St. Joseph wasn't just a good dad...

 ...he has some great pastries named after him, too!

Today is St. Joseph's Day, a day that Catholics honor Jesus' earthly father, Joseph the carpenter, husband of the Virgin Mary. 

Fortunately, you do not need to be a believer in order to celebrate this day with the very best pastry there is: Zeppole di San Giuseppe. 

You'll typically find two types of fillings: custard cream, and cannoli cream. They're both delicious, although I'm a bit partial to the cannoli cream myself. 

I've never made this particular dessert, but it's on my list of ones to try someday. 

Here are links to a couple of recipes I've got my eye on, bookmarked for later:

Zeppole di San Giuseppe from Christina's Cucina

Baked Zeppole from Mangia Bedda

And, if you live in the NY Metro Area, you can get the best authentic Italian St. Joseph's Pastries delivered from Veniero's Bakery, located in the heart of Little Italy. (If you live in the U.S. but outside of the NY Metro area, they do have many other things you can order, like their famous NY Cheesecake, Cannolis, and Rainbow Cookies.)

In addition to his must-have pastries, St. Joseph is also pretty popular with modern-day homeowners--but not because people like to put him on display inside their homes. In recent years, it's become a superstition that if you bury a small statue of St. Joseph in your yard when you're trying to sell your house,  he will help it sell faster, thanks to his diligent carpenter's work ethic. (If you're trying to sell a condo or other residence where you don't have a yard, you can bury him in the soil of a houseplant instead.)

Of course, the Catholic Church frowns upon such things, but I have heard from friends who swear that it actually works, so who am I judge? If you're looking to sell your home and feel like you need an extra helping hand to close the deal, here's a link to a reasonably-priced St. Joseph statue that is just the right size, and even comes with its own prayer card.  Happy St. Joseph's Day!