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WEEK 197 MENU: December 26-31, 2023

CAPODANNO – New Year’s Eve Traditions and Superstitions In the two weeks between December 24 (Feast of the Seven Fishes) and January 6 (Epiphany), Italians find themselves at the holiday table six times for six different celebrations! There are various traditions and specialty ingredients featured depending on the region, but food is always the main event. Second only to the Christmas feast, il Cenone di Capodanno or New Year’s Eve “Big Dinner” is the most important gathering of friends and family filled with traditions and superstitions that enrich the holiday, marking the beginning of the new year. In Italy, a traditional New Year’s Eve meal is all about symbolizing abundance, wealth and good luck. There are specific foods that no Italian would fail...

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WEEK 196 MENU: Dec 19-23, 2023

Christmas in Rome – Ancient Traditions Bag pipes? Bag pipes in Italy! I quickly learned that no Italian Christmas would be complete without the sound of bagpipes. Everywhere from the piazzas of Rome to remote hillside villages, Zampognari (pipers) continue the tradition of festive bagpipe playing that dates back to ancient Rome. Christmas in both Abruzzo and Lazio remains a holiday deeply rooted in ancient traditions where true values are passed down through the stories of the elderly from generation to generation. This week’s menu stars many ingredients popular in these regions and found on their holiday menus.

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WEEK 195 MENU: December 13-17, 2023

Christmas in Naples: Food and the Art of the Presepio The Italian religious custom of displaying the nativity scene of Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in a manger is something to behold. You would be hard pressed to find a home without one at this time of year, especially in Naples. They can range in size from a small tabletop to replicas of entire cities taking up enormous tabletops and even whole rooms. The Presepe is not simply a tradition in Naples, it has developed into an art form. Food in Naples also is rooted in a long history of outside influences of foreign invaders and poverty. Historical Neapolitan cuisine had been divided into two different categories: one for the rich and nobles, and...

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WEEK 194 MENU: December 5-10, 2023

Christmas Season Begins! Ask any Italian when they usually open their gifts and you can probably tell where they are from.  Italians celebrate lots of great unique Christmas traditions.  Customs vary from city to city, from exactly what dishes are served to when to open presents.  It is a great time to be a kid in Italy!  December 13th marks the “Festa di Santa Lucia” – St. Lucy’s Day.  Historically, it was to her (and not Santa) that children wrote letters requesting gifts and sweets which she delivered with the help of her donkey on the eve of her feast day. This week we feature a typical menu from Sicily, Santa Lucia’s birthplace.  An “omaggio” to this colorful and beloved Saint kicks...

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WEEK 193 MENU: November 28 - Dec 3, 2023

Slow Food: Saving our Food Heritage “Fast,” “Convenient,” “Save time,” all have become the mantras of modern life. “Time is money,” has become the foundation of how we live our lives today, both here in the US and Italy.  Many of the time-honored traditions of Italian regional cuisine are being lost and replaced by more time efficient and less expensive methods. The “Slow Food” Movement was created to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life, and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat.  It goes without saying that Italy has a rich food culture and is an extraordinary expression of local traditions. We like to think that what we have...

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