Karen will be visiting us this Christmas and it will be fun to bake and cook and BBQ… but first I need to lose a little more weight! “Happy Birthday Karen!” — Coach Dad
Happy Birthday, Karen!
Happy Birthday Kristin!
Happy Birthday, Kristin! I am looking forward to you joining me in the kitchen this Christmas! BTW… the ribs are getting better day-by-day!
Happy Birthday!
Pastitsio is a delightful Greek pasta dish
I have found wonderful recipes for the famous Greek dish Pastitsio, each is delightful. This became a big favorite of my wife Laura’s while in Greece and I have been tweaking it to get just the right reaction from her. For a woman like her, love is pasta and sauce. The sauce is also wonderful but can very depending on where in the Mediterranean you are savoring this dish.
The Greeks refer to their sauce as a Béchamel Sauce … but it is not… because, technically, with the addition of cheese it becomes a ‘Mornay Sauce.” Here’s a fun story I wrote about Béchamel Sauce and can be found under my recipe for Lobster Thermador.
Béchamel Sauce
Béchamel Sauce is considered to be one of the 5 ‘mother sauces’ from which most French sauces originate. Milk is added to a white roux.
Named after a wealthy financier of Louis the 14th the Marquis de Nointel Louis de Béchamel, probably by the court chef in his honor. It is clear that this sauce had been used long before as quoted in the Larousse Gastronomique:
“The old Duke d’Escars said:’ that fellow Béchamel has all the luck. I was serving breast of chicken al la creme twenty years before he was born, yet, as you can see, I have never yet had a chance of giving my name to the most insignificant of sauces!”
Noodles!
I wanted a Greek Macaroni and found Misko #2 Pastichio Macaroni which I think will add the necessary authenticity and fun, I hope Laura likes enjoying this a lot as I had to buy a case of it! Some will substitute with a penne pasta… but my resident consumer of pasta ( Laura) says this is not acceptable.
the ‘Béchamel’ Sauce
Finding the right Greek Cheese was challenging, but with a little searching I found an American importer of Kefalortiri… a remarkable cheese. Many chefs substitute Parmesan or even Romano, but if you can find the original it is worth it… at least it is to me.
the Meat Sauce
There are many preferences for the types of meat used. Lamb and Beef are very popular and pork is commonly used in Cyprus.Personally, I am thinking that a combination of lamb and pork would make it very tender… and very delicious. The spices very as much fro place to place in the meat sauce as it does in the Béchamel sauce… where some add a zing like flaked red peppers or stay with the milder dill and parsley, for example.
Delightful Variations
Although this dish had it’s name and origins in Italy, this has become a quintessential Greek cuisine. Recipes may call for onions ( as in Egypt) or mint (Cyprus) or hard boiled eggs (Malta)… but the essence stays the same. Oh yes, then there are those who add wine!
So now I wait…. for more cheese (Kefalotiri ) and noodles to arrive! Make it for her!
Abel Maldonado for Congress
I first met Abel Maldonado around 20 years ago, I watched his rise to Mayor of Santa Maria, the state assembly and then the state senate and finally culminating in his becoming the 47th Lieutenant Governor in California. Naturally, when he decided to run for Congress, we wanted to be there to add our support.
Abel has a working ranch that he spruced up for the occasion. He acquire a band and many family members helped in the Barbecue. Abe was there to insure that everyone had a good time. This was no rubber chicken dinner but a window into an interesting man.
CLICK to see more about the gathering!
Abel has always worked locally to get things done for the betterment of the community, I like that about him and this is why he has my vote.
do you remember what you learned to cook first?
Now cookies and desserts weren’t the first thing I learned how to make as a child… but it was the first category of edibles that caught my attention!
Frankly, the first thing I learned how to make was to prepare rice by boiling. I wasn’t very old and I had to use a chair to get to the controls of the stove, but one afternoon when my mother was off, I measured our a portion of rice added salt and water and made myself a nice snack. We didn’t have butter in those days, so a slice of margarine made the meal complete and headed off to my room to devour my creation! This would have gone unnoticed , except for the fact that I left stove on under what small remained of the rice and it carbonized! I learned an important lesson that day… to hide my tracks!
There is nothing quite like a mushroom cookie to allow you to sit back and enjoy a nice cup of tea or coffee!
Bon Appetite!