Missing Two

Have you ever started out with objective A in mind, and ended up with objective B?  Such was the case yesterday, I started out to rant a bit, talk about the French Open (tennis), then plans changed.

Way back in 1991, nearly 20 years ago, I accompanied MFO (before she had that tag) and a group of Law Librarians from St. Louis University attending a conference in New Orleans.  I had many good memories (and lunches) from that experience, one of which came into sharp focus recently.  One evening we attended a “group dinner” at a restaurant called “Dookie Chase’s” in kind of a (then) run down part of town. Turned out to be a memorable meal and experience, with great creole food.   Plus we got to meet the chef/owner Leah Chase.  A charming woman with a love of life, food, and good cooking (often referred to as the “Queen of Creole Cuisine)”, you can read more <here> about the restaurant, the family, and her life story) she had just published a cookbook which of course the fledgling Bottom Feeder had to get:

As with all things, life turns the pages for us, and she passed on June 1^st at the age of 95, and I dug out the cookbook and had a fresh look, and was quite taken by her inscription to me, which now, 27 years later popped out with her message clear and in line with my beliefs:

The book itself is not only filled with great (annotated) recipes

Note it calls for Pet Milk!

But also has lovely art in it

Borrowing a phrase from their website “She was a major supporter of cultural and visual arts and an unwavering advocate for civil liberties and full inclusion of all… While we mourn her loss, we celebrate her remarkable life, and cherish the life lessons she taught us. The Family will continue her legacy of “Work, Pray, and Do for Others.”

Grateful To You,

The Chase Family”

Anyway, a great lady who lived the life of good times and celebrated food.  RIP.

And another icon (to me) of a different sort who hopefully has a seat at her table in heaven also left us on May 30 at the age of 69.  Without reading the caption, do you recognize

Yes, the unique and staunchly individual Leon Redbone took his guitar and moved on.  He will never be replaced.  (As I remember) I never had the pleasure of seeing him perform in person, but you hear him from time to time on the Blues Channel (74 on Sirius XM)  a talent like no other..

End of unexpected Objective B.  Objective A was to rant a bit about phrases that drive me nuts (short commute), such as “reach out”.  Seems kind of inappropriate at this point so we’ll end with the usual admonishment to

DFD (maybe in honor of Leah’s food)

And if you look at the photos of her restaurant, you will see NO MJ’s!


Oh, just to add a little lighter note, another bit of "Bird Banter"

American Goldfinch:  "Hi there buddy! Good seed here eh?"
Decorative Wrought Iron Bird: "..............."
AG:  "excuse me pal, was just making conversation"
DWIB:  "............................"
AG: "YOU'RE NOT VERY SOCIABLE!"
DWIB: "......................."
AG: "well the heck with you, excuse me, I'm going to get a sunflower seed"
DWIB: ".........................."
AG flies down to feeder
DWIB: ".........................."

holidaze await...

Wow.  Fast away the old year passes..

Just a couple of things.. I had intended three subjects but due to the brilliant writing of the Feeder, the intended rant on commercialization of Christmas will have to wait..

Food (short) another La Rive (I can’t stop!)

And this will probably be the last La Rive for a while.  MFO and I joined some friends for dinner a while ago.   Alert readers may remember that earlier I said I had a dish I had never experienced before.   On the evening we went, there was an “Octopus” salad among the first course selections.  I envisioned the little deep fried ones you occasionally get in dishes like fritto misto, so I ordered it up.  Well, when it arrived at the table it was quite a surprise

Quite the presentation. Never having had that particular style of octopus I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  While innovative visually, I have to admit that I found them a bit chewy and not overly flavorful.

On the other hand (or tentacle) my main dish of crispy Duck Confit was quite nice, classically prepared

Anyway, it’s nice to see new items appearing on the menu.  People still seem unsettled about the place.

Holiday Music

Last weekend, we journeyed up the road to attend a concert in the Basilica in DC, properly known as the “Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception… The shrine is the largest Catholic church in the United States and North America, one of the ten largest churches in the world, and the tallest habitable building in Washington D.C. Construction of this church, notable for its Neo-Byzantine architecture, began in 1920 under Philadelphia contractor John McShain. It opened unfinished in 1959. An estimated one million pilgrims visit the basilica each year.”

For those of you unfamiliar here is a (borrowed) picture

Note that this is NOT the National Cathedral. Which is currently under seemingly endless repair, rivaled only by the Washington Monument.

