Saints, Feast, Family
- Traditions passed down with Cooking, Crafting, & Caring -
October 23
Saint of the day:
Saint John of Capistrano
"Soldier Saint"
Saint John of Capistrano's Story
St. John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight in that city. He studied law at the University of Perugia and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town he was betrayed and imprisoned. Upon his release he entered the Franciscan community at Perugia in 1416. He and St. James of the March were fellow students under St. Bernardine of Siena, who inspired him to institute the devotion to the holy Name of Jesus and His Mother. John began his brilliant preaching apostolate with a deacon in 1420. After his ordination he traveled throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia preaching penance and establishing numerous communities of Franciscan renewal. When Mohammed II was threatening Vienna and Rome, St. John, at the age of seventy, was commissioned by Pope Callistus III to preach and lead a crusade against the invading Turks. Marching at the head of seventy thousand Christians, he gained victory in the great battle of Belgrade against the Turks in 1456. Three months later he died at Illok, Hungary. His feast day is October 23. He is the patron of jurists.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=692
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-of-capistrano/
http://jceworld.blogspot.com/2013/10/todays-saint-oct-23-st-john-of.html
http://joepastry.com/2011/chimney-cake-recipe/
Prayer:
Visit:
Still researching for his relics & location
Recipes:
In honor of St. John we will be making Chimney Cake
Traditional Hungarian street food
This is an amazing little sweet toasted dough that can be eaten alone or filled.
Either way you can't go wrong. This is perfect for a fall night.
Chimney Cake Recipe
A chimney cake is an enriched yeast bread that’s wound onto a thick wooden spit, then roasted over a charcoal fire. The hardest part of this recipe is constructing the implement you need.
For the dough:
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8.5 ounces (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
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2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
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1 ounce (2 tablespoons) sugar
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1/8 teaspoons salt
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2 egg yolks, room-temperature
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1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) melted butter
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4 ounces (1/2 cup) milk, room temperature
For the grilling:
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vegetable oil for lubricating the spindle
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melted butter
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sugar
For the topping:
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about 3 ounces (1 cup) walnuts, ground and mixed with
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about 3.5 ounces (1/2 cup) sugar
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2 teaspoons cinnamon
Directions:
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Combine the dry dough ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
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Do the same with the wet ingredients and add them to the dry ingredients.
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Stir the mixture until it comes together to form a dough, then knead it for about five minutes.
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Allow the dough to rise for 40 minutes.
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Cut the dough into a long ribbon with a pizza cutter .
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Paint your spit with vegetable oil.
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Wrap one end of the dough around the spit, tucking in the end so the dough doesn’t unwind. Keep the dough very thin as you stretch and wind, under 1/4″ inch. Roll the whole thing on the countertop to flatten it/press it together.
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Paint the dough with melted butter and roast over the fire for about six minutes, sprinkling on sugar, until it starts to take on a dark golden color.
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Paint on more butter, then roll the finished cake in the nut mixture. Tap the mold on a table top to release the cake and set it upright to cool.
Traditional Hungarian Goulash (Gulyas)
Ingredients
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3 tablespoons Butter
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1½ pounds yellow onions, chopped
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¼ cup good quality sweet imported Hungarian paprika
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2 teaspoons of ground cumin
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2 pounds stew beef cut into ½ inch pieces and coat with AP flour
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5 cloves garlic, minced
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2 red bell peppers, seeded/membranes removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
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1 yellow bell pepper, seeded/membranes removed, cut into ½ inch chunks
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2 tomatoes, diced
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2 carrots, diced
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2 medium potatoes, cut into ½ inch chunks
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1/2 c AP flour (used to coat the vegetables & meat this is optional but this is the thinker)
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5 cups beef broth
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1 bay leaf
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1 teaspoon salt
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½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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red wine (To us for deglazing)
Directions:
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Melt the butter in a large pan over medium high heat and cook the onions until beginning to brown, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large stock pot. Do the same for the vegetables (except the tomatoes), brown all and then place into the stock pot.
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Coat beef with AP flour and pan fry in butter. Once browned add to the stock pot.
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At this post your pan will be filled with little bits of flavor called fond, do NOT wash your pan. At this point take your bottle of wine and clean it or deglaze it with the wine. Use a whisk. Stir in the spices. Add the deglazed spices into the stock pot. Add more wine if needed. I think I added about a half cup more just because I like the flavor, this is optional.
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Add the tomatoes to the stock pot. Add stock. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 40 minutes. Add salt to taste.
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Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some crusty bread, and a cool cucumber salad.
*If you're using a tougher cut of beef, cook the beef first, without the carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and bell peppers, for 30-45 minutes, then add the vegetables and cook for another 40 minutes until the beef is tender.
Mise en place: all of your ingredients
Chopped
Sautéed or Browned
Enjoy!
.
Spaetzle:
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2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
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1 TBSP Salt
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3 large eggs
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3 tablespoons melted butter
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3/4 cup water
Directions:
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Sift the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add water and the eggs and mix until just combined (do not over mix). Pour in the melted butter and mix.
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Bring a large pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt. Ladle large spoonfuls of the dough into the grater or strainer and push the dough through directly into the boiling water. Repeat until all the dough is used. Once the dumplings float, strain into a bowl. Serve with goulash over the spaetzle.
Note: This dough is thick and it is a little difficult to work with if you don't have a spaetzle press. I did not so I used what I had. Use a long handle spatula when pressing the dough.
Push the dough through the holes to make the pasta.
The dough will drop and make little spaetles
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