Our stories regarding food, travel and life in Sicily...
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Interview to Chef Sarah Grueneberg: Sicilian summer menu at Spiaggia, Chicago’s four-star Italian restaurant.
Posted on Friday 06th of November 2009 under
I "met" Sarah on-line, few months ago when she contacted me to let me know she was working on a Sicilian summer menu for Spiaggia with top Chef Tony Mantuano. We had wonderful virtual conversations about Sicilian food and ingredients, and I followed from a distance the development of the menu.
Do not miss: Seafood alla Siciliana
Posted on Wednesday 28th of October 2009 under Food and Drink
This month I had the great pleasure of receiving a copy of Seafood alla Siciliana by Toni Lydecker. I admit to be biased as I was partly involved in Toni's project in the South-East of the island and one of my family recipes is featured in the book. This said, I can simply add that I love the book!
Mazaresi al pistacchio di Bronte
Posted on Monday 26th of October 2009 under Food and Drink
As I mentioned already in this blog, I keep reading my grandmother's recipe books, and experimenting with them. Last September I found her notes about Mazaresi, a typical dolce from the western area of Sicily, Mazara del Vallo in particular, with Bronte's pistachios. I tried her version and the result was excellent. Here is the recipe:
Mazaresi
200 gr pistachios (with no peal on)
180 gr sugar
50 gr potato flour
4 eggs
orange or lemon zest
Salt
Butter and extra potato flour for the ramkins
Taking children to an olive press, "u trappitu"
Posted on Friday 09th of October 2009 under Food and Drink | General
This morning I took my daughter to her first school trip to see how olive oil is made. This is that special time of the year when the countryside around the province of Ragusa smells of olive oil as all producers collect the olives and rush to the "trappitu", the Sicilian word for oleificio (olive press), to have them pressed immediately.
Calamari ripieni recipe on Tour de Forks blog
Posted on Monday 05th of October 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
Our friends at Tour de Forks just hosted one of my grandmother's recipe on their blog.
This is one of her versions of Calamari ripieni as found in one of her recipe books.
You can find the recipe on their blog
here, they also included a picture of my grandmother and I thank them for the great job they did with it.
You can find here the original hand written recipe, one of my treasures.
Timballo di Melanzane
Posted on Friday 25th of September 2009 under Food and Drink | Recipes
Today I prepared my favourite Timballo di Malanzane, (eggplant timballo), in individual portion using terracotta little trays to bake them. I served the timballi straight in the terracotta containers with a great Pithos, Nero d'Avola fermented in terracotta amphoras, slightly chilled.
800g of pappardelle
500g of tomato sauce
2 Large Eggplants
200g grated cheese
150g full-flavoured young cheese cut into 1cm cubes
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Basil leaves
150 ml of extra-virgin olive oil
2 beaten eggs
Vendemmia 2009 in Sicily
Posted on Monday 21st of September 2009 under Food and Drink
The "vendemmia", grape harvest, usually begins in Sicily in August and continues until the end of September. We are now approaching the end of the season and the initial impressions for 2009 are very good. The international economic crisis has affected also the wine sector in Italy over the past months and the news that the 2009 vendemmia is giving excellent results, both quality and quantity wise, represents a great encouragement for all wine producing companies even in Sicily.
Here you have some pictures taken in wineries around Sicily and two interesting videos:
Welcoming Autumn with Messina style stuffed olives
Posted on Wednesday 16th of September 2009 under
The first rain has come to Sicily and Autumn is in the air. We know far to well that summer might be back for another couple of weeks between the end of September and October, but the overall atmosphere has begun to change. This is harvest time for wineries, wonderful grapes, mushrooms, wild fennel and the first pumpkins come to our table.
I already tasted the first chestnuts from Mount Etna, a full concentrate of taste, and look forward to the Ottobrata days in Zafferana Etnea.
Tornatore's Baaria to open Venice Film Festival tonight
Posted on Wednesday 02nd of September 2009 under Art | Sicily in Films
Sicilian director Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baaria” will become the first Italian film in twenty years to open the Venice Film Festival tonight with a gala screening.
Indeed, the 66th edition of the festival starts with the opening ceremony at 7 p.m. in the Sala Grande, hosted by another famous SicilianMaria Grazia Cucinotta and followed by the world premiere screening of Baarìa, which is in competition.
Cipolla di Giarratana - Giarratana Onion
Posted on Monday 31st of August 2009 under Food and Drink | General
End of summer also means the wonderful Giarratana onions, a real delicacy of our summer are getting out of season.
The good thing is that I managed to freez a good quantity and my mother produced one of her amazing onion jam that will preserve the sweet taste of Giarratana onions on our "arrosti" throughout winter.
The cultivation of this kind of onion started in the Giarratana area about 40 years ago and it is now a summer food appointment that you cannot miss in this area of Sicily.
