KEEPING EASTER TRADITIONS ALIVE

Happy Easter for those who celebrate today! I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. I feel like we are getting to the end of this horrible time in the world, and looking forward to heading back to the city in the next few months. There will be more blog posts here as we start to see what is new and exciting in NYC ! 

Spending the holiday home this year, I decided to make the Easter pizza's my Mom used to make. My Mom passed in 2015 which seems like the other day but is 6 years ago. I baked with her for many years, but never tried to make these solo. I am not great with crust and rolling dough, but she tried to show me as best she could. This meat pie is also known as Pizza Chiena or Pizza Rustica and there are many different fillings. The one my Mom made has genoa salami, ham, Munster and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, the crust recipe is my Dad's Mom's recipe. I made this solo in 2015, the year she passed, and was shocked that I did it very easily. I guess I was learning all that time with her not even knowing it. 

My Mom used to make these in cookie sheets or large pyrex dishes because she gave some to her brothers and sisters for the holidays. Her original recipe consisted of 13 eggs, 2 pounds of ham/munster cheese and 1 pound of salami. My Dad used to help her cut all the filling the night before and then she would bake the next day. Thank goodness she reduced the recipe to bake in a pie plate which we did at the end because it was just us eating it. They do freeze well so it's a nice surprise to pull out in the summer when you want a light meal with a salad. 

The smell from this is incredible. I must say, not every Italian can cook. I have a few members of my family who just cannot make anything edible so I am thrilled that I did inherit my Mom's talents. I really never had the reason to cook, but when my Mom got sick, I had to take over. To my and Mom's suprise I could cook. When she told me I was a good cook, that was the best compliment to hear from her. I feel bad my Dad never got to witness my cooking and he would have been proud of me making the Easter recipes from his Mother. 

The finished product ! The smell in the house is just amazing and makes me think of wonderful memories with my family. 

The inside is so tasty, we normally ate this cold but you could heat it a bit in a microwave if you wished. It looks and tastes just like my Mom's version. I can't explain how I do it, it just happens. 

This year I decided to make the ricotta pie, same crust, but a sweet version. My Mom made hers with ricotta, maraschino cherries and Parmigiano cheese. I decided to change it up a bit, omit the Parmigiano cheese and add mini chocolate chips with vanilla. Reminds me of a cannoli filling. I actually got the 2nd to last jar of cherries at my local Wegmans. 

I have never done a lattice top but always thought they looked pretty. I knew we had the cutter to use as well as Mom used it for ravioli making. I figured it would make it a bit lighter than having a full crust on top, as my Mom would bake. 

Looks pretty good before it goes in the oven. I am very excited to try this one as this is the first time making it on my own. I honestly feel my Mom with me when making these recipes. It's a wonderful feeling as I miss her and my Dad so very much. 

The finished product looks pretty good. I hope that you are enjoying the holiday with your family and friends this year. It's been a heck of a year and a half, but we are almost through it, and it will make us all stronger for sure. 

HAPPY EASTER 

BUONA PASQUA 

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A Neopolitan Easter

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday! Part of the tradition in my family is making Easter Pizzas. Both my grandparents came from Naples making me 100% neopolitan, of which I am very proud. We have always made what we call Easter Pizza's - the filling can be different depending on what part of Italy you come from and they are so excellent!!  

Here is some great information from a NY Times article I found:

Naples is an ancient city, with a history that goes back at least to the classical Greeks. Relics of the old spring-planting festivals show up in Easter cooking, like the grains of wheat, swollen with milk and sugar, that decorate pastiera, a magnificent Easter pie, or the eggs, sometimes dyed red to symbolize life, that are baked into casatiello, a savory bread that is essential to a Neapolitan Easter.

Every Italian region has its own special breads and sweets for Easter. In Naples, there is pastiera, the sweet and creamy custard pie with whole-grain wheat berries flavored with orange-flower water and chunks of candied orange peel baked in a sugary pastry crust. (In this country, Italian bakeries make pastiera at Easter, and coffeehouses in Italian neighborhoods often sell the delectable sweet by the slice.) From the same ancient custom comes the savory, peppery bread called casatiello, a high, round egg dough embedded with chunks of cheese and ham or salami.

Not all of these Neapolitan Easter foods are suitable for diners in a hurry. Casatiello and pastiera are not difficult, but they do require patience and attention. Easter, even in Naples, is a happy excuse for the revival of beloved old traditions.

The pizza is started with a dough recipe from my Grandma Nardone. 

the filling is wonderful of genoa salami, ham and munster cheese along with some egg and ....

Parmesan cheese which when grated with a microplane becomes like dust....if you do not have one of those, get one asap 

the pizza can be made round 

or in a cookie sheet, this is probably best as it is very rich 

the finished product...the smell in your kitchen is amazing!! This pizza freezes very well, as it is very rich to enjoy but great to have later in the year. 

This pizza is made with a filling of ricotta and cherries along with parmesan cheese.....this is what it looks like cut in half...so yummy !! I am looking to try this with adding mini chocolate chips and see how it comes out! 

This is a fabulous sweet ricotta pie which the recipe came from my Uncle Jimmy's mother  

It kind of reminds me of a cannoli pie because the filling is like that in a cannoli. A great way to end your Italian Easter dinner !! 

Here is the full article from the NY Times if you wish to read it:

Naples Easter Article 

 

                             Buona Pasqua  (Happy Easter)

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2015 Easter Week

I cannot believe Easter is this weekend! The time has flown by for sure, but for all of the folks on the East Coast, we are ready for spring. I really hope I do not see a snow flake again until 2016!  

In France, they give chocolate fish filled with all kinds of tasty treats. Every country has their own traditions which I think is very cool. 

