Monday is October 1st and October, to me, is Fall! I love the Fall light - crisper, sharper somehow. My thoughts begin to turn toward Fall Foods - chili, cornbread with butter and honey, creamed chipped beef on scrambled eggs -- okay, it doesn't take much to make me think of food. Guilty!
Leafing through the Food & Wine Cookbook they sent me, I came across what sounds like a perfect Fall dish. Imagine thermoses of it at a football game...or you've been out trimming the hedges and there's a bitter wind and you come in to a steaming bowl of ...
BEER AND CHEDDAR SOUP
1/4 lb. of bacon, cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
pinch of thyme
One 12-oz. bottle of lager or pilsner
Anout 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 T sweet butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream - be thinking about either leaving this out or finding a substitute - plain yogurt? I think that the cheese would add enough thickener when they've melted.
1/2 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
4 oz. smoked cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
Pepper to taste
Cook the bacon till it's done, then lift it out of the skillet and set it aside. Throw in the jalapeno, onion, garlic and cook them till they're soft. Add half of the beer and cook until this sauce is reduced by half. Add the chicken broth and bring it up to a simmer.
Use the butter and flour to make a roux and then whisk it into the soup.
Add the heavy cream (sigh) and the cheeses and the rest of the beer. Cook until thickened and then stir iin the bacon and pepper.
This is a Jonathon Erdeljac recipe, chef of Jonathon's Oak Cliff, Dallas.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
"La Plus Ca Change..."
Many of you will know that the French quoted above goes, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The French, notably cynical as a national pasttime, are dead right on this one.
I noticed that in "Real Life at the White House." Some examples...
Jacqueline Kennedy was much admired for her inventory and restoration of the White House during 1961-1963. But Lou (Mrs. Herbert) Hoover did the first inventory during his term from 1929 to 1933.
Nancy Reagan was castigated for using a fortune teller to warn her of days when Reagan was in danger. Hah! Florence (The Duchess) Harding (Mrs. Warren G. Harding) regularly consulted several during his term from 1921 to 1923.
In certain circles, much is made of current President Obama's devotion to his golf game. He's following in the footsteps of three other Presidents - Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Dwight Eisenhower (who marked up the Oval Office floor by wearing his golf shoes in it.)
Again much was made of Jacqueline Kennedy's love of riding and hunting. Eleanor Roosevelt rode regularly for exercise.
There isn't much that's new under the sun.
I noticed that in "Real Life at the White House." Some examples...
Jacqueline Kennedy was much admired for her inventory and restoration of the White House during 1961-1963. But Lou (Mrs. Herbert) Hoover did the first inventory during his term from 1929 to 1933.
Nancy Reagan was castigated for using a fortune teller to warn her of days when Reagan was in danger. Hah! Florence (The Duchess) Harding (Mrs. Warren G. Harding) regularly consulted several during his term from 1921 to 1923.
In certain circles, much is made of current President Obama's devotion to his golf game. He's following in the footsteps of three other Presidents - Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding and Dwight Eisenhower (who marked up the Oval Office floor by wearing his golf shoes in it.)
Again much was made of Jacqueline Kennedy's love of riding and hunting. Eleanor Roosevelt rode regularly for exercise.
There isn't much that's new under the sun.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
William Howard Taft 1909 - 1913
Taft's mother told the press, "I do not want my son to be President; he is not my candidate. His is a judicial mind, and he loves the law." Taft himself agreed with her, but his wife Nellie had had visions of herself in the White House since childhood. And she got her way.
Nellie "rehearsed" for her occupancy of the White House by a reign first in the Philippines when Taft was assigned by President McKinley to set up a civil government. Nellie gloried in the number of srvants, the five carriages, the 13 horses. When she did get into the White House, she used so many of the furnishings from the Philippines that detractors started calling it "Malacanan Palace."
Taft moved from the Philippines to Secretary of War with Teddy Roosevelt's endorsement. Roosevelt said of him, "The most lovable personality I have ever come in contact with." Nellie insisted on riding next to him in the car taking him to his inauguration. It wouldn't be the last time she broke with precedence.
