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December 11, 2008 |
The Tuscany Effect
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Issue #6 |
Welcome to the Toscana Mia
Ezine "The Tuscany Effect"
Brought to you by Serenella
Leoni, Tuscan Lifestyle Expert
Email Serenella
(serenella@toscanamia.biz)
NOTE: Use
the email address directly above if you wish to contact me. If you hit
"Reply" your email will go directly to an automated e-zine server
and I will NOT receive your message.
Please forward this newsletter to anyone who loves Tuscany, Italy or
all things Italian from food, wine, travel, villas and tours, to
traditions, language, fashion, art, music, books, movies and more. |
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In This Issue:
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Fantastic Toscana Mia Villa Rental
Special
Luca Borselli, owner of
Villa Ghiaia, is making an amazing offer for Toscana Mia
clients only for spring 2009:
30% off regular prices for all Villa
Ghiaia properties for March or April 2009!!
Beginning on Saturday, 28 Feb. to Saturday 25 April,
2009 only (villas rent from Saturday to Saturday), you can take advantage of the following
weekly prices:
There is no better
offer anywhere! If you've ever wanted to spend a week in
Tuscany on a beautiful estate at a very reasonable
price, reserve now.
*First come, first served and based on availability.
Must reserve by December 31, 2008. Check on Euro
exchange rate at:
http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Contact Serenella
for more information |
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Message from
Serenella |
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Buone Feste...(Happy Holidays)
 I
wish you Happy Holidays. In Italy, a
predominantly Catholic country, Christmas Day is still the
most celebrated and important holiday for families to come
together. There are traditions and food and presents and food
and festivities and food…
Because of large waves of immigration in recent years, the
second largest religious group in Italy is composed of Muslims
(about 1 million). Besides Islam, most
religions and philosophies are represented in Italy. Jews have had
a presence in Italy since 161 BC. In fact, there are many
towns (Venice, Rome, Florence, Ferrrara and Bologna) with
historic Jewish ghettos and beautiful synagogues where
Hanukkah or Chanukah is celebrated and traditional foods are
shared.
Wherever you are and whatever your beliefs, may you have
wonderful Holidays and a fantastic New Year. Please remember
to spread some love.
Thank you for being part of the extended Toscana Mia family!
May you all have Buone Feste!
Serenella
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Celebrating the Holidays in Italy |
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Celebrating the Holidays in Italy
 Italians
love to celebrate the holidays and they have more occasions to
do so than just about anyone.
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Christmas Eve: Many families in Italy celebrate
Christmas by opening their presents on Christmas Eve. We
did this in my own family when I was growing up. Because
this is the eve of a holy day, it is still traditional to
prepare a meal based on fish.
When my own family came to America, my mother learned how
to make spaghetti with Dungeness crabs from other
immigrant families. Every year, we all look forward to
this delicious dish!
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Christmas Day: This is the big day for Italians. Some
families open presents on Christmas morning. Many
families, such as my own, work for days to prepare the
Christmas meal from scratch. Each region, town or family
in Italy has traditions handed down through generations so
Christmas is not only about celebrating this most special
of days but also about honoring your family members,
present and past.
Our Christmas meals usually start with an aperitivo
such as a glass of Prosecco or Campari soda. Next come appetizers, such as Tuscan crostini,
smoked salmon or Tuscan Antipasto (a delicious
mixture of olives, vegetables 'giardiniera', tuna
and a special sauce).
The primo (soup or pasta course) is usually hand-made
tortellini or cappelletti or agnolotti
cooked in home-made brodo (broth). In our family,
the tortellini are filled with a mixture of ground
chicken breast, prosciutto, egg and flavored with
nutmeg. Sometimes, the primo may be any of a number of
home-made pasta dishes, including Tordelli (a type
of ravioli), or timballo (a 'pasta cake' cooked in
the oven).
The secondo (main course) can have two parts:
first, various boiled meats (these may include capon,
chicken, beef, etc.) that were used to make the broth,
accompanied by a salsina verde (green sauce) and
cipolline (small onions) pickled in homemade vinegar.
This is followed by some type of roasted meat such as
prime rib, pork or fowl (in Italy, Guinea Hen is often
presented here). The side dishes always include fried
gobbi (cardoons) that look like celery but are
actually part of the artichoke family. Everything is, of
course, accompanied by the best wine in the house.
For dessert, we have traditional Italian fare imported
from Italy, including Panettone, Panforte di Siena
(dark and light), Pandoro and Torroncini. At
times, we have had home-made nougat candy. Dessert comes
with champagne or spumante (sparkling wine).
