Pear And Sweet Corn Soup

Double-boiled pear soup is always one of my son favourite herbal drink, he will always pester me to cook pear soup for him whenever he sees "Pear" in the supermarket. And from my "Soup - Herbal Tea" list you can see two different version of sweet Pear soup.

But today instead of cooking pear dessert soup, I decided to try something different. I got this idea from my colleague whose mum is a very good Cantonese cooker as well as soup maker. I used to hear from her that one of her favourite soup that her mum always boil for her is this "Sweet Corn & Pear Soup". So after confirming with her roughly what are the ingredients used, I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
300g Pork Ribs
1 Sweet Corn, cut into section
1 Large Shingo Pear, cut into quarters
5g Sweet & Bitter Almond(南北杏)
1 Honey Date(金丝蜜枣)
5 Large Red Dates(红枣)
5g Wolfberries(枸杞)
1000 ml Water

Method:
1. Blanched the pork ribs in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain them thoroughly, then set aside.
2. Use a clean pot, bring 1000ml of water to boil, add in sweet corn, pear and the rest of the ingredients except Wolfberries.
3. When the soup comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or so until it is favourable to taste, add in the wolfberries and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.
4. You can serve it with rice or before meal.

Note:
~ Shingo pears are one of the popular export fruits. They have light golden brown peels, and taste very sweet and juicy yet have crunchy texture.



This is indeed a very delicious soup that is full of natural sweetness and fragrance that is infused by the sweet corn and pear and the rest of ingredients. This taste just as good as the sweet dessert version but if you don't prefer to mix something sweet to go with your meal. I will suggest that you can have this soup either before meal or after your meal.

Braised Chestnut Chicken

Cooking one pot dish is always one of my favourite, especially those using Claypot method. I love the way the food is being braised with the sauce under low heat and slowly cooked through. Out of so many claypot dishes, braised Chicken with Mushroom and Chestnut is always one of our favourite and we can just have this dish with extra bowl of rice just to polish up the gravy which is so flavourful.

But this round as I was rushing to prepare the food in a short time before going out, I didn't use the claypot, instead I give the basic ingredients a quick stir to enhance the flavour then braised it in a heavy-duty saucepan for about 20 minutes till the chicken is cooked through. Then I transfer it to a Corning ware pot to keep warm and easy serving.

Ingredients: (serve 2)
5 Medium Chicken Wings, cut into halves
6 Fresh Shiitake Mushroom
1 Bunch of Spring Onion, cut into sections
8 - 10 Fresh Chestnut
1 Small Carrot, cut into 0.5cm slices
1 Medium Red Onion, cut into wedges
1 Large Chilli, deseed and cut into section
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
100ml Water
Some Cornstarch Solution

Method:
1. Clean, trim and cut the chicken wings into wing and drumlet portion. Lightly marinate it with some pepper and light soy sauce. Set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil, add in the fresh chestnuts and let it simmer for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Remove, drain well and peel off the shell and outer skin.
3. Preheat a heavy-duty saucepan with 1 tablespoon of oil, saute the onion wedges and spring onion for about 20 seconds, add in the carrot and chilli and continue to fry for another 30 seconds.
4. Next add in the marinated chicken pieces and continue to stir on and off till the outer layer of the chicken is slightly brown.
5. Add in the oyster sauce and stir till all the mixture is combined, add in the chestnut and mushroom.
6. Give it a final stir, pour in the water, bring it to boil then lower the heat and simmer it for about 15 - 20 minutes till the chicken pieces are cooked through. (while simmering the chicken, give it a few stir on and off for even cooking)
7. When done, remove it from heat. Dish into serving plate and top with extra spring onion and chilli for garnish.
8. Serve hot with rice.

Note:
~ You can omit adding chilli if you are to serve this dish to kids. But by adding chilli it will enhance the flavour ever better.
~ Adding cornstarch solution is to thicken the sauce and give it a glossy outlook too.

Fun Food for the Feast of St. John the Apostle

The following guest post was submitted by Lacy from Catholic Icing.  Thank you Lacy!

