Transition Eastward

Nows the time the time is here! I am about to go through a spell of Greek, Turkish and Middle Eastern Cooking. The problem is how to get there from here. You see, if you go from eating baked chicken, Dutch meatballs, pizza, beef stew and the like straight to the finest cuisine in the world you might have problems. Some people have been known to have massive heart attacks from the shock of eating such good food so suddenly. Who knows, you might even have a seizure or some other terrible malady. So I can't in good conscience go straight from really good food to mind blowing food. I have an obligation to slowly make the transition. The best thing to make first would be a recipe from a 'Greek' restaurant in Mason City Iowa. I don't know if it is still there but the Northwest Cafe used to serve up a pretty good Americanized version of Greek food. They had 2 particular recipes that they are famous for. One is NW Cafe Steaks and the other is Greek Spaghetti. I don't see how either of the 2 dishes is Greek, but is a good place to start.

Northwest Cafe Steaks

1 T seasoned salt
1 T Greek seasoning
1 T garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
1 stick butter

Melt butter and add spices. Pour over steaks and bake at 350 for 15 minutes on one side and 10 minutes on the other. Turn the oven to broil and spend the last 5 minutes broiling.

Greek Spaghetti from Northwest Cafe

Boil salted water. Add spaghetti, enough to feed your guests. Cook spaghetti to al dante or enough so that it is cooked but not soggy. Drain spaghetti and add:

Juices from NW café steaks
1 small can chicken broth
1 t Greek seasoning
½ t garlic salt or more if you like it
¼ cup parmesan, add and add more if you like more
1 t fresh ground pepper
a good amount of chopped fresh parsley or ½ tablespoon dried parsley