Discovering The Mature Lifestyle
Catering as a way of life Page 7
Food•Fun•Entertaining November 2016
November 17, 2016
Wayzata cook honors Greek, Norwegian food traditions BY SUE WEBBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Lou V lahos cr edits his gra ndparents and parents for a lif etime love affair with food. “I came f rom a fa mily of restaurateurs in W est V irginia a nd S pringfield, Ohio,” said V lahos, w ho was a n o nly c hild. “My grandparents were both incredible cooks. I taught myself a lot from their tutelage. My first experience with cooking as a kid was when I made cheesecake at the age of 8.” He especially enjoys cooking Greek and Mediterranean f oods, b ut als o inc ludes French, I talian a nd A sian dishes in his repertoire. H e lik es makin g bak lava a nd giving i t a way f or sp ecial o ccasions a nd holiday gifts. “It’s one of my passions,” said Vlahos, a Wayzata r esident w ho is dir ector o f missions, communication and membership at Wayzata Community Church. He enjoys sharing his food creations at potluck dinners, and dinners for rummage sale volunteers. He and his h usband, Tom Paulson, dir ector o f m usic a t t he c hurch,
entertain f requently and als o ha ve o ffered a special donation a t a f undraiser, as well. “Last ye ar we donated tw o G reek dinners wi th m usic, and t he w hole nine yards,” V lahos s aid. “Between the two of us, we made a pa rty and raised $1,600.” Vlahos al so a dmits to making lefse. “My mo ther-in-law gave me a lefse maker Lou Vlahos, left, and Tom Paulson collaborated on a recent dinner party that included artichoke cheese pita (in the big and she and I make it pan), crab guacamole (in the white bowl) and marinated lamb chops with calamata olives, lemon and toasted cherry for t he fa mily,” V la- tomatoes (in the pan in the front). (Submitted photo) hos said. “I enjoy being a ble t o co me u p you’re eating it like that.’ But she was smil- er o ven a nd made p astichio, simi lar to a with different wa ys t o ada pt t he r ecipe. ing,” Vlahos said. Greek lasagna, he said. For her, it was always butter and sugar rolVlahos is a s econd-generation G reek, “I called m y gra ndma t o ask her w hat lups. But I f ound lefse also works well for and Paulson is a t hird-generation Norwe- spices to use, and she s aid, ‘Oh, a li ttle bit a s andwich in t he mo rning, wi th c heese, gian. of this, and a little bit of that.’ So I learned sausage and spices. Having an aversion to dorm food in by tasting.” “She s aid, ‘ That’s heresy. I ca n’t b elieve college, V lahos g ot a ho t p late a nd t oastWAYZATA GOURMET - TO PAGE 6