Saint Joseph's Day - Italian recipes for St. Joseph's Day (2024)

St. Joseph's Day
March 19

St. Joseph, who is the patron saint of the family, is celebrated at the Spring equinox and his day is a feast of bread. At one time,
the Feast of San Giuseppe, as he is called in Italy, was an Italian national holiday. St. Joseph's feast day is still celebrated with
families gathering together to create enormous buffets for neighbors and friends. The table is said to overflow with an abundance
of food that the Father of the Holy Family provides. The centerpiece of St. Joseph's Day festivities is an alter laid with fine linens
and decorated with flowers and decorative breads. In America, the festival is like a giant potluck dinner, but the dishes served are
similar to those eaten in Italy and are always meatless - from fried croquettes of fish, sardines, calamari, and shrimp to pasta with anchovies and breadcrumbs, stuffed artichokes, spring vegetable frittatas, fava bean soup or minestrone. But in America, as in
Italy, a highlight of the meal is the special sweets that are prepared. Although the names and shapes of these hot delicate fritters
differ from region to region, they are as much associated with St. Joseph's Day as turkey is to Thanksgiving. They are usually
called zeppole or frittelle; other names are cassatedde, sfinci, or bigne. The pastries may be fried or baked and are sometimes
filled with a sweetened ricotta, pastry cream, or custard. In some areas the zeppole are made of rice while in others they are
based on flour.

Ingredients:Pastry:
1 cup water
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs

Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup whole milk
2 egg yolks
1/2 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped

Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Maraschino cherries