St. Joseph Table Roundup

Seen at Bridgeport Bakery today:

Tonight under the watchful gaze of St. Joseph, we attended a church dinner in his honor at St. James in Highwood.



The meal was green salad, mostacolli with homemade sauce and Italian ices for dessert:



Ten years ago, the St. Joseph's Day dinners at St. James were a community pot luck, which was not advertized. If you went to mass just before this holiday, they were selling tickets afterwards. We came once a year to mass just to buy those tickets, which seemed to irk the very clannish Highwood ladies of that era.

Actually your ticket was not enough to enter. You were expected to bring a dish to serve 8 people as well. While I might not have been willing to sell my soul to attend, it was tempting because the food was terrific. There was chicken picatta, Italian sausage, homemade hand formed pastas, lasagnas, manicottis, salads and interesting vegetable dishes. A few Mexican families came with homemade tamales and perhaps a mole. Lots of great desserts from freshly filled cannolis, to brownies and cakes.

My first introduction to Taco's el Norte, my default Mexican near me, came via winning a $10 gift certificate from St. Joseph's Day dinner.

I'm sorry the St. Joseph's table has lost the variety of food it once had. Yet we enjoyed the community aspect as well as the knowledge our contribution would go to feed the poor.

Regards,

I thought I'd posted this link before, but it doesn't seem to be here. Here's the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans' list of St. Joseph Day tables, if someone's looking for one today. Do call before you head out, because many are by reservation only.

http://www.jccia.com/stjos.html

Not listed there is the one at 6 p.m. March 23, at St. Joseph's, 1065 N. Orleans St., $75, fare from local restaurants, 312-787-7174.

Feast of St. Joseph

Last week, I was privileged to be invited to the Feast of St. Joseph sponsored by the Order Sons of Italy in America Lodge #2200. Held at Brother Rice High School, 10001 S. Pulaski Ave., the event attracted some 500 attendees.

We sat down to a table set with fruit and cheese plates and bottles of sangiovese and pinot grigio. An extensive buffet held two kinds of pasta, eggplant parmesan, baked tilapia, breast of chicken, shrimp de Jonghe, vegetables, salad and rolls. Sweet tables were laden with more than 2,000 pastries; the wide variety included cannoli, tiramisu and, of course, zeppole. One of the ladies serving told me that in years past, the clubwomen had made all the food themselves, including the desserts, but nowadays the event is catered.





This year's food came from Villa Rosa, 5786 S. Archer Ave. I thought it was very good, considering the quanitities involved, particularly the eggplant and shrimp.

The more than 2,000 pastries came from Il Giardino Bakery, 2859 N. Harlem Ave. I'm not sure whether they also supplied the traditional breads shown. These breads, blessed not only by Fr. Tony during the proceedings but earlier by by Cardinal Francis George, were auctioned, most selling for $100 or more, and raising more than $5,200 for the American Cancer Society, above the proceeds from $35 ticket sales.






Many of the tickets were sold by Mike Martino, who runs Mike's Barber Shop, 4544 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn. "It's the most expensive haircut he ever had," joked the wife of one of Mike's customers, who not only bought tickets for their family of four, but bid on and won one of the costliest breads.

If you're interested in the club (they welcome women and you need not be Italian), or next year's event, call Mike Martino, 708-857-9898, or Frank Volpentesta, 708-636-2559.

________________
LAZ

HI,

You definitely went to a much swankier St. Joseph table than I.

Next year I am going to the event you attended.

Regards,

Sun-Times' 2008 St. Joseph's Table list

Hi,

St. Joseph's Day celebrations are usually Catholic church sponsored events with donated food with the profits going to feed the poor.

I received an e-mail today advertising a restaurant's 'First Annual St. Joseph Day Party!' At $45 per person, I searched this announcement high and low for any mention of any proceeds going to charity. Not surprisingly I didn't find one. I think in their enthusiasm to fuel an event for their restaurant, they lost sight of what the occasion represents.

If anyone should happen to have received the same and attends, then please report back.

Regards,

Anyone aware of any updates for 2010? My Aunt asked me about any references and i had nothing. I did assure her that my friends at LTH would provide some insite.

Thanks
Babaluch

Wow, the group has not commented on any St Joseph tables for this year. Aunt Flossie will be disappointed in me. Thats a burden I hope not to carry. Anybody out there that can help me?

Babaluch

Only in its 2nd year, there is a St. Joseph's Table at St. Thomas Becket Parish in Mt. Prospect on Friday starting at 6:00 PM. I imagine since it's new that it's pretty small, but I've been commissioned to make the traditional Sicilian dish Pasta Con Sarde, which is a very interesting red sauce with anchovies, sardines, fennel, capers and currants, among other ingredients, over bucatini, and topped with bread crumbs instead of parmesan cheese. Never made it before, but I remember how it tastes...I think!

