Movie Night at the Rectory

My bad for not posting yesterday--the afternoon and into the evening was kind of crazy. I had the Lenten Movie Discussion group over to the "new" Rectory for supper and to watch "Dead Man Walking." It's a powerful film that was done with a lot of insight into what Pastoral Care really looks like when it goes well. It's about how people change when confronted by violence as well as love. When I get some seminarians I'm going to make them watch it. Another movie that really shows what pastoral care is all about is "Wit". Both are really dead-on in my estimation and experience. They are also much more interesting than the several hours of training videos for psychologists I once watched!

Betsy made a great bean soup before she left for Dallas--a few extra days in the fridge made it even better. I provided a Caesar Salad based on a recipe I pulled from the net...

CAESAR SALAD

1 large head romaine lettuce
1 cup olive oil
3 cups French or Italian bread
2 large cloves garlic
8 anchovy filets
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse ground salt
2 egg yolks for large eggs, at room temperature*
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or shaved

Trim the romaine lettuce of bruised or browned leaves, then cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Wash and drain the lettuce, pat it dry and refrigerate for 30 minutes to crisp the leaves.

To make the croutons, cut the bread into cubes, heat the 1/2 cup olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Fry the bread cubes in the oil, tossing frequently, until they're crisp and golden. Drain the croutons on a paper towel until ready to use.

Peel the garlic cloves then put in a large wooden salad bowl. Mash the cloves against the sides of the bowl with the back of a wooden spoon. Rub the pieces against the bowl until they begin to disintegrate. Remove most of the mashed garlic from the bowl and discard (oil from the garlic will remain in the bowl and flavor the salad).

Add the anchovies and repeat the procedure you used with the garlic, but leave the anchovy pieces in the bowl. Now add the dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, black pepper, and egg yolks and blend well. Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil mixing with a wire whisk until a creamy mayonnaise type dressing forms.

Add the lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese and salt. Toss everything together and serve directly from the salad bowl!

*Note: The original recipe may have called for coddled whole eggs (warmed to 120F degrees, to coddle simmer in water 1 minute and cool in cold water) so they are soft and runny. Some chefs who make this salad today use the whole egg at room temperature. (source)

The only thing I did differently was use prepared croutons rather than fresh.

Betsy arrived back from her trip in time to join us for the movie. It was, by her reports, a brief but worthwhile trip.

-t