There’s Something about a Church Pot Luck

When I was in grade school, I thought all Christians were Catholics. The children that I played with on the school playground during the week were the same children who attended Saturday Catechism Classes with me. Often we saw each other across the church at Sunday Mass.

I knew not everyone was Catholic. There were Jews and Hindus and those who lacked any faith at all. I just thought the only Christians were Catholic. After all, we saw the First Family attending Mass on Sundays. There was a Holy Hour to pray the Rosary on television, often led by a recognizable Hollywood actor and his family. Bing Crosby played a priest in the movies; and Roslyn Russell was Mother Superior to Hailey Mills Trouble with Angels. From a child’s prespective the world seemed Catholic.

It wasn’t until a family from Texas moved into our neighborhood that I learned about another group of Christians – the Protestants. I was a teenager by then. And very curious. So I began attending Church with the folks from Texas. Church services didn’t impact me the same way the Catholic Mass did. Theirs seemed more like attending a lecture rather than worshiping God. The feel and rythem were different.

However; Protestants after Church could teach the Catholics a thing or two about fellowship. Every Sunday there was a pot luck at the home of either the Pastor or Assistant Pastor. Everyone brought something to share. We played base ball and made ice cream. It was fun – sociable without religion. No body made the sign of the cross or had a formal blessing of the food. Their church was small with a single Sunday service which made Pot Lucks socials easier. Today the Parish Hubby and I attend has two daily Masses, and seven Masses on Sunday. Just the sheer size of the congregation would make close-knit fellowships difficult. Yet we still manage to break into smaller groups for things like Bible Study and Theology Lectures. Like most Churchs, we have a small core group that work hard behind the scenes to make the big events like Lenten Fish Frys and the Fall Festival possible.

That is not to say we never have a pot luck gathering. Although rare, we do manage. Recently Hubby and I attended the Feast Day of Saint Joseph Mass and Pot Luck. The food was a mixture of many different ethnic backgrounds, a reflection of our parish as a whole. And the fellowship shared was enjoyed by all. There was even a man who wandered in from the street, maybe homeless. He asked if the food was for anyone. Of course he was encouraged to eat his fill.

For this event, I reached way back into the recipe portfolio and updated one of my favorite Picnic Chicken recipes. It was easier to make this using Drumsticks simply because we had a freezer-full and I could stuff more drumsticks into the bread bowls. The challenge came when looking for bread rounds that hadn’t been sliced to serve as bowls. There were no sourdough bread rounds to be had, so I went with whatever rounds I could find.

If you have a pot luck coming up, or simply want something different for a picnic, these recipes are perfect. Just remember to pack up something to serve with and enjoy!

Spice-Rubbed Drumsticks in Bread Bowls
For the Rub:
6 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Kosher Salt (reduce by half if using table salt)
1/4 cup Chili Powder
1/2 cup Smoked Paprika
4 teaspoons White Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (increase for a spicer flavor)

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil and top with wire racks. Make room in the refrigerator for the baking sheets. (Woops, forgot to line sheet pan with foil – just means more scrubbing later)

Combine sugar, salt, chili powder, paprika, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside while the drumsticks are prepared.

For The Chicken
16 Chicken Drumsticks

Gently lift the skin from the drumstick and push it down, exposing the meat. Coat chicken leg meat with spice mixture. Gently pull the skin back into place over the rub. Rub the skin with remaining spince mixture. Place chicken on prepared wire racks, tent with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours for best flavors.

Adjust oven racks upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 475-degrees. Remove foil covering from chicken and roast chicken for 25 minutes. Switch and rotate baking sheets, continue to roast 20 minutes longer or until drumsticks register 175-degrees. Turn off oven while the bread bowls are prepared.

Everything Else
2 large or 4 small Bread Rounds (not sliced)
2 large or 4 small sheets of Foil

Cut the tops from the bread rounds. Hallow out the bread, leaving about the crust and bottom intact to create a bowl. Arrange the drumsticks inside each bowl. Top with bread “lid”. Wrap tightly in foil and keep in the warm oven until ready to  pack. Bread will absorb some of the chicken flavoring while keeping the chicken warm.

This chicken will travel well and remain warm. It’s not only great for outdoor potlucks, but also the perfect picnic chicken too!

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Butterfly Pasta Pesto Salad
3 Garlic Cloves, unpeeled
1 cup fresh Basil
1-1/2 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 cup Pine Nuts
1/2 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Mayonnaise (Best Foods)
1 lb Faralle Pasta (bow-tie)

Toast garlic in a small skillet over medium-heat, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant and color deepens slightly, about 7 minutes. Let garlic cool, then peel and chop coarse.

Process garlic, basil, spinach, and pine nuts in a food processor until nearly smooth, stopping to scrape down bowl as needed.

In a glass measuring cup whisk Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and Red Wine Vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. With the food processor running, drizzle Olive Oil mixture into the pesto in a slow stead stream. Scrape down the sides once more.

Add Parmesan Cheese and mayonnaise, continue to process until thoroughly combined. Transfer pesto to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until needed. (Mixture can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring often, until pasta is just past al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water, drain pasta. Toss pasta with a little olive oil and spread into a single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Let pasta cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss cooled pasta with pesto, adding reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until pesto evenly coasts pasta.  Taste; season with additional salt and pepper as desired.

This dish is just as delicious served cold as it is at room temperature, which makes it perfect for outdoor entertaining of any kind.

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The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.