As my first recipe article, I originally was going to make Italian Pepper Biscuits, which are a favorite of mine. While researching, I saw an archived article in the Providence Journal Archives Website for a recipe for Italian Pepper Biscuits, and decided to look up my last name, (as I know my italian side of the family has been in the food and restaurant business ever since we came to the US), and I found an article about my Grandpa Joe and his brother, George, (who I call “Uncle George”), about their business called “Nana’s Pickled Eggplant”, and in the article, I found my Papa Luigi’s Italian Wine Biscuit recipe. Luigi was born in 1914 in Providence, Rhode Island, and was the son of Giacinto Ruzzano, (a floor boss at the Atlantic Mills in Providence for over 40 years), and Aurelia Carmela Ruzzano, (Nardolillo), the sister of both Benedetto “Benny” Nardolillo, who established the B. Nardolillo Funeral Home in Providence in 1906, and Angelo Nardolillo Sr., who in 1954, established the Nardolillo Funeral Home Inc. in Cranston, Rhode Island, which still operates to this day. 

Luigi was the fourth eldest child out of nine siblings. Luigi’s parents both came from Italy, and immigrated to the US in the early 1900s. Luigi was a barber, and owned a barber shop called Lou’s Barber Shop, which he ran until he retired in 1986. He was very involved with cooking, and shared that with his two sons, George, and Joseph. In 2003, Luigi died at the age of 89 years old in North Providence. Both of his sons followed in their father’s footsteps, with George owning a restaurant, and Joseph being an avid cook and running two barbershops. In 2023, my Grandpa Joe died, and so now, my Uncle George tells me our family history and recipes, as the rest of my cousins aren’t interested in that. 

For the ingredients, you can get them anywhere. I got my ingredients from Walmart, Target, and my local grocery store. You can also use any dry red wine. The original recipe suggests using burgundy, however, I used an Italian red wine. 

Directions:

First, in a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder well. Then, in a separate bowl, mix the wine with the oil, and then add to the dry ingredients. 

Then, you will need to knead it into a dough. I suggest you knead it in the bowl using gloves. 

It will be sticky at first, but make sure to knead it very well. The color will be a gray-like color. Then, on an ungreased cookie sheet, take the dough and roll them into bagel-like shapes, (but you can shape it however you’d like). 

Then, take an egg yolk, beat it, and brush it on top of the biscuits. Then, at 350 degrees, bake for 31 minutes, and take it out and let it cool. 

Serve and enjoy! They are delicious with a cup of coffee!