She made significant changes inside the White House. All of the ushers, who had been white men in frock coats, suddenly became black men in blue livery. Next she ordered that male White House servants were to be clean shaven -- Off with their beards and moustaches!
She not only changed the interior to reflect her love of Philippine ornamentation and furniture, she took her business outdoors to create Potomac Park and planted the famed cherry trees, which were a 2,000 strong gift of Mayor Ukio Ozaki, of Tokyo.
Despite Roosvelt's warning that the public considered it a frivolous past time, Taft insisted on setting the whole afternoon off for golf. His vast weight (350 lbs.) hampered his swing as may be imagined. He used extra-long clubs, a "baseball" grip and short, choppy swings.
He loved traveling for two reasons - it got him away from work AND Nellie's watchful eyes. Free from supervision, his appetite was sated. He set a presidential record for taking vacations. He would leave for his summer home in Beverly, Mass. with this instruction -- do NOT forward any mail to me.
Taft couldn't tie his own shoe laces; that was a job for his valet. When he got stuck in the bathtub, it took two men to pull him out. Finally he ordered a new tub that was 7 ft. long, 41 in. wide and weighed 1 ton.
Nellie did not go to see Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Instead, she sadly roamed around the private quarters and at 12 noon exactly, she put on her hat and furs and walked out of the White House without a single word of farewell to anyone.
Nellie "rehearsed" for her occupancy of the White House by a reign first in the Philippines when Taft was assigned by President McKinley to set up a civil government. Nellie gloried in the number of srvants, the five carriages, the 13 horses. When she did get into the White House, she used so many of the furnishings from the Philippines that detractors started calling it "Malacanan Palace."
Taft moved from the Philippines to Secretary of War with Teddy Roosevelt's endorsement. Roosevelt said of him, "The most lovable personality I have ever come in contact with." Nellie insisted on riding next to him in the car taking him to his inauguration. It wouldn't be the last time she broke with precedence.
She made significant changes inside the White House. All of the ushers, who had been white men in frock coats, suddenly became black men in blue livery. Next she ordered that male White House servants were to be clean shaven -- Off with their beards and moustaches!
She not only changed the interior to reflect her love of Philippine ornamentation and furniture, she took her business outdoors to create Potomac Park and planted the famed cherry trees, which were a 2,000 strong gift of Mayor Ukio Ozaki, of Tokyo.
Despite Roosvelt's warning that the public considered it a frivolous past time, Taft insisted on setting the whole afternoon off for golf. His vast weight (350 lbs.) hampered his swing as may be imagined. He used extra-long clubs, a "baseball" grip and short, choppy swings.
He loved traveling for two reasons - it got him away from work AND Nellie's watchful eyes. Free from supervision, his appetite was sated. He set a presidential record for taking vacations. He would leave for his summer home in Beverly, Mass. with this instruction -- do NOT forward any mail to me.
Taft couldn't tie his own shoe laces; that was a job for his valet. When he got stuck in the bathtub, it took two men to pull him out. Finally he ordered a new tub that was 7 ft. long, 41 in. wide and weighed 1 ton.
Nellie did not go to see Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Instead, she sadly roamed around the private quarters and at 12 noon exactly, she put on her hat and furs and walked out of the White House without a single word of farewell to anyone.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Judging A Book By Its Cover - Error!
I'm looking at a picture of Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) -- the long, thin face and nose, the wire-framed glasses, the faintly receding hair. This aesthetic-looking man would be just another East Coast aristocrat if I hadn't read about his White House.
Paradoxically, he was a convincing public speaker, well able to charm and manipulate the multitudes. He was diffident and uncomfortable in one- to-one meetings. He once remarked, "Fortunately, I have a special gift for relaxation and being amused." He liked to entertain guests and family by telling stories in dialect, dancing a jig, imitating a drunk. He loved limericks. A favorite: There was a young monk of Siberia; whose existence grew drearier and drearier 'Till he burst from his cell with a hell of a yell - and eloped with the Mother Superior!
He wrote ardent letters to his fiancee Ellen, such as this before their marriage. "I tremble with deep excitement ... I never quivered so before with eager impatience and anticipation." Hot stuff, eh?
