OF EATING AND BEING MERRY

Christmas really began for me on the evening of the 21st, when the Modican "foreign legion" held their annual multilingual carol service.  We were a little quieter than usual, having lost a dear member, but we did our best to sing out for her.

Chiara had decided that it was more important than ever to spend pleasant times together, so another gathering took place at her house on Saturday morning.  This is where the serious eating began!  Christmas just isn't Christmas without hot mince pies, and there were plenty of those:

I had made a batch of Welshcakes with cranberries:

Chiara had made a lovely Christmas cake

and Roberta had made these yummy, nut-flavoured "thins":

 There was homemade shortbread, too

and it wouldn't have been a Sicilian "tea" if someone hadn't brought along some ice cream!

Later on Saturday, we held a little Christmas party for students over at English Matters.  Our clever secretary, Martina, made these exquisite chocolates

and this was my go at making Nigella's chocolate Christmas cake:

 These delightful creations came from a Modican pasticceria:

Then suddenly it was Christmas Eve, which I again spent with Linda, Chiara and  family.

As I don't eat fish, I had to pass on these salmon appetisers but I'm sure they were delicious:

Don't you love the way these little appetisers are cut?

There was calabrese salad

 and it is traditional to serve several kinds of focaccia:

I hadn't made pumpkin bread for a while, so prepared some of that to take along:

I had to pass on the salmon with beignets too, but I loved the presentation:

Then there was one of my favourite Christmas Eve dishes, roasted artichokes:

Chiara had made another Christmas cake and it was scrumptious:

And finally, there was warm panettone:

"See you later this morning", we called as we parted and within a few hours we all met at Grazia's for Christmas lunch.

There was pasta, of course:

Linda provided the British elements and very good they were:

I had to pass again on these:

Here comes Grazia's pollo ripieno, with a garnish to gladden this blogger's heart:

And where there is Grazia, there will be excellent homemade pane condito:

I had made my standby semifreddo di marrons glacés. This time I added a little more cocoa powder for the colour and a few drops of cinnamon liqueur.  [The recipe for this is in Il Cucchiaio d'Argento.]

One of my young friends had made this pretty lemon cake and served it with justifiable pride:

The parents of Grazia's youngest guests had hoped that this chocolate crib, made and sold by a charitable organisation, would be opened and consumed on New Year's Eve.  Needless to say, it wasn't to be:

Then there was more warm panettone:

We all felt very lucky to have been able to celebrate Christmas together this year.

IL TEMPO VOLA

"Tempus fugit", for here we are at the end of Easter week and I haven't yet shown you the culinary delights offered at Linda and Chiara's Easter Day feast, so I will put that right immediately.

Grazia not only made the stunning bread dough centrepiece, but this dish of tagliatelle:

Then there was roast lamb with potatoes and even mint sauce!

 Sunday isn't Sunday in Sicily without chicken cotolette:

There was chicken that had been slowly cooked in wine too:

And there were bacon rolls:

Time flies, as do doves and of course there was an Easter colomba:

I'd made some of my chocolate thingies, as everyone seems to like them. [It's getting difficult to find Amarena Fabbri down here so I used German black cherries in syrup from the blessed Lidl.]

Linda and Chiara had made this tart of frutti di bosco and pears:

And later a friend brought round these home-made Sicilian cassate, without which Easter cannot be complete:

While time sets about flying, waist lines take to widening, so next week we diet!

GRAZIA'S CENTREPIECE

Grazia's bread dough centrepiece for yesterday's Easter feast was so amazing and intricate that I think it deserves a post all to itself:

Brava, Grazia!