Tag: dinner
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Bella Serata: Valentine’s Day Sicilian Style in New York
Thank you to all who came to our Valentine’s Day Sicilian Style in New York City event last evening! And grazie mille to Chefs Giuseppe Sciurca and Nino Elia and Valeria Signorino and Joe Ravo for teaming up with me to create something so special for Experience Sicily! The cuisine, the wines, the decore, the…
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The Way To My Heart
Happy Valentine’s Day! Hearts made from the same pastry as cannoli shells?! Why, yes! Now, just add ricotta mousse and fresh strawberries, and you’ve found the way to *my* heart … and seen a preview of the dessert for our Experience Sicily Valentine’s Sicilian Style dinner on Saturday night, 16 February. We’ve got one seat…
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Ricotta is Right
This beautiful plate of “pasta alla Norma” was my dinner back at the beginning of June in Bagheria, Sicily my grandmother’s hometown. It is the classic Sicilian pasta dish, made with maccheroni (in this case rigatoni) with a light tomato sauce, sautéed (or fried) eggplant, grated salted ricotta, and if available, fresh basil. Please take…
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Pesto Control
Local trattorias, like one of my all-time favorites, Don Ciccio in Bagheria, usually offer seasonal specials that we covet because they only appear on menus annually, when the produce is fresh from the garden. For example, this bucatini pasta appears to be dressed with a familiar basil pesto; however, basil is not the base here,…
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Stirring Your Soul
I’ve taken many cooking classes in Sicily throughout my travels, and I always learn something new. But what I take home with me goes beyond the recipes that we have learned in our hands-on lessons and market tours–what I have absorbed is the sensibility of how a Sicilian cooks. First thought: What is in season?…
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Norma in New York
Tonight I had an opportunity to to enjoy Norma Gastronomia Siciliana in New York City… Another of now, a few, Sicilian focused restaurants in La Grande Mela (The Big Apple). I ate spaghetti al “Rais, ” which is spaghetti alla chitarra Setara (a brand of durum wheat pasta from Naples) with fresh tuna, mint, cherry…
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Like A Conductor of An Outstanding Orchestra
I love creating extraordinary experiences for our clients. Like this one, presenting a dreamy setting for our group’s dinner this evening. Well, I can only take a tiny piece of credit for it, really! Like a conductor who is supported by an outstanding orchestra, there are so many players that make something like this happen–Sicilian…
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Our May 2016 Tour, Day 2: Western Sicily Surprises
Couscous will take center stage on the evening of Day 2 of our May 2016 Experience Sicily tour. Eolo Seasonal Sicilian Kitchen Chef Melissa Muller will introduce us to her colleague at a Marsala trattoria where we will see a demonstration of how this Sicilian dish (Yes, Sicilian!) is made and then we’ll enjoy it…
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Seppia Ink Pasta: None More Black
“Pasta al nero di seppia” or pasta with cuttlefish ink sauce: a memorable dinner enjoyed and photographed in Palermo’s historic center.