To see the show notes for this episode of Around The Table Food Show, go tohttp://catholicfoodie.com/cafe-hope-and-the-creole-tomato-festival.

FOOD MEETS FAITH IN THE HOLY LAND

A unique pilgrimage experience combining food and faith in the Holy Land is set for February 2014. Jeff Young, "The Catholic Foodie," will lead the trip to Israel together with spiritual director, Fr. Michael Werkhoven of the Diocese of Memphis. The dates for the pilgrimage are February 5-15, 2014.

Israel, referred to as the Holy Land, is the place where Jesus walked, talked, ate and drank with his companions over 2000 years ago. Pilgrims will get to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, visiting many of the significant locations of Jesus' life like Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Emmaus, celebrating Mass in most of those locations.

A Unique Holy Land Pilgrimage Experience Combining Food & Faith

Some of the traditional pilgrimage experiences will include:

• Renewal of marriage vows in Cana of Galilee, the site of Jesus’ first miracle where he turned water into wine
• Renewal of baptismal promises in the Jordan River
• Traveling to Nazareth to visit Mary’s Well and the Church of the Annunciation
• Celebrating Christmas Mass at the Church of the Nativity
• Traveling to the ancient city of Jericho to see the Mount of Temptation, and later going for a swim in the Dead Sea
• Visiting Jerusalem and praying the Stations of the Cross on the original Via Dolorosa, then celebrating Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Visiting the Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Empty Tomb of the Virgin at the Church of the Assumption

In addition to the traditional pilgrimage experiences, pilgrims will also be treated to a deliciously “foodie” buffet of events that will include:

• Sailing on the Sea of Galilee before touring Kibbuz Kinnert, the famous shop with little dates (and date honey!) harvested on the kibbutz
• Visiting and touring the Bethlehem Winery, where pilgrims can sample the wine and also purchase bottles to bring home
• Learning about biblical foods and exploring the fascinating question, “What Would Jesus Eat?” with talks by Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie
• Visiting a local family restaurant in Bethlehem where pilgrims will join The Catholic Foodie and local chefs in the preparation of the day’s meal
• Sharing a celebratory meal in Bethlehem prepared by Chef Johnny Goric and Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie, in an open kitchen, and learning about Chefs for Peace, an organization founded by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian chefs whose objective is peace through local cooperation, cooking and breaking bread together
• Shopping with local chefs in the most famous food market in Israel
• Attending cooking classes that will highlight Middle Eastern cooking styles
• Dining at a restaurant that reportedly has the best hummus in Israel (and pilgrims get a copy of the recipe!)
• Meeting local villagers from Taybeh, the only Catholic Village in the Holy Land, touring the local brewery and, later on, taking a cooking class with Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie
• Journeying to Ein Kerem and Emmaus, where Jesus met the disciples on the road after his Resurrection, and enjoying a delicious farewell dinner with your fellow travelers

Organized by Select International Tours, this unique once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage experience will put pilgrims in touch with the daily life of Jesus, as well as the locations associated with the main events of his life.

Who is Jeff Young, The Catholic Foodie?

A former seminarian and educator, Jeff Young is the founder of The Catholic Foodie, an apostolate to strengthen families through food and faith around the family table. Jeff firmly believes that God created us to seek communion – with himself and with others – and one of the primary ways we experience communion is around the table, both the table of the Eucharist at Mass and the family dinner table at home.Jeff notes that, from Genesis to Revelation, food plays an important role in God’s relationship with his people and in our relationship with each other.It’s all about communion.

Born and raised in south Louisiana, it is in Jeff's blood to be passionate about both food and faith. With his unique down-home style, he shares recipes, reviews, and culinary inspiration through The Catholic Foodie blog and podcast, and through the weekly Around The Table Food Show on Catholic Community Radio (690AM in New Orleans, and 1380AM in Baton Rouge). He is currently working on a book that celebrates food and faith "around the table." Jeff is also a conference speaker who has spoken on various topics ranging from "growing in faith around the table" to "using social media to reach inactive Catholics."

Who is Fr. Michael Werkhoven?

