What made these so different, and so good? The answer, I learned, is herbal liqueur. “Just taste them.” We did, and I spent the car ride to Gallipoli hunting recipes. When we asked what they were, they shrugged.
On that last visit, the staff tossed in a couple of strazzate into our white paper bag. On that day, we noticed a cream-filled donut, called a bomba in Italy and dubbed (with a chuckle) a bombalone at Bar Simone because of its enormous size. We found excuses for a daily stop in, even on our way out of town. When we stayed in Torre Chianca in the heel of Italy’s boot, we fell in love with Bar Simone, a terrific and humble bakery/pizzeria (wow, their pizza with greens… wow) that even makes their own spumoni, those layers of molded gelato with candied nuts or other bitty tasties in between the stripes. That way you can enjoy cookies in the weeks leading up to the holiday, and then do a massive bake of your frozen reserves for a splendid, varied platter when you need one. Pro-tip for holiday cookie making: Freeze half your batter from each recipe, either as a block of dough to defrost and roll out later, or in balls that you can bake right out of the freezer (just tack on a minute or two of extra time). Things are so complicated nowadays, aren’t they? I love the idea of filling homes with exciting scents and giving the gift of sweet treasures, made with love, this holiday. Nonetheless, all these cookies offer flavors of far-off destinations and help me remember that the world can be a wide place and we can cross those oceans through flavor and celebration.Įvery year I’ve made gift guides (you can find them by typing “gift guide” in the search bar on this website), but this year, I am offering you this cookie guide. Now, these aren’t Christmas cookies per se-are Americans alone in their dusting of cookie supplies during the holidays? And they aren’t necessarily 100% traditional, in that some are riffs on regional classics. Only when I started looking outside the boundaries of the United States did I start finding cookie recipes worth hovering around the sweets table.Īnd so my list of holiday cookie recipes grew. Holiday cookies get pretty samey-samey, don’t they? All variations on sugar cookies (often rerolled until tough) or gingerbread men (invariably too dry). Why? The anticipation of all the flavors!īut, truth be told, I’m often disappointed. Nonetheless, at any holiday party, you can find me lurking around the dessert table. Given the choice between a second helping of pasta and a serving of cake, I’ll almost always opt for the pasta.
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Rarify butter how to#
So keep coming back here to see what I've added-soon I'll post how to dress a gnocchi and quick ways to create an antipasti board. I'm left with the clatter of the knife against the cutting board, the strain on my muscles as I roll out pasta dough, the smell of caramelizing onions, the silky feel of pizza dough stretching under my fingertips, and the briny taste of an anchovy and mozzarella stuffed zucchini flower as it collapses in my mouth. It's such a simple act, making food, and yet, it uses all of my senses, and takes a focus that steals energy away from less wholesome thoughts like, "How can I get three children to three different places at the very same moment on Tuesday afternoon?" or worse "What if someone reads my book and rolls their idea at my idiocy?" When I'm cooking, that all falls away. I feel connected to people all over the world, since time immemorial. What it comes down to is that when I'm cooking, I'm totally grounded. I had to think about that one, so I'm glad Giuseppe asked me off camera first, so we had a chance to banter for a bit, toss around ideas, and get clearer on why making food is so important to me.
In my interview with Umbria Center, I was asked, "why do you like cooking so much?" Wow. And so this is where you'll find notes about eating, cooking, and general food notes.
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