As Americans unite and pull together during this time of crisis, we find
ourselves going back to basics in lots of areas, including food! With so many
families housebound, both parents and children, "comfort food" can play a
part in helping relieve the stress and increase relaxation. Meatloaf and
mashed potatoes are a great way to go—hearty, simple and sure to be a hit.

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Back to Basics — Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

SERVINGS
4
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
55
PREP TIME
15
READY IN
1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • Meatloaf
  • 1 lb ground beef lean
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup onion diced
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 medium egg beaten
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tsp herbs dried
  • 3/4 tsp salt and generous sprinkling black pepper
  • Topping
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Instructions

  1. Set oven at 350 degrees
  2. In a large bowl, combine beef, panko or bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, salt and pepper.
  3. With a good sized spoon, mix gently until well combined, without over-handling it, which toughens the meat.
  4. Place the meat mixture in loaf pan.
  5. Combine ketchup, wine vinegar, brown sugar and spread over the top of meatloaf.
  6. Bake uncovered for about 55 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees.
  7. For those who like the ketchup topping to be a little browned and crispy, put under the broiler, turning it around every few seconds, for about 3-5 minutes
  8. Serve with a scoop of your favorite mashed potatoes!

Merry Christmas from Bethany Convent! This year, the Sisters enjoyed this lovely Grilled Ceasar Salad with our Christmas meal. It was so easy and delicious, we wanted to share it with you. Our prayers are with each one of you as we close out 2019 and look forward with hope and expectation to a new year together!

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Grilled Ceasar Salad

SERVINGS
4
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20
PREP TIME
20
READY IN
40

Ingredients

  • Dressing
  • 3 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 3/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
  • 1/4 cup fresh parmesan grated
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • Other ingredients:
  • 2 hearts romaine lettuce cut in half lengthwise
  • 2 medium lemon(s) halved (for grilling)
  • 1/2 baguette bread or other rustic bread
  • 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for the lettuce
  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • pepper to taste
  • 4 ounces fresh parmesan cheese for flaking

Instructions

  1. Prepare the dressing: In a bowl, add the mayonnaise, Worcestershire, lemon juice, Dijon, vinegar and garlic and whisk until combined. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Add the Parmesan and continue to whisk. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. This can be made ahead and kept refrigerated until ready to use
  2. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
  3. Brush olive oil on the romaine hearts and season with salt and pepper. Place the romaine cut-side down on the grill and cook until nicely marked, 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Brush the lemon halves with olive oil and grill cut sized down until you have grill marks on the lemons and they are soft and golden
  5. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Prepare croutons: tear up the bread into bite sized chunks and drizzle with olive oil. Toss until the oil is well distributed. Toss with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt until well seasoned to your liking. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until crispy and golden about 10-15 min. Remove from oven and let cool.
  6. With a vegetable peeler, flake your Parmesan cheese into large pieces.
  7. To assemble: lay your grilled romaine hearts on a platter, drizzle with the dressing and finish off with croutons, flakes of Parmesan cheese and the grilled lemon halves. Enjoy!

I often make salmon cakes in a big batch and freeze them for later use to serve for lunch with a nice salad of tomatoes and cucumbers or even citrus and avocado. They can be eaten at room temperature or crisped up in the oven before serving – whatever your preference. This is a simple recipe where all the ingredients are mixed together and then lightly fried in some olive oil. I've found that using an old fashioned ice cream scoop does such an excellent job shaping your patties that you don't even have to get your hands dirty! Just scoop the mixture directly into your skillet and pat down with your metal spatula. It's a cost-effective recipe that can be made gluten-free as well. A great healthy way to start your year!

Years ago, there was a collaboration between all the cooks in the Community, resulting in a lovely little cook book, "Recipes that Bear Repeating." The creation of this book was a true labor of love. For months, recipes were written out, exchanged, and "tested" in all the households. Many notes and conversations later, such as "What do you mean by one can? What size can?" or "What does 'until done' mean? We need a time estimate!", this treasury of favorites was pulled together and printed, including traditions for holidays and special occasions from the Community. This Marinade for Steaks and Chops is definitely an All-Star from the book! Right now, at Priory Books & Gifts if you buy one of the Sisters' hand-made aprons, you get a copy of your own for free! Don't miss out on this little treasure.

