Our favorite Italianophile brought us a lovely Panettone Gran Cacao this year. Festively packaged Panettone is the traditional bread of Milan. It is a slightly sweet bread and is usually made in a cupola shape. It is especially popular during the holiday season. In Italy, it’s often served as a dessert with a sweet,warm drink or a sweet wine, like Moscato d’Asti.
Italian Pannettones can be found in food shops in the US around the holidays. Traditionally, the cake is made with candied citrus peels and raisins. The dough is proofed for days and made with plenty of eggs so it makes a bread with a delicate, yet firm texture. It is usually baked in a hard bottomed waxed paper form, which remains on the loaf and makes a great presention. We like to bake Panettone in parchment lined terra cotta flower pots for gifts.
We were delighted when we sliced ours open to find bars and chips of chocolate instead of fruit. We plunged the slices into eggs which had been whipped with a little milk.
Into a saute pan with a coating of bubbly, salted butter we slid the slices until each side was shades of golden brown.
The puffy warm egg coating enveloped the creamy melted chocolate and tender bread. Splendido.
Those prawns look devine – is the saphron the secret! Sounds like a rainy day delectable delight. I will visit Mistral (a new restaurant in Seattle this weekend with the intentions of signing up for your contest).
Also, my daphne adora's didn't make it through last winter — so I must replentish soon = when should we plant them? Early Spring? Stacie