[1] Nutella, jam, and panettone French toast (all photos © Bauli).

[2] Panettone is a tall yeast cake.

[3] It’s usually filled with raisins and candied fruit.

Panettone is not just for the holidays. You can freeze them and enjoy them year-round.

Panettone (pah-neh-TOE-nay) began in medieval Italy as a Christmas bread; but today, the fluffy yellow yeast bread variously filled with raisins, other dried fruit and orange peel, is available year-round. There’s also a version with chocolate bits—an ingredient not available until the latter half of the 19th century.

Bauli, whose panettone is imported into the U.S., creates year-round recipes Raspberry Jam & Hazelnut Spread Stuffed Panettone French Toast.

We have more panettone recipes, too: Panettone Bread Puddin, Panettone Classic French Toast and a Panettone Nutella Sandwich.

> The history of panettone is below.

> The history of French toast.

> The history of Nutella.

> The different types of bread.

> The different types of cake.
 
 
RECIPE: PANETTONE FRENCH TOAST WITH NUTELLA & JAM

Think of this as the most indulgent peanut butter and jelly sandwich you’ve ever had—except that it’s a chocolate hazelnut spread instead of peanut spread.

You can make it for breakfast, but also eat it for dessert.

Ingredients For 2 French Toast Sandwiches

For The Whipped Cream

 
For The French Toast

 
For The Filling

 
Preparation

1. WHIP the cream and vanilla with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated.

2. WHISK together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Soak Panettone slices in the mixture for 30 seconds on each side. Place bread into the pan and cook until the bottom is golden and crisp. Turn, and repeat with the other side. Repeat with all of the bread, keeping it warm in a 200° oven.

3. SPREAD 2 tablespoons of hazelnut spread and 2 tablespoons of jam on two of the bread slices. Top with remaining slices and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. Serve warm.

Panettone is a medieval Italian Christmas yeast bread, filled with candied fruits and raisins. The Milanese specialty is tall, dome-shaped, and airy, in contrast to the other famous Christmas bread, panforte, which is is short and dense (although there is a less common, flat version of panettone).

Panettone means “large loaf” in Italian. While the origins of a sweet leavened bread date back to Roman times, and a tall, leavened fruitcake can be seen in a 16th-century painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, the first known mention of panettone with Christmas is found in the 18th-century writings of Pietro Verri, who refers to it as “pane di tono.”

The dough is cured for several days (like sourdough), giving the cake its distinctive fluffiness. Raisins, candied orange peel, citron, and lemon zest, are added dry; some modern versions add chocolate (which was not available when the recipe originated); others are plain.

The classic Panettone accompaniment is a sweet hot beverage or a sweet wine such as spumante or moscato; but any dessert wine will do. Some Italians add a side of crema di mascarpone, a cream made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, and amaretto (or you can substitute zabaglione).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Customers pick up to three flavors of ice cream (standards and specialties like coffee mud pie, dulce de leche and red velvet), the icing flavor (chocolate or vanilla) and the topping—many choices from M&Ms and sprinkles to gummi bears.

But you know how to slice a donut and scoop ice cream. Make your own!

Thanks so much to Jean-Philippe Garbi for taking this yummy photo. We could almost eat it—but instead, we’re heading down to Holey Donuts at lunch time.

MORE DONUT SANDWICHES

A little less appetizing, to our eye, are the nine donut sandwiches featured in Women’s Day magazine.

Take a look.
 
DONUT SANDWICH TRIVIA

Paula Deen is [in]famous for creating The Lady’s Brunch Burger: hamburger, bacon and a sunnyside-up fried egg sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.

To add alarm, it is served with a side of cheesy fries.

We’ll stick with the ice cream donut—thank you very much.
 
  

Hungering for a salad dressing served at a local Asian restaurant, we made our own this weekend. It was so easy and delicious, we made up an extra-large batch to keep on hand for regular use.
 
For lunch we tossed it with a package of shredded cabbage, essentially creating Asian cole slaw to go with sandwiches. Delicious! That evening, we served it with a conventional romaine tossed salad, with bell peppers, cherry tomatoes and red onions (plus some dried cranberries and slivered almonds we wanted to use up).

This vinaigrette awaits everything from mesclun to Asian chicken salad, steamed vegetables to steamed rice.

RECIPE: ASIAN VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients For 1 Cup

We love the flavor of Asian dark sesame oil. It’s very strong, so you only need a touch. We mix a smaller proportion of it with a larger proportion canola oil; you can use your salad oil of choice.

Don’t try to solve the problem by purchasing light sesame oil: The ones we’ve had tend to be bland and don’t deliver delicious sesame flavor.

You can use olive oil instead of canola—but not your best EVOO, since the sesame flavor will cover up its flavor nuances.
 
Preparation

1. WHISK the ingredients together in a bowl (or use a blender). Let stand for 30 minutes or more to let the flavors meld.

2. WHISK again before serving.

There are rice bowls, wraps, salads and sides, using only farm-fresh vegetables; vegetarian and vegan options.

Everything is so delicious, we can easily skip the china, silverware and ambiance and dash in whenever we need a fix of flavorful Indian fare.

The vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices are in top form, representing both traditional dishes and street food (chaat). They include favorites such as:

 
There are meat and vegetarian samosas, daily specials, and absolutely celestial onion naan, hot from the tandoor oven.

Baluchi’s Fresh is located in Manhattan at 37 West 43rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. The hours are:

 
For more information and daily specials call 1.212.921.7979. The website is coming soon.

You can take out or eat in; delivery is in the works. Baluchi’s Fresh is a great addition to the neighborhood. We hope the concept spreads far and wide.

Here’s a quick demystification of the dishes served at Baluchi’s Fresh:

Now, head to Baluchi’s Fresh and try them all for yourself!
  

“Japanese Matcha Remade For The Modern World,” says the box of Matcha To Go.

Isn’t that the truth! Until very recently, matcha, the ceremonial powdered green tea of Japan, was consumed only by whisking

Matcha to Go, imported from Japan, is produced to dissolve in a glass of hot or cold water or in your water bottle—no whisking required. The vibrant green color is unmistakably matcha, as is the color.

The 100% matcha tea is blended with some dietary fiber, which eliminates clumping, whether you stir it with a spoon or shake it in a water bottle. It couldn’t be easier.

We received two individual packets as a sample. We’ve finished them, and placed an order for more on Amazon.

It isn’t inexpensive: A box of 10 single serving packets is $21.99. Matcha is a pricey tea in general.

Matcha To Go is a luxury we’re willing to spring for.

Matcha is the only tea that is ground into fine powder form, and incorporates the entire tea leaf; the powder is whisked into water to create a frothy drink.

Other teas are consumed via steeping the tea leaves with hot water. The water is infused with the essence of the tea leaves, but the leaves themselves are disposed of.

Only a small portion of the health benefits of tea are water soluble. According to Aiya, makers of Matcha To Go, depending on the tea variety and preparation, only 10% to 20% of the healthy nutrients are consumed when drinking steeped tea.

Thus, matcha is far more healthful than other teas, delivering many more green tea antioxidants, amino acids including L-Theanine, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Here’s a comparison chart from the manufacturer:

Find more matcha health information at Aiya-America.com.