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I'm Mo Rocca, and this is my grandmother.
When I was growing up, she used to make
the biggest, most elaborate Sunday dinners.
I will never forget Momma's Ravioli.
But I, I never learned how to cook.
That's why I'm pulling out all the stops
to get your grandmothers and grandfathers
to teach me their favorite family recipes.
Why not learn from the masters?
A marriage is like
a long adventure filled journey by boat.
You hope for smooth sailing,
and that no one gets thrown overboard and drowns.
Hi Mo.
Mo.
George, how are you, great to meet you.
Thank you very much.
Geez, this is exciting, are you a sailboat person?
Sort of, we're in the aft section right?
Yes, that's good.
Okay, well good.
(Mo) Kathy and George Boulukos met on a blind date in 1958
and married two years later.
They settled in Freeport, New York, and had two children.
Kathy is one of the authors of her Greek Orthodox Church's
best-selling cookbook.
George is a highly decorated volunteer
with the Boy Scouts of America and an avid sailor.
When they're not on their boat, Kathy and George spend time
with their two grandkids, George and Mia.
(Kathy) No, no, no, no,
I'll give orders when I need help, okay?
This is my trusty old pot, there's a very old story to the pot.
It was my father's gift to the boat.
And, although there are lots of better looking pots,
I keep it for sentimental reasons.
Is this pot from Ancient Greece?
We're not that old.
Give me a break.
(Mo) Today we'll be making shrimp scorpio, a specialty of George's,
Kathy's molded spanakopita,
and for our Greek dessert, rolled baklava.
I'm gonna call this my big fat Greek episode.
Okay, that's agreeable.
You've heard that probably, I know, it wasn't that good.
It's all right, it's okay.
Okay, time to cook before we lose the wind.
The wind?
No we're gonna go sailing in a
No, we're gonna cook and then we're gonna sail.
(Kathy) Welcome to the galley.
(Mo) This is George's recipe...
All right, we need three spoons of olive oil.
(Mo) But make no mistake about who's in charge.
Okay.
(Kathy) Be generous, Greeks love olive oil.
Okay.
(Mo) We add the onions to the pan
which sits on a type of stove this landlubber has never seen.
(Mo) Then mince three or four garlic cloves.
(Kathy) Now you got the garlic, couple more.
Couple more of those, okay.
It's almost like there's somebody else here telling you what to do.
Yeah, right.
That's part of togetherness.
(Mo) This is your marriage in action?
Yes.
We have to put two cups in there.
(Kathy) Yeah, that's all right, put the whole thing.
We're gonna put the whole thing in here? This whole thing?
(Mo) The boss, okay.
You have to compliment her all the time.
So you always turn around and you say "You're the boss,"
and you listen to her, now you don't have to do
what she says, but you still listen to her.
Thanks a lot, could you please put it in you're gonna kill the onions?
You look amazing, I'm putting in half.
(Mo) No, I'm gonna put
Compliment her a lot, she loves that.
Okay, you smell great too,
what's that perfume you're wearing?
(Mo) Oh, Shalimar, okay.
I've been wearing it since I'm 15.
Don't you think it's about time you washed it off?
(George) I think we have to put some more in there.
Put the whole thing in, put the whole thing in.
And a little bit of this now, and stir it around.
(Mo) This is the same color.
(Mo) Okay.
(Kathy) Okay, that's good.
So, who is the Admiral?
I'm the Admiral.
Well, who's higher?
The Admiral is higher.
(Mo) Okay, what is my position gonna be?
First Mate, I mean you know, if anything happens to George,
you have to take charge.
This is turning into an episode of "48 Hours".
Okay, that's good.
(George) So we have to let it simmer for half an hour.
(George) Just 15 minutes?
Yeah, that's it, now let me work on the Orzo.
(Mo) While Kathy whips up a quick Orzo and artichoke heart salad,
You've got too much juice in here...
Don't worry about it, do I tell you what to do?
(Mo) I'm starting to wonder how the rest of this trip will go.
Have you ever had a mishap at sea?
You fell overboard once.
