Nigella's first book was on pasta

     The first time I heard about Nigella Lawson was when I watched her program Nigella Bites on the Style Network.  Instantly, I took a liking to her.  She was witty, polished, modern and oh so British.  Her posh accent and vocabulary were enriching in itself, and the way she presented her cooking, quite unique.  She reminded me a bit of Doña Petrona, the great Argentine cook that was just as witty and wrote THE elementary  cookbook for the Argentine housewife.

     I remembered how her production team admired her after becoming a widow relatively early in life, and succeeded making it on her own whilst pulling her strings with two very young children in tow.  The idea conveyed was of a struggling, lonely housewife with almost no recourse other than her wit.  Although I’ve no doubt that the woman went through a difficult time (she admits to have suffered from depression at the time), she was hardly ever in a financially desperate situation.

     Lawson is the daughter of ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Thatcher government Nigel Lawson, and Vanessa Salmon, a socialite and heiress to the magnanimous J.Lyons & Co. catering empire. Although her childhood was a bit difficult due to her parents’ disagreements and subsequent divorce in 1980, she shone academically and graduated from Oxford University.

A composite photo from 1965, showing a glummy Nigella to the left, with father Nigel,
deceased sister Thomasina and mum Vanessa, ever the great organized hostess.

      She became a journalist and wrote for prestigious publications, such as The Observer, The Telegraph, The Times in the United Kingdom  and Gourmet and Bon Appétit in the United States.  It was during this time that she met her first husband, also journalist John Diamond, and the father of her two children Cosima and Bruno.  They married in Venice in 1992, and Diamond died of throat cancer in 2001.  I still have recordings of Nigella Bites with him on it, sitting at the table with guests during a meal and unable to eat anything because of his terrible disease.  I thought at the time how cruelly ironic life can be, having a wife who is a famous cook, along with a disease that’s killing you, but also in the meantime, precludes you from tasting anything she makes.  Shortly after Diamond’s death she started dating art collector Charles Saatchi.  They married in 2003 and have been together ever since. 

     Lawson’s enjoyment for cooking came about from her mother, who loved to entertain and cook, being who she was, the heiress of such a large food-related organization.  Unlike Nigella though, her mother suffered from eating disorders.  This may have been the cause of her rather early demise at the age of 48 due to liver cancer.  In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, she declared her relationship with her mother was less than ideal: “I never thought I could please her,' she said.  'She was funny, but depressed and so sensitive to noise.” 

     Still, being the daughter of such entertaining-loving mother obviously influenced her life.  Her first book, How to eat, was published in 1998 and sold 300,000 copies.  But contrary to what most everyone believes, this was not her first written contribution.  I consider her very first work one called Il museo immaginario della pasta, which she co-wrote with Pier Luigi Bassignana, a curator and contributor to various technical Italian publications.  The collectors’ tome was written to commemorate the First World Congress on Pasta, which took place in Rome, between the 25^th and 28^th October, 1995.

    Lawson wrote for the book an essay entitled “A food with divine origins”, in which she traces the origins of pasta offering surprising revelations.  For instance, who would have thought the Arabs played a prominent role in the development of pasta?  Lawson reveals how the food was eaten in ancient Persia and appeared in the cookery books of medieval Islam.  She also delves into the history of badly cooked pasta, emphasizing the fact that this food should never be overcooked but always “al dente” and with a small amount of sauce, as opposed to drowning in it. 

     The amount of pasta shapes and sizes shown in the book is amazing, and has appealed to an esoteric taste like mine.  Recently I found some colourful pasta at my local Homegoods called “monumenti”.  They are just that – monuments and buildings of Italy in your plate.  It was very important, like Lawson suggests in her essay, not to overcook these shapes, as they would otherwise disintegrate very easily.  I found 4 minutes were more than enough, and I served them with an excellent Ligurian pesto topped with freshly grated Parmesan, and piece of cheese bread.  Simple, yet elegant comfort food to have while sitting cozily in front of the T.V.

     But who can claim they do not love pasta?  As far as Nigella’s first true written contribution to the world of cookery books, the English used to associate the word “pasta” with macaroni.  Here in America, macaroni and cheese is a classic, but for me, the best recipe for this dish does not come from Nigella, or from any American cook, but from a compatriot of hers, model turned celebrity chef Lorraine Pascale.  She makes a heavenly Glam Mac & Cheese, which elevates comfort food to a new ideal, that of the gourmet one.  This dish has it all – the meatiness of the pancetta and the aromas of the fresh herbs combined with the yummy cheeses, whilst offering the comfort of pasta.  I encourage you to try this tasty recipe, which will have you licking your fingers to no end.  The amount makes four generous servings.