Ellen began failing in the Spring of 1913 and died in 1914 of what was belatedly diagnosed as Bright's Disease, a progressive kidney ailment. Wilson was so deranged by his grief that he would not allow her body to be put in a coffin. Instead, he kept it on a sofa and he hardly moved from her side. She died August 6th; the funeral was finally held on August 10th.
He grieved for the next nine months, conveniently forgetting that Ellen had urged him to marry again. A "chance meeting" (undoubtedly set up by his doctor) at the White House between Wilson and Edith Galt turned into a marriage proposal from him two months later.
Years later, she was asked how long it took him to become interested in her; "About 10 minutes" she replied.
They were married on December 18th at her house (she was a widow.) They began a life of exceptional togetherness, dining alone whenever possible. She adapted to all of his hobbies. The walked or took long drives or played golf. She sat in the room while he dictated the nationa's business to a secretary. In the evenings they would go to the theatre or shoot pool in the White House game room. If he had to work late, she sat beside him. She screened his mail and encoded his replies.
Wilson was also the first really avid golfer in the White House. It's believed he got in more games than Eisenhower. As early as 5 a.m., no matter the weather. When it snowed, he had red-painted golf balls with which to play. He described golf thusly: "An ineffectual attempt to put an elusive ball into an obscure hole with implements ill-adapted for the purpose."
Wilson was hypertense with resulting cerebral and arterial disease. He died on February 24, 1924, and was buried in the "new" Washington Cathedral. He is the only President buried in Washington, DC. Edith published her autobiography in 1938 and then lived on to attend JFK's 1961 inaugural. She is buried beside him the Cathedral.
Paradoxically, he was a convincing public speaker, well able to charm and manipulate the multitudes. He was diffident and uncomfortable in one- to-one meetings. He once remarked, "Fortunately, I have a special gift for relaxation and being amused." He liked to entertain guests and family by telling stories in dialect, dancing a jig, imitating a drunk. He loved limericks. A favorite: There was a young monk of Siberia; whose existence grew drearier and drearier 'Till he burst from his cell with a hell of a yell - and eloped with the Mother Superior!
He wrote ardent letters to his fiancee Ellen, such as this before their marriage. "I tremble with deep excitement ... I never quivered so before with eager impatience and anticipation." Hot stuff, eh?
Ellen began failing in the Spring of 1913 and died in 1914 of what was belatedly diagnosed as Bright's Disease, a progressive kidney ailment. Wilson was so deranged by his grief that he would not allow her body to be put in a coffin. Instead, he kept it on a sofa and he hardly moved from her side. She died August 6th; the funeral was finally held on August 10th.
He grieved for the next nine months, conveniently forgetting that Ellen had urged him to marry again. A "chance meeting" (undoubtedly set up by his doctor) at the White House between Wilson and Edith Galt turned into a marriage proposal from him two months later.
Years later, she was asked how long it took him to become interested in her; "About 10 minutes" she replied.
They were married on December 18th at her house (she was a widow.) They began a life of exceptional togetherness, dining alone whenever possible. She adapted to all of his hobbies. The walked or took long drives or played golf. She sat in the room while he dictated the nationa's business to a secretary. In the evenings they would go to the theatre or shoot pool in the White House game room. If he had to work late, she sat beside him. She screened his mail and encoded his replies.
Wilson was also the first really avid golfer in the White House. It's believed he got in more games than Eisenhower. As early as 5 a.m., no matter the weather. When it snowed, he had red-painted golf balls with which to play. He described golf thusly: "An ineffectual attempt to put an elusive ball into an obscure hole with implements ill-adapted for the purpose."
Wilson was hypertense with resulting cerebral and arterial disease. He died on February 24, 1924, and was buried in the "new" Washington Cathedral. He is the only President buried in Washington, DC. Edith published her autobiography in 1938 and then lived on to attend JFK's 1961 inaugural. She is buried beside him the Cathedral.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
An Unlikely Topic: President William McKinley
"Real Life at the White House; 200 Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence" by John Whitcombe (father) and Claire whitcombe (daughter.) Routledge 511 pages $40
This book covers the presidencies from George Washington through Bill Clinton. I skipped the earlier presidents and have not read those familiar to me (Truman, Ike, JFK, Johnson et al) but I will.