Well, the worst experience was that.
We went sailing on a beautiful day like today.
Now the sails, we had the mainsail up and the jib up,
and the line got caught,
and I got catapulted off the boat.
Physically picked up and thrown overboard.
Now I don't swim, you know, I go blbb-blbb-blbb,
and I come up and the boat now is sailing,
it's going forward
and he yells out "I'll be back!"
Well, it took half an hour.
It took you a half an hour, did you have errands to run or something
or were you in the middle of a good conversation?
It didn't take quite a half an hour
but it felt like a half an hour.
Thank you, you just got me.
Look at it, I'm bleeding.
Oh please, so anyway, he finally comes back,
I finally climb on the boat
and change my clothes and all that stuff,
and we had dinner.
(Mo) Now back to our dinner.
To the pan, we add one pound of peeled deveined shrimp.
Now stir it up.
Tsoop, tsoop, tsoop, tsoop, fast.
And then layer one cup of feta over the shrimp.
Yep, cheese and seafood together.
Into the oven it goes for 5 minutes at 425.
Do you remember in the "Poseidon Adventure" when the boat
went upside down? A movie.
Why do you think of depressing things like that?
I only think of happy things.
I just want to prepare ourselves for any eventuality.
No, no, no.
God, remember "Cape Fear"?
When Robert DeNiro terrorized that family on that boat?
Oh good God, I don't think you like boating, I'm getting that feeling.
Are you trying to tell us you wanna leave?
What was that George Clooney movie based
on the book where the boat was crazy?
How 'bout "The Sound of Music"?
There are no boats in "The Sound of Music", sorry.
(Mo) They escaped to Switzerland via foot.
"The Boy on a Dolphin" with Gina Lollabrigida looking gorgeous.
I love Gina Lollabrigida.
With Alan Ladd who was very short, that was a total miscast, okay.
(Mo) On top of the plate?
Yeah, put it on top of the plate.
The feta should have melted and blended.
It doesn't necessarily have to melt, it's gonna have the flavor.
Give it additional flavor.
Wait, does she turn everything into a debate?
Yes.
Mm, good.
Feta is great,
it's not like the deli-style rubbery feta,
I'm glad you like it.
Remember that Hitchcock movie "Lifeboat"?
Here we go again.
I can't remember, did they live?
Coming up...
love, exciting and new.
This is not a good time to do this.
I know, I know, it's never a good time is it Kathy?
I'm cooking Greek food with George and Kathy Boulukos.
With our shrimp scorpio done, it's time for a quick sailing lesson.
So, are my socks too short?
Way too short, where's the other half?
Wow, already?
Yeah, you're on the wheel.
(Mo) I'm amazed by George's strength as he unfurls the sail.
Oh, you're winching.
I feel like I have the easy part.
(Kathy) It's harder that way.
(George) Go the other way then, come back.
Okay, the other way.
(Kathy) Almost there, ten more times.
(Kathy) He's done, he's done, he's done.
You can just call me your winch.
(George) Okay.
(Kathy) I have a machine, that's like a standing joke.
You have machine for this, why did I just do all this?
We got you that's why we...
They had a machine for this.
And then, we lose the wind.
What can I do to make this thing move?
No, no, no, no, no, no, this is not a power boat, this is a sailboat.
You have to take advantage of the wind
and God's gift to push the sail along.
(Mo) It's a real calm,
like a "Dead Calm",
remember that movie with Nicole Kidman, "Dead Calm"?
No, no, no, no, no, no "Dead Calm", we don't want "Dead Calm."
Nicole Kidman would not have been in "Days of Thunder" had she not been in "Dead Calm."
(Mo) While we wait for the wind to pick up, Kathy tells me tales
of the sea so dramatic, they rival Melville.
So we decided to go with this couple that I really didn't know all that well.
Well the minute we got on the boat,
he turns around and says to his wife
"Fats, would you please get me a soda?"
To which I did a double take
and I said to him "Excuse me Peter, what did you call your wife?"
"Fats, that's her name."
I said, "No, her name is Olga."
