Collection: Recipes

King cake gets eaten for breakfast at our house, so we need a dessert after dinner. And in our family we’re going to be giving up all treats and desserts throughout Lent except for special treats on Sundays and solemnities, so we need to get all that stuff out of the house. To kill both of those Fat Tuesday birds with one stone, we have Boeuf Gras (boof grah), or “fattened ox”, Sundaes.

This Vietnamese-style chicken recipe is the perfect mix of sweet and tangy and is popular with all ages. Serve over steamed rice.

I think you guys already know where I stand on whether you should be eating actual locusts/grasshoppers for the nativity of St. John the Baptist. (Spoiler alert: I think you should.) But you might ALSO like to serve this fun ice cream version of a Grasshopper Pie.

Pentecost is the name of the Jewish festival that was being celebrated in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit first descended upon Mary and the disciples. It is also called the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The fruit of the salad . . . is up to you.

It’s probably my favorite dessert, so any excuse for crème brûlée is a good one in my book. The feast day of any French saint will do, but somehow the torching part makes it seem perfect for Saint Joan. Also, the fact that multiple nineteenth-century recipe books refer to crème brûlée as “Trinity Cream” or “Trinity Burnt Cream” means we’d be SILLY not to make this amazing dessert part of our Trinity Sunday celebration. (According to recipe historians—a real job, apparently—the name “Trinity” Cream is a reference to its three main ingredients: cream, sugar, and egg yolks.) This is a slightly fussier recipe than I’m up for on an every-day basis, but that’s the beauty of liturgical living for me. I can get motivated to do a fancy feast day meal for an important solemnity every month or two. THAT I can manage. And Crème Brûlée/Trinity Cream can be made ahead of time, which is always a bonus. But, just in case it’s helpful . . . last time I checked, they sell little individual crème brûlées in the freezer section at Trader Joe’s.

In honor of the example given to us by Our Lady in the Visitation, I always try to take this day to prepare a meal or two for friends who are pregnant, have a new baby, or are experiencing hardship of some kind. I make a casserole-type dish in a foil pan and arrange to deliver it hot, or freeze it, then the recipient can heat it up in the oven whenever she would like. It’s not exactly the same as walking a hundred miles and staying for three months to help. But it’s always well-received. This chicken tortellini casserole is simple to throw together, freezes well, includes the major food groups, and is a big hit with kids. It’s also very customizable!

Our quick and easy version of this fancy Italian dessert omits the raw eggs traditionally found in tiramisu but, really, you won’t miss them! It requires no baking, comes together in about fifteen minutes, and is sure to impress. (Allow a few hours for it to set in the fridge before serving.) Kids can definitely help. This recipe uses crispy lady finger cookies as the base. These can be found in the cookie aisle of many grocery stores, ordered online, or made from scratch. If you have access to actual espresso, you can use that, or substitute strong coffee or decaf.

This is the beloved Tierney Family Irish Soda Bread recipe, perfected on the Southside of Chicago and enjoyed at many a Saint Paddy’s Day Hooley. Enjoy it slathered with Irish butter.

These amazing meatballs are one of the kids’ favorite things to cook with Gramma. They’re great with a toothpick in them as an appetizer alongside Pasta Alla Tavola, in soups, with sweet and sour sauce and veggies over rice, with marinara sauce in a meatball sub, or on spaghetti for any of the hundreds (thousands?) of Italian saints, or—for a Swedish saint—with a yummy cream sauce and served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes. If you’re going Swedish, don’t forget the lingonberry jam! They can be cooked in the oven or pan-fried on the stove. I always make triple what we’ll need. I freeze them flat on a cookie sheet, then dump them in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. They reheat beautifully in the oven, in a pan on the stove, or right in a sauce or soup.

My son Bobby is in charge of crepe-making at our house. This simple recipe (just eggs, milk, and flour) was passed down to him by his great-grandfather, for whom he was named. Crepes are traditionally associated with Candlemas in France, and this recipe also works well for the feast day of any French saint. Sweet or savory, they are appropriate for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

As our treat for the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, I buy a small assortment of cookies and candies, and we use frosting to stick them together into little chairs. We decorate them with whatever sprinkles I have in the cabinet. It’s always fun to see how differently they can turn out, despite each kid starting with all the same materials! Nota bene: If you include round cookies with a hole in the middle, someone might end up using it for the seat, with comedic-looking results. It’s a little thing, but since this feast day usually falls within Lent, the kids are extra excited to get to have treats. Since it’s not a solemnity, we wouldn’t usually break our voluntary Lenten disciplines on this day. However, this was one of our first family liturgical year traditions, and I think it’s the first one I can take credit for inventing, so it’s grandfathered in! But if your family also abstains from treats during Lent, you could always enjoy these together on a Sunday.

