Puglia Specialties
Ciao amici!
Spring is upon us - finalmente! And this weekend Passover and Easter are celebrated around the world. Every holiday in Italy has its own food traditions, and Easter is no exception.

Colomba, which means dove, is the traditional Easter sponge cake shaped like a dove with its wings spread. It is eaten throughout Italy in the month leading up to Easter. Of course, there's plenty of chocolate everywhere, especially chocolate Easter eggs. You find big chocolate eggs, lavishly wrapped; some are solid chocolate while others are hollow with a toy inside. We saw many of them all around Puglia earlier this month and managed to bring a few home!

Speaking of Puglia, this is where burrata and mozzarella cheeses are the regional specialties. This month's newsletter we showcase these delicious cheeses, our two favorites!

Buona Pasqua e happy Passover!
Buon appetito!
Gina and Mary

This Month's Italian saying...
"Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi"   
This translates to:
" Christmas with your family, Easter with whoever you want!"
Is a saying used in Italy to describe who you should spend Christmas and Easter with, it means Christmas with your family, Easter with whoever you want.  Probably it evolved as away of getting out of always having to go to your mom's house for the holidays. In actuality, both holidays are very much family events and are spent with close family units, whether they're religious or not. So whoever you are spending Easter or Passover with this year, we wish you a happy time! 
Burrata and Mozzarella, two of our favorite Italian Cheeses!
There is nothing like the artisan mozzarella and burrata we eat when we visit the small, family-owned caseificio's on our tours to Puglia and Campania! There is something viscerally satisfying when you bite into a ball of fresh mozzarella, and milk, not water, drips out from the fresh curds. That experience alone is worth a trip to Italy! To read Gina's blog on mozzarella and burrata click here. Go to our FaceBook page Ecco La Cucina to see a video of them making burrata! 
 
Our Culinary Tours to Italy - 2019 & 2020
This year's culinary travel dates are full, but it's not too early to plan for next year!
Contact Mary to reserve your spots - mary@eccolacucina.com or call: 972-342-8308.  
2020:
Tuscany: May 23 - 30, 2020; October 3-10; October 10-17

Piedmont:  June 1-8 

Puglia: October 20-27  
Ostuni - one of the white villages overlooking the Adriatic Sea 
Gina Stipo and Mary Stipo Potter | Ecco La Cucina| 1-972-342-8308| Email | Website
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