Catholic food wins!

Catholics know how to cook, and Father Leo Patalinghug has proved it in front of a national audience last night by beating Bobby Flay in a throwdown.

For those of you who aren't huge Food Network fans (like me), on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, celebrity chef Flay surprises ordinary cooks and challenges them to a taste test for their specialty dish.

Patalinghug started the international movement Grace Before Meals [1]--with a book, a blog, and PBS cooking show in the works. The priest thought he was filming a Food Network program about his movement when Bobby Flay surprised him with a steak fajita throwdown [2].

The episode, which was filmed last year, aired last night. I didn't get to see the episode, but I'm eager to see what goes into Patalinghug's Fusion Fajita. Bobby rarely loses. (You can catch the episode on Sept 20 next. Bobby's recipe [3] is online, and hopefully clips from the show will be too.)

You just might want to pick up his cookbook in time for September 28: Family Day--A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children [4].

And here's a fun way to get the conversation started at dinner: Loyola Press' The Meal Box [5] holds 52 cards with questions and "Food for Family Thought."