We are planning to go to Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend. Because we're meeting Red and Barbara, their daughter and her husband and Barbara's sister and her husband, we have to get there - as opposed to the two of us going somewhere on our own.
So I went to a Major American Airline's (MAA) employee site and booked the flights I wanted. They looked good here in mid-July. The system codes the flights: green - looks good; yellow - good chance; red - fuhgeddabout it; black - flight cancelled. It also gives the number of pax (passengers) currently booked on each flight.
But: I have been hornswoggled many times before -- "Oh, it looks great!" and three days before the flight every flight to that destination is a bright red.
So I wrote down what I wanted and gave it to our neighbor who works in MAA's ticketing department.
She called back that afternoon, said I could get the flights I wanted (something of a miracle in itself) and RT would be $191 after various discounts. I was quite pleased and purred in gratitude. Less than $100 each! Then I took off for an appointment.
When I got home, Richie said, "She called back and it's $191 apiece so I wrote out a second check." I was gobsmacked. I read the LA Times "Travel" section and Las Vegas usually costs from $115 to $138 for American, United, Delta.
Las Vegas is a popular holiday destination and Labor Day proves to be no exception. Bah humbug!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
French Servingware
The top photo shows the typical go-with-drinks foods the French serve - hardboiled eggs in their own little ceramic "carton," radishes and the butter to put on them; a "saucisson" or dry salame - you cut off a chunk the size you want. A variety of olives is nearly always at hand. The little round dish contains olive oil and white balsamic vinegar to dip chunks of roll or bread. (The French borrowed this idea from the Italians.) The other small dish near the bread contains a crushed garlic clove and olive oil. This is a special ceramic dish with a raised, checkerboard finish to grate the garlic clove before you add the olive oil. The "green peppers" are in a bowl as are the pickled radishes.
As this was meant to be a full meal, I put out sliced ham and a potato salad and a Brie. Dessert was fresh fruit.
Bottom Photo
This is the set-up for making a pastis which is THE summer drink in Provence. Put a finger or so of the liquor in the glass, add ice and water. A guest new to it said, "It's refreshing! It tastes like licorice!" (The clay cylinder is for a white wine - really keeps it cool. ) The pitcher labeled "Pastis" is for the water.
You can double click the pictures and they get bigger.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Bits and Bobs
I say that because they're unrelated.
Did you know that when you are going to boil a 1 1/4 lb. lobster to put a raw egg (in its shell) in with the lobster? When the egg is cooked, the lobster will be, too. Personally I think that's kind of silly. Picture an egg bobbing along beside a lobster.
The bacon craze (Bacon and maple syrup ice cream? Denny's) seems to be weakening, but this is a good tip when you're making breakfst for a lot of people -- preheat the ove to 350, line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, put a wire rack on top of it and lay out your bacon. It should take about 15 minutes. Don't forget to rotate the pan at about the 7 min. done mark.
This is a simple-sounding recipe...Sweet Teeth, front and center!
HONEYCOMB
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T corn syrup
1 T honey
1/4 cup water
1 T baking soda, sifted
Line a cookie pan with parchment paper or foil. Mix togther everything BUT the baking soda in a heavy saucepan. Stir it over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil it - but don't stir it - just wipe down the sides with a wet pastry brush. When this mixture turns a pale amber, add the baking soda - IT WILL FOAM UP DRAMATICALLY, SO BE CAREFUL. Whisk and pour onto the cookie sheet. Let it sit until it's cool and then bust it up with a knife handle.
This doesn't bode well...
Richie's great-nephew penned this to us: Dear Uncle Richie and Aunt Nina - Thank you for the check. I LOVE MONEY! Thank you, love, Charlie (age 6)
Combine
Did you know that when you are going to boil a 1 1/4 lb. lobster to put a raw egg (in its shell) in with the lobster? When the egg is cooked, the lobster will be, too. Personally I think that's kind of silly. Picture an egg bobbing along beside a lobster.
The bacon craze (Bacon and maple syrup ice cream? Denny's) seems to be weakening, but this is a good tip when you're making breakfst for a lot of people -- preheat the ove to 350, line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, put a wire rack on top of it and lay out your bacon. It should take about 15 minutes. Don't forget to rotate the pan at about the 7 min. done mark.
This is a simple-sounding recipe...Sweet Teeth, front and center!
