Experience Sicily

Category: Seasons

  • Maccu di Favi, Fava Bean Puree

    There is no mistake that Saint Joseph’s Day coincides with the spring equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, the month of March marks a period of scarcity before the Earth yields new crops. The festivities of the Feast are linked to the land, vegetation, and the animal kingdom. It is a feast of thanksgiving for having…

  • Agrigento’s Almond Blossom Festival

    Agrigento has been abuzz in celebration of the annual arrival of the almond blossoms. 2016 is the 71st year that the city, famous for its Valley of the Temples UNESCO World Heritage Site, has held a variety of events recognizing the merits of the almond, the principal crop of the region. Among the events of…

  • Our May 2016 Sicily Tour, Day 6: Yes, this is Sicily too!

    Yes, this is Sicily too! Etna is the largest, most active volcano in Europe. Its peak, pictured on the left, behind the plume of smoke, is about 11,000 feet above sea level (a height that changes according to volcanic activity). During winter months, you can ski on it. On Day 6 of our May Experience…

  • Our May 2016 Sicily Tour, Day 6: Etna Rosso or Etna Bianco?

    Put on your comfortable walking shoes and bundle up, because on Day 6 of our May 2016 Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller tour, we’re going up the volcano! Not only will we have a nature-powered adventure with local experts who grew up on Etna, but we’ll also enjoy a lunch of typical cuisine from…

  • In the Mountains with Melissa Muller

    The mountains of Sicily are extraordinary. The sea often takes center stage, but once you’ve spent time in the heart of Sicily, you’ll become a confused lover–mountains or sea? Sea or mountains? Today, Melissa Muller with whom we are hosting our May 19-31, 2016 tour, “Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller,” and I spent a…

  • Citrus Next to Me

    This is the first time I’ve been in Sicily in February, and I must say, it is a treat because it’s citrus season! The weather has been spring-like (which isn’t normal for January my cousin, Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta, told me today). Sicily is a semi-tropical climate, and here in Palermo, the northern part of…

  • La Vecchia: Winter at Quattro Canti

    In Palermo’s historic center two major thoroughfares intersect: Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda. This busy intersection, known as Quattro Canti, is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a series of statues: The the city’s former patron saints (prior to Santa Rosalia) at the top, a Spanish king of Sicily (in the…

  • I Can’t Figgettabout Buccellato

    These beautifully sculpted cookies are called buccellato (single pastry/cookie) or buccellati (plural). Buccellati are very closely associated with Christmas in Sicily. They are pastries stuffed with dried figs and raisins or chopped almonds and chocolate. These pictured, from Maria Grammatico Pasticceria in Erice, are of the fig variety. I don’t know Maria Grammatico’s recipe exactly,…

  • Coochy Coochy … Cuccìa

    To celebrate Lucia, the Patron Saint of eyes, sight, light, and wheat, Sicilians eat cuccìa. Cuccìa is a pudding made of farro (wheat berries or barley), milk (in this case, ricotta), and honey or sugar. This culinary ritual is practiced in remembrance of the grain that finally arrived by boats on their way from North…