Also works for pouring and sprinkling. Because the Baptism of the Lord is almost always observed on a Sunday, we like to invite our kids’ godparents to join us for dinner. They are spread out all over the country (and there are a lot of them!) but it’s worth a try. And, whether or not godparents can join you, what better way to celebrate Saint John the Baptist dunking Jesus in a river, than by dunking bread in melted cheese? Right? RIGHT? Baptism of the Lord fondue party! Aldi is a great place to find affordable European cheeses.

There is a long history in the Church of fasting before major feast days. In fact, until 1983, the Christmas Eve fast was still binding, which meant that on Christmas Eve Catholics would eat one regular meal, and two small meals (technically called collations), all meat-free. It’s no longer binding, but we’ve found it works for us to have a collation breakfast and lunch and then a festive, memorable, meat-free dinner.

The stories say that the tortures suffered by St. Lucy included having her eyeballs poked out, and she is often depicted in art holding her own eyes. So, we like to make this punch in her honor on her feast day. (It’s also fun for Halloween). The kids love to help! Nota bene: The sorbet eyeballs melt quickly in the punch, so add them just before serving. Makes 24 approximately 8oz servings. To add two eyeballs to each serving, double the amount of sorbet and blueberries used.

I love recipes that are about turning unwanted or past-their-prime ingredients into something delicious, and bread pudding is a great example. This recipe is a great way to upcycle extra rolls (if only Thanksgiving came a week earlier!) or stale breads of any kind. I can’t find any indication of why this is called Saint Cecilia sauce or where the recipe comes from, but it does show up in quite a few vintage cookbooks, and is SOOOOO tasty. If you are concerned about raw eggs, you can substitute whipped cream for the Saint Cecilia sauce, and make the bread pudding with three whole eggs instead.

We love this lemonade for the Assumption and also for the feast of the Holy Cross, which is traditionally associated with basil!

To celebrate the feast we like to remember Matthew’s counting table and have silver dollar pancakes for dinner. This recipe makes great pancakes of any size.

The blessing of herbs is traditionally associated with the feast of the Assumption. This tasty roast can be made with blessed or unblessed herbs and served alongside a fluffy cloud of horseradish whipped cream. I use rosemary, sage, oregano, basil, thyme, parsley, and chives.

Our Lady promised to give a sign that could be seen by others, and boy did she deliver! To a crowd of tens of thousands of onlookers, it’s reported that the sun broke through rain clouds and began to dance across the sky. This creamy smoothie is liquid sunshine, encapsulating the splendor of the amazing “Miracle of the Sun” that happened back in 1917!

As the old Irish rhyme goes, “Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan, if you can’t make boxty, you’ll never get a man.” Maybe irrelevant by today’s standards, but what remains important is that it’s a popular dish across Ireland. So what exactly is it? Boxty are fluffy potato cakes that are pan-fried like pancakes and served at breakfast. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day–or any day, really! Just grab some freshly made or leftover mashed potatoes to get started.

The impressive strawberry-red of these margaritas make them perfect for the feast of the Mexican Martyrs! They are fruity, tart, sweet, and refreshing. Served on the rocks, they are a delicious summer treat! Replace the tequila with a lemon-lime soda for a virgin option.

Saint Isidore would surely appreciate the ease and flexibility of this casserole. Substitute bacon or sausage, try other cheeses, add diced peppers or mushrooms. Make it the night before and store it in the refrigerator to bake in the morning. Great for family brunch, or as breakfast meal delivery to a new mom.

In the Compendium, I named this recipe as one I’ve always wanted to try . . . so we finally did! It’s not as hard as it looks, and it makes for a visually stunning and delicious Easter brunch addition. You’ll need dyed NON-boiled eggs for this recipe, so make some in advance! The eggs will bake until soft-boiled in the oven with the bread. It’s yummy to break the eggs and dip the bread right in!

In a Jewish Passover seder meal, haroset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt. Recipes for haroset are available, of course, but my family prefers to go the straight-up homemade applesauce route. Any apples will work. Golden Delicious apples are traditional. But I like to use a mix of sweet Honeycrisp and tart Granny Smith. It doesn’t even need added sugar. But you can add a bit, depending on the sweetness of your apples and your tooth.

