Reginette "little queen" Pasta for Our Lady's Queenship

Several past Catholic Cuisine posts have shared ideas for pasta meals based on the symbolism of the pasta shape. There are hundreds of kinds of Italian pastas, and each one has its own special name and each pasta name actually means something.

Mafaldine or malfada, also known as reginette or reginelle (Italian for "little queens") is a type of ribbon-shaped pasta. Mafaldine were named in honor of Princess Mafalda of Savoy which is why they are also called "little queens." The pasta is flat and wide, usually about ½ inch in width, with wavy edges on both sides. The delicately fluted edges remind one of a crown. It is prepared similarly to other ribbon-based pasta such as linguine and fettuccine. On this feast of the Queenship of Mary (August 22) a pasta shape referencing a queen is perfect. It would also be a great pasta to serve up on any of the queen saints' feast days, such as St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Elizabeth of Hungary or St. Helena.

A variety of sauces could be served with this pasta. I chose a sun-dried tomato pesto which highlights the fresh bounty of basil from my August garden. Since August - the month of the Assumption and the one dedicated to the Immaculate Heart - is such a Marian month and is tied to herb harvest in her honor, it was fitting.

Reginette with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

Ingredients:
10 sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp grated parmesan
10 basil leaves
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 oz pasta

Directions:
In a blender, place the tomatoes, pine nuts, cheese, basil leaves and oil and blend at maximum power. Cook the pasta until al dente in boiling salted water, drain and stir in the pesto.

NOTE: Reginette/Reginelle pasta is not one of the most common shapes of pasta available in grocery stores. But I did find it available from Kroger as part of their HemisFares pasta brand. It is also available online and is specialty stores.

Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Pray for us!

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Trail (of Roses) Mix for the Little Flower's Feast

This summer I came across this cute candy mold for mini roses. I knew it would be fun for a variety of feast days.  They are cute for decorating cakes or cupcakes or just offering plain to snack on.  But The diminutive size reminded me of chocolate/baking chips and the idea of a rose themed trial mix came to mind. I had seen a Valentine themed trail mix recipe, with reds and whites added to the nuts. Based on St. Therese's shower of roses, I changed it to a "trail of roses".

The mix, which I made for St. Therese's (The Little Rose) feast day, would easily fit a variety of other feast days associated with the theme of roses. These are some saints associated with roses or have rose stories (several of which are upcoming this fall and winter):

St. Rita of Cascia (May 22)

St. Elizabeth/Isabel of Portugal (July 5)

St. Rose of Lima (August 23)

St. Therese  (October 1, traditional October 3)

Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17)
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (November 18)

St. Juan Diego (December 9)

Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)

Trail mix is easy to make and easy to transport, so is a great snack on the go. It is (overall) healthier and an alternative to typical baked or sweet treats for a feast day. I did not use specific measurements, but rather just eyeballed good proportions for each ingredient. Use the ingredients you like and seem fitting for the feast day. I kept it to pinks, whites and lighter colored nuts. The part taking the most time (but still super easy!) was making the candies. Use the manufacturer's instructions. Melt candy melts - I used pink but red or white could be used as well - and pour into molds. Allow time to solidify. It was helpful to place the molds with candy in the freezer for 15 minutes, which allowed the candy to release more easily from the hard plastic molds. 

Trail of Roses Mix

• Dried cranberries
• Coconut flakes, unsweetened
• Rose candy (made with candy molds)
• Peanuts, roasted & salted
• Sunflower seeds, roasted & salted

Other possible ingredients for this theme: dried currants, dried cherries, cashews, sliced or blanched almonds, pine nuts, puffed rice cereal, rice chex

Authors note: I will be putting together some specific additional mix combos for the specific rose feasts and adding those here. 

St. Therese, Pray for us!

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St. Elizabeth Rose Rolls

Roses and bread are both symbols for St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17) and St. Elizabeth (Isabel) of Portugal (July 4) so a bread in shape of rose serves as a dual reminder for their feast days. Last year I shared a braided twist rose bread idea but here is another variation on the rose bread for the feasts of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Elizabeth of Portugal. 

This recipe uses the same sweet roll dough from the previous St. Elizabeth Rose Bread idea.

Sweet Roll Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
½ c. warm water
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 c. butter, margarine or shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 ½ to 4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 ½ hours.

Cinnamon Filling
2 T. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cinnamon 

Mix until all sugar and cinnamon is moistened. 

Make 4 small balls (golf ball size) of dough and roll them out into 3 1/2 inch diameter circles. Overlap dough circles as shown. Sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar mixture across middle, leaving curved edges clear. 

Roll circles up into rolls as shown. You should end up with rolled dough with both ends fluted. Cut roll in half. 

Place dough in greased muffin tins. Cut/flat end should be down and the pretty, fluted/curved end up. 

Let rise until double (30-40 minutes). Bake in 375 degree oven 14-18 minutes. 

St. Elizabeth, Pray for us!

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Rose Bread for St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Today, November 17, we celebrate the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. As a queen she felt that she should care for all her people as if they were her children. She was known for her generosity to the poor. Legend says that on one occasion in the middle of winter she left her castle with her apron filled with bread for the poor. On the way she met her husband. He opened her cape to see what she carried and found her apron full of roses, not bread. When he bent to kiss Elizabeth he found her face transfigured with the radiance of heaven. 

Both roses and bread are her symbols, so as we celebrate her today and recall her charity to the poor, what better way than with a rose shaped bread. Braided bread is associated with many Eastern European countries such as Hungary and while this particular style is referred to as Russian Rose Bread, it seems particularly fitting for St. Elizabeth since it is bread shaped in a rose. It can be filled with either a sweet or savory filling.  
This morning we made a cinnamon rose bread for breakfast. It can be made using a generic bread recipe. In this case I made a sweet bread dough. The recipe and ingredients for this one are similar to those shared a few years ago by Charlotte - Hungarian Cinnamon Bread. The main difference is the shaping technique used to end up with a rose shaped bread here. 

Sweet Roll Dough
1 pkg. dry yeast
½ c. warm water
1/2 c. lukewarm milk (scalded then cooled)
1/3 c. butter, margarine or shortening
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 ½ to 4 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in milk sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 ½ hours.

Cinnamon Filling
2-3 tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon 

Roll dough into large rectangle. Spread butter over dough, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. 

Roll up dough tightly along lengthier side. Pinch edge of dough to seal well. Cut the roll in half lengthwise. 

Starting at the top, cross over the strands in an X, repeat crossover to twist the two lengths together into long braid. 

Wind braided strand into a circle keeping cinnamon slits facing upward. Fan open as needed to create rose/flower petal look. 

Place on bottom of greased springform pan. Add springform pan sides. Let rise until double (30-40 minutes). Bake in 375 degree oven 20-25 minutes. 

Additional idea: Make two, one to keep and one to share, in the spirit of Christian charity of St. Elizabeth. 

St. Elizabeth, pray for us.

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