I’ve never really had a sweet tooth. I do love chocolate, and pastries are my favorite breakfast, but if I had to choose between a dish of pasta and a dessert, the pasta would likely prevail. My grandmother Nonna Mary, on the other hand, did love sweets. For her birthday, she would just as soon skip the meal and focus on dessert instead. Ironically, she did not do a lot of baking; in fact, no one in my family does, with the exception of my wife and daughters. One thing Nonna Mary did bake, though, was ciambella, a sweet breakfast bread that she always seemed to have on hand. And although my Nonna Giulia did not bake often, her baklavà was legendary. My mother is not really a baker either, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t make desserts when I was growing up. Her chocolate mousse and diplomatico are two that I remember very fondly and continue to make to this day. Having a gelato in the afternoon is a ritual I still enjoy when I’m in Italy, as does my family. I’ve discovered how easy it is to make homemade ice cream; we’ve invested in an ice-cream maker and now often make ice cream at home.