Anyway, each year the Chamber Choir from the Catholic University of America in Conjunction with the Choir of the Basilica put on a Christmas Concert for Charity, free to the public but with a chance to donate (through baskets on a pole) and the “proceeds” go to a designated charity, this year the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. 

It is a very popular event and people arrive quite early to get a “good seat”, although it is of dubious value since even if you’re in front, you are quite a distance from the singers.

It is video taped for showing on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) so you can see the “boom” in front, which became intrusive at times

Eventually the place filled up

And the concert began, first with the Catholic University Choir, then the Basilica choir, then the combined choirs. Mostly sacred music, sung sometimes in original Latin, sometimes in German, but they did include some traditional Christmas Carols like "Joy to the World" and the audience were invited (stand and) to join in.  The knees appreciated the chance to flex, as well as the backside getting relief from the solid wooden pews.

Although this is not my favorite form of music, 200 voices singing praises to the Lord is indeed impressive, especially in such a setting. 

The concert ended with Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.   Welcome to the season.

Sidebar Review (which got longer the more I typed)…

We decided to stay over rather than drive home after the concert.  There is a new Hyatt property near our friend’s place and so we decided to stay there (he was kind enough to drive for the evening).  Most readers know we prefer Marriott facilities, and unfortunately this experience did nothing to shake that loyalty.  It’s a weird hotel; the lobby is on the third floor for instance.   The rooms are very nice,

I kept being unsettled by that combination of art

and the windows afford interesting views of the neighborhood…

And allow clever artsy shots

The hotel has been open a year but still have some edges to hone (at least in our one time experience).   For instance, they don’t have traditional room service (cost saving?)… you have to call in your order and then go pick it up.  We were tuckered out and hungry after the concert and decided to use their non-room service “24/7” option.  Except that when we went to call, the phone was dead.  So MFO went down to the lobby and ordered, and was told it would be ready in 20 minutes.  Upon returning in 20 minutes, nobody knew about the order, so she waited some, only to discover it had languished behind the desk for a while, rendering it stone cold.  (so-so flatbread and (lunch meat) Turkey Club on (dry cold) toast).

Breakfast was included in the room rate so next morning we went down for the Buffet (only choice) which was nicely laid out

Oddly enough the “exit” sign for the food service line was nearest the entrance to the dining space with the “enter” located at the far end of the room.  Needless to say, and understandably, most people went in the exit.  Once inside all the food was on “hot plates” making them more accessable instead of the usual Chafing dishes, avoiding the normal juggling of tongs, plates, and the lids that want to slam shut on your hands.

And the contents of the serving dishes seemed to come directly from the Sysco truck (potatoes always the give away).  Standard stuff with minimal taste..

And one of the attendants in the room seemed to want to emulate a Wizards player.  Upon clearing a table, she did a gorilla dunk with the silverware into the tubs, causing a loud and continuous clatter.  She seemed like a nice lady, spoke to the children etc., just created a din.  She also had an odd habit of asking you if you were finished when your fork was between the plate and mouth..

Lastly, since our phone was dead we stopped by the desk, and when staff’s private conversation behind the desk ceased and they noticed us, we asked for a porter to help us with our bags.   We agreed that 9:10 would be about the right time.   We went up to the room, tidied and finished packing and……. At 9:25 we shouldered our own bags and went back to the lobby for our receipt checkout (no envelope under the door here) “Oh, didn’t anyone come to help?”  Uh, no.    Graciously declined her offer to personally help us out..

Since the location is very convenient both to our friend’s place and the mall, we would stay again and hope that maybe some improvements have been made.  I gave them an ear full on their “take time to fill out this survey about your recent stay”.  I’m sure it will have the same effect the other hundreds I’ve filled out in the past..

our nation's capitol

The Cheery Part… on delay

Well, due to the usual verbal run on, I’ll save my ire at Christmas commercials for next time.  Does anybody really give somebody a surprise car with a bow on it for a gift?  More later

Meanwhile the holidays offer many opportunities to

DFD

Quick Cow update and more

well, an alert reader gave me some background on the Cow and it's friend the Fish.   They're the ones that used to be at Laurel Station or Grove or whatever it was, now home to Zee Best, reviewed previously.  And before that, Chef may have worked at Front Porch.  Hope they do better in the new location..

Oh, speaking of the Porch Front in Leonardtown, i had lunch there last week,and it was pretty good.  It was a Tuesday, not usually your big restaurant day.  Place was packed.  I suspect that the demise of the Cafe has had a beneficial impact on their business.  But, they have helped themselves as well, as the food has stepped up.  My companion remarked on how good his burger was, and was told that the beef was from WAG (Willy A. Goddard) meats, from the farm in Leonardtown.  

