Mama Llama's Potato Salad

My good friend Matty O'Food lives all the way out in Santa Cruz, CA. We keep in touch daily via AIM. Our conversations can be a couple sentences long, or ramble on for hours. It's a great way to stay connected over long distances. Our two most common topics of conversation are golf and - wait for it - food. He passed along his mother's potato salad recipe for posting on this here blog thingy. I would try to explain the Mama Llama moniker, but it's a long story interesting only to those involved. Let's just say hand puppets are involved, and leave it there.

Mama Llama is an elementary school principal in Pasadena, CA. She is one of the most serene people I've ever come across; the stuff of children's books. I wish she'd been my principal in school. She's also a really terrific cook. When Matty and I lived in Los Angeles, we got plenty of her home cooking on the weekends, and I've envied her skills for years.

Mama Llama's Potato Salad

1 lb small red new potatoes 1 bunch green onions 6 oz peas, fresh or frozen ½ lb bacon ½ cup sour cream ½ cup Greek yogurt

Here are the Mama Llama's instructions in her own hand:

Boil potatoes until tender; cut in quarters. Cut bacon and cook until crisp, I like lots! Dice green onions. Reserve some bacon, onions, and peas for a garnish. Toss together potatoes, peas, green onions, and bacon. Gently mix in sour cream, salt and pepper to taste. Place artistically in a bowl and garnish with reserved bacon, green onions, and peas. This is enough for four as a side! (I think!) I always do it by feel and look! See, simple is always best, isn't it?

I was gonna go picnic style and make hotdogs, but my inner snob got the better of me. Instead, I grilled some sweet Italian sausages and served them with a fat dollop of brown spicy mustard on the side. A grown up picnic in the middle of the week.

The Llama family has an aversion to all things mayonnaise. It's my opinion that they've never had a good homemade one. Nevertheless, I cut Mama Llama's 1 cup of sour cream with a 50/50 ratio of sour cream and tangy Greek yogurt. The consistency is a little creamier and the flavor just a bit more complex. Anyone with a frayed copy of the Good Housekeeping Cookbook knows intuitively how well green onion and sour cream go together, and the old adage of Another Meal Made Better With Bacon couldn't be more aptly applied than here.

Yes, another simple feast from your trusty neighborhood Blog O. Food. And to think, we haven't really gotten into the thick of things yet.

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food

Carnitas Tacos

When I was growing up, I would bug my parents to take me to the beach every weekend. I just always wanted to be in the water. Whenever I was successful in convincing them to make the trip, my stepmother would braise pork the night before for lunch the next day. She'd stuff shredded meat, refried beans and salsa into heated flour tortillas and wrap them tighter than any machine could ever hope to achieve. On the big day, I would body surf for hours, duck diving the bigger waves, while my dad would float on his back just beyond the swell, the only things visible being his face, belly and toes. He reminded me of a big log in the water, perfectly horizontal. When Anita could convince me to get out of the water for lunch, saltwater dripping from my sinuses, burritos warmed by the sun would be waiting. Nothing tasted better than her pork. I find myself thinking of her excellent cooking and wishing I had paid just a little more attention while she was still alive.

So this weekend, with picnic baskets on every square inch of beach sand and park grass, I took a stab an replicating my stepmother's kitchen. You've all seem me braise. This time I pulled out all the stops. I didn't stop with slow cooked pork roast though. I shredded the meat and crisped it through on a skillet before wrapping in a soft warm corn tortilla with a dollop of sour cream and a roasted spring onion. Anita, I think, would have been proud.

Braising 101: Sear meat on all sides, then remove from pot. Reduce heat and sweat onions, garlic and dried chilies until just starting to caramelize. Add  spices: chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Return meat to the Dutch oven and add enough cooking liquid to come half way up the sides of the roast. For a rich full flavor I added red wine, chicken broth and a can of whole tomatoes in their juice. Cover and simmer away until meat separates easily.

