Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: 11-7-10

Sheeps Milk Ricotta and Honey Crostini from Sicily

This past week in Italy were the holidays of Ognissanti (All Saints Day - Nov 1st) and Giorno dei Morti (Day of the Dead - Nov 2nd). As usual with Italian holidays, food is a central part of the celebration. Each region has different dishes to commemorate the occasion. I've included 3 different recipes for Day of the Dead food and also something in Eating Italy about how it's celebrated in Sicily. The Eating Italy section has a lot of great food and wine photos and articles - Salone del Gusto and Piedmont, an olive oil harvest from harvest to oil production, an argument against Eataly in Rome, and Italian wines. New events are in the Upcoming Festivals section including a chocolate festival next February in Tuscany - fellow chocoholics take note!! Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

My choices for this week's 10 best Italian recipes from around the web:

Eleonora pays tribute to her nonna and makes Ossa dei Morti (bones of the dead) cookies for the Italian celebration of All Souls Day and Day of the Dead - Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino

Jamie Schler makes Pan dei Morti (Bread of the Dead) and gives a little history about how Italy celebrates the November 1st holiday - Huffington Post

Pan co' Santi Bread - A Tuscan version of Day of the Dead bread - Tuscanycious

Stuffed Acorn Squash looks delicious and is a perfect cold-weather comfort food - Proud Italian Cook

Butternut Squash and Sausage Risotto - Fabiolous Cooking

This might be a budget-buster to make Truffle Tagliolini Recipe from Tuscany but it would be worth the splurge - Experience Tuscany

Venetian Style Meatballs - Cook in Venice

Sausage and Peppers - hearty recipe and only 5 steps to make it - Bleeding Espresso

Budino Castagne e Cioccolato (Chocolate and Chestnut Pudding) - Oh, this looks decadent and also simple to make - Tzatziki a Colazione (Scroll down for the English version)

Torta di Mele - Italy's Favorite Apple Cake - Bella Baita Views

Eating Italy:

U Juornu re Muorti (Day of the Dead in Sicilian dialect) explains the history and how the holiday is celebrated in Sicily with photos of the Marzipan treats that are part of the celebration - Love Sicily

Stunning photos of the Piedmont region, Turin and the Salone del Gusto slow food festival

Deb reports on her Olive Harvest 2010 with photos of the entire process from harvest to making olive oil - Italian Food Forever

25 Italian Wines under $25 - La Cucinia Italiana has the list

Some Reasons Why Rome Doesn't Need Eataly - Katie explains why Rome doesn't need Eataly with an awesome list of independent food shops around Rome - Parla Food

A lovely lesson on Italian and Sicilian Food from Marcella Croce - Sicily Guide

Pasta for Beginners - A short guide to cooking the perfect pasta - for beginners and a refresher for the experienced pasta eaters/cookers - Madonna del Piatto

Italian wine lessons: Overview of the Wines of Campania - My Life Italian

Chestnuts at the market but the sign says "Cushions for a mother-in-law"

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Food and Wine Biennial in Florence - November 6 - 22 (Explanation of festival in English at Discover Tuscany Blog)

Wild Boar Festival in Chianni - November 12-14 and 18-21 - The town near Pisa celebrates Tuscan Fare and the Wild Boar (Explanation in English at Tuscany Pass)

Rome Restaurant Week - November 15 to 21 - Dine in many of Rome's top restaurants for as little as 25 euros a person. Information provided by Italy Magazine

Pig and Wild Boar Festival (Sagre del Maiale e Chingale) - Deceber 4 and 5 in Antillo, a city near Taormina in Sicily

Fall Food Festivals in Emilia Romagna

Merano Wine Festival - November 5 - 11 - One of the biggest wine festivals in Italy

Torrone Festival in Cremona - November 19 - 21 - The candy Northern Italians associate with Christmas, torrone, has its own festival

Festival of Madonna della Salute - November 21 - A yearly festival honoring La Madonna for her help in ending the plague in Venice. There will be food stalls and other "bancarelle" selling goods and Christmas items - Italy Magazine

2010 Christmas Markets in the South Tirol and Trentino Regions of Italy - Christmas markets are a Germanic tradition, but in Northern Italy, you can find some Christmas markets with an "Italian Flavor." - Live Travel Mountains

Milan Christmas Market - December 5 to 8

Cioccolosita (Chocolate Festival in Tuscany) - February 4 - 6, 2011 - The town of Monsummano Terme, near Pistoia, hosts a chocolate festival and brings chocolatiers from all over Italy with samples!

Carnevale di Venezia - February 26 - March 8, 2011 - A magical event that I would recommend attending at least once in your life, the entire city of Venice becomes a stage

Tiramisu Cheesecake - A Perfect Italian-American Combination

Potato Gnocchi for Gnocchi Giovedi (Thursdays)

Campo de' Fiori in Rome

Comments

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thanks for the shout out! hope you get to check out some of those speciality shops on your next trip to rome!

Posted by: Katieparla | November 07, 2010 at 01:52 PM

Some brilliant posts here by some of my favorite bloggers--and some I didn't know about until now. Thanks so much!

Posted by: Frank | November 07, 2010 at 06:11 PM

Katie - It's a great list of local shops, especially helpful to visitors to Rome. I was fortunate to stay 6 weeks in Rome in Testaccio and was a regular at many of the Testaccio locations you mentioned, Volpetti being one of my favorites. You've mentioned others that I hadn't heard of before and will definitely check out on my next visit.

Frank - I look for new sites to add to the list each week. Trying to spread the love of Italian food and wine as much as possible. As you are one of my favorite bloggers, your great recipes have been on previous weeks' posts.

Posted by: Kathy | November 07, 2010 at 06:56 PM