St. Joseph's Bread 2026

I come from a large Italian family. My great grandmother arrived in the United States on the SS Europa in 1910 to marry a man whose family came from the same village she just left. By the time I came along in 1964, she lived with her son and daughter-in-law and as you can imagine, was already quite old and hard of hearing (a problem that runs in our family). When I visited, she would be sitting at an enormous oak table in the front room, a soap opera blasting from the television, playing solitaire. Although she spoke English, she retained a very heavy Italian accent and would lapse into Italian whenever she was excited or frustrated. And I never saw her in anything but plain black or dark dresses, the kind…well, the kind immigrant women wore in the 1920s.

She was of course a Roman Catholic and brought with her all sorts of feast days, observations, and traditions. But the most delicious feast day for us was that of Saint Joseph. There is a special kind of bread that is baked only on this day, Saint Joseph’s Bread or Panne di San Guiseppe. It is tender and sumptuous, more like cake but not sweet, more on the savory side. It was a treat everyone in the family looked forward to all year. I don’t know how many loaves my great grandmother would make but every family got one--she would bake all day and then walk to each home to deliver them in person...so today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the day when she would have delivered these treats.

Anise seed (a very traditional Italian spice that shows up in many national and regional dishes) is what gives this bread a subtle taste. Some traditional recipes call for the addition of golden raisins, but I will say that my great-grandmother never added them. While I am in no way religious (although I am a mystic at heart, which is very different!), I still enjoy this delicious bread.

St. Joseph's Day Bread

5 lb. flour
2 Tbs. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. anise seed
Combine these ingredients in a large bowl
Work in 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

In another bowl combine:
4 1/2 cups warm water
3 pkgs. of yeast or 3 tbs. of yeast
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add 5 eggs, beaten

Add liquid ingredients to flour and shortening mixture. Mix well and knead on floured surface. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise until double in size. Punch down and let rise another hour.

Shape into small round loaves (should yield around 5), and let rise for 30 minutes. Traditionally, the loaves were small and could be made in the shape of a cross, bambino (baby), heart, beard, crown, or staff in honor St. Joseph.

Brush loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Caramella in Las Vegas

There is a new restaurant in Las Vegas called Caramella. And the design is a lot of fun to behold. Created by Fettle Design with locations in both London and Los Angeles, the team looked to another place and time for inspiration. Their site describes it best: "We developed unique individual spaces inspired by the music genre of the late ‘70s Italo Disco, that capture the escapist, playful spirit of the Italian ‘70s." And I can absolutely see it.

Guests enter through an archway and pass by a classic pasticceria (Italian sweetshop) before entering the restaurant itself. Slathered with lots of red, leopard, and 70s motifs like Missoni-like flame stitch upholstery and a disco ball DJ booth in the hidden speakeasy, the space feels energizing. I want to have pasta and cannoli, and then dance all night at the bar to anything produced by Giorgio Moroder (preferably "I Feel Love" or "Rumor has It" by Donna Summer!).

https://taogroup.com/venues/caramella-italian-restaurant-las-vegas/
https://fettle-design.co.uk/

R.I.P. Giorgio Armani

I am very saddened to learn of the death of a legend...Giorgio Armani.

He had just celebrated his 91st birthday in July but had been ill in hospital for a bit.

It is impossible to exaggerate his achievements and contribution to culture, to design (not only of clothing, but of home furnishings and architecture), and to fashion history during his fifty year career. Along with names who changed silhouettes and shapes and ushered in new cuts and styles and materials, Armani takes his place in the pantheon. He deconstructed the men's suit in the 80s, turning it into something soft and sensual, something sexy and flowing, without altering the basic concept of what it was. He removed layers of felting inside suits, making them relaxed and able to behave like thin silk. Just take a look at the iconic clothing from the film "American Gigolo" and you will see what I mean. It was soft and casual with a sense of effortless power. This revolution rippled out into the industry and we see its waves even now: designers still grapple with ways to make suiting less stiff, to make clothing more luxe without being precious, and to make pieces with more innate ease without being sloppy. In short, to make clothes more Armani. But no one does Armani like Armani. Clean lined and impeccably tailored, Armani's sensibility is about luxe fabrics and the way a garment hangs and drapes on the body (of both men and women). But there is something else that I really respond to in each Armani collection and that is a vague sense, a shadow, an echo of historical fashion. The way a jacket or coat is cut or its stance, the inclusion of waistcoats, belted outerwear, loose cut and high waisted trousers...it all reminds me of...what, the 1920s and 30s? The 1880s and 1890s? The 1940s and 50s? Yes to all of it.

