Citron as part of the Christmas dinner table centerpiece

For the past four Christmases I have been lucky enough to find citron, a.k.a. Buddha’s hand, at my local Whole Foods grocery store. I love the way it looks in fruit arrangements and the added bonus of using it in one of my favorite bread recipes, Pane de Marinaio / Sailor’s Bread, fromThe Italian Baker by Carol Field. Alan Davidson writes in Fruit: A Connoisseur’s Guide and Cookbook that it came to represent wealth and in India the god of wealth, Kuvera is always represented as holding a citron in one hand and a mongoose spewing jewels in the other! (more…)

I made this marmalade to give as holiday gifts and actually make it year-round whenever I see nice limes at the grocery store. What I like about this recipe is that it takes three days to complete; the process is broken down and each stage doesn’t take too long, giving me time to do other things in the kitchen, great especially during the busy holiday season. (more…)