Angela Pia is an elegant, easy no bake dessert that is as rich in history as it is in flavor. Light, chilled and boozy, this dessert will cap off any meal in style.
After making a Grasshopper Pie from a family recipe for a vintage affair a few weeks back, I was inspired to pull out my Grandmother’s recipe box which is filled with her hand written recipes, and those from her friends as well as my Great Grandmother.
It was a time before canned soup casseroles with three ingredients were in vogue and everything was a whole food for the most part.
I was thumbing through the dessert sections and landed on a few that felt unique or seasonal I wanted to try and pass along.
My first choice proved that in the ‘60’s (my guess at the recipe vintage) cocktail hour was clearly NOT just for before dinner.
The dessert named ‘Angela Pia’ or translated from Italian to be ‘Pious Angel’ was not something I could pass up.
Angela Pia – An Easy No Bake Dessert
Pietro 311 Restaurant – San Francisco
My grandparents would have lived in San Francisco at the time. Anyone who has lived in Northern California in the last century would have heard of famous newspaper columnist Herb Caen.
His columns in the San Francisco chronicle began in the late 1930’s and spanned almost 60 years, always the talk of the breakfast or dinner table in my grandparents’ household.
When I saw his recommendation on this recipe slip I was sure it must have been a hit at the time.
I did some sleuthing on the pre-printed recipe I found that had seemingly been torn from a larger document.
What I pieced together with some internet help is that the original dessert was served at a restaurant named Pietro 311 on Washington Street in San Francisco.
At the time this would have been in the Produce District, I suspect leaving the clearly adored restaurant a surprise due to its unlikely location combined with its quality cuisine.
The area where it stood is now the Embarcadero Center for those knowledgeable to the Bay Area.
I found a few references to the restaurant in chat sessions from the past decade.
They all shared a common palpable nostalgia and fondness for how ‘special’ the restaurant and its cuisine were. This dessert was always mentioned so must have really something in the era (before Jello Pudding Parfaits hit the shelves!).
Using Raw Eggs
Friends of Pietro 311
Following the posting of this article I received two emails that I could not resist sharing.
After my research travels on the internet and encountering many misty nostalgic references to Pietro 311, I felt there are others who would relish this background history as I do.
My great thanks to Francis for taking the time to write.
Please check the comments for more similar historical accounts of this favorite restaurant too. They piece together the experience at Pietro 311 and a bygone era of dining.
“Hello. My cousin, Stephanie Alioto, was married to Pietro Pinoni, who owned and operated Pietro’s 311 restaurant at 311 Washington Street in San Francisco, where I was a frequent diner. I loved the Angela Pia desert, which means “pious angel” but which was named after his sister-in-law, Angelina Alioto Figone. And the reason the restaurant was in the produce district at the time was because Pietro’s father-in-law, my Grand Uncle Ignatius Alioto’s fish processing plant, Consolidated Fish Co., was just up the street, and my Grandfather’s plant, San Francisco International Fish Co., was a couple of blocks away where what is now the redwood grove of the Transamerica building at the corner of Washington and Montgomery Streets.
Pietro started his restaurant in the late 50s at 311 Washington St., then when that lease was not renewed, he moved up a block, but kept the 311 name until redevelopment took that building for the new apartments and high-rise buildings sometime in the mid- to late ’60s. Pietro then moved the restaurant across to Marin County, but that was short-lived. He “retired” to make wine, write a book on wine making, and travel.
How long did you all live in SF? Do you remember the Tortola on Polk Street? The predecessor, Garabaldi’s Tamale Parlor, was started by my Great-grandfather; operated by my grandparents, and then by my father until about 1978, when it closed, as none of us wanted to go into the restaurant business.
At one time, a group of us made a list of t he old SF restaurants (and businesses) that were such a part of the city and are now gone – e.g., Maye’s Oyster House, The Old Poodle Dog, Jack’s, Paoli’s, The Temple Bar, El Matador, Original Joe’s on Broadway, Vanessi’s, Veneto’s, The White House, J. Magnin, Roos Brothers, etc. I am sure you remember all of them.
Regards,
Francis Scarpulla”
More Classic Easy No Bake Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
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ANGELA PIA (Pious Angel)
Ingredients
- 3 eggs separated
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ounce brandy
- 1 ounce rum
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 package Knox gelatin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Set a saucepan filled with water over medium high heat on the stove to come to a low boil.
- Add the packet of gelatin to ¼ cup of water in a metal bowl (which will go over the saucepan of hot water) for 5 minutes.
- While the water is coming to a low boil and gelatin is soaking, add egg yolks to a different bowl and whisk or beat with a mixer until fully mixed. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until fully mixed into a light yellow, thick mixture. Add the brandy and rum and mix thoroughly.
- If 5 minutes has elapsed, place the bowl with gelatin over the hot water and whisk until it is fully dissolved. Remove from heat to cool for a few minutes. Pour into yolk mixture and stir to fully combine.
- Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Note: this cane be done during the time the gelatin was processing.
