Holding on to Tradition with Anisette Cookies for Christmas!

     Christmas day for our Italian-American family was for opening presents, and food, and family when I was growing up, but it was Christmas Eve that we always looked forward to the most. Christmas Eve at the DiComo house was a night-long celebration of food, family, friends, more food, more friends...just more!

     My dad always told people, when you're invited once, you're invited every year. My mom cooked, and cooked and cooked. There would be scungilli, stuffed calamari and pasta.  And wonderful desserts of course, but all desserts were secondary to struffola (small honey ball bites stacked high) and anisette cookies.  As family spreads out geographically, and we become absorbed by work...work...work, it becomes harder to keep traditions alive, but my daughter helps to keep the tradition of anisette cookies alive each Christmas, and here is a look at that tradition through my daughter's eyes, with help from grandma!  Manja, enjoy!

Italian American Tradition Through Food.

By Kara DiComo