Flatbread These tasty flatbreads are quick and easy and make an excellent side for curries and any meal that needs a “pusher.” They’re great with dips or folded and filled with sandwich fixin’s. They are relatively flat, but allowed to rise (chametz again). A more...
Applesauce In a Jewish Passover seder meal, haroset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt. Recipes for haroset are available, of course, but my family prefers to go the straight-up homemade...
Bitter Herb Salad At a Jewish Passover Seder meal like the one Jesus was celebrating on Holy Thursday with the apostles, bitter herbs are served as a reminder of the bitterness of the slavery endured by the Jewish people in Egypt. This salad is bitter and sour (and...
Rice Crispy Treat Lamb You could make a lamb cake . . . but those turn out creepy, like, 90% of the time. That’s kind of their charm. But you can make a slightly-less-weird-looking Rice Krispie Lamb in a fraction of the time. Everyone wins! Let a kid do the sculpting...
Potato Knishes These hearty and delicious doughy-potatoey bundles are a traditional Jewish delicacy. However, full-disclosure, they wouldn’t be served at an observant Passover meal, because chametz (anything containing grain that has come into contact with water and...
Lamb Chops with Rosemary and Garlic Lamb rib chops make for an impressive presentation with their long handle, and kids like to pick them up and eat them like an ice cream on a stick. But this recipe also works with the little triangular lamb loin chops. Dish for...
St. Joseph the Worker Spiced Play Dough This smooth, natural, homemade playdough is fun to make, long lasting, and smells amazing. For the feast day, I let my kids go at it with real tools (on a protected surface, with supervision). 2 cups Flour1 cup Salt4 tsp Cream...
St. Joseph Sfinge Cream Puffs These tasty cream puffs made with Choux pastry dough are traditionally served in Italy on the solemnity of St. Joseph. This Sicilian version is filled with whipped cream. A Neapolitan version is filled with custard cream instead. They are...
Pasta on the Table (Pasta Alla Tavola) One of the best parts of my high school career was eating at the home of a friend who came from an Italian-American family. Every meal his mom cooked was amazing, but the most fun were the days when they would invite big groups...
Melon & Prosciutto Skewers Melon ballerPicks 1 Cantaloupe Melon (cut into cubes or melon balls)12 slices Prosciutto di Parma Cut each Prosciutto di Parma slice in half, crosswise.On a small skewer or toothpick, stack the melon and prosciutto, alternating between...
Caprese Skewers ColanderPicksBottle 2 cups Balsamic Vinegar10 oz Cherry Tomatoes8 oz Ciliegine Mozzarella Cheese (also called "cherry" size, I like Belgioso)8 oz Clamshell Fresh Basil LeavesSalt and Pepper (to taste) Balsamic DrizzleAdd balsamic vinegar to a small...
Trash Can Soup Stock This is really just stock or bone broth, but my kids like to call it “trash can soup” because the stock is made entirely from things we would have otherwise thrown away. It’s free. It’s an authentically “whole” way to eat. It’s a natural way to...
Universal Homemade Soup What to do with all that lovely stock you just made? Turn it into a simple and infinitely customizable soup. For a quick dinner option, I use two 10-12 ounce packages of frozen seasoned vegetables, and a 1 pound bag of frozen meatballs. It’s...
Lenten Soft Pretzels Perfect for Lent, homemade pretzels are a great way to jump into bread baking. Pretzels are historically associated with Lent, as their traditional shape is meant to look like arms folded in prayer (with a twist!). This easy recipe makes chewy...
Beer Cheese Dipping Sauce Ingredient bowlsMeasuring glassesSaucepanWhisk 1/4 cup Butter1/4 cup Flour2 cups Cheddar Cheese (grated)1 cup Milk1/2 cup Beer1 tsp Grainy Mustard1/2 tsp Oregano1/2 tsp Salt1/2 tsp PepperCayenne Pepper (or Tabasco Sauce) (to taste and garnish...
Boeuf Gras Sundaes King cake gets eaten for breakfast at our house, so we need a dessert after dinner. And in our family we’re going to be giving up all treats and desserts throughout Lent except for special treats on Sundays and solemnities, so we need to get all...
Hurricane Mocktail & Cocktail The hurricane, which originated in the 1940s at a French Quarter bar called Pat O’Brien’s, is the quintessential New Orleans beverage. Although this is traditionally a rum cocktail, we just do the juice part in our house. But both...
Authentic King Cake Our Fat Tuesday menu is all about celebrating a New Orleans-style Mardi Gras. And you can’t do that without a king cake. Named for the Three Kings aka the Three Wise Men and enjoyed around the world, all the variations are served on or before Fat...
Louisiana Shrimp Etouffee There are plenty of great options for a New Orleans-style Mardi Gras dinner: gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, po-boy sandwiches . . . but we always have shrimp etouffee. “Etouffee” is French for “smothered” and in this recipe our shrimp...
Cheater King Cake Between Epiphany and Lent we celebrate Carnival, a little season of Ordinary Time. One popular tradition from this medieval European celebration is the King Cake, named for the Three Wise Men, and decorated with colored sprinkles: purple for justice,...
Easy Beer Bread It doesn’t get any easier than this. 3 cups self-rising flour2 tablespoons sugarPinch salt12 oz beer (1 can or bottle, any type room temperature) Preheat the oven to 350° F. Combine the dry ingredients then gently mix in the beer with a rubber spatula,...
Ensalada de Nochebuena “Christmas Eve Salad” in English, Mexican Ensalada de Nochebuena (ehn-sah-LAH-dah de NO-chay BWAY-nah) is a cool/sweet/tart addition to any feast day table. It can also be made in a fruit salad-style without lettuce, but this recipe is how my...
Bitterballen Sometimes I find recipes that are historically associated with particular feast days and sometimes I make the association myself. This is the latter. Bitterballen are a popular Dutch pub snack, and seem unique without being overly complicated. Even...
Hot Mulled Cider Another option for a warm spiced beverage on a cool day is mulled cider. Putting it together at home is simple and tastes so much better than pre-made! One spice bag will flavor up to 8 quarts of mulled cider in one batch. Just keep the ratio of one...
Hot Mulled Wine - Bisschopswijn Hot mulled wine is also known as Bishop’s wine or Bisschopswijn after Saint Nicholas, third century bishop of Myra. It’s deliciously warming, and perfect for a December evening with family and friends. One spice bag will flavor up to 8...
Speculaas Cookies Dutch speculaas cookies are unusually perfect for this feast day, in that they are traditionally made in the shape of St. Nicholas using very beautiful, very intricate hand-carved wooden molds that range in size from a few inches to a couple feet...
Spätzle Kartoffelsuppe (Potato Dumpling Soup) This rustic soup is a real family favorite. We have it on Christmas Eve and sometimes also for our “all white dinner” on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and it’s perfect for a German saint day. It’s always in the...
