Mmmm, CiuriCiuri!

Mmmm, Ciuri Ciuri!
We're having a Ciuri Ciuri pigout. Four flavors of the lightest, creamiest, most delicious ice cream. Chocolate-orange, almond, unbelievable strawberry, and fior de latte. An entire kilo.
Mmmm. Yum! Mmmm....

Half goes into the freezer. (For breakfast?)

Then on to the giant red jellied fruit, the Easter things, small and green with marzipan, ricotta and deliciousness, a little chocolate boat and some beautiful orange things.

I, Char, can't do it. I'm counting on "I'll Take One for the Team" Andrew, Fannie, and Bill to finish these off.

Ah ... the giant red jellied fruit is actually a jellied FRUIT, a baby pear. When you cut it open you can see the seeds and the structure that connects to the stem, but in a glowing translucent red. Fannie suggests that this is what the traditional sugar plum must be like.

Quite remarkable. At first it's a shocking color, and you wonder if it's just an overgrown piece of candy. But, no. Very delicate, a little spicy, not overpoweringly sweet. Just amazing.

Note: Apparently there are four of these jellied fruits at the shop. Fannie asked for advice, and the young woman behind the counter recommended three of them, including the pear. Fannie is eager to go back and try the others. We admit to some curiosity about the one that was left out of the recommendations, but we also have to maintain good relations with the people behind the counter ... .

Mmmm, CiuriCiuri! (Pronounced chee-ur-ee ch-ee-ur-ee) It's a Sicilian sweets shop that first attracted our attention with their almond and pistachio cookies.

A note for the folks back in Princeton:
You'll be glad to know that the ice cream (especially the dark chocolate-orange) sparked a discussion of how good the Bent Spoon is, even against Italian standards. The dark chocolate orange was surprisingly similar to that flavor at the Bent Spoon; the chocolate is pleasingly a little stronger at the Bent Spoon, but the Ciuri Cuiri version had delightful little pieces of candied orange peel and was a bit lighter. Both are incredibly creamy. This is a great reminder that Matt and Gabi really are doing an amazing job, and we wish they could hop over to Rome to check out their Italian counterparts! (Is there a word for a flavor doppelganger?)

This post was a Circolo di CiuriCiuri cheering effort.