This is a elegant 'dietetic lunch' - broccoli stuffed potato, salad, Greek yogurt and caviar.

When you are on a diet, it is always nice to dress up your lunch with something to make you feel like it is special. Caviar fits the bill! The problem that most people (including me) have is the extravagant cost of this little garnish. Caviar is expensive, with some types going for hundreds of dollars an ounce… but that’s out of my budget. For years I would buy a 12 ounce jar from Smart & Final ( a west coast semi-wholesale market) for a minimal cost, but then when the price of this item hit the roof, it was dropped from their  inventory.

Not to be stopped by such a little thing as my favorite item being OOS (out-of-stock) and deleted; I checked the internet and found it on Amazon.com. However, I found a wonderful alternative at roughly 1/3 to 1/2 the cost from Iceland.

Frankly, I like giving those Vikings on that rugged little rock in the Atlantic the business... plus it is an indulgence I feel I can afford again at under $15 a 12 ounce bottle!

So, here it is  and as an alternative, I highly recommend it!

BTW. The stuffed potato comes from Jenny Craig… so diet food can be made delicious!

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the Evvia is Greek but very Palo Alto.

I spent a few years in my youth living in Palo Alto. Those were good times and Palo Alto was a simple and affordable university community. Oh how times have changed. I am sure it wasn’t their intention — but maybe it was — to design their streets for ‘locals only’, but that is how it has turned out. I had two tasks: 1) to buy my favorite Spartan Olive Oil and 2) find the sister restaurant to my favorite San Francisco restaurant Kokkari named in Palo Alto  Evvia. This wasn’t an easy task.

One of the neighborhood defensive measures in Palo Alto is to close off streets and to turn two way streets into one way. If this isn’t enough, there is very little lighting at night to find your way around. Well, my bride commented to me,” I thought you grew up here?” Yes, but that is before silicone valley money poured in. With a little luck, we found our way.

Evvia is a nice very popular Greek Restaurant in a nice setting with a selection of traditional and modern Greek food. I even own a cookbook of theirs and made most of what is in it! We were able to get reservations on a Saturday night… but not until 9:15 pm. I enjoyed the reddened lamb shank, various Greek Wines and Baklava Ice cream. Laura enjoyed an assortment of traditional Greek foods in a sampler, Greek wine and cookies for dessert. Oh yes, the service was superb.

Definitely a fun place to stop.

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Karla's drawing of my birthday tomorrow!

Some of my friends who have turned 60, it hit them kind of hard. As for me, I am frankly glad I have made it this far! It reminds me of that proverbial question… a half glass full one… that asks whether sixty is the ‘youth of old age or the old age of youth?” Frankly, those are the types of questions people ask if they have regrets or have some unresolved issues.

Life is to be lived, savored and enjoyed at any age. Life is with family, always.

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The best thing about Tamale Pie is the left overs!

Laura grew up with a wonderful Tamale Pie and I wanted to recreate it for her!

           Rogelio’s Tamale Pie!

There are two parts to a Tamale Pie: the topping and the filling! I have always thought of a Tamale Pie as a way to make a bunch of Tamales without all of the detailed preparation. For hungry people this is the answer.

Some time ago, I did the same thing by making a   BULK recipe of  chili relleno.

           The Topping!

You might have to play around with the moisture ( adding more cream or a little milk) to have the right texture ( to be able to spread the mixture over the  filling)… so here is what worked for me:

2 cups corn meal

Around 24 ounces cream

2 cups of your favorite cheeses ( I have three favorite Mexican Cheeses)

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Cook over low heat until thickened… add ½ – 1 cup chopped Cilantro

A little extra time makes it perfect!

     The Filling

          Task 1

This is the time consuming part for me as I like to sauté everything completely.

cook until done: 1 pound diced steak & 1 pound ground sausage with 1 teaspoon each of:   salt, black pepper and garlic powder

dice and sauté until ‘clear’ one large sweet onion and about 3 tablespoons chopped garlic

set aside

          Task 2

Combine the following in a large pan:

12 ounce creamed corn
28-30 ounces of tomato sauce
3 teaspoons Spanish Paprika
1 teaspoon Chipotle powder ( or sauce)
8 fire roasted peppers (sliced and chopped)

½ cup sliced olives

2 tablespoons Baker’s sugar
add 1 cup of the topping
1 cup Mozzarella cheese( or more!)
add salt , pepper  and garlic powder to taste

Cook over a low heat about 10- 15 minutes

Fold in 3 cups of Hominy and add the meat and onions

          Task 3

Pour filling into baking dish and spread topping over the top of the filling

Bake at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes

I hope you enjoy this as much as Laura did!

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Laura and John Cacioppo's new book! CLICK on the picture to see more.

Recently, my bride  Laura  and her coauthor  John Cacioppo  launched their first project together. It was an introductory psychology textbook entitled:   Discovering Psychology – the Science of Mind.  It is a fascinating and a remarkable peek into a dynamic changing field.

