Administrativia

5 russet potatoes 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel potatoes and cut into half-inch thick slices (lengthwise) cut again into 1/2-inch thick fries. Place into a pot with cold water and 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring up to a gentle boil and simmer until a paring knife tip goes through easily (cooked about 3/4 of the way through -- be careful not to overcook). Drain carefully and put in a bowl. Add olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Toss well and lay out in 1 layer on nonstick baking sheet. Bake until light brown. When brown, sprinkle with Parmesan and garlic. Continue to bake until well-browned and crispy and the cheese is melted and caramelized, about 6 to 7 more minutes. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

I'm so glad to hear them use the same argument that most of us who have read (and understood) the U.S. Consitution. I hope their gravitas on the subject -- and skill in the courtroom -- makes civil marriage happen for same-sex couples.

Time is running out for the highly decorated Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach -- but hey, we're in a booming economy so why not throw away another valuable military asset ? We've certainly got money to burn... It does beg the question:

1 egg 1/2 cup Coca-Cola, divided 1/2 cup crushed saltines (about 15) 6 tablespoons Catalina salad dressing, divided 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 pounds ground beef 6 hamburger buns, split & toasted In a large bowl, combine the egg, 1/4 cup cola, cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons salad dressing, Parmesan cheese and salt. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into six 3/4-in. thick patties (the mixture will be moist). In a small bowl, combine the remaining cola and salad dressing; set aside. Grill patties, uncovered, over medium-hot heat for 3 minutes on each side. Brush with cola mixture. Grill 8-10 minutes longer (or until a meat thermometer reads 160°), basting and turning occasionally. Garnish to taste & serve.

Promise? What Promise? Another casualty of Obama's DADT policy Have You Seen Me? The Unsubscription To recap, aside from some nice invitations to some DC GLBT families to attend the White House egg roll -- and a few appointments within the ranks of the administration: HIV Travel Ban -- Still in place DADT -- Still in place DOMA -- Still in place Uniting American Families Act --in Congress, no statement from the WH ENDA -- in Congress, tepid statement of support Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Prevention Act -- waiting for the Senate, tepid support from the WH Vermont? No Response Iowa? No Response New Hampshire? No Response Maine? No Response California & Proposition H8? No Response Obama's Radical Pragmatism indeed...

from the NYT " The Caucus " blog... "A gaggle of sign-waving protestors milled around outside The Beverly Hilton, the sprawling hotel on Wilshire Boulevard. They must have caught the president’s eye when he arrived at the hotel from an earlier stop in Las Vegas because he relayed one of their messages to the crowd. 'One of them said, “Obama keep your promise,’ the president said. 'I thought that’s fair. I don’t know which promise he was talking about.' The people in the audience – who paid $30,400 per couple to attend – laughed as they ate a dinner of roasted tenderloin, grilled organic chicken and sun choke rosemary mashed potatoes." Feel free to take this image and put it on your blog -- or even on a poster or t-shirt. Just do me the favor of linking back here and/or putting a link to your blog (or a picture of the graphic in action) in the comments. Thanks!

Now that we're into summer, it's time to start making cool desserts... For the crust: 1/3 of a 1-pound box graham crackers 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 1/3 cup sugar For the filling: 3 egg yolks 2 teaspoons lime zest 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2/3 cup freshly squeezed Key lime juice For the topping: 1 cup heavy or whipping cream chilled 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar Preheat the oven to 350°F. To make the crust, break up the graham crackers and place in a food processor. Pulse until completely crumbs. Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and side of a pie pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden, 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack; leave the oven on. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until very fluffy, about 5 minutes (use a whisk attachment). Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat un...

