Lindsay Marie Morris

The tradition of La Settimana Santa, Holy Week, brings people out of their homes to watch and participate in various daily processions of statues through the streets. It's also a time to enjoy sweet bread, often flavored with anise, which is typical of the Lenten season. Among the favorite bread recipes is pani di cena—really cookies—which are shaped like crosses. While this "bread" is often served on Holy Thursday, you can enjoy pani di cena year-round. 

Food writer Enza Whiting features a pani di cena recipe on her blog, Enza's Quail Hollow Kitchen. Enza was born in Palermo and lived in the town of Valledolmo for the first four and a half years of her life. 

We discussed pani di cena and what Enza hopes her family and readers will take away from her recipe.

 

 

Tell us about your pani di cena recipe.

My grandmother made these cookies for us when we were kids. She would shape them, cutting them in the shape of a cross. They were always served on Good Thursday, right before Easter.

It was a Sicilian tradition in the church that the elders made these cookies. They would have these church communities or church groups aside from the priests, and whoever was the head of that community or that committee for that year would make these cookies for all of the other members of the committee. So they would make the pani di cena.

They were always made on Good Thursday, and they would get a sugar lamb. It was part of the tradition that they sacrificed for their community by creating these cookies and giving them out in all the towns. 

My mother told me the story about when my great-grandfather was the elder, and it was his turn to make these. My grandmother was maybe 15 or 16 years old, and she was the one who made them all. 

They didn't all have ovens in their homes, so the town had ovens that everybody would use. All the women would get together, bake the cookies, and then take them to the ovens to bake them in their local oven. I guess that's how they used to make their bread, too, because they didn't have ovens in their homes; they had to use a public oven to bake their bread. So it was very communal.

The other thing my grandmother would do for us was make the little crosses, but then she would also make pupa cu l'ova using the same dough. She would put a colored egg in it and bake it. My favorite thing on Easter was getting the hard-boiled egg with my cookie. 

Pani di cena is actually more of a cross between bread and a cookie. My grandmother's recipe is more of a cross between bread and a cookie. I call it a cookie; my mother calls it bread. When you bite into it, it is somewhat crunchier on the outside and tender on the inside. However, the inside has more of a soft cookie texture than the texture of bread that you would normally think of as soft bread. It is made with yeast. So, it is a yeast recipe, but the texture is different from that of some of the breads you will see. 

 

Why did you start Quail Hollow Kitchen?

Being Italian, food is a big part of your tradition. It's how we celebrate things; it's how we communicate with each other. 

I remember when we were kids, we had dinner together as a family every night, and my mother would make meals with whatever she had in the kitchen or the refrigerator because there wasn't a lot of money growing up. So, they had to be creative and use what they had available. But dinnertime was always sacred. That was a time when we sat down as a family.

My dad was really big into talking to us about what was going on in the world because he wanted us to really understand what was happening around us and how it impacted us. During those dinners, my parents also spent a lot of time talking about where they came from, what life was like for them growing up, and how different it was for us here because it was important that we appreciated all the sacrifices that happened to get us to where we were.

So, for me, food and our traditions have always been really important. We continue to talk to our kids about those things because I don't want them to forget about their heritage, their history, and what life was like for other people so that they can enjoy the things that they enjoy today. We do all of that around food. It always seems to be the center of these family functions, celebrations, and communications. 

I started Quail Hollow Kitchen mainly because my grandmother had passed away, and I was really worried that as my mom was getting older, I was going to lose all of her recipes. So she was able to carry on my grandmother's traditions with food, and I wanted to be able to somehow memorialize it so that even when I'm gone, my kids can still have access to all of that information. And it's named Quail Hollow because that is the street that I live on.

When I got into it, I realized that I really enjoyed all the different aspects of this website. So it's grown from there, but it still centers around all of our Italian dishes and foods, and really makes sure that all of our Sicilian foods are front and center, somewhere our family has access to.

 

 

What do you hope at-home bakers will take away from this cookie recipe?

Personally, for my family, because it's been a part of our family, and we have made this every year for as long as I can remember, I hope they understand that this has been handed down for many generations.

For other readers, I hope that they want to try it because it may be different from something that they're used to. Maybe they will learn something about how other people have enjoyed foods around the Lenten holiday and Easter that might be different from how they've celebrated it. 

It's really about keeping that Sicilian heritage and history going. I have other blogger friends who do similar things within their cultures. I think many of us out there hope that as the world continues to progress, we don't forget some of the things that made our families what they are. 

 

>>Get Enza's recipe here!<<

 

 

 

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It started with a meditation retreat. Traci Randolph and her husband, Jason, were looking for a meaningful way to spend their 25th wedding anniversary. They'd worked to fit it into their busy schedules and planned a weeklong stay in Cancun. A former salon owner turned Realtor, Traci had been someone who craved certainty, always needing to know what was coming next.

 

"I always had to have a plan for everything," Traci remembers. "I was uncomfortable in the unknown."

 

But while attending a meditation retreat with Dr. Joe Dispenza, something clicked, and she realized she needed to make a change and embrace the uncertainty of life.

 

She didn't know what she wanted, but, for the first time, she found comfort in that question mark. She pondered possibilities, and what resonated most with her was a strong desire to create something that would connect with people.

 

"I love real estate, and I'll continue to do that, but having a connection with people is just different," says Traci. Exploring her new mindset, she returned to regular meditation, visualizing a future where she could bring people together through joy and food.

 

Traci found a fully restored coffee cart on its way from Italy. She purchased the vintage 1959 Lambretta and named her "Angela" after her grandmother, who inspired her to cook. She went on to name her business Fiore Della Vita, meaning Flower of Life. Her logo is a powerful symbol in mediation, symbolizing creation, just like the offerings she plans to share.

