BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Italian Food Italian desserts

Hi!
I once dined at Mama Leone`s in New York with my father when I was 8. It was great, but I particularly remember a delicious pastry type dessert, sprinkled with powdered sugar, that had to be eaten soon; started going soft in about 30 minutes. The name of the dessert was something like "buggia" (sp?), with the pronunciation of the "gg" like that of the "s" in measure, I believe.
Can anybody help me with the correct name and possibly even a recipe?
Mark

Could you be talking about the italian cookies called "baci"?

They are really crisp cookies, usually sandwiched together with chocolate and often sprinkled with powdered sugar if made fresh.

Thank you kindly for your response. However, I`m sure that`s not it "baci" (though I don`t believe I`ve ever had baci). "Buggia" is deep fried. Imagine a batter that is poured onto a fairly wide stainless steel sheet (with sides) that is held diagonally as it is moved slowly back and forth over a vat of heated oil. The batter spreads out as it rolls down and off the sheet, and it enters the oil in a wide ribbon (about 4 to 6 inches wide) and then curls back and forth as it submerges. It is fried for about a minute and then brought up, left to drain and crispen for a minute, sprinkled with powdered sugar and then moved to a plate for the presentation. The result is a rather delicate pastry crust, much more fragile than a standard pie crust but not as fragile as filo. How`s my description? How`s your appetite?

Could it have been Zabaglione? (There are various pronunciations depending upon region.)

Here's the recipe: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art15922.asp
Take a look and let me know if this sounds similar. If not we can keep looking.

I vaguely remember a Mama Leone's cookbook from many years ago - that may help you. I am an ex upstate NY'er and never ate at Mama Leone's, don't know what it is you're looking for but is it like a beignet from New Orlean's or a cruschiki from Poland ( the same cookie is called a fattigmand in Scandinavia).Did it have a filling? You have me curious! Thelma

What about Baclava? Not sure of the spelling but I think this is Greek/Italian. All I know is I love it!

The bignet style pastry has many names, but check out the recipe for zepppole in the desserts subject.

I have the "Leone's Italian Cookbook". Could it be Bugie?

I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about!! We call it "sfoglia" and it's a flaky pastry. I have to find the recipe for you.