Columbus Day 2010- Good Italian Eating

It's Columbus Day here in the States. it;s the day we celebrate the founding of America by Christopher Columbus. it;s also a day when Italian Americans can feel a surge of pride over Italian accomplishments for the past 4000 years.

To me it's a day to also celebrate being NorthernItalian and the contributions we've made, especially in food (not to mention in design , fashion, and Carla Bruni all from mygreat grandparents' native Piedmonte). The North has given the world French cuisine(it came when Caterina de Medici married) Henri II of France. We also gave the world that great dish bagna calda, polenta and risotto. This is refined, elegant cooking, different from the heartier dishes of Southern Italy. the sauces are similar to beurre blanc and the main ingredient is butter and not olive oil. The food is artisanal coming from the best farms throughout Piedmonte and Lombardy along with Trente Aldige, Friuli Emilia Romana, and of course Veneto.

The south has some good dishes as well. Naples is known for it;s seafood and pastas as is the rest of Southern Italy. Pizza was born in the South and spread slowly up north in the 1960's. The Southerners are also known for their lush pastries, filled with ricotta. and citrus flavorings. Of course gelati is the dessert of the day no matter where you go in Italy.

This is a day to celebrate Italy but celebrate its' rich cuisine too. It has been the most influential in all the world, simply because it is good. it ranks right up there with Italian design and fashion, movie making and car manufacturing.

The International Easter Bunny

There's nothing like Easter candy, especially when it;s from other countries. Don;t get me wrong. I love our own brands, the Russell Stover and Palmer bunnies, the Reese's peanut butter eggs, The Hershey's kisses ,the Almond Joy coconut eggs and so on . However it's the Euro chocolate that makes me swoon. Some how the dark chocolate is more intensive while the milk has a creamy texture and feel, as if it was made yesterday.

Since the Germans more or less invented th e modern Easter tradition, it's no wonder that their chocolates are the best. I remember when my Swabian cousins brought someover one Easter. talk about goo d chocolate. It was ethereal, with a lighttexture and amazing cream (not milky ) taste. This is the stuff of Easter legend. Not to be outdone there is Perugina a staple at my houseand my other cousins in Northern Italy. Their eggs, these large ostrich size confections are hollow and filled with treats . Their bittersweet is almost like a cacao liqueur, deep, almost coffee like in flavor and smoothness . Te milk is creamy, light in flavor without that cloying aftertaste that some milk chocolates possess. Perugina is the master chocolatier throughout Europe and their holiday candies reflect this the best. This is where you can taste their fine candymaking with pieces of unadulterated chocolate.

The English know how to do candy right as well (well they should. They're the number one candy consumers in Europe).Their filled Cadbury eggs are a fun reminder of what Easter candy should be. Break open an etched milk chocolate one and out pours this gooey mix of fondant white and yolk. Their filling is similar to the one you find in Cella cherries , a rich gooey creme that has to be slurped up quickly. It';s a nice offset to the chocolate and adds to the shell's flavor.

it;s nice to know that the Easter bunny is a global creature. He picks up candy from all over the world to give to us. Now if only the little cotton tail could stop the global recession.


Note: Remember to help the victims of L'Aquilia earthquake. You can go to www.redcross.org and then click on where it has info about L'Aquila. 1,500 are homeless and they need more shelter and food to survive.

Mona Lisa Bakery I Adore You

There is a new bakery not too far from me in the quaint town of Little Ferry, New Jersey. It's called the Mona Lisa and it has a variety of good pastries and cookies as well as cakes and Perugina chocolates. It's a new bakery yet it feels like it's been in the neighborhood forever.

The Mona Lisa 's owners are from Calabria Italy, in the southern part of the boot. This is a region that's known for its' variety of different dishes and cream filled pastries . The Mona Lisa offers the latter,a rich cornucopia of nocciola (hazelnut and chocolate) and delicately flavored whipped cream puffs and sfinge, clam shelled shaped mille fleurs . I love their St. Joseph's Day pastries a rich ricotta and sugar mix stuffed into a lighter than air cream puff. The cream is heavenly, studded with a generous amount of chocolate chips and orange flavoring.

The Mona Lisa has excellent cookies (which my students love. I bring in a box to my night classes ) and it's no wonder. The cookies have a real butter taste unlike some bakeries that use lard or margarine. the ingredients weather they be fruit, nuts or chocolate are tasty too , topped with a generous amount of chocolate sprinkles as well as being baked into cute Easter themed shapes such as bunny faces and bodies.

If you're in my neck of the woods, visit the quaint and historic Hackensack River town of Little Ferry. It has one of the best Italian bakeries in the area there. Visit the Mona Lisa and fall in love.