An Italian Feast Day meal

I had a heart-to-heart with myself recently. I had to decide whether or not I was going to keep using this space, because  I was still taking photos of food and making mental notes about recipes, but after a day my mental notes were gone, and sometimes I even lost track of the recipe. Not very organized, I know. But every meal I made would result in the same internal battle about whether or not I want to continue writing in this space.

Ultimately, I decided to keep it up. I love cooking, and I love integrating food into the liturgical year, so that is what I hope to continue doing.

Today is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. I tend to tie my meals together with the feast day with ethnic food, because it's easy and it's fun. I have to make dinner anyway, so I'm really not adding anything extra to my workload.

Today's saint, St. Anthony of Padua, is one of my favorite saints. My oldest son chose him as his patron, and he is one of the saints I call on most often --"Tony, Tony come around..." That poor man never has a moment's peace. Padua is in Italy and so tonight's feast was Italian. You could use this menu for any Italian saint, however, and there are many.

The pasta dish was one I had pinned a couple months ago to "test drive" for my second son who will be living alone next year. It was so simple and delicious -- clean plates all around.

The vegetable is a seasonal sort of treat. My friend Katie (my egg lady) sent some zucchini and garlic scapes along with my eggs this week. I had never cooked garlic scapes, but they were very tasty, and I'll definitely try them again.

With a loaf of ciabatta garlic bread (purchased), the meal was complete, and so easy.

Skillet Baked Ziti

1 T. olive oil

1 T. minced garlic

1 t. dried red chili flakes

 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

3 T. dried basil

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups uncooked penne or ziti

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella
1-2 T. sliced fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In a 12-inch skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat.

Add garlic and red chili flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt; reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, or until tomatoes break down a bit.

Add the broth and dried basil and return to a simmer. Add pasta and cover; cook according to package directions for just firm (12-15 minutes).

Remove lid, season with salt and pepper, and stir in Parmesan. Sprinkle mozzarella over top of pasta.

Bake at 400 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 8-10 minutes.

Sprinkle with basil and serve hot.

(If you are using a pan that has a plastic handle, cover handle with foil before placing it in the oven)

Source: modified from Serious Eats via College East 101

Zucchini and Garlic Scapes

1 T. coconut oil or unsalted butter

2 medium zucchini washed and sliced about 1/4 inch thick

6 garlic scapes, rinsed and cut in half or three pieces

salt

Heat oil or butter in large skillet over medium high until hot.

Add zucchini and scapes and cook for about 20 minutes, flipping zucchini to brown both sides.

Season with salt and serve hot.

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Tiny Tonsure Cakes

You still have a whole afternoon and evening to make and enjoy these sweet little reminders of one of our favorite Franciscan saints -- St. Anthony of Padua, feast day today!

Go to Catholic Cuisine for the recipes.

Chocolatey...so very chocolatey... Gelato

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My husband likes chocolate. At our favorite local ice cream store he always gets Chocolate Chocolate Chip, sometimes with bittersweet chocolate topping. There's just no such thing as too chocolatey for him. He almost died and went to heaven last night when he ate this Chocolate Gelato. I made it for St. Anthony's feast day, and had every intention of making pizzelle cones, but since I was churning the ice cream as dinner cooked, the cones didn't happen. Luckily we had sugar cones in the pantry. And he ate two -- with big scoops.

It was good, I'll give him that (though I am more of a Strawberry Gelato girl). The kids loved it, too. So, I guess we'll make it again. I found the recipe here, but when I went to make it, I just couldn't imagine not using cream, so I did -- one cup of cream and two cups of milk. I know it's more fattening, but it's dairy fat, not like partially hydrogenated shortening fat. So, the recipe below is modified to my taste (and need for cream). Another note:  I started mine the day of and not the night before, so don't let a little lack-of-planning stop you. Place your mixture in a bowl inside a bowl of ice for 30 minutes before you refrigerate it to give it a head start. I use this ice cream freezer and I love it!

So Very Chocolatey Gelato

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2 cups milk (I used 2%)

1 cup cream
3⁄4 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
3⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Bring 2 cups milk to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then remove from heat. Combine remaining 1 cup cream, sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa in a bowl, add to hot milk, and cook until sugar and cocoa dissolve.

Set aside to let cool, then cover and refrigerate overnight (see my note above). Process mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions (mine was not quite perfect after churning so I froze it for an hour -- then it was perfect).


Modified from Saveur

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St. Francis' Poor Man's Tonsure Cake

Just in case you are a reader here, but not a reader at Catholic Cuisine, I am posting the recipe for today's feast day dessert: St. Francis' Poor Man's Tonsure Cake. The tonsure is, of course, St. Francis' hairdo (for lack of a better word). St. Francis, in the practice which many monks, friars and other religious adopted, clipped his hair away from the top of his head, creating a ring of sorts, of hair around the sides of his head. A ring-shaped cake resembles the tonsure, and the cake recipe, a Poor Man's Cake, is a perfect cake for the saint who left the riches of his family to live among and serve the poor.

The cake recipe has been passed down from my 94-year-old grandma. It is called a Poor Man's Cake because when my grandma was young, butter and eggs -- traditional cake ingredients -- were dear (expensive), and raisins, nuts, and spices were plentiful.

This cake would also be wonderful for St. Anthony's Feast Day, on June 13, as he was also a Franciscan (and thus sported the tonsure) and is patron saint of the poor.

Poor Man's Cake

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3 cups flour
2 cups water
⅓ cup shortening
½ lb. raisins (I estimate this to be about 2 cups)
1 cup brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground cloves
1 t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
1 cup walnuts

Grease and flour bundt or ring pan.
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Place water, shortening, raisins, sugar, cinnamon and cloves in saucepan over medium heat. Cook to boiling and boil for 5 minutes.
Cool completely.

Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl.
Dissolve baking soda in 1 t. water.
Add raisin mixture and baking soda mixture to flour mixture. Add nuts.

Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until toothpick comes out clean (my ring pan requires less baking time than my bundt).

Cool 15 minutes.
Turn out of pan and cool completely on a baking rack.

Frost with butter or cream cheese frosting of your choice, or top with the thick butter glaze below.

Glaze:
2 T. butter, melted
2 c. powdered sugar
2-4 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix melted butter with powdered sugar, 2 T. milk, and vanilla until blended (no lumps) and a thick drizzling consistency, adding a little more milk if necessary.
Spoon over the crown of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.