March 16, 2012
Ricotta is the ultimate comfort food for Sicilians— pillow-soft and creamy, not at all like the rubbery goo at Albertsons. For this recipe, buy it from your local Italian grocer or an upscale market like Whole Foods or make it yourself (not that hard!).
Ingredients for Ricotta Mousse (serves 6):
*9 oz ricotta
*1/2 cup Sicilian Moscato (you can cheat with a California Moscato from Trader Joe’s)
*2 T sugar
*3 oz pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and pine nuts (2 kinds of nuts will suffice), coarsely chopped
*5-6 T eucalyptus honey (or substitute any other nice honey)
*candied orange peel, slice thinly (optional)
*mint sprigs (optional)
Ready?
Whip the ricotta with the sugar and Moscato. Force the mixture through a sieve to get a velvety consistency. Sprinkle a bit of the nut mixture into 6 Martini or wine glasses. Top with the mousse and a final sprinkle of nuts. Garnish each glass with a dollop of honey, and if you are using them, candied orange and sprig of mint.
Buon appetito!
This recipe is adapted from Taste and Tradition, Vol 2 by Roberta Corradin and Paula Rancati. It comes from Chef Angelo Treno of Al Fogher restaurant. TOURIST ALERT! Al Fogher is the place to eat after visiting the Roman mosaics in Piazza Armerina.
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March 9, 2012
Near the end of my house renovation in Sicily, I was so broke that I begged chairs that friends and acquaintances were tossing out and shopped the Modica flea market (the last Sunday morning of every month on Corso Umberto I) for doorknobs, lamps, and dishes. Even my garbage men knew to sift through their trash for the American lady.
I furnished the salone last. Its centerpiece is a skid. As in Skid Row.
Shamelessly scavenged from la strada.
(Brutta figura, Sicilians would say.)
I lugged it down to Giuseppe, my neighborhood carpenter, and asked him to give it a real good sanding. He did, and it shines.
Then I threw down a couple o’ cushions, filled up a bowl with oranges, added two found objects (Grim Reaper scythes), a pile of books, et voilà.
A bona-fide living room.
At night I light swarms of candles, and the skid looks like a million bucks.
Do you decorate with found objects?
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Read more about my life on a shoestring in Sicily here.
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 Giuseppe, a fine Sicilian carpenter Click to subscribe to BaroqueSicily.
March 4, 2012
What is she thinking, she of the Blue Curlers?
And where are his thoughts, he of the White Undershirt?
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February 25, 2012
I love peeping into windows in Sicily, a tendency some might call nosy, prying, voyeuristic.
 If eyes are the windows to the soul, then windows are the eyes to the soul of a home.
Bay windows, picture windows, French windows, jalousie windows. They all set me to dreaming.
Of other lives. Secret lives.
I wonder: What sort of people are behind that window? What are they craving, creating, suffering?
I’d like to try on their story, if only for a little while.
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February 19, 2012
I do my utmost to hide my roots (read: American-ness) in Italy. Off with the ratty T-shirts. Off with the jean jacket. Off with the comfy duds. On with the crisp clothes and killing shoes. (I’ve written about this battle here.)
Il marito has been forbidden to wear his normal Paul Bunyon getup–no muck boots or plaid flannel shirts or baggy-butt Levis. Poor guy has to outfit hisself in a man-purse and taut Italian shirts (but they have no pockets! he wails) if he wants to chaperone me around the piazza.
And so this troika at the Catania airport caught my eye. No hiding for them. Look at those big Texas grins. Stetsons a mile wide. Old Glory purse. Rodeo belt buckles weighty enough to pull you to your knees.
I struck up a conversation as the barista whacked espresso grounds into the sink. Turns out they’re not from Dallas after all. Nope. Nor Amarillo or Waco.
They don’t even speak English because…
…they are born-and-bred Sicilians!
They run a Country Western Line Dance school (Etna Country Style) based in Catania, and are on their way to a dance competition in northern Italy.
And off they run to catch their plane, doing the Texas two-step.
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Watch these Sicilians dance the tush-push here.
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All photos and text on BaroqueSicily are Copyright of Jann Huizenga ©2009-2015, unless otherwise noted. Material may not be copied or re-published without written permission. All rights reserved.
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