If you have ever visited Wilmington, NC, you may have stumbled upon one of my favorite spots, "La Gemma Fine Italian Pastries". Exquisite bites of pure unadulterated pleasure line their shelves.
I had to go there today (to Wilmington, not La Gemma, although I think it is a necessity.)
I did what any woman with a conscience would do; had a salad for lunch...
and went straight to La Gemma, bought three cookies and some wonderful custard-filled
delightful pastry!
When I go there, it takes me back to my childhood in NY state. My mom would buy flaky,
mouth-watering Italian pastries for every occasion that strangely seemed to revolve
around the Catholic Church...First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings, etc.
And, everyone always baked the most delicious authentic Italian cookies. No holiday table was complete without a platter. I have no idea how I managed to remain a stick figure with all my teeth back then.
Every Easter there was a very special Bird in a Nest cookie that my Sicilian Grandmother made. We all got one; a huge 8-inch biscuit cookie shaped like a bird's nest with a hard-boiled egg in the middle, slathered with 1 inch of sweet icing and covered with sprinkles. Apparently the bird never survived the oven because it was supposed to be sitting on top of the nest. (I doubt my Grandmother had Michelangelo's talent, so I'm sure that contributed to its absence.)
That one cookie weighed about 5 pounds, was hard as a rock and lasted us until the fourth of July. How I miss those days. I hope La Gemma continues on as long as my sweet memories do.