Now, I know very little about the writing of textbooks, but for me the experience was something akin to trying to escape second hand smoke; you can’t do it. I was Laura’s ‘minion’:  fetch her coffee or fix a platter of cheese and crackers and in one bazaar episode I even was asked to paint  my tongue blue and take a picture of it for their book. Depending on how you measure this project, it started somewhere between 7 and 10 years ago. Neither John nor Laura wanted to begin a project if it was just going to be like everything else in the field of psychology. However, John had observed that the field of psychology was evolving and that a textbook addressing this natural evolution was needed.

It seems that Grandma is proud of her copy , too!

Psychology, like so many very large fields of study, had been chopped up into pieces for 50 years to aid analysis. Experts developed in the new fields of Physiological, Clinical, Social, Developmental, Cognitive among others…  and each defended their territory religiously from the intrusions of other disciplines. However, as multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary teams began to define how modern solutions to academic and social challenges were being met; it seemed quaint for scientists to limit their expertise to a narrow field. Psychology among other hub sciences were reaching out to other disciplines and pulling together the disciplines of psychology at the same time to help address the big questions of our day.

We’ve all seen buildings designed by architects who forget that people have to live in them, business offices that create unhealthy social environments, and engineers that fail to introduce the human equation to designing solutions to structural challenges. I think this textbook models the right approach and it is a first step in the right direction.

Congratulations John and Laura.

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Karla drew this wonder piece to celebrate Saint Paddy's Day!.... she is also fond of dragons in this Year of the dragon!

the Chinese Year of the Dragon by Karla!

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Consistently wonderful Hawaiian style Bread

Well, I have be trying to deconstruct various types of so-called Hawaiian style breads without satisfaction. So, I decided to start off from scratch and make the bread to my own tastes and I came up with the following recipe:

MAKING THE DOUGH

1) To be frank, I have manually kneaded dough too many times to mention and I short cut the process using a bread machine for getting the dough ready for baking. I don’t like the results of baking the bread with the machine… but mixing is a wonder.

2) Place 2 eggs in a measuring cup and add enough water to reach the 1 1/2 cup line. Pour into bread machine mixing container.

3) Add 1 tsp salt ( I used Iodized for health reasons)

4) Add a heaping cup of powdered sugar

5) Add 4 cups of bread flower

6) top off with 2 teaspoons of dry yeast ( 2 packages)

7) set bread machine to make 2lbs of dough

After machine completes its cycle, divide dough and place in 2 butter greased bread pans  and allow to rise for 1 hour. Brush the top of the bread with a beaten egg mixed with a small amount of water.

9) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

My daughter Karla is the most demanding of bread connoisseurs … but this is her favorite.

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I thought I wanted to get some 'insider' tips on good ideas for all occasions!

Okay, I had the opportunity to pick up three autographed books “Martha’s Entertaining a year of celebrations” for my daughters ( big Martha Stewart fans).

In the good old days, recipe books were more than just that, they showed you how to display and run an event. One of the things I love about this book is the fact that it incorporated how each culinary delight is presented, when and with what.
Probably what caught my attention was her first chapter which had two of my favorite expressions: breakfast and blueberries. None of the recipes are at all difficult, but the choice of ingredients and the setting makes the most of everyday fare. If you were to throw together a dinner party at the last minute, this is the book to consult.

Of course, having a signed copy is always special.

Bon Appetite!

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the secret is cooking it 'twice'

One of the little secrets I have found in having a larger cut of lamb taste terrific is to boil it prior to baking, grilling or barbecuing it! Boiling ( or simmering)  and a little physical treatment is a much better tenderizer than acid treatments ( like citrus) or enzyme pastes ( like pineapple, kiwi or papaya ) which reduce lamb to mush.

Have you ever wondered why you must sear your meat? Most people like to claim it ‘locks in the juices’ of the meat prior to inclusion in a stew, which is partially true. However, in the history of culinary science there is a much better reason… the seared meat becomes more flavorful in what is referred to as the Maillard Reaction. (In 1912, chemist Louis-Camille Maillard in an attempt to reproduce biological protein synthesis discovered the reaction. The flavor is determined by the type of amino acid affected at about 309 degrees, which is significantly above boiling… which is why we sear meat prior to placing meat into a stew… or the meat is virtually flavorless.).

The nice thing about searing a boneless leg of lamb is that you can sear both sides. Having the inside seared has a big advantage in transmitting additional flavors to the stuffing!  I also sear the meat prior to boiling, then stuff the leg of lamb, ti it off , then roast!

the right stuffing sets off the dish perfectly and adds its own flavors to the course.

You may find that your stuffing might be too large for the leg of lamb, or the meat has shrunk a bit… well, place the stuffing in a ‘soup sock’ and wrap the meat around it as best you can. One advantage of the soup sock is that you can dip it into a liquid mixture of your choosing… chicken broth, butter and rosemary is one option.

Tender, moist and delicious with a nice spicy honey glaze on this wonderful lamb from Superior Farms.

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