Just to play devil's advocate,
Olga is kind of a fat name.
Well, she's fat but I mean do you have to reinforce it?
(Mo) Maybe it's the salty air or the gorgeous views,
but as George moves to the bow of the boat,
something comes over me.
I thought he'd never leave us alone.
Oh geez, this is not a good time to do this.
Oh I know, I know, it's never a good time is it Kathy?
(George) Neutral.
I'm in neutral, do you want me to slow it down more?
No don't slow it down.
Ahh.
(George) Okay, straighten it out.
Yeah, okay.
(George) Slow down.
God, I am ready to drop anchor.
Oh God, we did it.
Oh, I know, shhhhp.
Back on land and after a cold shower,
I'm ready to learn Kathy's twist on spanakopita
but, priorities...
It's a sexy tousled look.
Oh thank you, natural.
It is, it looks great.
No it looks like, you know, you look like
Ava Gardner right now in "Mogambo", remember that?
She was great, she was gorgeous.
Beautiful woman.
We start by chopping a half a cup of scallions.
Chop, chop, this.
Chop, chop, okay.
Okay done, and we're gonna kinda cook it a little bit.
Then, half a cup of flat leaf parsley and half a cup of dill.
Okay good, we're finished with this.
Now, spinach, squeeze out the water.
Now you're gonna break six eggs, once more with feeling.
That's good enough.
We are gonna add a pound of feta.
(Mo) Yeah, this cheese is great.
I then add two tablespoons of farina,
and those cooked scallions to our egg and cheese mix
along with the chopped herbs and spinach,
finishing with eight ounces of cottage cheese.
Keep stirring now, this is the pan we're gonna use.
Next up, we butter our pan.
Every nook and cranny.
and paper it with sheets of buttered phyllo dough.
If you were a greek goddess, you would be the goddess of phyllo.
Cooking, goddess of cooking, that would be fine.
Don't, you're getting a little ahead of yourself.
Okay fine, spoon that in there.
Yeah, flip them in, one at a time, okay fine.
You want the butter to seep down the edges,
okay that's done, you're done.
(Mo) In goes the spanakopita at 350.
Put an hour.
Oh, okay.
Put an hour.
Up next, I start talking to food...
time to come out, time to come out.
(Mo) I'm cooking Greek favorites with the Boulukos'.
It's time to make our sweet dessert, rolled baklava,
but first, some sweet talk from George to Kathy.
Well, I'm really sort of spoiled with Kathy's cooking.
Aren't you gonna respond to that, I though that was really lovely.
You're very sweet George.
No.
Do it, on the mouth, kiss each other on the mouth.
I love how this has turned from "The Bickersons"
into just a great romance.
It's wonderful, togetherness.
(Mo) Yes, okay.
(Mo) We boil two cups of sugar and two cups of water to make simple syrup.
Go ahead, you can stir.
We're gonna squeeze a lemon.
Here's my contraption.
Well, can you let George do something?
George, cut the lemon.
Cut the lemon, okay.
(Kathy) Somewhere along the way, what happened to my chu, chu, chu, chu?
(George) Gonna squeeze the lemon.
Okay cut, we can't find the lemon thing.
No we keep going, this is reality TV.
Oh reality TV, sorry about that.
It's an issue, it's a crisis we have to deal with on camera.
Sorry about that, here we go.
Come on elbow power.
Okay now we're adding a cinnamon stick, that's it, just put it in here.
Put it in there.
All right, now stir it up.
You're doing it.
You're doing the stirring.
(Kathy) Now we're gonna make the filling,
Okay.
It's usually her whose chopping the nuts,
you know what I mean?
Okay.
(Mo) I chop half a cup of walnuts, or try to.
No, you're getting excited.
Stop, stop, stop.
And half a cup of Rusk cookies, those are like thicker Melba toasts.
Chop that.
Chop that.
Stop, stop, stop, stop.
(Mo) After adding one teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter cup of sugar,
it's time to have more fun fitting the filling into yet more phyllo.
Try saying that five times fast.
This is what you're gonna do, watch.
