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Date: Wednesday January 07, 2009 |
See Bellapizzelle featured in Charleston Daily Mail. Spiced treats help ring in the holidays. by Steven Keith, Daily Mail food writer.
Wednesday December 10, 2008
Spiced treats help ring in the holidays. by Steven Keith, Daily Mail food writer.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas.
Just as we associate certain foods with the holidays - Christmas cookies and candy, eggnog, the abominable fruitcake - there are specific flavors that remind us of the season as well. One of my favorites is nutmeg.
No one eats nutmeg during the summer - OK, once in a squash gratin - but come winter you'll find it shaken atop eggnog and steaming cappuccinos, baked into spiced cookies and cakes. It's one of my favorite under-utilized spices and its use goes beyond hot drinks and baked goods.
The versatile spice can be used in other sweet dishes like rice pudding, in zucchini and other breads, white or cheese sauces, cream-based soups and fondue. You can sprinkle it on pork roasts or in meatballs, and just a dash is great on vegetables like squash, yams, cauliflower, green beans and spinach.
No one knows this better than folks from Grenada, where nutmeg is king. They sprinkle that stuff into darn near anything (delicious jams, syrups, candies, top-class liqueurs) and the spice even shows up as a national emblem on the country's flag.
I've included a few recipes this week that use nutmeg in interesting ways. And if this ice cream is anything like the one I sampled at last year's Taste of Charleston, you're in for a mouthwatering treat!
Another taste that soon may become one of my new holiday favorites is that of a delicious and delicate pizzelle.
After sampling an authentic version of this traditional Italian pressed waffle cookie this week, I quickly realized what I've been missing all these years by eating those dry, mass-produced crackers you find in stores. These, from BellaPizzelle, were light, puffy, slightly crispy (not all hard and crumbly) and mildly sweet. You could taste the vanilla and sweet butter in every bite.
They'd be a perfect platform for ice cream drizzled with hot fudge, caramel or fruit topping, or as the tasty bookends for a sandwich of ice cream, jam, peanut butter or Nutella. I even used a few to help dispose of the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers. No, I'm not still eating two-week-old turkey. But a pizzelle topped with a mound of cranberry sauce and a dollop of fresh whipped cream made for a pretty awesome treat.
Another taste that soon may become one of my new holiday favorites is that of a delicious and delicate pizzelle.
After sampling an authentic version of this traditional Italian pressed waffle cookie this week, I quickly realized what I've been missing all these years by eating those dry, mass-produced crackers you find in stores. These, from BellaPizzelle, were light, puffy, slightly crispy (not all hard and crumbly) and mildly sweet. You could taste the vanilla and sweet butter in every bite.
They'd be a perfect platform for ice cream drizzled with hot fudge, caramel or fruit topping, or as the tasty bookends for a sandwich of ice cream, jam, peanut butter or Nutella. I even used a few to help dispose of the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers. No, I'm not still eating two-week-old turkey. But a pizzelle topped with a mound of cranberry sauce and a dollop of fresh whipped cream made for a pretty awesome treat.
After a little digging, I later learned that BellaPizzelle is the only maker of handmade pizzelles that can be shipped anywhere in the country - and how convenient is that this time of year? The "company" consists of an Italian mother and daughter working out of their home kitchen, baking only two at a time using a secret family recipe. To learn more or order you own, visit http://www.bellapizzelle.com/.
And here are a few pizzelle facts:
Pizzelles were first baked in the Abruzzo area of Italy several centuries ago, making them one of the world's oldest cookies.
It is widely believed pizzelles debuted at the village of Colcullo during the Festival of the Snakes, when villagers celebrated a divine intervention that helped them expel the serpents overrunning the town.
Families often baked pizzelles in unique irons bearing the family crest, initials or other designs. These early irons are now sought-after antiques.
Contact writer Steven Keith at dailymailfood...@aol.com or 304-348-1721.
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