Cuddrireddra of Delia
Sometimes we digress from the task at hand but the cookbook will get some attention this month. This recipe and Sicilian specialty cookie - Cuddrireddra- is probably the main reason for starting to collect Nonna Falzone's recipes.

My grandmother was born and raised in Delia, Sicily and this cookie is only made there. It is like a twisted crown or a carousel and it is magical in taste and history. We always looked forward to eating it and also watching her make it.

Making these cookies would take her the whole afternoon and it involved such skill and fast finger work that it was fun just sitting at the edge of the table and watching. Now my sis and I are going to attempt to make these but I am not sure we have the skill to make them look as perfect as she did.

We were never allowed to help - a trait that Momma Dolce has inherited, as we would not do them properly so due to this none of my aunts or mum can make these cookies. So much for passing the recipe on.... we are definitely stubborn Sicilians! The recipe was in Nonna's head too and she used an odd plastic green cup to measure her ingredients. This cup was probably from one of our toy sets so the exact measurements were never written down.

I have collected the recipe from two aunts, one in Sicily and one in Toronto but I have to say that tasting theirs are amazing but not quite up to par with my grandmothers -I am allowed to play favourites, non?

The ingredients are simple: orange rind, cinnamon, wheat flour, water, eggs, red wine & lard. All deep fried in vegetable oil until they are golden brown.

When visiting family in Delia I visited a young entrepreneur Stefano Strazzieri who has taken this recipe which is so local to the community and has started making it and selling it abroad. Very clever as it is a great specialty and something so authentic to this town that getting it elsewhere is next to impossible. Now you can buy this treat in other parts of Italy and even get it shipped to the UK.

I brought home a tray from my trip and my flat mates did enjoy their Sicilian souvenir.

It is said that the crown like cookie was born as homage to the châtelaines that lived in the medieval fortresses, which dominated the city of Delia during the war of the Sicilian Vespers.

When we muster up the courage to make these with the guidance of Momma Dolce we will report back....

The big cannoli
So every winter my father goes to Sicily for two reasons only:

1) to visit his 85 year old mother and

2) to eat cannoli.

Cannoli is a Sicilian dessert pastry which my father swears can only be made properly in his tiny town of 4,500 people, Delia. These delectable desserts which originated in Sicily are filled with ricotta cheese mixed with lots and lots of sugar. Those who mix other ingredients, according to my father, are destroying the tradition.

The secret to these desserts is the outer shell of fried pastry dough. These tube shaped shells must be filled at the very last minute, otherwise the shell becomes soggy and losses all its flavor. Italian-Canadians have been trying to replicate this recipe ever since emigration started but, according to my father, no one in North America has been able to duplicate this delicacy.

My father’s desperation for this dessert results in my mother packing a suitcase full of shells and a frozen Tupperware container with ricotta cheese every time they return to Toronto. Canadian customs would have a feast (literally) if they ever opened up their luggage. As for this massive sized cannoli – according to my father, this too was destroying the original Cannoli tradition! But we ate it anyway.

xoClara