The Dolci I Love
My Sweet Life
Professionally, I was a pastry chef. I worked at the Stanford Court Hotel,a 5 star hotel in San Francisco late 70’s early 80’s and started as a cashier and found my calling in Pastry. I was lucky that the owner, Jim Nassikas, let me have a position. He loved I was studying to become a pastry chef and when I mentioned it he offered me a position at the hotel. I was lucky to work under Jim Dodge.
When I came to Italy, I came with my recipes. Food is the language of love and a way to exchange culturally our food roots.
In Italy, the creche scene is a a work of art in many cities, like Naples, with shop after shop of artisans creating clay figures of all sizes for the family creche. They create the whole village often so it can take up a lot of space.
Italians adore brownies, carrot cake, chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake. Little by little more and more international foods are seeping into Italy.I hate seeing mom and pop trattorias close and ramen places opening. But that’s life and today there are no borders.
For the holidays, I bring out some of my American classics.
I like to make Cracker Jack style popcorn or Screaming Yellow Zonkers, remember those?
I made my American grandmother’s candied walnuts, but use the Italian Vin Santo to make them instead of Sherry. My grandmother had a glass of sherry every night before bed.. I shared a room with her for awhile and fell asleep listening to Lawrence Welk.
I make the “CRACK” Candy, the hot caramel cooked on crackers and then topped with chocolate and decorated with nuts, salt and or any other toppings. I use Matzoh as my crackers.
This year I found white marshmallows so am going to create some Rocky Road candy and also some simple Chocolate Bark.
My Italian classics are the Fig and Walnut “panforte” which in some areas is made in a salami form.
The almond cookies from Siena, Ricciarelli. Gluten free, easy to make and delicious.
This year I am adding a new entry, a Sicilian almond paste cookie which is piped out and baked, lemon flavored.
I also added a new chocolate dessert called Torrone and it will be on the xmas list now forever,in various forms.
This email will contain recipe for some of my favorite sweets for my paid subscribers. When you subscribe, you have access to all the past newsletteres as well.
I am off to Bologna for my wedding anniversary and to start the research for my new guides, also for the paid subscribers, to the Markets of Italy. Can’t wait to share my passion for the markets I have been to over these past 38 years that Italy has been my home.
Happy Holidays!