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U.S. Election Night Dinner


jamiemaw

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Canada and the U.S. are the world’s two largest trading partners. As as a result we take a great deal of interest in the U.S. elections.

On Tuesday evening, my fiancée and I will host a small (<20), casual dinner party here in Vancouver while we assist our American friends in their invigilation. A poblano-fuelled chili seems well matched to cooler autumn weather, but it also seems, well, pretty Texan. So as fair-minded Canucks, we think it only proper that we include a dish from Senator Kerry’s home state. But with the chili, Boston baked beans are out of the question—although we already have ample reserves of natural gas up here, supplies of Beano can be intermittent.

So what do you think? Something crabby? And, by the way, if we serve Coors, are we pretty much obligated to counterpunch with Samuel Adams? And finally, to cover all the contingencies, should we introduce a beer from a battleground state? A Yuengling Chesterfield Ale perhaps?

Your assistance with any protocols or nuances much appreciated.

Jamie

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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I don't think crab would be the truest representative of Massachusetts fare. Homerus americanus would be a better choice, perhaps as a salad in a nice roll.

John Sconzo, M.D. aka "docsconz"

"Remember that a very good sardine is always preferable to a not that good lobster."

- Ferran Adria on eGullet 12/16/2004.

Docsconz - Musings on Food and Life

Slow Food Saratoga Region - Co-Founder

Twitter - @docsconz

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How about a dessert made with CRANBERRIES?!? They're certainly a Massachusetts food! And of course, there's Boston Cream Pie... :laugh:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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Why on earth would you want to eat blue crabs or New England lobster when you have dungies at your disposal? I'd rather "fake" a Lobster roll with Dungie meat. Or make New England Clam Chowder with your local clams.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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Why on earth would you want to eat blue crabs or New England lobster when you have dungies at your disposal? I'd rather "fake" a Lobster roll with Dungie meat. Or make New England Clam Chowder with your local clams.

I don't recall saying we'd import blue crabs. Beans maybe. No, we just wanted something geographically symbolic and suitably egalitarian--the chowder makes a lot of sense. We certainly had no intention of importing New England product--for god's sake the price of Atlantic lobsters has fluctuated as high as 1.25 flu shots this week!

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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Forgive me, but why on earth would you serve Coors? The water in your town is just fine.

:biggrin: As are the pints Suzanne. But in this case we had to reach back into the retro meaning of 'politically correct!'

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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Please don't serve Coors. PLEASE.

Thousands of people of good conscience (not to mention people of good taste) boycott their "beer" (a simple Google will provide tons of evidence supporting the decades-old boycott). This is not a political-affiliation thing, it's a human rights thing. I doubt anyone here would support KKK rallies or cross-burnings at their business site, right? (Adolph Coors did exactly that. Google, please.)

Why not bridge the national divide and serve Canadian beer, eh? (Hey, our nephew is from Medicine Hat, and he plays professional hockey for the Sharks. I asked him, "Do you like America?" His answer? (The laconic one.) "I like the money. Eh." (He loves it here, of course.)

And I totally agree with Jason Perlow about the crab thing -- Dungeness crab? Swoon. If you want to be truly politically correct, embrace the fresh/local/seasonal ideal, and celebrate the glory that is the Left Coast. (Again, not "left" politically, but "left" from Roy Blount, Jr.'s, idea that, if you stand in Texas and look north, the Pacific is on your left, and the Atlantic is on your right. Just like the maps!)

One more caution: cranberries are one of the fruits that are much better if organic. The pesticide residues in cranberries are especially high. A link with some information about organic cranberries. (Especially relevant to Vancouver, BC.)

Your party sounds like something I'd enjoy. Looking forward to a report back.

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Since I didn't realize that the product had to actually come from MA, how about you just break out the Sam Adams?!? :raz:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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. . . Homerus americanus would be a better choice, perhaps as a salad in a nice roll.

Butter or Marge?

[bart] Aye Carumba! [/bart]

I'll 3rd the no-Coors vote, and I don't even need Tana's reasoning to support my decision (although it is now added to my ever increasing list of companies I avoid).

How about some live Dover Sole to represent the Kerry "flip-flop"?

A.

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Please don't serve Coors. PLEASE.

