{"id":837,"date":"2009-01-21T11:38:22","date_gmt":"2009-01-21T17:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/?p=837"},"modified":"2009-01-22T09:12:02","modified_gmt":"2009-01-22T15:12:02","slug":"brace-for-glace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2009\/01\/brace-for-glace\/","title":{"rendered":"Brace for Glace"},"content":{"rendered":"

The news media were not allowed in to the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for the inaugural luncheon<\/a>, a traditional meal hosted by the members of Congress who organized the overall ceremonies. Bloggers didn’t make it past Secret Service agents wearing toques<\/a>. Fortunately, there were flies on the wall, despite the January temperatures. They did not care about either the swearing-in nor the parade, but liked their particular front-row seats to history. This is their story, corroborated by a PDF of recipes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The first course was Seafood Stew comprising scallops, shrimp, lobster and cod. The stew part came from the holy trinity of carrots, celery and onion, in this case leeks. And you thought Barack Obama had enough staff loyalty to halt leaks. Paired with a white from Duckhorn of Napa Valley, online at $14.50 a bottle. The press release<\/a> says the menu was inspired from foods known to be favored by President Lincoln. In this instance, Abe liked oysters. Oysters are nowhere in the updated stew. Please, honor the media honeymoon of a new president by not joking about a meal served by a congressional committee.<\/p>\n

The second course was “A Brace of American Birds (Pheasant and Duck)” with Molasses Sweet Potatoes. A brace means a pair, specifically a set of two similar things considered as a unit — “three brace of partridges” or “a brace of hounds.” The former consisted of “Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing” and the latter “Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney.” The similarity, in order to constitute a brace, thus ended at both having had feathers. It’s a wonder that the justices who ate at the lunch weren’t called to referee the constitutionality of the game. For the home, outsource the chutney from India. The yams, according to the recipe, are to be seasoned with kosher salt. L’chaim! News reports and the recipe PDF noted that winter vegetables — asparagus, carrots, Brussels sprouts and wax beans — also came with this course. Asparagus is a spring veggie and beans are summer but for the grace of Yankee refrigeration. The wine for this course was a red, a Goldeneye Pinot Noir, from Anderson Valley, Calif., which the vineyard sells online for $55 a bottle. Goldeneye is a James Bond label, 1995 vintage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the children got hot dogs, mac and cheese and the like<\/a>. Why not serve them smaller portions of what everyone else was eating?<\/p>\n

The third course was dessert: Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Cream Glace, with the third wine a Korbel Natural \u201cSpecial Inaugural Cuvee,\u201d a California Champagne apparently bottled just for this and not for sale. Glace here means caramel sauce, the recipe says store-bought is fine. Abe liked apples; The second president, John Adams, favored a tankard of hard cider<\/a> every morning. How about them apples?<\/p>\n

Sadly, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. who is being treated for a brain tumor, became ill<\/a> as dessert was served. He’s better now, but he missed the Korbel. Might that have marked his first taste of a common favorite? The president and first lady surely remember Korbel from their college days for its, er, affordability.<\/p>\n

Afterward, as TV viewers saw, the Obamas had a designated driver for the ride back to the White House, but a couple of times they left the car for sobering walks, bracing in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The news media were not allowed in to the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for the inaugural luncheon, a traditional meal hosted by the members of Congress who organized the overall ceremonies. Bloggers didn’t make it past Secret Service agents wearing toques. Fortunately, there were flies on the wall, despite the January temperatures. They did not care […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-spin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2497,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2010\/12\/fried-soup\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":0},"title":"Fried Soup","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2010 Ben S. Pollock This recipe was revised in October 2013. \"Fried soup\" was what I announced when I brought these to the table, what otherwise are called veggie croquettes, pancakes or burgers. When I try to make veggie burgers they fall apart. These held together and are as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main Courses"","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4677,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/12\/hoppin-ben\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":1},"title":"Forget John, It’s Time for Hoppin’ Ben","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a vegan version of Hoppin\u2019 John, the black-eyed pea dip\/salad\/soup said to bring good luck when eaten on New Year\u2019s Day. (A mess of greens and cornbread (Southern non-sweet recipe) complete the traditional charm). Photo by Christy Pollock Like split peas and lentils, black-eyes do not have to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Holiday Cuisine"","block_context":{"text":"Holiday Cuisine","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/holiday-cuisine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hoppin' Ben 2014","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/hi-res-hoppin-e1388612238354.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5564,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2017\/02\/canopy-cassoulet\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":2},"title":"Canopy Cassoulet","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a volunteer with the refugee resettlement group\u00a0Canopy Northwest Arkansas, I made a family's first meal in their new home. The mom and dad, ages 30 and 28, have been living\u00a0in camps since fleeing Democratic Republic of \u00a0Congo in 2003. Their son just turned 6. Who knows what they've been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American Culture"","block_context":{"text":"American Culture","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/american-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Logo of Canopy Northwest Arkansas, a refugee resettlement service","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/CanopyNWA-logo-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5870,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2017\/11\/caldo-verde\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":3},"title":"Vegan Caldo Verde with a Fork","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Caldo Verde is a Portuguese soup, translated as \"green broth.\" I was looking for an entree with more or less its ingredients that would work on a plate not in a bowl -- for a potluck Thanksgiving. The surprise was how very quickly this comes together. My improv was a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main Courses"","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Caldo Verde hearty potato kale stew, Thanksgiving 2017","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Caldo-Verde-Tgiving-2017-UU-Fay-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6240,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2018\/12\/shakshuka-181-its-vegan\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":4},"title":"Shakshuka 181, It’s Vegan","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"December 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Shakshuka is a skillet dish where eggs are poached in a savory tomato sauce. It's North African to Middle Eastern but generally considered Israeli. Cook and food writer Mark Bittman this week blogged on Epicurious editor David Tamarkin and his variation\u00a0White Shakshuka. It looks wonderful, eggs poached in a stew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main Courses"","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Skillet of Shakshuka 181","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Skillet-of-Shakshuka-181.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Skillet-of-Shakshuka-181.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Skillet-of-Shakshuka-181.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Skillet-of-Shakshuka-181.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Skillet-of-Shakshuka-181.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4091,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2013\/02\/skillet-squash\/","url_meta":{"origin":837,"position":5},"title":"Skillet Squash","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"February 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I love roasted vegetables, but to me they're a nuisance. Fill two cookie sheets with chunks of veggies, after tossing with oil and herbs in a big bowl, bake nearly an hour, returning to toss a few times, and you get at most three servings. So finding comparable flavor in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main Courses"","block_context":{"text":"Main Courses","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/kook-cooks\/entrees\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"At 10 inches long and 3 lb, 1 oz, this butternut squash is almost too big for the Skillet Squash recipe.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Skillet-Squash-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":856,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837\/revisions\/856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}