect she will be back later . A few others I expect will have some good advice ....as for me I must go and be domestic as I am child free for 45 mins so of course I have to 'think' about which bit of domestic godness I need to do !!!!

just registered for the CAT thingy Rosa- had no idea what it was before. I'll email you anyway and if you get a sec to email me a photo I would be so grateful. Then I can decide whether it looks beyond me or not.

Sorry to butt in like this but...
DD GOT A PLACE AT FIRST CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [g rin]

Got a call this morning!!!!! YIPPIEEEEEE!!!!

And just the day before she was about to start at the other place!!! Un intervento divino. I've been over the moon all day so apologies for psycopathic posts!

Gio that drink is all ours!!!!

DBLP congratulations!!!!!! I suppose

MM, physio is also a possibility - but not the others... Midwifere is a nono - not worried re: goriness (I would happily become a pathologist), I just think that the career possibilities are still a bit limited in Italy (if I was in the UK that would be different).

Can we take this offline? How do we do it? What's this CAT thing?

Hurrrahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I am so pleased for you Pippi!!!!!!!!
It was meant to be!! I am out with the girls tonight so will raise a glass of prosecco to you in anticipation of when I can do it in person!
When does she start?

[grin

Minerva, i think if you click on contact poster (next to my name) you should be getting through by email. yes let's do it.

Pippi- YYYYAAAAYYYYYYYY HUUUUURRAAAAHHH for having faith and confidence!!!

soooo happy for you. and now dd2 is sorted too, woooooowwwwww

Good news Pippi

starts tomorrow!!

Oh I had confidence aplenty at first but yesterday I was well miserable. Dh said this morning that he was sure she'd get a place and to call the LEA. I did at 9.10 just to shut him up and they told me that nothing had changed. Then by miracle 45 min later the same LEA girl called me with the offer. I almost fainted.

I was so 'nel pallone' that when I went to the school to get a polo shirt I ended up buying 3 for ridiculous prices: that shows you pointless planning ahead.

enough of me let me see what's have been going on today.

GIO promise you next time in italy we will be in rome.

Pippi that is just fantastic news I am so very pleased for you ..( and I hope you can sell teh other polo shirts !)
Gio nothing here as yet .....