December 11, 2010
Fifty cents. What does it get you? Not much of anything in the US these days, and certainly nothing beautiful.
But here, in Sicily, look what 50 cents will buy:
Canestrino (basket) with sweet ricotta, garnished with almond brittle and candied lemon peel
Sfogliatina (puff pastry) with hazelnut cream and pistachio nuts
Bigne (cream puff) with sweet cream and cantalope slice
With their opulent use of ornamentation and chiaroscuro, Sicilian pastry chefs are small-scale baroque architects.
Cannolo with sweet ricotta cream and pistachio nuts
Bigne (cream puff) with chocolate cream
The little pastries are less than a quarter the size of a Starbucks muffin. Why does a single one, then, fill me up, when a Starbucks muffin leaves me hungry for more?
I think it has something to do with beauty.
Anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte, say Italians, the eye also demands its share. In other words, what we eat doesn’t just have to please the belly; it has to satisfy the eye.
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Congratulations to Lynn in Florida who has won Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey in the random drawing. More book giveaways to come, so stay tuned!
Oh oh oh! Are there any treats left? I tried unsuccessfully for several days to elbow my way up the comment box here but it wouldn’t let me in. I’ll settle for stale, these look so delectable–just give me a good espresso to wash it down with.
I’m so sorry about that comment business! You were competing with hundreds of spammers who seemed to flock to the blog perhaps because of the video I posted last week. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. You’re so sweet to keep trying!
Yum! I am partial to the bigne with chocolate cream:) Happy Holidays Jann!
Hi,
i stumbled across this blog today and loved it so much that i had to subscribe…
i cant wait to receive your posts!
Paolo (Australian with Sicilian heritage)
Hey Paolo–thank you for subscribing! Great to have you as a reader.
Happy Holidays Jann! Buon natale in Sicilia! Sono sicura che avrai una buona festa!! (Specialmente con dolci come questi in abbondanza!) Un abbraccio! Melissa
Ciao Melissa–Tanti auguri anche a te!!!
Beautiful Jann! Both the words and the photos. And I’ll take stale old pastries if they look like that! 🙂
cheers,
may
Thank you for reading and commenting, May!
The difficulty with giving the eye its share is the subsequent battle of wills as you try to resist entering each and every pasticceria on the way to work…. I mean, it’s only fair to give the nose its share as well isn’t it? The aromas are heavenly too. And, you know, as long as you’re in there… and have some spare change… wouldn’t want the tongue to feel left out…
Quality vs. quantity. Allora, I could eat all of them for $2.50. Squisiti!
Si, tutti per $2.50! (Carole, you’ve been off your island for too long. You’re thinking like an American!)
Could you maybe offer a box of these pastries in your next random drawing?
Do you like stale old pastries, Sam?
Fantastico! Yet another reason you keep enticing me with to visit Sicily, and meet these “small-scale baroque architects.”
Jann, you do realize that it’s quite cruel to expose your readers to such delicacies when we don’t have a hope in heck of acquiring, say a bigne, for example? 🙂 OMG, now I’m craving one of those little pastries, and I mean somethin’ bad! You lucky girl, you!