I am happy to again present our Jewish Holy Days & Observances dessert menu. One of my primary goals as a pastry chef, is to be relevant and engaged with the community I serve. That is why I maintain an ever-changing seasonal, holiday and special event menus. I consider it a responsibility, as well as an honor, to have my desserts served at the most important life events, ranging from the happiest to some of the saddest. I also believe that it is the responsibility of all chefs to preserve, promote and advance culture through the food they make. That is why I celebrate the cultural influences that Italians have experienced over the millennia and how it is reflected in our varied dessert cuisine.

The Jewish community in Italy dates back to the second century BCE and it is the oldest Jewish community in Europe.  Yet, despite their important influence on Italian culture and cuisine, Jewish-Italian's culinary heritage is mostly unheralded. Many of the iconic foods and dishes associated with Italian cuisine first originated among Italy’s Jewish population. The use of eggplant, artichokes, peppers, tomatoes and fennel, for instance, once were all considered exclusively “Jewish” foods in Italy. 

The Jewish community in Italy has been declining for decades in large part due to the disastrous events of the 20th century. Desserts that were once considered standard have largely been forgotten, or exist only in specialized cook books. There is however hope. Italians and Jewish people are beginning to explore and rediscover their Jewish heritage. The synagogues of Venice are being renovated and the first synagogue in Palermo, in over 500 years, recently opened. Fortunately, interest in Jewish-Italian cuisine has also been slowly growing in both Italy and Israel. Yet, the truth is that the Jewish population in Italy today is too small and unless a wider and more inclusive audience is found, the traditions of Jewish-Italian food may soon disappear. 

It is estimated that in the United States there are currently 10,000 Jewish-Italian descendants. Most Jewish people here are Ashkenazim (Eastern European) or Sephardic (Spanish) and naturally observe their own culinary customs. This year's menu however, makes accessible delicious traditional and contemporary Jewish-Italian desserts for the holidays. My goal is to spark interest in all Jewish people, as well in anyone who loves Italian culture and cuisine, in these desserts. My hope is people will try and enjoy them and ultimately adopt these wonderful desserts as a supplement to their own cuisine and help keep these endangered Jewish-Italian dessert traditions alive. 

I am, by the way, happy to share my recipes with anyone who is interested. If there is sufficient interest, I am also prepared to teach a class in early 2023 on making some of these desserts at home. Finally, like the iconic Katz's, Russ & Daughters, Cantor's, Schwartz's, etc., we are NOT kosher but none of the ingredients we use are prohibited.

Chef Andrea

At L’Arte we celebrate and recall the profound influence of Arabo-Siculo cuisine on Sicilian pastry arts. The sweets we offer during Ramadan and for Eid al-Fitr were either introduced by the Arabs while rulers of Sicily (827-1061), developed during that time by local pastry chefs, or incorporate Arabo-Siculo flavor profiles.

During the Arab period Sicily was referred to as the “Imarat Siuilliya” and it was an extremely sophisticated and cosmopolitan land with a diverse population consisting of Sicilians, Greeks, Byzantines, Romans, North Africans and Arabs. It is not widely known by many, including Italophiles, that the Arabs introduced sugar to the island and Siculo-Arabic speakers developed a whole series of unique desserts still popular today, such as cassata (al-qaššāṭī), cannoli (qanawāt), cubbaita (qubbayt), etc.  Arabs also introduced sweets made from almonds and pistachios, as well as the art of making sorbetto (shariba). In fact, over 300 Sicilian words, still in common use in agriculture and baking, are of Arabic origin.

Also, during the Arab period, citrus fruits were introduced on a wide scale. Limone (lymun) and arancia (al-naranjah) orchards spread to all parts of the island. Today, citrus orchards are so wide­spread that the aroma of their flowers, which still carry an Arabic name, zàgara, originally Arabic zahr, hovers over every path, road, and yes, pasticceria on the island. So, when you come visit us this year for Ramadan and Eid don’t be surprised if you are reminded of the rich dessert stalls found in any Moroccan, Tunisian or Sicilian marketplace. Eid Mubarak!

For Halloween this year we designed and built, using black gingerbread, a homage to a world-famous Italian castle.  A fun project and something we plan on continuing every year. Some of you may be wondering, how is gingerbread Italian? It is true that the gingerbread we so often see and eat in the United States is primarily German in origin. Yet gingerbread, a spiced hard cookie, is common in Italy, albeit in different forms. Known as pane di zenzero, it dates to at least the Roman period and even further back into antiquity in the Mediterranean region. Due to its rare and expensive ingredients, spiced cookies were initially baked and used for ceremonial/religious purposes. The form of spiced cookie we call gingerbread today however, took its current appearance in Europe when 11th-century Crusaders (mostly northern Europeans) brought back ginger from the Middle East. This exotic ingredient was then added to existing spice cookies. Due to their inherent firmness, gingerbreads or spiced cookies, were often baked in elaborately carved molds depicting religious figures and members of the ruling class due to their firmness. That figural tradition, in a more simplified form, continues to this day with the ubiquitous gingerbread man, house, Christmas trees, angels and Santa. 