Later that same evening our friend from DC came down to hear the End of Year Recital of Brian Ganz's class.  Some excellent music by very talented students on piano, vocals (by my favorite Starbucks barista) Henry, and an excellent trumpet piece by one of the talented Weh brothers.   A former intern with our DC friend is friends with one of the piano players (who is excellent, by the way).  She was the last performer, and played her piece (Dance of the Dolls) and then was joined by Beverly Babcock and Brian (and a second piano) to play........sorry BB, memory fails (and the program is in MFO's purse at the Historical Society in Leonardtown).  At any rate it was rousing to say the least.  They had such fun. Great to see budding talent.  When we came out of Montgomery Hall it was a deluge.

So, slightly sodden, we stopped in at Elements for a quick dinner before our friend headed back up the road.  we were sad to hear that one of our favorite bartenders has left for another venue.  Pretty common.  I had just "taught" him how i like my Dry Manhattan..However, Pat stepped up and so I still have an "in" there.  Food was quite good. 

speaking of food as we were, i see that Land O'Lakes is coming out with a "premium" butter.  Maybe in your face, KerryGold!

Pick your piece above, and we were of course
DFD

oh yeah, happy Cinco de Mayo..

Ganz and Chopin and more

This weekend, St. Mary’s College is holding their annual “Piano Festival By the River” a four day “retreat for pianists to focus completely on the piano with other pianists and piano lovers”  There are a series of Master Classes, performances, recitals, and lessons for students of the piano.  Several of the members of the music faculty participate including Brian Ganz participate.

As part of the Festival, Mr. Ganz held one of his Piano Talks yesterday (Sunday) which I greatly enjoy so I went down to listen and learn.  The whole “talk”, which lasted over an hour and a half, focused exclusively on Chopin’s 3^rd Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 58.  This was his last sonata, composed in 1844, and is considered by some to be one of Chopin's most difficult compositions, both technically and musically.  After hearing it and learning about it I could certainly agree with that.

Anyway, I joined the small audience (see rant below) to enjoy Brian talk about the composition, and as usual illustrating his remarks by going to the keyboard to demonstrate.  Also as usual, he lost this engineer shortly into the discussion, but it is fascinating to discover things in the music I would never hear without illustration.  Terms like “exposition”, “recapitulation”, “maestoso” flew around, mostly flying over my head. 

After an hour of discussion we took a short break and then Brian played the whole piece which lasted a good half hour.  If you ever get a chance to hear that selection, do it. It is an amazing piece and under the hand of Brian the word “astonishing” came to mind.  Not only for the music but the work it takes to play it.  And, it was all done from memory, no page turner needed.  Incredible talent right here in St. Mary’s County…

Which, leads me into my little RANT.  When Brian schedules a concert at a place like Strathmore, it will sell out almost immediately.   So yesterday, I arrived somewhat earlier than normal for the 1:00 talk, figuring that since it was Sunday, during the Piano Festival, and Labor Day weekend parking and seating would be tight.  So about twenty of, I arrived at the college, and to my surprise the “Trinity Church” parking lot was amost completely empty (normally jam packed).  I did notice some newer looking signs that warned of towing any non-parishioners, so went down to the “Farthings” lot by Historic St. Mary’s City.  Also quite devoid of autos.  So I parked, and seeing no other people on foot heading the auditorium in St. Mary’s Hall, I called MFO at home to verify that I had the correct date and time.  Yup got it right.  

Trudged on to the auditorium and entered (by now it was maybe ten of one) to find an almost completely empty hall.  There was a young man playing the piano on stage and there might have been ONE other person sitting.  I occupied my usual (Michael Picot memorial) seat in the last row on the right side of the place.  People did start to trickle in, and by the time Brain came out for the second time (We’ll give them a couple more minutes and then start) there might have been slightly over twenty.  

What the..... he...ck?  The place should have been full!  What’s the matter with people down here? J  he is a World class musician and has an audience of twenty, mostly the same bunch that shows up every time.. Awful.   Of course Brian is such a kind person I think he would have been just as enthusiastic if there were only one person there.  Too bad..

Too Late to be Early

I was going to relate a belated visit to the Early Bird (Just north of town), which was suggested by an alert reader as a candidate for the Just Right list.  I replied that I had written about it, but a search of the archives did not bring a blog about the Early Bird.  Somehow, although I captured some pictures, I never wrote the thing up.  I am told that the lunch counter (apparently was more popular for breakfast) has been closed.  A little hint, based on my visit last December, it is probably a good thing.  So we won’t sully a report about wonderful music with a report of sub par food. 