Memorial Bridge leading to Arlington National Cemetary Washington, DC taken from the Lincoln Memorial, Fall 2007

World War II Memorial Washington, DC taken Fall, 2006

Tribute to Nurses, Viet Nam Memorial Washington, DC taken Fall, 2006

For the BBQ sauce: 1 cup ketchup 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup white sugar 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup molasses 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon Liquid Smoke 1/8 teaspoon pepper For the burgers: 1 egg, beaten 1/3 cup quick-cooking oats 1/4 teaspoon onion salt 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 slices Canadian bacon 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese 6 Kaiser rolls, split & toasted Preparation: First make the BBQ sauce. Mix ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring continually. Remove from heat and let set. Reserve about 1 cup of the sauce for serving with the burgers. In a bowl, combine the egg, oats, 1/4 cup of the remaining barbecue sauce, onion salt, garlic salt, pepper and salt. Crumble beef over mixture; mix well. Shape into six patties. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160°, basting with 1/2 cup barbecu...

Well, what did we learn this week (as we get ready for the extended Memorial Day Weekend)? President Obama wants us to hold fast to our American values and ideals -- and still kick the terrorists butts. Former Vice-President Dick (Darth) Cheney says if you don't agree with him on torture and the Bush Doctrine, you're a hippy traitor . Besides, torture is FUN . Ronald Reagan (Junior) says sex-tourist and addict el Rushbo's man-boobs and erectile disfunction are fair game. And Governor "Goodhair" Perry's consultant thinks Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is making the GOP into a whorehouse . New Hampshire is having problems making last week's historic vote stick. While Illinois may approve civil unions next week. Marie Osmond , meanwhile, sticks by her lesbian daughter. The Pentagon "has no plans to repeal DADT" -- and continues the march forward on dismissing eminently qualified personnel . 207 to date, to be exact. Press Spokesman Gibbs continu...

It's past time for saying that this policy is something from the 1990's. With this, the latest, Don't Ask Don't Tell firing, Obama owns it. It appears that he's comfortable with owning it and isn't planning on any "fierce advocacy" for getting DADT repealed.

True-to-form Ellen -- touching, funny and on-point.

I had to take out the individual post widgets as this was creating a serious hang-time on page load (and totally locked things up when looking at the site on my iPhone). I've left the sidebar widget in place -- it seems to work ok. For future posts, I'm also considering adding metadata to the HTML to see if that might refine or boost the evri results. It's unfortunate that Google's algorithm doesn't use metadata -- at least not the way we rely on it for Web information on the company Intranet.

This is a traditional pie you don't see much anymore -- except in parts of the South and Midwest farm country. It's really a plain custard pie with that slight twang of buttermilk. 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 tablespoons flour (rounded) 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened to room temperature 3 large eggs 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 unbaked pie shell (see pie crust recipe ) Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix sugar and flour, stir in butter in thirds with each egg, beating lightly after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before refrigerating or the custard may pull away from the pie crust. Serve alone or top with fresh blackberries.

Jesse Ventura schools Elizabeth Hasslebeck.

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup mayonaise 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained, chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Mix ingredients, in order, until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours -- overnight is best.

2-1/2 lb. new red potatoes, quartered 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 cup chives 1/4 cup milk 1 green pepper, chopped 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill Salt & pepper In a large sauce pan, cover potates with just enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 min. or until potatoes are tender. Drain. In a small sauce pan, saute onion until translucent. Add cream cheese, milk and green pepper stirring until cream cheese is melted and well blended. Stir in chives and dill. Remove from heat. Pour sauce over potatoes and toss to coat. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve.

Very nice evening -- although a bit low-key from an entertainment standpoint, which I suppose is a sign of the times. (See tweets on the right.) Highlights: Mayor Bill White gave an uncharacteristically impassioned speech about being on the right side of change -- that those who stand in the way of equality and civil rights for GLBT people are on their way out. He started out the speech (accepting the HRC Political Courage Award) with a great quote, "I've received many awards for a variety of reasons. I hope that we get to a time where we no longer need to give awards for simply treating people with dignity and respect." Christine Baranski was bright and funny and entertaining -- ably weaving her personal story into the theme of the evening. Not-so-highlights: The fund-raising aspect of the evening was particularly heavy-handed. The hard-press is somewhat understandable given the climate for non-profits -- and HRC did just recently lay a bunch of staff off and Solmone...