I began with William McKinley 1897 - 1901. During his inauguration, his older brother was heard to say, "But, Mother (she was 87 at the time) this is better than a bishopric!"
His wife, Ida, came from a wealthy family. She had toured Europe as well as worked in Daddy's bank. McKinley was blissfully happy to be her husband.
Early in their marriage, however, Ida's mother died, as did their two young children. Depressed, Ida retired to a dark room, sat in a rocking chair and rocked imaginary children. Increasingly she suffered from "poor health" and was said to be "delicate." It was, quite probably, epilepsy.
She came to rely totally on him. McKinley fed her, when necessary, and would sit with her for hours patting her, soothing her, reading to her. She suffered from seizures, frothing at the mouth, incontinence, memory loss, infantile behavior as well as phlebitis in both legs (she had to have help to walk) and raging headaches.
She was sometimes drugged to the gills and was said to resemble "a smiling mannequin." During normal periods of life, she crocheted -- during their stay in the White House her output was 3,500 pairs of slippers! Her maid attached them to cork soles, added ribbons to them and they were then given away to relatives and charities.
She was sharp-tongued and never hesitated to go after women she considered to be too cozy with her husband. He, in turn, adored her.
They both learned the signs of an on-coming seizure. At White House dinners, they broke protocol and she said at his right so he could quickly escort her away from the table. During informal dinners if they thought a seizure was coming, he would mattr-of-factly put his napkin over he face. The napkins were thick linen and believed to provide th dark she welcomed. After a minute or two, he would remove the napkin. He had continued to converse and hold up the napkin as he ate.
When McKinley was shot (at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo9, NY) he said, "Be easy on him, boys!" (a reference to the assassin) and then, "My wife - be careful how you tell her - oh, be careful!"
She outlived him by another six years and never had another seizure again.
If you think that was interesting, wait till you hear about Woodrow Wilson and HIS marital devotion - to both of his wives!
This book covers the presidencies from George Washington through Bill Clinton. I skipped the earlier presidents and have not read those familiar to me (Truman, Ike, JFK, Johnson et al) but I will.
I began with William McKinley 1897 - 1901. During his inauguration, his older brother was heard to say, "But, Mother (she was 87 at the time) this is better than a bishopric!"
His wife, Ida, came from a wealthy family. She had toured Europe as well as worked in Daddy's bank. McKinley was blissfully happy to be her husband.
Early in their marriage, however, Ida's mother died, as did their two young children. Depressed, Ida retired to a dark room, sat in a rocking chair and rocked imaginary children. Increasingly she suffered from "poor health" and was said to be "delicate." It was, quite probably, epilepsy.
She came to rely totally on him. McKinley fed her, when necessary, and would sit with her for hours patting her, soothing her, reading to her. She suffered from seizures, frothing at the mouth, incontinence, memory loss, infantile behavior as well as phlebitis in both legs (she had to have help to walk) and raging headaches.
She was sometimes drugged to the gills and was said to resemble "a smiling mannequin." During normal periods of life, she crocheted -- during their stay in the White House her output was 3,500 pairs of slippers! Her maid attached them to cork soles, added ribbons to them and they were then given away to relatives and charities.
She was sharp-tongued and never hesitated to go after women she considered to be too cozy with her husband. He, in turn, adored her.
They both learned the signs of an on-coming seizure. At White House dinners, they broke protocol and she said at his right so he could quickly escort her away from the table. During informal dinners if they thought a seizure was coming, he would mattr-of-factly put his napkin over he face. The napkins were thick linen and believed to provide th dark she welcomed. After a minute or two, he would remove the napkin. He had continued to converse and hold up the napkin as he ate.
When McKinley was shot (at the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo9, NY) he said, "Be easy on him, boys!" (a reference to the assassin) and then, "My wife - be careful how you tell her - oh, be careful!"
She outlived him by another six years and never had another seizure again.
If you think that was interesting, wait till you hear about Woodrow Wilson and HIS marital devotion - to both of his wives!