Quick Foodie Notes

Apparently McDonalds is about to launch a huge marketing campaign announcing that they will be serving breakfast all day.  The little story I read wondered if that would affect the price of eggs.

Also it appears that the golden arches will kindly (?) refuse the Burger King offer to provide a McWhopper on Peace Day.  Apparently BK will now pursue maybe Denny’s who seem more receptive, among others. 

Look out for Barrel Aged Gin… next big thing

Along with
DFD

Spring!! yeah, right...etc.

Well, here I sit on the first day of spring, looking out at drizzly cold rain and reading about “Winter Weather Advisory” up north of here.  Will it ever end?  And, incidentally with apologies to Danny Flowers and Don Williams, I am still “Livin’ on STANDARD time”.  I still don’t get rational and cogent until sometime after (DST) nine in the morning.  The only saving grace I can see is that cocktail hour arrives sooner…  sort of..

Social Misery

Anyway, I began this morning with a bout with Facebook.  Last night after we got home from the concert (read on) I checked it, and had a “friend request” from somebody I had already befriended.  Didn’t think too much about it, so “accepted”.  Well, a little further down were comments about “you were hacked” and DON’T accept the request.  So this morning I put out a post to that effect that if you get a “friend request” from me, ignore it.  Comments came back: “you need to change your password”.  Now, if there is one thing that scares the daylights out of the feeder is messing around with established passwords.  Visions of “Password not accepted, you have been erased” and similar awfulness came to mind.  Besides I have never changed my facebook password since setting up the account years ago.  I couldn’t even find where you could change it.  So a back channel messaging with my Facebook guru located the right spot, and, despite my fears, was able to remember (guess) the old password and change it.  So I think I am okay now and back on the Social Media highway.  If some of you are Facebookers, and we are friends, if you get a request from me, ignore it. Sigh…

Music

On a happier note, MFO and I joined some friends for (an early) dinner last night at Café Des Artistes, before going to a Celtic Society of SOMD Concert at St. Mary’s Ryken high school.   For any of you who are devotees of Shad Roe, it is now on the menu at CDA.  I have tried it, and am not a huge lover of it.  It was offered as sautéed with smoked apple bacon and a buerre blanc sauce.  I quipped that the bacon was to cover up the taste.  But, that’s not fair.  Anyway, I had a very nice pate starter and a piece of grilled mahi mahi on a bed of lightly sautéed vegetables.  Quite fine.   After the dinner, we journeyed up the hill to Ryken High School for a concert put on by the Celtic Society.  In all candor I have to admit that I was a bit unsure about that, fearing it was going to be one of those “Riverdance” affairs with troupes of people clomping around the stage to recorded phony music. 

I am overjoyed to report that I was dead wrong.  It was one of the more enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a long time (outside of good meals).  The show was put on by Carlos Núñez, a world class Galician (Northern Spain’s Celtic coast) performer of Celtic music.  He has toured internationally and was just finishing up an eleven stop American tour, having performed the previous evening at Swarthmore  (not a chump venue, as you know).  He was accompanied by a guitarist, a fiddle player (I don’t think you call it a violin), and his brother who played percussion.  Carlos was a bundle of energy, mostly playing the pennywhistle, with his upper body absorbed in that and the lower body was always dancing.  He also played the pipes in a couple of different forms which he talked about.. who knew?   They played “Celtic” music in several genres, like South American and Mexican, as well as classic Irish styles.  At one point he said that Maurice Ravel visited Galicia and that visit gave birth to the famous Bolero.   Their version played by the whistle, pipes, and fiddle was as haunting as I've ever heard the piece played.  Almost chilling. 

Another highlight was when the drummer used two (I think) scallop shells as rhythm instruments and did a little number with intricate phrases and emphasis.  Never seen that before.  then Justin Myles, a native of Mechanicsville, came out and tap danced.  I think he is the same Justin Myles that was in the Piranhas, and now has his own band, the JM Experience which has a large following here.  Reading the program revealed he toured with “Stomp” for a number of years.  Anyway, he did a great performance of tap dancing, in part with the percussionist, going back and forth, trading riffs.

Toward the end of the performance, the fiddle player led a line of dancers behind her, and another locally famous Carlos showed up, Mr. Yanez who had a wonderful time.  Another luminary in attendance was Reid Silverman our vastly underappreciated photographer who took a bunch of shots.  I hope they will be available someplace.

