Chocolate and Hazelnuts

I was introduced to a gelato place in Manhattan called Grom. This place is fantastic. Their gelato is the closest thing I’ve had to the real-deal gelato you can only get in Italy. It’s seriously delizioso! Whenever I’m at Grom, I usually order the Bacio (translated means “kiss”). This flavor is a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts. I looked on their website to see if I was missing any key ingredients. I didn't, but there was a lot of description devoted to this one flavor:

When the Gianduja chocolate meets the best Tonda Gentile Trilobata hazelnut chips from the Langhe region (and we did not spare ourselves: the chips measure 5-8 mm!!!) which have been lightly toasted to bring out all their flavor, the result is Bacio: a true love marriage between chocolate and hazelnut enhanced by the delightful sensation of "crunchiness" that the chips give. Enjoy this flavor along with our Crema di Grom and a generous amount of whipped cream to put a smile on your face or offer it to someone you care to make them smile and much more!

Whoever wrote the copy for their website deserves an award. Describing chocolate and hazelnuts, as “a true love marriage” could not be a more accurate depiction of what the combination of chocolate and hazelnuts is like for your taste buds.

There are so many other Italian desserts that use chocolate and hazelnuts: chocolate and hazelnut biscotti, Baci (a chocolate candy that has a whole hazelnut in the center; translated means "kisses"), and of course, Nutella. Nutella is the best because you can smear it on anything to make it instantaneously tasty. But who am I kidding? I’m more inclined to just take a spoon and eat it right out of the jar. 


Italian word of the day: baci; kisses

Forza

My Nonna is a constant reminder of human strength. No, I don’t mean physical strength, because for her that is fleeting every day. I’m talking emotional strength. The kind of strength that only a person who’s familiar with the true meaning of survival can emit.

I was thinking about this today when I saw her at lunch.  I don’t usually wear my emotions on my sleeve when I’m with her, but when she asked about a certain someone who recently broke my heart, I started to tear up. Apparently a week has not been quite enough time to heal. I didn’t want to cry in front of her because I didn’t want her to feel sorry for me or carry my worries (as she often does for a lot of people.) I think the sudden emotion surprised her and she said to me, “You have to be strong.” And she’s right of course. Nonna embodies strength. It’s who she is. But to hear her actually say the words was particularly meaningful.

If Nonna had a life slogan it would be, “Be strong.” Her whole life has been about surviving, and continuing on until you’re happy. I mean, for Christ’s sake the woman has lived though a ship-wreck, a disappointing move from Sicily to Yonkers (she said she hated the United States when she came here), multiple health scares, and probably a bit more strife than the average person can relate to. But she’s happy now and she also has a lot to be proud of. 

So after the quick and certain reminder that although there will be ups and downs in life, what matters is getting though and being strong, we did not speak of the ass-clown again. (I’m still retaining a little bitterness for the time being, okay?).  In time I’ll feel stupid I wasted any tears on him at all, but right now I will keep on the legacy of being a strong Italian woman, just like my Nonna. 

Here's Nonna as a teenager. I love
how she has her hand on her hip.

Italian word of the day: Forza; strength