In Italy, the two well know examples of "gingerbread" or spiced cookies are Mostaccioli and Panforte. The Mostaccioli is common in Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, and Sardinia. It is a shaped, honey and spiced, unleavened hard cookie. Mostaccioli cookies are often elaborately shaped, edible works of art are hard and long-lasting--just like the German gingerbread. One interesting fun fact is that Mostaccioli spice cookies are considered by most food historians to be the oldest cookie recipe still in usage in the world. Panforte on the other hand is a medieval form of gingerbread from Siena. Panforte is a very spicy gingerbread that is characterized by a large quantity of dried fruit and nuts. It comes in two styles, traditional black or white.  
 
Our Halloween gingerbread castle is in line with traditional molding of spiced cookies and its shape inspired by Castel del Monte located in Apulia, Italia. Castel del Monte is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A unique piece of medieval architecture, it was completed in 1240. The castle’s location, its perfect octagonal shape, as well as the mathematical and astronomical precision of its layout all reflect the broad education and cultural vision of its founder, Emperor Frederick II. Our haunted Castel del Monte is made out of delicious black pane di zenzero  and is 100% edible. We think it's an impressive piece, unique and perfect for any Halloween event. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 

 Chef Andrea

Preparing and participating in the presentation of elaborate dessert tables while working in Sicilia was one of my favorite experiences. Known as the “Venetian” hour, it is a wonderful and legendary Sicilian tradition in which the bride and groom (or hosts) display to their guests a dazzling array of pastries, cakes, frozen desserts, fresh fruit, and coffees. It is presented in great quantity and with much celebration. The presentation of sweets is always breathtaking in its variety and exuberance.  When done properly it is the highlight of the event, often accompanied with flowers, ice sculptures, contrast lighting, water and chocolate fountains, and even pyrotechnics. It was, for me, professionally and artistically satisfying, to see everyone so happy and excited by the wide variety of desserts.  

The roots of the phrase “Venetian hour” are a little complex but the style of presentation can be traced back to the separation of desserts from the main course in the 19th century. In the early 1800s service “a la russe” became the primary form of dining in western Europe and continues to be the style to this day. Service a la russe is simply dining separated into courses, for example; aperitivo, antipasti, primi, secondi, contorni, insalata, formaggi e frutta, dolce, caffe and amaro. Before this change to service a la russe the prevalent style was service “a la francaise” in which nearly all the food was brought out at the same time and you simply helped yourself (a sort of fancy family style dining experience).  

So why do Sicilians call their dessert hour the Venetian hour?  It’s not totally clear why but the most likely reason is that in the 19th century Venice was well known throughout Europe as being a very sensual and decadent place. So, labeling something Venetian was an easy way to describe or call to mind anything that was simply over the top or very fancy. In any event, the new format for dining was perfect for Sicilian pastry chefs to fully display their international reputation for producing some of the most elaborate, and certainly the most delicious, pastries in Europe.  

A Venetian hour is truly a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. It begins after dinner is finished and the cake is cut, usually a late-hour climax to the festivities. Most fancy receptions usually set aside a separate room for the Venetian hour. The arrangement can range from a single long table to a series of tables around the room or several grouped together to create a sumptuous dessert island that guests can circle again and again. Alternatively, you can have tables wheeled into the reception already laden with our sweets for a dramatic show. A Venetian hour invariably leaves everyone with amazing and long-lasting happy memories.

Chef Andrea

I really enjoy the changing seasons. It helps inspire me to think about what produce we should be using to incorporate into our desserts. Fresh produce is not that difficult to find in this area because we are a short distance from a very large agricultural region, namely the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. Getting fresh eggs, milk and produce is a lot easier here than say in New York City. Another advantage we have is our highly esteemed farmers market or “mercato” which attracts truckloads of fresh produce grown on local family-owned farms. Local “mercati” are the norm in Italy, because the scale and inaccessibility of much of the land has meant that the market culture, with its seasonal and regional emphasis, has survived virtually unaltered for centuries. Unlike out-of-season produce, which is harvested early in order to be shipped and distributed to your local retail store, crops picked at their peak of ripeness are significantly better tasting and full of flavor. What is more, studies have shown that fruits and vegetables contain more nutrients when allowed to ripen naturally on the plant. Yet we are often tempted to continue consuming our favorite but out-of-season produce thanks to the globalization of our food chain. A perfect example of this is blackberries. 