Glam Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

• 340g macaroni
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 80g pancetta, diced
• 1 small handful of fresh thyme leaves
• 3 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 1 handful of chopped parsley

For the cheese sauce:

·         3 Tbsp butter

·         5 Tbsp all-purpose flour

·         Pinch of ground nutmeg

·         1 tsp mustard powder

·         Generous ¾ cup milk

·         Scant 1 ¼ cup of heavy cream

·         200g dolce latte or Gorgonzola cheese

·         115g Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

     Cook the macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water.  They need to be cooked to just under what you would normally do, as the pasta will be cooked again in the oven.  Drain, then return to the pan and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

     Fry the pancetta in a medium skillet over gentle heat until it starts to brown and crisp up, then add the scallions and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat and add its contents to the pasta.

     For the sauce, put the butter, flour, nutmeg and mustard in a small pan set over medium heat and cook until the butter has melted.  Mix the milk and cream together in a pitcher and add a little to the flour and butter in the pan, stirring well.  Keep adding the milk mixture, bit by bit, stirring well each time.  This will prevent the sauce from going lumpy.  Resist the temptation of putting all the milk in at once, since you will be left with clumps of flour floating on the surface.  Should this happen, take the pan off the heat and whisk it like crazy – it should make all the lumps disappear.  Make sure you get the spoon into the corners of the pan, as stray mounds of flour often lurk there.  Once the sauce has fully come together, turn up the heat and boil for a minute or two.  The sauce will thicken considerably.  Once this happens remove it from the heat and add two thirds of both the cheeses to it while it’s still hot and combine well.  It may be a bit lumpy, but that is fine.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to the pasta mix.  Stir everything together and spoon into a shallow casserole dish or 4 individual ramekins.  This latter option is my favourite, as I then have the freedom to freeze part of the preparation at this point in the recipe.   

    

     Once ready to eat, sprinkle the top with the thyme leaves, the rest of the cheeses and the breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble and the topping goes crumbly and brown.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot.

February is D&B chocolates month

     To say that I am a lover of chocolate does not even begin to describe how I feel about it.  To me, chocolate is all about elegance, debauchery, exquisiteness and uniqueness.  It is something worth anything and everything, one of the pleasures of life that make it worth living.

     I have always been in pursuit of the best possible chocolate I could lay my hands on.  Places like La Maison du Chocolat or Neuhaus, the ultimate Italian chocolates like Amedei and Pernigotti, etc.  It was not too long ago that I came upon a series of amateur detective stories named the Lady Arianna Regency Mysteries.  Written by Andrea Penrose and set in England’s Regency period, they supply the best of both worlds for an avid reader of mysteries like me, and each chapter starts with a bit of chocolate trivia and a recipe.

     The first installment, entitled Sweet Revenge, introduces us to the main characters – Lady Arianna and the Earl of Saybrook, who will become more than just partners in crime.  Arianna finds herself entangled in the possible poisoning of Prinny (a.k.a. the Prince Regent), and Saybrook is employed by England’s government to uncover the culprit.  The story also introduces one of the oldest, and most distinguished chocolate houses in the world – Debauve & Gallais.

     Ms. Sulpice Debauve started his business as a chemist in the France of Marie Antoinette.  He was the pharmacist to the Royal Household.  As chocolate made its appearance in Europe at the time, he devised a way to hide medicines into “pistoles”, basically chocolate coins embossed with the house’s logo, so that the Queen did not have to taste the unpleasantness of her medication.  Marie Antoinette liked the chocolate confections so much that she commissioned them regularly, and thus Debauve & Gallais was born.  By 1804 they had expanded to over sixty shops throughout France.

Debauve & Gallais store at Rue de Sèvres

     After learning all of this, I naturally had to see what all the fuss was about.  I have tasted some pretty good chocolate in my lifetime, so the reason as to why this particular chocolate house would make chocolates worth up to $600 for a few dozen piqued my curiosity to no end.

Shop-window with "Le Livre", on the top right-hand corner.
A huge box of about 3' X 2' which will set you back 300€

Some of the selection available at the store at Rue de Sèvres, which is not sold in the U.S.
The aromas and subtlety of the flavors are unique.  Huge sizes too!

