Mary Taylor Simeti is an American author specializing in Sicilian cuisine and its history. [1] She is a former regular contributor to the New York Times and to the Financial Times .
Mary Taylor Simeti was born in 1941 in New York City. She is the daughter of Francis Henry Taylor, then director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1962 she graduated from Radcliffe College with a major in history. She travelled to Sicily to work with social activist Danilo Dolci. In Sicily she met her future husband, Antonio Simeti, professor of agricultural economics at the University of Palermo. Together they restored the Simetis' farm near Alcamo where they produce organic olive oil and wine. [2]
A Caesar salad is a green salad of romaine lettuce and croutons dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies, garlic, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, and black pepper.
An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and the Philippines cultures. The name comes from the Galician verb empanar, and translates as "enbreaded", that is, wrapped or coated in bread. They are made by folding dough over a filling, which may consist of meat, cheese, tomato, corn, or other ingredients, and then cooking the resulting turnover, either by baking or frying.
Giovanni Brusca is an Italian mobster and former member of the Corleonesi clan of the Sicilian Mafia. He had a major role in the 1992 murders of Antimafia Commission prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and businessman Ignazio Salvo, and once stated that he had committed between 100 and 200 murders. Brusca had been sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia for Mafia association and multiple murder. He was captured in 1996, turned pentito, and his sentence reduced to 26 years in prison. In 2021, Brusca was released from prison.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who is from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published by Knopf in 1961 and 1970. The success of Volume 1 resulted in Julia Child being given her own television show, The French Chef, one of the first cooking programs on American television. Historian David Strauss claimed in 2011 that the publication of Mastering the Art of French Cooking "did more than any other event in the last half century to reshape the gourmet dining scene."
Parmigiana (, Italian: [parmiˈdʒaːna], also called parmigiana di melanzane[parmiˈdʒaːna di melanˈdzaːne; -ˈtsaːne] or melanzane alla parmigiana, is an Italian dish made with fried, sliced eggplant layered with cheese and tomato sauce, then baked. The origin of the dish is claimed by both the Southern regions of Campania and Sicily. Other variations found outside Italy may include chicken, veal, or another type of meat cutlet or vegetable filling.
Cassata or cassata siciliana is a traditional cake from Sicily, Italy. Cassata consists of round sponge cake moistened with fruit juices or liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit, a filling also used with cannoli. Cassata has a shell of marzipan, pink and green coloured icing, and decorative designs. Cassata may also refer to a Neapolitan ice cream containing candied or dried fruit and nuts.
The Fasci Siciliani[ˈfaʃʃi sitʃiˈljani], short for Fasci Siciliani dei Lavoratori, were a popular movement of democratic and socialist inspiration, which arose in Sicily in the years between 1889 and 1894. The Fasci gained the support of the poorest and most exploited classes of the island by channeling their frustration and discontent into a coherent programme based on the establishment of new rights. Consisting of a jumble of traditionalist sentiment, religiosity, and socialist consciousness, the movement reached its apex in the summer of 1893, when new conditions were presented to the landowners and mine owners of Sicily concerning the renewal of sharecropping and rental contracts.
Marcella Hazan was an Italian-born cooking writer whose books were published in English. Her cookbooks are credited with introducing the public in the United States and the United Kingdom to the techniques of traditional Italian cooking. She was considered by chefs and fellow food writers to be the doyenne of Italian cuisine.
Sicilian pizza is pizza prepared in a manner that originated in Sicily, Italy. Sicilian pizza is also known as sfincione or focaccia with toppings. This type of pizza became a popular dish in western Sicily by the mid-19th century and was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily until the 1860s. The version with tomatoes was not available prior to the 17th century. It eventually reached North America in a slightly altered form, with thicker crust and a rectangular shape.
The Movement for the Autonomies is a regionalist, Christian-democratic political party in Italy, based in Sicily. The MpA, whose founder and leader is Raffaele Lombardo, demands economic development, greater autonomy and legislative powers for Sicily and the other regions of southern Italy.
Michele Pantaleone was a respected journalist and expert on the Sicilian Mafia and one of the first to shed light on the links between organized crime and political power.
Letizia Battaglia is an Italian photographer and photojournalist.
The Movement for the Independence of Sicily was a separatist Sicilian political party originally active in Sicily from 1943 to 1951. Its best electoral result was in 1947, when it won 8.8% of the votes in the Sicilian regional election and had nine regional deputies elected. The goal of the party was the annexation of Sicily to the United States.
The Party of Sicilians was a regionalist and Christian-democratic political party in Sicily. It was the Sicilian regional section of the Movement for the Autonomies (MpA).
The Inzerillo Mafia clan is a Sicilian Mafia clan, formerly among the most powerful in Sicily, for at least half a century they were considered the "aristocracy of Palermo's mafia".
Maccu,, is a Sicilian soup and also a foodstuff that is prepared with dried and crushed fava beans and fennel as primary ingredients. Several dishes exist using maccu as a foodstuff, such as Bruschetta al maccú and Maccu di San Giuseppe, the latter of which may be served on Saint Joseph's Day in Sicily.
The gelo di melone is a typical Sicilian dessert, traditionally prepared in Ferragosto. A jellied watermelon pudding, it is also popular for the Saint Rosalia celebrations in Palermo.
Sebastiano Tusa was an Italian archaeologist and politician who served as councilor for Cultural Heritage for the Sicilian Region of Italy from 11 April 2018 until his death on 10 March 2019. Tusa also served as a professor of paleontology at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples.
The Classic Italian Cookbook: The Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating is an American cookbook of Italian cuisine by Marcella Hazan first published in 1973.