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!
