ARchicTECT

It's been almost a year now since we've been to Italy. Chief and I are craving for the Sicilian Arancini. It is a local food originated from Palermo, Italy (where he is from.. and yeah yeah I know.. where the mafia started!!lol). I remember that I was with his mom when we bought the arancini from a local store and we all shared it for lunch. Since then, we hadn't had a decent arancini. You can actually order it from Italian restaurants but of course nothing compared to the original we had in Palermo. Aranci or Aranca pronounced as "aranchi or arancha" in Italian means oranges. This recipe is called Arancini because they look like oranges. In english, they are called rice croquettes or rice balls.  Today, I decided to put an end to the craving. I watched a few videos on  youtube  and I checked our fridge and made my own version of Arancini. This is the risotto. Riso is the italian term for rice. Cooking the risotto is a bit tricky and should be watched well. ...

When Chief and I went to visit his family in Italy, they prepared this special Sicilian dish at his father's house. It is called Spidini (Sicilian term)   also called as Involtini (general Italian). They look like meat kebabs. Because I loved it so much, I asked Chief's mum how to make it. I did not take notes, I just tried to remember when she explained how it is made. Tonight, I tried my own version of Spidini as to how I remember it with the help of Chief (well.. he just rolled up the meat since he was so hungry and wanted to help me finish soon so we can eat). To give credit to him, it was his idea that I make this dish tonight since we bought those thinly sliced meat yesterday from the grocery. Meat rolled up with a filling -- prosciutto (ham), grated parmesan, bread crumbs, onions and olive oil on skewers. Here's our finish product - Sicilian Spidini: A more enticing shot.. Chief loved it!!! Made me happy. It was my fist attempt to make a lo...