Church Ladies and Chefs....

Depending on when this gets posted or when you get around to read it, a week ago (Feb 28) was not only the last day of February, it was Shrove or Fat Tuesday.  I suppose most people know the basics, it is the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent when you’re supposed to “give up” something until Easter.  So, Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras in French) is your last day to (over) indulge. 

Therefore, it became traditional for churches to have a Dinner on Fat Tuesday to help you get fat.  Traditional foods range from the savory (Oyster Po’ Boys, Red Beans and Rice, Jambalaya, etc.,) to the sweets like doughnuts and King Cake.  I am not sure how the link got established between Cajun/Creole cuisine and the celebration, maybe because the biggest show of all is in NOLA.  In the UK Fat Tuesday is called Pancake Day, hence the flapjacks join the mix (ha ha).

Around here, St. Andrews Church has held a dinner for years (except last year of the big snow). 

As a little lagniappe, I will borrow a little history of the place from that scholarly source, Wiki…etc. (St. Andrews Church)

… was built in 1766 to serve as the parish church of St. Andrew's Parish, which had been established in 1744. It is a rectangular brick box church laid in Flemish bond with a gable roof and round-arched windows trimmed with brick segmental arches. At two corners stand two-story square brick towers with a diminutive spire. Richard Boulton designed the church in 1766; he was also responsible for the outstanding carving and ornamentation at Sotterley.  George Plater (1735-1792), who briefly served as Maryland's governor before his death, was an active parish member, serving twenty-eight years as a vestryman.

Due to life, MFO and I have not been able to attend for a few years, but have enjoyed our previous visits.  It was always a fun thing, with Mardi Gras decorations, good food, here's some shots from the 2011 event:

jambalaya, greens and bread pudding

back then, there was often music and a chance to see a lot of your friends.  Once in a while a local real estate mogul would appear dressed in a jester outfit such as you might see in N’awlins..

This year as we went early we were able to park near the door, entered “the hall” to be greeted by a black tie Maitre D'

Who ushered us to a table.  The kitchen was busy with “church ladies” (and okay a couple of guys) preparing the food.   

And your plate was brought to the table

Compared to the 2011 edition, not the most appetizing look.   Now, I am usually in praise of church lady food, but I have to admit that this stuff was, while not inedible, not enjoyable.  The cakes were dry and tepid and wouldn’t melt the butter, the potato “cake” was equally cool and had an odd taste.  The lone sausage had a rather tough casing but did have some flavor.  I know it is charitable, and has to be done as cost efficiently as possible, but this just wasn’t good.   I am not sure we would attend next year..  The good times didn’t roll!

Another anniversary

Yesterday (March 6^th) marked another special day.  It was exactly a year ago on that date that Café Des Artiste’s in Leonardtown served their last ticket and went dark.  Regular readers will know that I have reported now and again on their successor La Rive Breton.   Loic and Karleen now reside in Pennsylvania, where Loic is about to start raising chickens… he has plans for maybe a farm to table operation on the property.  Never complacent.  Everybody misses them as they were part of the fabric of Leonardtown.

So when I learned that Loic was going to teach a “cooking class” at nearby Quality Street, MFO and I signed up, as a chance to see him again and chat a bit.  Although in general I am not a fan of “cooking classes”, one shouldn’t pass up a chance to see Loic, you always learn something plus have fun, and eat something good!

It was a pleasure to see him in his element again, pan in hand, with engaging explanation of what was going on while he taught us how to prepare a Burgundy Style Chicken and Shrimp dish

One of the “tips” I picked up was that by cooking "everything" like the Onions, Chicken, Shrimp, etc. (not at once) in the same pan before adding to “the pot” without cleaning the pan in between gave you “good stuff” with which to help the sauce,

He finally deglazed it with a little brandy, and added the "stuff" to the whole pot

While the assembled pot kind of let everything get happy, he prepared a rice pilaf and sliced up some bread

Finally, it was plated

And we all got to have a delicious sample of his work

Another thing he talked about was how to cook with your “ears” to let you know how things are progressing.  When you’re in a restaurant kitchen with many dishes in process, you need to develop the ability to listen to them without looking to determine the progress.  I usually wait till I can smell smoke.

MFO and I enjoyed the evening and the chance to see Loic at work.. Too bad they're gone, but they're happy and that's what counts.  We were grateful for the years of happiness (and lovely food) they gave us.

And of course we were

DFD