Thank you, sincerely, for all the beauty you brought into the world, Signor Armani. You will missed.

St. Joseph's Bread 2025

I come from a large Italian family. My great grandmother arrived in the United States on the SS Europa in 1910 to marry a man whose family came from the same village she just left. By the time I came along in 1964, she lived with her son and daughter-in-law and as you can imagine, was already quite old and hard of hearing (a problem that runs in our family). When I visited, she would be sitting at an enormous oak table in the front room, a soap opera blasting from the television, playing solitaire. Although she spoke English, she retained a very heavy Italian accent and would lapse into Italian whenever she was excited or frustrated. And I never saw her in anything but plain black or dark dresses, the kind…well, the kind immigrant women wore in the twenties.

She was of course a Roman Catholic and brought with her all sorts of feast days, observations, and traditions. But the most delicious feast day for us was that of Saint Joseph. There is a special kind of bread that is baked only on this day, Saint Joseph’s Bread or Panne di San Guiseppe. It is tender and sumptuous, more like cake but not sweet, more on the savory side. It was a treat everyone in the family looked forward to all year. I don’t know how many loaves my great grandmother would make but every family got one--she would bake all day and then walk to each home to deliver them in person...so today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the day when she would have delivered these treats.

Anise seed (a very traditional Italian spice that shows up in many national and regional dishes) is what gives this bread a subtle taste. Some traditional recipes call for the addition of golden raisins, but I will say that my great-grandmother never added them. While I am in no way religious (although I am a mystic at heart, which is very different!), I still enjoy this delicious bread.

St. Joseph's Day Bread

5 lb. flour
2 Tbs. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. anise seed
Combine these ingredients in a large bowl
Work in 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

In another bowl combine:
4 1/2 cups warm water
3 pkgs. of yeast or 3 tbs. of yeast
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add 5 eggs, beaten

Add liquid ingredients to flour and shortening mixture. Mix well and knead on floured surface. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise until double in size. Punch down and let rise another hour.

Shape into small round loaves (should yield around 5), and let rise for 30 minutes. Traditionally, the loaves were small and could be made in the shape of a cross, bambino (baby), heart, beard, crown, or staff in honor St. Joseph.

Brush loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

St. Joseph's Bread 2024

I come from a large Italian family. My great grandmother arrived in the United States on the SS Europa in 1910 to marry a man whose family came from the same village she just left. By the time I came along in 1964, she lived with her son and daughter-in-law and as you can imagine, was already quite old and hard of hearing (a problem that runs in our family). When I visited, she would be sitting at an enormous oak table in the front room, a soap opera blasting from the television, playing solitaire. Although she spoke English, she retained a very heavy Italian accent and would lapse into Italian whenever she was excited or frustrated. And I never saw her in anything but plain black or dark dresses, the kind…well, the kind immigrant women wore in the twenties.

She was of course a Roman Catholic and brought with her all sorts of feast days, observations, and traditions. But the most delicious feast day for us was that of Saint Joseph. There is a special kind of bread that is baked only on this day, Saint Joseph’s Bread or Panne di San Guiseppe. It is tender and sumptuous, more like cake but not sweet, more on the savory side. It was a treat everyone in the family looked forward to all year. I don’t know how many loaves my great grandmother would make but every family got one--she would bake all day and then walk to each home to deliver them in person...so today is the feast day of St. Joseph, the day when she would have delivered these treats.