You're gonna do quick dab,
then a teaspoon of filling, like this.
You're gonna fold the edges in, now you're gonna flip it over like that.
Now you're gonna tap the edges.
Then you're gonna take one of these and you're gonna roll it.
Is this what they do in a Greek prison?
Watch, now you're here, and you're gonna squoosh it like that.
And then wait, after you're there,
take it out and then you go there.
All right, we'll do a race, who does it faster?
Okay, you're doing good, you're doing good.
(oven beeping)
Ah, that would be the spanakopita.
Find some potholders and take it out.
Wait, is it that one?
(George) No, just push it.
Okay thanks.
Okay, potholders, take it out, okay.
How's that?
(Mo) Out it comes and in goes
the rolled Baklava for 15 minutes at 350.
So now we're adding a third cup of honey.
Stir it, okay just leave it now, it's done.
No, it's fine.
You sure it's done, you gotta heat it up?
No, no it's fine, it's done, take my word for it.
She's the boss, sorry.
We're gonna unmold this.
Now you're gonna take this little thing, and you're gonna go around the edges.
Time to come out.
Time to come out, time to come out, time to come out.
One, two, three, four, five and you're gonna flip it.
Okay wait, I'll give you a potholder, those are hot.
Put your hand in so you don't drop it, just flip it.
It keeps slipping.
Hooray!
It looks like a giant glazed doughnut.
Sort of yes, a doughnut?
Okay.
While our rolled baklava bake, we talk more movies and I get into trouble.
Well, what's your favorite Greek movie?
I love "Diner", the movie "Diner".
Because it's set in a diner, and you think all Greeks are connected to diners?
Let's not go there.
Sorry, is that like the third rail of Greek-American life?
Well, no because Greeks have gone far beyond that.
They've run for president, they've run for political office.
Right, Michael Dukakis, wow that was a real big success, sorry.
Go that way please, thank you, before we get burned.
Get me a platter from inside please.
Take one, put it in here,
got that?
I'll try one.
Go ahead.
Very good!
Mm, love that honey!
Have a bite.
Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm.
(Mo) Next up, I want more sugar.
Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, right on the mouth.
There you go.
If you wanna learn more about the Boulukos' recipes, go to...
Just before dinner, George and I discuss
his impressive involvement with The Boy Scouts of America.
This is clearly the biggie right here,
what you've got around your neck.
Yes, it's called the Silver Buffalo.
The Silver Buffalo, and what is that for?
Dedication to our youth in the United States.
And like, under 1,000 people have received this honor, not a lot.
What did you get it for?
For the 68 years of my involvement in scouting.
I would like to present you with a patch.
Oh excellent, do I get the hat too?
So based on working with me today,
do you think I would be a good scout leader?
I think you would be a good scout leader.
Thank you very much.
Now which badge is the one for being married to Kathy?
All of them.
Hi Nick.
(Mo) As son Nick and grandson George arrive,
we settle down for dinner, right on the water.
Hi sweetheart, I love you, I love you, I love you, I'm so glad you're here.
(various) Cheers.
Good company, Chronia Pola .
Mm, that's very good, it's really good Papu.
We made it together.
I'm hoping that I get a shrimp scorpio merit badge for helping him with this.
We haven't gotten George's comment on the spanakopita yet.
I love it, this is like my favorite dish.
And did we make it the way it's normally made here?
Yeah, it's perfect actually.
(Mo) Dinner is a success, and now, dessert.
Yeah.
Papu helped too.
Have one.
And I said we are the Bickersons, aren't we the Bickersons?
Ah, yeah.
More like the debators.
The debators, that's great.
Such a diplomat.
And now, what did you think about the baklava or what are you thinking about it?
You did a good job.
Okay, if you didn't like it, it might be because you ate the one that fell on the floor.
So you tell me after I take a bite?
And, by the way walnuts which are in here, walnuts are an aphrodisiac.
U-oh here we go.
He wants me to kiss Papu all the time.
You know, we don't do that very much right George.
Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, right on the mouth, on the mouth.
There you go.
We embarrass you?
No.
The ratings just spiked.
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