Ingredients:

• 1 quart milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 heaping tablespoons cornstarch

Mix cornstarch with some of the milk. Warm rest of milk. Mix eggs and sugar with cornstarch. Add mixture to milk and cook slowly.  Stir constantly. When thick remove from stove and add vanilla .

I don’t know where I got this recipe.  I know I made it for my kids when they were little.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Ib of shortening
• 1/2 Ib of light brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 Ib of pre-sifted flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup crushed peanuts
• 8 oz semi-sweet mini-chocolate chips

Cream shortening; gradually add sugar. When creamy, add eggs, two at a time. When light and fluffy, gradually add flour. If it becomes too heavy for beaters, fold rest of flour by hand.

Fold in peanuts and chips. Keep in refrigerator for a few minutes.

Roll or drop teaspoon sized balls on cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Makes about 60 cookies .

There is a story in our family that says when my mother first made these she used peanuts in place of walnuts as called for in the typical chocolate chip cookies because peanuts were cheaper.  I don’t know if that is a true story but it does give these cookies a unique taste.  My sister Anna and I have made them for years.  But I’ve made changes to the original recipe so you can really say this is my own recipe.  Even though I have problems with my hands, I try to make them for my grandson Stephen whenever he comes home from New York.  His brother Paul loves them, too.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 cups of pre-sifted flour
• 2 eggs
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon anise oil
• toasted sesame seeds

Cream shortening; gradually add sugar. When fluffy, add eggs and beat. Add flour, vanilla and anise oil. Stir in flour and put in refrigerator for 1/2 hour.

Make small rolls in hand about as long as a pencil and about 3/4 inch in diameter. Dampen hand with water then roll in toasted sesame seeds. Put on a board and cut into 1 1/2″ to 2″ lengths.

Bake at 400 degrees and until slightly brown. Makes about 4 pounds of cookies .

This is another old recipe I have been making for many, many years.  It isn’t a fancy cookie but I always have to make them for my family at Christmas.  They actually get better the longer you keep them because the anise becomes stronger.  I have my own way of rolling them out and then covering them with the sesame seens.  Anyone who makes them will just have to come up with their own method.

Ingredients:

• 3 Ibs green tomatoes (approx. 10 or 12 medium) 3 medium sweet red peppers
• 4 medium onions
• 4 medium red apples
• 3 cups of Heinz distilled vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Wash, trim and quarter tomatoes, peppers and onions. Core and quarter unpeeled apples. Put vegetables and apples in a blender. Drain and discard liquid. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in sauce pan. Heat to boiling. Add vegetables and simmer thirty minutes. Continue simmering while filling clean Mason jars. Fill jar within 1/4 inch from the top. Seal tightly. Can be frozen .

Aunt Tannie gave this recipe to me.  If I don’t have Mason jars, I just put the relish in containers and freeze them.  I sometimes add this to tuna, chicken, or even egg salad.  It’s delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cups halved or chopped green olives
• 3 cups thinned Italian tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/4 chopped Locatelli cheese
• 2 tablespoons capers
• fresh basil and mint

Cut eggplant in strips the size of French fries. Salt and let stand about an a hour. Dry on a paper towel. Deep fry in hot oil. Keep oil as hot as possible without burning. Add eggplant one at a time and keep adding one at a time to keep the oil at the same temperature. Fry each one until tender and cooked. Drain on paper towels.

To Make Sauce:

Parboil celery for ten minutes. Add olives and cook another five minutes. Drain all water out of the pot. Add the thinned tomato sauce and boil for ten minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Cook for three minutes. Add cheese. Make it come to a boil and then turn off heat and allow to cool.

Pour sauce over fried eggplants. Garnish with fresh Basil and mint that have been sliced into very thin strips.

My family loves this. When I make it, they eat it like candy. Well, it is sweet! I find that eggplants are better in the summer, even though you can get them all year round. This is another recipe I have been making for many years. I got it from my mother who brought it over from Sicily. She and my father worked for a nobleman when they lived there. Ma used to cook for the man and his family. That’s probably where she got many recipes. This dish is really a type of Caponota that many Italian families make.