Hi! This is Lacy from Catholic Icing, and I'm posting today to share some ideas for the Feast of St. John with you. His symbol is the eagle, so here are some eagle foods I have made:

Eagle Marshmallow Pop

If you want to make your own eagle marshmallow pop, here's what you'll need:

Lollipop Sticks
Large Marshmallows
Dark Chocolate Chips
White Gumdrops
Shredded Coconut
Almond Bark
Black Food Color Paste
Flower Shaped Sprinkles

Here's what you do:

For the Body~
Put your large marshmallow on the stick and cover in melted dark chocolate. Stick on 2 yellow flower-shaped sprinkles for his feet, and chocolate chips for the wings. Allow to cool. Use a blob of melted almond bark to stick on shredded coconut for the eagle's tail.

For the Head~
Melt your dark chocolate and almond bark until smooth. Dip the bottom of your white gumdrop into the melted almond bark, then dip into your shredded coconut to make the "feathers" on his neck. Cut a slit where his beak goes, and insert a sideways yellow flower-shaped sprinkle.  For the eyes, make 2 dots with black food color paste using a dull toothpick (as a substitute for one of those awesome food markers).

Eagle Head Quesadillla

This eagle head quesadilla is really easy to make. Just fold a tortilla in half, and then cut out a "ghost" shape with some scissors.  It cuts very nicely with scissors. Then, put some cheese in the middle and microwave (or fry it if you're a little more ambitious than me, or if you're preparing it for adults). Finish off by cutting the beak shape out of a slice of cheddar cheese, and stick a raisin on there for an eye :-D


Other ideas for celebrating the feast of St. John can be found in the archives!

Fish And Watercress Soup

Watercress is widely used in either Asian or Western cuisine. Mostly in Asian countries, we used it to boil soup with different ingredients like chicken or pork ribs. It sometime refer to as a cooling soup for heaty weather. Whereas in Western cuisine, Watercress is usually eaten raw or appears as a garnish, in salads or on sandwiches. This is a great vegetables that is loaded with iron, calcium, folic acid and vitamins A.

No matter which method you prefer to consumed this leafy vegetables. Today, I am going to share with you another way of cooking watercress soup with Fish instead of the common ingredients we used to add like "Chicken or Pork ribs". I am sure you will like this new way of preparing your usual watercress soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2 -4)
500g of Fish Fillet
1 Bunch of Watercress
2 Slices of Ginger
4 Red Dates
Some Wolfberries
800ml Water

Method:
1. Cut off the stem portion of the watercress, rinse it well and reserve it for the boiling soup.
2. As for the leaves portion, removed those wilted leaves, rinse a few times to get rid of the soild and dirts then set aside for later use.
3. Clean and cut the fish fillet into big portion, marinate it with some cornstarch and light soy sauce and set aside in the fridge.
4. Cut the tailbone into halves, fry it with 1/2 teaspoon of oil and ginger slices till fragrant.
5. Pour in water and sprinkle some salt, bring to boil together with the watercress stem and red dates, then lower the heat and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.
6. When done, strained the soup, add in the watercress leaves and boil briefly.
7. Lastly add in the marinated fish fillet and wolfberries, cook until done.
8. Season with salt and pepper serve hot with rice.

Note:
~ I bought the tail portion of sea bass from the wet market, and I ask the fishmonger to separate the tailbone and fillet for me.
~ For this soup, try to get a bunch of young watercress because of the short cooking time.

I have tried cooking a few version of the watercress soup in this blog before and this is indeed a new taste that you might want to try it out. It is full of Nutrition by adding fish and vegetable in a one pot soup. And I am sure this will add to your collection of making a new watercress soup than the usual one.

Seafood Mui Fan

"Mui Fan" is one of the most common dish found in Singapore Zhi-Cha" store (煮炒摊) in either hawker center or coffee shop. But now you can also find them listed in most of the Chinese restaurant where they add in more exotic ingredients. Although I used to cook this dish very often but it didn't come across my mind to post a recipe on this until I was chatting with one of my blogger friend about this a few weeks back. After that conversation, I thought this recipe might be of some use for those reader who stays overseas and craving for the local Zhi-Cha dish.

This is one of my favourite dish that I have learnt from my late dad. He used to cook this for me whenever I am in a rush for work or coming back late for dinner. As he will add in my favourite ingredients to make the egg sauce and spoon it on top of the pipping hot rice to create a hearty homecook meal. You can use whatever ingredients that you prefer from either seafood, meat or poultry to create different version according to your liking. For today, I will use prawn, fishcake, crabmeat stick and bunch of choy sum(菜心).

