Sicilian Girl

Tweet There are three types of meringue, the differences lie in when and how the sugar is added. The one you are probably most familiar with is the French meringue. It is simply egg whites beaten until soft peaks form, gradually adding sugar, beating until the sugar is dissolved and peaks are stiff and glossy. [...]

Tweet A coffee and tea time favorite, this praline pound cake is one of those Southern cakes that is a consummate example of down-home goodness. I love this type of “needs no icing” kind of cake, that is not only the perfect offering for a friend who stops by for coffee, but is right at [...]

Tweet The last time I made sweet potato cupcakes, I didn’t have any ingredients to make an icing. But I did have large campfire marshmallows leftover from a camping trip. These marshmallows were huge. After the cupcakes cooled, I placed a marshmallow on each and stuck them under the broiler … a bit too close [...]

Tweet Fun for all, especially the little ones, these cake pops are the solution to “How can we eat our cake and go on our walk at the same time?” This Christmas Eve we are breaking away from our tradition and participating in an event that has been a tradition for hundreds of families in [...]

Tweet The candy cane, synonymous with Christmas, began as a straight white stick of sugary candy. In the late 1600′s, (about the same time Europeans began using Christmas trees) a choirmaster had the sugary stick bent into the shape of a Shepard’s crook and passed them out to children who attended the living creche ceremonies. [...]

Tweet The only fudge I have ever made (usually for the holidays) is from the recipe on the back of the can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. Last week, my friend and I went shopping and then took our husbands to lunch at my favorite Italian deli and market. While our guys were still [...]

Tweet There is something about the month of November that is quite comforting to me. Though I’m busier than ever with projects and deadlines, with each new dawn I seem to find more time to reflect on the many blessings in my life … and I am genuinely grateful. With a renewed sense of clarity [...]

Tweet Every Sicilian I have ever met has a sweet tooth, we love our dolce (dessert), especially those with sweetened ricotta. Sicily’s iconic cannoli with it’s crisp pastry shell, creamy ricotta filling and a dusting of confectioner’s sugar is probably the most well known, followed by the elaborate cassata, a rich layered cake filled with [...]

Tweet Brownies, that iconic, no utensil needed dessert, that has made more appearances at pot lucks and back-to-school nights than perhaps her best friend, the chocolate chip cookie. I have eaten my fair share of this chocolaty square bite, from the cake types smeared with icing, to the ones that are dense, moist and chewy, [...]

Tweet There’s nothing better than picking your own sweet and juicy fresh fruit from the trees, sampling as you go with juice dripping down your arm, sitting at large picnic tables smack-dab in the middle of the orchard and eating a pancake breakfast topped with more fruit. YUM! That’s what you get when you visit [...]