I am doing Morocco this week and Miriam said she had seen a recipe for Moroccan corn and stone fruit salad. She really liked my last corn salad and wanted something similar. I was not able to find the recipe she had read, so I did what seemed right to me.
Author Archives: karllueck
Karl’s Portuguese Steamed Clams
Adapted from a Leite’s Culinaria recipe
Happiness for Jan is a pot of steamed clams and/or mussels. Since I am doing a Portuguese feast with a salt cod dish and caldo verde, I thought clams would go very well. The first dish I looked at was roast pork smothered in steamed clams. Jan was quick to reject this. She does not mind a little pork in her clams as a flavoring, but in her mind it is all about the clams.
Filed under Main Dishes, Seafood, Steaming, Stews
Karl’s Portuguese Salt Cod and Potato Casserole
Adapted from a chef Manuel Azevedo recipe
Traditionally this dish is serves as a casserole. Chef Azevedo, born on the island of São Jorge in the Azores, turns this Portuguese dish upside down. This allows the exposed codfish to brown slightly and the layer of potatoes on the bottom to crisp.
Filed under Casseroles, Fish, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Seafood
Karl’s Caldo Verde (Portuguese Kale Soup)
Adapted from a Leite’s Culinaria recipe
Most of the people of Portuguese ancestry in San Jose actually come from the Azores. Although many families have been here for more than one hundred years, they still maintain a strong sense of cultural identity and family ties to the home islands. If they have room in their yard for a garden, you may be sure that kale is growing in there. Caldo Verde, green broth, a kale and potato soup is a staple of Portuguese cuisine.
Filed under Green Vegetables, Pork, Soups
Karl’s Refrigerator Chicken Soup III
This is a dish that I make every few months. When I make a chicken dish, I frequently buy whole chickens and cut them up myself. I cut out the back and freeze the necks, wing tips and any trimmings to make chicken stock.
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry, Soups, Vegetables
Karl’s Tri-tip Fajitas
Last Sunday I made Santa Maria barbecued tri-tip. By Tuesday I had only a scant half a pound of meat left. By itself it was not enough to use as a main dish, so I decided to stretch it with grilled peppers. Fajitas are seared peppers and can be made with any meat, something like a Mexican stir-fry.
Filed under Beef, Main Dishes
Karl’s Santa Maria-Style Beans II
I am making Santa Maria barbecue this Sunday and this needs a special kind of beans. I finally found a source for heirloom Santa Maria pinquito beans. If you live in the South Bay (San Jose, CA area) it is just a short 30 minute drive down to just south of Gilroy to where the 101 briefly becomes a two lane highway. Garlic World is an overgrown roadside fruit stand that specializes in Gilroy’s primary crop—I love when the wind is out of the south in the morning, it smells of garlic. Garlic World also carries Suzie Q’s pinquito beans.
Filed under Beans, Pork, Side Dishes, Starches