Blackberries are common in northern Italy and, like here, can be harvested from June to the end of September. They taste great, are usually abundant, and affordable. They are very popular because of their flavor and we now know, thanks to science, that they provide many impressive health benefits. The antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals found in blackberries deliver a variety of health benefits. Blackberries are an excellent source of Vitamin C, E, K, as well as, calcium and manganese.  Antioxidants such as anthocyanins hold many anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. So naturally, we would all love to eat them year-round but the flavor and nutritional benefits decline substantially when brought in from long distances. That is why after this weekend I do not use fresh blackberries and look forward to their return next June. There are however, other reasons for some of us, so I will leave you with this wonderful story. 

Historically, Michaelmas (September 29) marked the last day that blackberries could be picked and eaten in Europe. Michaelmas is a celebration of Michael the archangel in the Christian calendar. A popular piece of medieval folklore was used in those days to explain the seasonality of blackberries. Basically, the story goes, that when Michael the archangel expelled Lucifer from heaven, Lucifer fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. The enraged Satan cursed the fruit, scorched the blackberry bush with his breath, then stamped and spat on the berries. By doing so he rendered the blackberries sour and unfit for consumption after the 29th. We recall this marvelous piece of folklore as we mark the end of the blackberry season at L'Arte.

Chef Andrea

How does a delicate and low-key biscotto, with humble origins survive in the midst of the modern feast of San Gennaro? Most people in New York associate all sorts of loud fireworks, music, games and street food with the feast, such as fried pizza, zeppole and sausage heroes. Yet the traditional food scene for San Gennaro in Napoli, like its people, is more complex and layered. Napoli, is a legendary but baffling city to outsiders, with a larger-than-life frenetic citizenry. The city has always been full of contradictions. Great wealth and great poverty. Light and darkness. It is because of these contradictions that Neapolitans tend to live in the moment. Annually, on September 19th, thousands in Napoli gather for the feast of San Gennaro, their patron saint and protector. Protector? Unless you are from Napoli you probably don't appreciate the fact that it exists in a beautiful setting on the edge of destruction. Nestled between Mount Vesuvio and the Phlegrean Fields it is regarded by scientists as, geologically speaking, the second most dangerous region on the planet. It should therefore come as no surprise that the city has nearly 500 churches, nor that San Gennaro's feast day is celebrated with tremendous emotion and fanfare. Yet, in the middle of all this chaos is an enduring, beloved and noble biscotto, Uovo e Limone.

Uovo e Limone biscotti were originally created in San Gennaro's honor by the nuns of the San Gennaro Poor Hospital. For many centuries these nuns served the indigent poor of the city. Like the people they helped, the nuns had very limited resources. One of their solutions was to make a special biscotto using a recipe of only four simple ingredients so that their patients could participate in the feast. Uovo e Limone is soft, sweet and very tasty. It was baked soft intentionally by the nuns so it could be easily eaten, even by those who were very ill. The jam in the middle of the biscotto, which recalls the color of Mount Vesuvio's lava is however, a "recent" addition made by a Neapolitan baker to commemorate the miracle of 1631. The story goes that in 1631 the lava flow from Mount Vesuvio stopped before a statue of San Gennaro placed in its path by the clergy and the pious people of Napoli, thereby saving the city and its inhabitants. Uovo e Limone biscotti recall the nuns of San Gennaro, their patron saint, and a miracle. So that is why such a simple but very tasty loved little biscotto still exists and continues to be eaten in Napoli, and L’Arte, to this day! Viva San Gennaro.

Chef Andrea

As promised in my August blog, Jewish-Italian Desserts for Holy Days & Observances, below is a simple but delicious recipe for Crostata Ricotta e Amarene. Sicilian ricotta desserts were produced by Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in Sicily for hundreds of years, using sugar and citrus introduced by the Arabs in the 9th century. The expulsion of the Jewish population from Spain, including Spanish controlled territory in Sicily and Southern Italy by Ferdinand and Isabella, began shortly after the end of the Reconquista in January 1492. Most of Sicily’s Jewish population (approximately 35,000 people) fled to Rome and the Papal States because of religious tolerance under the popes at that time. Not surprisingly, the Jewish-Sicilian refugees brought with them their culinary customs, including their Arab-influenced ricotta recipes. Today, ricotta desserts remain a important part of Jewish-Roman cuisine and, like other typical Jewish dishes, they have also been embraced by Rome’s non-Jewish community. Enjoy and shana tova!

