A Cannolo to Die For

August 30, 2010

I have met the enemy, and he is the cannolo. Not just any old cannolo, but the heart-stopping, moan-inducing ones at Trattoria Al Molo in Donnalucata, on the southern shores of Sicily. I’d like to die eating one of their cannoli. Does this make sense?

What words can describe it?  When you sink your teeth through the crispy-light crust, an orange-flower-infused ricotta comes bursting forth, perfuming your entire mouth. Your eyelids grow heavy and you sway like the sea. Even days later, I’m crazy mad with the memory.

This cannolo is slim and delicate, unlike the pipe-bomb cannoli you find in Brooklyn, or Palermo. And by the way, do you know how the cannolo got its name? The dough used to be molded around canna, cane (reeds) such as these.

Sicilian Cannoli with Canna (Cane), copyright Jann Huizenga

Sicilian cannoli once protected against evil spirits and symbolized fertility. Now they have their own Facebook page. Hal Licino claims that Sicily’s best cannoli are found on the western end of the island, calling EuroBar in tiny Dattilo near Trapani the “Ultimate Altar of Cannolidom.” Hal, have you never been to Donnalucata?

***

PS At Al Molo (an unchic place, 0932-937710) sample the razza alla stemperata (sweet and sour stingray).  You know what to order for dessert.

Chef at Al Molo in Donnalucata, copyright Jann Huizenga

Chef at Al Molo

Click to comment.

Click to subscribe.

Bookmark and Share

In Sicily, Real Men Carry Purses

August 25, 2010

Who’s that man with the sweet-smelling basil bouquet?

It’s Ciccio Sultano, local hero, 2-Michelin-star chef at Ibla’s Duomo restaurant! But wait, what’s that strappy thing hanging around his person? Could it be … a purse?

Chef Ciccio Sultano with Basil Bouquet, copyright Jann Huizenga

In Sicily, they call them manbags. La borsa, gender feminine, is Italian for “purse.” Men shied away from carrying anything girly-sounding, so they quick coined a new word, il borsello, he-bag.

They’re all the rage. Yesterday I was last in a “line” of five at the post office, and everyone had a purse. (I was the lone woman, pity I had no camera.)  It’s curious how what was once taboo has become legitimate, thanks to Italy’s virile soccer players who started the trendy trend.

You can carry a manbag for a stroll in town…

Wearing a Manbag in Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

… or for a romp on the beach as fashion accessory to your Speedo.

Man Carrying Purse in Sicily, copyright Jann HuizengaMan Carrying Purse in Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

Pretty figo (cool), eh? What do you think they keep in there?

***

Click to comment.

Click to subscribe.

Bookmark and Share

Restoring a Damp House in Sicily, Part 13

August 19, 2010

I’m furnishing my home with trash.

Garbage Truck in Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

The orange trash guys drop by on a daily basis. One day they’ll cart away secco, dry stuff. The next day it’s umido, wet stuff. Another day it might be plastica or carta or lattine. I still can’t figure out what the last thing is. To make matters worse, each kind of rubbish must be tightly wound up in a different-hued bag: lava-black for secco, pistachio-green for umido, and so on. I don’t expect to ever really catch on to a system that’s as complicated, in its own way, as Sicilian codes of honor.

But all that’s beside the point. What matters is not the debris they haul away from the house, but what they bring in. Last week one of them, eyes ablaze, said, “I hear you like old stuff, Signora.”

“You heard right, Signore.”

“Well, I have a piece of an old Sicilian cart. Do you want it?”

I took it, of course, along with his picture in the too-bright sun.

Sicilian trash collector, copyright Jann Huizenga

Then the next day along comes this: a rusted grinder, still smelling seductively of caffè.

Sicilian trash collector, copyright Jann Huizenga

So we’re in business, me and the garbage guys. Will the house soon look like a moldering antiques bazaar?

Click to comment.

Click to subscribe.

Bookmark and Share

Love on a Sicilian Beach

August 15, 2010

Love has no uttermost, as the stars have no number and the sea no rest.

Eleanor Farjeon

Sicilian Grandfather with Child on Beach in Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

Two Women on Sicilian Beach, copyright Jann HuizengaElderly Sicilian Couple Sitting in Water, copyright Jann Huizenga

Morning has broken, water-soft, love-silent.

But in a few hours a tangle of nut-brown limbs and blue umbrellas and flip flops will storm these sands. “I Wanna Be a Macho Man” will come crashing, throbbing, tumbling across the waves all the way to Malta, all the way to Africa. Happy Ferragosto to all!

***

Do you have a favorite photo of a pair on the beach? Please send and I’ll post it here.

***

Thank you to Lucy Christie, who sent in these photos:

Daughter, Copyright Lucy Christie

Two Chairs, Lake Huron, Ontario: Photo by Lucy Christie

Click to comment.

Click to subscribe.


Bookmark and Share
Site Meter BlogItalia.it - La directory italiana dei blog Related Posts with Thumbnails