Happy New Year to everyone who reads our posts and  the pages of our site.

A refined centerpiece for the Holiday season

We wish you the best things for the new year but especially we hope you are lucky enough to be in good health and untroubled.

But the most important  wish according to us  is you can be sustained by your family’s and friends’ love.

Greetings from Italy

The Italian Taste team

Hi, a lot of people in the world are finding for a real Christmas menu as we use to do in Italy.

Here and in the following posts we are going to show you some examples of Italian menus at Christmastime. You can choose among them for your Christmas dinner party or New Year’s Eve dinner or other occasions at holiday according to the Italian style.

At first you have to know  how we plan a menu in Italy; a menu is composed by the following courses:
1) starter made with a lot of appetizers
2) first course,  in other words a rich dish of pasta or risotto
3) second course made with fish or meat with the accompaniment of assorted vegetables or other side dishes
4) assorted cheese (only at lunch)
5) dessert

Well, now we are going to suggest you a traditional Christmas menu of the North of Italy (this is the typical  Piedmont menu for Christmas)
1) assorted canapés or other finger food with the accompaniment of a good cocktail; you are not obliged to serve them at table. You can prepare a little corner with finger food and cocktails apart. After tasting them according to the Italian style your guests can sit down at the table.
2) assorted salami with pickled vegetables and/or vegetables in oil, a savoury pie sliced, Russian salad

Assorted salami

3) smoked salmon in slices sprinkled with lemon juice just before the traditional first course
4) first course:  risotto with wild mushrooms or another Italian risotto with seasonal ingredients

Risotto with wild mushrooms

5) second course:  boiled beef with the accompaniment of some sauces and/or Russian salad; this is a traditional dish in Italy. In Piedmont we add other kinds of meat to beef such as hen, pork sausage, beef tongue …
6) second course: roast turkey
7) assorted cheese; a tidbit is serving mascarpone cheese sprinkled with cocoa powder
At last:
- assorted cakes such as typical Italian Christmas cakes (panettone, pandoro, panforte, panpepato …)
- dried and fresh fruit

Christmas pepperbread, Italy-style

Greetings from Italy

Carlo & Loretta

Hi, here it is a new  recipe suitable for Christmastime! It’s a first course in the traditional Italian menu.

Risotto with wild mushrooms and quail breasts.

Mushroom risotto with quail breasts

It’s very tasty and easy to do if you are able to make risotto. Look the recipe for risotto with mushrooms in this page of ours. Add saffron too, to colour and flavour it!
Meanwhile you are making risotto cook quail breasts.

Saute two quail breasts on both sides in a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan. Add half of glass of Marsala, let it evaporate and then add  an orange juice, a tablespoon of dried chives and a tablespoon of dried parsley. Season to taste with salt and keep on cooking, half-covered, till the cooking juice is almost retired and the meat is tender (about 15 minutes).
Prepare the serving dish. Pour in risotto and arrange the two quail breasts on the top. In the photo the  dish is for one people.

Your dish is ready!

Greetings from Italy

Carlo & Loretta

Hi, these simple Christmas angels are made with the paper egg trays you certainly have at home.

Concert for choir and orchestra: handcrafted Christmas angels

They are easy-to-do and cheap. Make them with your kids. What is better than crafting with your kids to get into the Holidays spirit?
We hope you are inspired by them!
Do you like these handmade Christmas angels? Have you or your kids ever made Christmas angels? have you any photo of them?  enter our competition.

Greetings from Italy

Carlo & Loretta