Crazy but true!  I’ll be a guest for a brief interview and cooking demonstration on Fox and Friends this Sunday around 9:40am EST. Please tune in if you’re not already in church.  Please pray that I don’t burn anything. Although it would be good for my humility, it wouldn’t be good for promoting the movement! But, then again, that’s why we call it Grace Before Meals – we recognize how God is part of the cooking process too, and not just part of the eating process!  Thanks for being a support to our movement, and please tell family and friends to watch if they can.

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OLD BAY BEER BRAISED SHRIMP

 can of light beer
4 teaspoons of Old Bay
4 tablepoons of Butter
Shrimp – peeled, devined, about 1/2 pound (apx 10 medium sized shrimp) Parsley (Fresh flat leaf if possible)
1 small baguette, or 1 or 2 small crusty dinner rolls
Fresh parsley, mineced

Saute Bitter, garlic and olive oil in a pan, Season shrimp with salt, pepper and Old Bay and add to hot pan. Add beer to pan, enough so that foam covers the shrimp and add more old bay. Braze for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pinkish white. Slice bread and put in a bowl. Add shrimp and sauce over the bread. Top with fresh parsley as garnish and extra flavor.

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Met Don Wiklin, Senior Director for Talk Operations at XM Satellite Radio
 

He welcomed and toured me through this awesome facility, and basically took care of me when I was asked to sub for Jennifer Willits on the popular radio show, “Catholics Next Door” 2 weeks ago. It was tons of fun!  

We was a student at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore run by the Franciscans.  Although this HS was somewhat a rival to my own high school, Mount St. Joseph in Baltimore run by the Xaverians, I have to say those tensions didn’t survive.  We became instant friends!

He is in a band, loves his job at XM in DC, and… he loves to cook.  He even studied culinary arts in NY city.  Needless to say, our conversations quickly moved to what type of knives he liked, to his particular cuisine.

It was such an honor to be asked to sub for Jennifer while on maternity leave.  Greg and the producer, Adam, made it so easy for me just to put on the head sets and go to town on the microphone. And if it weren’t for Don being so supportive, I would have felt like a little fish out in very deep and murky waters.  Stepping outside of the seminary walls and meeting people like this in such a competitive (and seemingly impersonal) industry was a wake up call and a reminder of the goodness of people in the working world.  It’s easy to forget how God works in such beautiful ways in “unlikely places” – such as a radio station! I know my presence at the studio was a bit out of place, but Don and so many others made me feel very much at home.   

While on air, I even had the chance to interview the Top Chef winner of 2009 – Hosea!  I felt like such a nerd because in my nervousness, I didn’t even know what to say to the man. I felt like Chris Farley, in the Saturday Night Live spoof of an unprofessional and nervous interviewer who can only say, “that was awesome.”  That was me in that interview!

Hosea is a great chef and he had a pretty humble and calm disposition throughout the competition.  I also enjoyed poking a little fun at his name:  Hosea – one of the minor prophets of the Old Testament, who was commanded by God to take the woman of ill repute (i.e., prostitute) Gomer to be his wife. Why?  So that God can prove His faithfulness even to the least likely people!  It was a great chance to just to chat with him and to reach out to all of the listeners with firm, frank and fun discussion.

While there, I was given a great surprise gift:  Don gave me the XM radio and boom box that you see above.  When I mentioned that I was one of the few Asians that didn’t understand technology or how to even install this in my car, he immediately took the time to  install the device for me! All of this right before I left for the airport to lead the Mount St. Mary’s on pilgrimage to Italy.  Talk about a fantastic Friday two weeks ago!

To top it all off, we enjoyed some time for lunch.  Tilapia Tacos at the XM cafe! Yummy and approved for Lenten Fridays!

I just have to say a sincere THANK YOU to Greg and Jennifer for sharing the mic.  It was great fun!

I must say a special thanks to the people at XM and especially Don for the welcome and the chance to be part of the XM and Sirius Satellite Radio family – even for just 2 days.  It’s so edifying to know that there is fun way to reach out to people who hunger to hear God’s message of hope and good news!

This outreach doesn’t happen through technology, but through friendship that works through the channels of an open heart to God’s love. 

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I just returned from Rome.  We definitely walked the talk.  More info to come wth pictures – I promise!

Thanks to all who prayed for us.

Trust that we prayed in a special way for all who wrote me emails and prayer requests.  My next trip is to Lourdes, France to Rome Italy in May. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted of future pilgrimage opportunities!

Peace!

Fr. Leo

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Ingredients:

½ pound spaghetti or linguine
16 ounce can clams (or 1 ½ -2 pounds of fresh baby clams, washed and cleaned)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 ½ tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup chicken broth
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoons black pepper

Instructions:

Boil water in pot and cook pasta until al dente.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter together over high heat.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1 tablespoon of parsley and saute.  If using a can, add the clams and half the juice from the can.  If using fresh clams make sure they are wash and soaked in cold water so that there is no sand.  Add the fresh clams and stir together.  Add the white wine, broth, and salt and pepper.  Cover the pan and cook until the clams begin to open up.  When pasta is cooked, drain water (leave about 2 tablespoons of starchy pasta water for later).  Add pasta to the pan and mix together.  Add the starchy water, the rest of the butter, and salt and pepper.  Top off with fresh parsley.

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It’s been an amazing 2 days so far. Unfortunately, I don’t have an opportunity to send any pictures right now, but I definitely will.  One seminarian already took over 500 pictures – so eventually (and I promise), I’ll post some pictures.

Let’s just say that we are definitely having an incredible time.  In just two days we’ve already visited all of the 4 major Basilicas (St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s Outside the Wall, St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran).  We also visited Santa Croce minor Basilica that holds the relics of the Passion of Christ.

Gosh, I wish I had more time to write, but unfortunately, I’m just about “dead.”  Especially since we also walked up the Holy Stairs of the Praetorium.  These seminarians are definitely keeping me running!

Trust in our prayers for you.

Fr. Leo

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