I braised my pork until there was almost no liquid left in the pot. I then strained the meat and reserved what remained of the reduced sauce. I let the sauce cool and skimmed off the layer of oil that rose to the top. The remaining reduction I used in a sauté pan when I crisped up my shredded pork. As the pork got crispy, I heated tortillas and seared whole spring onions. The tacos were simplicity themselves: meat, onion, a little sour cream. The crust on the tender pork lent a crunchy texture. The sauce reduction was rich, complex and delicious. The only thing better than getting to eat these tacos is sharing them with friends. So come on over!

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food

Mac Fusilli-N-Cheese

Before moving along to our favorite topic food, and without getting too sanctimonious, I don't think it inappropriate to remind you, my gentle readers, why we have a Memorial Day weekend in the first place. Memorial Day was originally conceived to venerate Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War. Back then it was known as Decoration Day. After WWI, the commemoration was expanded to recognize American casualties of any war or military action. Traditionally, flags are flown at half-staff until noon, graves at national cemeteries are marked with American flags, and there is a moment of remembrance at 3:00pm local time. These days, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer and is celebrated with picnics, barbecues and the Indy 500. But pockets of sober reflection still survive. I was in the town of Orient, Long Island one Memorial Day weekend when the villagers held a simple parade and placed a wreath at the foot of a monument commemorating  their fallen sons and daughters. It was the most modest of ceremonies I had ever witnessed, and it humbled me to my core. These days - in my dotage - I take time to demonstrate my gratitude for our liberties and to the young men and women who fight to protect them, whether with beers for sailors at Yankee Stadium during Fleet Week (I love a man in a uniform!), or sitting at attention at the end of The News Hour broadcast when they list the dead in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope never again to take their sacrifice for granted.

But one cannot remain morose and depressing all day; that's what Republicans are always accusing Democrats of doing. Life is for the living and to truly honor the ultimate sacrifice, one must live to the fullest. That means lots of America's favorite side dishes to go with all those hot dogs, hamburgers and barbecued chicken. And what's more American than macaroni and cheese? As American as French fries!

Baked Mac-N-Cheese

1 lb pasta noodle 3 slices day-old bread 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated) 2 Tbsp all purpose flour 2 cans evaporated milk ¼ tsp dry mustard ½ tsp grated nutmeg ½ tsp salt 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (grated) ¾ cup Monterey jack cheese (grated) ¾ cup Gruyère cheese (grated)

Start by cooking pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. I didn't have macaroni, so substituted fusilli pasta. I liked the texture even better, but there will always be some purist nut job out there who thinks I'm a heretic. So be it. Cook the pasta to just al dente, but no further. You want the noodles slightly undercooked, as they will continue to soften with the cheese sauce in the oven.

Next make a topping for the mac-n-cheese by chopping bread (I used day-old sourdough), 2 Tbsp melted butter and two heaping Tbsp of grated Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Set the mixture aside.

Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water before draining and rinsing the cooked pasta. The excess starch on the pasta will gum up the finished dish, so rinse away, ignoring the wails of your Italian grandmothers. In the same pot as the pasta boiled, start a roux with 2 Tbsp of flour in the remaining 2 Tbsp of melted butter. Cook for a couple of minutes to get rid of the "raw" taste of the flour. Gradually whisk in two cans of evaporated milk and bring to a simmer. Add the hot sauce (I put in six heavy dashes for medium heat) and spices, and slowly stir in the grated cheeses, melting completely. Add the drained pasta and a little of the reserved pasta water. You're looking for a fluid, but not runny consistency to your macaroni.

Pour the pasta/cheese mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and top with the bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes in a pre-heated 350° oven. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes once the dish is removed from the oven. This will allow the mac-n-cheese to set and prevent you from blistering the roof of your mouth when you shovel noodles and cheese into it.

Using multiple cheeses adds complexity to my mac-n-cheese. There are different cheeses for everyone's tastes. I like the tanginess of Gruyère over American cheese. You might like a milder Swiss cheese, Havarti or even Jarlsberg. It's all up to you. Play with your recipes until you discover something you really like, and then start a blog to brag about it.

Summer is officially here with lots of outdoor eating and one dish meals. Enjoy new and old family favorites this season and check back here often for ideas and tips.

Thanks for taking the time - Blog O. Food