Hi Marg,
Please post your recipes! My grandmother passed away in June 2009 and now only one aunt remains who makes them :(
I always thought that maybe the name somehow referred to its cheese filling 'cacio'. We grew up speaking a mix of dialect and Italianized American words so never really sure about some words!

I know exactly what you are referring to. My family is from Boiano a small town in Molise and my grandmother makes these every Easter. We call them Casciatellì. She makes hers with fresh ricotta and pecorino in a half moon of dough. When we were kids, she'd put chocoate bits in it to make them more appealing to us. As many replys have mentioned every region has their own take on traditional recipes so I guess you should start with what part you're family is from. Also, I know that my grandmother has modified her traditional recipes to the ingredients that were available back in the 60s when she came here resulting in dishes that taste very different from that in Italy. Both good but not the same!

Casciatelli
Ingredienti: 1) ripieno: 500 gr. formaggi misti (mucca e pecora), 15 tuorli di uova, 4 albumi, salsiccia tritata; 2) per la pasta di contorno: ½ kg. di farina tipo 00, un pizzico di sale, acqua q.b., un cucchiaio di burro.
Stendere la pasta sottile e fare forme rotonde, collocarvi il ripieno e richiudere a metà. Spennellare con tuorlo di uova e infornare.