Usually when I yak about music here, it is about Brian Ganz.   Carlos is at that same level IMHO..  Great stuff.  who says there's "nothing to do in Southern Maryland"

Cheesy

Bringing things down to a much, much, lower plane, have you watched or heard any commercials lately for various Sandwich chains (Subway, Firehouse, etc.)?  Well, apparently they have decided that describing their cheese as “melted”, it now must be called “meltY cheese”..How stupid.  A typical foodie site has lots of posts like “I guess "melted" isn't good enough for fast food purveyors any more. Their cheese has to be "melty” I've lost track of how many chains are advertising items featuring "melty" cheese.  When fast food chains are dumbing things down, you know you're getting into heretofore unexplored levels of dumbness”; or another (expurgated) version: “first subway did it and now McDonalds is using it too. apparently the term "melted cheese" just isn't seductive enough for these fat ing mouthbreathing stoners. no. now it's "melty cheese".  MELTY CHEESE. lmao. can't wait to see what they come up with next.”   Anyway it appears that “melty” is nothing more than marketing.  Pay attention..

Okay enough for spring day one.  Yeah you bet.  You might want to (eventually) change your wardrobe, but still you must

DFD

Errata: to close the book on the Book Sale (close, book, get it?) i'll pass along that when all the books leave here, they mostly wind up in schools and libraries overseas, not strictly the military..

Books, Egg Rolls, and Chopin

Books

Well, there are a few postings that I love/have to do each year..and the annual Friends of St. Mary’s Libraries Book Sale is one of them.  Each year, books are collected and boxed up and stored in the back end of the Leonardtown Library.  With that library being a political football at present, who knows what the next year will bring, but that’s not the purpose of this column.   I don’t have a dog in the fight so to speak other than I really think we need a new library.

Anyway, the process is the same year to year, on the weekend before the actual sale, people bring their hauling vehicles to the back end of the library and get them filled with boxes of books, as MFO and the MOMSTER are doing

Then, you drive over to the St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds to the appropriate building (Fiction, Non – Fiction, Children’s) and they get unloaded.  When the books are donated, they are sorted into categories and indicated on the outside of the box as to the big three, and then also what grouping is inside, such as Military History, Self Help (always an interesting category), Cooking, Gardening, etc., etc..

Then, the boxes are unloaded an the contents are stacked on tables according to subject

And eventually straightened up and noted – Oh!  Looky here!  Wonder how I got to this table

Generally the cookbooks are what you would expect, but occasionally you run into some interesting finds.  In the “local interest” section there are always lots of those comb bound “Church Lady” cookbooks,

There is also a building called “Rare and Unusual” which contains some unique books of all sorts.  Coffee table books, older stuff, signed copies, stuff like that.  Those books are “specially priced” (even then, ten bucks would be a lot). The “regular” books sell for two bucks for a hardback (and some are like new); one buck for “trade paperbacks”, those sort of grown up paperbacks; and a mere fifty cents for us older folks would call a real “paperback”.

Besides the books there are some videos, a fair amount of puzzles, CD’s, and something called “records” always show up

With various titles

something for every taste 

There are thousands (yes) of things there, and like a food buffet you can spend time looking for that hidden little gem, or maybe some book that triggers a memory from your past, or just titles that sort of grab you.  For instance, I found a little book on (go figure) the cooking table entitled: “Salt”.

Hours are Friday (the Yikes! 13^th) noon – six, which is only for members of the “Friends” ~ which you can join on the spot for a mere fifteen buck (I think it’s still that), with the rest of the days free. Saturday is (with a nod to Dolly) 9 to 5, and wrapping up Sunday from noon to three. All the proceeds from the sale are divvied up amongst the county libraries.  Great stuff.

Friday is almost worth the price of admission as that is when the “dealers” show up with their tubs and boxes, and use their little hand held scanning devices to look for something valuable.  Our book sale apparently has a very good reputation as dealers from all over the east coast attend, and generally tell us that it is one of the best shows the visit.  I presume that sort of refers to variety, value, and condition.  I would add that the volunteers (like me) are very helpful and friendly.  And over the years, the dealers have become a little more decent and don’t elbow senior citizens out of the way to get that little book .....over there!

Anyway, if you have some time come on over.  It is always a great experience.  I will be at my usual station at the check out table in the Non Fiction building.  Did I mention that the

 table is very close to the cooking section?

