Diva Eats Italia

Gianduitto, is a popular dessert from the city of Turin, in the Piedmonte region of Italy. It was created in 1865 and an instead favorite by the people. The popularity had to due with the mixture of chocolate and hazelnuts, which apparently had never been done before. The cake was cut into wedges and wrapped in gold paper, which became a symbol of city.

Having read this, I figured, if this recipe has been around since 1865 and still a favorite, I had to make it to see for myself, what makes this dessert so popular. It was so easy to make…really easy. There is no cooking involved and it only took about 10-15 minutes to prepare. It does however, need about 3-4 hours to sit in the fridge to set.
It’s made by whipping pasteurized egg whites and sugar together, then cocoa, melted butter, ground hazelnuts and crushed almond cookies are added. This cake is rich, chocolatey and fudgy, which makes it a perfect pair with some cold creamy ice cream & a dollop of whipped cream.

I made the recipe just as I read it. Who am I to mess with the test of time?!!
Gusatella,
D I V A
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From tasting this cake, you would never suspect that it’s made with olive oil and zucchini.

This may seem like a weird combo to some for a cake, but believe me, it works..and works well. It’s reminiscent of a carrot in flavor, but moister.

The cake is moist on the inside from the oil & zucchini, slightly crunchy from the crust & the addition of walnuts & it’s full of warmth from the cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger. It’s most definitely a keeper.
Gustatela!
D I V A
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Every Christmas Eve, my husband and I go to one of my favorite bakeries in Manhattan, Sullivan Street Bakery. Not only do they make my FAVORITE bread, they make the BEST “panettone” I’ve very eaten in my life (even in Milan…sssshhh). Panettone is a Christmas specialty from Milan. It’s a slightly sweet bread with raisins, citrons and has a slight rum flavor. It’s one of my family’s favorite holiday treats. To buy the bread, we get to the store super early, so to avoid long lines and to make sure they don’t run out before we get there; which has happened. In my house, one loaf of panettone doesn’t last very long. Needless to say, we have to buy a few to last to Christmas morning.

I was surfing Martha Stewart’s website and saw these cute little individual panettone. I never thought to try to make it. I didn’t think I could! It seemed too complicated. I read the directions of the recipe and decided to try. You know what? I made them, and they turned out really good. If you always wanted to try to make panettone, and didn’t think you could, I encourage you to try. You’ll be surprised.

Buon Natale (Merry Christmas)
D I V A
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All month I’ve been posting recipes from Sicily. As my last post for this region, I wanted to end with something sweet. How could I not include the most popular sweet in all of Sicily….Cannoli. Since cannoli are so popular, there are probably a zillon recipes floating around in cyber space, so I decided to make another type of cannoli….cannoli cheesecake.
Although you probably won’t find cannoli cheesecake in all of Sicily, it does have all the flavors of the popular Sicilian treat.
It’s creamy, citrusy, crunchy & a hint of chocolate. This cake is PERFECTION.

For this recipe I mixed cream cheese & ricotta cheese, along with orange zest & mini chocolate chips for the cake. As for the crust, I used crushed cannoli shells as the base, which gave the cheesecake a real cannoli taste. I finished it off by sprinkling some chopped pistachios on top. This is by far my favorite cheesecake! I think even Sicilians would love this.
Cannoli cheesecake, Sicilian? perhaps not…delicious definitely!

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Gustatela!
D I V A

Happy Birthday to ME, Happy Birthday to ME, Happy Birthday Dear DIVA, Happy Birthday to ME!!!

On one of my milestone birthdays, I was so depressed that I cried the entire day. My poor husband tried to make the day special. Besides bying me a fantactic gift, he took me to have a fancy dinner at the “Four Seasons” restaurant in Manhattan. Instead of enjoying it, I got upset with him because there were too many “blue haired people,” (are the words I used) in the restaurant and it made me feel old.

When I came to my senses, I realized HOW RIDICULOUS that was! From that point on, I decided not to attach an age to my birthday, but to celebrate it as another year I was blessed with life! If your age gets you down, just start looking at it in a different way. We can’t change the fact that we’re all getting older, but we can change the way we think about it.

I now believe in celebrating my birthday to it’s fullest. For me it doesn’t last a day, I have week long celebrations. One year I actually wrote up an itinerary of activities for my friends to help me celebrate. My birthday has become an event for both me & my friends, that we all look forward to. This year besides the day at the spa, lunch with a few friends, dinner with my husband, then a dinner with my family. I always try to plan something extra fun for me to do with my friends. This year we are going to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, New York; with some of my closest friends.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Arthur Avenue, it’s the Italian section of the Bronx which has rows & rows of restaurants and speciality food stores. The restaurant we’re going to is called
“Pasquale Rigaletto’s.” I love this place because not only is the food good, but they have a man that sings old Italian songs, like my father and uncles use to. They would sing, and we kids would sing right along with them not knowing a single word they were saying, nor did we care. All we knew is that we were having fun. This place reminds me of those happy times spent with my family. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate my LIFE!
Enjoy!
D I V A
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The cake is a creamy cheese cake that is sandwiched between 2 layers of carrot cake & covered with a cream cheese icing! It’s decadent, rich & sinful! A must try!

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