Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! The lamb is one of the most prominent symbols of Easter. In Christianity, it symbolizes purity and sacrifice – two qualities associated with Jesus Christ. The basic form of the lamb is created from marzipan (sweet almond paste) using a mold. Then the cook decorates the pastry according to his or…
Tag: cook sicily
Stir Things Up In Sicily With Us In September
Extended! Stirring Sicily, our hands-on cooking in Sicily tour, will take place from Sept. 19-26. Co-hosted by Chef Nino Elia, we’ll have classes with Annalisa Pompeo of GoSicily and Giuseppe Sciurca. You don’t want to miss it! Contact me to sign up by Jan. 25, and I’ll extend to you the $300 early registration incentive…
Making Friends in Il Capo Market
Palermo has three ancient markets: Vucciria, Ballarò, and Il Capo. Vucciria isn’t what it was 40 years ago when Renato Guttuso painted it, which is perhaps a good thing. Now, during the day, it is smaller and host to a few food stands and many antiques and collectible vendors. At night, however, when it comes…
Hands-on Cooking In Sicily
In September, Chef Giuseppe Sciurca taught us how to make Sarde alla Beccafico (stuffed, fresh sardines) during one of our three cooking experiences of our Experience Sicily Stirring Sicily tour. Next September for Stirring Sicily 2019, we’ll be back in his hometown of Termini Imerese for more cooking in Sicily. Itinerary details at https://experiencesicily.com/tours-of-sicily/2019-tours-of-sicily/stirring-sicily-west-sept-2019/
We Made Little Lambs (for Easter)
This flock of Favara-style Easter lambs was made by our Stirring Sicily cooking and wine tour group in September 2016 with chef Nino Elia and Zest of Lititz, Penn. under the direction of Annalisa Pompeo of GoSicily. In Sicily, the lamb is one of the most prominent symbols of Easter. The edible art is made…
Hands-on Sicily
Visiting the vibrant markets of Sicily is a crash course in Sicilian cuisine, the natural world, and culture all at once. Here, I’m in Il Capo market in Palermo getting a lesson on spatola (or spatula aka silver scabbarfish or lepidopus caudatus) from the fish monger. Spatola is a beautiful silver, long fish found in…
Cooking in Sicily with A Smile
Tonight with GoSicily, our Experience Sicily Enchanting Sicily group made traditional dishes: caponata, pasta con le sarde, and biancomangiare. You can watch a portion of our class on our Experience Sicily Facebook page, from our live broadcast, from earlier today. See you tomorrow for another broadcast!
Cooking Couscous in Sicily
On the second day of our just finished “Secret Sicily” tour, we got our hands dirty while making Trapani-style pesto and fresh busiate pasta (an upcoming post) and this, pictured: Couscous from raw grain! Yes, we practiced the message-style, meditative hand technique that is required to create the proper couscous texture, and we made the…
Cooking in Sicily
After a long day working at the computer, I love entering my kitchen, opening the refrigerator, and pulling out what protein I have and what vegetables are in season, and picking out a pasta to match them. There’s something wonderfully meditative about chopping vegetables, sweeping my wooden spoon through the macaroni, and listening to the…