"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant..."

Reprinted from Live Well, Eat Often, Snack Much: My Guide Through Baking & Pastry School in Charleston, SC.

Curious minds ask me often, "Carol, do you have homework for your baking classes?" The answer is, of course, yes, I do have homework assignments. Sometimes, it's as simple as reading a chapter in a textbook on a specific topic or concept. Other times, it's studying for quizzes or exams, as to be expected. The most interesting and intense homework assignments, in my opinions, are the ones that require brainstorming ideas, researching recipes, and testing out ideas in one's home kitchen; I have done this mainly in the past for final practical exams when I was asked to produce a recipe of my own for a grade, such as my Pumpkin Sponge Cake or my Italian Petit Fours or my Red Potato Tart with Rosemary Jelly.

In Plated Desserts last week, we handed in a homework assignment. Chef asked us to research 10 dessert menus at 10 different restaurants; 4 of the restaurants were local to Charleston, 4 were in the U.S. and the remaining 2 were international. Since I am planning to create an Italian dessert menu later in the semester for another assignment/practical, I chose to focus my dessert menu research on Italian Restaurants.

I started with the local Charleston restaurants, and was originally disappointed because three of the restaurants here I was curious about did not actually post their dessert menus online. I did get good information from the other local restaurants, so it worked out in the end, but I am still curious about those other restaurants. Perhaps I'll just need to schedule a few dinners so I can see for myself.

For some of the 4 restaurants in the U.S. I chose to take a trip down memory lane. I first researched Varano's Italian Restaurant in Wells, Maine. Some of you may know that my cousin Jen and I had an amazing meal there in the summer of 2009 during our New England Road Trip. I was flooded with great memories as I surfed Varano's website and perused their dessert and regular menu.

I also looked at the menu for Tutto Italia in Epcot Center, where I ate in March with my family while on vacation there. And thanks again to cousin Jen, I have photos of some of the desserts we ate.

Here's a Dessert Trio - Mocha Tiramisu, Cannoli, Mousse in Espresso Cup:



Here's a Cannoli:


And here's Gianduja-Chocolate Torte


I gathered a lot of great recipe ideas as I compared and contrasted the dessert menus of these 10 restaurants, and I am really excited to continue working on my own dessert menu concept for an Italian restaurant. I'll leave you with lyrics from one of my favorite songs, which I believe is appropriate for this trip down memory lane:

"A bottle of white, a bottle of red,
Perhaps a bottle of rosé instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I - face to face.
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant.
-Billy Joel, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant


Reprinted from Live Well, Eat Often, Snack Much.