Ingredients: (serves 2)
8-10 Medium Size Prawns
1 Large Fried Fish cake, cut into slices
4 Imitation Crabstick, cut into halves
1 Bunch of Choy Sum
1 Medium Rice Onion, cut into wedge
3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 Eggs
2 Rice Bowl of Cooked Rice
100 ml Water
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch Solution

Method:
1. Wash, clean the prawns, removed the shell of the body(head retain), slit the back of the prawn and remove the dirty or vein.
2. Marinate prawns with some cornstarch, pepper and cooking wine. Set aside.
3. Trim and wash the choy sum and set aside to drain well.
4. Preheat the pan with 1/2 tablespoon of oil, saute the minced garlic and onion till fragrant, add in the marinated prawns.
5. Give it a quick stir for about 10 - 15 seconds, till it slightly changed colour, add in the choy sum and stir-fry for another 5 seconds.
6. Next add in the fish cake slices and crabstick, and give it another quick stir before add in the water.
7. When the water comes to boil again, crack in the eggs, gently give it a few stir to separate the egg then stir it the cornstarch water to thicken the sauce.
8. Off the heat, season it with some salt and pepper before spooning it on top of the rice.
9. Serve hot with some cut chilli in light soy sauce.

Note:
~ If you are not sure what is "Fish cake", refer to the picture above(2nd row, on the left). It usually come in either rectangle or oval shapes.
~ Mixed 1 Tablespoon Water with 1/2 Teaspoon Cornstarch

Sometime when you are run out of idea on what to cook for your family or yourself. Or you are too tired to do all the preparation or washing for your meal. Maybe you can consider to give this a try, just add in anything that you can find in your fridge to make into a sauce base to go with your rice. Isn't this a quick and easy for anyone that craves for some comfort homecook dish.

Christmas Panettone

The following recipe was submitted by a Catholic Cuisine reader, Fred Hass of The Popes Cologne. Thank you Fred!

As Christmas is approaching I thought you might like to have my recipe for panettone. Here is a link to a site with the history and legends about panettone.

In 1847, Paolo Biffi prepared a panettone of record dimensions for Pope Pius IX; it was so big it had to be delivered in a special coach.

Opa’s Pannetone

1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Egg yolks
1 Tbs. Anise, crushed
2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla

1 3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Marsala
4 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. Yeast

7 cups Flour
1/2 cup Candied Fruit
2/3 cup Raisins
2 Tbs. Pine Nuts, chopped

Directions:

Mix first group of ingredients in bowl of Kitchen Aid and beat thoroughly with dough hook.

Add dry ingredients to bowl.

Mix milk and Marsala then warm until comfortably hot and pour about half into a bowl . To that bowl add the yeast and dissolve. To the remaining add the butter and melt it.

Add the milk and butter to the dry ingredients and mix at slow speed then add the milk-yeast and mix slowly. Add additional flour until the dough forms a ball, clings to the dough hook and is not sticky to touch. Continue mixing slowly for a few more minutes to knead. Next let dough rise until about doubled in bulk.

Knock dough down onto a floured board, knead by hand for a few minutes then put in large bundt pan, two 5x9" loaf pans or free form into round loaves and cover to rise again about an hour or until doubled and pressing with finger leaves a dent.

Put in preheated oven at 350 degrees and bake for 10 minutes then lower heat to 300 degrees and bake for 30 to 40 minutes longer.

Monkey Bread Birthday Breakfast Christmas Cake

This post was written by Robina, at Motherly Loving, and submitted for publication here at Catholic Cuisine. Thank you Robina!

We always have ooey gooey yummy Monkey Bread on Christmas morning. Since the children understand that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, we now put candles in the monkey bread and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I don't have a picture of my Monkey Bread, but here is the recipe.

Monkey Bread

4 packages standard size biscuits (not Grands)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons cinnamon
2 sticks butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut each biscuit into four quarters and place in separate bowl. Mix all dry ingredients above in a bowl. Spray surface of bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Dip a few biscuit quarters at a time into cinnamon sugar mixture completely covering them with sugar and then place in bundt cake pan until all done. Pour half of remaining sugar mixture onto biscuits. Melt butter in the microwave and pour it all evenly over biscuits. Then pour remaining sugar mixture over biscuits. Place cake pan on foil-covered cookie sheet. bake for 30 minutes depending on your oven. We like our monkey bread a little undercooked, so if you want it cooked more then bake for 35 minutes or so. Immediately after taking out of the oven, carefully flip over onto a platter and let stand until cool enough to eat. I have to say that the above recipe is a double recipe for thecinnamon topping, so it has lots of ooey gooey crust. If you prefer you can decrease the sugar, cinnamon and butter by half. Below is a picture of our Monkey Bread Cross that we eat at Easter since I don't have a picture of our Monkey Bread Christmas Birthday Cake.