Crostata Ricotta e Amarene

Pasta Frolla, Crust
300 gr. cake flour
150 gr. butter, cold and diced
100 gr. confectioner sugar
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/8 tsp. vanilla bean
Zest of 1 lemon

Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with a paddle or beaters. Add vanilla bean and zest. Beat until incorporated.

Add eggs and flour. Mix until incorporated. Equally divide the dough into two balls and wrap. Place dough balls in refrigerator for 2 hours. Roll out dough balls into two 10" circles about a 1/4" thick. Place one circle in an 8” cake pan, set the other circle aside.

Filling

700 gr. sheep's milk ricotta
150 gr. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sour cherries
Mix ricotta, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, set aside.

Spread cherries on the bottom crust. Pour the ricotta filling over the cherries. Place remaining dough circle on top. Using a fork dot, the dough with holes. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Cool before serving.

Chef Andrea

"Mangia la frutta, che ti fa bene!"(Eat fruit, it's good for you). I can still hear my grandmother telling me this while encouraging me to eat fresh fruits picked directly from her trees in campagna. How true though, fruit is such a healthy and delicious treat. We often take it for granted, and children can be resistant to eating it. But what if you turn fruit into something with a completely different texture, frozen yet smooth, something you can eat with a spoon and it will taste like you are eating a spoonful of fruit? Well, that's sorbetto!

Sorbetto is a simple cold dessert made from water, flavored with fruit pulp or fruit juice, and some sugar. Its consistency is a bit denser and icier than gelato because of its high-water content (which is the reason it feels colder than gelato when eaten) but the process of making these two famous Italian frozen desserts is basically the same; natural flavors and churned. Not surprisingly, fruity flavors are particularly popular during the hot Sicilian summer because they're fresher and lighter. Sorbetto, because of its ingredients makes it an excellent option when you are feeling dehydrated or want a healthy snack after exercising.

Sorbetto is considered a precursor of fruit gelato (something I don't currently make at L'Arte because I prefer sorbetto) but has a semi-dense preparation.   The origins of sorbetto are more ancient than gelato: during the 11th century, the Arabs developed “shrb”, or sugar syrup, a base for making fruit sorbets, medical herbs, spices and flowers, the predecessor of sorbetto, which became very popular in Sicily during its Arab period. The sorbetto was therefore not born as the dessert we know today, but rather as a thirst-quenching drink.  That is why, in the Mediterranean region, sorbetto has long been known for its ability to keep you hydrated. The Arabic verb "shariba", literally means "to drink" and is the original source word of today's Italian word "sorbetto" and the English "sorbet".

In Italy and Europe, a sorbetto (or sorbet in English) is also often served as either a palate cleanser (lemon flavored) between courses or after the main course (coffee). In many Italian restaurants, it is also served mixed with a liquor. Some fancy restaurants will offer sorbetto in a flute to be drunk with a straw; others in a cup to be eaten with a spoon. In fact, during wedding banquets in Italy, a glass of lemon sorbetto is served between the fish and meat dishes. Mostly however, in Sicily, sorbetto is a stand-alone cold dessert that is always a dairy and egg free treat.  Naturally, it is popular among vegans, those who are lactose intolerant, and anyone who is simply thirsty. So next time your kids resist eating their fruit bring them to L'Arte, I guarantee you... they will love our fruit sorbetti and change their minds about fruit!

Chef Andrea

Summertime in Sicily means it's granita time. Granita is refreshing and tasty, made with water, sugar and different flavorings, the most popular being almond, lemon, orange, and coffee. A simple summer treat, perfect for vegans and anyone who is lactose intolerant.  Its popularity however, is not limited to Sicily, granita is one of Italy’s favorite frozen treats. That's why I found its lack of presence in the United States rather odd given the popularity of Italian desserts here. As an aside, "Italian Ices" are derivative of granita but a uniquely Italian-American invention. Italian Ice, as such, therefore doesn't exist in Italy. 

The texture of authentic granita is halfway between the creaminess of gelato and the granularity of sorbetto. Granita contains small ice crystals which you should feel with your tongue; the ice crystals should be compact, not liquid and soft like a sorbet. Granita is rich but not heavy, a wonderfully smooth texture but totally vegan. Its texture comes from how the three ingredients are mixed. Sicilian chefs long ago refined the technique of making granita when they first came up with a mechanical "spinning machine " that used snow as a tool instead of ingredients to cool down the " pozzetto" (the bin where the mixture was poured). The extremely slow movement gives the granita today's distinctive texture and flavor. Our imported mixer at L'Arte replicates exactly that movement using a bit more technology.