It's a bit on-the-nose. But we can't resist this salad for the feast of St. Ambrose. Not only is it tangy and delicious, but it's perfect for this feast day. The legend of St. Ambrose says that when he was a baby, a swarm of bees landed on him and left only a drop of honey on his face; his father said that it meant he would grow up to be "honey-tongued." And, it was true! St. Ambrose was known for his eloquence as a bishop, and his legend won him the title of patron of beekeepers! Enjoy this dessert that's sweet as honey today.

This dish, originally from Southern Italy, features eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce. The sauce is purgatory and the eggs are the souls hoping to escape, although the metaphor breaks down a bit once we get to the table . . . unless our tummies are heaven. Let’s just go with that!

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru in 1579. He served the poor, the sick, and his fellow Dominican brothers, working in the infirmary and the kitchen. He maintained an austere lifestyle, which included fasting and abstaining from meat. Perhaps he would have prepared this traditional Peruvian juice for himself or those in his care. “Jugo Surtido” means “assorted juice” but we would call it a smoothie. The addition of dark beer and a raw egg makes it “Jugo Especial.” But . . . I have yet to try it like that.

Banbury Tarts are a traditional tea treat named after the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire in England. They have long been associated with late summer fairs held under the patronage of Saint Luke.

My family loves this soup for the feast days of French saints, and it’s always one of the soups I serve at our Lenten Soup and Stations get togethers. To make it more crowd-friendly, I assemble the cheesy crouton topping separately.

Get it? Because St. Michael has a spear? This recipe works with thin or thick asparagus, just adjust the cooking time as necessary.

At the birthday party, I serve blue food, as blue is Mary’s favorite color!

Okay, it’s really “eclairs,” we know. But these delicious desserts have the perfect name for the feast of St. Clare!

Mary Magdalene is remembered, among other things, for having been exorcized by Jesus of seven demons (Luke 8:1-3) and for being the first to see the risen Jesus, having arrived at the tomb at daybreak on Easter morning, carrying spices with which she and the other holy women planned to embalm Jesus’ body (Matthew 28: 1-10). This simple vegan recipe combines seven spices in a tasty feast day meal that’s also great for meat-free Fridays. If you’re looking to add more protein, ground beef or turkey can be added when cooking the onions (drain the excess fat before adding the spices) or cooked, shredded chicken can be added at the end before serving. Feel free to adapt the spice blend to your family’s preferences or what you’ve got in the pantry. Serve with a salad over rice, noodles, or polenta.

Today is traditionally for prayer and abstinence, particularly for a bountiful harvest and protection from natural disasters. We think one of the best ways to celebrate is with a quick, no-bake tart decorated with your own harvest, either homegrown or store-bought. Bonus, this recipe is simple enough that even the tiniest of hands can join in!

Enjoy this classic summer treat in the midst of Eastertide, packed with nutrients and endless possibilities for preparation, as we pray on this traditional day of penance and abstinence. Plus, purple is often the liturgical color associated with today. Don’t forget to bless the farmers who produced the harvest for you, too!

St. Augustine and St. Monica lived in the northern part of Africa. This delicious stew is a traditional dish from that area and is perfect for celebrating their feast days!

Fry bread is a staple that stretches back generations. It is part of the cuisine of many different tribes from various regions of the U.S. In the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nation of which Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was a part, it’s called Ghost Bread, and was associated with the mourning period after a death in the family. It’s great served with Three Sisters Soup. For a sweet treat, it can be topped with cinnamon and sugar, or dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with honey.

For the feast of St. John the Baptist, our favorite locust-eating saint, we recommend eating at least ONE grasshopper to celebrate! Grasshoppers are actually widely consumed all over the world, and have similar nutritional value to more traditional meats, and these Crispy Cricket Tacos are a fun and more familiar way to enjoy some crickets for today’s feast!

This tasty casserole is our family’s favorite way to use up old bread and avoid food waste. Hot dog buns to artisanal sourdough, it all gets chopped up and tossed into the dish! The casserole can be made ahead and stored in the fridge overnight. It makes a great dish for the freezer stash, a meal delivery, or a holiday breakfast, and it’s a go-to for us for after-Mass Sunday brunch. I like to set the automatic timer on our oven and have it hot and ready to eat when we get home. I have made up to a quadruple batch at once, increasing the cooking time to 1:10.

This burrito casserole is a long-time family favorite. Perfect with a MexiCoke for the Mexican Martyrs, it’s easily customizable and makes a great option for a meal delivery. For the chicken, substitute ground beef, pulled pork, or leave the meat out for a tasty meat-free Friday meal. For the refried beans, substitute drained black or pinto beans. Add sauteed corn, onion, peppers, and tomatoes for some veggies. Add pico de gallo, hot sauce, or diced jalapeño peppers for some heat!