You may have seen these little cookies mentioned in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer a couple of months ago and wondered where you can get them.  Wonder no more - Sweet Miniatures are available now at DeLaurenti.  Ms. Funtanilla has created these delicious treats based on a simple yet elusive concept: Bigger is not necessarily better.  Quality is always better.  Judging by the flavor (and butter) in these small treats (Vanilla Brown Butter, Milk Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Almond and Toffee Brownies), she's proved this axiom true.

Another pasta?  Yeah, why not?  rustichella d'abruzzo brings us a beautiful little pearl-sized gnocchi called Perle di Patate.  With a simple vodka sauce and fresh basil, these little dumplings sing - usually an aria or something achingly beautiful.  We should mention a great little Sicilian Extra Virgin Olive Oil we just started carrying, which is selling almost too fast to keep in - the Partanna EVOO.  The Partanna is a great value in a nice package.

And now for something completely different... Two by Two Artisan Biscuits are new for us.  The folks in Ashbourne, England have found a way to market baked butter to the whole family.  For the children we have Toffee (& butter), Vanilla (& butter) and Strawberry (& butter) Biscuits. These little cookies are made in cute little animal shapes.  They're what the Animal Cracker could have been.  For the more mature, we have the Elegant English line of tea cookies including Rosehip & Black Currant, Vanilla Cream, Ginger Lemon and Queen Mother's favorite, Honey Almond.

Red Leicester has returned to our cheese case. Leicestershire Cheese Company, the last hand-makers of this famous cheese, is a true farmstead producer. They use the milk from their own cows, beautiful annatto and a cloth wrap to make this nutty, tangy and rich gem.

Meet the goats that make your Redmondo, Dutchman's Flat, Buche, Tumalo Tomme from Juniper Grove, in Oregon!  All of these cheeses just returned to the store.  Shane, too, just returned from the People's Republic with pictures and stories.  Be sure to ask him all about his adventures next time you're in.

We are now receiving weekly deliveries of our very own Rosmarino Salame produced exclusively for us by Salumi here in Seattle.  The delivery comes in on Thursday and barely lasts until Monday so if you see it, you might want to grab a stick or two!

Have you noticed our special pizzas and sandwiches every day? We raid the "larder" that is the store for all the best things and create two pizzas, a special sandwich and a soup every day. We post the menu online at www.delaurenti.com each day and it's always delicious, always.

With Giuseppe Quintarelli, it's all about patience.  From the time spent carefully tending to the vineyard, through the meticulous selection at harvest and the gentle handling during vinification, Quintarelli's unhurried approach to winemaking produces some of the world's greatest wines. This traditional producer from the Valpolicella (think Verona - mid way between Venice and Milan) region of Italy makes award winning wine year after year. His wines are rich in character; showing both power and elegance. These are deeply textured, mouth-filling wines that are amazing expressions of this most beautiful of wine regions. The wines are highly sought after and are often in short supply. We were able to acquire a small amount of these prized wines and they are now on our shelves. 

The Quintarelli highlights:

1999 Valpolicella Classico Superiore
1999 Rosso Ca' del Merlo
2003 Primofiore
2005 Secco Ca' del Merlo (Bianco)

Also of note is the great Romano Dal Forno.  A few bottles remain of his exceptional 2001 Valpolicella as well.  This one's a secret so keep it down.

Upcoming Wine Tastings

As always, tastings are held Saturday from 2-4pm upstairs in our Wine Department - and they're always free!

01 September - Dealer's Choice.  Yep - Stephen and Ben get to choose the wine on Saturday.  Odds are, it will be Italian and unique.
09 September - Hungarian Wines.  Tokay isn't all that ferments well in this beautiful country.  Drop by and find out more about this European secret.

This is another version of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto but it's the best one and the easiest.  Sautéing these individually wrapped asparagus spears in batches keeps the appetizer warm and might give you a needed excuse to ditch a conversation!