     I gladly found that there is a shop inside Barney’s in New York City that will deliver next day.  So being Valentine’s week and all, I ordered a modest two dozen for just over a hundred dollars.  The chocolate melts in the mouth unlike any other I’ve ever tasted.  In all reality, it feels as if one is sucking on a lump of butter but with the taste of chocolate, which, coming to think of it, is how chocolate should taste every time.  The dark chocolates are dark and opaque, the milk ones, creamy and unctuous.  The pistols of Marie Antoinette show the prominent house logo, and one can understand how the chic Queen would have had no problem in taking her medicines disguised in this way.  Mss. D&G made them in different cocoa concentrations for the Queen to savor.

The modest box I was able to acquire in U.S.

     Debauve & Gallais are chocolates for that rare special occasion.  You cannot just buy them for the sake of having some chocolate.  After all, they were especially made for royalty and they should be given their status.  With a nice liqueur they will round up your evening nicely, and will make your honey feel ultra special if given as a gift, all the more for Valentine’s Day.

Simple French cuisine in Winter Park

     Even though I have yet to visit, I am a Parisian at heart.  I love the French excellence in all its forms – fashion, food, their ideal of what beauty should be, etc.  I always have and always will.  Through my quest of all true things French, I have discovered it is not easy to find true representations of the French savoir faire outside of France.  This is especially true in what concerns food, and especially here in America.  Some ingredients readily available in France are impossible to find in the United States – such as true fresh cream and butter, bread that does not contain any preservatives, etc.  This makes it, to a certain point, impossible for French chefs to cook like they would at home.

     But during one of my strolls through Park Avenue in the neighborhood of Winter Park, I came across the Café de France.  This jewel of a restaurant was opened in 1982, and after over three decades, it continues to delight the locals with its quaint, yet distinguished, French cuisine.  The place has but a few tables, and the décor is reminiscent of the famous bistros in France, with prints of them on its walls – such as the Café de Flore, Le Napoleon et al.

     I came in and sat down to a simple table covered in a white linen cloth and a single rose (it was Valentine’s Day after all).  The waiter came after a minute or two and provided me with a menu that immediately denoted I was inside a true French restaurant – only a few dishes but classic and with simple ingredients.  This could only be good.  I was going to order the comforting coq au vin (being a rainy, sort of chilly day and all), but the waiter recommended the special of the day, seafood crêpe.  My instincts told me this was a place of knowledgeable waiters, so I went with his suggestion and ordered a glass of fruity rosé to go with it.

     While I waited for my order I visited the toilet.  For one, I always like to wash my hands before eating, but from my table I could also see that if I did so, I could get a good peak into the kitchen.  And I’m very glad I did.  It had a look of a country, yet professional cooking space, small but with all that is necessary accoutrements to make it impeccably efficient, yet cozy; a place where a chef would look forward to coming to work every day.  The fact that I got an invitation to go into it for sure next time I visit can only increase my confidence in what I would see happening in it.

     The seafood crêpe was heaven.  I could taste every single piece of fish inside it and the silky Mornay sauce enveloped the filling beautifully.  Scallions were added as a garnish, just sautéed, which rounded the flavours without overpowering them.

     For dessert I let the waiter choose for me as well.  Again, it was a wise decision.  The chocolate trio provided the much needed chocolate element for the day in question, with a foamy but not at all soggy chocolate mousse, espresso ice-cream – which was not melted when it got to my table, thank God (I HATE melted ice-cream) – and a tiny espresso.  

    The warm days of Spring offered an opportunity to taste a unique delicacy - steak tartare.  The origin of this dish goes back to the Mongolian hordes, who used to spend most of their lives on horseback.  As they went along pillaging from village to village, the soldiers of Genghis Khan carried chopped raw meat in their saddles in order to tenderize it.  After several hours of "grinding", it was quickly seasoned and eaten raw.  The French version tops the heap with a raw egg yolk, providing for a hearty dish.

     Although some people may have reservations about eating raw meat and raw egg all at once, I'm certainly not one of them.  As long as one is using quality product, like the best rib-eye, grass fed one can find and farm fresh eggs, there is absolutely no problem.  We must also remember that meat, especially when grilled, shouldn't really be cooked too much.  At Café de France, the dish is accompanied by crusty baguette slices, slightly grilled (heaven!) and paillés frites, the thinnest of French fries.  A light Beaujolais or a fruity Côtes du Rhône will pair beautifully with this rich dish.

