Savor the Taste of Italy: Our Mini Profiteroles!

[stephanieboyd]

Okay everyone......I just got back from Venice!!! I know, rough life!! But you all get to go to conference and I don't!!!

Our profiterole puffs are almost just like the real Italian ones are!!!!!

I had to have one dessert while we were there just to see!! Perfecto!!!!


The one that I had in a restaurant down there was covered with something like a chocolate mousse then drizzled with chocolate syrup, so they had to be eaten with a fork and knife rather than with your hands. I think their filling was marscapone cheese, but that would have been to hard to find and too expensive in a specialty grocery for our hosts! But they did have a couple of squirts of whipped cream on the side!!!

The dough is right on!!! Ours are of course smaller, the Italian ones were about the size of your fist or maybe just a little smaller. I prefer our mini profiteroles because they are so easier to eat!!


Just thought you would all like to share this information at your shows when you are making them for your guests!!!! May be a great way to sell some higher price items!!!

 

[GourmetGirl]

Tell us more about Venice!!!!

 

[stephanieboyd]

I guess it's not PC related, but since you asked.........

Venice is a beautiful city with wonderful shopping and amazing history!! It rained the day that we were in Venice, and was very crowded with tourists, but it was beautiful anyway!! The markets on Rialto Bridge and throughout the squares were amazing! I got to see a real Cartier store, had to stop and dream for a minute or two!!! The Gucci and Armani shops were also too rich for my blood!!
My husband fed the pigeons in St. Mark's square. He lived about an hour from Venice from 89-93, so he was familiar with everything. Seeing that city flourish with the flooded streets/canals running through was unbelievable!! The buildings are all several times over, older than our whole country!! It's hard to imagine people building these buildings with only a chisel and a hammer carving out the marble!!!!

We did a couple of other cities as well as Venice. I had to get some cheaper shopping in, real leather, wine, cheeses, and of course the Italian lace!! We had to mail our stuff back to ourselves because we didn't have enough room to take everything on the plane!!! It was only a one penny flight, so I couldn't complain!!! And of course, mailing stuff back from one base to the other was free too!!!

It was soo cool to be there last night when the Italian Soccer Team won the World Cup!! I am really just glad that it's over here in Germany, it was causing major disasters here!!!

I will find a couple of our coolest pictures to post here. Probably not until tomorrow though, we aren't even unpacked!!! I just had to share the profiterole puff story first thing!!! The gnocchi isn't as close to authentic, but that's a tough one to duplicate.

 

[GourmetGirl]

How fun! I went to Venice for the first time last August and fell in love with the city. I did decide that I was not going to go back until I was back with the one I loved, as it was way too romantic for a girls weekend, but fun none-the-less. That is so exciting to hear about Venice! How I miss the cheap flights on RyanAir and EasyJet...

 

[AJPratt]

I really want to take one of those Mediterranean cruises where you hit all the maor cities.

 

[Paige Dixon]

I went on a Mediteranean cruise and it was unforgettable! It started in Rome, went to lots of Greek islands, Santorini, Malta, Athens, and ended in Istanbul. We traveled on Silver Seas which was a smaller ship, so it didn't have all the fluff and frills that the huge ships have, but the cabins were very large and there wasn't too many guests, so it was never crowded. All the food was very gourmet, and the alcohol was included in the fare! (Too bad I was pregnant!)

I bet PC will send us to the Mediterranean before too long!

Too bad the Concorde is grounded!

 

[stephanieboyd]

I did see one cruise ship docked somewhere on the outskirts of town. We saw it from the train on the way in. It was so far from the tracks that I couldn't even tell you what cruise line it was!!

We had a blast shopping in San Marino and just hanging out in the Aviano area!!

 

[pcjeanie]

Ooh, I was in Venice last November. My daughter was in school for a semester in Florence. I only was in Italy for a week and spent 1 day in Venice (mostly in Murano which was fantastic). I can't wait to go back and Venice is on the top of my list to spend more time. The food in Italy is way awesome! I still think about a pastry I ate in Trestavere which is a small village near Rome. It was the best! I spent most of my time in Florence, but would like to explore the countryside more. Every time I see or hear things about Italy it just makes me want to go back even more. I'm doing a cooking show tonight and guess what the theme is? I'm cooking the Profiterole Puffs and Italian Sausage Calzone. Thanks for sharing.

Jeanie Gay