BBQ Sauce 2 (15 oz.) cans tomato sauce 2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste 5 cups hot water 2 cups brown sugar, packed 2 tablespoons molasses 1/2 cup vinegar 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 1/2 teaspoons flour or cornstarch Mix all ingredients together in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour or until desired thickness. Can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 10 days. For the pork: 1 boneless pork shoulder (2 lb.) 3 onions, sliced, separated into rings 1/2 cup BBQ sauce Place the pork in a slow cooker; top with onions and barbecue sauce. Cover with lid. Cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours (or on HIGH 4 to 5 hours). Remove the meat from the cooker; cut off and discard excess fat. Chop meat into small pieces or shred with fork. Return to slow cooker; stir to coat with sauce. Serve on toasted kaiser rolls. Note: the pork recipe is for 8 sandwiches... but can be served with smal...

Hubble Space Telescope in the cargo bay of Atlantis. NASA

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon dijon mustard 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup orange juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Combine all ingredients except oil in medium sized bowl. Slowly, while whisking briskly, add oil and combine well. Variations -- Use the juice from a blood orange change-up on the color and a darker flavor. Serving suggestions: Fresh spinach Arugula Spring mix Can be used as a marinade & glaze for baked orange chicken.

When I donated to the Obama campaign last year -- glad to do it, would do it again -- I was, of course, added to the email database for the campaign. It was interesting enough to get the daily missives from the trail and like many, made you feel a part of the larger movement. After the campaign, the organization was morphed into "Organizing for America" -- sort of the keep the grass-roots efforts going to help pass the Obama agenda. Being a political junkie of sorts, it was mildly entertaining to watch them to try and gin up the base in support of this legislation or that. Mostly, though, I ignored the emails. Until today. Since our President has seen fit to be silent as the tide turns on civil marriage, offered tepid support to passage of the Matthew Shepard Act --and just fired his first service member under DADT (an Arab linguist no less!), I'm no longer interested in even being on the mailing list. As I noted in an earlier post, " Obama's Radical Pragmatism ...

I'm experimenting on the blog with EVRI -- I've added the widget to each post to see how it reacts... the recipe posts seem to get hung up on sugar as the primary tag, which doesn't seem provide much value. I'm going to add EVRI to the right under the posts section to see what kind of results you get for the blog in general. I have noticed that there is a slight drop-off in page-load time. If that continues to be an issue, I'll drop the widgets.

1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (about 50) 1 cup chopped pecans, divided 1/4 cup butter, melted 4 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 1 cup sour cream 3 Tbsp. flour 1 Tbsp. vanilla 4 eggs 10 pieces of caramel 2 tablespoons coffee Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends extending over sides. Mix vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup pecans and butter; press onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate until ready to use. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar and mix until well blended. Add sour cream, flour and vanilla; continue to mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. (Be careful not to overblend as this might cause the cheese cake to crack during baking.) Pour over crust. Bake for on the center rack for just under 45 min. or until center is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before placing the refrigerator for 4 hours. Prior to serving, make the caramel pecan topping (tak...

I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie -- saw it in IMAX this weekend. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars. My biggest disappointment with the film had nothing to do with how J. J. Abrams tinkered with the storyline... tinkering with the timelines is as much a part of the Star Trek orthodoxy as anything. Just as when Spock was killed off in the "Wrath of Khan", sometimes a well-timed death (Kirk's father, Spock's mother, Vulcan) is just what is needed to shake off the calcification in the plot-lines that have become too revered by the Trekkie faithful. I did, however, expect a little more from the score. I know the composer took the cue from the whole effort to re-imagine the franchise, but too much so for my tastes. We shouldn't have had to wait through the entire film before getting a musical nod to the themes from the television show and the first "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". That, and it seemed to be trying just a little too hard. My opi...