Tomato Chicken Stew

Recently I saw this dish in one of my favourite TCS Channel 8, TV show known as "星期二特写之《家传菜7》". In this show, they actually shares about family tie and pass-down homecook food from older generation. I remember, about two years ago, I have a chance to chat with one of the producer who is interested to find out on what are the traditional pass-down homecook food that I would like to share with the viewer if I will to be invited on this show :) But too bad, at that time I am still a novice in cooking so I dare not agreed on their invitation.....

But in this particular series that I saw that day, I was very impressed by this simple and yet nutritious homecook dish that is shared by columnist, Ng Wai Choy on his beloved grandmother Tomato Chicken. Upon viewing that show, my memories on my late, grandmother also vividly appears in my version with all her lovely dishes for us. So I decided to give this dish a try since it only require very basic ingredients.

Ingredients: (serves 2 -3)
5 Pairs of Chicken Wings with Drumlets
5 Medium Size Tomato, cut into wedges
2 - 3 Medium Size Red Onion, cut into wedges
3 Cloves of Garlic, lightly crushed
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon of Oyster Sauce
100ml water

Method:
1. Clean and wash the chicken wings and separate the wings and drumlet.
2. Preheat the pan and saute the onion and garlic with 1/2 tablespoon of oil till fragrance, add in the tomato wedges and continue to saute till the tomato wedges are soften.(about 3 - 5 minutes)
3. Next add in the chicken pieces, and give it a quick stir, then follow by the oyster sauce.
4. Continue to simmer for about 1 minute, add in water, bring to boil, covered and continue to simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes or so until the chicken pieces are cooked through and soften.
5. Remove from heat and served with warm rice.

As you can see from the steps, this is a very simple to prepare homecook food that is full of nutritious and vibrant. The use of Red Onion in this recipe adds extra fragrance and sweetness to the dish. So don't wait any longer, grab some extra red and big tomato and onion during your next visit to the grocery stall and try out this super easy one-pot dish.

Assorted Decorated Christmas Cookies

Decorated Christmas cookies can be found easily during Christmas season in most bakery. It can be made as simple as a sugar cookie dusted with colored sprinkles, or an elaborate with different combination of decorating techniques to create an edible work of art. Whereas, each cookie is unique and it makes excellent as homemade gifts that work great for Christmas cookie exchanges.

A Gingerbread man is a cookie made of gingerbread, usually in the shape of a human. It started back to the 15th century where figural cookie-making was practiced and the first documented figure-shaped gingerbread cookies appearing was in the court of Elizabeth I of England. Today, gingerbread man cookies can take form in any shapes and colour depend on the ingredients used and some might only take after it's name but without adding spices or ginger as one of the traditional ingredients.

Although it might look and sound tedious on the making and decorating process but I am sure it worth all the time and effort just to bring a smile on the recipients' face. In this recipe, I omitted the use of spices because my boy don't really fancy the taste of it. Instead I used the 70% Dark chocolate and I sugar syrup using Kahlua(Coffee flavored liqueur) and sugar to enhance the fragrance and taste.

Ingredients:
125g Plain Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder, optional
40g Caster Sugar
30ml Water
15ml Kahlua
50g Dark Chocolate
45g Butter

Method:
1. Sift flour, baking soda and baking powder together.
2. Combine sugar, water and Kahlua in a small sauce and simmer over low heat to form syrup(until sugar melted, stir on and off to prevent burning)
3. Melt the chocolate and butter in microwave (medium low for 15 - 20 sec), removed and stir the mixture till well combined.
4. Add the slightly cool chocolate into the flour mixture, mix well then pour in the sugar syrup to form a smooth dough.
5. Divide the dough into two portion in two different plastic bags and flatten slightly, keep in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
6. Roll out 1 portion of the dough between two sheets of baking paper to about 5mm thickness.
7. Cut out different shapes using the Christmas cookies cutters.
8. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes till cooked.
9. Remove from oven, set aside to cool then decorate with royal icing.


