Family Food for Feast and Feria

I'm a little blue today. One reason is tonight our family is gathering to say goodbye to a friend who is leaving for a teaching position on the West Coast. We might not ever see him again. This is a good friend I met at Franciscan University of Steubenville twelve years ago. After he finished grad school there, he went to Catholic University and just completed his Doctorate degree.

Steven became an adopted member of my family in a way. He started off as my friend in our circle at school, but when he visited my family in Virginia they welcomed him with open arms. My husband and brothers-in-law also consider him a friend. Over the years he's shared with our family holiday meals and get togethers. The meals have been fewer lately due to busy schedules, but it is sad to know that this is one of the last.

Having just celebrated the feast of St. Bartholomew yesterday, I find Jesus' description of Bartholomew (Nathaniel) "He has no guile" is perfect for Steven. He's an honest, sincere, just, and holy man. He's always a pursuer of Truth. It is a blessing to call him a friend.

His "last supper" request was a dessert I made regularly while at FUS, Kahlua Cake. My nickname for this cake should be "Ladies' Helper"--whenever I needed some help that required extra muscles, I would promise this cake as an exchange for help and I always had willing volunteers.

This recipe from a housemate in college. I know, it's not homemade, and gasp! requires a boxed cake. I was always going to work on tweaking a homemade chocolate cake recipe, but that was B.F.A. (before food allergies). This recipe hasn't been made in a while because it is definitely not allergy friendly.

While mixing and smelling the aroma during baking, a flood of memories came rushing back. How much has happened in twelve years! I'm looking forward to having a little piece of chocolate consolation tonight.

Kahlua Cake
1 package Devil's Food Cake mix (Duncan Hines my preference)
1 cup Kahlua (may substitute non-name brand of a coffee liqueur)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (mini-morsels work best)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt or tube pan.

Mix all ingredients except chips together and beat 2-3 minutes.

Add chocolate chips and beat 1 minute.

Pour into a greased and floured Bundt or tube pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. It's okay to undercook -- better moist. If toothpick inserted has a few crumbs but not liquid, cake is ready.

Before serving (after cooled) sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

I've also drizzled melted chocolate over top and garnished with strawberries in the center hole and dipped strawberries around the side of the cake. Presentation is important -- but the taste is even better. This cake is moist, chocolately and unbelievably good.

Today, August 16, is the optional memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary. This is a very important feast for Hungarians, as Stephen is their patron saint. September 2nd was the former feast day, and August 20 is the feast of the translation of his relics, and a national holiday in Hungary. Catholic Culture and Patron Saints Index

I don't have roots in Hungary, but I do remember this feast for two reasons. One day, I'm going to make a Dobos Torta. I love this excerpt about St. Stephen's feast day from Cooking for Christ by Florence Berger. You have to know a recipe is delicious when you don't have illustrations and you still KNOW it will be good. Do a search in Google Images for "Dobos Torta" to make your mouth water. One of these days...

But today is also the birthday of a very special aunt. I wish you many blessings and send many prayers. Thank you for all the years of inspiration, collaboration, conversation and just plain fun!

(Image info: The Virgin Receiving St Stephen of Hungary in the Paradise by Scarsellino)

As I was preparing dinner last night, I again was taken with nostalgia and thinking of my maternal grandmother and also my Great, Great Aunt Peg.

I think that's the appeal of food, cooking, and meals shared in common. They have no boundaries, no time frames. Food is ever-changing, but also just the same. Food is always present to man. All of mankind requires eating to survive. All of history shares the common thread of eating, whether it be hunting, gathering, cultivation or in present-day, shopping. Meal preparation and ingredients vary according to geography, culture and history, but yet many methods and ingredients are renewed and presented again.

Christ's Paschal Mysteries are not only something that happened in history, but they are constantly Re-presented to us. The life of the Catholic Church is not in a timeline, but actually a circle or continuum. There is no time with God; everything is every-present. And in our final goal, heaven, that will be reality for us, also. So in a small way, our food gives us a glimpse of this continuum.

It finally became clear to me why it is so appealing to me to research and try traditional foods for feasts in the Liturgical Year, or to bring forward recipes from family members. I am longing for heaven. We might not actually eat in Paradise, but our meals are a small taste of the ever-present and eternal, and also of the universality of the Mystical Body.

Globe Artichokes make me think of Little Grandma and Aunt Peg. I love them any way. I can eat them just boiled and scrape off just the tender part of the leaves without dipping. I truly have not met a type of artichoke that I dislike.

And that credit goes to Grandma and her aunt, Aunt Peg. They introduced artichokes to me. How I loved coming over for a visit to hear the pressure cooker rattling away and the promise of the soon-cooked artichokes. I was only 6 or 7 when they showed me how to eat an artichoke, what parts were edible, how to remove the choke, and mostly, how to savor every bite. I wish I had more than just a mental picture of that little kitchen in Houston on Elm Street, with Aunt Peg's round table and the pressure cooker steaming away on the stove. But the memories are still vivid.

But I confess...I never cooked an artichoke...until yesterday. I was intimidated. I didn't think I knew the secrets of my great, great aunt and grandmother. To read about the sensitivity of artichokes, the chemicals that change, just made me think I'd do something wrong. So I would buy them canned, frozen, marinated but never fresh. Now you know, I'm not a true foodie!

Wouldn't you be a little intimidated when reading this from The New Complete Book of Food:

Preparing This Food
Slicing into the base of the artichoke rips cell walls and releases polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that converts phenols in the vegetable to brown compounds that darken the "heart" of the globe. To slow the reaction, paint the cut surface with a solution of lemon juice or vinegar and water.

What Happens When You Cook This Food
Chlorophyll, the green plant pigment, is sensitive to acids. When you heat a globe artichoke, the chlorophyll in it green leaves reacts with acids in the artichoke or in the cooking water, forming brown pheophytin. The pheophytin, plus yellow carotenes in the leaves, can turn a cooked artichokes leaves bronze. To prevent this reaction, cook the artichokes very quickly so there is no time fore the chlorophyll to react to the acid, or cook it in lots of water to dilute the acids, or cook it with the lid off the pot so that the volatile acids can float off into the air.

I started simply. I bought 4 artichokes and boiled them and put the hearts in the salad. I'm buoyed by my success and have lost my fear. Dh was surprised how different the taste and texture as compared to marinated. I think he wanted the more intense flavor of the marinade, but I enjoyed the true taste shining through.

The warm seasons change is when I start pulling out the cookbooks by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. Yesterday I used Fresh from a Monastery Garden which features 29 different types of vegetables (or vegetable families) and gives several recipes for each vegetable. There are 4 recipes for artichokes. I chose

Artichokes Basque Style (Artichauts a la Basquaise)

Makes 4 servings

4 artichokes, trimmed
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 small head of leaf lettuce
4 medium size-tomatoes, sliced in quarters lengthwise
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced in rounds (I omit)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
green olives

Vinaigrette
7 Tbsp. virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In salted water mixed with lemon juice, cook the artichokes for 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove and rinse in cold water. Remove the leaves, take out the heart, and chill until ready to use.

Arrange whole lettuce leaves in four separate salad plates. Place 1 artichoke heart in the center, and surround alternating with tomato and egg slices. Add onion slices and green olives around artichoke.

Prepare vinaigrette and pour over each salad.

My presentation wasn't as beautiful as Brother Victor suggests. I used a bagged salad and Roma tomatoes and cut up the heart so that there was a bit in every bite. It's what I had! We enjoyed the flavor and I'll try harder for a "pretty" next time now that I have overcome my fear.