Critical to granita are the ingredients used for the flavoring: at L'Arte I only use fresh fruit, fruit juices or nuts and do not use any syrups and extracts. "Granita" made using such prefabricated commercial mixtures will simply taste like a glass of crushed ice with lots of preservatives and dyes and very little flavor. If you ever see a mixture in Italy called granita and it has unnatural fluorescent colors, I strongly recommend staying away. You will be disappointed.

It's my goal to help change the fact that virtually no one makes real granita in this country. I fondly recall making lemon granita with my parents in the beach house in Sicily, so here is a simple recipe: 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 3 cups of water. Mix everything together and cool it down in the freezer stirring it every hour to prevent big ice crystals from forming. For the more complex flavors you should know that during the summer months I always prepare and serve it at L'Arte. We will be waiting for you.

Chef Andrea

I clearly remember the day I knew I wanted to learn how to make gelato.  I was just 10 years old, living in Ragusa, and it was a summer day in August. The Sicilian sun was brilliant, the blue sky cloudless, and the heat, simply unescapable! Then a gelataio (who is still working to this day) drove ​a small gelato truck down our street playing music and calling out "gelati e granite"! Oh, the joy. All the kids ran out onto the street with 1,000 lire (about 50 cents) to get a gelato cone or a cup of granita. Excitement, happiness and wonder were etched on all of our faces.  Just looking at that creamy fascinating goodness as the gelataio scooped it into the cone and me thinking: one day I'll make gelato too. My favorite flavors (at the time) were chocolate and strawberry...as you can see, I already had a very sophisticated palate.

Not too many years later, I went to work at a gelateria. It was a formative and wonderful experience. The first time I used a professional gelato machine, it was a really ancient one! It was a Carpigiani. Basically, a stainless-steel vat submerged in "glicole", a mixture that cools down the mixing vessel while spinning slowly, very slowly. During the hottest days of the summer, it could take up to 1.5 hours to make just one bin of gelato! I learned very quickly that any gelato worth eating took time, patience and a sense of humor. To this day I continue to believe in, and put into practice, the traditional artisanal way of making gelato. Of course, at L'Arte we embrace technological innovation but the fundamentals, small batches, freshness, quality wholesome ingredients, mixing and making our own flavors from scratch, continues. That is why everyone who is knowledgeable about the creation process knows gelato is healthy for you. 

Gelato has less fat and contains less air than ice-cream, and it’s served at a higher temperature. These factors give gelato a much richer taste than tongue numbing French ice-cream. Artisanal gelato is made in smaller quantities, since it does not contain the long shelf-life ingredients that industrial gelato or ice-cream uses. Gelato is easy to digest and in Italy, it often replaces a full meal (like breakfast) during the hot summer months. The ingredients I use to make my artisanal gelato – milk, cream, sugar, and of course, natural flavoring – determine its high nutritional value. My ingredients contain proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, making gelato a wholesome food. Milk provides high-quality proteins and calcium; lactose and saccharose, the sugars used in gelato, provide a good source of energy, as do fats. Gelato ingredients also contain vitamins A and B2, as well as phosphorus. 

Last but not least, did you know that eating gelato stimulates the production of serotonin, the happiness hormone, which in turn helps fight stress? Supposedly the effect is amplified when you savor gelato sitting down or leisurely strolling in an Italian piazza. We have seating but I can't help you with the piazza part. 

Chef Andrea

My goal when sourcing sodas from Italy is to identify those that pair well with our sweet and savory products. I also want sodas that contain authentic Italian flavors but reflect current cultural soft drink trends in Italy. As you might expect these drinks are often very different in both flavor profile and composition from what we normally consume here in the United States. Italians tend to favor less sugary and processed drinks than Americans. Accordingly, homegrown Italian sodas are flavored with more recognizable natural fruit juices and syrups. This is helpful news for Italian pastry chefs when dealing with savory baked products but less sugar and the use of natural flavors does not help us with pairing the numerous sweet desserts. Fortunately, Italians do not neglect the most neglected of the five flavor profiles (sweet, sour, salty, umami and bitter) namely bitter.

I believe that bitterness is what really differentiates sodas in Italy from American sodas. Bitterness is an often-missing flavor aspect in American meals, as well as in their drinks. In Italy, you see bitterness in Italian’s love of bitter greens (arugula, broccoli rabe, radicchio, etc.), in bittersweet cocktails like Negroni and Campari Spritz, and in digestifs called amari (“bitters”). This is unfortunate because without bitterness we lose a way to balance sweetness, and by rejecting it, we limit our range of flavors. Food or drinks without bitterness often lacks depth and complexity. The two excellent examples of this palate preference for less sweetness and bitter drinks at L'Arte are Chinotto and Aranciata.  

