sweet dreams and small blessings

One of the things I miss the most about home is the way we celebrate. The holidays were hard, Christmas of course, Halloween and Thanksgiving too. I have big love for Halloween, because I have a big love for anything sweet. But also the magic of Halloween, costumes, pumpkins and everything coming to life at night. It would have been wrong to dress up as the Dukes of Hazard and hit downtown Cagliari.  I didn't particularly want to be right though. We had a couple of trick-or-treaters move quietly through the building and that was Halloween.

Thanksgiving promised to be even worse. When I woke up that morning, it was as if everyone simply forgot. I had to work, go to the market and think all the while of MomMom's gravy. I offered to bring "stuffing" in for my students and by chance ran into one of those students at the market. San Benedetto Market is indoor, with stalls pressed close to each other. There are baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade sausages and cheeses, baked breads and butcher stalls. It buzzes, with voices and people moving with purpose. I moved slow and just tried to take it all in, the smells and the food, that's when my student found me. He walked through the market with us and took us from stall to stall. He introduced us to friends who wished us a happy day, he got us samples of sausages and cheese and made us fresh pomegranate juice. I felt like an actual pilgrim being shown the way, especially on my way out when he handed me a fresh fruit basket saying, "For class and for you."

I've never known generosity like that of the Sardinian people. The fruit basket was the catalyst in a big discovery. I decided to use the apples to make an apple pie and found this recipe for pie crust. I loved the crust enough that a few days later, with the left over fruit, I made pear pastries. We ate them hot out of the oven. I love making the dough, especially how the flour feels when it comes out of the freezer. The whole apartment smells warm when they're baking too. I made dough last night so we could have pastries this morning. I woke up thinking of them!

I definitely recommend leaving the dough in the freezer overnight. Make sure to use the baking soda or rising agent, instead of doubling the salt. Sometimes I brush them with egg or melted butter and sprinkle sugar. I fill with chocolate usually, but the pear filling was my favorite! Pears diced in a simple syrup with just a little cinnamon!

I love them. There is nothing like being home for the holidays, but thank goodness for small blessings!