As part of an annual tradition, I cooked for several priests on March 19, 2009 to commemorate the Solemn Feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.  With a solemn blessing of the “St. Joseph Altar” Archbishop O’Brien, assisted by the host pastor, Msgr. Luca, also offered words of encouragement to the priests to continue to foster a love for Jesus and Mary as St. Joseph had.

It also gave all of the guests a chance to toast our Pope – “JOSEPH” Ratzinger, now known as Pope Benedict XVI.  Since my name is “Jose Leo” (my family actually calls me “Joe”), and the Pastor of the Parish is also named Msgr. JOSEPH Luca, we definitely had to celebrate our namesake.  See parents, that’s one reason why you should name your kids after saints.  They can celebrate their birthdays and their Saint Name Day too!

On the menu was assorted antipastas, such as grilled shrimp with a caper mustard sauce, buffalo styled chicken wings, and assortments of dips and cheeses.  The first course was Rigatoni alla Norcina.  I was so honored when people asked for seconds! After all it IS a Solemn FEAST Day!

For the main course we had individual portions of Ratatouille, a bed of mixed field greens with a light vinaigrette, baguette bruschetta, topped with a mini filet mignon, with a fennel seed cream sauce.

Overall, it as rather tasty.   I wouldn’t say the meal was “great,” simply because I think I overcooked some of the steaks.   Beef temperatures can sometimes be difficult to cook when you’re serving 18 people!  But, then again, there are better techniques that I’m still practicing and perfecting. If you have any tips on how to get the meat perfectly cooked for such a large number so that it comes off sizzling hot on the plate, please let me know. 

But, when cooking an individual portion, I hit it out of the park!  Even though I set off the smoke detector in the kitchen, the steak turned out perfectly.  I cooked one portion for the German Television Network Crew (ARD1) as they were filming a brief segment of Grace Before Meals for the German audience.  It was a fun interview, and I was most impressed to hear the camera man, Chris (center of the picture), completely agree with the Grace Before Meals mission.  As we walked to a different location for the shoot he told me that spending time with his wife and family around the dinner table is one of the most important blessings of his day!  After the filming, Chris went back and finished up the rest of the meal. You can almost hear him thinking in the picture, “I sure hope the sound guy (Mark) or the interviewer (Bianca) don’t have too big of a taste test!”

Such a great saint, as St. Joseph, deserves the solemn celebration!  We definitely can use his example of humble obedience to God’s will.  It is often noted, and always good to remember, he doesn’t have any recorded words attributed to him in the Scriptures.  In other words, he did more listening than talking.  Taking his hint, I’ll just stop typing now.  Enjoy the silence.  It is then, we can hear God speak to us – loudly and clearly. St. Joseph, Pray for us!

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