How to Make Italian Hot Chocolate!

Buongiorno! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The days are definitely getting longer and brighter here but the frost is showing up daily to remind us that we are still in the middle of winter! Over the weekend, my family and I made some delicious hot chocolate and I promised our lovely Sicilian Connections Facebook members that I would share the recipe.

You may be wondering what the difference is between a hot chocolate drink in Italy and one, for example, in the USA or UK and I can tell you that when I first tasted a 'cioccolata calda' in Sicily I fell in love with its rich consistency and indulgent taste. 

We lived in Milan for a while before we had our daughters and the winters in Northern Italy can be so cold! I remember sitting all huddled up in our favourite cafe with a steaming hot mug of this velvety drink and feeling so cosy and content. In Italian bars you can actually get a seemingly endless choice of hot chocolate flavours including coconut, pistacchio and chilli!

Here's the recipe to make this hot chocolate at home. 

Be sure to let us know how it goes!

Ingredients (to make 2 small cups of thick hot chocolate) -

1 cup of whole milk

1/2 cup of whipping cream

7 ounces of good quality cooking chocolate

1 tablespoon of sugar 

1 teaspoon of cornflour (cornstarch)

1) Heat the milk, cream and sugar over a low heat and stir until it reaches simmering point.

2) Break the chocolate into the pan and whisk until all of the chocolate melts.

3) In a separate bowl combine the cornflour with a little milk then add to the pan mixture.

4) Continue to stir for approx. 3 mins until the mixture reaches the desired thickness.

5) Pour into cups and enjoy! You can also top with whipping cream but I prefer to savour the chocolate all on its own!

Have a wonderful day, amici. 

Have you joined our Facebook group yet? If not, be sure to head over to Sicilian Connections - La Piazza and join our rapidly growing community of Sicily lovers across the world!

A presto,

Debra

Sicilian Connections

www.sicilianconnections.com

P.S. - We have a BRAND NEW Christmas Guide out packed with Sicilian recipes and festive traditions!! Go to www.sicilianconnections.com to grab your copy :-)

Caltagirone Nativity Scenes and Sicilian Christmas Cookies!

Buona sera a tutti! I hope that you are all well and enjoying the run up to the Christmas festivities! In Sicily, preparations are well underway for the traditional Nativity scenes that appear across the island in the month of December.

One city in particular that attracts thousands of visitors each year to its Nativity displays is Caltagirone. This Baroque town in the province of Catania has long been famous for its beautiful pottery, in particular its ceramics and terracotta, and actually takes its name from the Arabic words for 'Hill of Vases'. The city's main landmark is the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte which was built in 1608 in the old section of the town. Each of the staircase's 142 steps is adorned with different hand-decorated ceramics using varying styles and figures from the town's ancient tradition of pottery making. To celebrate Caltagirone's Patron Saint 'San Giacomo', or St. James, on the 25th July the steps are lined with terracotta oil lamps which are lit simultaneously by hundreds of locals creating a spectacular effect.

For the month of December the town comes alive with beautiful Nativity scenes made entirely of terracotta which are displayed throughout Caltagirone. Some residents even open their homes to show their own intricate displays. One fine example of a Nativity scene is 'Il Presepe Animato in Terracotta' which can be found in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. This Nativity display features moving figures and extends over 80 square metres - the largest in Italy. On the 25th and 26th December and the 6th January there will be a 'live' Nativity scene in the town's historic centre featuring more than 200 local residents dressed in costume.

Throughout the month of December there will be Christmas markets and processions in the town such as that on the 'Festa dell'Immacolata' on the 8th December. For the two days prior to this feast day there is a delicious aroma throughout the town as bakeries sell the traditional 'muffulette' - a local bread made with fennel seeds.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone - Buon Natale! I hope that all of you across the world are beginning to feel the festive spirit. Don't forget to use our recipe for Sicilian Christmas Cookies, or 'Mastazzoli' at - http://sicilianconnections.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/tis-season-of-sicilian-christmas.html.

A presto!

Debra
www.sicilianconnections.com

P.S. - We have a BRAND NEW Christmas Guide out packed with Sicilian recipes and festive traditions!! Go to www.sicilianconnections.com to grab your copy :-)

Viva Sant'Agata!!

Buona sera a tutti  :-) So much has happened in Italy since my January blog post. First, news travelled quickly throughout the world of the Costa Concordia disaster just off the Tuscan island of Giglio. This was such a tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. The Italian peninsula was then hit by some of its coldest temperatures in decades. Northern and Central Italy are still suffering from heavy snowfall and even many of the higher towns in Sicily have not been spared this rare occurence.

