Yes, we Can...and Did!

Ahhh, to feel hope and confidence in one's government again. Although I stayed up to watch McCain concede and Barack triumph and was woken up at 5am by Claire, I feel refreshed. I feel like we're going back in a positive direction as a nation and I am excited for the future. I've been consumed, obsessed and completely stressed out about whether we could, as a nation, elect Barack president and now I know we can. Just the simple fact that my kids can now grow up without the assumption that the White House should only be occupied by some old white guy is a great and beautiful thing. Just that makes this election worth it. But no, there's more. We get a man who is articulate, intelligent, measured and thoughtful in his approach to dealing with problems, and willing to accept that he doesn't know everything and must sometimes work with others to make something good happen. Of course, I am a little biased, but I think Barack ran a campaign that he can be proud of, both ethically and organizationally. He kept the moral high ground; didn't go after the extremely tempting and easy target of Sarah whatsername. McCain lost any respect that I had for him with his campaign strategy of doing/saying anything to win despite often being contradicted by reality.

Anyway, I think we're back on a positive course as a nation. I hope we'll hold this course so that I can go back to writing about bread which is what I really enjoy. Thank you Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com for keeping me sane. Without him, I would be completely dysfunctional. K bye, gotta go be hopeful now!

Working on the Fall Menu, Here's version 1

Donovan’s Steak & Ale
Appetizers

Chicken Wings

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp Corn Dogs
Roasted Garlic & Caper Aioli (or something?)

Clams Steamed in Beer

Crab Cakes
Cucumber Salad, Spicy Remoulade

Duck Pizza
Caramelized Onions, Roasted Apples (???), Smoked Gouda or Smoked Mozz or Smoked McCadam Cheddar, BBQ

Beer Battered Mozzarella
Puttanesca Sauce

Baked Brie
Seasonal Fruit Compote

French Onion Soup

Lobster Bisque with Madeira Cream

Salads

Grilled Sirloin Steak & Iceberg Wedge
Crumbled Bleu Cheese, Bacon, Red Onion,
And Balsamic Glaze

Caesar
Home-made Dressing, Croutons, and Tomatoes
With your Choice of Grilled Chicken or
Pepper Grilled Tuna

Seared Duck Salad (doesn’t sell much)
Roasted Apples, Pistachios, Bleu Cheese
Mixed Greens and Gorgonzola Vinaigrette
Steaks

Entrees Served with Seasonal Vegetables

Grilled Delmonico Steak
Steak Fries, Balsamic Glazed Mushrooms and Onions
Maple~Bourbon Sauce

Bacon~wrapped Gorgonzola Stuffed Filet of Beef
Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes, Red Wine Sauce,
Haystack Onions

Slow~Roasted Prime Rib
Herb Roasted Potatoes
Jus, Whole Grain Mustard & Horseradish Cream

Grilled Dry Aged New York Strip
Bacon, Cheddar and Scallion Baked Potato Pie,
Haystack Onions, Brandy~Mushroom Sauce

Grilled Hanger Steak
Steak Fries, Roasted Onion~Red Wine Sauce

Other Meats

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Beer
Roasted Garlic Whipped Potatoes

Grilled Cider Brined Pork Chop
Fried Mac & Cheese, Ubu Demi

Venison Pot Pie
Leg of Venison Stewed with Rosemary, Juniper
And Root Vegetables under a Puff Pastry Lid

Pan~Roasted Half Chicken
Corn Bread Stuffing, Tarragon Pan Sauce

Sautéed Chicken Marsala
Herb Roasted Potatoes, Mushroom Marsala Sauce

Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Stewed with Sage and Root Vegetables
Under a Puff Pastry Lid

Seared Duck Breast
Fried Mac & Cheese, Cider Glaze







Seafood

Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass
Sam Adams Oktoberfest & Crab “Beernaise”, Herb Roasted Potatoes

Sautéed Crab Cakes
Vegetable Couscous, Spicy Remoulade

Pan~Roasted Atlantic Salmon
Vegetable Couscous, Warm Bacon Vinaigrette

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna (shall we change this too?)
Herb Roasted Potatoes, Tomato~Caper Sauce


Pastas

Seafood Bake
Shrimp & Crab, Penne, and English Peas,
Baked in a Marsala & McCadam Cheddar Sauce

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine

Pumpkin~Sage Ravioli
Mushroom & Caramelized Pearl Onion Marsala Pan Sauce
(if we’re getting duck confit, that would be kick ass in this, except for the vegetarians)

Grilled Eggplant & Mozzarella Stack (I hate this)
Grilled Peppers, Portabella Mushroom
Tomato~Pepper Coulis

And now for something completely different...

Yes, I occasionally let the geek flag fly. Two geek posts in one day.

Do you have a hadron for particle physics?

Worried that the LHC has destroyed the world and we just don't know it? Check this out to find out. I wish I had taken Physics in school and not been so intimidated by math because of a sucky 6th grade math teacher that I never followed up on my interest in this kind of thing because it's cool stuff. Last year I saw a documentary on the building and implications of the CERN collider and got excited about the project. Besides if it does create a black hole big enough to swallow the world maybe we'll be spared the possibility of having another republican administration. Instantaneous annihilation doesn't seem so bad anymore does it? But most of the physicists agree that that isn't a credible possibility. Just in case though, I recommend checking the above link periodically to make sure.

Mostly though, I just saw a T-shirt on Wil Wheaton's blog saying something to the effect of "Particle Physics gives me a Hadron" and have been trying to figure out a way to work it into my blog somehow. Amy gave me the perfect method when she found the collider update link. By the way, St. Lawrence county, my home area, was in the running for either CERN or another super-collider back in the developmental stages but the NIMBY's won out.