     A light dessert was all that was needed after the the hearty steak.  A selection of sorbets both aided digestion and cleansed the palate.

Sorbet flavours from top, then right: mango, lemon and strawberry

    The service was superb, both friendly and personalized and I commend the use of the freshest of ingredients in a restaurant that has remained incorruptible for over three decades.

     A third visit to Café de France proved average, although no less enticing.  It was Saturday night and the place was quite busy.  I ordered guyères as a starter.  These are basically savory profiteroles which are offered as an "amuse bouche" with an apéritif.  They are made with gruyère cheese and are quite addictive.  Café de France serves them with crème fraîche seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  One spoons it into the guyère and pops it into the mouth.  The savory combination bursts into the palate and definitely opens up the appetite.  Ideal to accompany with a glass of champagne.

     The main course I chose was - finally, the Coq au vin, a dish I've always wanted to try.  It was a very chilly evening, and this dish, which Café de France chooses to serve with a slab of mashed potatoes, did wonderfully its work of warming me up.  The pieces of chicken were tender and pulled apart from the bone.  They were not reddish on the inside, so I'm not sure they were marinated enough time in the wine, but the dish was tasty nonetheless.

     Last but not least, the dessert was another classic, Tarte Tatin, served with homemade vanilla ice-cream.  Of the ice-cream all I can say is that my homemade vanilla ice-cream tastes better.  I can see the speckles of vanilla when I make it and, since I use only pasteurized cream (and not ultra-pasteurized), it tastes very natural and light.  Café de France's wasn't bad, but I feel they should've done better.  As far as the tarte, I was hoping for a base of pâte briseé instead of millefeuille, and a more homogeneous dessert.  Still not bad, but could've been better.  

     Regardless, I hold Café de France as one of Orlando's best restaurants and one of my favorites, where I can see myself coming again and again.  It's good food, cooked like one would at home but with a refined twist, which makes it worthy of coming to this restaurant.  Reservations, especially on weekends, are highly recommended.

Il Carnevale di Venezia

     One of the things in my bucket list pertaining to travel is to attend the Venetian Carnival.  Ever since I read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of Read Death I’ve been fascinated with images of a grand masquerade ball, although not necessarily ending as gruesomely as Poe’s story.

"And thus was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death..."

     The Venetian Carnival, or Carnevale di Venezia, started on 28^th January and will run till 12^th February, 2013.  For some it may be perceived as an ode to the grotesque, for others – like me – is yet another occasion to fully indulge the senses.  The feast dates as far back as 1162, when Venice flourished as an independent city.  The Carnival was very famous during the Renaissance but its spirit dwindled in the 18^th century.  Then in the 1980’s Venetians started celebrating it again.

The opening night of the colourful 2013 festivities.

    The most distinguishing aspect of the Carnival is the attendants’ highly ornamented costumes and the masques.  In the olden days, they were manufactured by highly skilled craftsmen called mascherari, who enjoyed a position of privilege in the Venetian society.

Masques at Disney World's Epcot.

The masques were worn throughout the holiday season, well into January and February, right up to Ash Wednesday, when the season of Lent – and the end of debauchery – was to end.  Masques were also particularly welcome during the plague that decimated Europe in the Middle Ages, with doctors specifically wearing a white one with a hook-like beak, appropriately named medico della peste – or “Plague Doctor”. 

      My dream of visiting Venice is of attending a ball in costume with a floor-length cape, a beautiful masque, and being photographed at dusk running through one of its bridges across the canals.  In the meantime, I’ve decided to celebrate at home by making Sanguinaccio, a typical sweet of these festivities. 

     The original Sanguinaccio included, as its name disturbingly implies, blood.  It was the blood of a freshly killed pig.  The Neapolitans, not the Venetians, were its creators.  They used to make it for the Lent festivities and disguised the blood with chocolate because, let’s be honest, how else would you dare someone to drink the warm blood of a pig?  Yet as disturbing as it sounds, the fame of the pudding spread quickly throughout Italy.

     In any case, mine did not include the blood – although for the future it would prove an interesting experiment (after all, I do love morcilla).  I substituted it instead with milk and a touch of liquore Strega Alberti, a sweet aromatic elixir made with saffron and a bouquet of herbs which pairs great with chocolate.  It can also be drunk on its own as a digestif after meals.