The meal ends with caffe espresso and, for those
who want a digestivo (digestive drink), a
limoncello or grappa.
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Santo Stefano (Saint Stephen): The day after Christmas
is a holiday in Italy (as is the day after Easter). Hey,
you need time to recover from the festivities and to get
together with more friends and family!
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 New
Year's Eve or La Festa Di San Silvestro: Italy
is a great place to be on New Year's Eve as celebrations
abound, especially in the big cities. At midnight, you can
see everything from fireworks, bonfires, music and dancing
to plates flying out of windows (duck for shelter!) in
Rome and further south. Private parties among friends are
very popular. Some people gather for a late dinner and
another large meal, finished off with Prosecco or
Spumante at midnight.
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New
Year's Day: The first day of celebrating a new year
full of dreams and hopes. The New Year's Day meal (and
sometimes the New Year's Eve meal), usually includes some
form of lentils that symbolize money and good fortune and
some type of pork (like cotechino or sausage or
arista, a Tuscan pork roast) that
signifies richness of life. Throughout this day, you
should be wearing your new red underwear to bring you luck
in the coming year. My mother is famous for giving
everyone in the family and some friends red underwear for
Christmas.
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La Befana or The Epiphany: On January 6, The Feast
of the Epiphany is celebrated in Italy to commemorate the
12th day of Christmas when the 3 Wise Men carried gifts to
the baby Jesus. This feast also called "La Befana"
the name of the good white-haired witch who arrives on her
broom on January 5th to bring goodies to deserving Italian
children. In fact, before Christmas was so commercialized
internationally, La Befana was the main day for
exchanging gifts in Italy.
Stockings by the chimney and baskets are filled with candy,
fruit and other sweets. Children
who have not been so good may find wrapped coal and garlic
among their treats.
In my home town of Viareggio, the tradition is to
make Befanini (epiphany cookies) in various shapes
and forms, including the shape of Befana's hand. This day
brings the Holidays to an end.
If you think these are a lot of holidays, some people
consider the beginning of the holiday season December 8
(Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and include December 13,
Santa Lucia Day.
Enjoy all your Holidays in good health!
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Announcement About The Tuscany Effect |
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Announcement About The Tuscany
Effect
We will be on break
until the New Year. The next issue of The Tuscany Effect
ezine will be published during the first week of January
2009.
Grazie a tutti for you continued support!
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Holiday Shopping |
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Holiday Shopping
Are there Italophiles on your gift list?
Do you yourself love Italian products? On the
Toscana Mia
products page, you will find authentic Italian
products from espresso machines to ground coffee and
from heritage maps to jewelry, designer apparel and
accessories.
What about Italian movies and music, arts and crafts or
a crash course in Italian? Have you considered chess
sets, stationery, pottery or masks? All this and more is
available on our
products page!
Sopranos Wine: There was a technical problem with
the link posted on the Toscana Mia home page so we have
removed it. If you'd like to order some bottles for the
Holidays, please go to:
www.drinkupforless.com. Salute!
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Recipes from Authentic
Italian Women: |
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Recipes from Authentic Italian
Women:
Here are some new
recipes from the Toscana Mia Blog. We are
concentrating on comfort food from the province of
Lucca. These are all very hearty primi (first courses) and can also be used as a main
course:
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More News from Serenella |
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More News from
Serenella
For more news on
Tuscany, please check out some of Serenella’s articles
on the Examiner.com:
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Italian Holiday Greetings |
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Italian Holiday
Greetings
Happy Holidays:
Buone Feste
Merry Christmas: Buon Natale
Happy New Year: Buon Anno or Felice Anno Nuovo
Happy Chanukah: Felice Chanuką, Channuką or
Hannuką
Happy Befana: Buona Befana
Natale viene una sola volta l'anno - Christmas
comes but once a year
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Website and Blog |
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Please visit our website for the
latest news on how to
rent a storybook
villa, embark on a
custom-designed Tuscany tour, plan a
one-of-a-kind Italian wedding, or purchase your own piece of
property in Tuscany. We can guide you through the process
-with
expert assistance from our established network of top Tuscan
travel professionals, event and wedding planners and property
management companies. We can even assist you with
travel
arrangements to Italy through our internet travel site or
our travel agent partners.
Our unique E-books teach you how to rent villas in Italy like
an expert, plan your dream wedding in Tuscany, or purchase
real estate in Italy as you learn to behave, misbehave and fit
in with living the Tuscan lifestyle.
Please visit our
Toscana Mia Blog for the latest news on
Italian food, wine, trends and all the things Tuscans love
with a passion!
Until next time, ciao a tutti!
Serenella
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