Easter

Sicily rings in Easter with baked pasta

Sicily rings in Easter with baked pasta

One of the perks of renting an apartment while traveling is that it give us an excuse to go grocery shopping. (As if you could keep us out of the markets....) A particular shape of dried pasta kept catching our eyes in the fresh markets and even in the supermarkets. Called anelletti, it's a small ring-shaped pasta. We kept looking for it on restaurant menus, but to no avail. Eventually we learned that it's mainly used in baked pastas for special events, including Easter. Of course we bought a bag to bring home, and we're glad we did. The shape is a little hard to find in the U.S., as most ring-shaped pastas for sale here are the even smaller rings called anellini, mostly used...Read More

King Cake for Easter

If Mardi Gras has a signature food, it has to be the king cake, which is actually more like a big, braided cinnamon roll than a cake. It's topped with white icing and dusted with colored sugar, usually in the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green, and gold. The cake was originally served at Epiphany, but was so tasty that cooks kept making it through Mardi Gras. I found a knockout version this year at Sweet Olive Bakery (251-990-8883; sweetolive.org), a European-style artisanal bakery in Fairhope, Alabama. It's located in the Windmill Market (85 N. Bancroft St.), an old car dealership and service garage that has found new life as a foodie destination (other occupants include a great barbecue joint and a locavore market)....Read More