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Obama's Nobel Speech

But I'll give my take on the Oslo speech, anyway....this was one of the best treatments giving an enlightened rationale in defence of military force I've ever heard, and simply remarkable coming from a President. Of all the speeches we've heard so far, this sort-of sleeper is going to be one of the most talked about over the long haul, more so than the race speech in Philly, even. You could tell watching the room that the guests of the King were not expecting a rationalization of just war. But their muted response, I think, reflects more their surprise, and the challenge of the nuanced material, more the diffidence or disdain.

 

On the man: I'm a big Obama fan, but not for all that hope for change heart-pulling stuff. What's really exciting to me is to be seeing in the moment one of the great leaders of this country making his history. Don't get distracted by all the back and forth and day to day.  In 20 years, no one else will care about that.  But this man is going deep.  Pay attention.

BBQ Sauce 2.0

After a lengthy time stalled on the BBQ front, I'm now back on the trail of a signature BBQ sauce, thanks to Steve Reichlin's BBQ book and his advice to go with Ketchup: it's OK.

This sauce came out extremely well, with a solid flavorful foundation and excellent kick that was enough to please but not too much for the DW and 4-year old son.  The key was some different varieties of pepper that brought a great flavor profile and different heat attack, I think:

• 1 Medium Sized Onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/3 cup Molasses
• 1/3 cup French's Mustard
• 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 3/4 tsp Urfa Pepper
• 3/4 tsp African Bird Pepper
• 1 tsp Tamarind Powder
• 1/2 tsp Allspice
• 1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract

Saute Onion in 2 Tbsp Butter slowly, until translucent, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic for 1 minute.  Add all other ingredients except Vanilla extract.  Bring to a simmer over low heat and hold for 1 hour, as flavors combine.  Add vanilla extract, still, and take off heat.  Keep warm for glaze, or refrigerate for later use.

The resulting sauce has a classic BBQ base, and the exotic peppers bring an upfront heat that tingles on the lips and tongue, but doesn't catch in the throat.

Saturday Night Football - Lamb with Mustard Sauce, Gratinee Potatoes, Peas

Last night was great.  Paul's team completely dominated the Granville Horde on the Horde home turf, and Jill jumped into the Julia Child world with a perfectly execute three-course meal: Lamb with Mustard-Tomato sauce, Potatoes Gratinee, and Peas.  The potatoes were irresitible, as they were sauced with stock and topped with, yumm, grated cheese.  The lamb was absolutely delicious, and the mustard sauce was subtle and flavorful. We were dipping in the sauce bowl it was so good.  The peas were fantastic in their own right, but you'd all recognize it as the conventional pea treatment (for frozen peas).

As for the football game, the three of us (driver, player, and gad-fly Jack) made the back-road drive to Granville (Slate capital of northeast Washington County).  Driver/navigator me steered us through the many small towns to arrive ahead of schedule at the ball field, hidden behind the Granville elementary-middle school-high school an across the street from Telescope Casual Furniture. 

Innovation capital that it is, Granville chose to eschew conventional bleachers in favor of tiering the rise that separates the field from the school.  Seating was plentiful, though the crowds continued to stream in as the evening wore on.  Our Junior Colts opened the night under clear skies with two quick scores, leaving the Horde somewhat, scattered.  Paul, starting left guard and defensive tackle, was instrumental throughout, springing the running back for at least 1 TD, and placing great pressure on the Horde throughout.

Jack enjoyed the opportunity to run wild on the knoll behind the field. He arrived at home with hands coated in black "coal" dust.

2 more wins and we may find ourselves in the playoffs.

Tonight, more to come.

Pfalz Point Trail Challenge

Errol and I had a great run in the Pfalz Point Trail Challenge.  This 10 mile trail run through the Shawagunks, west of New Paltz, NY, was a big challenge that both of us took on with an air of confidence tinged with trepidation.  The race featured 600+ feet of altitude gains, including some short steep sections.

Fortunately, we had a game plan.  For the first 5 miles, I kept the pace slow, so that in the last 5 miles, Errol could pace us to the finish.  The plan worked to perfection.  While we dropped back in the back of the pack through the predominantly uphill first half, Errol pushed the pace up on the second half, where we bombed past many runners on the long downhills.

The race was held in the Mohonk preserve, with million dollar views....of misty clouds, today.  Oh, well, there was plenty to see of the trails and the other runners. 

Our final time of 2:02:01 was a tad longer than the 2:00:00 target we had set.  I was pleased, though, as I gave a good accounting.  Errol says he was pleased, too, and I believe him, though left to his own he would have shaved 30 minutes off.  Thanks for being a good running partner, buddy.

