Our community hosted a retreat day recently for Deacons from a local parish. We served this wonderful sandwich combination which was inspired by the flavors of Italy. Everyone raved and took pictures. Afterwards, the retreatants told us that this place was going to become their annual quiet-day destination. (We hope it wasn’t just based on the food, but we do know it plays a special part!)
As a young sister and chef-in-training, I was taught to pray before my menu preparation. Often the Holy Spirit will nudge us to serve food that triggers memories for people; either of their childhood, their nationality, or maybe a comfort food that would bring healing in a special way. To be used by God in this way is a blessing.
As Brother Lawrence so aptly put it, “We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”
― Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
Print Recipe
Votes: 2
Rating: 3.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Bethany Sun-dried Tomato and Turkey Panini
In Italian the word panino [pa'ni:no] is the diminutive form of pane (bread) and refers to a bread roll. Panino imbottito (stuffed panino) refers to a sandwich, but the word panino is also often used alone to refer to a sandwich in general. The plural form of "panino" in Italian is panini.
SERVINGS4sandwiches
|
COOK TIME15mins |
PREP TIME5mins |
READY IN20mins |
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the Sundried Tomato Mayonnaise, blend all ingredients together in a Cuisinart until smooth – adjust seasonings as needed
- Toast the Panini Bread
- Generously spread both sides of bread with the sundried tomato mayonnaise
- Layer the sandwich ingredients in this way:
Lettuce
Cheese
Turkey
Bacon
Tomato
Avocado
Onion Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Red Onion, if desired
Leaving the noon church service today I got into a conversation that resulted in my late arrival for lunch. As I entered the refectory I heard happy exclamations regarding the meal…”What a great lunch! I loved this…so fresh and beautiful so colorful and tasty.”
What was it they were raving about? It was a brand new crisp, crunchy tofu recipe and it was all they described it to be! Truly sensational and remarkably satisfying.
Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Citrus Cabbage Salad with Crispy Tofu
SERVINGS4
|
COOK TIME15-20mins |
PREP TIME45mins |
READY IN1hr (approx) |
Ingredients
Instructions
Tofu
- Drain tofu of excess water. Let sit 20 minutes to drain.
- While waiting for tofu, mix together the first 7 ingredients and set aside.
- Heat a skillet on medium with about a 1/2 inch of vegetable oil inside. While heating, slice tofu into 1/2" slices, then cut each slice into thirds. Coat each cube lightly with cornstarch using a sifter and then place into pan until browned and crispy. You may have to turn up the heat under the pan a bit. Remove from frying pan sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and set aside on paper towels.
- Wipe pan clean with paper towel and add sesame oil, onions, and
chopped ginger. Cook about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add sauce mixture to pan, bring to a boil, and simmer about 2 minutes. Add tofu back to mixture, toss to coat. Top with green onions if desired.
Cabbage Salad
- Put the cabbage in a large bowl, with the celery, cut the skin and pulp from the oranges ...slice them into wheels (cut out any seeds) and add to the cabbage. Whisk the oil, lemon juice, balsamic and oregano and salt and pepper and pour over the cabbage.
- Mix well. Let it settle then mix through a few more times so that it is completely coated. Toss prepared tofu over salad before serving.
Springtime is asparagus time! When I was just a young novice one of my most favorite morning responsibilities was to check the asparagus patch. What a way to start the day! The sight of new spears shooting up through the soil was an absolute delight. Then to calculate how many would reach their full height by the end of the day was a “lifegiving” exercise.
Because their growth is so rapid and so obvious from hour to hour, it is unlike most other growing edibles except perhaps mushrooms. In any case, the sight, as well as the taste, of asparagus still pleases me to no end.
Whether it be out in the garden straight from the soil, whether it be simmered and slightly salted right out of the pot at the stove or topped with hollandaise at the dinner table, I always welcome them.
Now that they are so popular roasted I have come up with this simple version that many people seem to like ……bacon wrapped and roasted with a touch of brown sugar and crispy crumb topping.
