Giuseppe's Stories

Giuseppe’s Stories: Christmas and New Year’s Day

Christmas memories are special. Christmas on “Pucci Street evokes the scent of pine and burning candles. Many, many candles. Our church had a special alcove filled with greenery, candlelight, poinsettia, and Nativity Scene figurines. At the foot of the altar an empty manger awaits the Christ child. One trip to visit the church during the Christmas season was never enough. Oh there was so much anticipation and excitement in the air. It was a time of secrets, hints, wishes, and good food.

On Christmas Eve the children opened presents and “portrait” photos were taken. Here are a couple. On the left, Ceil and Sheila. On the right George, Gloria, Ann Marie, and Mary Kay, circa 1949. (Photos taken and film developed by Vito, I think.)

The Christmas Eves of my childhood: When I was a child–before Vatican Two–you were not allowed to eat meat on Christmas Eve. Caterina had a remedy for that–the most lavish fish feast you would dream of the rest of your life! My favorite was her Italian seasoned shrimp. Oh how I wish I had that recipe, but it is lost in old memories. There were platters and platters of seafood: calamari, baccala, clams, and other seafood delights.

[Incidentally, to those of you still adding to your newly acquired AmericanItalian vocabulary (see Story #8], here’s one word that functioned as both a food and a threat. If you were misbehaving an open hand would be waved at you with the disciplinarian shaking their head and saying, “Baccala!” It literally meant that you would be slapped in the face with a flat fish known as baccala (salt cod). It was a warning to behave..or else.]

But, of course, at Christmastime, baccala was strictly a fish because all the children were on their best behavior. Santa was watching. Oddly enough, I do not recall the Italian version, la Befana, ever used. She was a witch who distributed gifts to good bambani on January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany.

I do not have my grandmother’s recipe, but I managed to find a similar one in Jane Ziegelman’s 97 Orchard* It is the family recipe of a turn of the 20th century immigrant family, the Baldizzis family who resided in this New York tenement.

“Christmas Baccala

1 stalk celery, diced ½ c. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic (chopped) 1 tbsp salted capers

2 8-oz. Cans tomato sauce 2 ½ - 3 pounds baccala

Two days before Christmas eve, soak the fish in cold water. (Refrigerate or keep the fish in a cool place.) Change the water twice a day. Saute celery for 5 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and capers for a few minutes, until soft. Add tomato sauce. Cook over a low flame for fifteen minutes. Add bacalla and cook until the fish comes apart with a fork.”

Giuseppe’s Stories: Holiday Edition—Family Recipes and Customs

Aunt Rosie G. was generous with her delicious recipe for “Manicotti.” See below:

Aunt Rosie’s Manicotti

(Prepare your favorite tomato sauce in advance.)

Noodles: 1 ½ c. flour 6 eggs

1 c. milk pinch of salt

Mix together beaten eggs and milk. Fold in flour and salt. This makes a thin batter. Pour by tablespoonfuls on a hot grill. Cook only until set. Do not brown. (The size of the pancake depends on the size roll you prefer.) Remove the pancake when set and roll each one as you remove from the grill. After cooking, set aside. Then prepare the filling.

Filling: 3 lbs. Ricotta Cheese salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs 1 c. grated Italian cheese

Blend the ricotta, seasonings and eggs with a mixer. Stir in Italian cheese. Add sauce to cover the bottom of the pan or oblong dish. Fill rolls with prepared filling and place each “roll” with the sealed side down. Only one layer per pan for easier serving. Cover rolls with tomato sauce.

Cook in a preheated 350° oven until the manicotti’s all “puffed up,” about a half hour. You can cover the pan with aluminum foil while baking. [I would remove it in the last 5 - 10 minutes though.] Sprinkle with more Italian cheese before serving.

DOLCE

Biscotte

1/2 c. soft butter ¼ c. milk

¾ c. sugar 3 c. flour

3 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract ¼ tsp salt

½ tsp. anise extract ¾ c. pignoli nuts (or sliced

almonds)

Sift flour once, measure and add baking powder and salt. Sift again. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla and anise. Mix in well. Fold in pignoli nuts. (Dough will be “tacky.”)