On a more positive note, we are now entering February which is one of the most festive months in the Sicilian calendar and hopefully the sun will return in preparation for the wonderful Sicilian 'primavera'! Today marks the beginning of the annual three day 'Festa di Sant' Agata' in Catania - a world-famous religious festival which celebrates the city's patron saint and attracts almost a million devotees each year. St. Agata is also the patron saint of fire, earthquakes and Mount Etna eruptions and is buried at the Chapel of Sant' Agata within the majestic Duomo di Catania.

The Saint was martyred in the year 251 aged only fifteen and during the celebration the statue of St. Agata which houses her relics is carried through the streets in a silver carriage, or 'fercolo'. This carriage weighs 40,000 pounds, or 18,000 kilograms. and is pulled by 5,000 local men who are welcomed back to the Duomo with a spectacular firework display.

The traditional festival food for 'La Festa di Sant'Agata' are the delicious, sweet 'Olivette di Sant'Agata'. Here is the recipe for those of you who won't be attending this year's festivities.......Enjoy!

Servings:	6-8
Ingredients:	200 grams almonds, shelled 200 grams sugar 1 tablespoon rum  sugar for coating green food colouring
Directions:	Remove the skin from the almonds after immersing for a few seconds in boiling water, and grind together with 100 grams sugar. Place the remaining sugar in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water, and heat until it starts to melt. Remove from the heat, and add the almond mixture, rum and a small amount of the green colouring. Knead until the mixture is smooth. Rub small balls between the palms into the shape of olives. Coat each “olive” by rolling it in sugar. Leave for a few hours before serving. A presto amici, Debra Santangelo www.sicilianconnections.com 

Buon Anno Nuovo!

Buona sera a tutti! I would like to wish a very happy new year to all of my amici - I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas together with your family and friends......wherever in the world you may be!

2011 was a very exciting year for Sicilian Connections. After years of planning and dreaming, www.sicilianconnections.com finally became a reality and I was able, not only to share my own knowledge, thoughts and visions of Sicily, but also to learn about Italian communities around the world. I would like to say a heartfelt 'grazie mille' to everybody who has been involved in the growth of Sicilian Connections - I am really looking forward to seeing what this next year brings .........and also to seeing more of your wonderful photos and captivating stories :-)

I'm sure that many of you have now taken down your Christmas tree and decorations, however in Italy it is tradition to wait for the arrival of 'La Befana' on the 6th January. Folklore tells how an old woman ('La Befana') travels across Italy on a broomstick throughout the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany delivering toys to children that have been good and pieces of coal to those that have not.

This poem is dedicated to the Befana -

La Befana vien di notte
Con le scarpe tutte rotte
Col vestito alla romana
Viva, Viva La Befana!

English translation -

The Befana comes by night
With her shoes all tattered and torn
She comes dressed in the Roman way
Long life to the Befana!

I would like to leave you with this wonderful video taken in Epcot, Disney World in Florida of 'La Befana' telling her enchanting story :-) Enjoy!

A presto :-)

Debra
Sicilian Connections
www.sicilianconnections.com

'Tis the Season of Sicilian Christmas Markets & Cookies!! :-)

Buona sera a tutti! December has now arrived amici miei ... the cold has set in and the excitement of the festive season can be felt all around us. Many families across the world are now starting to prepare their homes for the Christmas festivities, however in Italy it is tradition to wait for the 8th December to put up the Christmas tree and hang the decorations. This is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which celebrates the conception of the Virgin Mary, and it is a public holiday in Italy. This event is celebrated throughout the country with religious street processions such as that shown in the video below in Termini Imerese, Palermo.

This is also the period of the 'Mercatini di Natale', the wonderful Christmas markets, and one that I can highly recommend is that of the 'Mercatino di S.Lucia, Belpasso' in the province of Catania. This is held from the 9th to the 11th December in the beautiful town of Belpasso, which is found on the slopes of Etna, and features stalls selling local delicacies and handmade Christmas crafts. The mountainous setting with its tall pine trees and views of snowy Etna creates the perfect festive atmosphere and the nearby town of Nicolosi even offers outdoor ice-skating.

To celebrate the arrival of the Christmas period I will leave you with a recipe for traditional Sicilian Christmas cookies to enjoy on these dark, winter nights! Enjoy :-)

                                                      Mastazzoli

Ingredients
500g Honey
500g Flour
250g Ground Almonds
200g Grated Dark Chocolate
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Cloves

Preparation

Mix together all of the ingredients and place the cookies in the desired form onto a baking tray. Bake at 180 degrees for fifteen to twenty minutes. 

Buonissimi!!

A presto - Debra :-)

www.sicilianconnections.com