st. joseph's day {re-post}

listen

i know the 17th was a big day

for the irish

and the color green

and
corned beef and cabbage

and
shamrock shakes

but hear me and hear me now

today

is the day 

everyone should cheer

pull out your italian flag

fire up the stove 

pull out all your big pots

open a bottle of wine

yell 

prego, prego

at the top of your lungs

and you will be ready

for

st. joseph's day

or

as it is called in our house

the feast

of

san giussep

and here is the best part

not only is there amazing food

at the St. Joseph Table

there are desserts

amazing

delicious

desserts

the best being

zeppole

which we only eat

this time of year

and the other best

are

cannolli

which i eat 

all too often

and another best is

pasta chote

which is not how they are spelled
but
how it sounds
in a
 complete and total dialect

i think may actually be

pasta croce

but i don't know

because this is what we call it

and when i say we

i mean everyone i have ever known

who has ordered, made, or eaten

pasta chote

and today

as my offering to you

and your st. joseph's table

i pass to you

the secret

to fabulous italian pastries

find a really good

italian bakery

and spend your time

making friends

**this post is not fresh, but the pastry we will be eating today is!**

cannoli

on march 19th

italians celebrate

st. joseph

in gratitude 

during a drought and subsequent famine

in sicily

the faithful prayed to st. joseph 

in hopes he would intervene

 when the prayers were answered

with 

rain and a successful harvest

the people of sicily

vowed to give thanks

yearly

for eternity

today

you may find italians

wearing red

praying in churches

preparing the altar

and

abstaining from meat

you will also find this italian

enjoying sweets

this is a day of 

reverence

and 

joy

last year 

i dispensed sage advice

(if you want to read it, click here)

this year

you get a recipe

cannoli

(printable recipe)

shells:

(you can buy them..there isn't a prize for the person who slaves over hot oil all day making these)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbs crisco or lard

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup marsala wine

1 egg--whisked with a bit of water

combine the flour, sugar, salt and lard together.  slowly add the marsala while kneading the dough. continue working the dough until it is well mixed and a rather hard dough is formed. cover with plastic wrap and let sit an hour and up to 3 hours. roll the dough out to 1/4" sheet and cut with a 4-5" round cutter.  quickly run a rolling pin over the rounds in 1 direction to form the rounds into ovals.

place a metal tube in the center of the oval and bring the sides up, overlapping enough to form the shell. brush seams with a bit of egg wash to seal.  

heat oil in a pot.  drop the shells a few at a time into the hot oil and fry until they are light brown and bubbly.  remove from oil and place on greaseproof paper. allow to cool long enough to handle, then slide the tube out and allow the shells to fully cool. 

filling:

1 1/2 lbs ricotta--drained to remove excess moisture

1/2 cup powdered sugar

pinch kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbs finely grated lemon peel

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup mini  semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet chocolate

mix all ingredients together and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours for the flavors to meld. filled cannoli shells tend to get a bit soft after time. if you want your shells to remain crispy, wait until you are ready to serve before filling them.

makes about a dozen

linking up with
tickled pink @504main

and
the tattered tag

i is for italian pastries

listen

i know yesterday was a big day

for the irish

and the color green

and corned beef and cabbage

and shamrock shakes

but hear me and hear me now

tomorrow

is the day 

everyone should cheer

pull out your italian flag

fire up the stove 

pull out all your big pots

open a bottle of wine

yell 

prego, prego

at the top of your lungs

and you will be ready

for

st. joseph's day

or

as it is called in our house

the feast

of

san giussep

and here is the best part

not only is there amazing food

at the St. Joseph Table

there are desserts

amazing

delicious

desserts

the best being

zeppole

which we only eat

this time of year

and the other best

are

cannolli

which i eat 

all too often

and another best is

pasta chote

which is not how they are spelled
but
how it sounds
in a
 complete and total dialect

i think may actually be

pasta croce

but i don't know

because this is what we call it

and when i say we

i mean everyone i have ever known

who has ordered, made, or eaten

pasta chote

and today

as my offering to you

and your st. joseph's table

i pass to you

the secret

to fabulous italian pastries

find a really good

italian bakery

and spend your time

making friends