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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check
November 25, 2009
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The White House:
President BARACK OBAMA and First Lady MICHELLE OBAMA hosted their first state dinner last night in a tent village on the South Lawn of the White House. With Indian Prime Minister MANMOHAN SINGH in attendance, some of the music was provided by the composer of the Slumdog Millionaire theme, and an Indian-themed curry dish was offered.
The complete menu, including wines:
--Potato and eggplant salad, White House-grown argula with onion seed vinaigrette dressing. Served with a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley, California.
--Red lentil soup with fresh cheese. Served with a 2008 Riesling Brooks "Ara" from Wilamette Valley, Oregon.
--Roasted potato dumplings with tomato chutney, chick peas and okra. Or green curry prawns, carmelized salsify with smoked collard greens and coconut aged basmati. Served with a 2007 Granache from Beckman Vineyards, Santa Ynez, California.
--Pumpling pie tart, pear tatin with whipped cream and caramel sauce. Served with a Sparkling Chardonay or Thibaut Janisson Brut from Monticello, Virginia.
--Petits Fours and coffee, cashew brittle, pecan pralines, passion fruit, vanilla gelees and chocolate-dipped fruit.
Editor's Note: What? No mac and cheese? How about a Bloomin' Onion? Potato skins? Not even a pickled egg? (Pacelli)Things overheard at the White House state dinner (Maiman):
--"Do they always make Robert Gibbs eat at the kids table?"
--"So what are you doing to pass the time these days, Mr Bush?"
--"This turkey died because Republicans oppose health care reform."
--"Do they call it the sub-continent because India is where they invented sub-zero refrigerators?"
--"The Pentagon made these dumplings for only $54-thousand!"
--"I'm sorry, Miss. There's no 'Sarah Palin' on the guest list."
--"Okay, Michelle, now this time I'll be the pilgrim and you be the Indian."
--"Is it my imagination or was that Ben Bernanke passing the hat to pay off the deficit."
--"A little later, my czars will be out to do that crazy Russian dance."
--"Anyone who ate the creamed peas please report to the White House health officer"
--"Hey, Biden --more gravy at table 3!"Thanksgiving: What's Cookin'?:
A simple health tip on cooking that turkey: the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta says there are two things you don't want to do this Thanksgiving:
1. put raw eggs in the stuffing, or
2. undercook the turkey.
They say the stuffing should be at least 165 degrees and the bird's thighs should reach 180 degrees to kill any bacteria present. Otherwise, you're looking at a potential for food poisoning.
PS: Salmonella KILLS 500 people a year.Factoid:
About 280 million turkeys are sold for Thanksgiving dinners in the U-S each year. (Source: Woman's Day magazine).
Factoid:
Frazee, MN, is home to the world's largest turkey. It's 22 feet high. It's a statue.
The U-S Census Bureau loves to tabulate obscure statistics related to some 20 holidays throughout the year; Thanksgiving is no exception. The typical American eats 13.7 pounds of turkey and 4.7 pounds of sweet potatoes annually.
A survey from the Lenox China Company about Turkey Day revealed the following:
--90 percent eat turkey
--9 percent eat ham
--2 percent will also serve pork or beef
--and 1 percent will serve chickenAmerica's favorite pies:
--Pumpkin, 63 percent
--Apple, 26 percent
--Pecan, 7 percent
--lemon meringue, 6 percent
--sweet potato, 5 percent
--chocolate cream, 4 percent
--coconut custard, 3 percentHook it up:
ELMO SHROPSHIRE is the author of the quintessential Christmas classic, "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." In fact, it's the 30th anniversary of the song this year! Elmo is a veterinarian by trade and used to be the track in-house vet at NYC's Belmont Park. He now goes by the name, "Dr ELMO," and is doing plenty of interviews to talk about the anniversary and all his other projects.
Wanna interview Elmo? He's a great interview, doesn't take himself too seriously and will sing parts of his other Christmas song catalog, as well. If you're really cool, he might even prescribe some horse tranquilizers for you (OK --just kidding about the last part). He lives in San Francisco these days and you can book him through Pam Wendell at 415-893-9818 or email at pam_drelmo@msn.com.
In addition, he'll be in NYC from 12/12 to 12/22 and is booking live interviews.
Happy Turkey-Palooza from all of us at the RBR --we'll see ya Monday! -
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