Sicilian Girl

Tweet   Although there are myths to the contrary, it may surprise you to discover that Tiramisu (which means “pick-me-up” in Italian) was created quite recently (by European standards). Sometime in the 1930′s, a small restorante (restaurant) in Treviso, located northwest of Venice on Italy’s Adriatic coast, came up with this decadent dessert. Clients of [...]

Tweet The first time I ever had lemon curd was also the first time I had a proper cup of tea. My mother and I were in Victoria, British Columbia, for a long weekend. (It’s a quick trip from San Francisco). We arrived by ferry at night, and were welcomed with the sight of the [...]

Tweet   Italians LOVE their biscotti! We eat them for breakfast, for a mid-day snack with a cappuccino (my personal favorite) or dunked into the local Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine. Biscotti, pronounced “bee SKOAT tee” is plural for biscotto, which literally means twice (bis) cooked (cotto). This technique was used to produce a [...]

Tweet The town of Marsala is located in the north west part of Sicily and produces a fortified wine bearing her name. In the late 1700′s the wine was ‘fortified’ with Brandy thus giving it a longer shelf life for all those seafaring men. I recently had a neighbor (who is an excellent baker) ask [...]

Tweet     For years I’ve made only our traditional biscotti recipes, anise, lemon and almond. My best friend, Dinora, likes the candied fruit one finds in fruit cakes so I came up with a special biscotti recipe just for her. The first time I made them I used the candied fruit you get in [...]

Tweet         Affogato al Caffe literally means drowned in coffee. It is a quick and easy dessert that will satisfy your guests sweet tooth as well as their caffeine fix. You may use the recipe as a guide line but feel free to add more gelato or coffee as you desire.  It’s [...]

Tweet I discovered this recipe the last time I ordered Fiori di Sicilia for my biscotti recipe. King Arthur Flour is the oldest flour company in America and has served my baking needs well. I have never paid much attention to their recipes but this one caught my eye. Now I must tell you, I [...]

Tweet     Ganache is a silky smooth mixture of chocolate and cream and the results rely on the quality of the chocolate used. You can use semi-sweet or bittersweet, milk, dark or white, just be certain to use a pure chocolate. That means it only has chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and lecithin. [...]

Tweet For all us coffee lovers who just can’t get enough of our favorite beverage, this is a delicious treat by itself. But who are we kidding? We know these biscotti will taste even better with a cup of our favorite brew! And to satisfy the sweet tooth, see my chocolate ganache recipe. Spread a [...]

Tweet I have been very fortunate to have a lemon tree or two every place I have lived. It is such a convenience to walk out the door and pick a fresh lemon to squeeze over a salad, add to chicken picatta or simply plop a  slice  in a glass of Pelligrino. A couple of [...]