HONEYCOMB
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T corn syrup
1 T honey
1/4 cup water
1 T baking soda, sifted
Line a cookie pan with parchment paper or foil. Mix togther everything BUT the baking soda in a heavy saucepan. Stir it over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil it - but don't stir it - just wipe down the sides with a wet pastry brush. When this mixture turns a pale amber, add the baking soda - IT WILL FOAM UP DRAMATICALLY, SO BE CAREFUL. Whisk and pour onto the cookie sheet. Let it sit until it's cool and then bust it up with a knife handle.
This doesn't bode well...
Richie's great-nephew penned this to us: Dear Uncle Richie and Aunt Nina - Thank you for the check. I LOVE MONEY! Thank you, love, Charlie (age 6)
Combine
Monday, July 18, 2011
The Eye of the Beholder
This is the photograph I bought at the Hermosa Beach Art Walk on June 12th. It caught my eye because of the subject -- I'm a sucker for beach grass and this depiction looked just like the Hamptons to me.Richie grew up on the North Shore of Long Island, so I thought this would make a charming memento. I mentioned this to the artist, Siep Bueneker, who then directed me to the writing on the mat -- it was shot at the beaches of Normandy, France! So much for the Hamptons.
But it's a double souvenir anyhow -- you can squint and think of the Hamptons or you can turn your head and see the beach at Loctudy, south of the Normandie Beaches, where our dear friend Michelle has a summer home.
Visit Siep and see his shots at FabPhotography.com
Sunday, July 17, 2011
This Is Healthy?
"A Man, A Can, A Plan - 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make" by David Joachim and the Editors of Men's Health Rodale Press 43 pages $9.99
The premise of this book is a false one: men don't cook. And the book came out in 2002! not 1952 as one might have expected.
A further claim, "This food does everything from prevent heart disease and prostate cancer to boost your immune system and energy levels."
You be the judge.
Border-Patrol Casserole
2 5-oz. cans chunk lean ham, drained
Mix in two 15-oz. cans barbecue-baked beans
Spread the mix out in a glass casserole, top with half a 16 oz. jar of chunky salsa, spread 1 1/2 CUPS baked tortilla chips over the salsa and dust with a half-cup of shredded, reduced-fat Cheddar cheese.
Calories per serving - 587, 18 grams fat, 1,610 mg.n sodium
Under the "Fruit" heading we find, Cherry Chocolate Chippers
1 15-oz. can cherry pie filling
1 18-oz. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
3/4 cup of rolled oats
Preheat the oven to 350. Mash the oats into the cookie dough and press the dough into an 8 in, skillet, forming an even layer. "Plop on"* the pie filling and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 16 wedges.
Calories per wedge - 313.
* Guy speak, used throughout.
The premise of this book is a false one: men don't cook. And the book came out in 2002! not 1952 as one might have expected.
A further claim, "This food does everything from prevent heart disease and prostate cancer to boost your immune system and energy levels."
You be the judge.
Border-Patrol Casserole
2 5-oz. cans chunk lean ham, drained
Mix in two 15-oz. cans barbecue-baked beans
Spread the mix out in a glass casserole, top with half a 16 oz. jar of chunky salsa, spread 1 1/2 CUPS baked tortilla chips over the salsa and dust with a half-cup of shredded, reduced-fat Cheddar cheese.
Calories per serving - 587, 18 grams fat, 1,610 mg.n sodium
Under the "Fruit" heading we find, Cherry Chocolate Chippers
1 15-oz. can cherry pie filling
1 18-oz. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
3/4 cup of rolled oats
Preheat the oven to 350. Mash the oats into the cookie dough and press the dough into an 8 in, skillet, forming an even layer. "Plop on"* the pie filling and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Makes 16 wedges.
Calories per wedge - 313.
* Guy speak, used throughout.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
A Comeuppance of A Sort
We'd just walked into the Hermosa Beach library book sale this morning, when I was greeted by my friend Pat, a fellow Beach Cities Health District volunteer.
"Any of your books here?" she asked. I grinned and said, "I hope not!" We both laughed and then went about our business. Pickings were slim so I headed back to the car to wait for Richie.
When he did come, he said, "You know that little cabinet on your right as you come in the door? Your racing book is there!"
