About this item
Recipes that capture the flavors of la dolce vita, from Bologna to Brooklyn - Italian and Italian American-ish cakes, cookies, pies, and pastries, from the James Beard Award-nominated brains behind one of America's best bakeries. A joyous celebration of Italian, American, and Italian American tastes and traditions, Dolci! is a compendium of molto delizioso baked goods from both sides of the Atlantic. In almost a hundred recipes, James Beard-nominated baker Renato Poliafito pays homage to pastries of the Old World and the New - with perfected versions of classics like Pastiera and Torta Caprese, Honey-Ricotta Black and Whites, and Butter Cookies.. Poliafito puts his own unique spin on the baking traditions of both countries with recipes of his own invention that are a mashup of Italian flavors and American innovation.
About the Author
Renato Poliafito began his career as a designer in New York City after graduating from Skidmore College in 1996. Following years of print and online design work, he felt inclined to entertain his love for coffee and desserts. Being a self-taught cook (with a little inspiration from watching his mom in the kitchen) , Renato changed career paths and traded his creative director status for that of café manager. Renato began working for Jack and Grace Lamb of Jewel Bako fame at their café, The Blue Goose, where he learned the intricate tricks of thecafé trade. After a year of intensive training, research and pinching pennies, Renato teamed with Matt Lewis to open Baked.
Together, they work tirelessly to bring the New York masses outrageously delicious desserts made with the highest quality ingredients, and, of course, the perfect cup of coffee.
Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's debut cookbook, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, was published to national critical acclaim and raved about across the blogosphere. The book received top nods from NPR, People, Amazon.com, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit and many more. Baked: New Frontiers in Baking was nominated for an IACP award.
Since then, Matt and Renato have written three subsequent cookbooks, their most recent being Baked Occasions. They Have opened a new shop in Tribeca, Manhattan as well as Tokyo, Japan. They launched a nationwide line of baking mixes with Sur La Table, as well as a line of bakeware with Anchor Hocking. You can find their line of granolas in gourmet markets across the NorthEast.
Matt and Renato have been featured in the New York Times, O Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, People Magazine, and many more. In addition, they have written recipes for Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, Health Magazine and they have appeared on Food TV, MSNBC, Martha, Rachel Ray, the Today Show, and many more.
