This is a family favorite and a Facebook Recipe request. Traditionally this candy treat is served during the Winter Holiday Season. There are usually 2 different kinds of Torrone served, a hard and a soft version. My favorite is the soft. The recipe below is from my grandmother. Be prepared to spend a few hours preparing and making this delicious treat - but trust me it is worth the work and the wait!

ITALIAN TORRONE

1 cup honey
2 egg whites
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 pound almonds,
shelled and blanched
1/2 pound hazelnuts,
shelled and lightly toasted
1 teaspoon candied orange peel, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Place the honey in top of double boiler over boiling water for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until honey is caramelized. Stir the honey frequently. Beat egg whites until stiff. Slowly add to honey, mixing well. The mixture will be foamy white. Combine sugar with 2 tablespoons of water in small saucepan and let boil, without stirring, until caramelized. Add caramelized sugar to honey mixture a little at a time, mixing well. Cook mixture a little longer until it reaches the hard ball stage. (A small drop turns hard when placed in a cup of cold water.) Add nuts, candied orange peel and grated lemon rind. Mix well and quickly before it hardens.

Immediately pour mixture two inches deep into two or three (depending on size) loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Let cool 20 minutes. Remove from pans and cut each slab into rectangular bars. You may make one cut lengthwise down the center forming two torrone rectangles or slice crosswise to make five or six smaller torrone bars. Wrap each bar in aluminum foil or waxed paper and store at room temperature in an airtight container. It keeps for a long time if wrapped well.

To serve, cut the torrone bar into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thin slices. Serve with coffee or tea following a holiday meal.

Note:
Traditional torrone is sandwiched between two pieces of ostia or thin sheets of unleavened wheat bread. Ostia is often called "wafer." I've omitted this ingredient in the recipe, as it's hard-to-find. The torrone I made was fine without it. But, if you can find "wafer" or ostia at an Italian market, you may want to use it. In that case, you would place a sheet of wafer on the bottom of each loaf pan before pouring torrone mixture. Then top the torrone with another sheet of wafer.

Good beans make good coffee, it is that simple. But to make great coffee it takes a master to blend and roast the beans properly. Italian coffees use mainly the Arabica variety of coffee bean, known for its full flavor and low caffeine content. However depending upon the region and particular taste, the stronger and caffeine rich Robusta beans are blended with Arabica. The blends of the south tend to have more Robusta content in their blends which makes for a stronger espresso.

According to legend, human cultivation of coffee began after goats in Ethiopia were seen mounting each other after eating the leaves and fruits of the coffee tree. In reality, human consumption of coffee fruits probably began long before humans took up pastoralism. However, in Ethiopia there are still some locales where people drink a tisane made from the leaves of the coffee tree. The first written record of coffee made from roasted coffee beans comes from Arabian scholars who wrote that it was useful in prolonging their working hours. The Arab innovation in Yemen of making a brew from roasted beans, spread first among the Egyptians and Turks and later on found its way around the world. The picture above is of a flowering coffee tree.

I was expecting guests one day and needed to whip up something sweet to offer them with coffee. I often make a crostata, either with jam or with fresh fruit because they are so easy to put together yet so delicious, but this day I decided to experiment a bit. My Mother-In-Law makes these delicious apricot sliced cookies that are a cross between a cookie and a cake. I wanted something similar but with more of a buttery shortbread type of crust. I found an old shortbread recipe I often use as a base for squares, and topped that with some of my homemade Apricot Amaretto Jam. To finish it off I added slivered almonds and was very pleased with the results, as were our guests.

To toast the almonds, place on a baking sheet in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 5 minutes or until they just begin to color. The one thing I might do differently next time is to change the size of the pan. The original shortbread crust recipe called for an 8-inch pan but as I am just getting my kitchen set up here in Umbria all I had was a 9 inch pan. I think a little thicker crust would give these cookie slices more substance. You could use any fruit jam of choice in this recipe with great results. Serves 6 to by Deborah Mele.

1/2 Cup Sliced Lightly Toasted Almonds
1 Cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
8 Tablespoons (1 Stick) Unsalted, Softened Butter
1 Cup Apricot Jam (Or Other Fruit Jam)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan. Place the flour, sugar, and butter and pulse just until the mixture comes together. It will be crumbly but you should be able to pinch it into a soft ball. Be careful not to over mix which will make the crust tough rather than buttery and tender. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan and press it onto the bottom in an even layer. Pour the jam on top and carefully spread it across the dough evenly, leaving a 1 inch border all around. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the sides are lightly browned and the jam bubbly and thick. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool cut into squares and serve.

