{"id":49816,"date":"2023-02-28T12:40:14","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T17:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=49816"},"modified":"2025-03-11T15:56:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T19:56:28","slug":"spiced-ground-beef-creamy-white-sauce-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/people\/spiced-ground-beef-creamy-white-sauce-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailor & Galley: A Taste of Times Past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Anne <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Persistent and victorious cook Anne Mott aboard Outrider<\/i>, her Westsail 42, in San Carlos, Mexico.<\/span>\n Courtesy Anne E. Mott<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

My husband, Jeff, and I were relaxing in the cockpit of Outrider<\/em>, our Westsail 42, in San Carlos, Mexico, when we suddenly found ourselves talking about Greece<\/a>. We were traveling happily down memory lane, reminiscing about a summer we\u2019d spent years ago, backpacking through the Greek islands. The taste of the meal we\u2019d just eaten at a favorite beachside restaurant in Mexico, La Palapa Griega, had brought memories flooding back. Soon, the talk turned to food. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years ago, we\u2019d arrived in Santorini, Greece, sleep-\u00addeprived, frazzled and hungry. Wandering off the beaten path, we\u2019d found a quiet taverna<\/em>, where we sampled pastitsio for the first time. Often called Greek lasagna, this baked, meaty casserole\u2014layers of spiced ground beef, long tubular pasta, and a rich and creamy white-sauce topping\u2014completely revived us. The taste of that delicious first bite has stayed with us for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back home again in California, as we resumed full-time work and life aboard, I tried to re-create the dish, without success. My efforts were a little bland and dry.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to Mexico<\/a>, where (now retired) we spend every winter aboard. As full-time liveaboards for 30-odd years, the decision to sail our home south, to live our dream of cruising Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, also meant we were in a hurricane zone with scorching summers\u2014a situation not exactly conducive to year-round living aboard. Neither of us relished the idea of living like moles belowdecks, air conditioning running, unable to venture outside during hot daylight hours. Ultimately, we decided to cruise during the cooler months and leave Outrider<\/em> in capable hands, either on the hard or in a secure slip in Mexico, each summer while we headed back north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To avoid paying double rent (a marina slip in Mexico and an apartment in the United States) we offered our services as summertime pet and house sitters to our travel-loving US friends up north. It worked. Now, though we do house-sit occasionally, we have a \u201cliveaboard\u201d camper van; each summer, we head north to land-cruise, camping and exploring new places every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back aboard Outrider <\/em>that evening, by the time the reminiscing wound down, we\u2019d worked up a serious pastitsio jones. We made a plan: We\u2019d return to the restaurant in a day or two, to sample their Greek lasagna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, Lady Luck had other ideas. Later that evening, we heard what sounded like fire alarms in the distance, followed by an ominous dark plume of smoke wafting out over the ocean. It appeared that something rather big was ablaze, but majestic Tetakawi Mountain blocked our view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day, we found out the casualty was our beloved La Palapa Griega. We wouldn\u2019t be eating their pastitsio anytime soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I retrieved my recipe stash from a drawer, found the well-worn notes from my earlier attempts, and got busy on my Greek pasta bake. Jeff took one bite and tactfully reminded me that nothing magical had occurred over the years; the recipe was still a bit bland and dry. But, unlike before, I now had all the time in the world to tweak the recipe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proper pasta for this dish\u2014thick, hollow \u00adspaghetti\u2014is hard to find outside Greece, so I went for penne. It\u2019s hollow and about the same diameter, just shorter. I experimented with sauce-to-meat ratios and different spices. After one more trial that didn\u2019t quite work, the third time, like that first bite years ago in Santorini, hit the sweet spot. Flavorful, aromatic and moist, it truly was a taste of times past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Mott reports that as of September 2022, La Palapa Griega is up and running.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Overhead <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Meaty Greek Lasagna<\/span>\n Lynda Morris Childress <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Meaty Greek Lasagna, serves 6 to 8<\/h3>\n\n\n\n