Monday, September 29, 2008

My Kind of Saturday Night

Saturday night I had friends over and made fondue - the Murray's Cheese version, the recipe for which I can only find on the Rachael Ray magazine site.
Ingredients

3/4 pound Gruyère cheese, grated
1/2 pound Swiss Emmentaler cheese, grated
3/4 pound Appenzeller cheese, grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 garlic clove, halved

1 to 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground white pepper
Crusty bread, cubed and skewered


1. In a large bowl, toss the cheeses with the cornstarch. Rub the inside of a 3-quart fondue pot with the garlic; discard.edit: discard the garlic, not the pot. yeesh.
2. In the fondue pot, heat 1 cup wine with the lemon juice over medium-low heat until steaming but not yet simmering. Stir in the cheese mixture, 1 handful at a time, and cook until melted. If the fondue is too thick, gradually stir in up to 1/2 cup more wine. Season to taste with white pepper. Serve with the bread cubes.
I didn't have any white pepper*, and I used a bottle of cherry wheat beer instead of white wine. Also, I tossed a splash of kirsch in with the lemon juice, before the beer. When these guys say large bowl, by the way, they mean LARGE bowl. I grated the cheese in the food processor, and it had to be done in 2 batches.

I used baguette for the crusty bread, and I also provided raw veggies and apple chunks for varied dipping. My housemate kindly chunked up the apples and the veggies into skewerable sizes. There was easily enough to feed 6 hungry people, because 4 hungry people had quite a bit left over.

That is one delicious fondue.

We also played a board game. It sounds very mild mannered, but somehow the last guest (at some point we acquired a 5th) left after 3 in the morning. That's one crazy fondue party, right there.

Bonus tip: don't try and do shots of kirsch, that stuff is harsh.

*I've just remembered that I do have white pepper in the house, and I didn't even look for it, just assuming I didn't. Oh, well.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Personal Leanings

Look, I don't like Sarah Palin, and it bothers me. I say things that aren't so politically correct when expressing this opinion. Rather than continue on my bad trend, I thought I'd share something that I read today that sounds a lot more reasonable than I often do.

An article by Jill at The Moderate Voice

It's reasonable. You may not like me any better after reading it, but hey, maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.

And I admit, I haven't been looking at her shoes. I might really like her shoes.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Palin Quotes

Actually quotes about Palin.

A friend sent me this link: The 20 Most Obnoxious Anti-Palin Quotes So Far from Right Wing News. Some of them I find amusing, some distressing in their truth, and one or two I think are over the line. Still, I was inspired to write some quotes of my own.

Not, in my opinion, offensive:

Sarah Palin has been quoted as stating that her pregnant teenage daughter has made the right choice in marrying her baby's father and having the baby. I put forth that perhaps having unprotected sex as an unmarried teenager was actually the wrong choice.

Probably offensive:

Sarah Palin named a child with Down's Syndrome "Trig". Do you think that's because he'll never get to the developmental stage where he'll be able to resent it?


Edit: I have decided, upon further reflection, that both my comments are offensive, because they're addressing Palin's family instead of her politics. I stand by my opinion that unprotected teen sex is a bad choice, but I acknowledge that the fact that young Ms. Palin indulged in it is none of my business, at all.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Listening In Is Rude

Overheard at work: "When has anyone ever cared so much about the Vice President? Usually they're just a couple of jokers sitting around talking about education reform or whatever - nobody cares. This is one of the most fun elections, ever."

Nobody cares? Did no one care when Geraldine Ferraro was chosen as a running mate? Hmmm, maybe not. I wonder why that might be - oh, wait, I know; it was because she was actually qualified for the job,. Got it.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Sure is Pretty

OK, Sarah Palin is attractive, and a good speaker.

My mom always said that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Do not worry, friends and family, I'm not a McCain supporter - you don't have to send me scary emails about how she advocated that victims of rape pay for their own forensic testing, or how choosing Palin as a running mate is a direct affront to the Jewish community.

I'm already sure that I'm not voting republican, and stories like this just make me sad, and a little scared. So scared that I thought I'd share them with the 10 people who read my blog... two of whom sent me these stories. Hmmmm.

OK, seriously - crime victims pay for their own investigations? That's so wrong that my head is spinning around over and over and over. The police force and the funding thereof is specifically for that. God, I'm incensed.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Wednesday Cupcake Blogging


Rose Levy Beranbaum's "Down Home Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake" batter + whipped vanilla buttercream frosting + sprinkles = Happy

I think the sprinkles are the secret.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

What I Want

I want a government that aligns with my opinions. I want a government that cares about taking care of the needy, without eliminating the ability to earn more than the average as an individual. I want a government that makes laws to ensure people's freedoms, rather than ensure that some people's religious convictions are forced on all people in a terrified attempt to not offend.

I want a government who follows a basic humanistic outlook, that won't try to govern my own choices about my body, that won't continue to pander to the oil companies for personal gain, that has experience helping to make decisions for large groups of people, keeping the good of the many in mind, rather than the good of the few.

I want to be able to vote for candidates that I actually feel represent me, and how I think we should run our country.

I want what I cannot have. I will have to settle.