Category: Food/Cuisine
-
My Study of Wheat in Sicily
I’ve been watching the wheat grow. I know, it’s like watching a pot boil. It takes many weeks for the durum wheat seeds that are planted before Saint Martin’s Day, November 11, to germinate and then transform into the grain that becomes the semolina flour that becomes our bread and pasta, but it’s been a…
-
Celebrate Saint Joseph’s Day in New York City in March 2026
Saint Joseph is Sicily’s Patron Saint. He’s a powerful protector, the surrogate father of Jesus, the patron of fathers, fatherhood, carpenters, and those who toil for their work, and the guardian of the hearth and home. Sicilians celebrate San Giuseppe with fervor! Join us on Sunday, March 22 in New York City at Cacio e…
-
Sicilian Christmas Cookies
Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! We at Experience Sicily wish you a joyful and safe celebration! Buccellati are very closely associated with Christmas in Sicily. They are pastries often stuffed with chopped dried figs, pumpkin jam, honey, raisins, almonds, orange rind, cinnamon, and Marsala wine. Both professional and home bakers make them. Cuccidati, pictured here, are…
-
November’s Biscuits in Sicily
Buona Festa di San Martino! November 11 is La Festa di San Martino, or Saint Martin’s Day. It marks the first tasting of the new wine, known as “novello.” September marked the grape harvest, when the grapes are picked, cleaned, and macerated to make juice (must or “mosto”) that was then left to ferment. Traditionally…
-
At the Fish Store in Sicily
At my fish store today in Porticello outside of Palermo, when I walked in, the fish monger said to me, “You must try the oysters that we just got this morning from France… along with the fresh red shrimp!” So, he prepared them for me with some lemon and pepper, and eccolo! The most amazing…
-
Feeling Sicilian Heritage From Having Your Hands In The Dough
When hosting a family heritage tour, I aim to recreate the feeling of “wow, this is familiar!?” I want my guests to recall the sensation of being in their grandmother’s kitchen, like I remember feeling my first visit to Sicily in 1996. Images from my childhood flashed before my mind’s eye – – the scent…
-
Saint Joseph’s Day 2025 in NYC
Celebrate Saint Joseph’s Day with Experience Sicily in New York City on Sunday, March 16 at Cacio e Pepe restaurant in the East Village. We’ll have a full traditional meal of maccu, pasta con le sarde, other dishes, and of course, sfinci di San Giuseppe (pictured)! Full menu at link below. Spots are filling up…
-
Answers To Your Sicily Travel Questions
This is the magnificent duomo of Cefalù built by my favorite Norman king, Roger II, in the 12th century. This evening, Dec. 1, I’ll be in Princeton, NJ at Dorothea’s house talking about amazing sites like this and Sicily travel. And Monday night too, Dec. 2, I will be live online on Zoom, when I’ll…
