briciole

cheesecake su bastoncino / cheesecake pops

The literal translation into Italian of cheesecake would be torta di formaggio. I decided to leave the original word in the title, because it indicates a specific dessert and I have seen it used by Italian food bloggers. Su bastoncino means on a stick. A gelato su bastoncino (or gelato su stecco, where stecco also means stick) is a Popsicle made with ice cream. If made with ice, it would be a ghiacciolo (literally, icicle). As it usually happens, this month's Daring Bakers' challenge was an adventure, compliments of hosts Deborah of Taste and Tell and Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms.... Read more →

pane francese / French bread

though not any French bread, but Julia Child's French bread, from volume two of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, compliments of Breadchick Mary (The Sour Dough) & Sara (I Like to Cook), who hosted this month's Daring Bakers' challenge. I grew up eating (and loving) sfilatini. Later on, I discovered that French people call them baguettes. For the challenge, however, I decided to follow this part of the instructions: "Making clean, sure cuts with a large knife or a bench scraper, divide the dough into: [...] 2 equal pieces for medium round loaves (pain de ménage or miche only)" I... Read more →

crostatina al limone meringata / lemon meringue tartlet

It's that time of the month when the Daring Bakers reveal to the worldwide blogosphere to what good use they put their multifarious skills, industriousness, inventiveness and, last but not least, their sense of humor. Last Saturday was the day I had decided the deed would be done. The weather helped me by sending a steady rain that made staying inside a desirable option. The recipe chosen by Jen, The Canadian Baker, for the January challenge was lemon meringue pie, but an allowed alternative to the traditional pie was to make free-style tartlets (crostatine), according to a recipe by David Lebovitz,... Read more →

pane alle patate delicato / tender potato bread

I grew up hearing stories of my paternal grandmother, Caterina, and of her pane fatto in casa (home-made bread). In the house there was a madia, a piece of furniture made of wood, with a lid on top, over which she would knead bread dough (impastare il pane) and inside which she kept flour (farina) and other items. Like the other women of the village, she did not bake her bread at home, but at the public oven (forno). Nonna Caterina passed away when I was not even two years old. I never saw either my aunt Lucia or my mother... Read more →

torta chiffon con crema alla vaniglia e glassa al cioccolato / Bostini cream pie

In Italy we use the English word dessert to indicate the course served at the end of a meal. From the dictionary I learned that dessert comes from the past participle of the French verb desservir, which means to clear the table, from des- (indicating removal) and servir (to serve). It is indeed true that we clear the table to make room for eating vessels and implements needed to enjoy the parting dish. The title of this post is my translation of Mary of Alpineberry's choice for this month Daring Bakers' challenge: Bostini Cream Pie. Make sure you read the recipe... Read more →

veneziana

An Italian Perspective on the Daring Bakers' September Challenge As a schoolchild (in Perugia), every day I would carry with me something to eat during the mid-morning break. I never had lunch at school. However, a shorter school day required a longer school week, which means I went to school on Saturday as well. Back to the snack: la merenda. It was usually un panino with something, i.e., two slices of bread with prosciutto crudo, prosciutto cotto or formaggio, which my mother would prepare for my brother and myself. Obviously, such healthy, nutritious and flavorful fare was not what I would... Read more →