World Nutella Day Round-Up

Here it is, folks! Now is your chance to go and visit all the wonderful Nutella devotees who participated in yesterday's first-ever WORLD NUTELLA DAY Celebration.

I have some, and Sara over at Ms. Adventures in Italy has the others, so be sure to stop by and visit her today as well so you can see ALL the participants!

Take a peek at our Flickr photo pool too. Lots of good shots there.

Still want to get in on the fun? Send your entry to: nutelladay (AT) nutelladay (DOT) com. We will be adding last-minute entries for a little while still, and you can go down in online history as one of the original participants in the first-ever WND.

We'll be listing participants on our website as well.

A super special GRAZIE GRAZIE to Sara, our fearless leader! It was a pleasure co-hosting this event with you and thanks for your wonderful initiative and tireless work in organizing and promoting this NEW WORLD HOLIDAY that we are all now a part of.

And a big, huge, Nutella-filled GRAZIE to all of you wonderful participants out there. Let's make this a yearly celebration, shall we?

So, without further ado, I encourage you to go and check out each and every one of these stunning and creative entries. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was!







Alyce at Mantia's Musings made Pain Perdu: Nutella Lost Bread







Aria at Passionate Nonchalance brings us Yoshi, the talking rabbit, enjoying Nutella rolls

Arlene, a.k.a. NYC/Caribbean Ragazza brings us Michael Chiarello's recipe for Banana Nutella Crepes







Ashleigh from Stitched in Holland made Chocolate Orange Nutella Cake







Brilynn at Jumbo Empanadas made Banana and Nutella pitas and Nutella Cookies







Chelsea at Bon Vivant made Nutella Baci Cookies







Chris at Mele Cotte went on a quest to create Nutella Baci Candy







And also from Mele Cotte, these Nutella Biscotti







Christina at Mausi is takin' a break with Nutella







Cin at A Few of My Favorite Things reminisces with Memories of Nutella

Cyn at Reboot: A New Life in Italy gives us Nutella Hot Chocolate







Huphtur over at The Hot Crew found a sad, sad state of Nutella affairs







Indah at Food Scribbles made Nutella Banana Cake

Jen at A Thousand Times No had a World Nutella Day camera malfunction and reveals the difference between American and Italian Nutella







Jessica at Finny Knits is on the road with Nutella and came up with a Nutella party hors d'oeuvre idea







Karla at Chaosküche shares her childhood Nutella memories







Loulou of Chez Loulou brings us Nutella Mousse

Liam at Panorama of the Mountains gives his tips about where to find the best Nutella combinations







Maria at Country Hopping made Chocolate-Hazelnut Nutella Cookies

Mel at Hecticium wrote a Nutella-inspired poem







Michelle, a.k.a. Sognatrice created a Nutella breakfast treat







Molly at Somewhat Refined whipped up some Nutella cream puffs







Rachel at Rachel's Bite made Nutella Profiteroles







Sierra at Moon Martini brings us an elegant Nutella treat







Shelley of At Home in Rome made Nutella Ravioli







Stacy at Texas Espresso made Nutella Sour Cream Pound Cake







S. Worthen of Owlfish brings us Nutella cookies







Valerie from Due Baci in a Pinon Tree offers up a Nutella Birthday Cake







Vicki at I Need Orange gives us a straightforward Nutella solution







Zorra at 1x umruehren bitte a.k.a. Kochtopf (say that five times fast!) came up with Brioche Cornetti Filled with Nutella

HAPPY NUTELLA DAY 2007!
Until next year...

Buon Nutella Day!

It's here, it's finally here! The day you've all been waiting for!

I hope you all found a way to participate in our global celebration of that chocolatey, hazelnutty goodness known as Nutella.

Being a co-host made me feel that the pressure was on to come up with something really special. Now, I don't really like to cook, but I do enjoy me some baking every once in a while. So I got as culinarily creative as I could possibly muster and decided to combine an Italian favorite, ravioli, with Nutella. Here's the result. Hope you like it!

Nutella Ravioli

Ingredients and materials:

"Pasta frolla," frozen pastry dough (or make it yourself if you're a foodie. I cheated.)
Nutella
Cookie cutters or ravioli shapers
Flour
Cookie sheet, rolling pin, board or countertop for rolling out dough

Here's the how-to:

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F (about 220°C).
Let the pastry dough thaw for about 2 hours, then roll out to about 1/4" (about 1/2 centimeter) thickness.

I found these really cool things for ravioli. On one side it's like a cookie cutter, so I cut the circular shapes into the dough.

Then you pop the shapes out of the dough and place them on top of the cutter. Don't forget to spread on the Nutella---it's the secret ingredient and our ravioli filling! And don't be skimpy about it. The only thing I'd do differently next time is I would add more Nutella. I only did a light spreading on each because I wasn't sure how much to put in.

Once you've spread all that Nutella goodness on, you simply fold the shaper in half, and voila!

A bowl of Nutella ravioli ready to bake.