"No!" I was exceedingly startled because it's been out-of-print for all of five years. "I've got to get it!" And there it was.
It wouldn't have surprised me to see my second book there ("Dispatches From a Born-Again Cynic" amazon.com) and truth be told, I've often checked out the Humor section at book sales just to be sure it isn't there. So far, it hasn't been. So far.
I took it to the cashier ladies and proudly said, "I wrote this!" Suitably impressed, they examined it carefully, noting "That is you!" at the photo on the back jacket. Shamelessly, I preened - "How much is it?" I asked.
"A quarter" was the response. "That's all?" I gasped. "It sold for $19.95 and I netted $16,500 on this book!"
Aside to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board - and I paid every penny due you, too!
Twenty-five cents. Something of a comedown, you must admit.
GOOD DOG!
R I P Hootie
1996 - 2011
"Any of your books here?" she asked. I grinned and said, "I hope not!" We both laughed and then went about our business. Pickings were slim so I headed back to the car to wait for Richie.
When he did come, he said, "You know that little cabinet on your right as you come in the door? Your racing book is there!"
"No!" I was exceedingly startled because it's been out-of-print for all of five years. "I've got to get it!" And there it was.
It wouldn't have surprised me to see my second book there ("Dispatches From a Born-Again Cynic" amazon.com) and truth be told, I've often checked out the Humor section at book sales just to be sure it isn't there. So far, it hasn't been. So far.
I took it to the cashier ladies and proudly said, "I wrote this!" Suitably impressed, they examined it carefully, noting "That is you!" at the photo on the back jacket. Shamelessly, I preened - "How much is it?" I asked.
"A quarter" was the response. "That's all?" I gasped. "It sold for $19.95 and I netted $16,500 on this book!"
Aside to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board - and I paid every penny due you, too!
Twenty-five cents. Something of a comedown, you must admit.
GOOD DOG!
R I P Hootie
1996 - 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Namedropping...
"Stories My Father Told Me - Notes From "The Lyons Den" compiled by Jeffrey Lyons Abbeville Press 351 pages I couldn't find a price; try Amazon.com
Leonard Lyons for 40 years wrote the anecdote column -- I say "anecdote" because Lyons didn't do who was sleeping with whom (unlike Walter Winchell) called "The Lyons Den" for a now-defunct NY newspaper. It appeared six days a week and that meant he had to hit the Stork Club, 21, the Latin Quarter, theaters every afternoon and evening.
The book is tidily divided by decades - the '30s, the '40s and the anecdotes often cover years of the person being exhibited.
Some gleaned tidbits -
* John Steinbeck's wife wouldn't allow him to fly; he had to take a train.
* George Burns played "Oh God" and didn't bother with make up. He remarked, "We're about the same age, but we were brought up in different neighborhoods."
* Noel Coward on trans-Atlantic travel: "I prefer to travel to New York on a French ship. They don't have that silly rule, 'Women and children first.'"
* When Harpo Marx went to a restaurant in Haifa and realized a neighboring table was celebrating a birthday, he pulled his curly wig out of his pocket, put it on, stuck a match under each fingernail, lit them and whistled "Happy Birthday."
If you like to smile or if you're curious about famous people, it's a very good book.
Leonard Lyons for 40 years wrote the anecdote column -- I say "anecdote" because Lyons didn't do who was sleeping with whom (unlike Walter Winchell) called "The Lyons Den" for a now-defunct NY newspaper. It appeared six days a week and that meant he had to hit the Stork Club, 21, the Latin Quarter, theaters every afternoon and evening.
The book is tidily divided by decades - the '30s, the '40s and the anecdotes often cover years of the person being exhibited.
Some gleaned tidbits -
* John Steinbeck's wife wouldn't allow him to fly; he had to take a train.
* George Burns played "Oh God" and didn't bother with make up. He remarked, "We're about the same age, but we were brought up in different neighborhoods."
* Noel Coward on trans-Atlantic travel: "I prefer to travel to New York on a French ship. They don't have that silly rule, 'Women and children first.'"
* When Harpo Marx went to a restaurant in Haifa and realized a neighboring table was celebrating a birthday, he pulled his curly wig out of his pocket, put it on, stuck a match under each fingernail, lit them and whistled "Happy Birthday."
If you like to smile or if you're curious about famous people, it's a very good book.
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