I love festivals. Italy really knows how to party. Huge parades, lots of lights, often fireworks and costumes, but mostly FOOD. I was in Catania February 5th, Saint Agatha’s day. She is the patron saint of Catania. It was HUGE. They celebrate for three days. It coincides with the Candelora, which is the festival of…
Book Review: Eating My Way Through Italy
When I first moved to Italy in 1984, there were a couple of Italian guide books with an emphasis on eating in Italy. Often food is a part of a guide book, but for people like me, often the destination is all about the food. Recently I received a review copy of my friend Elizabeth…
Change of Seasons- Fall
Returning from Sicily where the temperatures were still hot, Tuscany was a little cooler and fall is starting to show it’s colors. The wine harvest has started and the roads are full of trucks bringing grapes to be crushed. The roads are stained with grape juice and the fragrance fills the air. …
Sicily is DIVINA
I have never been to Sicily in September. Usually, I come “off-season” in March for the St Joseph’s day celebrations , in May, just before the tourist season starts or in Fall when the new oil is being pressed. This trip has been so incredible. We saw the salt being harvested at the salt flats. The…
Sicilian Swordfish Polpette – Fish balls
What do you call meatballs made from fish? Fishballs? Italy simplifies things, polpette are small balls of minced anything, bound with an egg, seasoned and fried. When I am in Sicily, we tour the Capo food market in Palermo and stop and enjoy lunch at a small trattoria run by a fish shop. As part…
Out of the Kitchen into the World- Sicilian Artichokes
I began my culinary professional life in the kitchen of a 5 star hotel in San Francisco, the Stanford Court Hotel. They were open to training me for the position when I told them I wanted to be a pastry chef. While traveling, I always found a job in a restaurant, either waiting tables or…
Celebrate: San Giuseppe March 19
I adore celebrations, especially in Italy as that means some special food is always being prepared. San Giuseppe, St Joseph’s day in Italy is especially important as it is Father’s Day (St Joseph, married to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus’ Dad).Can you tell I went to Catholic school for 14 years? One of my favorite…
Winter Recipes: Sicilian Orange Salad
When the skies are grey in winter we wait until the temperatures drop and the blood oranges come into season to bring sunshine to the table in the form of a savory salad. Traditionally, it is served with fennel as an insalata di finocchio e arance. But for me, I never have enough oranges in the…