I used to attend St. Joseph's tables in the city all the time, and Pasta Con Sarde was a staple at all of them. Maybe because of the troubles in the Catholic church recently, and the older Italians not being as active in the parishes anymore, St. Joseph's Tables have kind of gone by the wayside, and that's a shame.

Hi,

Highwood's St. Mary's Church has an annual St. Joseph Day's dinner. In years past, it was a great community pot luck. It is now a catered mostacolli dinner. I don't know if the change was driven by liability or lack of volunteers to cook. I'm sorry they needed to depart from pot luck.

Highland Park's Immaculate Conception Church bulletin this week advertises a St. Joseph's Dinner. When I called the church office for information, they checked the bulletin to verify my information. A while later they called with a 630 area code phone number of the organizer who is supposed to be difficult to reach. I have no idea if it is catered, pot luck or what the expected donation may be. It is Friday night, I may stop by to see what is happening.

Northbrook's Our Lady of the Brook has had a nice St. Joseph's Table, though I last visited it eight years ago.

Regards,

Hi,

If you can access facebook, there is a list of St. Joseph tables.

If you cannot, PM me for a copy.

Regards,

with St. Joseph's day falling on Friday, you don't have to fast, if you care about such things.

Since St. Joseph’s Day holds the rank of solemnity and the character of a solemnity is one of rejoicing, penitential practices such as abstinence from meat are not required.

LAZ, I still love this pic. Thanks for capturing the mother and child communion in undulant bread:

Thanks. I'm sad that the Sons of Italy no longer do a St. Joseph's Day table.

Thank you all. I guess I have not lost my Sunday dining invitation.

Two more in the south suburbs at St. Julie in Tinley and St. Albert the Great in Burbank

http://www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/lifefood/2105669,031810cover.article

Seen in a shop window on Taylor Street.

After reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph's_Day it looks like St. Joseph's Day is today? Can someone shed some better light on what goes on in our area, what it means for us and how its celebrated around town?

On St. Joseph's Day one wears red (similar to wearing green on St. Pat's)

I'm sorry but does that say "10% of NET proceeds will be donated to charity"? (I can't figure out how to repost pictures) So after they take out all their expenses, only 10% of what's leftover goes to charity? Is this a normal money-maker for churches?

Please advise. What are the best ones? I see there is one at Our Lady of Pompeii. Please post if you have been to one and can make a recommendation.

2011 St. Joseph's Day Table roundup

LAZ wrote:2011 St. Joseph's Day Table roundup

I get a 404 - just me?

One of the many reasons it's nicer to actually paste some of the content on LTH instead of spamming a link to your blog

gleam wrote:One of the many reasons it's nicer to actually paste some of the content on LTH instead of spamming a link to your blog

Since it's two days before the holiday and no one else has posted any current information, I did think this link might be welcome here. I regret that it appears to be spam to you. In general, I agree that brief excerpts from linked articles ought to accompany links. In this case, though, such content as could be legitimately copied here (since it is not in fact my blog, I am limited by fair use) seems to me to be superfluous to this audience, but here you go:

2011 St. Joseph’s Day Tables: Where to feast in Chicago wrote:St. Patrick gets most of the hoopla, but St. Joseph has the best food.

In a custom born centuries ago in Sicily, Chicago Roman Catholics will celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph this weekend with an array of charitable events. Legend has it that during the 9th century a terrible drought and famine gripped the island. The Sicilians prayed for relief to their patron, St. Joseph. When at last the skies opened, sending down life-giving water and restoring crops, the grateful people celebrated together, setting out tables with an assortment of foods they had harvested, creating altars honoring the saint on his day, March 19, and distributing food to the less fortunate.

The custom continues to this day. In Chicago, although it doesn’t quite rival St. Patrick’s Day or Paczki Day in popularity, a large population of folks who trace their roots to Sicily and Southern Italy observe the tradition....

A long list of weekend events around Chicago and numerous suburbs follows.

Ok -now the link seems to be working - must have just been me.

Can someone please advise: What is the etiquette here? Can anyone attend, or do you need to be a parishioner? Many thanks.

rehorn wrote:Can someone please advise: What is the etiquette here? Can anyone attend, or do you need to be a parishioner? Many thanks.

Hi,

Your willingness to donate money is your ticket. There is an open door policy with any donations going to the poor via charities or church ministries.

I have been to St. Joseph tables where the more the merrier. I have been to small churches where everyone knows everyone else and you're easily identified a stranger. They are at a minimum polite and often quite cheery.

The one closest to me was once a community potluck with everyone contributing including local restaurants. Apparently the health police showed up, because now it is a catered event. I favor going to St. Joseph's tables where the church ladies have been cooking for days.

Regards,

I went to the Mass and St. Joseph table at Our Lady of Pompeii and they were very welcoming. Anyone can attend. The whole event was really the highlight including the mass which was partly in Italian. The St. Joseph Table can be attended separately. You provide a donation. Truthfully the food is not really that good but the whole event itself was very memorable.