Recipes
Turdilli (Wine Cookies)
1 cup Wine (Sweet Red, Muscatel, or Moscato)
1 cup Oil
1 Tbsp. Sugar (More if using dryer red wine)
4 cups Flour (more if needed)
½ tsp. Baking powder
Bring wine and oil to a boil. Add sugar. Set aside and let it cool to slightly warm. Add the dry ingredients (flour + baking pwdr.) a little at a time, until it can be turned out onto the table or rolling surface. Knead and keep adding flour until the dough is firm, but not dry. Roll into 1 inch diam. logs about 12 to 15 in. long. Cut into little 1 in. barrels. Roll each into a scroll on floured basket or some such surface. Fry in 375 deg. Oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. When cool dip in hot honey. Makes +/- 4 dozen.
Chianuille (Raisin Turnovers)
½ lb. of Lard 3 to 4 Cups of Flour
1 cup Water 1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1½ cup Raisins + 1/4 c. water Pinch of Salt
1½ cup Chopped Nuts (Walnut/Pecans) 2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Grape Jelly
Boil lard and water in a small sauce pan for a few mins. Set aside and let cool. Put raisins and water into a small sauce pan and just bring to a boil; turn off heat and add the chopped nuts and jelly. Set aside. Now make the pastry dough. Combine the lard and water mixture with the dry ingredients gradually until able to turn out onto the rolling surface. Knead and keep adding flour until the dough is soft and the consistency of pie dough. Take a small amount (less than a cup) and roll it out to an even circle about 1/8th inch thick. Using a cutter that’s about 6 inches in diameter, cut out circles. Fill on one half with a spoonful of raisin/nut mixture. Fold over in half and seal the edges, by bringing the dough over itself and pressing down hard. Take a fork, with flour, and press the edges down again. Fry in 375 deg. Oil, turning often until golden. Drain on paper towel. When cool dip in hot honey. Makes +/- 2 dozen.
Scauille Egg Pretzels
20 Egg yolks 5 Cups of flour (Approx.)
4 Whole eggs 1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
2 Tbsp. Sugar 1 tsp. Baking powder
2 Tbsp. Butter (soft) Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. Vanilla
Beat the first 5 ingredients together until light & creamy. Add in Cream of tartar. Start adding flour and baking powder mixture gradually until it can be turned out onto the rolling surface and knead and keep adding flour until dough will be firm and slightly sticky. Cut away a chunk of dough and roll out into a long thin strip about 8 ins. long. Form into a pretzel shape. Make sure the ends are pressed firmly so as not to open while frying. Fry in 375 deg. Oil until golden. Drain on paper towel. When cool dip in hot honey. Makes +/- 4 dozen.
Cullurielli
My Grandma Josephine made these often for parties. They were a huge hit always. So good we would have to hide them. She called them something different (Petui ?) Anyway they looked just like this photo. The recipe below was lifted from the internet and translated from Italian, hence the interesting wording. bc.
The cullurielli are a dessert of ancient origin, delicious fried doughnuts covered with sugar, which are traditionally prepared on the eve of the Immaculate and throughout the Christmas holidays.
It is a typical recipe of the province of Cosenza, but widespread – with several variants in the name – also in other areas of southern Italy, especially in Sicily, part of Puglia, Basilicata and Campania.
Ingredients for about 25 donuts
1040 grams of soft wheat flour = 8.31 Cups (approx)
300 grams of Potatoes = 1.65 Cups (approx.)
13 grams of brewer's yeast, diced = .46 oz (approx.)
15 grams of salt = .53 oz (approx.)
450 milliliters of water = 1.9 Cups (approx.)
200 grams of sugar = 1 cup (approx.)
1.50 litres of olive oil for frying
Wash and cook potatoes. Peel them, pass them in the potato masher and let them cool without stirring. In a large bowl arrange 1 kg of flour, then add the potatoes, the yeast dissolved in a little water, salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Start stirring, adding the water a little at a time and then continuing to process the dough. We gently knead everything in order to create a dough that can be handled, while remaining very soft. Place the bread in a lightly floured bowl and make a cross engraving. Cover with a wet and well-squeezed napkin, wrap in a blanket and leave to rest in a warm and sheltered place. Leave to rise about two hours: after this time the dough will more or less double in volume.
Take with your floured hands pieces of dough of about 100-120 grams each and form many balls, making them roll in your hands. Place the balls on the floured baking tray, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for another three hours. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or in the fryer. Form with the balls of the doughnuts with the hole and then fry them in the boiling oil. Make the doughnuts brown first on one side and then on the other, an operation that takes a few minutes and with the appropriate ladle pierced drain them and arrange them gradually on paper towels. Spread the sugar on a tray and let the freshly fried cuddles roll.
