If Christmas and good food are indelibly linked in your mind, there’s an event you won’t want to miss: the 15th annual Christmas festival held at Andreoli Italian Grocer on Saturday, December 14 from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.
On that day, Giovanni Scorzo and family will offer a special menu, featuring Italian Christmastime classics such as crostini de fegatini (chicken liver pâté on Giovanni’s toasted country bread); fritto misto (fried shrimp, calamari and smelt); rapini (broccoli rabe) and homemade sausage sauteed with garlic; panino con L’Abbacchio (brick oven-roasted lamb sandwich); maialino al forno (roast suckling pig, served with roasted potatoes) and homemade lasagna (which Giovanni’s son Angelino describes as “the best lasagna you can find anywhere”).
There will also be a huge assortment of traditional Italian Christmas sweets — all made from scratch. A partial list includes:
Struffoli — citrus-scented, deep-fried dough balls, covered in honey and sprinkles
Bugie — lightly fried strips of sweet dough dusted with powdered sugar
Rainbow cookies — almond paste-based cookies with raspberry and apricot jam, topped with chocolate
Bomboloni — Italian doughnuts filled with fresh lemon custard
Pain au chocolat and a variety of other croissants
Hazelnut flour cookies
Etc. — Angelino’s words on this score: “No matter your sweet tooth preference, we have all the bases covered.”
Just so you know, the main door is the entrance to use for dining in and enjoying the special Christmas menu, while the side doors will be for those who want to buy pastries, cookies and other sweets.
Buon Natale e buon appetito!
Andreoli Italian Grocer, 8880 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale, 480-614-1980, andreoli-grocer.com