- Beat whipping cream until it forms peaks and add the vanilla.
- Fold together the egg whites and whipping cream mixture. Fold those into the yolk mixture until all are fully combined. Put into small cocktail glasses or sherbet cups to chill or freeze at least two hours before serving (I froze mine longer and they were light and easy to eat).
Toni Z. says
Thank you for posting this recipe! I lost mine some years back. I started making this as an adolescent in the 70s. I felt very sophisticated. I’m sure I got the recipe from my father, who formerly lived in San Francisco. We called it Angel’s Breath, but the recipe is identical. I’m excited to try it again, as it was very important in the formative years of my culinary skills and experience.
Annie says
3rd generation San Francisco native here…my Irish mom made this for our family several times a year. It’s been a family favorite for over 50 years. The recipe is easy to double, too. I also assure people that the alcohol kills any bacteria the eggs might have. My mom never once “sourced” eggs. LOL. Any market egg would do. Considering we’ve eaten this dessert for over 5 decades and never once has anyone gotten sick tells me “raw egg fears” are over hyped. 😉 I sometimes garnish with a pirouette cookie, or chocolate curl and slivered almonds, or sometimes a single mint leaf with a fresh raspberry at Christmas time. Thanks for posting the backstory. It was nice to see Herb Caen’s name after all these years. -Annie K. in Los Angeles
Toni Dash says
I always live comments on this post and the connections to this recipe! I agree about the eggs and alcohol lol. I do think the change in farming is probably more responsible for the food safety issues we hear of now (that I’m sure no one experienced back when Pietros was happening). Thanks so much for leaving your comment!
Martha says
Toni —
Angela Pia sounds DIVINE!!! It reminds me of another oldie, which back before we were so worried about drinking and driving, was my Go To for big dinner parties: Brander Alexandies. (Brandy Alexanders).
Soften a bunch of good chocolate ice cream, mix in the blender with a large, unspecified amount of VSOP brandy, whirl it till mixed and a bit slushy.
Pour into large red wine glasses and garnish with a a bit of unsweetened cocoa. Put the glasses on a tray in the fridge, ready to pass after everyone leaves the table and is moving about, socializing,
Be SURE to call an Uber!
Toni — You don’t have to post this!!!!
Toni Dash says
Are you kidding? Of COURSE I’m going to post it lol. Sounds delish. Funny how times have changed about drinking and driving isn’t it?!
Dovie Wylie says
I’ve been making this at Christmas since I saw it in Herb Caen’s column probably in the 1970s. It tastes like the best possible made-from-scratch eggnog, but transformed into a Bavarian cream. Rum and brandy extracts, about 1/2 tsp each, work fine if you don’t have or don’t drink either. Whether I put Angela Pia into one fancy bowl or individual small bowls, I always top it with freshly ground nutmeg, just as I would my eggnog.
Eileen Burger says
I came across this blog a couple years ago while searching for the Angela Pia recipe. I was familiar with the dessert from being at Pietro’s restaurant once or twice with my parents and siblings. I was excited when I read Helidoni’s post (October 20, 2011), because Robert Burger (who was still alive when I saw the post) was my father. He passed away this year. He was a great admirer of Pietro and considered him a friend. I cherish the wine book they wrote together.
Thank you Toni Dash for this blog that gave me so much of the history of Pietro’s!
Eileen
Toni Dash says
Eileen I started my blog in 2010 and though now there are hundreds of blog posts, this one remains my favorite. It’s comments like yours that help knit together the people and events tied to this well loved restaurant that give it a soul.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your comment. I really appreciate it.
Steve says
Hi Eileen-
I just found a copy of that book at Green Apple yesterday! I was immediately charmed by everything about it and had no choice but to bring it home. Looking into Pietro’s story brought me to this blog. Toni’s post is wonderful, but all the comments over the ensuing ten years are incredible. And I especially wanted to let you know that the book your father wrote with Pietro (and signed by both of them) will be a cherished part of my library, sitting right next to Herb Caen’s “Baghdad by the Bay.”
Cin Cin!
Elisa says
Thanks for sharing … my parents made this for dinner parties many times (that exact recipe from Pietro 311!)
Toni Dash says
I love knowing that Elisa!
David Hupp says
I want to weigh in about Pietro 311 restaurant, unique among my more than 7 decades of restaurant experience. I remember the place fondly. My visits to Pietro’s spanned a decade, from 1953 or so to 1963. For a short period I lived in San Francisco and could walk to the place.
