loveSicily Blog - Food, Culture and Art

Cold Chocolate Salami alla Modicana

katia — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 16:05:36 +0000

Chocolate Salami is a great cold chocolate recipe that is perfect for chocolate lovers in summer and is an old time favourite with kids. You can find it in many recipe books dedicated to Sicilian cuisine, but it is also popular in other parts of Italy and in Portugal as well.

4th of July: Homage to American Sicilian cuisine

katia — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:22:13 +0000

On the 4th of July, America's Independence Day, we want to celebrate Sicilian-American style with a recipe from Vincent Schiavelli's wonderful book "Bruculinu, America. Remembrances of Sicilian-American Brooklyn, told in stories and recipes."

San Giovanni in Sicily

katia — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:47:57 +0000

Today we celebrate San Giovanni, Saint John day, with processions taking palce in many towns around Sicily.
Just in the Province of Ragusa, where our cookery school is based, there are 4 processions, one in Ragusa, one in Monterosso Almo and in Pozzallo.

"Modica and its heavenly sights" on the Financial Times

katia — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:33:46 +0000

I just came accross an interesting article about Modica on the Financial Times wonderfully written by Dan Hofstadter.
The title of the article is Modica and its heavenly sights

In spite of heavy rain on the day, Modica charmed the author with its stunning Baroque architecture, its history, its food and chocolate, of course!

Greek plays season in Syracuse comes to an end

katia — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:03:58 +0000

The tradition of performing classic Greek plays in the amazing atmosphere of Syracuse's Greek theatre continued this year with Medea By Euripides, Oedipus at Colonus By Sophocles and The Suppliants by Aeschylus.
World famous Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas made his debut as a scenographer preparing the stage designs for both Medea and Oedipus at Colonus and the costumes for the latter were designed by the acclaimed fashion designer Nicola Luccarini.

Enjoy two related videos.

A Sicilian welcome to summer: Swordfish and Almond Orecchiette

katia — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:03:35 +0000

loveSicily welcomes summer with a swordfish and almond delicious pasta.
Sautè a clove of garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add the swordfish cubes with fresh mint leaves and chilly. When the fish cubes are golden brown, add cherry tomatoes and keep tossing for another 3-4 minutes.
Cook the fresh past 'al dente', when ready add it to the swordfish sauce and sautè for 2 more minutes.
Sprinkle with a mixture of crushed toasted almonds, toasted bread crumbs and chopped parsley. Drizzle top quality extra virgin olive oil on top, serve and enjoy...summer!

Pork fillet with salinae salt-chocolate in salt crust

katia — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:12:15 +0000

I thought that to complement the launching of the new website I could present my latest creation Pork fillet with salinae-chocolate in salt crust.
The idea came about a year ago while enjoying one of Antica Dolceria Bonajuto latest creations Salinae, Modica's typical chocolate flavoured with Mozia sea salt.

Easter Chocolate and Champagne Rabbit/Chicken

katia — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:32:51 +0000

This year my suggestion for a Sicilian Easter lunch is one of my favorite recipes, chocolate and champaign rabbit or, for those who prefer not to cook rabbit, chicken.
It is a great recipe, easy to make and, usually, very successful with guests.

As with all recipes, there are many variations of Sicilian rabbit/chicken with chocolate, but the one you find below is my own version which I perfected over the years. My secret ingredient? Prosecco (Champaign)!

Ingredients:

6 Chicken ties (or 1 rabbit cut into portions)
500 ml Prosecco Italiano or Champaign
1 onion
1 tbsp sugar

Friday eating habits during Lent in Sicily

katia — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:11:32 +0000

In the Christian tradition, Lent is the forty days period of the liturgical year which leads up to Easter devoted to fasting and prayer.

Nowadays, the Lent traditions have lost the central role they use to have in the past in spite of the fact that a significant number of people still participates into church activities and especially to the friday afternoon Via Crucis.

Monsieur le Monzù Giuseppe Fiorillo and ....

katia — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:31:05 +0000

Today I want to pay respect to two other Sicilian great monzù, chef Giuseppe Fiorillo from Messina and chef Giuseppe Genchi from Palermo.

Fiorillo's father was a chef and served the Italian Royal Family when they visited Sicily after annexation. He had Giuseppe in 1853 and let him began his apprenticeship at the Hotel Victoria in Messina, before sending him to Paris at the age of 12 where he worked for the most famous hotels of the time: Hotel du Louvre, Grand Hotel, Maison Dorée, etc.