Saturday Morning Walkers - October 26, 2008

Hi everyone!

I'm still here in Brooklyn with Sylvie Lila and her mom and dad. I'll stay the rest of this coming week and head home on Saturday, November 1. I haven't made much progress in the reading department since last week but I did buy a few books yesterday - I'll just add them to the growing stack - so much for my promise to myself to not buy any books until I'd worked my way through the existing stack on my shelf. I couldn't resist the flea market sale around the corner - 3 paperbacks for $12.


Website of the Week - PBS Washington Week with Gwen Ifill - http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/

Podcast of the Week - http://www.booksoup.com/podcast/index.asp - Mandy A. - thanks for tip about the Court Street Bookstore where I found this podcast.

Vocabulary Word of Week - bloviate - seems a fitting word in the midst of this political climate.

To bloviate means "to speak pompously and excessively," or "to expound ridiculously." A colloquial verb coined in the United States, it is commonly used with contempt to describe the behavior of politicians, academics, pundits or media "experts," sometimes called bloviators, who hold forth on subjects in an arrogant, tiresome way.
Some speculate that bloviate derives from adding a faux-Latin ending to the verb 'to blow' or boast, following a 19th-century fad of adding Latin-like affixes to ordinary words. However, others like William Safire claim that 'bloviate' comes from combining the words 'blow-hard' and 'deviation.'

Although 'bloviate' is listed in slang dictionaries as far back as the 19th century, the term was popularized by President Warren G. Harding in the 1920s. Famed for his poor English usage, Harding often used the word to describe his long, winding speaking style. The term dropped from popular usage following his presidency but was resurrected in the 1960s when it was sometimes used in reference to Harding.

It became widely spoken again in the 1990s. Today, it appears regularly in The New York Times, The New Yorker and the Washington Post.

The term is used frequently by Fox News commentator, Bill O'Reilly whose show, The O'Reilly Factor concludes with requests for email. The request for feedback, sometimes includes: "Please do not bloviate, [that's] my job."

'Bloviating' has taken on new life in the blogosphere, used derisively to identify and otherwise chide the most pompous of contributors to message boards and forums.

Cooking and Dining Report:

Lots of cooking going on here in Brooklyn - here's what we've had so far - many of these recipes have been posted in the blog before but I'll include the links again:

Monday night - good old Lamb Stew with Chippoline Onions from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lamb-stew-with-cipolline-onions-and-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Tuesday night - Giada de Laurentiis' Ribolitta - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ribollita-recipe/index.html

Wednesday night - Epicurious.com's Flank Steak with Crispy Polenta and Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/FLANK-STEAK-WITH-CRISPY-POLENTA-AND-ROASTED-SHALLOT-VINAIGRETTE-101713

Thursday night - David's family (Cora and David and Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jerry) arrived and we had delivery pizza!!

Friday night when Jack arrived we had Giada's Short Ribs with Tagliatelle (couldn't find tagliatelle pasta right in this neighborhood so I used fettucine - just be sure and use a nice wide noodle) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/short-ribs-with-tagliatelle-recipe/index.html

This week I'm going to walk over to an Italian neighborhood to do some grocery shopping.

Two favorite lunch selections showed up a couple of times:

Cooked shrimp (purchased cooked) tossed with pesto (store-bought) - a great combination and couldn't be easier - this was a suggestion from Mark Bittman from the New York Times

Apricot and Chicken Bruschetta from Giada de Laurentiis - http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_159123,00.html - this is a great lunch using large slices of Ciabatta or even a light dinner.3

Saturday breakfast for a crowd - this one is great since you can totally assemble it the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning - Breakfast Egg Strata with Sausage, Mushroom and Monterey Jack Cheese - http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com/2008/04/17/breakfast-strata-with-sausage-mushrooms-and-monterey-jack/

I've had the weekend "off" so yesterday Jack and I took the subway across the river to Union Square - amazing farmers market and great part of town. Poked around the huge Strand bookstore and then had wonderful coffee at a Dean and Deluca Cafe. In the afternoon, we met our friend Jesse for lunch at Dumont Burgers here in Williamsburg - Jack and Jesse actually had the pulled pork special and I had "to-die-for" mac and cheese. http://www.dumontrestaurant.com/dburger.html

David made wonderful steaks (he marinates them in Peter Luger steak sauce) on the grill last night with roasted asparagus and potatoes au gratin - yum. For the potatoes au gratin, peel and slice 6 Idaho potatoes (about 1/8" thick), spread them in an oven-proof 9x13 pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and nutmeg and slices of butter, pour heavy cream on top, sprinkle with grated swiss chees and a bit more nutmeg and bake at 350 degrees until the top is nicely brown and crusty and sauce is bubbly.

Tonight, Jack and I are going out to dinner and give Libby, David and Sylvie Lila a bit of time to themselves.

Quote of the Week - from Lisa Shepherd
"In raising my children, I have lost my mind but found my soul"

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Love,

Susan


Susan Wadle

Grillo Center Labyrinth
www.grillocenter.org

Check out my blog at http://cookinandbookin.blogspot.com/

Please note my new e-mail address is susan@well.com
Phone 303-417-1098
Fax 303-417-1122
1765 Hawthorn Place
Boulder, CO 80304