Chinotto, is often referred to as Italy's national soda. It is however, not an Italian knock off of Coca-Cola. It is in fact, more bittersweet than that Coke. Unfortunately, it looks like that product but after just one sip, you will immediately realize that it clearly is not. Chinotto is based on a mixture of extracts from myrtle-leaved orange peel and other aromatic herbs. It has subtle flavors of spices, fruit, licorice and menthol, with a gently bitter finish. It is therefore a disservice to both the uninitiated and Chinotto, when comparing this uniquely Italian drink to a cola; not only is it misleading, it also does not properly set expectations. Chinotto is an adult soda that you will either love or hate. You need to try it with an open mind and no pre-conceived notions. So next time you visit L'Arte it is definitely something you should try with one of our hearty panini. 

 Aranciata is a carbonated orange drink with a similar modern production history as Chinotto. It is extremely popular in Italy, in fact iconic and unlike Chinotto, universally loved. Unfortunately, it too is in-artfully introduced to Americans as "Italian Fanta". Aranciata, especially the Sicilian Polara version sold at L'Arte, is less sweet than American orange sodas, has a more natural orange juice flavor, and uses sparkling mineral water as a base. Not surprisingly, Aranciata is also available in two flavors, sweet and bitter. Next time you are in L'Arte try it with your sweet or savory breakfast.  You will immediately understand why it is so popular in Italy and makes for a great way to start your day. 

It is worth noting that the popularity in "bitter" drinks and foods, is rapidly growing in the United States. Many attribute the increased popularity of bitterness here to such iconic drinks as Negroni and Campari as well as dark chocolate and coffee. So come to L'Arte and further develop your palate for exciting and flavorful Italian soft-drinks. Finally, stay tuned on the topic of drinks because I will be publishing a blog in the coming weeks that focus on gazzosa, Italian mineral water and our expanding mocktails.
  
Chef Andrea

Carnevale, the Great Feast! Think of it as a big final Italian party before Ash Wednesday, the restrictions of Lent and its more pious observances. From north to south, Italy boasts dozens of unique Carnevale traditions, from the Battle of the Oranges in Piemonte to lasagna with tiny meatballs in Napoli, and the spectacular floats, parades and folk poets in Sicilia. During Carnevale celebrations, which can last from a day to a month, revelers are free. Free to eat, drink, and dance without reproof or regrets.  Elaborate masks worn by adults and children, mischief, “coriandoli”, jokes, and pranks are common everywhere during Carnevale. It is a boisterous and joyous time. Central to all the festivities is, of course, food.

At L'Arte we mark Carnevale with authentic handmade Venetian masks and of course, decadent fried desserts, all of which are long standing and traditional Carnevale foods. After the Epiphany until the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday we enjoy Chiacchiere (crispy fried dough dusted with powder sugar or dipped in rich dark chocolate), Castagnole (fried soft dough filled with vanilla pastry cream or Sicilian ricotta), Frittelle (deep fried dough flavored with fennel seeds and golden raisins or chocolate chips) and Ciambella (our delicious bomboloni dough rolled in sugar and cinnamon perfect for dipping in Nutella). These treats help us and our customers get through the long winter months. 

By the way, notwithstanding the rumors, Carnevale is not a continuation of any pre-Christian festivities or religious rites. The earliest recorded Carnevale celebration is the late 12th century in Venice. Today, the ancient town of Putignano, Puglia, is home to the oldest continuous and longest celebrations of Carnevale in Italy. I guess, the only real connection to antiquity is the eternal and universal human desire to be free of societal restrictions, to simply enjoy ourselves with good friends, good music, good food and good drinks. Remember "a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale," which roughly means "anything goes during Carnevale". Boun Carnevale!

Chef Andrea

We offer a broad selection of tea flavors at the caffe. Which is kind of strange for an Italian pastry shop. Italy is the land of espresso. Italians don’t drink tea (Te' in Italian) with their meals. Until recently, their understanding of tea was limited to the British "tea time" custom and a few standard blends. When you travel through Italy, you notice that tea is made available mostly for the benefit of tourists (in restaurants) and they usually only offer two or three flavors (English Breakfast, Earl Grey or Green Tea). In fact, for many centuries, the only place you could get tea in Italy was from a chemist/pharmacist. Italians historically associated tea (including herbal teas) with winter, illness, and weight loss. It's therefore not surprising that many Italians still don't know what to make of tea. When Italians do drink tea it is usually heavily sweetened (often with honey) and with a wedge of lemon...there goes the weight loss.

