The Catholic Foodie Episode 1 is online!

Against my better judgment, I am posting episode 1 of The Catholic Foodie: Let's talk turkey.

I am a perfectionist. Yes, really, I am. And this episode is not perfect. But, I realized earlier that I will never record a single episode if I wait for it to be perfect. So... here it goes!

Please be patient with me. And let me know what you think! Do you have any suggestions, recommendations? Email me at catholicfoodie@gmail.com.

By the way, in recording the podcast, I have realized that I need to stop saying "whatnot." Lord, please help me!

Here are the links I referred to in episode 1:

Catholic New Media Roundup Advent Calendar

Emeril's Pepper-stuffed Turkey

Emeril's Turkey-bone Gumbo

Emeril's Real & Rustic

You can download episode 1 or listen to it below:

Advent is here!

Yes it is here! Advent. Our yearly time of preparation for the coming of the Savior. Wreathes, Advent candles, Jesse trees, Christmas trees, special hymns and carols, Advent is a special time of the year. Over the course of the next four weeks, I will share stories and customs of Advent. I will also include links for further information.

My family loves the Advent wreath. We keep it on the dining room table and light the appropriate candles just before dinner each night. We like to say a little prayer, read a short Advent meditation, and then sing a verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. We also make a Jesse Tree.

For the last few years, we have had help keeping the Advent season. My children were in the children's choir. They sang Advent and Christmas songs ALL day EVERY day. It was awesome! This year, however, the kids are not in choir. Scheduling conflicts prevented their participation. So we will have to really work on staying in the season this year. I plan on trying to incorporate evening prayer each night.

There is something else that I will be doing for Advent this year... an online Advent calendar. Sean, the "Ductapeguy" from the Catholic New Media Roundup, has organized a special media morsel for each day of Advent. Here is the promo for the Advent calendar:



So, what are you doing for Advent? Leave a comment or send me an email at catholicfoodie@gmail.com.

The Catholic Foodie now listed in iTunes

The Catholic Foodie is now listed in iTunes! You can subscribe by clicking here.

The promo is there right now, but I am still working on episode 1. I had hoped to have it out by today, but life got in the way! I may have a chance to finish it tonight... or it may have to wait until Friday.

Until then... Happy Thanksgiving!

New Catholic Foodie Podcast Promo

Check out the new promo and let me know what you think!

You can download the promo or listen to it below:

Thanksgiving and Advent

Today we celebrate in the Church the Feast of Christ the King, which marks the end of the liturgical year. Next Sunday is the 1st Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new liturgical year. It is also a very special time of preparation for Catholics around the world.

This year, in addition to beginning Advent, I am also beginning a new podcast. The first episode will be up this week. Can you guess the theme of the episode? Surprisingly enough it is Thanksgiving! Please check back this week as I will post the episode here. It will also be available on iTunes.

Today I am working on a promo for the show. I hope to complete it today and post it here as well.



On November 30, the Catholic New Media Roundup will begin an online Advent calendar. Each day of Advent a catholic contributor will provide a surprise (a special blog post, audio clip, podcast, music, short videos, or art). You can find the calendar here or click on the image above.

The Spud Dud

Well, this is my first food-related post and it's about a culinary failure!

Last night I baked potatoes. We have been dealing with sick children for the last couple of weeks, and I figured we needed to eat some comfort food. A hot, stuffed baked potato sounded like the perfect thing. Problem was... it's been years since I've baked a potato.

In my recollection, it takes about an hour or so for potatoes to bake. But I didn't want to chance it, so I headed for Google to look it up. The first couple of hits offered the recipes for "perfect" baked potatoes. It may sound crazy to look up a recipe for baked potatoes, but, like I said, I didn't want to take any chances. We needed some serious comfort!

I cleaned the potatoes, pierced them, coated them in olive oil, and sprinkled them with kosher salt. I threw them in the oven baked them at 350F. I set the timer for one hour and started cooking the bacon, preparing the salad, and getting out all the fixings. I had planned this so that the potatoes would come out right when my wife got home from tutoring.

Wife came home, the timer went off, and I checked the potatoes. They were hard. Like bricks. Uh-oh. And the family was ready to eat.

I reset the timer for 30 minutes. I tossed the salad and heated up leftover chicken. I served the family dinner, but I did not eat. I continued to check the potatoes every 15 minutes for another hour. Finally, they were ready. That sweet baked potato smell permeated the kitchen and dining room. I felt happy. Briefly.

I announced that the potatoes were ready, only to discover that the kids were in bed and my wife was getting ready for bed. Not good. I needed comfort food more than ever! So I sat at the table, alone, with a piping hot baked potato stuffed with butter, sour cream, bacon and cheddar. I would have preferred to have my family with me. But, apparently, I bought really big potatoes!

Next time, I will allow more time for baking... or buy smaller potatoes!

Preparing to launch new podcast!

I am preparing to launch a new podcast: The Catholic Foodie.

I have a number of ideas for the show. Here I want to list some of them and ask you for your input and suggestions.

I am thinking that the show will last about 20 to 30 minutes. I hope to divide it into four segments. The first would be Catholic stuff... but I don't know what to call it yet. But in this segment I will talk about many topics (one per episode): food in the bible... passover, covenant meals, last supper, the fish Jesus ate after the resurrection, the wine at Cana, the history of beer, the particular types of wine that can be used in the Eucharistic celebration, the heavenly banquet, various catholic food / celebration traditions, biblical food concepts like the goodness of creation and meals as a symbol of communion, etc....

Another segment would be "What's cooking?" This segment would deal with listener feedback, hopefully with people sharing what they have been cooking lately or what they are planning to cook.

One segment may be about what I am cooking... so it's like "In my kitchen" or some other title.

Another segment would cover reviews of various things: restaurants, recipes, cookbooks, books about food, and possibly cooking shows....

"On tap" would include history and reviews of beers and wines.

Maybe a featured recipe each episode.

These various segments will be on a rotation. I will only cover three or four each episode. I am also thinking that it will be a weekly show.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Please let me know your thoughts. I am very excited about this project and really want your feedback.

Thank you!