St. Joseph, Pray for Us!

St. Joseph Leading the Christ Child, Murillo

Blessed St. Joseph, pray for us!

This is a special day for us, as we have many Josephs in our family and my husband is half Italian.  So San Giuseppe is a very popular guy here!  On this Solemnity, our family will enjoy a St. Joseph's altar surrounded by tasty Italian treats, including cream puffs (a traditional dessert on this day) and a special cake with cannoli-like flavors. (I have included the recipe below.)  We will also add some olives, Italian bread, baked ziti, and sauteed spinach to our display to make a whole dinner in honor of St. Joseph.  Later tonight, I'll post a picture of the spread on this post!

Here's the finished spread! I ended up making a slow-cook cacciatore with the ziti because, as it turned out, I was unable to be in the kitchen from 3-5:30 p.m., meaning the main dish had to be finished and cooking before 3.  Typical day!  I couldn't really get a good picture of it because our house is tiny and I couldn't get far enough back to incorporate the entire counter.  Also, late in the day the lighting was strangely strange...

Another shot of the "spread" showing
the salad and some of the desserts.


My favorite side of the buffet, lol!

Usually, St. Joseph altars consist of breads and desserts, but for our family, a dinner works out well.  I can't imagine keeping the children out of a spread of goodies all day, and, while we all enjoy dessert here, how many different desserts can we really eat on one day?  By making it a dinner display, we can have a festive feast and a lavish display around St. Joseph without having it be entirely about dessert!  Also, we put everything out at once, eat it, and it's not lingering around temptingly all day.  We leave up our "altar" made of three gold-wrapped Amazon boxes, plastic flowers, and our St. Joseph statue for the entire day.




Now, having said that it isn't entirely about dessert, I'll pass on a dessert recipe I tried this year, lol!

            Cannoli Cake 

This recipe was originally in a Woman's Day magazine that I was reading in a doctor's waiting room.  I didn't write down the issue number or the name of the cake, but it had a lot of cannoli ingredients in it and seemed perfect for St. Joseph's Day! It really is delicious, but a bit hard to get the four layers to turn out quite right.  No one will mind, though!  It's very rich!

Bake 1 French Vanilla Cake from a mix in two 9" round pans.


Mix together and refrigerate until spreadable:
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. rum extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (I just used the mini semi-sweet morsels since I need to buy a bag of them to complete the recipe, see below)

Cut each layer in two horizontally.  The easiest way to do this is to use a serrated bread knife.  Spread the ricotta mixture between and on top of the cake layers, leaving 1" unfrosted around the edges of each layer. (You want the edges of each layer to almost meet so that there aren't big gaps between the layers that might make frosting a problem.) Don't frost the top layer.

For the final frosting, mix together and refrigerate until spreadable:
2 8oz. cartons mascarpone cheese
3-4 c. powdered sugar (that's not 3/4!  between 3 and 4 cups)
1/4 c. whole milk
2 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frost sides and top of cake with mascarpone frosting mixture.  Press 1 c. sliced almonds into sides and sprinkle 2 T. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips over the top. (I skipped the almonds since many here are not fans.)

May St. Joseph, the patron of families, intercede for your family and all of its needs in the coming year.

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh, St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, so that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary of contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls - Pray for me.

A Wintery Stew

The start of something beautiful!

      One day back in the fall,  I decided to clear out the refrigerator and cupboard shelves of odds and ends that were just kind of languishing.  None of them were* really enough for a meal for the six of us, but I thought that together they might be enough.  I started with:

A few pounds of leftover rump roast (it was already cooked, although in the recipe I made this week and took pictures of, I used raw meat--so you can use either raw or cooked meat, whichever you have on hand.)
1 orange
1 turnip
10 dates, kind of dried out and tough
2 potatoes
some thawed beef broth


Hum.  What to make?  I decided a STEW would make use of all of these tasty tidbits, so I came up with this absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself) recipe:

Beef Stew a l'Orange


Melt 1/4 c. butter in Dutch oven. 