Tea consumption amongst Italians, especially during the last 15 years, has grown. In fact, in the urban centers (Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin, Venice, etc) tea consumption is growing rapidly with the younger generations, and is a very fashionable trend. There are several reasons for this new found interest in tea. Factors suchs as increased tourism, globalization and a rise in the popularity of Asian cuisine, are now gaining new adherents for tea in Italy. A few years ago the first Italian tea expo was held in Bologna. There’s an Italian magazine Fogli di Te completely dedicated to promoting tea consumption. There’s a small tea farm in the heart of Tuscany and there are several local Italian tea purveyors with an excellent reputation both in Italy and internationally.

At L’ Arte we respect tea! As Italians, we have a natural affinity for good drinks! So, relax...enjoy your L'Arte pastry with te'...free of guilt or shame. We are committed to the highest quality loose leaf tea, selecting fine certified organics. We only purchase from environmentally responsible tea companies and people who works with organic farms and all-natural products and are committed to Earth-friendly packaging including post-consumer recycled and biodegradable materials and water-based inks. See you soon and next time you stop in let's have a "cuppa".

Chef Andrea

Italian cuisine culture is contemporary but has very ancient roots. So, it is really difficult to discuss Italian desserts without considering the history that gave rise to these foods. Case in point, the minni ri Sant'Agata pastry. We make the "minni" available at the shop for several weeks leading up to the feast of Sant'Agata (and sometimes for a few weeks afterwards). It's an individual serving sized pastry made with pasta frolla, Sicilian ricotta, chocolate chips topped with a white sugar glaze and an Amarena cherry. It's delicious, and yes, it's intentionally made in the shape of a woman's breast. Sant'Agata's story is well known among Italians. She was a 3rd century Christian who was martyred during a period of Roman persecution. Her martyrdom is characterized by the cutting off of her breasts. Sant'Agata's primary shrine is in Catania, Sicily and her "festa" is among the three largest Catholic religious feasts in the world. Celebrations begin on February 3rd and culminate on the 5th. The feast is solemn, exuberant, emotionally moving, and colorful. The feast captures all of Sicilia's conflicting emotions and wraps it up in one great feast. Yet the origins of this delicious pastry, which is at the center of the celebrations, may extend back to pre-Christian times. One Italian historian, Dr. Ciaceri, an expert on myths and festivals in ancient Sicily identified a connection between the feast of Sant'Agata in Catania, the minni pastry, and the cult of Isis (dispenser of milk to all humanity). He suggested that Sant'Agata is an early Church substitute for the figure of the Egyptian goddess, Isis because during her pagan celebrations, similarly shaped cakes were prepared for both votive offerings and consumption by adherents. As it turns out, during antiquity, Catania was in fact one of the major cult centers of Isis! As I wrote above, many foods we consume daily and associate with Italian culture, often have complex and intriguing back stories. Love the "minni" but I bet you will never look at it the same way again!

Chef Andrea

Coffee at L'Arte, as throughout Italy, is a very important part of our dessert and caffe culture. It is not an afterthought. We go to great lengths to make sure that we source the very best coffees to match our baking techniques and products. Bakers have long known that coffee goes really well with certain desserts. Recently, a study from Aarhus University confirmed what we have always known, namely, that coffee amplifies sweet flavors and its bitterness mutes' bitter flavors. This explains why coffee is often associated with chocolate, sweet bread, pastries, and other similar foods. Our drip coffee's taste profile (100% arabica) is medium-dark roast, with good body, medium complexity and a nutty chocolaty finish. It is a single source Guatemalan coffee freshly craft roasted exclusively for us by the artisans at Jersey Shore Coffee Roasters in historic Leonardo, New Jersey. Our master roaster, Paul Anselmo at Jersey Shore is one of the most respected craft roasters and a pioneer of craft roasting in this state.

Our espresso coffee is roasted by Filicori Zecchini (operated since 1919 by its founding families: Filicori and Zecchini) and imported from Bologna, Italy. Filicori Zecchini is one of Italy’s oldest coffee roasters and their mission is to perfect authentic Italian-style espresso. Filicori Zecchini, unlike virtually every internationally known roaster, roasts every single-origin coffee (75% arabica and 25% robusta blend sourced primarily from Ethiopia and Arabia) separately prior to blending them to preserve the beans' unique flavor and aroma. Filicori Zecchini coffees have earned the prestigious “Espresso Italiano” certification from the Italian Espresso National Institute. So, the next time you come to L'Arte, grab a cup of coffee or an espresso shot. Enjoy it with your dessert knowing that the coffee you are drinking is second to none just like the pastry or baked dessert you are about to eat.

Chef Andrea

Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome (9th Century) contains the relics of Saint Valentine.

