Festivals of Light and Holiday Delight: Sparkling Conversation Starters for Holiday Season
Champagne 101+ the sacred art of cookie baking + three killer cookie recipes + discover Rome’s legendary Biscottificio Innocenti bakery.
A Light in the Darkness
Issue #3
Unless you’re a zebra, life is not always black and white.
Love versus hate, success versus failure. We could spend hours trying to define those guys.
Speaking of failure….much trial and error went into perfecting these three cookie recipes. I hope you will try them let me know how it goes!
Our notions of right versus wrong are put to the test more often than we care to admit. Watching the news or watching people we love and respect making choices can bristle at our insides.
When we learn to feel more comfortable in the grey, it’s easier to compromise and to build connections that help us grow and ultimately to see the light.
Darkness feels frightening because we cannot see. Then again, we can’t have light without the darkness. Also, it’s amazing for a good night’s sleep.
Even during the dark of an eclipse there’s always ring of light if you know how to see it.
Light a Candle
Light is life. Light is sacred. Light is a prayer.
Last month I wrote about Dante’s wine metaphor. Sunlight infused grape juice with new life, as a divine entity infuses life and spirit into babies in the womb.
Looking forward, we set resolutions. Some of them will come through and others won’t. There may be surprises.
The end of a year brings with it much reflection. Light a candle. You can’t see your reflection in the dark.
Light is energy and there’s nothing more energizing than the power of possibility.
A Christmukkah Eclipse
This year, Christmas and Hanukkah collided. One holiday is a fixed date on the Gregorian solar calendar. The other follows a lunar cycle.
This rare phenomenon only happens a few times a century. It’s cause for celebration.
We may be celebrating different stories, but people of different religions are celebrating together.
Christians light up their homes to symbolize Jesus as the “light of the world” a godly reference as ancient at Helios and Apollo, Ra and Horus, Surya and Shamash.
Sun gods and goddesses are plentiful and fascinating. Look them all up! And then check out this piece on how humans have been baking to the gods for millennia.
Jews light candles to commemorate a miracle of enduring divine presence and resilience in dark times.
Earlier this year Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains celebrated Diwali, a festival of light that symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and honors the gods. In addition to candle lighting, Diwali is also a veritable festival of sweet delights.
Read more about our collective religious rituals of sharing sweet treats here!
New Year’s resolutions to visit Rome? Put this bakery on your list.
Bakeries abound in Rome, from local favorites to destination joints known for their specialties. Romoli e Regoli are the city’s go-to spots for cream-stuffed brioche, Maritozzi. Pompi is the place for tiramisu. Antico Forno Roscioli, Forno Campo de’ Fiori, and Bonci reign for meter-long pizza bianca (Rome’s signature focaccia). Bonci makes legendary pizza by-the-slice as well.
But ask anyone about biscotti and Biscottificio Innocenti it is.
23 years ago, when I first moved to Rome, I lived one minute away from Innocenti. I could smell the place before I ever found it, and my jaw still drops when I round the corner today.
The trees are taller and bougainvillea rampant. But it’s the walk down scent-memory lane, that sends my thoughts ricocheting to my early twenties, in a new city, in a new language. In love, and always hungry.
Originally opened by Sesto Innocenti in 1940, the bakery has been family-owned and operated ever since. At the height of holiday season I was lucky enough to wander in and catch his granddaughter Stefania, in a rare moment of calm.
Keep reading for more on Stefania and this delicious Roman institution.
Champagne problems? I’ve got answers.
Speaking of the spirito “divino” I can’t let a teachable wine moment go by. It’s peak bubbly season. Find out why.
I’ve collected your questions from over the years and put together an 8-12 minute read on all things Champagne: History, what’s inside, why it’s so fuzzy, why we smash bottles on ships and race cars and douse ourselves in it to celebrate, and how to serve it right.
As a reminder, Tastefully is a new baby. Feedback from you, my readers will make better. Please do let me know what you like and what you want down the line.
I wish you a year of health, happiness, novelty, and sparkling conversation!
Love, Annie