Christmas at my house

Dear Friends,

I get so many questions about my own family’s holiday traditions that I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of them with you all.

I’m always in charge of dinner on Christmas day. I begin cooking early in the morning and I always start with dessert. We usually eat at midday, and our meal always starts with some type of stuffed pasta in brodo, or broth. I like stuffed pasta in capon broth followed by a stuffed capon as our main course.

In Italy you will typically find turkey, goose or capon served as a main course, and each bird has a different stuffing. Once we arrived in America, I learned that ham is often found on the Christmas table here, so a few years ago I decided to add a luscious roasted pork to our Christmas meal–it was a hit!

Rich desserts and spiced breads are the way to finish an Italian holiday meal.  At our table you will find apple strudel, chocolate cakes, and amaretti pudding. My favorite holiday dessert is crostoli, or ribbon-shaped fried dough cookies.

Of course, the most important part of any meal is the people who join me at my table. Tutti a tavola a mangiare!
Warmly,

Lidia