March is here and spring is just around the corner. It is the month famous for the quote “Beware the Ides of March” which in the ancient Roman calendar is on the 15^th of the month. Unfortunately for Julius Caesar, he forgot to beware!

It is also the month that the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (who by the way was a Roman, his father was a Roman official named Calpurnius) and the Italians celebrate St. Joseph’s Day. Growing up, St. Joseph’s Day was a special day in my family as both my father and brother are named Joseph.

Today, people associate the Zeppole pastry with St. Joseph’s Day. Zeppole di San Giuseppe are made from a very slightly sweetened choux pastry. They are filled and topped with yellow cream (crema Pasticceria) and topped with a cherry. They can either be baked or fried. My father and my Aunt Lottie often debated what was the better Zeppole, the baked or fried version.  Although, we always indulged in the zeppole my aunt would bring my father each year, it was our tradition to eat doughboys. My mother would make the dough and once it had risen, she would cut it into strips and fry them in oil until golden and roll them in sugar. If you want to try them, just buy, or make some pizza dough and fry in a light oil. Some people dust them with confectioner’s sugar or cinnamon sugar.

 Of course, the Irish make Soda Bread. I have a wonderful recipe for Irish Bread and is not soda bread. Early in our marriage we lived in Providence, RI in an Italian neighborhood, where most people on our street were related. Our neighbor was a lovely Irish woman married to our landlord’s cousin.  I often shared cookies with her family at Christmas, so I was thrilled when she shared her Irish Bread with us. Fortunately, she shared her recipe too!

This is, by far, the best recipe for Irish Bread; it is moist and flavorful. I have changed the recipe just a little from the original. The key is not to overmix or overbake it.  

Irish Bread

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter Crisco^®, softened

1 ½ cups milk

1 cup raisins, immersed in whiskey (about a tablespoon)

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

Mix all dry ingredients together, cut in the Crisco^® and then add the raisins, caraway seeds, and mix. Last add the milk and mix just until the mixture is moistened. Do not beat! Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, dab the top with butter and bake in a 350° oven for about 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 to 10 minutes.