RECTORY, SET, COOK! IV: Pastor Chef Spotlight Is Father Joseph Elston, pastor, St. John the Evangelist Parish, Pittston and St Joseph Marello Parish Activities, a rock star in the kitchen? Everyone's favorite Susquehanna lobster fisherman, Father Elston has returned to his kitchen - pardon, to Jane and Midge's kitchen - this time, not just as a priest and not just as a chef but as a full-fledged rock star ... or so he dreams! In this episode of Rectory, Set, Cook, Father Elston embarks on a culinary journey to create the ultimate comfort food: his Million-Dollar Meatloaf. But before he gets cooking, we take a detour into a dream sequence where he takes center stage, belting out You Make My Dreams (Come True) by Hall & Oates. Reality sets in as housekeepers Jane and Midge wake him up, reminding him that it’s time for the “biggest thing of the year!” In the kitchen, Father Elston expertly prepares his famous meatloaf, boasting about his Worcestershire sauce pronunciation skills, the luxury of adding two whole eggs in such a time as this, and his well-known distaste for broccoli. "I'm like President Bush," he says. With Jane and Midge keeping things in order, pepper jelly as a secret ingredient in the meatloaf sauce, a nice green vegetable (asparagus or green beans, please) and a side of mashed Yukon gold potatoes, this dish is sure to be a favorite. But was it all just another dream? To support Father Elston's Parishes, click here for St. John the Evangelist: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2025PASTORCHEF/team/FrJosephElston Or here for St. Joseph Marello: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2025PASTORCHEF/team/FrJosephElston2 (fb)

RECTORY, SET, COOK! IV: Pastor Chef Spotlight According to Father Thomas Petro, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Rectory in Dupont is also known as "Polish Heaven." For this year's competition, Fr. Petro was joined in the kitchen by seminarian Jeremy Barket. It was fitting that this pastor-seminarian team chose to prepare a Rectory, Set, Cook! dish that is "indicative of Polish tradition, particularly at this parish, at which it is a hot item as festivals, food sales, and the like. "Haluski and kielbasa is like milk and cookies for the Polish," Fr. Petro says, explaining that their particular version is the "simple, old-fashioned, church-picnic variety." That means it contains butter, onions, noodles and cabbage and not much else. Maybe a little salt and pepper. For the head chef in this operation, seminarian Jeremy Barket, who serves at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish when not in residence studying at his seminary, butter and onions are a combination that simply cannot be perfected upon. "Butter and onions - I don't think they're making a candle of that any time soon," he mused. (Perhaps they should?) To find out some haluski-making secrets, we invite you to watch Fr. Petro's video, and support his efforts to raise money for anti-hunger and anti-homelessness programs through Catholic Social Services. To view this video and make a donation, click here: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2025PASTORCHEF/team/FrThomasPetro (fb)