We mentioned Coors because it is so resolutely Republican (especially with Pete Coors running in Colorado this year), not just because it tastes like it's been through an elephant slowly. I know there are human rights issues, but elephants have feelings too. Is there a replacement beverage with a strong GOP connotation (besides Arnold Palmers and Jim Beam and water)?

Our menu, so far:

Kyoto Accord Sushi

2 Trillion Clams Chowder

Registration Challenge Chili

Peppery Greens with Flu Shot Vinairegret

In Yer Face Boston Cream Pie (à la Ann Coulter)

Baba au Rummy

No luck getting a line on Massachusetts celery for the clam chowder though. Might be forced to use a local softwood. How very fitting.

What's missing?

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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Hey, Tana, which shark is your nephew?

(------------> Jonesing Canadian hockey fan clutching at straws)

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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No luck getting a line on Massachusetts celery for the clam chowder though

You're pulling my leg, right? There's more than 1 species of celery?

EDIT: Apprently, theres quite a few

http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/celery.html

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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No luck getting a line on Massachusetts celery for the clam chowder though

You're pulling my leg, right? There's more than 1 species of celery?

EDIT: Apprently, theres quite a few

http://oregonstate.edu/Dept/NWREC/celery.html

Leg-pulling? Us? But we felt we should at least try to preserve the authentic provenance of each ingredient--as a culinary journalist I feel a responsibility to protect my sources. So we'll likely being going with Massachusetts 'Clean Cut' celery versus 'Texas Vicar.'

Otherwise it might end up a real rhubarb.

Jamie

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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Cod was the principal food of the Plymouth Bay Colony for several decades.........can you stick some in the clam chowder? Or make a seafood chowder?

I'm a canning clean freak because there's no sorry large enough to cover the, "Oops! I gave you botulism" regrets.

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Cod was the principal food of the Plymouth Bay Colony for several decades.........can you stick some in the clam chowder?  Or make a seafood chowder?

A superb plan, Susan G! Doubt I'll be bringing any Massachusetts cod product in though--they ran out a while back. Think I'll substitute some gently smoked local sablefish--similar but more subtle than Alaska black cod. I'll also be using local Savoury clams--plumply gorgeous right now. This dish is certainly getting politically correct, but we'd better slow down before it ends up looking like a political decision.

Libation advice?

Edited by jamiemaw (log)

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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Certainly you could find appropriate Texan v. New Engand fare for that evening.

Chili and Clam Chowder.

Fajitas and Lobster.

Hell - just serve Surf and Turf. Cattle and Lobster. Cape Codders and Margaritas on the side.

My friends and I will be cracking open a bottle of 1992 Cabernet to watch the returns come in. Seemed appropriate since we're supporters of the administration first elected in that vintage. :wink:

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Hey, Tana, which shark is your nephew?

(------------> Jonesing Canadian hockey fan clutching at straws)

Hmmmm, he's fabulous but I don't know if I should out him, given that out-of-context remark.

Put it this way: we call him "Mikey" (usually "Mikey Eh") despite the fact that he's about seven feet tall in his skates.

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Certainly you could find appropriate Texan v. New Engand fare for that evening.

Chili and Clam Chowder.

Fajitas and Lobster.

Hell - just serve Surf and Turf.  Cattle and Lobster.  Cape Codders and Margaritas on the side.

My friends and I will be cracking open a bottle of 1992 Cabernet to watch the returns come in.  Seemed appropriate since we're supporters of the administration first elected in that vintage.  :wink:

Katie,

In case you missed it, the trial menu is:

Kyoto Accord Sushi

2 Trillion Clams Chowder

Registration Challenge Chili

Peppery Greens with Flu Shot Vinairegret

In Yer Face Boston Cream Pie (à la Ann Coulter)

Baba au Rummy

The last being a just dessert if ever there was one.

Hope to see youon one of my frequent trips to your wonderful city. A Canadian loyalist, i'm forced to bunk in at The Four Seasons.

Cheers aye,

Jamie

from the thinly veneered desk of:

Jamie Maw

Food Editor

Vancouver magazine

www.vancouvermagazine.com

Foodblog: In the Belly of the Feast - Eating BC

"Profumo profondo della mia carne"

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