As we share meals with those we love this holiday season, Father Dave welcomes Emily Stimpson Chapman to discuss her new book “Around the Catholic Table: 100+ Simple Recipes for Family and Friends.”
They discuss how hospitality is a central theme of Emily’s book. “Hospitality is my heart. I am so profoundly concerned with the crisis of loneliness, alienation, and isolation that we have in our world today. There is so much division, and one of the best ways to solve that is with a meal,” she says. “I write about what hospitality is, why that’s such an integral part of the Christian faith, and why Christ lives that. We see Jesus eating with people throughout the Gospels. St. Paul talks about it in his letters.”
RELATED: Bless Us, Oh Lord, for These Thy Gifts – The Holiness of Mealtimes
She explains that the book offers concrete advice for sharing hospitality. Emily says, “What are the practical aspects of [hosting], and what do you serve when you have people over? It’s a cookbook, but it’s also a handbook for hospitality that unpacks the spiritual meaning of hospitality, and the more practical how-tos of it.”
“[Hosting others] is not about you; it’s about the person who you’ve welcomed into your home,” Emily continues. “Hospitality is not about impressing people, putting on a show, and showing them how closely you’ve been following all of the lifestyle influencers on Instagram. It is about loving people, paying attention to them, making them know that you see them as the image of God.”
They dive into different recipes in the book, from meatballs with cranberries to risotto, one of the dishes Emily loves the most. “It’s peasant food. It’s delicious, it’s wholesome, it’s cheap. You can clean out the fridge with it, using whatever random meats or vegetables you have. I am a huge fan of risotto,” Emily says.
Emily also has a chapter on cocktails with themes for Advent and a twist on a classic drink in honor of Pope Leo XIV’s hometown. She says, “We did some research for Pope- appropriate cocktails, and found ‘the South Side.’ We played around with it a little bit. That is what you drink, when you want to honor the pope, you have a South Side.”
RELATED: Hospitality for the Terrified – 5 Simple Ways to Reach Out to Others
She offers a section of the book for those who feel too busy to cook. “There are a bunch of meals that you can make in 30 minutes or less. I work from home, my husband works with me, and we have three small children,” Emily says. “I need food to get on the table very fast, frequently, and it needs to be simple stuff.”
“[The book] is really tailored for the busy Catholic family. Sometimes, they need to get a good meal on the table, and sometimes they need to feed a big group of friends who have a lot of children,” she adds. “It’s meant to feed a crowd, [and it is also] allergy-friendly, so all the recipes will tell you what allergies it can accommodate. I’m a busy lady, and the cookbook reflects that,”
