photo credit: Mark and Allegra
Well here it is December already! Are you thinking of making some Italian food gifts for the holidays? Why not consider the lovely, fruity Panettone – Italian Christmas Bread. Tradition has it that if you sip a bit of sparkling wine while having a piece of Panettone, you will be assured good health and good luck throughout the year. Panettone can be eaten alone, or served with marscapone cheese, jams or butters.
photo credit: stu_spivack
Zabaglione is a wonderful Italian dessert that is rich and custardy and has a taste of “spirits”. There does not seem to be a consensus of opinion about the origin of this dish. Some say Florence, some say Venice, but most agree it came about some time in the 1500’s. The original version is actually thought to have been a drink, rather than something eaten with a spoon. It was primarily wine that was thickened by with the addition of egg yolks.
photo credit: Neeta Lind
Tiramisu has become an Italian dessert that is enormously popular everywhere. Tokyo’s elite considered serving this to be a status symbol. It first was introduced to the United States via Maimi and San Francisco.
Tiramisu translates to “pick me up“, probably from the espresso in the recipe. This recipe has evolved over time and today the ingredients include ladyfingers, espresso coffee, eggs, marscapone cheese (Italian cream cheese), some sort of liquor, such as brandy, marsala, vermouth, or rum, some sort of chocolate or cocoa, and a bit of sugar.
Italian desserts are ALL wonderful, but the cool, silky, melt-in-your-mouth Gelato is in a class by itself. Gelato actually IS an art form! The technique was actually perfected by a Sicilian in Paris back in the 1600’s.
