Galleons and Globalization

Last week had the good fortune of getting a private tour of the Thatcher Gallery's latest exhibit Galleons and Globalization, led by the very knowledgeable and always entertaining Fr. Tom Lucas, SJ. He is an art and architecture professor as well as the director of the Thatcher Gallery. Click here for a video of Fr. Lucas presenting on Galleons and Globalization.

Fr. Lucas spent several years carefully organizing the current exhibit, which explores the relationship of the Spanish Pacific Empire and the resulting intercultural exchange between California, Mexico and the Pacific Orient. Through the 125 plus thoughtfully chosen items in the gallery, we saw how sea commerce in the 16th through 19th centuries became the vehicle for developing a rich cultural exchange.

Fr. Tom Lucas explaining how important silk was to the Spanish traders.

Beautiful tabernacles borrowed from California missions.

Items included Ming Dynasty china recovered from sunken ships, original tabernacles recovered from the old California missions, and priceless ivory depictions of the life of Christ. The Thatcher Gallery borrowed these rare artifacts from several international museums, organizations, and private collections. The result is breathtaking!

Definitely stop by the Thatcher Gallery in Gleeson Library for a chance to see the collection for yourself. The exhibit runs through December 17.

SII Iron Chef

Last week we had the greatest cook-off the city has ever seen! Sharp blades flashed as chefs quickly diced a crate of fresh tomatoes, and the smell of melting cheese and chopped onions wafted through the air as a dozen anxious hearts beat in time with the countdown timer: 3-2-1! It was our first ever SII Iron Chef Microwave Challenge!

The rules:
Each participant can bring one ingredient to the cook-off and everyone will form two teams. Each team can utilize the ingredients the team members brought, as well as a list of secret ingredients provided by SII. The teams have 30 minutes to create a fabulous dish with only the ingredients they have and using only the microwave. Ready? Go!

The outcome:
People flocked to the Phelan kitchen to participate in the Iron Chef Challenge and everyone eventually collaborated to create one super dish! Manny created a superb chicken cordon bleu for the main dish, Dylan used his mad chopping skills to dice fresh tomatoes for salsa, Sarah and RJ threw together 3 different cheeses for the quesadillas, and the result was....

The SII Iron Chef's Choice: West Meets Southwest Special!

A delicious helping of chicken cordon bleu 

with a side of three-cheese quesadillas and house-made salsa

The oh-so-special secret ingredients!

Manny came prepared with his specialty: chicken cordon bleu!

Don't mess with Dylan and his measuring spoon.

Freshly baked cookies by Chris (who was only using the oven because he's a guest judge).

The cheese masters at work.

Yours truly with the healing powers of  Kikoman.

The executive chef team at SII.

Excellent photo angle of a master chef at work.

Tomatoes are good for you.

So are quesadillas!

Chris with his crazy face and plate of our West Meets Southwest Special.