     The recipe I found was in Italian and not a good one.  Hence I ended up with a Sanguinaccio that look more like a cold soup than a pudding.  Still, it was creamy and tasted gloriously, but a little goes a long way (and that’s without the blood!).  Perfected however, the recipe should be as follows:

Ingredients:

• ½ liter of whole milk (but if you are really adventurous you may want to try ¼ liter of whole milk and ¼ liter fresh pig’s blood.  Ouch!)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1.5 oz. cornstarch
• 3.5 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2.8 oz. semi-sweet (60%) chocolate, melted
• 1 oz. unsalted butter
• 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
• 1 pinch of cinnamon (Vietnamese style)
• 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 Tbsp. liquore Strega Alberti
• A few candied orange peels, chopped

Preparation:

Melt the semi-sweet chocolate on a bain Marie.  Add the milk (or milk and blood!), cornstarch, sugar, butter, cocoa, vanilla seeds and cinnamon and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens – about 15 to 18 minutes.  

Place in small pots and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

My first attempt at Sanguinaccio.  Great flavor, not great texture.

My best things in life

     As the end of a new year approaches, I thought I'd reflect on what I consider my indulgences - past, present and future.  Some may consider this as my wish list for Father Christmas.  Why not?  A little hope never bothered anyone, did it?

Best place to live: I’d kill to have an apartment in Paris and a house in Provence for the summers and a cabin in the woods in the Auvergne.  I would have a nice vegetable garden, chickens of all kinds, ducks, geese, etc. so I can have a daily supply of eggs in all colours. 

Toujours Provence

Best meal: a nice selection of cheeses - cow, goat and sheepish blue, with cracker assortment and the best red wine I can afford.  Then, Neuhaus chocolates for dessert with a nice cappuccino made with crème bruleé flavoured beans and creamer.

Best way to relax: eating my “best meal” in bed, while watching a good movie.

Best piece of clothing I own: my St. John trench coat.  I bought it last year and wear it any chance I get (which in Florida is not very often).

Best blog: Lost past remembered.  She offers history of luscious food.  A sight and sigh for true epicureans.

Best inspiring individual: Princess Diana has inspired me throughout her lifetime.  Her contagious energy in the face of adversity was remarkable and her elegance unique and always impeccable.

Best music: I grew up on ABBA, and for years they were the only group I would listen to.  Nowadays I like Celine Dion, mostly for her positive attitude towards life and unrelenting character, and Adele for her absolute talent.

Glamorous ABBA

Best read: The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie.  The first time I read it I didn’t know the twist at the end.  Christie broke the rules when she wrote it.  It is a book that you only need to read once, and the surprise hits you like a bucket of iced water.

Best TV:  This is so hard.  TV is really bad these days, especially in the U.S.  I like Mad Men and Sex and the City - both excellently written, and the reality TV show Giuliana & Bill; the latter because of the ridiculous way in which it is filmed, and the even more ridiculous way in which they handle themselves.

Best fashion designer: Alexander McQueen.  He possessed true genius.

Best beauty essential: False eyelashes!  I just discover this and have yet to master their application, but they give the biggest oomph to the eyes with minimal effort, even when one is utterly tired.

Best shop:  I have a love-affair with Anthropologie these days.  But I am counting my days till I get to visit Liwan, in Paris.  I have a feeling I will feel like buying the whole shop.

A shelf in Paris' Liwan

Best thing about blogging: it gives me a sense of freedom to express myself and my deepest feelings and opinions without any contrition.

Best thing in life: the moments of laughter with the people I love, anytime, anywhere.

Sweet breads for the holidays

     At this time of year, I gobble up on panettone and pandoro.  The sweet yeasty cakes from Italy whether with raisings or without, are my favorite for the holidays and I survive on them all the time.  I can have them for breakfast, mid-afternoon snacks and as a dessert after lunch or dinner.  This year in particular I have found lots of different panettone and pandoro cakes here in Orlando and decided to go on a tasting adventure.