When the cookies are completely cool to room temperature, you can make different colour of Royal Icing to decorate your Christmas cookies accordingly to your liking. And this is the fun part where you can get the kids at home to participate. I am sure they will enjoy decorating their favour cookies which make great bonding time for the family.

Ingredients:
65g Icing Sugar
1/2 Egg White
1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
Assorted Food Colourings
Assorted Christmas Theme Sprinkles, optional

Method:
1. Sift the icing sugar and set aside.
2. Beat the egg white till foamy then add in lemon juice and icing sugar in a few batches till smooth. (about 5 - 8 minutes, it must be a spreadable consistency)
3. Divide the icing into a few portion then mixed with your desire colours.
4. Spoon icing into disposal piping bag, snip the tip off and pipe decorative outlines and design on each biscuit.


This is a "Stars Tower' done by boy where he stack up three different size of the star cookies to form the shape of a little Christmas Tree. He also sprinkle some Christmas Red, Green & White Nonpareils on it.

While playing one of the Facebook game - Pet Society, Rey has a virtual Christmas tree in it. So while decorating the cookies, he also insists of having a big Tree for him to decorate with his favourite toppings. So he used his favourite M&M with only green and red plus some Silver Dragees that we have in the pantry.

Finally, we have finished decorating our Christmas Cookies with all sort of designs that we can think of. And as you can see, these cookies will look just great for gifts during this season after decorated with these colourful icing and sprinkles.

Christmas Fruitcake

Fruitcake is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices that soaked in spirits. Since Christmas is around the corner, it will be the time where you can spot all kinds of fruitcake in the bakery showcase. No matter which type you prefer, what ingredients you want it to be, I am sure there is always a kind to your liking.

From what I had read from books before, it shares that actually fruitcakes were consumed on the twelfth night which is the last day of Christmas traditionally. But despite of what it is, today, you can buy or even make a decent fruitcake at anytime of the year. So today what I wanted to share with you is this golden fruitcake which is full with antioxidants in yellow orange dried fruit like Mango, Apricot and Peach.

Ingredients:
125g Butter, soften
250g Dried Mixed Fruit
1 Orange Rind, roughly chopped
40ml Fresh Orange Juice
40ml RUM
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup(125g) Plain Flour

For Decor:
Some extra Dried Mixed Fruit/Candied Fruit

For Glace:
1 1/2 Tablespoon Apricot Jam with 1 Teaspoon Hot Water

Method:
1. In a bowl, combined dried mixed fruit and orange rind together, pour in the rum and orange juice.
2. Leave it to soak overnight in the fridge.
3. Grease a tube cake pan or 2 disposal small rectangle paper case.
4. Beat butter together with caster sugar till light and creamy, add in egg one at a time and beat well after each addition.
5. Fold in dried fruit alternately with flour and pour batter into cake pan and bake in a preheat oven of 150 degree for about 25 - 30 minutes or until cooked.
6. When the cake cooled down, brush with apricot jam and decorate with extra mixed fruit on top.

Note:
1) You can buy the pre-packed dried mixed fruit from any supermarket under dried fruit session.
2) I use the cold storage brand "Breakfast Mix" that consists of California Raisins and Cranberries. Other than these, I also add in chopped mango, apricot and peach.

For this fruitcake, it is infuse with a very light and fragrance citric and fruity taste due to the use of fresh orange juice, orange rind and Rum. You can see from the cross-section of the cake that it is fully packed with assorted mixed fruits. So what can be more meaning to make something like this and pack it up as this coming Christmas Gift and share it with your love ones.

Last Minute Gift Ideas: Catholic Cookbooks

I'm often asked for recommendations for books on living the Liturgical Year in the home, in particular those wonderful Catholic feastday cookbooks. I discovered two new ones this Advent, and will also mention a few tried and true titles. There's still time to request or order these books for Christmas!

'Tis the Season to be Baking by Father Dominic Garramone, O.S.B.


'Tis the Season to be Baking: Christmas Reflections and Bread Baking by Father Dominic Garramone, O.S.B. is a small but packed little volume on Advent and Christmas baking.

Father Dominic had a PBS series, Breaking Bread With Father Dominic, and this is his fifth book on baking bread, see Monastery Greetings for his other titles. You can also read a bit more about Father in this magazine article.