Fr. Mike Werkhoven is a priest for the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. He is the pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit in east Memphis, and has been a priest for 11 years. Before entering the seminary in 1994, Fr. Mike was an art major in college and worked many years as a professional artist. He finished up his undergraduate studies in philosophy at St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, LA. Fr. Mike studied for one year in Rome at the North American College before coming back home to finish his studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Besides the Catholic Church, Fr. Mike's two main loves are art and food, and his hobbies are creating both and tying them both into the divine life we share with Christ and our universal call to holiness. Just as there is "sacred art", Fr. Mike believes there is "sacred food" and it all starts with the "holy trinity" of onions, peppers, and celery. Besides being a pastor, Fr. Mike also serves as the spiritual director for the diocesan SEARCH youth retreat and is the chaplain for "Fishers of Men" of the Diocese of Memphis.

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Additional Resources:

http://catholicfoodie.com

http://catholicfoodie.com/holyland

http://www.selectinterna

Isabel Laessig, The Family Foodie, on Around The Table Food Show

Our guest yesterday on Around The Table Food Show was Isabel Laessig, also known as The Family Foodie. Isabel started an effort about 18 months ago to bring families back around the family table by using blogs and social media. From a small band of seven food bloggers the Sunday Supper Movement has grown to influence 1.5 to 2 million Twitter followers weekly, using the hashtag #SundaySupper. And that number doesn't count the folks who engage with Sunday Supper bloggers via Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and through the blogs of the participating bloggers.

The New Orleans Oyster Festival

This weekend marks the Oyster Festival in New Orleans. Restaurants from all over town come together to celebrate the salty, briny goodness of oysters. On the show today Chef Ralph Pausina from Drago's Restaurantjoins us to talk oysters, the Oyster Festival, and Drago's famous char-grilled oysters.

Today's Recipe: Oysters!

Msgr. Nalty and I discuss char-grilling oysters... and other ways of preparing oysters. One of the recipes we discussed can be found here:Drago's Charbroiled Oysters and Hurricane Isaac.

Today's Guests on Around The Table Food Show:

Ginny Zissis, coordinator of the New Orleans Greek Fest.

Dave Emond, Development Director of Cafe Reconcile.

The Big 4-OPA! The Greek Fest New Orleans Celebrates 40 Years!

40 years of Spanakopita, Souvlaki, Baklava, Dolma and Gyros on Bayou St. John. Oh, and we can’t forget the Greek music and dancing… OPA! That’s right, it’s been 40 years of celebrating Greek culture and heritage (and shouting OPA!) on Bayou St. John.

More than a Church Fair… The Greek Fest Celebrates Faith and Hellenic Culture

As a Catholic living in south Louisiana, I am very familiar with church fairs. With such a large Catholic population in Louisiana, it’s easy to find church fairs peppered all across the state, from New Orleans to Lake Charles… and even “up north” in Shreveport.In essence, the Greek Fest is the “church fair” of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral. But, it’s also more than that. Over the last 40 years it has become an cultural and culinary icon in New Orleans. From the live Greek music provided by Greek bandAlpha Omega!out of Atlanta, to the Hellenic Dancers who perform various traditional Greek dances in traditional garb, the Greek Fest beckons you to join in the fun and shout OPA! Of course, one of the biggest draws to the Greek Fest is the food. What most folks don’t know is that all the food is prepared by the parishioners. Over 150 lambs are slow-roasted on spits over the course of the weekend. Over 20 different traditional Greek pastries are available… all made by hand by a small army of volunteers.

What’s on the Menu this Year at Greek Fest NOLA?

There is lots on the menu every year at the Greek Fest. But here are some of our must-have favorites: theGyro Sandwich,Roasted Lamb (pictured above),Fried Calamari,Feta Fries,Greek Salad,Traditional Greek Dinner (which includestiropita, spanakopita, pastitsio, meatballs, and a Greek salad with dolma… which are stuffed grape leaves),Goatburgers. Ouzo andGreek wines fromAnastasi Estatesare available by the glass or by the bottle. Abita Beer is served on tap. For a cooler treat, you can try thedeliciousPomegranate Iced Tea, Snowball, and Daiquiri Drinks. The pomegranate haslong been a Greek symbol of abundance and good luck, and it is featured in three refreshing drinks this year.

Cafe Reconcile: Feed Your Soul

Cafe Reconcile's mission is simple: Reconcile New Orleans.

