Gumdrop Dancing Sun Cupcakes 12 yellow-frosted cupcakes24 red (yellow, and orange gumdrops)Powdered sugar2 Tablespoons chocolate chips + a scant ½ teaspoon vegetable oil (optional, if you want a smiling dancing sun!) Make 12 cupcakes using the cake recipe (not the...
Delivery Chocolate Fridge Cake This old-fashioned dessert is easy for kids to help put together and makes a great addition to a meal delivery for the feast of the Visitation, or any time. It keeps in the fridge for weeks, so your recipients can enjoy it at their...
Vanilla Cloud Cupcakes What better way to celebrate Jesus ascending into the heavens than with fluffy, cloud-topped cupcakes! This recipe uses real vanilla beans, right in the batter, which is so cool. For the best effect, top with Jesus cupcake toppers (for all the...
Portuguese-style Mussels 3 lbs fresh mussels2 Tablespoons olive oil2 Tablespoons butter2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves2 cups chicken broth1 cup white wine (Riesling)fresh parsley (chopped for garnish) Prepare the mussels. Fresh mussels are . . . alive! Place them in...
Strawberry Butter 1 stick unsalted butter (½ cup, softened)4 strawberries (fresh or thawed, room temperature)1 Tablespoon sugar½ teaspoon salt Add ingredients to a food processor and pulse to mix. Or use a hand blender, pastry blender, or fork to...
Pop’s Popovers (not hot flops) My dad’s dad, whom we called Pop, was a very enthusiastic, very experimental cook. He once answered the door sans eyebrows with hair still smoldering after an incident with the outdoor smoker. We would spend Sundays at my grandparents’...
Sunday French Toast Casserole This tasty casserole is our family’s favorite way to use up old bread and avoid food waste. Hot dog buns to artisanal sourdough, it all gets chopped up and tossed into the dish! The casserole can be made ahead and stored in the fridge...
Orange Dancing Sun Cupcakes On the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, we remember the day the sun miraculously danced in the sky. These cupcakes are a fancy treat to celebrate this great feast of the Blessed Mother! Orange zest in the cupcake batter AND the frosting...
Molokai Chicken In 1873, Fr. Damien volunteered as a chaplain to the Hawaiian government-mandated leprosy quarantine camps established on the island of Molokai. He served the physical and spiritual needs of the members of the camps and, along with native...
Pineapple Upside Down Cake For the Topping¼ cup unsalted butter (melted)½ cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)10 pineapple rings (patted dry)13 maraschino cherries (patted dry)For the Cake½ cup unsalted butter (softened)¾ cup sugar2 eggs (room temperature)1 teaspoon...
Chicken Tortellini Delivery Casserole In honor of the example given to us by Our Lady in the Visitation, I always try to take this day to prepare a meal or two for friends who are pregnant, have a new baby, or are experiencing hardship of some kind. I make a...
Crème Brûlée (aka Trinity Cream) It’s probably my favorite dessert, so any excuse for crème brûlée is a good one in my book. The feast day of any French saint will do, but somehow the torching part makes it seem perfect for Saint Joan. Also, the fact that multiple...
Croque Madame (Crispy Lady) Sandwiches The “croque madame” is a French grilled cheese sandwich with ham inside and a fried egg on top. Sounds odd, but it’s SO good. It was my very favorite meal on our pilgrimage to Lourdes a few years back. THEN I realized that the...
Alvaro del Portillo Cake Shakes The husband was raised in Chicago, and our family spent a couple years living there. Portillo's Hot Dogs is a popular local restaurant chain famous for hot dogs, beef sandwiches, and . . . cake shakes. This is—yes—a milkshake into which...