Note: This dessert is best eaten within a day or two of baking.

I love mushrooms just about any way you can cook them but one of my favorite preparations has to be to stuff them. This stuffed mushroom is a little lighter than many of the other versions you will come across as the primary ingredient in the stuffing is creamy ricotta cheese. Now you can add or subtract any number of ingredients in this filling to change the flavor, but this version is the one I make most often. Other ingredients you could include would be olives, capers, or anchovies. You could also replace some of the ricotta cheese with goat cheese. Porcini or portobello mushrooms work really well in this recipe as their meaty flavor is complimented by the light, creamy filling but large cultivated button mushrooms can also be used. Serves 6 by Deborah Mele.

6 Large Mushrooms (See Notes Above)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Finely Minced Onion
3 Garlic Cloves, Peeled & Minced
3 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Parsley
1 Red Hot Chile Pepper, Minced (Optional)
3 Oil Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Finely Chopped
1 Cup Full Fat Ricotta Cheese
Salt & Pepper
5 Tablespoons Freshly Grated Pecorino (or Parmesan) Cheese
Olive Oil For Brushing

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the stems of the mushrooms and chop them finely. In a heavy frying pan heat the olive oil and then add the mushrooms and onion. Cook until softened. Add the garlic and chile pepper and cook another minute or two. Allow the mixture to cool and then add the parsley, tomatoes, and ricotta cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a baking sheet and place mushroom caps cut side up. Brush the caps lightly with olive oil and then spoon the filling in. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and then bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender when pierced with a knife and the tops are lightly browned. Serve immediately.

If you cannot imagine how mere cornmeal can be turned into a tasty meal, then undoubtedly you have never eaten polenta prepared in an Italian kitchen. Once considered peasant food, polenta is now appearing in even the most elegant restaurants. Earlier in this century, polenta was a staple food eaten out of necessity, sometimes two or three times a day. Some families would dump a big mound of polenta onto a board, and everyone would sit around sharing it. It would be flavored with broth, a little sauce, vegetables or sausages. Polenta is still a staple in many homes in northern Italy today, particularly in the regions of Veneto, Piedmont, and Tuscany, although generally considered "home cooking" and not served for company.

Polenta has had a reputation for lengthy and extremely laborious cooking that originates in its Italian roots. Throughout history polenta was cooked over a wood fire in a central hearth or on a wood stove in a traditional curved bottom copper pot with a long handle called a paiolo. Copper was preferred as it conducts heat evenly, and the curved bottom of the pot exposed a greater portion of the cornmeal to the heat which insured there was no corners for the polenta to get stuck in and allowed for even cooking. The long handle of the pot kept the cook a comfortable distance from both the fire as well as the sputtering cornmeal. Constant stirring with a long-handled paddle, stick, or spoon was necessary to keep the polenta from burning. Today, there are very few of us that still cook over a wood fire, and our heavy bottomed cookware and modern stoves that have burners we can maintain at a constant low heat, allow us to let the polenta simmer away on its own with just occasional stirring to prevent lumps.

Polenta can be creamy, served soft with a scoop of sauce, or firm served as a side dish to grilled or roasted meats, or stirred into soups and stews to thicken and add flavor. Whatever way you choose to eat polenta, the basic principles of preparation remain the same. Although you now can buy instant polenta that can be prepared in under 5 minutes, or even precooked polenta ready to be sliced and fried or grilled, I find the effort it takes to prepare polenta the old fashioned way to be the best.

Basic Polenta Recipe
6 Cups Cold Water
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Cup Cornmeal
3 Tablespoons Butter
2 Ounces Grated Parmesan Cheese

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and reduce the heat to medium low. As soon as the water begins to simmer, start pouring in the cornmeal in a thin stream, very slowly while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Once all the cornmeal has been added, keep the water at a simmer, and stir frequently. It should take between 25-30 minutes to fully cook the polenta. Once cooked, the polenta should pull away from the sides of the pot easily. Just before it has completely cooked, stir in the butter and the cheese.

Local traditions result from long complex historical developments and strongly influence local habits. Distinctive cultural and social differences remain present throughout Italy, although today mass marketing tends to cause a leveling of long-established values. In a country so diverse, it is impossible to define an “Italian” cooking style, but traditional food still is at the core of the cultural identity of each region, and Italians react with attachment to their own identity when they are confronted with the tendency toward flattening their culture.

