Keeping Busy: Vinegar Peppers

I'm trying to keep myself occupied today so I won't perseverate about this diet. There's laundry to do, vacuuming, dusting.. all the things you don't want to do but must be done. But first, I need to use up some of those little red, yellow and orange sweet peppers they've been selling in the market. I'll make some Sal's Vinegar Peppers!

UPDATE: They're all done! They're really easy to make. All told it took 1-1/2 hours from beginning to end of cleanup!

They're really easy to make. First wash the peppers and clean out the seeds and ribs inside. Cut them up into 1-inch pieces

Into sterilized pint jars place 3 peeled garlic cloves, 1-1/2 teaspoons each table or pickling salt, sugar, dried oregano and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more to your taste... I don't like them too spicy so I use just a pinch). Pack the peppers in very tightly as they do soften somewhat in processing. Pour in a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 cider vinegar leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe jar rims, top with sterilized lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 7 minutes.

I will wait for 4 weeks before I use these peppers for sandwiches, salads, pork chops or sausages with vinegar peppers. They are very versatile. Note: If you use table salt the garlic may turn blue. The blue color will dissipate by the time the peppers are ready to be eaten. You can prevent this by using pickling salt which is pure sodium chloride and has no iodine or anti-clumping agents.

Buona Festa! March Food Holidays

Since 1916, zeppole central

Buona Festa! 

A couple of days ago I posted a photo of something I was making for the Festa di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph's Day). There is a pastry sold in areas with large Italian immigrant populations like NYC and Providence, RI called zeppole. They are rounds of puff pastry (pâte à choux), which most people recognize from eclairs, cream puffs, etc. The can be filled with a custard-type pastry cream or sweetened ricotta cheese, which is the type I make. They are then topped with either cherry filling or a maraschino cherry. 

When we were kids we would go to Scialo Brother's Bakery (recently featured on Lidia's Italy in America) for our zeppole but the drive into Providence for cream pastry is fraught with problems, the least of which is taking a chance on poisoning my friends with pastry that has been rolling around my car for the trip home so now I make my own. Lois Scialo, the owner with her sister, was my 4th grade teacher in elementary school. She was not making the pastry then but when I went in I introduced myself and was not at all surprised to learn she didn't recognize me. Well, it was a very long time ago. Below are some photos of when I last went to Scialo Brother's for zeppole which was in 2011. 

Outside Scialo Brothers... can't wait!

The round glass-fronted bins are full of those wonderful Italian sweets wrapped in cellophane

These are Scialo's zeppole. Perfetto

These are the ones I made last year. I didn't drain the ricotta long enough and the result was a "loose" filling. Not pretty.

This time, two days before I made the zeppole, I put the cheese into a sieve with coffee filters and set it in the fridge to drain

The shells baked up nice and crisp

These are the ones I made this year. Draining the cheese makes all the difference. 

If you would like the recipe ask for it in the comments and I will email it to you. Buona Festa!!

Today's Vintage Recipe

This gem comes from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook c.1953. Imagine your guests' surprise when they cut into this pineapple and discover a paste made from liverwurst, mayo and Worcestershire sauce. They'll love it? Also, note the cheese and salami bites with the olives secured with pretzel sticks. Fab-u-lous! With these ideas you're all ready for that smart cocktail party you've dreamed about having. Everyone will be talking!

Liver Sausage Pineapple

Mix 1 pound liver sausage with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Shape around a jelly glass. Soften 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatine in 2 tablespoons cold water, dissolve over hot water; add 1 cup mayonnaise; chill. Frost “pineapple,” score; stud with sliced stuffed olives. Top with real pineapple top.