Dusty Feasts

Dusty

May 22

Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.

It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.

THE FEAST DAY OF St. Bobo

his Feast is a Christian religious ceremony celebrating St. Bobo, a 10th Century Frankish warrior - turned - pacifist, pilgrim, and hermit.

Who is St. Bobo?

Saint Bobo of Provence (French: Beuvon or Bobon, Italian: Bovo or Bobone; died 986) was a Frankish warrior and pilgrim from Noyers (Noghiers).^[1] He is known only from the anonymous biography Vita sancti Bobonis.^[2] He built a castle on a hill opposite the Muslim fortress of Fraxinet and led the Christians of Provence to victory in battle with the Muslims in an unknown year.^[3] During the battle he had a mystical experience and vowed, if victorious, to renounce war and become a pilgrim devoted to the care of orphans and widows.^[2] After the loss of his brother, he went on pilgrimage to Rome and died at Voghera in Lombardy.^[4] Bobo is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. His feast day is May 22 and he is the patron saint of cattle.

And more from saintsfeastfamily.com

St. Bobo's Story

Crusader and hermit, also called Beuvon. Bobo was a knight of Provence, France, who fought against the invading Saracens and then became a hermit. He died at Pavia, in Lombardy, Italy, while on a pilgrimage to Rome.

Bobo was born around 940 of two nobles, Adelfrido and Odelinda. It is said that Bobo was nobilissimis et christianis parentibus natus, that is, born of the most noble and most Christian parents. They had a castle at Noyers-sur-Jabron in the southeastern region of France, which is where Bobo was born.

That castle is gone, but each year there is some kind of celebration with cattle on his feast day about where it stood, on account of Bobo's being the patron saint of cattle.

Bobo was a knight of Provence who helped to conquer Saracen pirates who were invading and raiding the coast. He is also believed to have fought in the Battle of Tourtour in 973. At some point during his military career, he experienced the truth of the horror of war and renounced his former life to become a pilgrim and a hermit, devoted to the care of orphans and widows. He responded to the inner call of the Gospel, leaving behind his family's wealth for a life of poverty. Thereafter, he did his best fighting with the Gospel, converting a good number of the Saracens. He responded to violence by means of charity.

After the loss of his brother, he went on a Pilgrimage to Rome and died at Voghera in Lombardy. He was buried in Voghera, his grave becoming a site of many miracles. His relics were enshrined in Voghera in 1469.

St Bobo, pray for us, that we might fight evil in our day as you did in yours.

What do you eat to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Bobo?

St. Bobo is a patron saint of cattle, hence beef is an appropriate thing to eat to celebrate his feast day.

Boeuf Bourguignon (French Beef Stew)

picture and recipe via chewoutloud.com

Ingredients

Olive oil

12 oz thick applewood smoked bacon, diced

3 lbs chuck beef, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into chunks or coins

2 yellow onions, thinly sliced

10 cloves chopped garlic

½ cup Cognac

2 cups good quality Pinot Noir, or other full-bodied Burgundy wine

3 cups low sodium beef broth

2 TB tomato paste

1 tsp dried thyme

4 TB butter, room temperature

3 TB flour

1 lb frozen pearl onions, whole

1 lb fresh button or cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced

3 bay leaves

kosher salt and black pepper

chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Heat 2 TB oil in large Dutch oven (or heavy, oven-safe pot with tight fitting lid.) Add bacon and cook over medium until evenly and lightly browned throughout. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a large plate. Remaining oil and grease should stay in the pot.

Using paper towels, thoroughly dry uncooked beef and sprinkle the cubes evenly with a thin layer of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Reheat the oil/bacon grease in the Dutch oven and sear the beef cubes in a single layer, working in batches, until each cube is brown on all sides. Do not over crowd the pan, making sure to leave some space between each piece of beef. Add more oil as needed to finish browning. Set beef aside in plate with the bacon.

If needed, heat 2 TB oil in pot. Add carrots, onions, garlic, 1 TB kosher salt, 2 tsp black pepper and sauté for 5 minutes until onions are lightly browned. Deglaze bottom of pot, adding 1 TB oil as needed. Add Cognac and cook another 10 minutes on medium.

Add beef and bacon back into Dutch oven with their juices. Add the wine and enough beef broth to almost cover all the meat. Add tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Once liquid is reaches a simmer, cover the pot with tight fitting lid and place in oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is very tender when pierced with fork.

Meanwhile, mix together 2 TB butter with 3 TB flour in small bowl and set aside. Sauté mushrooms with 2 TB butter in skillet just until mushrooms start to become soft.

Remove stew from oven. Add the butter/flour mixture, frozen pearl onions, and mushrooms to the stew. Bring to a boil on stovetop and immediately reduce to simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Skim off any fat off the top. Remove bay leaves. Season with additional kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with crusty bread, rice, or egg noodles.

Notes

If not serving immediately, let the stew cool completely at room temperature and store in fridge. Just before serving, bring stew to a simmer. Cover and simmer 15 min, basting with its own sauce a few times while simmering.

If you cannot locate frozen whole pearl onions, you can replace with chopped sweet onions instead.

Wine Pairing: A good quality red, similar to the one you used in the recipe. A jammy Pinot Noir recommended.