Viva le Donne! Matriarchs of Italian Culinary Tradition
It is a responsibility to carry the torch. Once you have been welcomed into the fold, nurtured, and taught, you feel you must carry on the tradition – you WANT to carry on the tradition. For generations, Italian women have preserved and passed on the recipes, rules, and secrets of their mothers and grandmothers in an ongoing rite of passage. They are the keepers of culinary folklore and memories deeply rooted in family history. Every year, on International Women’s Day, my thoughts return to my mentors in our trattoria’s kitchen. This week, I revisit recipes handed down from my “Mamme Italian
Comfort Foods Unite
This week's menu was inspired by comforting foods - those that only Nonna cooks to make us feel better. When dealing with uncertainties, food connects us with our past and reminds us that we are not alone.
Sicily in Bloom
Beautiful almond trees adorn the Sicilian countryside and are the first to blossom in late February filling the air with an overwhelming scent and promise of Spring. The Valley of the Temples, just outside the southern town of Agrigento is the site of the annual Almond Blossom Festival celebrating Spring’s arrival and the miracle of life.
This week we taste our way through the rustic but ever beautiful (and flavorful!) Sicily all the while paying homage to the fruit of everlasting love and eternal hope - the almond.
LOVE LETTER TO ITALY – Let me count the ways…
We have visited 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. From the industrial and fashionable North to the warm and rustic South, it is a delightful mélange of contrasting energy. It is slightly smaller than the state of California, but it delivers a range of landscapes, cuisines, customs, and cultural heritage that is hard to match anywhere else in the world. If I had to use one word to describe her, it would be "bellezza", beauty.
Architecture, art, music, literature, fashion, nature and food are all extraordinary everywhere you go. To celebrate Italy's culinary diversity, this week our menu takes from the entire peninsula, from north to south and the islands.
Carnevale - When Anything Goes “A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale!” Have you ever wondered why we wear masks for Mardi Gras / Carnevale? Throughout history, this time of year was known as a time of abandon and excess. Disguised behind masks, one could banish imposed restraints and give in to the human foibles of sexual and gastronomic orgies. Traditionally, at this time, rules and customs went out the window, social divisions were eliminated, and it allowed people to poke fun at the aristocracy. The word “Carnevale” comes from the Latin, “carrum levare” meaning “take away meat”. Throughout the centuries, it was shortened to “carne vale” / good-bye, meat! For Christians, it represented the last moments of indulgences, the last great party, before the strict restrictions of Lent....
