San Francisco and a Pastitsio

Okay things are not looking too great on the eating good side of things.  I will say though that I haven’t been eating any cereal with half and half or large bags of Peanut M&M’s.  I did sneak a piece of cardamom coffee cake today at the restaurant, but it was a small piece.

I was supposed to start working out this weekend after the trip to San Francisco, where I did in fact eat quite a bit.  I had cupcakes at Kara’s Cupcakes and at Miette. I thought Kara’s were as good as ours and I really liked their cream cheese frosting.  I think Miette’s are a bit dry and both of the times I’ve been there, I’ve been disappointed.

We had a great time on the trip and made a few discoveries in the tons of restaurants we surveyed.  I won’t bore you with all the details except to say if you are in the city and want an awesome place for brunch, you’ll have to wait for 30 to 45 minutes, check out Brenda’s French Soul Food.  The place was awesome, the food was great, staff was super friendly and their beignets are to die for!  Not just regular beignets, but these were stuffed.  One with chocolate, another with Granny Smith apples and cinnamon honey butter and another with Crawfish with cayenne, scallions and cheddar.

The first set of plans for the exterior of the new building are almost done.  I can’t share too much information, but we will have a patio outside with water and a fountain, windows that open to allow the beautiful spring and summer weather in and about 900 square feet of kitchen…10 times our current space.

We did have a scare today when I found out through a third party that the building will be in a specially zoned area because of its proximity to the Reno/Tahoe International Airport.  For about a 1/2 hour we thought we wouldn’t be able to go forward with the concept without some major changes, bad changes, but after doing some research we found out that we were okay after all.

So planning goes on…I actually spent tonight working on our new breakfast and lunch catering menu for the Winter edition.

So on to the Pastitsio.  I love Pastitso.  I often eat it at a local restaurant here in Reno called the Blue Plate.  How can you go wrong?  Meat, cheese, bechamel and pasta!

The meal took some time.  I started around 5:15 or so and I think we ate at 8:00.  This would be great for a weekend or a day you were home early from work.  The meal was excellent.

Pastitsio (makes 10 – 12 portions)

adapted from the cookbook Modern Greek

For the Pasta:

• 1 pound ziti
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons grated kefalotiri or parmesan cheese
• 1 cup bechamel sauce

For the Pie:

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 5 cups meat sauce
• 3 cups bechamel sauce
• 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs (I used panko)
• 3 tablespoons grated kefalotiri or parmesan cheese

This recipe is all about the order.  Make the meat sauce first.  When you have about 30 minutes left before the meat sauce is done start on the bechamel and start the pasta water.  When you are about 15 minutes from from the meat sauce being done, cook your pasta.

Pasta – Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and simmer for 10 minutes or until almost soft.  Drain in a colander and transfer to a large bowl.  Allow to cool and then add the beaten eggs, cheese and bechamel sauce. Toss the pasta until well coated with the mixture.

To Assemble – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the bottom and sides of a rectangular 9×13 inch baking dish with the melted butter.  Spread a third of the pasta evenly in the dish can cover with half of the meat sauce.  Add another third of the pasta and cover with the remaining meat sauce.  Add another third of the pasta and cover with the remaining meat sauce.  Spread the remaining pasta over the top and spoon on the bechamel sauce, smoothing it over the top.  Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs and cheese.  Make for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting and devouring!

Bechamel:

• 4 cups milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice berries or ground allspice
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons grated kefalotiri or parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the milk, bay leaves and allspice in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave in a glass bowl.  Don’t let the milk burn.  You are looking for 150 degrees or so.  Melt the butter in another saucepan or saucier, then add the flour and whisk for about 5 minutes until combined.  Slowly ladle or pour, be careful, the hot milk into the flour mixture (discarding the allspice and bay leaves) and whisk constantly until the sauce thickens.  Remove the saucepan from the heat and, when slightly cooled stir in the cheese and nutmeg.  Add salt and pepper to taste. (makes 4 cups)

Meat Sauce:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium-sized yellow onions, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup red wine, (drink the rest of the bottle while making this, I did)
• 1 15 ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 2 bay leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute the onions, garlic, celery, parsley, oregano and thyme for about 5 minutes until softened. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and reserve.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the saucepan and saute the ground beef, stirring often to break up the pieces, for about 10 minutes until browned.  Add the red wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaves, salt and pepper and saute for another 5 minutes. Return the onion, garlic and celery mixture to the saucepan, stir well and simmer the sauce for 45 to 60 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. (Makes 5 cups).