Fritelle + Confetti = CARNEVALE!

I know, my title today looks like a bit of really weird math. It is an equation, an equation for fun in Venice.

After taking down the Christmas decorations - and you know in Italy you don't take them down until January 6 which is Epiphany - it was a dreary January here in Venice. It rained. And then it rained some more. And then it kept on raining.  And then there was fog. Thick fog. The one thing we had to look forward to was the first sightings of fritelle to arrive in the bakeries around town. It was somewhere around mid January. The second you see the fritelle arriving, you know Carnevale isn't far behind.

 Fritelle are fried dough, with currents and pine nuts in the dough. They can be plain, rolled in sugar or stuffed with an assortment of goodies such as nutella, crema, zabaione, and ricotta.

The other harbinger of Carnevale that I look for is confetti on the streets. When I see the confetti, I know Carnevale is even closer. You an almost smell it in the air, it's that special. Confetti  has been spotted in several locations in the last couple of days, with lots of it in Campo Santa Margherita. I'm counting down days to Carnevale from here on in.

This year, Carnevale begins on February 15 and runs until March 4. The theme is Wonder and Fantasy Nature.  Join me through the whole month as I introduce you to Venetian masks and some of my favorite authentic mask makers around the city, costumes and some of the wonderfully talented people who make them, and the major activities of Carnevale taking place in and around  St. Mark's square.

To whet your appetite, here's a photo of one of my favorite costumes from Carnevale 2013.  I can't wait to see what's in store this year.

To learn more about this year's Carnevale program, check out the offical website at http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/index.php

More from today.... FRITELLE's

As I walked home from the Befana race, my route took me from the Rialto through San Polo. Because Venice was not particularly crowded today, I took a "main street", something I rarely do, but today, I was suitably rewarded... I spotted a sign on the window of Pasticceria Rizzardini announcing Fritelle Veneziana. Now, if you have ever been to Venice before and have found this heavenly spot, you know, as I do, that it is near impossible to resist going in here on a normal day. But today.... oh sweet Jesus, Fritelle have arrived! I was IN!!!


The topic of my blog today is Fritelle's, but I must give a shameless plug for Pasticceria Rizzardini. You can find them at Campiello dei Meloni, in San Polo. They've been there since 1742. Here's their front window today:


And this is their side window. See why I try to avoid walking by here most days???

But back to Fritelle's.....

Fritelle are, oh my, how do I begin to describe them?? Fluffy little pillows of the most wonderful taste you can imagine? They are sort of donut, sort of fry bread, very close to Zeppoli's. If you are an Italian kid who grew up in New Jersey, you know Zeppoli's. These little buggers are a few steps above Zeppoli's.

Sadly for me, Fritelle are a Venetian tradition that only make their appearance in the bakeries during Carnevale, or a little before it. And they disappear about a week after Carnevale is over. They are made plain, or stuffed with an assortment of fillings, along with raisins and pine nuts. In the photo above, from right to left, are Veneziana (no filling), Zabaigone, and Crema. My personal favorite, not available today, is Ricotta. What fillings are available depend upon which bakery you go to.

Here's a shot of the inside of my Zabagione filled one, just before being devoured. I have saved another for after dinner. Sweets are my weakness, always have been. I admit it. My friend Vicki has decided that what we really need is a dessert calendar, not a monthly calendar. Mine would be something like this ... Panettone (end of November to beginning of January), Fritelle (end of January to mid Feb), Columbina and Casata Siciliana (Easter season), and then gelato and scroppino from May to October.

Fritelle are out a little early this year, I wasn't expecting them until end of the month. Panettone are just about finished up for the season, in fact I was just lamenting that I probably had my last one this week. So....what a great surprise today!