Pandoro or Panettone for Christmas

In December stores are buried with goodies of every kind either you have a precise idea of what to buy or you’ll get lost in them for hours, picking, choosing and changing your mind about a hundred times. There’s one thing that all the Italians will buy and that is pandoro or panettone, our Italian Christmas cakes. They’re mostly industrially produced but still using simple and natural ingredients and artisan methods.

Pandoro is a specialty from Verona, my hometown. It’s a natural leavened cake, simply made with natural yeast, flour, eggs and butter. It takes up to 50-60 hours to become a pandoro and when ready is about 8 inch. high and shaped into a star, a homage to Christmas. You can sprinkle it with some vanilla scented powder sugar and serve it with cream. I also love to eat it plain to savor it better to smell its vanilla and sugar scent to be lost in its buttery flavor and softness. My forbidden dream is to dip it in cold milk and don’t say anything before you try, it’s really good but I allow myself to have it once a year because this is a rich cake. Continue reading

Santa Lucia is coming to town


December has arrived and Christmas is definitely in the air. Christmas lights are decorating Verona and few days ago the Nativity set International Exhibition that takes place inside the Arena di Verona has been inaugurated. The exhibition hosts more than 400 nativity sets from all over the world. The famous comet star has been built up as every year and now it seems to fly out from the Arena. This year Verona celebrates its 25th year from its first appearance. It has now become  a symbol of our city. Continue reading

Baked Pasta with Squash and Spinach


After 3 days of turkey leftovers I couldn’t take it anymore I needed something vegetarian 100% and light. I actually didn’t know exactly what to prepare so I opened the refrigerator and found a piece of squash, spinach and some scallions. I decided then to prepare a baked pasta. It actually came out pretty good and well balanced in flavors: the sweetness from the squash and the earthy flavor from the spinach, the scallions just gave the ultimate touch. I combined the vegetables and pasta with a delicate vegetable béchamel sauce to add consistency to my dish. Continue reading

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