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide into 4 portions and form in long rolls to fit in a cookie pan (which has been buttered and lightly floured). Fit two rolls to each pan. Flour hands when rolling and it will make handling easier. Flatten rolls slightly with a rolling pin after they are in the pans. Brush top with milk.

Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 350° oven. Allow to cool. When cold, cut in diagonal slices. Turn on their sides in the cookie tin. Bake an additional 10 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven at 450° Turn slices over, and repeat. This will give the “toasted” effect. Makes approximately 5 ½ dozen.

(Entirely different) Pine Nut Cookies

½ c. each granulated and powdered sugar ¼ c. flour

1/8 tsp. salt 1 8 oz. can almond paste (Solo brand)

2 egg whites, lightly beaten 3 oz. (1/2 c.) pine nuts (pignoli)

Sift together sugars, flour and salt. Break almond paste into pieces with a wooden spoon, Beat in egg whites a little at a time. Continue beating until mixture is smooth. Add sifted flour, etc. Mix well. Stir in nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Press into rounds.

Bake in a preheated 300° oven for 25 minutes until cookies are set. Remove cookies to the wire rack to cool. Garnish with more confectioner sugar (powdered). This recipe makes at least a dozen cookies. Store in an airtight container, they get hard fast.

Pizzelles

NOTE: You need to use a Pizzelle Iron to make these.

3 eggs, beaten ¾ c. sugar

¾ c. melted butter 1 ½ to 2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. anise extract

Beat together eggs, sugar and melted butter. Add extracts. Stir in dry ingredients. Mix well. Cook in pizzelle iron per appliance directions until golden. Remove from iron and cool on a cookie rack. You can dust with powdered sugar if you like, but it’s not necessary.

Gugulina (Reginas)

2 c. flour 1 tsp. baking powder

¾ c. sugar 2 sticks of butter, softened

3 eggs (2 separated and 1 whole)

½ tsp pure vanilla extract ¼ tsp. anise extract

3/4 c. sesame seeds, for rolling

Preheat oven to 375.° Mix together flour and baking powder. Set aside. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the whole egg and the two yolks, one at a time. Add extracts. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended.

In a separate dish, beat the egg whites (you can add a little water if needed). Roll pieces of dough (about walnut sized) into log shapes. (Dust your hands lightly with flour if the dough is too sticky.) Roll each log in the beaten egg whites and then roll into a plate full of sesame seeds. (Too many seeds will cause the cookies to split.) Place on a greased cookie sheet. Instead of greasing, use parchment paper if you prefer.

Bake in a preheated oven for 10 - 12 minutes, until lightly golden. Cook on rack. Makes about 4 dozen.

Ceil’s “C” Cheesecake

Crust: 1 ⅓ c. graham cracker crumbs ¼ c. sugar

6 Tbs. butter, melted Dash of cinnamon, optional

Filling: 2 large eggs ½ c. sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 2 large pkgs. Cream Cheese

Topping: 1 8 oz. carton of sour cream 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tbs. sugar

Combine all crust ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 3 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside while preparing the filling. Increase the temperature of the oven to 375.°

To prepare filling, cream together cheese and eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually add vanilla and ½ c. sugar. Mix well. Pour over the prepared crust. Bake in a 375°°oven for 30 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing the topping.

Topping: Combine sour cream, 2 Tbsp. sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Smooth over the top of the cooked cheesecake. Return to a 375° oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool thoroughly before refrigerating. Store in the refrigerator.

Serves at least 16. This cake is very rich so keep the portions small. If you want to decorate the cake, top it with prepared cherry pie filling.

Ceil obtained this recipe directly from the owner of Johnny Quintero’s Restaurant decades ago. (I hope I have spelled his name right!)

Aunt Gloria, who was from Camden, NJ, made one of my favorites, Strufoli. I don’t have her recipe, but I found one very similar on the Internet. The cook is also from New Jersey. I wrote the recipe by watching the following video. I will include it after the video link.

