1. I’m making this right now. I’m just past the “Sprinkle surface of dough with 2 Tbsp. sugar” part. Seems to be going well so far.

    I got obsessed with this pastry at Ames St. Deli, and found what is (thus far) its apotheosis at Flour. Flour will even be teaching a class on how to make this tomorrow; the class has long since sold out. I think this pastry is something of a mini-obsession around here; and like all things which are high-quality in Boston, there’s always a gigantic line for it and it sells out early. So maybe if I can make these on my own, I can slake my thirst for them.

  2. Ever since we went to Italy, we’ve been obsessed with Aperol spritzes. I ran out of Aperol, so I’ve been experimenting with other amari. A Cynar spritz is very good, though I need to change the ratio from 3:2:1 prosecco:Aperol:seltzer to 4:2:1 prosecco:Cynar:seltzer. Amari can taste quite medicinal, and I love that about them, but in the spritz that needs to be cut a little bit.

    For the record, Campari spritzes are also delicious. I’ve not worked out the appropriate ratio there yet.

P.S.: A friend tells me that he and his wife drink a cocktail that is roughly 1.5 parts Campari, 1/2 a part vodka, 1.5 to 2 parts grapefruit juice, and 1 part soda. That sounds dang nice.