Dolci di Carnevale

If you happened to have read the previous posting, you'll see that I was left wondering what an exhaust fan had to do with my cooking lesson. Well, I found out. Rita has taught me to make an Italian dessert that, depending upon the region, has various names and presentations. It's a fried pastry that's made for Carnivale celebration (prior to the start of Lent). Here in Piedmonte, it's called "Dolci di Carnevale"; in Lombardy, "Chiacchiere", Tuscany, "Cenci", Emilia, "Frappe", Genoa, "Bugie" and in Venice, the heart of Carnivale, "Crostoli".

We began by making the pastry dough at Rita's apartment:

Two eggs with about 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs. of butter in a flour moat.

To the moat we added some brandy. Other regions might use a white wine. Rita says any nice liquor is fine. And yes, she did ask me to taste it.

Next, mix all together. This is where art comes into play. Rita uses a long knife and just keeps mixing. On the television cooking programs, they just dip their fingers in and start gently mixing. Rita's way avoids very sticky finger accumulation. Oh, in the background is grand daughter Chiara making her biscotti dough. Whenever Rita bakes, Chiara likes to join in with a project. Grasshopper learning from the Master.

Soon it will be time to knead, knead, knead.

The pasta maker is used to create long ( 2"x 24") ribbons of very thin pastry dough. Systematically Rita runs the dough through the maker at smaller and smaller widths.

With the long ribbon laid out, two inch pieces are cut down the row. An incision, about 3/4" is made in the center.

Then, one side of the dough piece is pulled through the incision leaving an almost knotted tie looking effect. Luckily, Rita says one doesn't have to worry about how it looks (whew!)

AND, here's where the exhaust fan comes into play. We moved from Rita's apartment to her daughter's (Stephania) where they have an almost commercial style stove and fan system. Otherwise, Rita says, the frying smell remains in her apartment for three days...Our little pieces of dough were dropped into hot oil two at a time.

Once fried, they are laid to rest on a paper towel. When they're all made, a hearty sprinkle of powdered sugar is added. One can also dribble with a sugar glaze as well. During this process I told Rita about how these remind me of Mexican fry pastries such as churros or sopaipillas. We had a rather long discussion about sopaipillas and the many ways they can be eaten, ie plain with honey, stuffed with ice cream (Kim's favorite) or stuffed with chili and beans. Rita commented on the "universale" of some foods.

YUM! The final product. She sent me home with a plate full and because they don't keep for a long time....

The future of traditional Piedmonte cooking cuisine is in good hands.....