Roasted Potato, Corn, and Asparagus Salad

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
4 large red potatoes, cut into ¼ inch pieces
1 branch of rosemary
Apx. 2 Tbs Olive oil
2 corn on the cob
¼ pound of baby asparagus
1 heaping Tbs Mayonnaise
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
2-4 Tbs Fresh cilantrochopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Season potatoes with salt, minced rosemary leaves, and 1 Tbs of olive oil.  Mix together and place on a baking sheet.  Cook for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring potatoes around on sheet to help cook evenly. When potatoes are fork tender and some pieces golden in color, remove from oven and combine with other ingredients.  Prepare corn by removing the beard and cutting the kernels away from the cob.  Heat ½ Tbs of olive oil in a sauté pan until smoking point.  Add corn and cook until caramelized—when the corn begins to slightly char and parts turn golden brown.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Once corn is grilled, place in a large mixing bowl. Prepare the asparagus by cutting into ¼ inch pieces.  Sauté in same pan until some pieces are caramelized.  Once cooked, place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add mayonnaise and fresh cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

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I’m at the International Food Bloggers Convention with a bunch of foodies who love to write about their culinary adventures.

It’s the first time that I’ve been to a conference and didn’t have to give a talk.  It was kinda’ nice actually to just sit and listen to other people who have a passion for food.

While I wasn’t prepared to say anything publicly, my Roman Collar speaks very, very loudly!  Being the only priest in the room brought enough attention that  Morgan Spurlock - the independent film producer and star of his docu-drama “Supersize Me” and keynote speaker for the evening, offered his encouragement to our Grace Before Meals movement after he passed me the microphone to introduce myself.  Rather cool, humbling, and fun!

His message, as well as the comments from almost every person I met, resonated with what I do for Grace Before Meals. Participants all seem to recall their own family meals, family recipes, and Thanksgivings.  Many people here saw the Throw Down episode with Bobby Flay and they were reminded of the message:  eat with your family.  This food blogger, “White Lotus Cooks,” cooks and blogs about her deceased mother’s recipes as a testimony of a love that was shared through these delicious southeast asian foods.  That food testament is definitely linked to Jesus’ command:  Take and eat and drink in memory of me.

I’m meeting people from around the country / world and we all have something in common.  We love food so much that it transcends our difference.

While I’m rather sure we don’t share the same political, social and moral values, we all value the need to spend time with each other, get to know each other, and eat together.  In fact, this food truck owner in Portland (this guy has like 600 of these trucks!) definitely agreed.  We kinda’ became instant friends because of this common love for food and family.  When I get to Portland he said that I should not only visit his food trucks, I will actually cook in one.  Now, that’s an episode!

My biggest repeated line of the evening was the understanding of food as “religious.”  The Latin verb, religere,  means to bind together.  It doesn’t take a genius, but some faithful foodies, to realize that food is the most “religious” experience in humanity because it’s the one things that can bring us together!  The challenge:  Make really good food!

You’ll hear more about this in upcoming blasts.  This event, so far, has reinvigorated my passion to do more writing.  While I’ve already written the book that was recently published by Double Day of New York, I felt even more motivated to finish my second book:  Spicing Up Married Life - 12 dinner dates to strengthen the relationship of married couples around the dinner table.

For those who are new to this site, feel free and browse, but more importantly join the faith, food, family and fun discussion by signing up for the free weekly blasts.  This food blogger conference has really opened my eyes to just how powerful food really is. I thought I was a foodie?  Being with all of these people in the food-lovers world makes me pray even harder so that one day we’ll all be able to feast for all eternity in heaven, where we will feast on none other than LAMB - of God, that is.

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Ingredients (Sauce enough for 5-6 people)
1 bottle of ordinary red wine
1 clove garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 Tbs butter
4 cups sliced baby Portobello mushrooms
½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional 1 cup water to thin out sauce

(Hearty red wine and mushroom sauce.)

Instructions:

Simmer red wine in a sauce pan with garlic and rosemary and reduce to half.  Once reduced, set aside and discard garlic and rosemary.  In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat, and sauté mushrooms.  Add breadcrumbs and reduced red wine, and mix until flavors are fully incorporated.  Continue to cook over a low heat until the desired consistency.  Use some water to help thin out sauce if necessary.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve as a sauce over chicken, beef, or pork.

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