This will be the first holiday without my Mom. Every year we would make the Italian Easter Pizza. When all my Aunts and Uncles were alive, my Mom would make so many of them because she would share with her brothers and sisters. As folks began to pass away, we made less and less. The pizza does freeze well, which is a great surprise to find a few months later in your fridge!  

You can make them in a pie plate like we did above here, my Mom used to make it in a cookie sheet. That would be a full size, enough to share with everyone. I may attempt to make one myself this year, I am not sure how it will come out, but I think I would like to try. It will feel very weird doing it myself, but I know she's watching me where she is now. This one is filled with genoa salami, ham, parmesan  and muenster cheese. It is just such a yummy experience!  

We also made another kind with a filling of ricotta and marishino cherries. These pizzas are such a tradition in my family, I am so glad I have the recipes from my Mom, in her handwriting, and that I made them with her for so many years. I think I have the knowledge to pull them off, we will just have to wait and see! 

This is a wonderful ricotta sweet pie from my Uncle Jimmy's sister which is amazing! The crust is real simple as you just pat it in your pie plate. I am really in love with this pie as it could be called a "Cannoli Pie" very easily ! 

Do you have many traditional foods that you make for the Easter holiday? What are some of your favorites?  

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Easter Pizza Neopolitan Style

Photo above from Library of Congress of Naples, Italy 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday! Part of the tradition in my family is making Easter Pizzas. Both my grandparents came from Naples making me 100% neopolitan, of which I am very proud. We have always made what we call Easter Pizza's - the filling can be different depending on what part of Italy you come from and they are so excellent!!  Here is some great information from a NY Times article I found:

Naples is an ancient city, with a history that goes back at least to the classical Greeks. Relics of the old spring-planting festivals show up in Easter cooking, like the grains of wheat, swollen with milk and sugar, that decorate pastiera, a magnificent Easter pie, or the eggs, sometimes dyed red to symbolize life, that are baked into casatiello, a savory bread that is essential to a Neapolitan Easter.

Every Italian region has its own special breads and sweets for Easter. In Naples, there is pastiera, the sweet and creamy custard pie with whole-grain wheat berries flavored with orange-flower water and chunks of candied orange peel baked in a sugary pastry crust. (In this country, Italian bakeries make pastiera at Easter, and coffeehouses in Italian neighborhoods often sell the delectable sweet by the slice.) From the same ancient custom comes the savory, peppery bread called casatiello, a high, round egg dough embedded with chunks of cheese and ham or salami.

Not all of these Neapolitan Easter foods are suitable for diners in a hurry. Casatiello and pastiera are not difficult, but they do require patience and attention. Easter, even in Naples, is a happy excuse for the revival of beloved old traditions.

This dough is amazing and can be used to make great calzone as well. The recipe came from my father's mother, Rose.  

filling is wonderful of genoa salami, ham and munster cheese along with some egg and ....

Parmesan cheese which when grated with a microplane becomes like dust....if you do not have one of those, get one asap 

the pizza can be made round in a pie plate 

or in a cookie sheet, this is probably best as it is very rich but so yummy 

the finished product...the smell in your kitchen is amazing!!

this one is made with a filling of ricotta and cherries along with parmesan cheese.....

this is what it looks like cut in half...so yummy !!

Here is the full article from the NY Times if you wish to read it:

HERE 

Buona Pasqua  (Happy Easter)

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Easter Pizza, Italian Style

Photo above from Library of Congress of Naples, Italy 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday! Part of the tradition in my family is making Easter Pizzas. Both my grandparents came from Naples making me 100% neopolitan, of which I am very proud. We have always made what we call Easter Pizza's - the filling can be different depending on what part of Italy you come from and they are so excellent!!  Here is some great information from a NY Times article I found:

Naples is an ancient city, with a history that goes back at least to the classical Greeks. Relics of the old spring-planting festivals show up in Easter cooking, like the grains of wheat, swollen with milk and sugar, that decorate pastiera, a magnificent Easter pie, or the eggs, sometimes dyed red to symbolize life, that are baked into casatiello, a savory bread that is essential to a Neapolitan Easter.

Every Italian region has its own special breads and sweets for Easter. In Naples, there is pastiera, the sweet and creamy custard pie with whole-grain wheat berries flavored with orange-flower water and chunks of candied orange peel baked in a sugary pastry crust. (In this country, Italian bakeries make pastiera at Easter, and coffeehouses in Italian neighborhoods often sell the delectable sweet by the slice.) From the same ancient custom comes the savory, peppery bread called casatiello, a high, round egg dough embedded with chunks of cheese and ham or salami.

Not all of these Neapolitan Easter foods are suitable for diners in a hurry. Casatiello and pastiera are not difficult, but they do require patience and attention. Easter, even in Naples, is a happy excuse for the revival of beloved old traditions.

This dough is amazing and can be used to make great calzone as well. The recipe came from my father's mother, Rose.  

filling is wonderful of genoa salami, ham and munster cheese along with some egg and ....

Parmesan cheese which when grated with a microplane becomes like dust....if you do not have one of those, get one asap 

the pizza can be made round in a pie plate 

or in a cookie sheet, this is probably best as it is very rich but so yummy 

the finished product...the smell in your kitchen is amazing!!

this one is made with a filling of ricotta and cherries along with parmesan cheese.....

this is what it looks like cut in half...so yummy !!

Buona Pasqua  (Happy Easter)

To be assured not miss a post, sign up for each one to be emailed to you HERE. Be sure to check for your Feedburner confirmation email, or your subscription will not be processed. Your email is not sold or shared with anyone. Thank you so much for visiting! 

Would be thrilled if you gave me a follow here: 

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