Today we are getting together with my
first cousins on my Father's side for a last minute party..My Dad's parents both were born in the seaside town
of Sciacca in Sicily...This is the city where one of the best imports of Anchovies to America comes from, the
Agostino Recca Co. For taste and sentimental reasons I use this brand of jarred anchovies...search them
out at your next trip to an Italian deli!  Everyone is bringing a little sumpin'sumpin to today's soiree.  I'm
bringing 2 trays of meatballs and the journals I compiled of some old family pix, our early history, and treasured
family documents.  But I thought I should make something a little bit directly from our Ancestral town. 
The grocers' stalls are overflowing with peppers at this time of the year, in particular, with my most favored
of all the peppers for eating, the Italian Frying Pepper, or Cubanelle...It's the pepper that is used in peppers
and eggs, it's stuffed, it's fried..it's roasted...there is something different about this pepper than from the
bell pepper...I like it better even with sausage and peppers.  It may have more of an "old world" flavor,
whatever that is...but I think that's it. 
Here is a fried pepper side dish that is a great topping for sausage, or EVEN better, on it's own between
a piece of Sicilian bread, studded with lots of sesame seeds.  You can incorporate it in an antipasto also.
The recipe pulls from deep Sicilian roots and uses ingredients that actually come from Sicily.
Start with a black iron skillet.  Heat the skillet and then reduce the heat when it starts to smoke.  Seed and
cut into strips 10 cubanelles.  Add them to the skillet and let sit for about 3 minutes..the dry heat will blister
and char the skin.  Stir, and do this 2 more times to give all the peppers a chance to get some scorching.

Season the peppers now with 1 tsp. of red hot chile flakes, and 1 tsp. of Sea Salt, i'm using a Sea Salt
from Trapani, Sicily...and area where salt has been harvested from the sea for centuries.  Now drizzle
2 tbs. of extra virgin olive oil over the peppers...the aroma that will come off the pan will knock you down.
It's pure pepper heaven...
  Now sprinkle 1 tbs. of Sicilian oregano
(yes, that sprig above is from the Island of Sicily...you can get this online or at an Italian deli
http://www.allthingssicilian.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=5062&idparent=363      )
Any good dried oregano will work if you cannot obtain the Sicilian type.  Let this sizzle on medium
for a good 7 minutes, stirring. Now add 2 anchovy filets(preferably the ones I used, Agostino Recca
brand, right from Sciacca, Sicily)  and mash them into the oil...add 2 thinly sliced cloves of garlic and
blend well.
  There's the anchovy right in the center.  It
will  mellow out and blend into the finished dish imparting a mysteriously good flavor, not a fish bomb.  After
the peppers have softened somewhat, add 1 tbs. of good honey, and 1/2 tsp. of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. of
capers.  Here we have one of the main styles of Sicilian cooking,  Agrodolce, the balance of sweet and sour.
You find this in the classic Caponata dish made with eggplants.  Let this cook down for 6 minutes..shut off
the heat and cover for 10 minutes. Now serve, hot or room temperature.
As always, before you finish the dish, check for seasonings (salt, pepper).
  U'peppurule' e' finutt
The peppers are done!
Enjoy this condimenti or contorni (condiment or sidedish) with your summer meals...It tastes best
at this time of the year because the peppers are in season.  Now I must leave you to hang out with
my cousins who come from a family that started with two babies born in Sciacca, Sicily and immigrated
to the United States with parents looking for all the best that this nation offers...a timely thought ...
Grazie Grandma and Grandpa...today's party is for you!




Giuseppe Lucia (Josephine) Vizzi and Francesco (Frank) Battaglia...my paternal grandparents...