I would have to say that my favorite part of the holiday season is the food! Having been raised in a very traditional, Sicilian family meant that the arrival of Christmas brought with it a marathon of meals that were one better than the other. So much of my family’s culture and traditions are present in these meals. The dishes we prepare and the ingredients that we use all stem from my grandparents and great-grandparents, who created meals so special that now we look to re-create them every year. Many of the dishes that we prepare are traditional for Sinagra (a small town in Sicily where we are from), which means that our Christmas dinner always includes tomato-based, baked Pastas—most notably lasagna made with Bolognese Sauce, and since Sinagra is located in a mountain region, we always include a succulently roasted meat—usually changing with the cut available that year. We pair the meat with potatoes and winter vegetables, what was available to my grandparents when they would prepare the meal and now we follow the traditions that they set.
Our traditional menu includes a few odds and ends that are the “It’s Christmas so we have to have it” things. Cheese is one that is never absent from our meal, fresh creamy Ricotta and Primo Sale Pecorino always somehow find their way onto a piece of toast for a great appetizer to go with the homemade red table wine that my Grandfather still makes each year. Christmas Eve is always special because my mother continues the tradition of making countless dishes with different fish. Our traditions fall into the following week as well, when we celebrate the New Year with Lentils and Sausages—a must for my family. All the savory is always followed with something sweet, we have kept up my grandmother’s tradition of serving Cannoli along with new traditions that evolve each year when Fabrizio comes up with a new twist to old classics—some years Chocolate Panna Cotta, or Pistachio filled cream puffs—whatever he makes, it never disappoints.
This year, take some of our traditions to your holiday table. Pick up one of my Nonna Rosa’s Lasagnas for your Christmas dinner or order your Cannoli to finish the meal off in true Sicilian style. The season has officially begun, my mother, Angie, has already started making homemade pastas for some of our favorites, and Fabrizio is in full swing when it comes to the desserts!
Join us for a holiday meal with friends, or call catering coordinator Carmelo Terranova to place your holiday catering order at 661-299-6952.