Famiglia Testa "Vendemmia"

The morning rain shower passed and gave us a beautiful clear day to enjoy this year’s vendemmia at Carmelo’s home, Antonello’s godfather.

Our baskets, made for us by an old man, were put to the test.

Mario, Carmelo and Rita’s son, worked hard this morning…

New and old friends sharing conversations while picking the grapes.


This is where it all happens. The grapes are passed through the lavic stone window, and dropped into the grinder that not only crushes the grapes, but also sorts out the stems; similar to ours, but a larger scale. It is here where the fermentation takes place, transforming the must into a fine wine.

When the work was done, we all sat to a feast. There were grilled sausages, grilled peppers, caponata, salami, cheeses, olives, wine, and bread to enjoy each and every bite.




An end to this perfect day was something very special. In our town, the best pastry shop closed a few months ago. People still ach for the delicacies that “Cali” created, and above all Antonello. As it so happens, Cali is Carmelo’s godfather, so imagine the look on Antonello and my face when they unwrapped our favorite fresh ricotta cake made especially from Cali! He still makes the best!!


On the right sits Natale,a good friend of ours, that Antonello worked with on the ship. His mother just happens to be a talent in the kitchen. A connoisseur of traditional Sicilian recipes, and a woman I am very much looking forward to meeting. We have invitations to Natale’s home to sample some of his mothers cooking and one thing that stands out in my mind are the eggplant recipes. I plan to bring my camera and write everything down…
Finally, on the left sits the protagonist of the day, Carmelo. A man filled with jokes, and here fashions a dignified deflated ball on his head, thanks to his son. We thank you and Rita again for this yearly tradition and being a part of it with you. (After all, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here in Sicily, and I certainly would not have met my love…)

Torta di ricotta

Ever since our favorite bakery closed, we have been in denial for our Ricotta Cake. No other "Bar" can make it like Cali'... That’s when I sat down and got to work. I searched and searched through recipes, in books and online, looking for something that would come close to the Torta. Nothing was exactly right, so I decided to mix and match and most importantly, improvise. I can honestly say that what I came up with is an absolute success! I have now made this Torta four times, sharing it with family and friends. (Making many people very happy!)



Mix in all ingredients and form a dough, then let the dough sit for at least an hour.

Separate into two pieces and roll out dough to fit your baking pan.

I tried two versions of ricotta filling, with chocolate and without. I would have to say that we prefer the cake without the chocolate pieces. Yes, it is in the original recipe, but in our opinion, the chocolate distracts the rich flavor of the fresh sheep’s ricotta.



Cinnamon and powdered sugar are finally added as decoration, giving the finishing touches to the flavor and beauty.

I am dying just looking at this! It is too good... Actually, there is just one more piece sitting in the kitchen and I am patiently waiting for Antonello so we can share it!

I made extra pasta frolla, so I could finish the cotognata in the fridge.


Torta di Ricotta
350 g flour
100 g butter or strutto
100 g sugar
3 eggs
half pack levito for sweets ( half tsp baking powder)
500 g ricotta (2 cups)
1/4 cup sugar

ZEPPOLE DI SAN GIUSEPPE

It is a tradition to indulge on this Sicilian pastry, known as Zeppole, on La Festa di San Giuseppe (Saint Joseph's Day). The zeppole di riso or zeppole di San Giuseppe is a typical Sicilian sweet for Father’s Day, made of rise and honey. You may notice that this recipe varies from region to region within Italy. Here, this crispy, honeyed crust, envelops a soft, sweet, warm, goodness.

The recipe may be the same in every pastry shop, but we are sure that the best Zeppole on the Eastern Sicilian Coast, (Maybe in the world!) are the ones made in the little town of Piedimonte
Etneo at Caffe' Cali'. The ones above were freshly made today for the Festa, by this pasty shop.

Sicilian Bakery

In Sicily, thanks are given to San Giuseppe for preventing a famine during the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean was the crop, which saved the population from starvation, and is a traditional meal for the day.

ZEPPOLE DI SAN GIUSEPPE
Ingredients:
rice gr. 150
Milk 1/2 l.
Beer yeast gr. 10
Three tbsp flour
grated orange peel of one orange
pinch of salt
tbsp of sugar
oil for frying
honey (miele di zagara is recommended, that is honey from the orange blossoms.)

