Every year the time seems to fly by faster, and here we are in December once again!  It’s Christmas time, and in Italy markets are opening, cities are lighting their trees, and the spirit of Christmas warms the chilled air. If you are still thinking through your Christmas list this year, we have put together a guide to help give you some ideas for the special people in your life.  Please enjoy, and we wish you all, Buon Natale!  Merry Christmas!  

As the holiday approaches this week, we would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving is, of course, an American holiday, but the traditions of the day remind me very much of life in Italy.  A day to spend together cooking, eating, laughing, reminiscing, and enjoying time spent with the ones we love.  Italians in general spend more time gathered around the table than we do.  Meals are lingered over and never rushed.  Ingredients are quality and fresh for the season.  Much like our Thanksgiving!  In Italy they say, La Festa di Ringraziamento, and the Italian calendar is full...

If your Tuesday is feeling like a Monday, go ahead and treat yourself to that extra cup of coffee!  Studies have shown it may improve more than your mood and sleepiness!  In coffee, as with anything we put into our bodies, quality is essential.  Mia Emilia has selected a very special coffee producer to bring to us here in the States.  Caffe EDOR, made in Naples, uses only the highest quality raw coffee beans and traditional roasting process to give you the same wonderful flavor served in the famous Neapolitan cafes.  Even the smell will take you there!  The producers...

Once all the parts are ready (cream, lady fingers, and coffee) you begin by dipping the lady fingers in the coffee and arranging them as the bottom layer.  There is a bit of an art to this, so they don’t get too saturated and fall apart.  You want a good coffee, and of course, we prefer a good Italian one like Caffe EDOR.  You can enjoy drinking most of it but save enough to dip the lady fingers in and infuse them with that rich, delicious flavor that goes beautifully with the flavors of mascarpone and cocoa powder.  Here’s another...

From 1592 to 1605, Pope Clement VIII was head of the Christian world.  Trade was growing and bringing new products that Europeans had never seen before.  Among them was coffee.  So, the legend goes that due to its popularity in the Muslim community, as well as its curious effect, coffee became known as “the devil’s drink” and the Pope’s advisors tried to convince him to denounce it as such.  Thankfully, the Pope determined that he must try it himself before deciding to curse it forever.  “This devil’s drink is delicious!”, he proclaimed!  He decided rather than denouncing it, better to...