And what makes this run is all the volunteers that show up to lift the boxes, organize the tables, keep them neat during the sale.  Takes a lot of people helping

Egg Rolls: no more!

Way back in the 70’s and 80’s when I used to come out to “Pax” for various test programs, I normally stayed at the Belvedere in “downtown”  Lexington Park, and would sometimes eat at the Peking Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant that I guess had been there since China was a pup.  I remember it used to have those fancy lamps that hung down with red tassels, bamboo screens, and a lot of traditional Chinese décor.  I don’t think I’ve been in there for decades.  Any hankering for Chinese food can now be satisfied by any number of the “new” places around here.  A source told me the other day that Peking will be shuttering.  Another empty hole in “The Park” which can sorely stand a lot of that.  Anyway, memories of that and the “old” Roost fade away.  Too bad, sort of.

Chopin!

Tomorrow, Thursday the 12^th, Brian Ganz will be holding another Piano Talk in St. Mary’s Hall down at the college near Historic St. Mary’s City.  I don’t need to tell you again what a wonderful experience it is listening to Brian both talk about and play the music.  I’ve probably mentioned that Brian is on a decade long project to play every piece of music written by Chopin.  They are usually an hour, but this one may be two hours, and starts at noon.  He will be playing some pieces that he has not performed before.  It is amazingly free (he can sell out Swarthmore in a heartbeat).  Definitely worthwhile, and the Feeder is planning on attending (as evidence what a great event it is).

And given the hour, I guess you really don’t have to

DFD

A day in the life

Well, maybe, just maybe, we’ve seen the last of precipitation that lingers on the ground.. and once again I don’t have very much intelligent to say about food.. 

Less than intelligent, but interesting

There was an interesting article from one of my list serves on “How to detect a bad bottle of wine”.  These come along every so often and they pretty much tell the same story.  Sommeliers commonly report they get about one “bad” bottle a night.  Of course reputable ones will evaluate the wine before bringing it to the table.  The big problem is that us consumers are reluctant to claim the wine is “bad”, assuming they are inexperienced and hesitate to question a wine in a restaurant.  Instead, they’ll drink it and decide that they will never buy “that bad tasting wine again”.  “Corked” is the kind of catchall term that is used to describe flaws that put the wine “off”.   The effect can be anywhere from mild to overpowering (wet dog) further complicating matters.  Once you have experienced a corked bottle you will never doubt your nose again.  I was most grateful to finally run across a “bad” bottle which was confirmed and replaced at the point of sale.  Anyway, it’s something to keep in mind, and if you think it isn’t right, ask the server (hazardous – “Tastes fine to me!”) or the Sommelier.  Take it back to the store and ask politely.  Most reputable wine stores and restaurants don’t want you leaving without being satisfied..

Better

Sorry, didn’t mean to get off on a bunny trail, because I had a delightful afternoon today and need to talk about it.  After coffee and conversation with a friend, I went down to St. Mary’s College for another Brian Ganz piano talk.  I hate to keep writing about him, but darn it I just can’t help myself; his talent and personality just can’t be ignored.  The program today was all Chopin, part of his ten year long journey to perform every one of Frederic’s compositions.  He called it a “Chopin Buffet” because it presented a smorgasbord of different “styles” (sorry my good classical music friend), from Mazurkas, to Waltzes, Etudes, Preludes, a Scherzo, and a Ballade.  The Ballade was No. 4 in F minor, Op. 12.  Some consider this to be Chopin’s finest composition, if not the supreme piece of classical music ever written.  Brian is of this opinion.  I had heard it before but you never get tired of hearing it (sort of like the Dead’s “truckin’”).  It is beautiful.

There wasn’t much talking this time due to the number of pieces, but when Brian finished the program, he said he had received an email today requesting he play Chopin’s Funeral (something) or Fantasy Impromptu.  So here’s this world class artist asking if so and so is in the audience.  Yes, he was.  Okay, says Brian, if people are willing to stick around I’ll play the Fantasy for you, otherwise anybody who has to leave may.  About three people left (assumed they were students making a class).  Brian briefly disappeared back stage briefly, came back with a music book, and asked if anybody wanted to turn pages for him. from the audience:  “You don’t have it memorized?” (all eleven pieces previously were) … “well, not quite”  So some gentleman from the audience went up on stage, and said “nod your head when you want me to turn the page”.  Well, Brian said, I tend to nod my head a lot when I play (true statement), so I’ll go side to side when I want the page turned.

So with amateur page guy standing next to him (refused a chair) Brian played the beautiful Fantasy Impromptu… You would recognize it if you heard it.  Page guy had his hand on the page about a minute (my guess) before it needed to turn..

