Niccoli’s All Italian Blog

Cannoli’s are a Sicilian pastry. You will have a hard time finding it in northern Italy. The way it is made in Palermo, it has no chocolate chips or nuts in the filling. Try it. You will be in for a pleasent suprise.

This time of the year is great. As the weather cools and the seasons change we start to look for all the special items that make the hoildays special besidesilt and freinds. In November we will be getting our panettones in. The brand we carry is Albertengo. We have sold this one for the past 10 years. It is very good.

Joe

Farbrizio and family should be starting the havest of the olives to be crushed and pressed into the new oil . The olive oil should be ready around the first of November.
I’ll be placing an order for the olive then and I will have it for the holidays. Joe

One never knowns how small this world has become. Just a few minuetss a women told me, she had used the olive oil in Tuscany and just loved it. So, when she found it here in the deli she was very happy. She did not think she wold find it in the U.S.

This is a very special day for the Italians. We always cook lamb or veal on that day. You were able to find prime spring lamb at this time of the year. No longer is this available in most parts of the country. You can still get milk feed veal more so in the east. Our mothers cooked meals that we took for granted. They were always with us so we never really learned how they cooked. When they are no longer with us and we try to fix the same meal and fail thats when it hits us that we should have helped and listen istead of just enjoying the food. So we kept on trying to continue the traditions.

All Italian familes make this. Some more then others. My mother made this for us when we where growing up. She continued to made zeppoles up until she died. It was one of her favorites.
We have a mix in our store that all you have to do is add water. whoever grew up with zepploes will recall all the spical times that our mothers would make these. I like them rolled in sugar, some people like powder suger other like honey on them. What ever you like on them, it will bring back memories of time go bye.

This is one of my all time favorites.
You need 1 lb of thinly sliced veal. 2 cups of italian bread crumbs. 6 or more eggs whiped.
Place the veal, one at a time into the eggs and then the bread crumbs. Shake off excess bread crumbs and place in heated frying pan. Fry until you have a golden brown on both side. Place them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Then salt lightly.
This can be served as main course or side dish or in a sandwich. You can never go wrong with this dish.

Easter was always good. I remember my mother makeing cookies with a hard boiled egg in it. She would have conoli’s and pizzelle. We would get up in the morning to the aroma of fresh gravey cooking and dunk italian bread into the gravey because we could not wait. My mother would always worrry that we would eat too much before the food was ready and then not eat when we sat down. This never happened. In the gravey were meatballs, neckbones, fresh ham hocks, italian sausageand beef short ribs. About noon we would sit down to eat and we had spagetti. That was all my father would eat. Later on in life he would try other cuts. Around 5 oclock we had the meat course which was either a roast leg of lamb, pork roast or vealroast with patatoes,onions and carrot cooked with the roast. Salad was always served after the main course. And the gal of red wine.

Geno from La Valle foods told me that the Italian Goverment has cracked down on the use of San Marzano on the label if it does not have the numbered stamp and D.O.P on the label. Too many companies were useing the name and the tomatoes were not from that area. So, check your labels to see if you are getting the real thing.

We recieved the new olive oil from Fabrizio in December and it is excelent.