Italian food, travel & lifestyle
Simple, inexpensive, quick to prepare, satisfying – what else can you ask for? Spaghetti with Oil, Garlic & Chili is a favorite which can be eaten any time of day but is especially enjoyed in the late hours (or perhaps the early hours) after a night of fun. Spaghetti with Oil, Garlic & Chile relies on six rather ordinary ingredients, but when orchestrated correctly it becomes a masterpiece….
Since I first posted the recipe for Lentil Soup, the La Bella Sorella family has grown; this is for all of you that have subscribed in 2015 – Buon Anno. Every culture has symbolic rituals surrounding the beginning of a new year, most of which focus on good health and prosperity; Italians are no different. New Year’s Eve marks a special celebration for Italian families; whether referred to as La Festa di San Silvestro, Sera di Capo di Anno or simply Trent ‘Uno – food is center stage. Family and friends gather round the table to recall the blessings of the past year while looking ahead optimistically. There are regional specialties typical of local areas, but most Italian celebrate with one important ingredient, lentils. The tiny round legumes symbolize coins and are a sign of good fortune in the year to come; it is said that the more you eat, the richer you will become. More often than not, the lentil dish includes cotechino, a large sausage, or a zampone, stuffed pig’s trotter representing the richness of life in the coming year….
This has been one of my post popular posts making it worthy of another look, especially at this time of year. If you are from an Italian-American family with roots in southern Italy and lived in the greater New York area, you know what these are. Anginetti were a part of every family celebration – Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Engagements, Weddings, Baptisms, First Communions, Graduations – you name it they were there. These were usually made by the family matriarch, more often than not the grandmother, who began the production line days before the event monopolizing the kitchen table along with every other surface at home. The finished Angenetti were arranged on dollie lined aluminum pie tins, wrapped in cellophane and transported to the party destination to be proudly placed on each table….
I don’t remember exactly how I came across the recipe for these Pistachio Cookies, but so glad that I did. Pistachio Cookies are the type of little morsels that with one bite let you know that everything is right with the world, if only for that special moment. A delicate bite of ground pistachio flavored with lemon and vanilla, what could be wrong with that?
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