What a lovely experience.  We are so lucky to have him and live in this place..

Sport

In just a quick turn before closing, I hope you had a chance to see the USA/Russia Olympic hockey game Saturday.   What drama. And the (then) unknown kid from the Blues will go down in the annals of Olympic history along with the miracle on ice.  A lot of the (middle of the night) know it all, sports talk radio guys extolled how good this was for Hockey, on and on.  Well STRG guys, it’s a different game.  Larger ice surface, rules of overtime are different, and (thank God) they seem to concentrate on playing hockey instead of pandering to the blood thirsty American fans who only want to see fights.  Refreshing.  With no commercials, the game takes much less time to play.

And amazingly, I found myself fascinated by the Ice Dancing competition..  Talk about athletes.. wow. And the good ones are REALLY good. Flowing effortless motion in tight quarters, concentration, complicated maneuvers (and I learned the word “Twizzles”), including tosses, and so forth.  Great stuff.

Okay time for dinner and have to go get
DFD

No Fluff, and unique weather...

Well, how’s your week so far?  We MIGHT see temperatures on the warm side of freezing for a little while.  Maybe until next Wednesday (imaginary "jaws" music clip here).

Last night I attended a little reception for one of the organizations I support. Since it was "tri-county" affair (meaning St. Mary’s/Calvert/Charles) it was held in Prince Frederick (PF).  The venue chosen was Stoney’s Seafood House, the one hidden in the shopping center down behind Applebees.  I had never been to this particular one before, and I believe this visit completes a sweep of those properties.  I can still honestly say that none of them have impressed me. The original Broome's Island is probably the best overall, mostly carried by the location - now that the oyster house is gone.  As far as their food goes I suppose they are okay for a waterside place, standard fare, crabs (no fluff), oysters, fish, usual selections.   And I won’t belabor you again about how I think their crab cake is highly overrated, I've done that enough.

Anyway the place in PF is tucked down amongst the mattress stores and boutiques.  As an aside (I always have an aside) they are moving across the street into the newer properties over by Nick’s.  They’ll be in the same row, down at the library end. I think it’s a good thing they are moving, the place is dark, dingy, and a weird layout in general.  There’s a “takeout” area which now seems devoted to kitchy “Stoney’s” stuff, a bar and a couple of dining areas separated by a fireplace.  Dark paneling, old tables, kind of depressing in a way.

The purpose of the reception was to honor volunteers, and so there was some short speechifying of appreciation and general camaraderie which is always fun.  And before going into the food, another (damn) aside:  Since I am involved in so many community organizations and non-profits, I get to attend a fair amount of these kinds of functions.  Usually the sponsoring organization picks up the tab, and being a charitable outfit they naturally try to do it economically (as they should).  Therefore you don’t expect really exceptional food.  I try to take that into account when wearing my hat with the feeder side forward.  Regardless, the food should be hot, presentable, and tasty.

Last night in Stoney’s Seafood House, we had zero seafood (which I guess I can understand from an economical standpoint?).  Instead, we had a buffet containing (pretty good) slaw, pulled pork (or beef; I think pork), some creamed spinach, and a tub each of chicken wings and drummies (if that is the name).  All were served in aluminum tubs over cans of Sterno.  Most of the food was lukewarm at best.  A fellow diner wondered if the chicken thingies were cooked in the same oil as the fish/crab cakes, as they did have a bit of an odd edge to them.  And a couple of the ones I had seemed almost burned in places.  If I wanted to be really snarky, I might suspect precooked, frozen, and warmed in oven..  hopefully not. 

But as I said we had a good time, we weren’t there for the food so it was a fun evening.  And as I will ALWAYS say they have great carvings…

Winter Wonders..

With the recent onslaught of temperatures expressed by a single digit, we were treated (?) today to a sight we have seen very few times during our dozen or so years of living on the Patuxent River.

Resized ice in river 29 jan 2014 T1 140130 – 5032

Ice rarely forms near us because of the open reach and the surface disturbance due to the winds.  But today we saw pretty big floes in the river

The other benefit (if you can call it that) of really cold weather is that the “creeks” freeze over, so it drives the waterfowl into more open water, like our back yard.

These ducks happen to be Scaups, (either lesser or greater, I won’t hazard a guess), and I counted somewhere around 200 in the raft. 