Aaron Brooks takes it to the Lakers to tie the series 2-2. This year's Rockets defy prediction.

1 tbsp. vegetable oil 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves 1 3/4 cups chicken stock 1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes 1 small green pepper, cut into 2-inch-long strips (about 1 cup) 1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms 1 medium onion, cut into wedges 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper 2 1/2 cups uncooked medium shell-shaped pasta Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Stir the stock, oregano, garlic powder, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, mushrooms and black pepper in the skillet and heat to a boil. Stir in the pasta. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.

2 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp dijon mustard 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar 2 1/2 cups vegetable or olive oil Blend together all ingredients except the oil. Slowly add the oil, blending to incorporate. This works well with spring mix, arugula and fresh spinach. Serving Suggestion: In a sauce pan, warm the vinaigrette. Pour over a mix of fresh spinach and arugula and toss with toasted almond slivers.

For the graham cracker crust: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs 2 tablespoons sugar Pinch of salt For the brownie: 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 cup packed light brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs 1 cup all-purpose flour For the marshmellow top: 4 cups large marshmallows Preheat oven to 325 F. Your oven rack should be in the lower third position. Step 1 -- make the crust. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch. Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Step 2 -- make the brownie. In a double-boiler, melt the butter then add the chocolate slowly, stirring occasionally until the c...

I don't normally post stuff about work, but after watching the drivel on 60 Minutes last night about the "Ecuadorian" lawsuit against Chevron, I had to relay this: Images are of Petroecuador sites and are not Texaco-remediated sites: The images of oil pits, and oil operations in general, that “60 Minutes” used are of locations that are the sole responsibility of Petroecuador, Texaco Petroleum’s partner from the days of the consortium. “60 Minutes” knew this fact, but chose to ignore it in its reporting. No responsibility was placed on Petroecuador: Petroecuador has been the sole operator of oil fields in Ecuador since 1992 and has compiled a well-documented record of environmental mismanagement. In addition, Petroecuador has repeatedly stated that it is responsible for the remaining cleanup work that is required in the Ecuadorian Amazon and it readily admits that it has not cleaned up the sites allocated to them under the remediation action plan 15 years ago. Again, “60 M...

2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large carrots, chopped (about 1 cup) 2 stalk celery, sliced (about 1 cup) 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth 1/2 cup uncooked dried lentils 1/2 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice 2 medium Italian plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender. Stir the broth, lentils and rice in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the rice and lentils are tender. Stir in the tomatoes and parsley. Serve.

Dressings Garlic Ranch Rasberry Vinaigrette Salads Baked Pear and Walnut Salad Other Spinach Souffle

Responding to this... http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/the-case-of-matthew-shepard-ctd.html -- I doubt that my dissent will get published, but you never know. My response: You say: "I want the same laws against the same acts enforced equally on everyone. If police don't enforce the law equally, get on their case. But leave the laws alone." Honestly, have you even read the Matthew Shepard Act or listened to Judy Shepard at all? If you had, then you might be interested to note that the focus of this legislation is not, repeat not, on sentencing enhancements. The primary focus of this legislation is to ensure that local law officials have the ability (whether financial or testicular fortitude, or both) to do just what you are asking: enforce the law equally. In some jurisdictions, they simply do not have the money to handle major crime investigations and prosecutions. Such was the case in Laramie. In Jasper, on the other hand, the Byrd investiga...

8 extra-large eggs 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese Salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion, diced 4 small red potatoes, diced 1 cup diced smoked ham or Canadian bacon 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for finishing top 1/4 cup sour cream 1 bunch chives, chopped Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper until foamy. Melt butter in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the onion and potatoes and cook thoroughly. Pour the egg mixture over the top. Pull the edges away from the sides of the pan with a spatula so the eggs flow to the bottom of the pan. When the frittata is half set, add the ham. Transfer the pan to the heated oven. Bake for 10 minutes until puffed and golden. Shower with grated Parmesan and serve garnished with sour cream and chives.