Why is Pizza so popular in Naples then you ask? This is so for the same reason that Italy has only one unifying Italian language, yet hundreds of different spoken dialects. Italy is a country of great variety, and cooking is just another aspect of the diversity of Italian culture.This diversity stems largely from peasant heritage and geographical differences. Italy is a peninsula separated from the rest of the continent by the highest chain of mountains in Europe. In addition, a long spine of mountains runs north to south down through this narrow country. These geographic features create a myriad of environments with noticeable variations: fertile valleys, mountains covered with forests, cool foothills, naked rocks, Mediterranean coastlines, and arid plains. A great variety of different climates have also created innumerable unique geographical and historical areas.But geographical fragmentation alone will not explain how the same country produced all of these: the rich, fat, baroque food of Bologna, based on butter, parmigiano, and meat; the light, tasty, spicy cooking of Naples, mainly based on olive oil, mozzarella, and seafood; the cuisine of Rome, rich in produce from the surrounding countryside; and the food of Sicily, full of North African influences.

As we continue my comments on Italian Style - a friend of mine sent me an e-mail with a few of her opinions - and trust these are only opinions, Style is of course what you make it.

Note that Italian women do not wear flip-flops while parading the streets like a model. Flip-flops, in the picturesque and magnificent Italia, are viewed as only footwear for only the beach, a nail shop for getting your toenails done and for the health spa. So, only wear them to spas, beaches and nail shops.

Do not wear gym sneakers. They are considered to be a fashion passe in the world of France fashion and etiquette. No Italian woman nor man would ever wear this kind of shoe, under any circumstances. The women wear brands like Converse or Diesel which are more of a pluralistic street sneaker with different colors, designs, and fabrics.

Avoid the short, short clothes. Miniskirts, micro-miniskirts, short shorts are a no-no. Italian women do not wear that as in old times and of today, that shows distaste and symbols prostitution. You can still wear shorts, but only to the beach and spa.

Do not put the hair up. Italian women do not wear their hair in a ponytail. It is viewed as a fashion faux pas because rarely an Italian women has her hair up. And women, according to Italian men and tourists, are more wolf-whistled and cat-called when their hair is down and about.

Another common factor on the Italian street wear scene is denim. Jeans are no doubt an American creation but it is the Italians who stylized them into something worthy of having the terms 'style' and fashion associated with them. The Italian women are most particular about the fit, for instance this season the jeans should look like a part of your body. Stone washed jeans too are rather popular and it's almost a sin to wear jeans in the wrong color and fit. However, it's not merely the jeans, Denim jackets and skirts are equally popular. Searching for the perfect jean is no doubt a huge struggle, I have spent hours trying on jeans trying to find that perfect fit, look and style - it is at best an adventure. Needless to say, nothing feels better than a perfect fitting jean! And certainly nothing is as easy to accessorize and make that perfect personal style statement.

Italian is a Romance language, which means that Italian, just like Spanish, French, and Portuguese, is a child of Latin. Latin was once the official language in a large part of Europe because the Romans ruled so much of the area. Before the Romans came, people spoke their own languages, and the mixture of these original tongues with Latin produced many of the languages and dialects that are still in use today.

If you know one of the Romance languages, you can often understand bits of another. Just as members of the same family can look similar but have totally different characters. You find the same contradictions in the dialects (regional or local language differences) in Italy and in other countries.

If you visit Italy, you’ll hear various accents and dialects as you travel the country. Despite the number of dialects, you may be surprised to discover that everybody understands your Italian and you understand theirs. (Italians don’t normally speak in their dialect with foreigners.

I am often amazed at technology - it actually inspires me. If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I would have an online business I would have said - "what"? Today, technology and the Internet makes it possible for me to share my favorite things with other people. It is much like a dream come true. I don't use computers to do my design work, but I do use computers to share my work with the world. Today while trying to decide what to blog about, I began looking through pictures from my travels around home (Italy) - and I suppose I am a little bit homesick at the moment also. I use google for a lot of things, my e-mail, my blog and the list goes on here, but my point is that I came across the Picasa picture program and I downloaded it - it took all the pictures from my files and organized them, (WOW!), and it also has a lot of very neat tools as well. It took a while for the program to scan all my files, but once it was complete I ended up playing around with the program for a while. I was able to create a collage of pictures from Rome and I even scanned some new designs I have been working on - just rough drafts but it put them into a new perspective which helped me feel more creative. Anyway, check it out if you get a chance - it is free and has some great features. In fact, I came up with a great idea for a Christmas gift for a good friend. After all a picture is worth a thousand words! Click here to get to the program!