Preparation: Cook the rice in the milk with a little salt. The rice will be cooked when it is creamy. Place the rice in a large bowl and leave to cool. Empty the yeast in a small amount of luke warm water and mix it into the rice. Next, add the flour, sugar, and leave it to rise for at least two hours... Bring a pan of oil to a boil. With the help of a spoon, form the paste into little rolls and set aside. Once the oil is boiling, drop the rice directly into the oil.
Once cooked, place the Zeppole in a large bowl, and cover with honey and orange peel.

Happy Italian Father's Day Daddy...

Piedimonte Etneo, Catania, Sicily, Small sicilian town near Mt. Etna, Piedimonte Etneo (Sicily, Italy). Cittá di Piedimonte Etneo. Last modified: 2004-12-22 by dov gutterman ... Piedimonte Etneo is in Catania province, Sicily. ...sicilian pastries, sicilian dolci,

Sunday at the Aquarium

Antonello and I wanted to make a day out with our nieces and nephews. So on Sunday morning, after a refreshing Granita at Caffè Cali', we were all off to the Aquarium in Giarre. This was the first time for all of us, and we were pleasantly surprised.

Remarkably, the more people we talk to, the more we learn that no one knows this little Aquarium exists...

Each exhibit was dedicated to a part of the Sicilian coastline.


It was great, we arrived early and the whole place was for us! The kids were so excited.

After the Aquarium, we drove down the road from Giarre to Riposto, to see the Sunday Fish Market.

Across the street is the Riposto Marina, where you can walk and see all the boats.



But, one can not leave Riposto without tasting the best Pistachio Gelato! Here, in the Marina, the bar serves what we believe to be the best! If you notice, everyone gets the pistachio here... Pistachios from Bronte in every bite!

Ok, Mario wanted chocolate...

The beautiful Elena and Chiara sharing a cup!

It was a great day!

Profiterol

How can anyone resist freshly baked bigné filled with whipped sweet cream and custard? Then piled high lathered in whipped sweet chocolate cream and topped with slivers of rich chocolate? I certainly can't! Last Friday we were invited to Mandi's house, a good friend who lives near by, and I thought to bring along a sweet end to the night, the Profiterol. Known in these parts as a semi-freddo, the Profiterol is a sure crowd pleas-er.
As usual, I often enjoy looking at all the sweet delicacies at our nearby bakery Caffe' Cali'. My latest experimentation has been to re-create the Profiterol. There are many varieties, but one similar to what you might find around these parts is similar to what you see here.

Beginning with the Bigné:
250 ml water
100 g butter
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
150 g flour
4 eggs
-Bring to a boil the first 4 ingredients
-Turn off the fire and add the flour at at once
-Place back on the fire and mix until the dough detaches from the sides of the pan. When the dough is ready it will make a crick-crack noise.
-At this point turn off the fire and mix for another minute
-After the dough has rested, add the eggs one at a time mixing well.
-Once mixed let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then place on cookie sheet.
-Cook on 250°C not ventilated until browned.




Now for the filling...

Crema pasticcera (custard):1 egg yolk
125 ml warm milk
41 g sugar
11 g flour
a touch of vanilla
-Mix well the yolk and sugar
-Add the flour and mix
-Then add a bit of the warm milk to the bowl, and mix. Take this mixture and add to the heated milk and bring to a boil.
-Continue mixing over the fire until it coats the back of a spoon.
-Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the refrigerator to cool.
Chantilly:400 ml panna, cream
powdered sugar
-Just whip the cream and add the sugar to taste

At this point you would mix both the Crema pasticcera and the Chantilly together and use this mixture to fill the bigné.

The cream that keeps it all together:
1000 ml of cream
unsweetened cocoa powder
powdered sugar
-Whip the cream adding cocoa powder and powdered sugar to taste...


Our profiterol was then topped with slivers of Lindt 70% and 99% cacao for a finishing touch.

The final step is to set aside in the freezer. Depending on the season, bring out and let it melt a bit. When serving, cut slices of the Profiterol too see all the cream filled puffs. An amazing semi-freddo! You can also scoop out each cream puff and serve it that way once it's smooth and creamy...