Sicilian Girl

Tweet Focaccia, once the food of peasants, is simply a bit of leavened dough flavored with fresh herbs, olive oil, sea salt and whatever your imagination can afford. Seasonal ingredients can turn this rustic bread into a delicious edible plate, making eating out of hand the preferred utensil. They have become quite popular in the [...]

Tweet A peppadew is a sweet little pepper, about the size of a cherry tomato, with a spicy attitude. They are commercially grown, processed and packaged in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. They can be found in the grocery store, usually near the deli section in the olive bar. If you are looking for [...]

Tweet The best way, in my opinion, to eat un fichi (a fig), is fresh off the tree, that was how I experienced my first taste of this short-lived seasonal fruit. My grandmother had many fruit trees in her backyard, the messiest, being the fig. When the fruit is ripe, which seems to happen all [...]

Tweet A sandwich of Italian sausage, onions and peppers is typical street food of my beloved Sicily. I have served and eaten it on many occasions, from various local and regional Italian Festas (festivals) to football parties and BBQ’s. Herein lies the dilemma, what to do when this is the main event at your gathering [...]

Tweet The Isle of Capri, Italy, situated in the Bay of Napoli, is probably most noted for the Grotta Azzurra, (Blue Grotto) a sea cave that is filled with a brilliant blue light. I was lucky enough to visit this magical place before it became the tourist attraction it is today. If you climb the [...]

Tweet Fettunta Toscana is a traditional Tuscan style bruschetta, grilled rustic bread with tomatoes and basil. The quality of the ingredients are paramount for this simple yet satisfying snack (Merenda). Thick, crusty, chewy, country bread, fresh from-the-vine plump and juicy tomatoes (or at least perfectly ripe), a few cloves of fresh garlic, sweet basil and [...]

Tweet Nutella, smeared on a slice of toasted bread, has been a traditional Italian breakfast for decades. Pasta Gianduja, the original version of Nutella, (Circa 1940′s) a thick paste, made into loaves for easy slicing and wrapped with foil, was used in making sandwiches for children. Sounds good, right? What kid wouldn’t want a chocolate-hazelnut [...]

Tweet Bruschetta is simply yesterday’s bread given new life with a fresh topping of some sort. Italians don’t waste bread, I think it might even be a sin. The type of bruschetta I make is largely determined by the contents of my refrigerator. The last time I made Baked Ricotta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes I had a [...]

Tweet Delicious dishes don’t have to be complicated, as is the case with this classic combination of melone e Prosciutto (melon and Prosciutto).  Starting off many an Italian meal, this special ham and melon duet have been singing their salty-sweet song for a very long time. Now, I don’t usually like to mess with perfection, [...]

Tweet Little onions, (cipollini) look like ping-pong balls that have been slightly flattened. These little bulbing onions originated in Italy and are harvested 100 days after planting. They have a pale yellow and gold-colored thin papery skin and a translucent white flesh. They have more residual sugar than your average onion and no harsh onion [...]