Chicken St. John

June 24: The Nativity of St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Islander’s family and paternal relatives. Even her brother chose “Juan” for his Spanish confirmation name. For our blog recipe post, we have made Chicken St. John to celebrate the birthday of the cousin of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is a hearty stew with a rich and creamy gravy which we eat with Honig-Johannisbrot Laib (Loaf with St. John’s Bread and Honey), also a blog recipe post, to complete our feast day dinner.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cooking with the Saints by Ernst Schuegraf)

For the broth

• 2 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ cup celery, chopped
• 3 tablespoons carrots, chopped
• 3 tablespoons onion, minced
• 1 parsley sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 peppercorns

Directions

Trim excess fat from the chicken breasts and cut into large chunks. Place them in a large pot with the rest of the ingredients listed above and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour. Let the chicken cool in the broth and set aside. Strain the liquid, reserving a cup of broth for the gravy.

For the gravy

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup broth (from above)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pinch each of rosemary and basil

Directions

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat. Stir in the flour, then add the strained broth and cream. Mix well until thickened.  Add the cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Sprinkle with salt and rosemary and basil. Prepare the garnish.

For the garnish

• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup almonds, toasted
• 1 avocado, sliced

Directions

Saute the mushrooms in butter. Place on the bottom layer of a baking dish and top with the chicken and sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the almonds by heating them in a skillet until brown. Slice the avocados. After the chicken is baked, remove from the oven and uncover (take care to avoid escaping steam). Top with almonds and avocado. Bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered. Remove from the oven. Serve the chicken pieces with avocado slices on plates and ladle the gravy over them with some almonds. Garnish with parsley.

Pecan Sandies

June 23: National Pecan Sandy Day

Packaged cookies are popular among poor college students—we ate them ourselves when they were served free at our dorm lounges and at school socials. Thanks to God’s providence, we now can afford quality ingredients (organic butter or gourmet vanilla) to replicate some of those desserts from our college days, like pecan sandies, a crumbly, nutty and buttery shortbread. We continue to share home-baked cookies with college students as part of our involvement in campus ministry, and we share the recipe for pecan sandies with readers of our blog for National Pecan Sandy Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup sugar, granulated white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (we used Mexican vainilla)
• 1 cup cake flour
• ¾ cup pecan pieces
• pecan halves for topping

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar. Add the vanilla and stir thoroughly.  Gradually mix in the flour until well blended. Fold in the pecans. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 15 minutes.

Pinch out one-inch balls from the dough, then flatten slightly. Place a pecan half in  the middle of each cookie. Set two inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until the bottom edges are browned.  Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Yield: About 1 ½ dozen.

Maine Lobster

June 15: National Lobster Day

Our kumare Cherlyn B., who is the mother of our baptismal goddaughter Keira, generously prepared a luxurious lobster feast on June 15 when we visited her family in Maine last summer. Although she lives inland, her local grocer gets live crustaceans from the coast still fresh and fiesty (their claws are safely secured with rubber bands). We were able to follow the lobsters’ fate from tank-to-table-to-tummy and are fortunate to be able to blog about the experience of this quintessential Maine event for National Lobster Day!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 ½ – 2 pound live, fresh Maine lobster (one per person)
• boiling water
• salt

Directions

Fill a large stock pot ¾ full of water to cover the lobster(s) completely. Bring to a rolling boil. Season with salt to simulate sea water. Quickly yet carefully submerge the lobster(s) head first into the water. Cover the pot with a tight, fitted lid. Boil for 15 minutes (for 1 ½ pound lobsters) and up to 20 minutes (for 2 pound lobsters). The shells will turn to a vibrant red color when cooked. Follow the recommended full cooking times, but do not overcook the lobster(s) or the meat will be rubbery. Remove from the pot using tongs. Drain the lobster(s). Serve with a lemon butter dipping sauce.

Notes

• Lobsters are considered a luxury food, but they are messy to eat with class. For more information about cooking and eating lobsters, check out the illustrated instructions from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
• Thanks to Cherlyn B. and family for their gracious Maine hospitality.