CARNIVAL CAKE

It's always a joy to visit Linda and Chiara and I decided that something special was needed when they invited me, along with some other friends, to celebrate Carnevale on Saturday morning. I made my mother's coconut cake, which, for the occasion, became "Carnival Cake" - well, sort of.  Here it is just out of the tin:

And here, with the help of some orange icing sugar, it became a carnival mask cake. This might have worked better if I'd cut the template just a little smaller  but I didn't have time. Anyway, you get the idea?

I am going to give you the recipe in good old ounces, as my mum gave it to me:

My mum's coconut cake

7 oz self-raising flour or, in Italy, farina per torte plus an envelope of vanilla-flavoured lievito
4 oz sugar
4 oz butter, softened and cubed
pinch salt
3 eggs
3 oz dessicated coconut
6 oz mixed red and green glacé cherries, washed and halved

Line the base of a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper and butter the sides.  Then just whizz everything, including the cherries, in a food processor until you have a "cake" consistency - you know, the mixture should just drop off the spoon when you shake it.  [My mum used to beat it by hand but would have loved the innovation.]  Spoon it all into the tin and bake for one hour at 150 C.  It is ready when a skewer plunged into the top comes out clean. Coll on a wire rack. When you slice the cake, the finely chopped cherries will give the slices a satisfactory pink colour.

Enjoy and don't stop the carnival!

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!

A PIZZA PARTY

I was delighted to be invited to a pizza party in celebration of my dear friend Linda's birthday last night and this is what the jolly company ate:

There was tomato pizza

and then there was more

and even more!

I'm particularly fond of Linda and Chiara's rosemary pizza:

But what are these?

They were chocolate "pebbles" from the Chocobarocco Festival [which is in full swing as I write and about which I'll tell you more tomorrow].

Gino had made traditional carob puddings

and, of course, you can't have a birthday party without a cake!  This apple cake was delicious.

Thanks for a lovely evening, amici!

A SUNDAY GIFT

What a lovely surprise I had this morning when my doorbell rang and a friend appeared with these olives, fresh from her tree.

I haven't done any "olive bashing" for a few years but I will start processing these tomorrow, according to my friend Linda's instructions [which I first posted in 2006]:

Olive schiacciate - Bashed olives

Bash the olives [not too enthusiastically] with a stone, rolling pin or whatever you have to hand. Don't do this near a clean wall or with your best clothes on as they squirt everywhere. [I have found this out to my cost.] Put them in a plastic container, cover with water and add a handful of coarse seasalt. You should change the salt and water solution twice a day for 10 days. Then put them in vinegar and water [about a quarter vinegar to water] for 24 hours. After that, rinse them. They can be frozen in bags at this stage if you have a lot of them. When you are ready, put the olives in jars and add the flavourings of your choice - people here like to use chopped carrots, red pepper and garlic - then cover with olive oil.

IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING

What you need at the end of a day so hot that even the Sicilians have been grumbling is a cool garden to sit in, cool food and a gathering of the coolest people you know.  All three were on offer at Linda and Gino' s on Sunday evening and what a spread Linda and Chiara had prepared!

There was Parma ham with local cheeses and bocconcini of mozzarella. There were homemade bread rolls plus Linda and Chiara's pizza and focaccia. There were grilled aubergines, little baked, stuffed onions and tomatoes, olives and tiny broad beans from Linda and Gino's garden.  There was also a wonderfully refreshing salad of homegrown lettuce, local cheese and walnuts. Forgive me if I've left anything out, Linda and Chiara!

There were figs from the garden:

In Sicily, it is the custom to take along a dessert when you are invited to lunch or supper so I made my semifreddo di frutti di bosco again:

Linda and Chiara had made peach granita:

Ragusa's best Yorkshire cook, Jean, had made a Bakewell Tart.  [Yes, I do know Bakewell is in Derbyshire!]

And, as you can never have enough ice cream in Sicily, other friends had brought these delights along:

Then there was Modican chocolate:

Grazie, Linda, Chiara e Gino e tutti gli amici!


Frank Sinatra - In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening