Thursday, May 31, 2007

A rare event: I cooked!

Tonight, we had a nice dinner at the priests' house in Piqua.

It has become a bit of a joke that I never cook, and in the main, that's true. Going back some years, I got out of the habit of cooking.

But I do know how.

A bit of background. As those of you who spend way too much time online know, I moved recently to the priests' house at St. Mary; meaning, now the vicar and I are sharing quarters. (For the prior year-and-a-half, I lived by myself.) Also, since Mothers' Day, we have had two seminarians staying here. So, that means four men--a full house (very different from living alone).

So...more emphasis, all of a sudden, on common meals, and that sort of thing.

Well, the seminarians happen to be handy in the kitchen, and they have turned out nice meals. So, of course, the pastor wants to do his part (the vicar, who is a few years older than I, is smart enough not to care either way, so he is happy when anyone cooks).

So I said, last week: "I'll cook dinner next Tuesday." And, I said, I would cook rabbit.

I've never cooked rabbit, but a family that raises them, gave me one, and I promptly popped it in the freezer (it was already dead, have no fear, and skinned). And I have been wanting to fix it.

Well...turns out Tuesday wouldn't work; we had a Mass for the 8th graders. Wednesday wouldn't work, because of confessions-Mass-Bible-study. Normally Thursday wouldn't work, because Thursday is normally meeting night...

Ah, but this month, it was the fifth Thursday! (That means, no meeting! Eureka!)

So, tonight, I cooked dinner:

Rabbit braised and baked with onion and butter
Rabbit gravy (no one else touched it, but it was good!)
Peas and carrots
Baked potatoes
Chardonnay*

(And, in the event anyone didn't like rabbit, I also cooked some pork chops, that looked really good, but we never touched!)

Well, it was rather good; only two little legs of poor Bugs is left, but all four pork chops are, as I say, untouched. The vicar, who is a fine man and priest, and the two seminarians and I, had a nice discussion around the table, which is always so nice, too.

We finished off with some dessert: we had a pie someone gave us, some of us had that; I had ice cream, and one of the seminarians -- a dedicated fellow -- went for a run.

This is the blessing of the fifth week of a month: no meetings! Deo gratias!

* I know what you're thinking--shouldn't it have been red or rose? Well, I rather thought so, too; but that is what we had.

10 comments:

Tom S. said...

Yummy, Father. I am quite proud of you.

Fr Martin Fox said...

Tom:

Thanks.

For those who are interested, here's how I cooked the rabbit.

I cut it up, following the lead of the little booklet (from the rabbit-raisers association, or something like that). Then I doused the pieces with garlic salt and pepper, then dipped in egg, then dredged in flour. The pieces I browned in olive oil, then placed in a baking dish with melted butter, covered in foil, and baked an hour and a half at 350 degrees.

I made the gravy as follows. I simmered the innards in water all this time, then took the butter from the pan, added flour and made a roux, and then added the broth as well as some of the liver (chopped up), then cooked a bit. I should have glazed the baking dish, otherwise it was pretty good.

Fr Martin Fox said...

Oh, and I put onion pieces in with the rabbit, as well.

Deacon Jim said...

Sounds great... Now how far in Piqua from Albany (NY)...

Puff the Magic Dragon said...

WHite is fine with Rabbit. THe whole red wine with red meat, and white wine with "white meat" doesn't really apply anymore.

Besides doesn't rabbit cook up white like pork or chicken. I seem to remember eating rabbit when I was a kid, and it cooked up white.

Anonymous said...

Chardonnay is good with almost anything.

beez said...

Fr.

Last Friday I had a Pinot Noir with sauteed salmon! I am just not a big white wine fan.

Since salmon is pink, I justified it. :) You can use the same logic with your Chardonay and rabbit.

Besides, since Chardonays tend to be oakier and drier than roses or Pinot Grigios (the "in" white right now) I think it is fine with rabbit.

The Digital Hairshirt said...

Father, your technique sounds superb! You have done your gender proud - who says real men are only good for standing behind a hot BBQ grill?

Had I been serving the rabbit, I think I would have gone with a Chardonney, especially since they tend to be "grassier" in flavor, which I thinks goes better with rabbit in warm weather. Had this been a wintertime meal, perhaps a Pinot Noir.

Anonymous said...

Father, compliments on your superb culinary technique. I'm not a great fan of rabbit (saw my Grandmothers skin them way too many times!), but my late Mum was a great lover of rabbit, preferring them even to fish -- quite a "cardinal sin" for a Newfoundlander! Anyway, the meal and the company sounded perfect. If you didn't already have a full-time vocation, you'd make a great chef! God bless, Patricia Gonzalez

Eileen said...

Fr. Martin Fox,
If you have your family up please have something more tradional i.e. chicken breasts, meatloaf like mom used to make :>). Thanks