Pretty funny interview of John Zmirak by the Catholic Guy

Here is a funny two part interview of John Zmirak, co/author of several books such as “The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Wine, Whiskey, & Song.” The interview is performed by Lino Rulli who is a three-time Emmy award winner. You may know him for his work as a producer on such films/documentaries as “Champions of Faith” and “The Last Flagraiser.” Both men are very funny.

Part 1

Part 2

Review of Bad Catholic’s Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song

After hearing about this book on Kresta in the Afternoon (the best show on radio by the way), I hinted to my beautiful wife that it would make a good fathers’ day gift. Indeed it did.

First of all, I love the cover with Pope Benedict holding a glass of beer with an ear to ear grin. The subtitle is great too, A Spirited Look at Catholic Life & Lore from Apocalypse to Zinfandel.

The book is almost like an almanac or a fanciful encyclopedia. It’s filled with short stories which all attempt (and succeed very well) to do three things,

• Recount a piece of interesting (often bizarre) history
• Tie said history back to food and/or drink
• Bring everything back into an affirmation of the truth of the Catholic faith

The stories (even the footnotes) are laugh out loud funny. Though the book is filled with history, humor, mixology, and recipes, it is at heart a cleverly disguised apologetical work. It manages to defend the faith in a way not even a tree hugging college student with a Darwin fish sticker would mind.

If you like history, buy this book. If you like gastronomy, buy this book. If you love the Catholic faith, buy this book. And lastly, if you love someone else (like a college student who is on the verge of falling away), by him or her this book. He or she might just be reminded of the rich history of the Catholic church and decide to stay home.

Jerk Spice Rub

I like to grill. I like to cook. But, I sometimes fall into the “everything Italian” rut. So, recently, while trying to do things a little different, I decided to try a jerk spice rub.

While looking for recipes, I found that many of them have ingredients I don’t usually have available. So, I ended up making up my own.

This is my attempt at trying to mimic the themes and flavors I’ve seen in other recipes, while sticking to ingredients I always have in my cupboard.

My Cupboard Jerk Spice Rub

• 1 tablespoon salt (I use sea salt)
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper powder
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons dry thyme

I’ve used it a few times already and everyone loves it. It works great with chicken (of course), but I’ve also mixed it into hamburger patties before grilling them–what a great change.

I’d pair the hamburgers up with an APA with good citrus notes to compliment the “cookie spices”. I most recently chose Bell’s Pale Ale and it was perfect.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think.