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Join the Yule Lads for Christmas at CosituttiMarketPlace

This year we’ve asked our Icelandic friends, the Jule Lads, to join us at the table and help us choose our favorite ways to celebrate the season at CosituttiMarketPlace

Meet the Jule Lads Merry but mischievous the Icelandic Yule Lads welcome the holidays 13 days before Christmas. Each have their own distinct personality and habits Naughty or nice. They can be found licking your bowl of cookie dough or the le overs out of your pans, pilfering your sausages or sni ng around searching for a traditional Christmas bread.

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“Bowl Licker” Yule Lad Arrives on December 17th

Celebrate with a Yule Log A er we have arranged the presepe, the Italian Christmas crèche, we join the Jule Lads with an ancient Nordic tradition where a ceremonial log (or entire tree!) was burned in village square and in hearths during Winter solstice and Christmas celebrations. The burning of the Yule Log can be found in many other countries including Italy where it is call the ceppo di Natale to celebrate the Christmas season

You can burn the Yule Log in your replace or decorate a log for a unique center piece for your Christmas table.

If not a wooden log then follow the tradition of the Italian Tronchetto di Natale, a log made of rolled sponge cake covered in chocolate decorated to resemble a tree stump.

The Tronchetto cream lling is made with chestnuts, mascarpone cheese, cream, cocoa and brandy.

However there are many versions of this cake including a French version called a Bûche de Noël lled with chocolate whipped cream and Les Con tures à l'Ancienne Morello Cherry Conserve.

Les Confitures à l'Ancienne Morello Cherry Conserve available at www.cosituttimarketplace.com

A French Bûche de Noël

There are many recipes for a Trochetto di Natale/Yule Log on the internet. Here is our advice for making it at its best

1. Use the right recipe. A recipe that includes buttermilk lends a lot of pliability to the Italian sponge (also known as a Genovese cake or genoise) which needs to be carefully rolled to create the appearance of a log. The addition of buttermilk in the cake recipe will make rolling the cake a lot easier 2. Get the temperature right. Make sure the cake is slightly warm when rolling to prevent cracks (about 16 to 20 minutes a er you remove it from the oven.) Use a clean tea towel bigger than the sheet pan used to bake the cake to control the roll. 3.Don’t overdo the filling. The right amount of filling is critical. Too much and it will spill out, too little and it won’t fill properly. The filling acts a delicate adhesive to hold the cake together in a roll, so it’s important to spread it out in an even layer 4.Let it rest. After spreading on the filling and rolling into a cylinder shape, let the cake to rest at room temperature for a short while before frosting and decorating. This will allow the cake to absorb some of the moisture from the filling 5.Use the right knife to cut the cake. Once you’ve made the “log,” rolled it up, and frosted its “bark,” you want it to slice well. Preserve its beautiful appearance by using a serrated bread knife to create a clean sliced swirl of cake for each plate

Skyr Panna Cotta Beginning on December 12 , one by one the Yule Lads make their way down from the Icelandic mountains where they play pranks and cause merry mischief and mayhem in town. On December 19: Skyr Gobbler, the eighth Yule Lad, comes to town We wonder if he’ll gobble down our Skyr Panna Cotta

Skyr is similar to yogurt but has a different texture because of the heirloom Icelandic cultures used to make it.

Panna cotta is Italian for “cooked cream”. A molded chilled dessert popular throughout Italy typically made with heavy cream. This Christmas we’re making it with an Icelandic yogurt called skyr

Skyr Panna Cott nonstick spra 3 tablespoons 1% fat mil 1 1/4 cup 1% fat mil 1/2 tablespoon un avored gelati 6 tbsp sugar, divide 1 cup Icelandic Sky 1 teaspoon vanilla extrac 4 cups mixed berrie 8 small mint leaves, for garnis

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Spray 8 (4-ounce) ramekins with nonstick spray. Pour 3 T of milk into small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over top; let it stand 10 minutes. Heat remaining 1 1/4 cup milk and 5 tablespoons sugar in small saucepan over medium heat. Add the gelatin mixture and stir until sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved (do not boil). Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Whisk in skyr and vanilla until smooth. Divide mixture, (about 1/3 cup each) equally among prepared ramekins, cover with plastic wrap and chill until rm, at least 6 hours or overnight.

About 30 minutes before serving, combine berries with the remaining 1 T of sugar in a medium bowl; stir occasionally with rubber spatula until juicy, at least 10 minutes. Unmold each panna cotta onto small plate; top each with 1/2 cup berries. Garnish with fresh mint leaves if desired.

Julboard in Iceland

During the month of December in Iceland, there are many different Nordic ‘julbords’ with fish and seafood dishes, cold meats and spreads, sausages and meatballs and a selection of regional cheese.

Vegetable creams are perfect for dips and spreads for premade open-faced sandwiches and bases for crostini, bruschetta or a make-ahead pasta casseroles. In Italy vegetable spreads are called "creams" even though they contain no dairy products and they are versatile and delicious.

Italian Vegetable Creams

La Favorita Black Olive Crema

La Favorita Artichoke and Garlic Crema

Black Olive Crema Spread on Crackers

In Iceland, the best Christmas gi is a book and the giving books as presents is very deeply rooted in how families celebrate Christmas as a holiday. Icelanders love books and Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world. The practice of giving books for Christmas is a national tradition, and it has a name: Jolaboka od, or the "Christmas Book Flood.” Our book selections

A Culinary Fantasy

A Taste and Travel Journey

Traditions for Two of Italy’s Most Iconic Ingredients

Books available at amazon.com

Seeing and Savoring Ital

Pasta for a Princes

Italian Dishes, Recipes and

The Making,Tasting and Traditions of Balsamic Vinegar

A Culinary and Cultural Taste of Regional Italian Cheese

Rosemary and Red Win

Drop By Dro

Udderly Italia

The Christmas Book Flood

Segreti di Sicily Ready Organic Cherry Tomato Sauce A favorite of the fifth Yule Lad, called Potscraper, who licks the pot clean with everything made from this sauce. The bright flavor and intense color of organic tomatoes from the island of Sicily make a naturally sweet, slightly flavored sauce that adapts to a variety of recipes. With this tomato sauce you don’t need hours of prep to make a delicious meal The vintage retro bottle also makes it an ideal gift.

“Potscraper” - Yule Lad Arrives on December 16

Enjoy more artisan selections with recipes for holiday entertaining at CosituttiMarketPlace. Includin • Strawberry Fig Salad with Creamy Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing - made with Siggi’s drinkable yogurt - an American brand of Icelandic sky

•Seared Cod with Lemon, Tomato and Basil Pasta - made with Mongrano Felicetti Tagliatelle

We hoped you enjoyed learning about how we’re inspired by the Christmas traditions of Iceland and how we are celebrating a blended Christmas at CosituttiMarketPlace this holiday season. The Icelandic Yule Lads share a lot of notes with Christmas traditions in Italy and across the globe where folklore and traditions give us inspiration for a unique way to spend the holidays with useful ideas and simple to luxurious gifts from artisan partners and producers and generational families committed to preserving the culinary and cultural heritage of regional foods and lifestyles.

Buon Natale from Cositutti MarketPlace

From the land to the artisan’s hand, from generational producers, from us to you.