 

Serving the Greater Phoenix area since late 2024, the Italy-inspired food and beverage business is available for special events and weddings. This year promises even more opportunities. It's full speed ahead into uncharted territory for their little truck, and Traci is comfortable taking the ride.

 

We chatted about Traci's background and how it inspired her, the signs that directed her, the challenges she faced, the rewards she's reaped, and more.

 

 

 

Traci Randolph's grandmother, Angela, inspired her. 

 

Tell us about your grandmother and your connection to Sicily.

My maternal great-grandparents were from Ragusa. They came through Ellis Island, so my grandmother was raised in New York. My mom was born there, and so was I before we moved to Arizona.

When my grandparents divorced, my grandma came to live with us—it was just my mom and I because my parents had divorced—so I spent a lot of time with her. I even called her Mom probably more often than I called my own mother Mom.

 

She greatly influenced me, spent a lot of time with me, and even got to know my friends. My husband and I were dating then, so she was even a part of his life.

 

She passed away when my youngest was two, and I felt it when she was gone. I was grateful I had her when I did—the culture, food, and just having that safe space in the kitchen with her. My love language is absolutely food, and she's definitely a big part of that. 

 

After your retreat, what led to your business launch?

I went to a yoga class, and the owner of the yoga studio—knowing really nothing about me—said, "You need to open a coffee shop." I kind of chuckled and thought, How does she know?

 

I explored opening a space but realized that it would be a hundred hours a week for six months. And I thought, Maybe that's not what it looks like right now. I felt like I needed to speak to my heart and my inspiration.

 

Somebody introduced me to the idea of doing a coffee cart for events. I wanted it to be very cohesive with Italian tradition.

 

I went to a happy hour with a few friends. One is an event planner. We got to talking, and I said, "This is what I'm exploring. Would you have clients that would be interested in something like this?" And she said, "You have to do this."

 

I went home and told my husband. Then, I Googled "Italian coffee cart." Up comes this image of a Lambretta, and on the windshield, it says, "Congrats, Traci!" And it's spelled with an "i," like my name's spelling, which is extremely rare.

 

I was just getting sign after sign after sign.

 

I went to my husband's office, and my daughter pointed to the car in front of us. On the license plate, it said, "Coffee." And I said, "I need to find a truck."

 

I had looked at different trucks from Italy. There's one called an Ape from the Vespa brand, and they're really cute, but I'm seeing them recreated a lot—even China is recreating them.

I wanted something more authentic, more chic. My dad was a car salesman for 40 years, so I have a Cadillac. I wanted something a little bit higher-end and rare. And then I found the Lambretta.

A dealership out of San Francisco was advertising it on Facebook. I contacted them. They called me a few days later and said, "It's available and on its way from Italy. We can transport it to you if you want it."

 

So, all the numbers lined up the way I wanted them to. 

   

A young Traci poses with her grandmother.

How does the truck reflect your Sicilian heritage and grandmother's legacy?

One thing that was important was that because she was so petite, we wanted to have something really small and compact. I could have gone with a horse trailer. A lot of people are buying horse trailers. They're easy to find and inexpensive to modify.

 

But as I said, I wanted it to be more cohesive and feel Italian.

 

My grandmother would've really loved the cute little compact car and riding around in it. It definitely speaks to who she was. There's the sleekness. And she was just funny, too. The truck is comedic in how small it is and how it runs around. It's cute.

 

It's a lot more work than doing the horse trailer. But I wanted it to be more elegant—something people would want to have in front of their homes.

 

"Angela" parked and ready for business

You plan to start serving food. Tell us about that.

I'm getting licensed to do the catering. I want to do more appetizers. I'm not looking to really do full-catered dinners. I have other resources: people who will do the full dinner part of it, and my daughter will be doing charcuterie and grazing boards. She's absolutely amazing in that. But we'll do arancini, pizzelle, and biscotti.

 

The one thing that my grandma made before she passed away was stuffed squid. That was a big thing for us because it's labor-intensive. 

 

When I have made that, people go crazy. I had New Year's Eve here, and I made it. So we could probably do that in smaller bites. 

 

Traci sets "Angela" up for a bridal expo appearance.

How do you tailor your offerings to fit different themes?

We are having one party for a Persian couple, who want beverage taps. And so we're going to do cold brew on one tap and espresso on another tap, and then for the other one, we'll probably do a Pellegrino base. There are different Persian drinks that we will create with that.

 

These are going to be non-alcoholic just because of the location of the truck for the venue, but we can also do espresso martinis and cater those to different flairs.

 

I am excited because my creative abilities will be able to come out. We're even scheduling a tasting where we will come up with some ideas and have them pick one or two.

 

I did have somebody ask, "What if I wanted four taps?" I asked, "When's your wedding?" They said it was in 2026, and I said, "I think we might be able to get that done."
 

What challenges have you faced?

The biggest thing is the permitting. Just getting everything dusted. I've had contractors help me, but one of the things that I take pride in is that I've been doing a lot of the build-out myself. So, taking the time to do it myself has been a learning curve because I've never done anything like that before.

 

There's an amazing Facebook group of coffee entrepreneurs, and it's a great resource. I've learned a lot from that.
 

"Angela" prepared for a magical night

What experience do you hope to share?

It's really about bringing people together and having it be fun. Even at the expos, seeing people smile and come up and say, "Oh my gosh, it's so cute!" Even just the conversation piece was really what I wanted, something that people would want in the background, along with the food and all that is also just extra.

 

It's really nice when you can bring joy like that to people. That was the biggest thing I really meditated on: being in that environment where people are happy and celebrating something, and you're just being able to be part of that. 

 

 

 

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