One of the many perks of being the Executive Chef at L'Arte is Saint Valentine's Day.  Years ago, L'Arte revived a wonderful Valentine's Day custom for children and, indirectly, me! In parts of Europe, for many centuries, children on Valentine's Day (before school started) would crowd the town bakery singing Valentines, presenting a hand drawn card or reciting a poem to the baker. The children who did so would be rewarded with a bakery treat prepared especially for them by the grateful baker. The caveat however, was that the children had to show up at the bakery BEFORE school started! Those who came after school started were solemnly declared "overbaked" and turned away!  Well, at L'Arte, we are not so uptight and all comers bearing a Valentine are greeted with a treat! In addition, we have extended this wonderful tradition to include the five days leading up to Valentine’s Day. I look forward to seeing all the kids and their parents again this year and returning the happiness they bring me with yummy baked treats.
Happy Saint Valentine's Day!   

Chef Andrea

At L’ Arte we use ground exotic carob seeds (one of the best natural emulsifiers) to prepare our gelato base mixture, and carob flour in our Carrubelli Siciliani cookie. Carob is mildly sweet and has long been used in powdered, chip or syrup form as an ingredient in cakes and cookies, often as a healthy substitute for chocolate in recipes because of its color, texture, and taste. Although similar to chocolate in taste, it contains only one-third the calories, as well as being virtually fat-free (chocolate is 50% fat), rich in pectin, non-allergenic, high in protein and finally, contains no oxalic acid (oxalic interferes with absorption of calcium). Not surprisingly, carob has always been a favorite ingredient in the worldwide "natural food" movement. Italy is the second largest producer of carob in the world with Sicily being the main region where it is cultivated.  Finally, a fun fact: carob seeds are amazingly consistent in size and weight, so much so, that they were used in antiquity by Greeks, Romans and Arabs to determine the weight of small precious items such as gold, silver, rubies, emeralds and diamonds, hence the word carat which is ultimately derived from the arabic "qirat" which means "fruit of the carob tree". Interesting...perhaps at L'Arte we should weigh our carob-based treats in carats!

Chef Andrea

(revised 01/24/2022)

I love ricotta! It's an incredibly versatile whey cheese. They have been making it in Italy, using the same methods, virtually unchanged, since the Bronze age. Italians use it in a wide range of delicious products such as cannoli, ravioli, cassata cakes, and a whole host of other desserts. In many rural communities ricotta cheese is a dessert in its own right, they simply add honey! The sweet ricotta we use at L'Arte is naturally sweet and especially unique. Firstly, it's made of sheep’s milk. Virtually all ricotta used in the United States is made from cow's milk. Sheep’s milk ricotta however is Sicilian’s favorite and the traditional ricotta used for their desserts. Not only does sheep's milk ricotta taste great, but also has more proteins, amino acids and mineral salts than cow's milk ricotta. Secondly, ours comes directly from Sicily, from a very small town named Aragona, in the province of Agrigento 40 miles away from Ragusa as well as Palermo. We are only able to import this very fragile product thanks to cryo-freezing, a super-fast freezing method that keeps all the taste, texture and nutritional qualities of the ricotta intact. Finally, our ricotta is still made in small batches by local farmers using traditional and artisanal techniques. It is not mass produced and loaded with additives! Stop by L'Arte soon and have another one of our cannoli or cassata pastries...see and taste for yourself the difference! Fun Fact: Ricotta means "re-cooked" because of the method used to make it!

Chef Andrea

(revised 01/27/2022)

At L'Arte, we generally use Russello flour imported from Sicily and in particular for a number of our specialty products. We use Russello for our pizza, focaccia, scacce, baked raviolini dolci (or cassatine) and also for specialties like torta rustica. The flour is called Russello because the grain has a reddish hue. Russello is a distinct variety of durum wheat and one of the oldest grains grown in Sicily. It has been cultivated on the island for thousands of years. Many local producers still use the stone milling process, thereby preserving the fragrance and high flavor which is typical of the best Sicilian durum wheat. It is a variety that has a reduced production cost and does not require large quantities of nitrogen compared to more modern and productive cultivars, but which allows users high quality products with great digestibility and flavor. The local farmers are rightly proud of the fact that they are able to maintain a very high-quality product using traditional harvesting and processing steps which give Russello exceptional nutritional and organoleptic characteristics.  Russello is not genetically modified in any way, less processed or refined and therefore maintains more nutritional properties.  Russello has significantly less gluten than standard wheat grains.  Russello was prevalent in Sicily until shortly after the second world war when modern and often genetically altered grains as well as industrialized agricultural practices were introduced. Russello wheat is now being "rediscovered" by bakers and pasta producers who are more attentive to the territory, the environment, traditions and health related virtues of this wheat. It is today in very high demand, costly and difficult to obtain. Stop by soon and taste the difference at L'Arte!

Chef Andrea

(revised 01/28/2022)