Now, if you can't find one of these little ravioli doo-dads, just cut shapes out with a large round cookie cutter and fold them up, pressing the sides down to seal. Use light dustings of flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin, etc.

I baked them for about 10-15 minutes on a cookie sheet covered in "carta forno" (oven paper, something they use here in Italy to prevent food from sticking. You might need to grease and flour the cookie sheet.) They came out pretty good, I have to say. Of course, Italian "pasta frolla" is a bit dry and not so sweet; I would have preferred a softer, more sugary cookie, but these were definitely traditional Italian dry biscotti. I dusted on a bit of powdered sugar and that helped. Alessandro loved them though. Italians tend to prefer things that aren't on sugar overload; I always hear from my Italian friends that the desserts I make are "good, but too sweet." These go great with a cappuccino for breakfast.

Stop back tomorrow and I'll have a splendid round-up for you of many Nutella Day participants and their creations. And don't worry if you missed Nutella Day. You can still post and email us at: nutelladay (AT) nutelladay (DOT) com, and we'll add your post to our round-up. But hurry! This offer ends soon!

Looki, Looki...

Clicki, clicki...

WE'RE ON WIKI!

Don't tell me you still haven't grabbed the participant button for your blog?


Don't tell me you still haven't started planning your Nutella Party?

Don't tell me you still haven't bought a jar of Nutella for WORLD NUTELLA DAY?

Get going! Vai!

P.S. I personally have come up with a creative idea for a new recipe that combines the Italians' love of pasta and love of Nutella... now I just have to figure out a way to make it happen...

That's right folks, it's WORLD NUTELLA DAY!

What, you ask? World NUTELLA Day? What's that?

Well, my friends, it is the inspired brainchild of my lovely expat pal Sara over at Ms. Adventures in Italy, who has kindly enlisted my help in co-hosting this groundbreaking, earth-shattering, nothing less than simply life-changing EVENT.

Who can remember the first time they were allowed to eat chocolate for breakfast?

Nutella is more than just a "chocolaty hazelnut spread," it is a way of life. From childhood memories to oozing hot crepes, from breakfasts on vacation, to free-spooning sessions on the couch, Nutella is present in the memories of many of the children and grown-up children in the world.

And it doesn't have its own holiday.

We're about to change that.

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy and Shelley from At Home in Rome solemnly declare February 6th "World Nutella Day" - a day to celebrate, to get creative with, and most importantly, to EAT Nutella.

How to participate:

1. Make a recipe using Nutella. Eat Nutella with a spoon. A big one. Make art with Nutella. Wax poetic about Nutella. Cuddle with Nutella. Re-live your first experience eating Nutella. Offer Nutella as a sacrifice. Tell us your favorite story about those fabled Nutella glasses. Have a Nutella-eating contest or a Nutella party!


2. Take pictures, upload a video, and blog about it from now until February 6th, 2007. Posts on February 6th are strongly encouraged.


3. Email nutelladay [at] nutelladay [dot] com. with Subject: Nutella Day and include your name, your site name, and your permalink/URL by February 6th, 2007. You can also attach one 100x100 pixel photo of your dish-etc. to include in the roundup. We'll be posting the round-up on the 7th of February.


4. In your post please include the Nutella Day participant button below and have it point to this post or to www.nutelladay.com


5. Tag/categorize your post with "Nutella Day."

Don't have a blog? Don't let that stop you!! There are more ways to share!

• Tips: Send us your tips, usage and ways to enjoy Nutella at: tips[at] nutelladay*dot* com and we’ll post them on the Nutella Day site!

• YouTube: Add your Nutella-inspired video to the Nutella Day You Tube station


• Flickr: Add your photos to the Nutella Day Flickr pool

Some resources for Nutella ideas and recipes to get you started:

• Read about its history on Wikipedia, with BBC, or on the Nutella USA site.
In the U.S. find a store near you that sells it with the Store Locator


• Watch a crepe with Nutella being prepared in Paris


• Nutella on Food Network or if you read Italian, check out 1000 recipes on the Nutella Italy site


• Nutella Pancakes from Slashfood


• The Nutella Supreme from Cream Puffs in Venice


• Ogle some serious food porn with The Girl Who Ate Everything's Nutella Crepe


• Self-Frosting Cupcakes with Nutella from Baking Sheet


• Nutella Banana Muffins or Nutella Creme Brulee from Delicious Days


• A torta alla gianduia from Hungry in Hogtown


• Nutella Cookies from Alpine Berry

Do not, I repeat: DO NOT, accept cheap imitations:


"Clever," indeed! Nothing compares to Italy's own Nutella.

Accept only the real deal, even if your supermarket, like mine yesterday, only has it in 30g snack packs with little white plastic thingys you can use to "spread" it (yeah, right, we know it's just for shoveling it directly into your mouth!):

Look, people, if I am brave enough to publish a silly self-portrait posing with a baby Nutella in order to promote this online event, then surely you can join in the fun too...

Now get out there and prepare your World Nutella Day entry!