Christmas Traditions From Our Kitchen To Yours!!!

Christmas Traditions

-from our kitchen to yours!

Cooking, Baking & Celebrating

..and wishing you and yours

a very Buon Natale, Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Traditions

In Italy, every recipe has a story - especially those at Christmas time. In celebrating this magical time of the year, facciamo un giro, let's take a tour, through some of the most magical Christmas places, stories and recipes in Italy.

The Prescepe, Nativity

Let's start with Naples in the neighborhood of San Gregorio di Armeno, where thousands of Neapolitan prescepes, nativity scenes, representing the birth of Jesus can be found. Even though the prescepes are on display all year long, December 8, the the feast day of the Immaculate Conception, marks the first day of the Christmas season. On this day, every Neapolitan family gathers together and participates in decorating their nativity scene. The centuries-old tradition involves setting up the cradle with handmade artisan figurines depicting daily life in Italy. At the center of every prescepe is Mary, Joseph, Jesus and the Magi. There are also shepherds with their farm animals, fishermen, homemakers, bakers, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, cheese and wine makers, and everyday workers from all walks of life usually placed under the Christmas tree. Decorations are elaborate with fresh branches of holly, pine, sagebrush, and cedar, along with candles and lights. In some villages, there are even live prescepes with outdoor concerts and choirs.

The first Christmas prescepe was brought to Italy by Saint Francis of Assisi, who was inspired by the idea when he traveled to Bethlehem in 1222 and saw a nativity scene. Saint Francis was so impressed with what he saw that he asked permission from Pope Honorius III to recreate a prescepe for the following Christmas. During this time, sacred representations could not be held in church, so the Pope allowed him to celebrate at an outdoor mass. On the night of Christmas Eve in 1223, Saint Francis created a living nativity scene with friars and torches that illuminated the night sky. The nativity scene was set up in a cave filled with straw, a live ox and donkey, but no Holy Family. The first nativity scene with the Holy Family came in 1283 - created by Arnolfo di Cambio who sculpted eight wooden figurines and the Magi. By the 1500s, prescepes had made their way to the Kingdom of Naples with the conception of the figurine, statues, during the reign of Charles III. During this time, Naples embraced the tradition and continues it today.

Biscotti Making

Biscotti making is an ancient tradition that continues in every city and village in Italy, with each region touting that their family recipe is the best - and never sharing it with another. Even though there are 20 regions in Italy with many small villages and towns in between, there is one tiny village that is near and dear to my heart. That village is Prata Sannita, the birthplace of my great grandparents.

Set north of Naples and South of Rome against the Apennine Mountains, Prata Sannita is home to a mere 1,400 inhabitants - with three major churches including the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, San Pancrazio and the convent of Saint Francesco. In times past, the Cardinals from Rome summered in Prata Sannita and supported the churches. It was and still is a pious place. Throughout time, the local women baked in the churches for the Cardinals and rich noblemen, who in turn offered donations for their baked goods. The women baked endlessly in order to keep the churches solvent.

This tiny town resembling a prescepe, continues the art of biscotti making with delicious Christmas cookies (the word bis in biscotti means twice in Latin - while the word cotti means cooked - hence biscotti, twice baked). The women of the village bake endlessly, then gather together to assemble the platters. It's a tradition that kicks off the holidays and continues every year.

My mom and I continue to make the recipes of my great grandmother, Lucia - baking over fifteen or more types of regional biscotti and we gift them to family, neighbors and friends.

Mercato di Natale

Italy's Christmas Market

From Venice to Tuscany and Rome to Calabria, piazzas turn into outdoor Christmas markets filled with local artisans showcasing their wares - leather goods, jewelry, honey, candles, lace and artwork, and in Calabria panettone made with their iconic red onions!

Ladies and gents meander through chalet-like stalls while warming up with mulled wine and nibbling on roasted chestnuts. Food venders sell their creations from artisan cheese to pannini (warmed sandwiches stuffed with everything from sausage, broccoli and provolone to roasted pork); pizza fritta, fried dough; panettone (sweet Italian Christmas cake scented with citrus); struffoli (flash-fried dough drizzled with honey); zeppole (puffs of sweat dough scented with lemon zest) and nougat - to name a few. Musicians and choirs play festive music while folk dancers entertain guests and tree lights twinkle in the midnight air.

The first Christmas market started in Viena in Medieval times, and its popularity spread throughout all of Europe. Today, Venice and Florence are known for the most beautiful Christmas markets filling piazzas with artisan stalls brimming with beautiful handmade crafts, food and wine.

Christmas Recipe, Le Pizzelle

Le pizzelle, thin Italian pancakes, are a delicate and delicious creation that my mom and I make at Christmastime. In the old days, a cast iron mold was held over an open fire until hot. Then, the light and creamy batter was poured into the griddle pan and cooked over the fire. Today, electric pizzelle machines make the process easy and fast. Although this recipe requires a pizzelle maker, the machine is definitely worth the investment. You can scent the batter with anise, lemon or vanilla and get creative by dipping half in melted chocolate or rolling them into a cannoli shape and filling them with whipped ricotta. I prefer to keep it simple and garnish with a dusting of confectioner's sugar for a festive Christmas look.

Ingredients

3 eggs

1/4 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla or anise or lemon

1 stick of butter, melted

1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour

Method

Melt the butter and set aside. Beat the eggs and sugar until light yellow - 2 to 3 minutes. Add melted butter and vanilla, anise or lemon. Beat until blended. Sift together 1 cup of the flour and the baking powder. Combine wet ingredients. Fold together until blended, add the remaining flour and fold again until well incorporated. Heat the pizzelle iron, then place one tablespoon of batter in the center of the pattern, and bake until golden brown (the machine will tell you when to open it). Remove and cool on a rack. Repeat with remaining batter. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Makes approximately 15 cookies.

Celebrate The Holidays In Rose!

In Sicily, everyone is celebrating the season with the new Rosa Sicilia, a limited-edition rose by the great wine maker Donnafugata.

The wine's pink gift box is the cooperation between the unprecedented winemaker Donnafugata and the Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. Rosa Sicilia has been named "The ambassador of the two Made in Italy companies."

Pale pink in color, Rosa Sicilia offers a bouquet of soft Sicilian jasmine and rose petals, delicate fruity notes of currant and bergamot with a hint of minerals. The wine pairs perfectly with smoked salmon, sea bass, shrimp and grilled vegetables, as well as roasted chicken and pork, and vitello piccata, veal with capers and lemon, and Sicilian cannoli.

This Sicilian DOC wine is made with a gentle blend of Nerello Mascalese, a dark-skinned grape variety that grows on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna and Nocera, an ancient grape dating back to the Romans and Pliny the Elder in the second century BC. The Nocera variety grows predominately in Eastern Sicily, the North side of Etna and at the Contessa Entellina Estate. Salute!

Buon Natale, Merry Christmas!!!

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