We recently received the following letter from Joann Belack, a reader:

I am hosting an Epiphany dinner. We have always done it the French way but this year I would like to do it the Italian way (I am Italian). I know about the sweets, but what would be served for dinner?

Thank you and Buon Natale!
JoAnn

As I have often said, and will say again, we love to hear from our readers (send your comments and questions for the newsletter to Tuscanlifeedit@netscape.net). Joann's request, however, quite put me to the task. I know what our family eats for the Epiphany dinner, and also some of the menus served by friends over the years. But is there a "traditional Tuscan" Epiphany dinner?

It does seem, after much research, that there are some dishes that are more common to the Epiphany table than others. As with many holidays here in Tuscany, a special pasta is usually served. There are sweets, as Joann mentioned, such as Torrone, that also usually appear on holiday tables. But what about foods that are associated with just the Epiphany? Here is what I've found:

Among the many traditions I've read about, and been told about while researching this topic, is the celebration of the arrival of the Three Kings with an abundance of food and hospitality, which represent their arrival at the shelter of the manger.

We suggest beginning your feast with an appetizer plate featuring favorite Tuscan cheeses and salamis. Pecorino, traditional Tuscan salumni, and Tuscan prosciutto should certainly be a part of the presentation. The platter should be an abundant and gorgeous antipasto in keeping with tradition.

This is often followed by a plate of that most Tuscan of appetizers, Crostini with chicken liver pate.

Broccoli is often eaten, and is said to represent bitterness, although I am not sure which part of the Feast of the Epiphany is represented by "bitter." For my family's pasta course, we like a combination of a tubular pasta such as penne, tossed with lightly boiled broccoli rabe, garlic, hot pepper flakes, and good Tuscan olive oil.

Sausages, especially those featuring pork, and again representing abundance and good luck throughout the coming year, are another food commonly featured at many Epiphany dinners. Since our pasta dish is so heavy, we simply sauté good, spicy pork sausages.

It is quite common to serve a fancier pasta course, and this is usually a stuffed pasta, such as agnelli, ravioli, or any other stuffed pasta. A rich duck or rabbit ragu is often the sauce for these stuffed pastas.

Many people serve a mixed grill of meats. Pieces of lamb and pork, as well as the sausages, all rubbed with good olive oil, rosemary and garlic, and grilled, are presented on a huge platter and add to the festive Epiphany table.

Oranges, as representatives of sunlight (Epiphany is also known as the holiday of light, when the Star of Bethlehem led the Magi to Christ) and/or the gold brought to the Christ child by the Magi, or Three Kings, are essential. Present a dish of oranges, clementines, tangerines or blood oranges to your guests, and try to include orange flavors in one or more dishes.

For the after dinner sweets, along with oranges and torrone, dried figs are usually arranged among the other treats. Figs are featured in many Epiphany dishes throughout Italy, and cakes and breads featuring dried figs are often served. Because the Three Kings came from the Orient, these cakes and breads usually feature exotic spices. Orange peel can be added to a spice cake.

But the most important sweet of the Epiphany table in Tuscany are the Cenci, those delectable little bites of sweet dough that can be lovingly formed, and make the perfect centerpiece for your presentation of Epiphany desserts. Do place a bottle of Vin Santo on the table.

If you visit our webpage, florencevillas.com, and click on the link for Past Newsletters, you can find our Festa della Befana newsletter of 2003, or simply click on this link below to go there directly.

http://www.florencevillas.com/newsletter/nl_13.htm

In that newsletter, we discussed the Feast of the Epiphany and how it is celebrated in Tuscany, and also talked about La Befana, the witch who brings presents or lumps of coal to Italian children on January 6th. We also have an alternate Cenci recipe there.

On the night of January the fifth, the Befana is said to mount her broomstick and fly through the Italian skies to visit the homes of all children. She leaves sweet candy treats in the stockings of boys and girls who have been good, and lumps of coal for those who haven't quite lived up to their potential to be well-behaved. Nowadays, most children in Italy open just their stockings on January 6, the Epiphany, having opened presents at Christmas, but in years past, that was the day for all present giving.

The Befana is said to have come to play a part in the Christmas traditions by refusing hospitality to the Three Wise Men as they made their way toward Bethlehem. She told them that she was busy cleaning her house (thus her broomstick) and shooed them on their way. They proceeded without her, and legend has it that she changed her mind, but it was too late; they were gone when she went out to seek them. She has been following them ever since, roaming the Earth, searching for Christ in his manger.

The Befana, in her clothing worn to rags, flies from home to home, and her clothes may be the origin of the tradition of serving Cenci (or "rags") on Twelfth Night. Cenci are a particularly Tuscan treat that are also sometimes known as Lover's Knots. This is what my mother calls them, and she is very careful to form them delicately so that they are attractive on the plate.

My Mother's Cenci

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup powdered or confectioner's sugar (with more for dusting)

2 large eggs

1 or 2 tablespoon brandy

1/4 teaspoon salt

Beginning with 2 1/2 cups flour, make a stiff dough with all the ingredients, and knead it well. If the dough is soft, and an extra 1/4 cup of flour. As we said, it should be a fairly stiff dough. Knead until smooth, and then let rest, covered, for an hour.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, until it is about 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut it into strips, about 1 1/2 by 3 inches, using a pastry cutting wheel. Make a slit down the middle of each cenci, and twist one end of the strip through this hole.

Fry the cenci, a few at a time, in a large pot of hot vegetable oil. Carefully remove them from the oil when they are golden brown, and place them on paper towels to drain. Dust liberally with powdered sugar and serve. Cenci are best when freshly made.

The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, and is also known as Twelfth Night.

The word "epiphany" means "manifestation" in Catholic teaching. This is said to be the day when the Magi reached the Christ child, and He became known to the world. The three manifestation of Christ's divinity, taught by the Church, are Christ's birth itself, the Adoration of the Magi, and Christ's baptism. The Baptism of Christ is celebrated on the Sunday following Epiphany, and these three Holy Days (Christmas, Epiphany and The Baptism of the Lord) are sacred.

In many places, it is on the Epiphany, when the Three Kings finally reached the manger and beheld Christ, that the family crèche is completed. The figurine of the Christ child is added to the Manger scene, or more commonly these days, the figures of the Magi, who have been making their way closer to manger, finally arrive at the scene, and are placed among the other figurines.

Joann, we hope we've answered your request for an Italian Epiphany menu, and we wish all of you

BOUN CAPO D'ANNO!