Next up for me, the Harry Gorilla Half at Thacher Park.  Errol? This was his season finale.  He's headed to the pool for the winter. 

The Dave/Julie/Julia project

The fad is fading.  Mastering the Art of French Cooking is no longer the #1 best seller at Amazon.com.  But to me the big revelation was that there was such a thing as Mastering the Art of French Cooking, being written 50 years ago for people like me, people who want to be better cooks, who are willing to dip a toe in one of the world's great cuisines, but who speak crappy French, have no formal grounding in kitchen arts, and don't have the time or money to jet off to L'Escoffier or the CIA.  Who knew that Julia's book was written as a guide for me.  Who knew that there on the shelf was a roadmap to a whole new world of really good food, of really excellent food, food that you would never ever enjoy if you didn't do it yourself?  

Julie Powell knew.  At least I guess she knew. She at least knew there was enough in that old cookbook to take off on a year-long performance art project.  And thanks to that, and all the press years later, now I know.  And, now I'm cooking things I never knew I even wanted to eat.

The Dave/Julie/Julia project is nothing as elaborate as Julie Powell took on.  If her effort was a reflection of Julia Child's act of genius, then mine will be at best a reflection of a reflection; muted colors, dim outlines merging together, ghost images emerging from the distorted shapes of the originals.  For one, I'm not even contemplating cooking every recipe in the book.  There's a whole chapter on cold buffet that brings along way too much aspic and gelee.  For the other, my goals are entirely different.  Where Julia was a teacher, and Julie a performer, I just want the challenge of doing things I didn't know I could do, to the delight of my family and friends, and to the satisfaction of myself.

This project will be an unstructured ramble through the MtAoFC, and like Julie's blog on her efforts, this will be as much personal as infotational.  And like Julie, I'll share the failures with the successes.  For, like Julie, I've found that cooking French food a la Julia is wicked hard, and when you mess up, you mess up but good.

Job Hunting Shout Out

Got a quote posted at About on job hunting during the holidays.  Thanks for the shout out, Alison!

Crispy Cream Ale

Planning for the next beer.  News to me: Cream Ale is lagered, and this will be my first attempt at a lagered brew. With winter coming on, keeping the beer cool in the cellar shouldn't be too hard.  My goal with this brew is to do a cream ale, with a strong head, lots of mouth feel, a little sharpness, and lots of lingertaste.  How will that plan play out?

• 6 lbs. Extra Light Malt Extract
• 1 lbs. Rye Malt Extract
• 1/4 lb. Cara-pils/Dextrine
• 1 oz. American Hallertauer hop variety for brew
• 1/4 oz. American Hallertauer
• Irish Moss

Beer Money Brew

Brewing "Beer Money" Homebrew today, a based around an English Pale Ale:

• 3 lbs. (less 1 1/2 cups) Munton's Light Malt Extract Powder
• 3 lbs. Munton's Amber Malt Extract
• 7/8 lb. Crystal Malt (40), lightly crushed
• 1/8 lb. Crystal Malt (40), lightly crushed and toasted
• 1 oz. Challenger Hops pellets (7%) mostly in the boil
• 1 oz. Super Styrian Hops pellets (7%) 2/3 flavor, 1/3 aroma
• 1 oz. U.K. Goldings Hops pellets (5%), 2/3 flavor, 1/3 aroma
• An american pale ale yeast.

As is typical of my cooking, I couldn't just follow the recipe.  My goal was to have the crystal malt give the beer some depth and head structure.  By lightly toasting a small portion of it, I expect to give the flavor some depth, but not to overwhelm it.

For the hops, I went with a mix of English hop varieties. Both the Styrian and Goldings had a bright floral character, while the Challenger struck me as overwhelming.  So, for the hop profile I decided to bury the Challenger in the role of bittering, keeping it in the boil for the full 45 minutes.  (I did put a few plugs in the latter parts of the brew).  The Styrian and Goldings are given about 8 minutes for flavor and 1 1/2 minutes for aroma.

The American Ale yeast, well, it is what it is.

Suzanne Powell, In Memoriam

On July 21st, 2008, our dear friend Suzanne Powell passed away. Suzanne was a very good friend, a housemate, with a ready smile and a warm heart, whose time we cherished.  She will be missed.

In the DAs office

Obituary in the Anchorage Daily News.

Initial report in the Anchorage Daily News

In the news:

Fighting Gambling

Attempted Murder Conviction

Halloween Bandits

Julie Lynn '08

Julie Lynn's '08 Filly is coming back from the Saratoga Equine Veterinary Clinic this morning after having the plate in her leg removed.  We are very thankful that this surgery is complete and that the bone has healed straight.  She is now getting up on that leg.  Way to go Red!