"DeepDiver" wrote in message
...
"Harold and Susan Vordos" wrote in message
...
"DeepDiver" wrote in message

Btw, that Stifatho sounds great. Do you have a family recipe? (I hope
your
good-hearted friend has enough to share!)

- Michael

Sigh! The friends of which I speak are not local, one family in Utah,
the other in Oregon. I, like you, must go without. That's why pork is
mentioned in the recipe. It is very best made with game meat, however.

There are commerical sources for venison and other game meats. Here is one
I
found with a quick Web search that farms their own deer:

http://www.avenison.com/
(They happen to be sold out of most cuts, including the inexpensive stew
meat, although they do have shoulder available.)

And here is one located in Seattle that imports farmed game animals from
all
over:

http://www.exoticmeats.com/

Thanks for the links. I'll have Susan explore at her leisure. We might be
inclined to order for a special occasion, but we're pretty close with money,
living on SS.



This meal is like no other. Truly a delight. Because Susan also makes a
wonderful lamb stew, we don't use lamb for this one, but it, too, would
make exceptional stifatho.

Mmmm... lamb! Speaking of which, I make a pretty mean Moussaka.

That's one that really tugs at my heart strings. While I married a "white
woman" (Susan), she learned to cook the majority of the Greek recipes from
my mother before she died, so I get a generous amount of "soul food".
Moussaka is one of the things she makes. Pastichio is another.

Lamb, when properly prepared, has no equal, not in my estimation. Of
course, one must realize that it is the meat on which I was raised. I had
no clue what a beef steak tasted like until I was a young adult.

Have you tried saganaki? Fried cheese-----served with crackers (I like
Ritz), or french bread, and fresh fruit? One fries a cheese named
kefalotiri, which doesn't melt, but gets nice and chewy until it renders
excessively, at which time it gets crunchy. It's a true delight for
breakfast. You can find the cheese at Greek or Italian deli's.


Your Stifatho sounds like it would also be a good candidate for filling a
San Francisco sourdough bread-bowl.

That would certainly be a nice addition, especially for those that enjoy
sourdough. We aren't prone to buying it, but I enjoy it when dining out.



Michael, knowing that you're near, Susan could be talked into making a
batch (with pork) if you'd like to pay a visit. Let us know.

Thank you for your kind and generous invitation (and for your family
recipe).

My pleasure.

My wife and I would love to visit, as much for the Stifatho as for
a chance to talk shop with you and to learn a thing or two from a master
metalworker.

I hope I could live up to your expectations. My skills are rapidly
rusting----having been away from the machines since '83.

(Ok, to be fair, my wife would not enjoy the latter part at
all, but I certainly would!)

Your wife might find something of interest to discuss with Susan, who
collects art glass, gardens, and enjoys cooking. She's a quiet kind of
person, but very friendly.


I didn't realize that you were near us; I thought you lived up in
Washington
State. (I'm in California's San Francisco Bay Area.)

Oops. My mistake. It's true that I live in Washington State, south of
Seattle by about 100 miles. Only recently, something I read made me think
you were located in the Seattle area. Yep, it's a long drive from San
Francisco! Still, if you ever plan a journey north, we'd certainly welcome
you and yours.

If you don't mind, I'll
contact you offline to discuss further.

No problem. I always enjoy hearing from folks with manners.

Harold