It’s Time For “Carnevale!” Let's Celebrate With “Cenci” Ribbon Cookies!

It’s “Carnevale” time!!! Being an Italian American, Carnevale is celebrated much like Mardri Gras, but with an Italian flare to it. Carnevale which means in Italian “goodbye to meat” is celebrated about a week before the beginning of Lent. It is the last chance to party-hardy before six weeks of abstinence. Traditionally during Lent, people refrained from eating, meat, dairy, fats, and sugars. So to dispose of these types of foods and drinks they involved the whole community to consume this food many years ago. You could say a giant party-thus became “Carnevale.” Carnevale is a festival traditionally held by Christians, but many cities and regions worldwide celebrate with large events leading up to Ash Wednesday. This is when all the fasting takes place for 40 days till Easter Sunday.

The most famous Carnivals in Italy, to name a few are held in Venice, Viareggio, Ivrea, Acireale, Milan, Verona, and Putignano. This year 2014, the most popular Carnevale is in Venice, Italy. They are calling it "Wonder and Fantasy Nature."It runs February 15- March 4, 2014. They have a variety of celebrations which include floats, parades, stilt walkers, throwing confetti, and masquerade balls. Masks are worn to allow people of the lower class to be mixed and undetected with the aristocrats. The traditional colors of the masks are purple, green and gold. These colors capture the essence of the Holy Trinity. In the Christian faith it is related also to the Three Kings of the Orient. The colors represent purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. 

So, come with me and let’s cook up a sweet dessert for Carnevale!!!  This recipe is called in Italian “Cenci” which means “rags/ribbons”. When I was young I remember my grandmother, “Nanni” used to make this type of Italian cookie. Instead of long strips sometimes Nanni would take up the two ends and make a knot in the middle before frying them up which would look like bow ties. This recipe is a traditional for Carnevale, but we love them so much that they are made many times through the year such as, Christmas, New Years, and family parties. As a young girl I remember calling them bows or bow ties, but we knew what they were and how sweet, and yummy, especially with some powdered sugar or honey on them. Sooo good!

“Cenci”

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract
1/2 teaspoon of salt   
2 cups of all purpose flour   
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of unsalted softened butter
Oil for deep fat-frying
Confectioner’s sugar or honey

Directions:
In a bowl, beat eggs, sugar and salt until frothy. Stir in vanilla or almond extract. Sift flour with baking powder and gradually add to batter. Add butter and mix well. Turn out on a floured surface: knead for at least 10 minutes. Divide dough into half; then roll each as thin as possible (noodle thickness) Cut into 5”x 1” strips with a knife or scalloped pastry wheel. 

Preheat oil to about 375°F. Now fry cookies until golden brown about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar or drizzle honey on top. Cookies are best served the same day. Enjoy!!


*********Before I close this post, I have a favor to ask of my readers, but this is important to me, so I want to share this with you my friends.

I'm a super fan and close personal friend of Micheal Castaldo. Micheal is an Award-winning songwriter/producer, recording artist, Composer, Italian Cultural Ambassador, and Entrepreneur. Born in Reggio Calabria, Italy (the toe of Italy) and raised there until he was three, Micheal and his family immigrated to Toronto, Canada, and now resides in New York. Micheal’s music is heavenly. His passion for his music as an accomplished pop crossover singer of his native songs, wraps his joy, and experience in a fresh, and powerful sound. “Extravergine“, “Aceto,” “Olive You,” and “Bergamot,” are a few of his CD’s. (which you can purchase on Amazon.com) Among his many beautiful songs are “Allelulia” (Hallelujah), “Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle,” “Il Mondo,” “Pray'r,” and my favorite, “Nella Fantasia.” 
  
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I'm reaching out to you because we need your help to vote for Micheal in Artistsignal.  (ArtistSignal is a free social music platform allowing listeners to vote for a Top Artist each month. They give the Top Artist at the end of the month $10,000. This allows listeners to propel talented artists to the top of our platform and gives artists an entirely new avenue to grow their fan base. Voters can earn rewards directly from artists just by voting!) We're looking to help him get to #1 next month (March). If you have not yet voted on Artistsignal, you will see that it's very easy to do. You can login using your Facebook account. If you have any questions please reach out to me and I will be happy to help you, or better yet, let Micheal know by posting in the comment section on Artistsignal that you are on board with us! Thank you in advance for your help. Ciao!  Dottie :)

Till Next Time……………………………….....................

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