Anise seed (a very traditional Italian spice that shows up in many national and regional dishes) is what gives this bread a subtle taste. Some traditional recipes call for the addition of golden raisins, but I will say that my great-grandmother never added them. While I am in no way religious (although I am a mystic at heart, which is very different!), I still enjoy this delicious bread.

St. Joseph's Day Bread

5 lb. flour
2 Tbs. salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
2 tbs. anise seed
Combine these ingredients in a large bowl
Work in 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening

In another bowl combine:
4 1/2 cups warm water
3 pkgs. of yeast or 3 tbs. of yeast
Dissolve yeast in warm water
Add 5 eggs, beaten

Add liquid ingredients to flour and shortening mixture. Mix well and knead on floured surface. Place in greased bowl and allow to rise until double in size. Punch down and let rise another hour.

Shape into small round loaves (should yield around 5), and let rise for 30 minutes. Traditionally, the loaves were small and could be made in the shape of a cross, bambino (baby), heart, beard, crown, or staff in honor St. Joseph.

Brush loaves with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame and poppy seeds. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

"Asleep" by Atom Made Earth

I am intrigued by this lovely, moody song, "Asleep" from a new release by Atom Made Earth (the musical outfit of Italian composer Daniele Polverini). The album "Songs For A Dreamer" is out now.

https://atomadearth.bandcamp.com/

"Social Dynamics" by Gai Barone

Regular readers know I have a soft spot for a very specific type of electronic dance music, one that has an almost undefinable quality of a floating, trance-like atmosphere with underlying emotion. And I am entranced with this song, "Social Dynamics" from Gai Barone. It creates an ethereal groove that shifts my consciousness...

https://soundcloud.com/gai-barone

BEAUTY: Interior Design--Dorbolo' Gubane by Visual Display

Italian design firm Visual Display recently completed a store front for the bakery Dorbolo' Gubane located in Cividale del Friuli, in northeastern Italy, very close to the Slovenian border. As the name implies, this bakery specializes in a type of northern Italian bread called Gubane which is a rolled sweet bread filled with nuts and raisins. Usually enjoyed at holiday times like Christmas and Easter, Dorbolo' Gubane offers this delicious treat year-round. And in the most gorgeous of settings. Visual Display CEO and founder Giorgio di Bernardo created a stunning marble temple to bread using local grey stone and polished brass in a minimalistic approach. It seems like this sweet bread would taste even better in such a setting.

All photos: Camilla Bach
https://camillabach.me/
Styling:Sara Bertolini
https://www.instagram.com/sarabertolini_setstylist/

Visit their site to order on-line! They only ship to parts of Europe.
https://www.gubanedorbolo.com/

And for more interior beauty, visit Visual Display.
https://www.visualdisplay.it/en/dorbolo-gubana-boutique.html

BEAUTY: Painting For Winter--Salvo

Lyrical, minimalist, and colorful snowy street scenes by Italian artist Salvo.

https://www.archiviosalvo.com/

BEAUTY: Illustration--Beatrice Cerocchi

The naïve, whimsically angled scenes of various Italian locations by illustrator Beatrice Cerocchi are delightful and make me miss Italy...

https://beatricecerocchi.com/

Sant Ambroeus at Brookfield Place

Started in Milan in 1936, the Sant Ambroeus restaurant family consists of four New York City locations, with outposts in South Hampton and Palm Beach...and now the newest member of the family is at Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan. Designed by Robert McKinley to echo Italy's impressive theaters and resplendent 18th- and 19th-century cafés, the space features a very Milanese sensibility with gorgeous papaya-colored silk moiré walls and a staggering eighteen foot high, 992-pound Murano glass chandelier. The designer was especially struck by the modernist grandeur of Turin’s Teatro Regio, rebuilt by architect Carlo Mollino in the late 1960s. Why not combine that vibe with something as New York as the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, McKinley reasoned? The result feels like an Art Nouveau version of La Scala crossed with the modernism of Le Corbusier.

https://www.santambroeus.com/
https://www.santambroeus.com/restaurant-sant-ambroeus-brookfield-place