loveSicily Blog
San Giovanni in Sicily
Posted on Wednesday 24th of June 2009 under Events | Festivities | General | History | Journeys | Processions | Religion | Travel
Today we celebrate San Giovanni, Saint John day, with processions taking palce in many towns around Sicily.
Just in the Province of Ragusa, where our cookery school is based, there are 4 processions, one in Ragusa, one in Monterosso Almo and in Pozzallo.
"Modica and its heavenly sights" on the Financial Times
Posted on Wednesday 24th of June 2009 under Journeys | Travel | Travel News
I just came accross an interesting article about Modica on the Financial Times wonderfully written by Dan Hofstadter.
The title of the article is Modica and its heavenly sights
In spite of heavy rain on the day, Modica charmed the author with its stunning Baroque architecture, its history, its food and chocolate, of course!
Greek plays season in Syracuse comes to an end
Posted on Tuesday 23rd of June 2009 under Art | Events | Traditions
The tradition of performing classic Greek plays in the amazing atmosphere of Syracuse's Greek theatre continued this year with Medea By Euripides, Oedipus at Colonus By Sophocles and The Suppliants by Aeschylus.
World famous Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas made his debut as a scenographer preparing the stage designs for both Medea and Oedipus at Colonus and the costumes for the latter were designed by the acclaimed fashion designer Nicola Luccarini.
Enjoy two related videos.
A Sicilian welcome to summer: Swordfish and Almond Orecchiette
Posted on Monday 22nd of June 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
loveSicily welcomes summer with a swordfish and almond delicious pasta.
Sautè a clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add the swordfish cubes with fresh mint leaves and chilly. When the fish cubes are golden brown, add cherry tomatoes and keep tossing for another 3-4 minutes.
Cook the fresh past 'al dente', when ready add it to the swordfish sauce and sautè for 2 more minutes.
Sprinkle with a mixture of crushed toasted almonds, toasted bread crumbs and chopped parsley. Drizzle top quality extra virgin olive oil on top, serve and enjoy...summer!
Pork fillet with salinae salt-chocolate in salt crust
Posted on Friday 19th of June 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
I thought that to complement the launching of the new website I could present my latest creation Pork fillet with salinae-chocolate in salt crust.
The idea came about a year ago while enjoying one of Antica Dolceria Bonajuto latest creations Salinae, Modica's typical chocolate flavoured with Mozia sea salt.
Easter Chocolate and Champagne Rabbit/Chicken
Posted on Monday 13th of April 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
This year my suggestion for a Sicilian Easter lunch is one of my favorite recipes, chocolate and champaign rabbit or, for those who prefer not to cook rabbit, chicken.
It is a great recipe, easy to make and, usually, very successful with guests.
As with all recipes, there are many variations of Sicilian rabbit/chicken with chocolate, but the one you find below is my own version which I perfected over the years. My secret ingredient? Prosecco (Champaign)!
Ingredients:
6 Chicken ties (or 1 rabbit cut into portions)
500 ml Prosecco Italiano or Champaign
1 onion
1 tbsp sugar
Friday eating habits during Lent in Sicily
Posted on Thursday 12th of March 2009 under Festivities | Food and Drink | General
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the forty days period of the liturgical year which leads up to Easter devoted to fasting and prayer.
Nowadays, the Lent traditions have lost the central role they use to have in the past in spite of the fact that a significant number of people still participates into church activities and especially to the friday afternoon Via Crucis.
Monsieur le Monzù Giuseppe Fiorillo and ....
Posted on Friday 06th of March 2009 under Monzu Chefs
Today I want to pay respect to two other Sicilian great monzù, chef Giuseppe Fiorillo from Messina and chef Giuseppe Genchi from Palermo.
Fiorillo's father was a chef and served the Italian Royal Family when they visited Sicily after annexation. He had Giuseppe in 1853 and let him began his apprenticeship at the Hotel Victoria in Messina, before sending him to Paris at the age of 12 where he worked for the most famous hotels of the time: Hotel du Louvre, Grand Hotel, Maison Dorée, etc.
Carnival Timballi with pork sauce
Posted on Tuesday 24th of February 2009 under Food and Drink
Today is Martedì Grasso, the last day of Carnival Celebrations and a rich menu for lunch is absolutely a must.
Playing around with historical recipes: Pasticcio di Mohammed ibn Timnah
Posted on Wednesday 28th of January 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
Yesterday, I had a wonderful time in the kitchen doing one of my favourite things: researching old recipes and playing around with them.
When I work on existing recipes, the first time I try to follow each step very carefully then, if I think it is necessary, I try to add my personal touch. This time, I had to do both things at the same time as I did not have a detailed recipe for Mohammed ibn Timnah (or Ibn ath Thumnah)'s pastizzu which is almost 1000 years old.