In a “normal” year, we see very few Scaups, so this is really unusual.  We get plenty of Ruddy Ducks, some Buffleheads, a few Goldeneyes and a scattering of Longtails, but never this many Scaups.  They are not uncommon or rare, we just don’t see them here very often.  It is really a treat to see all the waterfowl, we very much enjoy them. Our resident eagles swing by every once I a while and our feeders in the backyard are very popular.  We had some bluebirds out the other day.  Maybe, just maybe….and through it all, cold or hot, rain or shine, our dancer twirls and floats, oblivious to it all.

tonight, with a fresh bandage on my proboscis, we may venture out for dinner.  Kind of tough to be 

DFD

PS since I probably won't publish tomorrow, a note that there will be a Brian Ganz concert tomorrow (Friday) at 8pm in St. Mary's Hall.  He will be performing Chopin (no surprise there), and will be accompanied by the talented Beverly Babcock.  Free and open to everybody willing to go out.  and by golly, maybe it won't be so darn cold!!  Unique opportunity..

Cultural Alert and Thanksgiving..

Alert!!!!

People will no doubt remember I launch off occasionally (well almost every time) after going to a Brian Ganz piano talk or concert about what an immense talent he is, and such a joy to listen to.  Well, maybe you have heard some reports as I have that the interim administration at the College in an (assumed) effort to cut expenses is considering changing Brian’s status (and contract) from an Artist in Residence to a “part time instructor”.  I have absolutely no insight as to the economics of same, but the fear of course would be that he would leave his post after 28 years of providing world class music.  I imagine that there are many institutions out there that would love to have his name associated with them.  I wonder if any of the budget cutter folks have ever been in Auerbach Auditorium on a lovely sunny afternoon listening to Brian play Chopin.  The thought of losing that is repugnant.  So, if you know any faculty at the college, members of the board of trustees, or somebody in the administration, let them know how important Brian is to the cultural fabric of our community.  The interim president’s email is inewbould @ smcm.edu .   And a reminder that there is a concert tonight at eight in the same auditorium at the college.  I can only imagine it will be to an overflowing audience.

 Thanksgiving!

Well, did you survive the holiday?  Are the dishes finally washed, silver polished, pans sparkling and put away.  Are there still the odd leftover pieces of dressing, or turkey, or…..?.  I think I may have mentioned in my pre-thanksgiving musings, that I am convinced turkey is a difficult item to get right.  Much work, average results (yes there are those that get rave reviews, but I still wonder).  As I said, for our “family” thanksgiving we had a pork loin roast that I got at our farmer’s market from WAG meats of Leonardtown.  It was a lovely piece of meat, and with minimal preparation it was ready to be cooked.

So the kitchen was prepared

And the oven brought up to heat

 

Cooking proceeded with occasional basting of pan juices and some hard cider, and addition of apple chips to the heat for a light smoke

After an hour or so, internal temperature reached around one hundred forty here in and there, and it was deemed ready to come inside and rest

Meanwhile, as the chef toiled over the hot oven, guests inside were treated to a light warm up of cheeses (Keyes Dairy, Beechers), various crackers, MFO’s cheese straws, and Whitley’s Virginia Peanuts, all helped along by a very nice bottle of (NV) Scharffenberger Brut Excellence, Methode Traditionnelle (the legal American term for Champagne) a gift of FOJTE. 

Sometime we can discuss what non French makers of sparkling wines have to go through..

Anyway, you might notice that one of the books below the table involves an Irish beer.  As we were enjoying the appetizers, a guest on the left hand side of the table stared into his glass (a common happenstance) and saw:

We didn’t ponder too long on the physics of inverting the image in the glass of his hard cider (same as used on the meat).

Soon enough the meat had rested enough to be sliced and the (groaning) board was assembled.   We had some lovely mashed potatoes with goat cheese, as well as some that were escalloped (gratin).  MFO (after our Chartreuse experience) made a lovely salad (with lowly jello)

And the table was set

With a sparkling wine from a local winery as well as a Rose of Malbec.  There is a law that you have to have black olives as part of your relishes.

And finally the pork made its entrance

 

Everything was very good.   And for once, even though the Bottom Feeder cooked the meat, he had to admit that it was good..

We finished the meal with MFO’s pumpkin pie and coffee.. So our second thanksgiving with family (MFOS) and friends was a great meal and good companionship.  I hope yours was as well.

And, here it is December already, black Friday and gray Thursday are behind us (prediction, that is the LAST “black Friday” you will ever see).  And although there is plenty to say, I won’t go into the astonishing football games of Saturday…

Maybe see you tonight at the concert where you will still be

DFD