Pietro greeted everyone as they entered, and he set my standard for what a restaurateur ought to be. Pietro knew his many regulars by name, while those of us who visited infrequently he recognized, but did not speak our names. His manner was completely warm and welcoming. Once seated, our dinner began with the most comprehensive antipasto platter I’ve experienced, including pickled pigs’ feet (my first time for those). Right from the start we needed to discipline ourselves or we’d be full before the entree, because we’d fill up on the antipasto and San Francisco’s unique sourdough bread. Next came either a large family-bowl of really good minestrone or salad, I cannot remember the order. The salad was a good caesar, prepared on a cart at the table, a strong visual memory. First, the garlic rubbed into the bowl. Then the croutons and anchovies. Then the lemon juice, followed by a shower of olive oil. Literally a shower, because holes had been punched in the top of a gallon can of oil and the waiter held the can upside down over the salad bowl. I cannot recall, there may have followed a shower of red wine vinegar, although a caesar’s acid can come from lemon juice alone. Finally, the crisp romaine was dressed with freshly shredded parmesian and served with a flourish.
Next, was primo, an excellent red-sauced pasta (my soul food). The secondo, or entree, was a choice of such as chicken cacciatore, 4 or 5 choices, as I recall. The finish was the magical Angela Pia and espresso. All so far were included in a fixed-price dinner. Besides the decent dinner wine, sometimes I’d have an apertivo, such as Punte Mes, and afterward a cordial liqueur of some sort, perhaps grappa.
So far the show was not unique, although always special, as I loved the waiters. At the end of dinner, however, the small glassware was cleared by waiters singing opera arias. One fellow I remember in particular. His name was George and he’d cart off our empty cordial glasses balanced on his bald pate singing Verdi or Puccini in a decent voice. Wotta show!
We tended to eat late, so when we exited the front door we’d need to step carefully to avoid the crates of lettuce and other produce that had been stacked on the curb edge of the sidewalk, headed for the produce market across the street.
I’m not sure of the true story, but at the time I’d understood that Pietro 311 needed to move from its original address at 311 Washington, two blocks up to the 500 block because then-Mayor George Christopher forced the issue about the produce market. Christopher was corrupt and I was told that I understood that Pietro hated that mayor. What I didn’t know at the time was that Pietro was the brother in law of future mayor Joe Alioto. At the time we all admired Pietro for standing up to a corrupt mayor and for keeping the “311” as sort of an act of defiance.
Over the years I’ve made many Angela Pia desserts. Once I even made it in plastic water glasses and took it to a post-hike potluck/poetry reading at a nearby mountain lake. It was, and always is, a big hit. As I am not fond of vanilla, I substituted lime juice, and add a garnish of finely shaved lime zest, which goes nicely visually. The recipe otherwise is unaltered; check it out:
Separate 3 eggs, reserving whites Beat yolks until light
Add 1/3c sugar, beat until fluffy
Add:
1T cognac or triple sec 1T rum
scant* 1/4 t vanilla
Angela Pia (serves 6-8)
Combine and heat gently and briefly to dissolve gelatin, add to eggs and beat well
scant* 1t gelatin scant* 2T lime juice
Beat reserved egg whites to stiff peaks, fold into eggs
Beat 1c cream to soft peaks, fold into eggs
Chill until set, up to 2 hours, covered, ans serve
Optional: garnish with a very light dusting of fresh nutmeg
*NOTE: This dessert is best when the vanilla, lime juice and gelatin is used sparingly
Source: An anonymous chef working at Pietro 311 Restaurant in San Francisco in the 1950s.
Toni Dash says
Oh my goodness David this may be the favorite comment I’ve ever received on any blog post ever. What a treasure trove of memories and details that take me back to being a child when my grandparents live in ‘the city’ and hearing names like Alioto thrown around in context that I couldn’t yet understand. There are have multiple family members ring in on this post and past patrons, all of whom exude the love of this special restaurant and a bygone era of dining. Thank you, thank you, for taking the time to share all of this. I truly treasure it.
David Hupp says
Wow! You are on top of your blog. Sometimes when I post somewhere I wonder if anyone’s reading. And here, with years passed in these posts, I wonder if anyone will read mine. I’m glad you liked it.
Some of your recipes interest me and I’ll comment there. Good work you do.
Toni Dash says
I read every comment David! I feel if people take the time to comment I owe them reading it! Also this post has evoked so many memories and stories for people, it’s a favorite for me too. Your comment prompted me to do some updating to the post too (dusting it off, enlargening the original photos, etc). Thank you again.
Toni Dash says
David did you happen to read the other comments? I just went through them again myself. They include Pietro’s daughter, other relatives and patrons. You might enjoy them!
David Hupp says
Hi Toni,
Yes I read all the blogs (lived near Dave Pinoni’s Walnut Creek many years ago, but did not know him. Further memory takes me to recall that the Pietro 311 meal included the choice of Osso Bucco or Saltimbocca (“jump in the mouth”) or lamb shanks as entrees. Likely the first time I’d had either.
I’m making Angela Pia for guests tonight to accompany a Thai meal.
By the way, another wonderful source of Italian Americana and recipes is the late and sorely missed Angelo Pellegrini, whose classic work, The Unprejudiced Palate, was one of my first food literature (and recipe) books (first read about the time I went to Pietro 311). He taught English Literature at the University of Washington. I regret that, when I moved to the Pacific Northwest, I didn’t look him up and thank him for his profound influence. You might check him out.
Thanks again for your blog.