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Benvenuti to Cositutti
Miei Amici
In Italy the ancient traditions of Carnevale have begun!
In the most evocative of Italian cities, Venice, nightly events, festivals and masquerade balls can be found throughout the city. With mischief and pranks, hidden behind the traditional maschere (masks), Venetians indulge in elaborate celebrations before the Lenten fast. Time becomes irrelevant, social status is ignored and in your mask your are pardoned from your sins. Ogni scherzo vale, making every joke along the way Carnevale is a time for celebrations with family, friends, fun and food. To read more about Carnevale in Italy, click here.
To learn more about traditional Venetian Carnevale masks view the Tragicomica Video by Luxe TV |
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A Taste of Carnevale 
Special foods like, fritelle, a tiny fritter-like doughnut and Cenci, a bow tie shaped confection known as "rags and tatters" are very popular during Carnevale in Venice. These sugary delights were thought to help sustain partygoers through the non stop celebrations of Carnevale.
From time to time Venetians were reproached for their indulgent love of food and for their "eagerness to move from the sermon to the table on the feast days of the church" . . . from Culinaria ITALY. I imagine it was recipes like this that caused "gluttony to be the greatest sin of the Venetians" . . . Pietro Gasparo Morolin (1841)
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Carnevale in Your Kitchen 
Experience a Venetian Carnevale in your own kitchen. In the Kitchens of Cositutti "nella cucinca di Cositutti" there will be bigoli in salsa, a traditional tube like Venetian pasta served with a sauce of olive oil with anchovies and fegato alla veneziana, liver with onions. And to drink, a glass of prosecco as an apertivo and a bottle of Valpolicella, a classic red wine from Verona, Venice's not so distant cousin. Indulge in the decadence of Carnevale with chocolates and cookies and truffle honey from COSITUTTI MARKET PLACE
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The Making of Cenci
1 ¾ cups
all-purpose flour, sifted
2 T. butter, at room temperature
4 t. granulated sugar
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
Grated rind of ½ lemon
2 ½ T. dry white wine or grappa
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
Put the flour in a pile on a wooden board and make a well. Mix in the butter, sugar, eggs, salt, lemon rind, and wine. Stir all together carefully with a fork. Dough will be VERY stiff. Add in a little more wine (by this time, you might just as well pour yourself a glass too). Knead the dough for about 5 minutes or until it is smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit for an hour.
On a lightly floured board, roll out dough as thin as you can. Using a pastry cutter with a fluted edge, cut strips about 6 - 7 inches long, as wide as your thumb. Tie into single-knot bows.
Heat olive oil in a pan at 375 F. Fry a few cenci quickly until golden brown and puffed. Drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with the confectioner's sugar.
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