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Marinade for Steaks and Chops

SERVINGS
3 1/2 cups
COOK TIME
PREP TIME
READY IN

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups salad oil
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice fresh
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 2 tbsp. dry mustard
  • 1 tbsp. black pepper
  • 2 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. parsley dried

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
  2. Cover meat with marinade and chill for several hours. Turn meat several times to allow the flavor to penetrate more evenly. If stronger flavor is desired, refrigerate overnight.
  3. Let meat come to room temperature before cooking.
  4. It may be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the freezer indefinitely.

Years ago when I was just a teenager one of my jobs in my father's restaurants was to type up the daily menus. Some of the menu items have stuck in my mind more than others, as favorites of those who regularly ate there. Welch Rarebit was one of them, (Perhaps because I liked it so much myself).  In any case, I sometimes feel sad that it seems to have disappeared from the memory of people my age and is completely unknown to a lot of others. Although usually served over crispy toast I have often used it in other ways as well, so for Thanksgiving I thought I'd like to incorporate it into a vegetable side dish. So I came up with this Welch rarebit Cauliflower.

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Welsh Rarebit Cauliflower

SERVINGS
8 people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE

people

COOK TIME
40 mins
PREP TIME
20 mins
READY IN
1 hr

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 tbsp flour all purpose
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 tsp Onion salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 cup beer
  • 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 12 oz cheddar cheese or your favorite cheese, shredded (approximately 3 cups)
  • 4 drops hot sauce

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and cheese, whisk until well combined and smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes. Add hot sauce.
  2. Place a steamed whole head of cauliflower in deep serving dish, pour rarebit over it and top with homemade golden buttery toast crumbs (crumble two slices of white bread – sprinkle lightly with oil and brown in 400 degree Fahrenheit oven about 5-10 minutes), crispy bacon bits, and red pepper flakes.
  3. Garnish with fresh herbs or other vegetables as desired.

Autumn is apple time, and our trees are laden with gorgeous fruit — apples that are being turned into applesauce, apple crisp, apple fritters and all things apple! This is the time to have fun with them when they are so plentiful and at their best.

Last week we decided to give our chicken meal of the week an autumn touch by incorporating some apples into it and we were quite pleased with what resulted…..our Savory Roasted Apple Bourbon Bird. All we did was rub our chicken all over inside and out with a great mixture of tasty spices and herbs, stuffed it with some apple and yam quarters and a few shallots and roasted it as usual but basted it with our unusual cider bourbon glaze giving it a beautiful rich finish that was breathtaking to behold and luscious to taste. It is really worth trying and equally as good with a pork roast.

Roast Chicken

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Savory Roasted Apple Bourbon Bird

SERVINGS
4 people
CHANGE SERVING SIZE

people

COOK TIME
105 minutes
PREP TIME
30 minutes
READY IN
135 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken whole (4 to 5 pound), neck and giblets removed from the cavity
  • 2 garlic clove(s) crushed, fresh
  • 2 tbsp Onion salt
  • 4 tbsp fresh thyme finely minced
  • 1 dozen shallot(s)
  • sprinkling pepper cracked
  • 4 apple(s) quartered
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 2 yams
  • Bourbon Glaze
  • 2 cups apple juice
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar dark
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 3/4 tsp Onion salt
  • 1/2 tsp orange zest

Instructions

  1. Combine fresh garlic, onion salt, 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme, cracked pepper.
  2. Rub well into chicken all over inside and out.
  3. Quarter a large apple, 6 shallots and stuff into cavity along with a handful of fresh thyme and a stalk of celery.
  4. Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Roast the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  6. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and continue roasting until the juices run clear and a thermometer inserted into the inner thigh (but not touching the bone) registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit, about 30 minutes to 45 minutes more.
  7. Baste chicken with glaze about every 5 minutes for final 15 minutes of cooking.

Bourbon Glaze

  1. Reduce the apple juice down to about ¾ cup then add the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Heat the mixture until dissolved then add 1 cup bourbon and let boil for about 5 minutes or until mixture reduces to about 1 cup of liquid.
  3. Baste chicken with glaze about every 5 or 10 minutes for final 30 minutes of cooking.
  4. **Add 3 quartered apples, 2 yams cut to size of apples, and a dozen shallots to roasting pan stirring from time to time until all are tender.
  5. Remove and hold when done.