I was hooked right from the preface -- Father captured exactly what I feel during the holiday seasons of the year:

One of the most common comments I hear about baking is something like this: "I don’t have time to bake bread much anymore–well, except during the holidays, of course." What an amazing paradox: many people only have time to bake during what is often viewed as the busiest time of the year! But we make time for what is most important to us. What these people are really saying is: "My family’s Christmas baking traditions are so important that I always make time for them."

I don't bake bread as often as I would like, but I agree with Father, I want to do those special breads for Christmas and Easter. I love how making bread in my home reminds me of the Holy Mass in a small way. And so for feast days, bread is the extra component I like to share.

Father explains his book:

The breads I have selected for this book are a mixture of traditional recipes and original creations. Some have been made for centureis, some I inherited from my mother or my grandmothers, others are "new traditions" of Saint Bede Abbey that have only been around since I started baking for the community. But each bread has a connection to the characters we find in the Christmas story as it is presented in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Each bread directs us to reflect on how we can better prepare to celebrate the holy days of the Advent and Christmas seasons. I hope the recipes and reflections included here will help you reclaim some of your own heritage or create a new tradition for your family, and make your holiday baking a means of deepening your own spirituality.

The recipes are wonderful, easy to follow, and most have black and white illustrations and diagrams. Included in the collection are recipes for St. Nicholas, St. Lucia, St. Joseph, the shepherds, angels, the Wise Men, swaddling clothes, and much more. There is also a wonderful menu and recipes for a Family Christmas Brunch based on Father's own family's traditions.

And since Christmas is a whole season, giving this book for Christmas Day there is still much time to try out many of the recipes!

Sacred Feasts: From a Monastery Kitchen
by Victor-Antione D'Avila-Latourette


A few weeks ago I popped into a Catholic bookstore and saw Sacred Feasts: From a Monastery Kitchen by Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette. Brother Victor is a Benedictine Monk and has written many different cookbooks. His religious order abstains from meat, so all his cookbooks are vegetarian, but include fish, eggs, and dairy. Brother has written many other cookbooks, such as Twelve Months of Monastery Soups and Twelve Months of Monastery Salads. All of his recipes are simple but flavorful, with a nod toward the French tradition of cooking.

This newest cookbook is one I've been hoping Brother Victor would write. All his other cookbooks would be around the seasons and months of the year, sometimes with different recipes named for feast days, and a few dishes to celebrate the feasts, but this cookbook is written around the liturgical seasons and feast days! Take a peek inside the Table of Contents to see the great variety.

When I got home from my little bookstore outing, I requested this book for a Christmas gift from my husband. I cannot wait to really read through the book and try the recipes.

A Continual Feast by Evelyn Vitz

For the newly married, those beginning a family, or families just taking an interest in a Catholic perspective on liturgical year and cooking, A Continual Feast by Evelyn Vitz is the perfect gift.

In my opinion, this is the best overall Catholic cookbook in print today. Mrs. Vitz covers all areas -- seasonal, liturgical seasons, feast days, saints, traditional and cultural recipes, and also family and sacramental feasting. Each recipe has a wonderful background and are easy-to-follow. A must for every Catholic family.



Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf

I think Cooking With the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf is the next level of liturgical cooking. This is a beautiful book, hardcover, with full color photos of the dishes and beautiful art of the saints -- nice enough to be a coffee table book. The recipes are wide and varied, from main meals, desserts, breads, and appetizers, most traditional recipes from various countries. Included is a biography and a classic artistic rendition of each saint before the recipes are given, and usually there are several for each saint. Not all saints in the calendar are included, but there is a wide variety. If you enjoy reading Catholic Cuisine, this book would be a wonderful addition to your cookbook library.

Book of Feasts and Seasons by Joanna Bogle

I have to include Book of Feasts and Seasons by Joanna Bogle and her companion book, A Yearbook of Seasons and Celebrations. Mrs. Bogle is a British author, and she shares many Catholic traditions around the liturgical year, particularly from her country. They aren't only recipes, but provide various Catholic customs and traditions. Perhaps you have seen her on EWTN, her show Feasts and Seasons, which brings the books alive to the American Catholic audience? Check out the website for a few of her recipes. Her books are very enjoyable to read and quite informative.

Happy reading and baking!