Italy on a Plate - The Week in Italian Food: July 3, 2011

Summer heat seems to have hit us all. This week's edition of Italy on a Plate is again full of summer fare, including cool desserts and drinks. I include two dishes from Sicily - one a fried bread and the other a red pesto. There are stuffed and fried olives or stuffed mushrooms, perfect nibbles to go with an alcoholic beverage, or two. There is a recipe for crepes from Florence, along with a little history of Italian/French food connection. I have a few sweets for you, too. Eating Italy has a link to a charity chefs' dinners in L'Aquila and more fun food follies: a Franciacorta party in Rome, Vineyards by Vespa in Northern Italy, porcini right now in Piedmont and more. Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

My Choice for This Week's Top 10 Italian Food Recipes from Around the Web:

Fried Sicilian Pidoni - Madonna del Piatto

Le Olive Ascolane - Stuffed and fried olives - The Panini Girl

Stuffed Mushrooms with Ricotta Surprise - Italian Food Forever

Pesto alla Trapanese - Memorie di Angelina

Crespelle alla Fiorentina - The recipe and a little history of the crepe's possible Italian origins - Emiko Davies for The Florentine

Risotto di Caprino, Prosciutto di Parma & Marmellata di Pomodori Verdi (Risotto with goat cheese, prosciutto and green tomato marmalade) - Un Dejeuner de Soleil (in French and Italian)

Orange Bread and Lake Como - Cake Duchess

Sorbetto di Uva (Grape Sorbet) - Bellalimento

Semifreddo alle Fragole (Strawberry Semifreddo) - Chef Chuck's Cucina

Limonata with Lemon Verbena Syrup - And beautiful photos of Lemons in Sorrento - Z Tasty Life

Eating Italy:

Let's Dine Together in L'Aquila - Seven dinners, from now to October, in L'Aquila to raise awareness and funds to support the reconstruction of the area damaged by the earthquake in 2009, which still hasn't been completely reconstructed - Many celebrity chefs and pizzaioli in Italy, like Gino Sorbillo (July 11) and Gabriele Bonci (Sept 6) will be co-hosting the dinners - Italy Magazine

Sicilian Cheeses: La Vastedda del Belice - The Sicilian Cuisine Blog

Vineyards by Vespa - Discovering Italy's Collio wine region - New York Times Travel

Franciacorta Aperitivo at Vino Roma in Rome - Ms. Adventures in Italy

Wacky Weather Brings on Porcini - In Northern Piedmont, Porcini season is very early - Bella Baita Views

Traditional Ligurian Sauces with Giancarlo Marabotti - Beautiful Liguria

Getting to Grips with Puglia - Wines of Puglia - Jancis Robinson

Corona Gelateria Artigianale - Gelato in Rome - Una Americana a Roma

Belisario Verdicchio di Matelica Terre di Valbona 2009 - White wine from Le Marche - Vintrospective

Il Mercato: The Market in Italy - Cake Duchess

Upcoming Food and Wine Festivals in Italy:

Melodia del Vino - June 28 to July 8 - Festival where Tuscan wines and classical music meet - Various locations in Tuscany (For a description of the Melodia del Vino festival in English - Tuscanycious)

Sagra della Cozza (Mussel Festival) - June 30 to July 3 - The coastal town of Livorno in Tuscany celebrates mussels

Barolo Night 2011 - July 23 - The town La Morra, in the Piedmont region, celebrates the king of wines - Barolo - with a progressive dinner in four locations, showcasing La Morra cuisine with a wine pairing.

Sagra della Porchetta di Arricia - September 4 - The town Arricia, near Rome, most famous for the roasted suckling pig starts porchetta celebrations on the first Sunday in Septmeber

Piadina Days - September 10 & 11 - The province of Forli-Cesena in the Emilia-Romagna celebrates the region's famous piadina

Slow Food Cheese - September 16 to 19 - Bra, the home of the Slow Food Headquarters - An cheese festival that originally highlighted only local cheeses, now is an international affair celebrating artisanl cheesemaking - the site is still under construction

Taste of Milano - September 15 - 18 - Food festival celebrating the food of Milan

CousCous Festival - September 20 - 25 - San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

EuroChocolate - October 14 to 23 - Perugia - The biggest chocolate festival in Italy

Alba Truffle Festival - October 8 to November 13 - The 81st Annual truffle festivals takes place in Alba

Chocolate in Piazza - November 4 - 6 - Carpi in Emilia-Romagna celebrates its 3rd annual chocolate festival

Merano Wine Festival - November 4 - 7 - One of the biggest wine events in Italy - The 20th anniversary of this festival will happen in the northern Italian city of Merano

Festa del Torrone - November 18 - 20 - In Cremona, a festival to celebrate the candy that much of Northern Italy associates with Christmas