Add 2-4 lbs. (depending on the appetite of your diners) of chunked up beef, cooked or raw
If the beef is raw, you might brown it a minute before adding:
1 chunked up turnip
1 chunked up onion
2-3 chunked up potatoes
2-3 large slices of orange peel
6-10 dried dates

Pour over all:
3-4 c. beef broth
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce (this is the secret ingredient, but if you don't have it, just use a little extra salt and, if you have it on hand, some anchovy paste)


Sprinkle with:
salt
pepper
rosemary (about 1-2 tsp)
thyme (about 1-2 tsp)
1 bay leaf (just set this on top...no sprinkling!)

Bake at 350^o for 1-1/2 hours OR at 275^o for 3-4 hours (the long, slow cook is better).  You could also make this in a crockpot and cook 1 hour on high and then about 4-5 on low.

I would post a picture of the finished stew, but evidently we were all in such a rush to eat it that I forgot to take a picture of the final product!  I'm not a very savvy blogger, am I?  I did get a lot of enjoyment out of my stew, though, and the whole family loved it. Hope you do, too!

*From the GrammarBook.com blog  :"None were" vs. "None was"
Rule: With words that indicate portions—some, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

Just in case you were wondering, too!

A Delicious, Healthy Breakfast

Might look weird, but they really tasted great!   

   

This morning I decided to start with my new plan for healthier eating in 2012.  One of my goals is to increase dramatically my vegetable intake, so this morning I scoured my refrigerator for likely vegetables to include in my breakfast.  I found some leftover broccoli, a few green onions, and a red pepper, along with a bunch of parsley.  So, this is what I made:

Scrambled Eggs and Vegies!!!

1.  First, cut up a few strips of bacon and begin to fry it up in your favorite cast iron pan.  I love my cast iron pan.  It heats evenly, washes up so easily (if I wash it right away), and even adds iron to my diet! I can use it on the stovetop and also in the oven.  If the power goes out, I can use it over a fire without destroying it.  I can turn on the burner and forget it for a few minutes without melting or ruining the pan.  It lasts forever.  I always put a dishrag under it when I wash it in my porcelain sink to keep it from leaving black marks all over.  My pan was a gift from a friend, but it is easy to find pre-treated pans.  I love the sloping sides on my pan.

I added a link over on the sidebar under "Things I Love" so you can see exactly which pan I have.

2.  While the bacon is sizzling up and getting oh-so-crispy-and-delicious smelling, chop up some vegetables.  I used the red pepper, green onion, and leftover broccoli I had on hand, but green peppers, regular or red onions, and spinach would all taste great, too.  When the bacon is crisp, add the vegetables and cook a few minutes.

3.  While the vegetables are cooking, stir together however many eggs you would like (I used 3), salt, pepper, and a few scoops of sour cream. When they are well mixed and the vegetables are starting to get just a little soft, pour the eggs into the pan.  Cook up just as if you were cooking scrambled  eggs.  When they are finished to your liking, scoop onto a plate and top with chopped fresh herbs (I used the parsley) or grated cheese.

Simple, quick, delicious, and vegie-laden!  That's just what I wanted for breakfast!

Wish you could join me!

Peonies!

My lovely peonies are blooming! They are definitely my favorite garden flowers--easy to take care of, bloom without trouble every year, and look and smell glorious! I am going out to pick a big bouquet and put it in Grammie's silver flower vase, which is the perfect size and shape and "Victorian" feel for peonies. I am sure your garden is yielding gorgeous roses by now, but we are a little behind you on the bloom time. Hubby is coming home this p.m., and we have a big weekend planned with more packing, soccer games, Sweetie's family b.d. party, and who knows what else! I'm thinking I'll make this chicken recipe for the party-delicious, easy, can be made for a few or a crowd:

Lemon-Feta Chicken

Drizzle a little olive oil in the baking pan. Turn boneless, skinless chicken breasts (however many you like) to coat. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top (I use 1/2 lemon for three whole breasts) , sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, sliced green onion, black pepper, and dried oregano. Squeeze a little more lemon juice over all . Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees until done (about 35-45 minutes).

So great with a nice green salad and a little sauteed zucchini!