Italian Dessert Week – Salute

I want to make you tooth-breaking biscotti to dip in your cappuccino.

I want to make you flaky, sugar-dusted crostini that shatters as you bite.

I want to make you hazelnut gelato so smooth and creamy Italian phrases will roll from your tongue without effort.

But there are simply too many choices and too little time.

So, instead, I’ll close Italian Dessert Week off with a glass of limoncello, Italy’s canary yellow, intensely lemon liqueur.

Although this digestivio is usually made in Southern Italy, my mother fell in love with it while touring Tuscany. She now makes her own. Simply uncorking the bottle and releasing its aroma takes me back to our time in Montepulciano, Tuscany when our Neapolitan waiter insisted we accepted complimentary shots of his native drink — after we had paid the bill and were almost out the door.

After yesterday’s comments I realize classic zabaglione promises endless possibilities — a bit like Italy itself. Which makes me wonder if Mom would be more open to a version made with her own limoncello?

Photo © foodistablog, published under a Creative Commons License.