A decorated Pandoro
I love the Pandoro, which along with the Panettone, is the traditional Italian Christmas cake. Not only I love it for its simple taste, it’s just a soft and sweet cake with powdered sugar on top, but also because thanks to its shape you can create many interesting designs. Exactly like the one in the photo. Wanna give it a try and amaze your friends at your next Christmas party?
“Christmas plant”
Years ago I spent one school year in Italy with the kids, because I wanted them to attend an Italian public school (yeah, they hated me in the beginning and obviously they didn’t want to leave in the end, same old story…). We stayed in a tiny apartment, where we shared one big bedroom and where we had just one puffy armchair because there wasn’t even enough room for a sofa. Let alone for a Christmas tree. But you don’t need a tree to create the Christmas atmosphere, you just need a plant, some tiny Nutella jars and the Ovetti Kinder (infamously illegal in the States). Oh, happy days!
Italian pastries
Pasticceria is a store specializing in sweets (dolci). It sells mainly pastry products, cookies, chocolate, and candies. Italian pastries aren’t usually as rich or big as the American ones; many of them can be eaten in one or two bites. Many pasticcerie have a coffee bar. So, what’s the name of the store that sells pasta? That’s the pastificio which is a fresh pasta shop and which sells many different kinds of pasta along with tortellini, ravioli, gnocchi, and other products to take away and cook (cucinare) at home.
Tortellini, ravioli and pasta sold in a pastificio
{This is an excerpt from chapter 5 “Stores” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}