copyright, 2009, Maria Liberati, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking
Our short trip to Venice was enough inspiration for many delicious Venetian treats. Carnevale is in the air and many are anxiously awaiting it’s arrival. The brightly colored masks are beautiful and some of the costumes are so authentic to the time of Casanova. But besides the beauty of the masks and the costumes, there is a meaning behind the tradition of wearing the costumes & the masks. When a mask and costume were worn no one knew your true identity; in so much as no one knew if you were rich or poor of nobility or not. And for this, the tradition of wearing of the mask and costumes grew ever so popular.
Carnevale brings to mind the beauty of the masks and the tradition behind wearing of the masks as well as the sweets and traditional foods that Venice has to offer. You knew I had to somehow tie in food with this, but in Italy everything is somehow related to food.
The Basic Art of Italian Cooking kitchen here in Italy will be working on some of the recipes we were inspired by in Venice. Sweets to first courses to appetizers. Our recipes this week will be:
Baicoli:a traditional sweet biscuit made with Marsala wine
Risi e Bisi: a traditional dish from Venice but famous all over Italy (it means rice and peas)
Cicchetti: traditional appetizers served at happy hour at coffee bars in Venice. Cicchetti is really a word that comes from Venice and means appetizers or snacks which are sometimes known in the rest of Italy as ‘stuzzichini’
These traditional recipes will give you a chance to experience Venice from your own kitchen, wherever that is. But if you do get a chance to visit Venice, here are some sightseeing tips we came up with:
http://www.trifter.com/Europe/Italy/Sightseeing-Tips-for-Your-Venice-Trip.275877
For more great recipes get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at https://www.marialiberati.com
Mangia Bene, Vivi Bene,
Maria