Reconcile New Orleans

"We are a community of concerned people committed to addressing the system of generational poverty, violence and neglect in the New Orleans area. Our innovative life skills and job training program assists young people (ages 16–22) from severely at-risk communities who desire to make a positive change in their lives. Reconcile’s students arrive facing a vast array of challenges, from extreme poverty and high school attrition to homelessness, violence, and participation in the juvenile justice system. Nonetheless, these young people possess a deep desire to break the cycle and become productive, contributing members of society. "Our nonprofit restaurant, located in the severely distressed Central City neighborhood of New Orleans, serves as the primary training ground for students seeking to acquire skills in the food service industry. Featuring soul-filled local dishes and some of the city’s lowest prices, Café Reconcile is a destination lunch spot for a wide cross-section of New Orleanians as well as visitors from all across the country."

Cafe Reconcile's Mission Statement:

Reconcile New Orleans transforms the lives of young adults and the community through the ministry of reconciliation. We do this by:

• encouraging personal growth,
• providing workforce development and training,
• promoting entrepreneurship,
• working with businesses, nonprofits and people of faith to support this transformation.

Listen to show and go to CatholicFoodie.com to read more about Cafe Reconcile and the New Orleans Greek Fest.

Chef John Besh and Monsignor Christopher Nalty Join Us for Around The Table Food Show

Two special guests joined us for theFriday, May 17thedition ofAround The Table Food Show.

Monsignor Christopher Nalty, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is the pastor ofGood Shepherd Parish, which was formed in October 2008 by merging together three parishes: St. Stephen, St. Henry and Our Lady of Good Counsel. Msgr. Nalty studied in Rome and spent about 10 years in Italy. He loves to cook, and he is really good at it. In 2009,when Fr. Leo Patalinghug was issued a "throwdown" by Bobby Flay, Msgr. Nalty worked together with Fr. Leo to prepare Fr. Leo's famous Steak Fajitas.

On this edition ofAround The Table Food Show, Msgr. Nalty shares with us his recipe forPasta with Garlic & Oil(Aglio e Olio). I include my version of this recipe below.

Chef John Beshis a local chef, restauranteur, cookbook author, husband, father,he has a TV cooking show... Oh, and he's Catholic. ;-)

Read more about Chef John Besh and Msgr. Christopher Nalty at CatholicFoodie.com.

What an exciting show!

On Friday, May 10th we interviewed Robin Davis, author of Recipe for Joy, recently published by Loyola Press. I recently wrote a review of the book (and posted a podcast interview with Robin over at CatholicFoodie.com).

We also welcomed Sherri Hansen on the show to talk about her work with Culinary Kids. I love what she has to say, and I just want to go hang out and have fun over at her place in Mandeville, LA. It sounds like so much fun!

I shared a recipe forfish tacos... Yes, the same recipe we promised to give you last week when we ran out of time. So, you can finally hear it on this show!

Around The Table Radio for Friday, May 3, 2013

We had an exciting show on Friday, May 3 that included talk aboutJazz Festfoods, Crawfish Bread, and Vaucresson Sausage. Our guests for the show were Jyl Benson, Editor-in-Chief ofLouisiana Kitchen & Culture Magazine(and Crawfish Bread expert!), and Vance Vaucresson, owner ofVaucresson Sausage, which has been making sausage in New Orleans since 1899.Vaucresson Sausagealso has the distinction of being one of the only vendors that has participated in all 44 Jazz Festivals in New Orleans.

I shared a recipe forfresh salsasince we were anticipating Cinco de Mayo on Sunday. I intended to share a recipe forfish tacos, but we ran out of time.

Many thanks to Jyl Benson for permission to post her recipe forCrawfish Breadhere atCatholicFoodie.com. You can find many more delicious recipes published atLouisiana Kitchen & Culture Magazine.

To see the recipe for Jyl Benson's Stuffed Crawfish Bread, go to CatholicFoodie.com.

Today's topic isJazz Fest, Crawfish, and Louisiana Kitchen & Culture Magazine. Our guests are Susan Ford, publisher of Louisiana Kitchen & Culture magazine and Chris Jones, proprietor of French Market Crawfish & Seafood in Mandeville, LA.

The recipe for today's show is Drago's Charbroiled Oysters. You can find it at CatholicFoodie.com.

Today's topic is Louisiana Seafood. Our guests are Nealy Frentz of LOLA Restaurant in Covington, Louisiana, Ewell Smith, the Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, and Susan Whelan, also known as @NolaMaven on Twitter.

Our first broadcast features the foods of the French Quarter Festival. Marci Schramm of French Quarter Festivals, Inc. joined us on show, along with Aynsley Fein fromThe Court of Two Sistersrestaurant, and Nasr Nance from Dreamy Weenies. It was a fun show. I hope you enjoy it!