Monday, September 24, 2012
A Short Discourse on the Writings of James Lee Burke
"Feast Day of Fools" by James Lee Burke Simon & Schuster 463 pages $26.99
Burke is now 74; his first book was published two weeks after his 24th birthday. Thus he's had 50 years of familiarity with his fiction characters such as Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcell, Billy Bob Holland and his cousin Sheriff Hackberry Holland. If you haven't read him, you may still have seen his works. Three of his books were turned into movies.
I'm halfway through his latest ("Feast Day") and despite being a devoted fan, I'm really not liking this one very much. Burke has always employed the following tools - mental flashbacks to Korea, the Civil War and Viet Nam, ghosts, dry drunks, weather and terrain as living characters. Personal philosophies are inserted that have little to do with the action of the moment. The bad guys are always grotesquely limned with weird facial/cranial features and/or skin problems. Body shapes might be pear-shaped or like a pile of wire coat hangars.
But Burke interrups himself every time he slips into a flashback in the middle of the action.
He uses similes that don't make sense. On page 7, a character is described as hungover with "his breath dense and sedimentary, like a load of fruit that had been dumped down a stone well." Stone well? Dumping fruit down a well? That doesn't make any kind of sense to me.
In short this is a confusing compendium of then and now, philosophies, memories that are not germane to the plot and worse, it rambles on for 463 pages of nonsense.
I do heartily recommend his earlier works. Clete Purcell, formerly a New Orleans police department cop is the best of them all. Clete is a merry prankster who filled a thug's convertible with wet concrete, poured sand in the gas tank of a thug's private plane and waved goodbye as the plane took off. He has a real sense of fun.
Burke is now 74; his first book was published two weeks after his 24th birthday. Thus he's had 50 years of familiarity with his fiction characters such as Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcell, Billy Bob Holland and his cousin Sheriff Hackberry Holland. If you haven't read him, you may still have seen his works. Three of his books were turned into movies.
I'm halfway through his latest ("Feast Day") and despite being a devoted fan, I'm really not liking this one very much. Burke has always employed the following tools - mental flashbacks to Korea, the Civil War and Viet Nam, ghosts, dry drunks, weather and terrain as living characters. Personal philosophies are inserted that have little to do with the action of the moment. The bad guys are always grotesquely limned with weird facial/cranial features and/or skin problems. Body shapes might be pear-shaped or like a pile of wire coat hangars.
But Burke interrups himself every time he slips into a flashback in the middle of the action.
He uses similes that don't make sense. On page 7, a character is described as hungover with "his breath dense and sedimentary, like a load of fruit that had been dumped down a stone well." Stone well? Dumping fruit down a well? That doesn't make any kind of sense to me.
In short this is a confusing compendium of then and now, philosophies, memories that are not germane to the plot and worse, it rambles on for 463 pages of nonsense.
I do heartily recommend his earlier works. Clete Purcell, formerly a New Orleans police department cop is the best of them all. Clete is a merry prankster who filled a thug's convertible with wet concrete, poured sand in the gas tank of a thug's private plane and waved goodbye as the plane took off. He has a real sense of fun.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
You Can Make Numbers Say Anything...
Having nothing in particular to say today other than "It's a nice day," I decided to check my statistics on this blog.
To my great amazement, I discovered that it's been viewed more than 19,000 times. But: it's been running three years. I didn't get all giddy, okay?
There is a section called "Pageviewby Country" and to my utter astonishment this is what I found:
United States - 154
Russia - 13
France - 8
Netherlands - 6
Australia - 3
Malaysia - 3
Poland - 3
United Kingdon - 2
China and Germany - 1 each
Who are these people? English is a secondary language (if at all) in many of the above.
So, I don't believe my "good press." And you shouldn't either.
To my great amazement, I discovered that it's been viewed more than 19,000 times. But: it's been running three years. I didn't get all giddy, okay?
There is a section called "Pageviewby Country" and to my utter astonishment this is what I found:
United States - 154
Russia - 13
France - 8
Netherlands - 6
Australia - 3
Malaysia - 3
Poland - 3
United Kingdon - 2
China and Germany - 1 each
Who are these people? English is a secondary language (if at all) in many of the above.
So, I don't believe my "good press." And you shouldn't either.
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