     Our first cake, Panettone has a long history, finding its roots in the Roman Empire.  It first appeared in Milan, around the 15^th century, and spread like wildfire as a traditional bread for Christmas.  Its origins are quite mythical, and they involve a love story of two bakers, the invention of the bread by a nun in order to cheer the convent at Christmastime, and a last minute dessert presented on Christmas Eve at the court of Count Sforza in Milan.  My grandmother used to make her own panettone every year.  It took her a whole day to make the bread, and it was “de rigueur”, as my Milanese grandfather demanded it homemade.  She put everything in it – candied fruit, raisins and walnuts.  It is tradition to eat a slice of this bread on 4^th January 4^th to commemorate the feast of San Biagio, the patron saint of the throat, in order to insure good health for the coming year.  Italians eat panettone with a nice cappuccino or espresso for breakfast, and with a flute of Prosecco or Vin Santo as a holiday treat.

     Pandoro is original from Verona, the town of the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet.  Unlike panettone, it never contains raisins or nuts (a factor that makes me prefer it to the former), and is shaped tall and somewhat pyramid-like.  It is sprinkled with lots of confectioner’s sugar just before serving and can be used inventively for a number of desserts.  Pandoro can be cut diagonally and stuffed in between layers with pastry cream and liqueur.  If cut this way each piece resembles a star, making it highly appropriate for the holidays.  It can also be served stuffed with ice-cream or topped with a nice zabaglione sauce.

Juliet's balcony in Verona

     I started the holiday season early this year with an unusual pandoro with crème of pistachio made by Pasticceria Paluani.

     This was a soft cake with an unusual filling.  The creamy slithers of creamy pistachio made it perfect as a dessert on its own.  Generally, store bought pandoros include a packet of icing sugar to sift on top just before serving.  This one was no exception, and with the sugar being vanilla-scented, it made it even more special.  This is the perfect cake to end your Christmas dinner.  Accompany it with a nice flute of chilled prosecco. 

     Next we tried the Tronco di Natale, also from Pasticceria Paluani.  The Italian version of Spain's Brazo de Gitano, this "trunk" purports its Italian origin with its filling of vanilla and hazelnut cream.  Remarkable in shape, it's covered in chocolate and is topped with two sugar flowers on the top, reminiscing of the  wildflowers that just grow on a fallen tree trunk.  I suggest slicing it with a sharp serrated knife and accompanying it with a nice cup of good Italian espresso.  This was my husband's favorite of all the breads we tried.

     Certainly the most outrageous Christmas bread / cake was the profiteroles by Dal Colle.  Leave it to the Italians to create the perfect hostess gift, which consists not only of pandoro filled with hazelnut cream, but is also topped with profiteroles filled with pastry cream.  Needless to say, if you are invited over for Christmas dinner, bring this cake as your contribution.  You'll be remembered as the perfect guest.

The inside of the impressive Dal Colle cake.

     My next test was the panettone from Pasticceria Scarpato made exclusively for Williams-Sonoma.  At $39.95, it was the most expensive bread.  The justification for the splurge?  Marrons glacés of course!  This exclusive bread is as light as cotton as its sponginess is surpassed only by the creamy chunks of glazed chestnuts found throughout.  Once opened, it will last several days under a domed cake stand, and when not so fresh anymore, it makes heavenly French toast.

     Although it is an expensive cake, should you sign up for the Williams-Sonoma VISA card, you get $25.00 statement credit plus an additional discount given at the store just for opening the account.  Hence, it is the perfect opportunity to get this sumptuous bread and indeed enjoy the holidays.

     Last but not least, we tried something from Germany - the Baumkuchen, or tree cake.  I remember this uniquely shaped, distinguished-flavoured cake from my days in Argentina.  We used to order it for the holidays from Confitería La Suiza in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Villa Luro, where my cousin lived.  

     Baumkuchen is a unique cake with roots as far back as the 1500's.  It originated in the area of Bohemia and is cooked on a spit while "brushing on even layers of batter and then rotating the spit around a heat source. Each layer is allowed to brown before a new layer of batter is poured. When the cake is removed and sliced, each layer is divided from the next by a golden line, resembling the growth rings on a crosscut tree" (Wikipedia.org).

     As you may imagine, this cake is not simple to make due to not only because of the special equipment necessary for the task, but also the required skill of the pastry maker.  It is always recommended to be accompanied by champagne or prosecco, which is what we chose for our year end celebrations.  The baumkuchen I found was at World Market and was covered in chocolate, and it is a mini example of this tall, traditional cake.  Still, it is an exotic addition to any holiday table.

     I hope you have fun trying some or all of these cakes just as much as we have.  And remember, the diet starts in January.  

     HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!