Besides the easy to follow directions and the proficiency of the cook, Giovanna Bellia LaMarca, I like her approach to safety. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ho_b2GW7Hg

Aunt Gloria’s Strufoli (or very close…)

Dough ingredients: 3 c. Flour 3 large,whole eggs pinch of salt

Preparation: good quality vegetable oil for frying Decoration: non pareils Honey mixture: Honey, orange blossom water, orange flavor or Fiori di Sicilia, grated rind of one large orange, optional

Pour flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Break the eggs into the well. Beat the eggs using a fork, incorporating some of the flour into the mix. Continue to incorporate all the flour, mixing with your hands until you have a dough that can be formed into a soft ball. If dough is too stiff, add up to 2 tps oil. If the dough is too loose, add 1 or 2 tps. of flour. (See You Tube demonstration.) The dough should be soft and pliable.

Knead the dough, form into a nice ball and coat with a teaspoon or two of oil. Cover with an inverted bowl and let rest for 20 minutes. Then cut the dough in half, and cut the halves into four pieces. Roll each portion of the dough into a long rope with a diameter of ½ to ¾ inch. Cut each rope into small pieces (See video.) Place on a large platter until all the dough is cut.

Prepare for cooking by lining a cookie sheet with a paper towel to absorb the cooked strufoli oil. Put cooking oil into the fry pan. (Please follow the safety directions as shown in the video.) Using a long-handled strainer spoon, test fry a few pieces of dough to get the oil to the correct temperature. Remove the test pieces and add some of the dough, cooking until golden–not browned. (Watch Giovanna, she’s an expert!) Place cooked dough onto the cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dough is golden.

Turn off the heat under the fry pan. Remove the pan carefully. Now you can ready the honey pan. (Giovanna uses a wok, but other pans will work too.) Spray glass measuring cup with PAM. Measure in 1 cup of honey. Pour honey into a clean pan and look for honey to begin to boil or to form bubbles at its edge. Add orange blossom water. Grate in the peel of a nice sized orange. Mix well. Spoon the cooked and drained strufoli into the warmed honey. Mix well, stirring with a wooden spoon. Arrange on a serving plate, sprinkling in the non pareils as you go. You can further decorate as demonstrated if desired, but this is not necessary.

PLEASE CHECK THE INGREDIENTS AND METHOD WITH THE VIDEO BEFORE MAKING THIS. I did my best, but be sure before you begin.

Another Christmas Tradition: Ladies Night Out

The war was over, the decade waning. For a few golden Christmases Ladies Night Out was eagerly awaited and long remembered. I don’t recall whether this special outing happened on the evening of Christmas or on New Year’s night. I rather think that it was Christmas evening though. It recently dawned on me that the outing may have been a gift from Caterina…

Nevertheless, this is my personal favorite Christmas memory.

Early in the evening, right after a large and filling dinner, Aunts Marie, Mary, and Ceil gathered up their young daughters, Joan, Lisa, and Sheila. Aunt Gloria and cousins Tessie, Katie, Letty, and Rita came along too. It was in the late 1940s or the very early 1950s. I think we went on three consecutive Christmases. The Ladies left the family gathering in time to catch a bus that would take us to State Street in downtown Chicago. Our destination? I’m pretty sure it was the Chicago Theater, but it could have been the State Lake. I remember a beautiful staircase, but we had tickets for the main floor, close to the performers.

Oh, there was so much excitement and anticipation on that bus! The daughters felt so grown up! Why? We were going to the the Holiday Stage Show. Several downtown theaters had stage shows throughout the year, but the Christmas program was the best. Big name performers were booked for Chicago. While I can’t recall them all, I do remember seeing Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (before their breakup), the Andrew Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, Jonathan Winters, Perry Como, and Billy deWolff. Patty Page performed, as did Vic Damone, Dick Contino, and Julius LaRosa. There were many others, famous at the time or beginning their careers. Tessie and Letty were especially bonkers over the accordionist Dick Contino. For years afterward, they followed his career closely and attended any and all of his performances whenever he played the Chicago area.

Going to the theater for a “grown-up” show was incredible; something to talk and dream about for many months. Wonderful memories–and just for “The Ladies.” The daughters felt so grownup and special. The experience was, indeed, the best Christmas gift ever!