Well yes, it’s December! It’s the month of my birthday and of the Christmas holiday; in short, for me it’s a really joyful month of past memories and new memories to create!
The arrival of the Christmas holidays takes me back years, to when I was in Italy. My whole family, coming from various Italian regions, gathered at grandparents Nonno Florio and Nonna Wanda’s house to spend the holidays together. When I got engaged to Raffaele, we combined my Roman traditions in the kitchen with his Venetian traditions in the kitchen… well a success! Since then, our Christmas parties at the table have always been full of good food, from north to south!
The classic Christmas menu started with, certainly, the crostini con i fegatini di pollo – chicken liver paté croutons (my Nonna Wanda’s Tuscan recipe), then cappelletti in brodo – little hat pasta in broth (my suocera Nicoletta’s Venetian recipe), then lasagna ai carciofi – vegetarian lasagna with artichokes (my mamma Patrizia’s Roman recipe), then lasagna rossa – Bolognese ragù lasagna (my Nonna Vincenzina’s Sezze recipe)… and we’ve only gotten to the appetizer and main entrée! The preparation of the lasagna was my mom’s task and a very sweet memory, was that the handmade pasta dough was my father Antonio’s task, just as it still happens today! It usually continued with an excellent and juicy rollé roast beef, accompanied by baked potatoes, salad, and broccoletti – mustard greens (my Nonna Vincenzina’s recipe from Sezze).
Last but not least… the dolci – desserts! Always present on our table was panettone, Tiramisù – the secret recipe of my mother Patrizia (that is, the Bellangela Tiramisù), then torrone and tartufini – chocolate truffles… the treats were always a sweet time, even if the belly was full!
Make a new Holiday tradition by cooking with your family and Bellangela, to make it easier, will gift you the cappelletti recipe, enjoy!
All the food, obviously accompanied by good Italian wine and Prosecco, was handmade and homemade. During these preparations I witnessed the magic of how the ingredients, expertly combined, gave life to the delicacies that today I still love to cook for my family and for my clients… Even with thousands of kilometers far away from our beloved Italy, during the Christmas holidays, I always want to re-create the magic of Christmas for my children, hoping that when they’ll grow up, they’ll have their own wonderful memories like I do.
Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
