Comments on: Inviting Writing: What Do You Call That Cookie?

By: Dave Hall

Dave Hall — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:42:28 +0000

My late mother in law used to make something like “shca-te-la.” Her mother was from the Italian province of Bari and called them “Scaliti”–the spelling is approximate- Nonni Rotunno did not spell very well.
Mom’s own version consisted of strips of dough cut with a zig-zag pastry cutter, tied into loose knots and deep fried until light brown and puffy. Mom then glazed them with a mixture of honey and cheap red wine–she called it “Dago Red”–the gallon-jug table wine you find in working class supermarkets.

In the 1920s, lots of Italian immigrants from Bari and Calabria settled in Spokane. Several versions of Scaliti are still found in Catholic parish bake sales. None, of course, as good as Mom’s.

By: susie

susie — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:49:12 +0000

Pasquale was thrilled to see his little family story in print. I have made them and blogged them at SweetiePetitti.com. Delicious!

By: ron

ron — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:57:48 +0000

Similar situation for me. My grandparents were from Lungro, which has Albanian roots. My father made a rolled up pizza dough layered with tomato sauce. We called it “valyahs”, but no info on internet. Anyone have any ideas as to real name/origin?

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:29:07 +0000

I love family tradition memories and this one sounds uber delicious! Where do you live? Any chance I can stop by for a taste :)
Happy Holidays!

By: Moshe

Moshe — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:44:20 +0000

Hey There,

Enjoyed reading your story. If you have the recipe, we’d love to feature it on CookItFor.Us — the world’s first recipe site that gives you the choice — make it yourself, or have it made for you.

We’re all about preserving family cooking traditions, and making it easier to bring recipes to life.

Best

Moshe Tamssot
Founder & CEO, CookItFor.Us