Print Recipe
Votes: 2
Rating: 4.5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Bacon Asparagus Roll-Ups
SERVINGS4
|
COOK TIME15-20mins |
PREP TIME10mins |
READY IN25-30mins |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400º Fahrenheit. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Add parsley, lemon peel; toss well.
- Microwave bacon till fat is melted and the slices are easy to roll around the asparagus.
- Divide asparagus into 4 equal bundles. Loosely wrap each bundle with one slice of bacon. Press brown sugar onto bacon. Press crumbs onto sugared bacon. Place prepared asparagus into shallow baking dish. Brush asparagus tips with oil. Bake uncovered until bacon is crisp – 15”-20”.
Current surveys show that Italian food still ranks highest in popularity on restaurant menus across the country. With so many other ethnic foods gaining interest in the food world this surprised me a little when I recently found it out. I know it is true in our convent (that’s why we have Italian night on Friday of every week) but didn’t expect it was on such a large scale. This being the case let’s consider some more Italian versions of favorite meals and perhaps something other than provincial tomato sauce dishes that usually come to mind when we think of Italian cooking.
This week I experimented with chicken using some very typical Italian ingredients with the exclusion of tomatoes. I came up with a beautiful and flavorful Italian chicken featuring citrus fruit as well as figs, olives, garlic and herbs and seasonings all native to Italy.
Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Roasted Chicken with Citrus, Herbs and Olives
SERVINGS6people
|
COOK TIME43mins |
PREP TIME15mins |
READY IN1hr (approx) |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large roasting pan, season chicken with salt and pepper; drizzle with oil. Squeeze lemon and orange over chicken, then add fruit to pan. Add wine, orange juice, and thyme or oregano. Roast 25 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven; rotate chicken pieces if browning unevenly. Add olives and whole garlic cloves. Roast until a thermometer inserted in chicken breast (avoiding bone) registers 160 degrees Fahrenheit, about 15 minutes more.
- Transfer chicken and citrus to a platter.
- Place roasting pan over high heat, until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 3 minutes. Pour over chicken; serve.
Twenty six of our community young people who belong to our WinterPercussion Ensemble just returned from two intense tech weeks of preparation for the final competition they will be participating in in Dayton, Ohio in April. They have been practicing and working hard towards this starting last fall. When they rehearse, they use up enormous amounts of energy and work up huge appetites.
Two sisters went with them to cook and keep them properly fed. The meals are hearty and nourishing, starting with breakfast which needs to be full of protein. This ham and egg dish is one of their favorites. I like to believe that their excellent performance and high ratings are, in part, due to this most excellent breakfast.
Many people like to also serve this for lunch and or for a light supper with a salad or vegetable accompanying it.
Print Recipe
Votes: 0
Rating: 0
You:
Rate this recipe!
Cheesy Hashbrown Ham and Eggs
SERVINGS6-8people
|
COOK TIME30mins |
PREP TIME1hr |
READY IN1.5hrs |
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible. In a 9-inch pie plate, toss the hash browns with the melted butter into the plate. Press them into the bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and starting to crisp.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. When the hash brown crust is ready pour the egg mixture over it and return to the oven.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.
Years ago when I was just a teenager one of my jobs in my father’s restaurants was to type up the daily menus. Some of the menu items have stuck in my mind more than others, as favorites of those who regularly ate there. Welch Rarebit was one of them, (Perhaps because I liked it so much myself). In any case, I sometimes feel sad that it seems to have disappeared from the memory of people my age and is completely unknown to a lot of others. Although usually served over crispy toast I have often used it in other ways as well, so for Thanksgiving I thought I’d like to incorporate it into a vegetable side dish. So I came up with this Welch rarebit Cauliflower.
Print Recipe
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Welsh Rarebit Cauliflower
SERVINGS8people
|
COOK TIME40mins |
PREP TIME20mins |
READY IN1hr |
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and cheese, whisk until well combined and smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce.
- Place a steamed whole head of cauliflower in deep serving dish, pour rarebit over it and top with homemade golden buttery toast crumbs (crumble two slices of white bread – sprinkle lightly with oil and brown in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven about 5-10 minutes), crispy bacon bits, and red pepper flakes.
- Garnish with fresh herbs or other vegetables as desired.
