Category Archives: World Eats

March 19, 2008 · 12:12 PM

All About St. Joseph’s Day Food (especially Zeppole!)

SicilyFollowing my post on St. Paddy’s day eats, I have to mention St. Joseph’s Day, a holiday in Italy JosephAltarwhich is accompanied by a delicious treat called the Zeppole. A zeppole is a fried donut-like pastry that is filled with jam or cream and topped with powdered sugar. They are traditionally made especially for St. Joseph’s Day. About.com has a simple recipe, as well as an extensive history of the humble zeppole.

St. Joseph’s Day (March 19) is one of the biggest holidays in Sicily (and some other parts of Southern Italy). Joseph is the patron saint of Sicily since people say that in the middle ages peasants prayed to him and he ended a drought. Now, in remembrance of this feat, some Sicilians create altars full of food and plenty in honor of the day. Fava beans, the crop St. Joseph saved, are popular, as are citrus fruits, which happen to be prolific in Sicily. The tradition has spread to places with large Sicilian immigrant populations, especially New Orleans. There is a lot of interesting history of Louisiana altars (like the one at right) at the Houston Institute for Culture.

This year, I found a list of places with “St. Joseph Tables” in Chicagoland in the Sun Times. I imagine it would be a cool experience to go to one.

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March 17, 2008 · 6:16 PM

The history of Corned Beef and Cabbage

IrelandIn honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here’s a little post about the quintessential St. Patty’s food – corned beef. So…What’s the deal with it? I always though it was an actual Irish dish, but, it turns out it is really more of an Irish-American creation. According to Wikipedia, while cabbage has long been a traditional Irish food, beef was substituted in America as a cheaper alternative to bacon, which was traditionally served in Ireland. The ‘corned’ in corned beef actually is an antiquated way to say “brined.” The dish itself dates back to 1621! If you really want to go for it, here’s a corned beef recipe from Food Network.

CornedBeef

Corned Beef and Cabbage by Craig Dugas

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February 21, 2008 · 10:10 PM

What is…Welsh Rarebit?

WalesSo what is it? Welsh rarebit is apparently a beloved Welsh sauce (served over toast), consisting of cheese, mustard and beer. Actually sounds pretty tasty! For a long time I though it was something akin to sweetbreads – innocuous sounding, but disgusting. According to Wikipedia, this bechamel-esque dish has a long and storied past, originally being called “Welsh Rabbit.” Ambrose Bierce even included ‘Rarebit,’ in The Devil’s Dictionary:

“RAREBIT n. A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humorless, who point out that it is not a rabbit. To whom it may be solemnly explained that the comestible known as toad in the hole is really not a toad, and that ris de veau à la financière is not the smile of a calf prepared after the recipe of a she banker.”

The New York Times has a tasty-sounding recipe, definitely worth a try in the near future, especially given the lack of British dishes in our repertoire.

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November 25, 2007 · 12:18 AM

What is…Pão de queijo?

While the eaters have never been to Brazil, we know two things – we like bread and we like cheese. A lot! We also like cooking new foods. We have a long queue of dishes we are excited to make eventually, and Pão de queijo (Cheese bread in Portuguese) has jumped right to the top. A typical snack food in Brazil and Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina (where they are known as is known as chipás or cuñapés), these little pods of butter and cassava flour contain nothing but gooey cheese. We found a chipá recipe from fellow WordPresser Pip in the city that we are dying to try out. We will let you know how it goes.

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