Kick The Skunk Off The Road

Impeachment: accuse. allege, arraign, bring charges, cite, complain, denounce, denunciate, finger, imply, impugn, impute, indict, inveigh against, prefer charges, press charges, reproach, reprobate, take to task

With the smell of an incontinent skunk in the air, we ran inside to try one of Schuyler's new cocktails, a Fresca, made with vodka, homemade sour mix, Ruby Red and Chambord. After dinner he'll give us the recipe for this really tasty cocktail. We needed a good cocktail, Max told us, because the news just broke, that we all already knew deep inside us, that Deep Throat, all along, has been Mrs. MacBush's sick, sick, skunky son, Little Lord Stab-You-In-The Back Fauntleroy. Or, you could say, Max continued, Carrion: Meet a skunk the buzzards wouldn't touch.

Bush: Deep Throat Who Leaked Classified Information
How 'bout them horse apples, kiddo? Sure'nuff, this slime ball will rot on the gut wagon because soon, even the vultures won't think that stinking flesh is worth the eating of! Never have seen a room full of such disgusted people.

Off and on, for years, we've all felt the worst, deepest disgust at what this Sullied White House is capable of, but today's news, which we all caught before gathering over here for dinner, is the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Yesterday the sorry news was the evidence coming out here and on the Continent that Bush had decided to invade Iraq even as Governor of Texas, as Helen Thomas succinctly put it at a White House Press briefing.

That insane and perverted desire to invade Iraq has killed tens and tens and tens of thousands of people, Elizabeth said, and injured and invalided tens and tens of thousands. Also, Judy told us, it pretty well has bankrupted the country, leaving billions in debt (in the hands of the Chinese) for our children and grandchildren to have to pay back. Bob interjected, enough of the skunk parallels, we all get the point: this administration has sunk lower than any other in the history of the United States, and it is up to our Milquetoast Democrats in Congress to make things right. Just as the Republicans were morbidly, salaciously, and shall we say it, pruriently engrossed in the impeachment of President Clinton for something as benign as wanting to get his jollies where he shouldn't have, surely our people should stop nothing short of full-fledged impeachment of a "president" who leaks National secrets and launches needless invasions 'cause he just wanted to.

Well, Liz said, this is the Bush about which this comment, made by Margot Asquith (1864 - 1945) seems so appropriate: "He couldn't see a belt without hitting below it."

Bob Himself Rings the Dinner Gong
Enough of skunk Bush, let's see what the gang has prepared for dinner, was the message of the dinner gong tonight.

Sagidah and Rania delighted in preparing the labor-intensive Shrimp Tamales for our first course. They learned how to make them from a lady who doesn't live that far from all our farms, shortly after they moved here from Iraq. One thing they learned too, they told us, is that one tamal is a tamal; there is no such thing as a tamale, the word simply does not exist. More than one though, are tamales. O.K., this was our Spanish lesson for the day. The ladies served little glasses, or "copitas" of Sauza Hornitos Reposado Tequila to accompany the incredibly fluffy tamales.

Sagidah and Rania thought that perhaps in the U.S. people don't make spinach soup very much, so tonight they also prepared us the most delicious, creamy Spinach Soup. They both were ecstatic about the one wall in the kitchen which has a full bank, or array, of all the up-to-the-minute appliances, ranges, faucets, cooktops, dishwashers, etc., all a far cry from the way this ancient old stone farmhouse kitchen was first planned, when the poor lady of the house had to cook with a few cast iron implements on an open fire! (and cook for dozens and dozens of ranch hands.)

The first item that we have recently had installed, and the both Sagidah and Rania find extremely useful, are the T & S Brass Pre-Rinse Overhead Swivel Arm faucet, which tonight came in so handy for getting all the grit off the spinach, and then the T & S Brass Pot and Kettle Filler. With the stock pots already placed on the Viking cooktops, the job of making soup for 50 was a breeze, they said. In addition, rather than having to carry the heavy, hot stockpots to a counter for blending, they used the KitchenAid Immersion Blenders we have, in essence being able to take the blender to the stockpot.
With the incredibly silky spinach soup, they served little glasses of Tío Pepe Fino Sherry, a perfect accompaniment to this exquisite soup.

Art had a vastly superb dish for us tonight, his beautifully grilled scallops, plated simply with saffron-flavored rice and perfectly parboiled artichokes. He said that he had put a lot of thought into which of the wines in his and Terry's wine cellar would go best with this simple, Spanish dish, and they came up with a Vionta 2004 Albariño, an amazingly delicious Spanish white wine. The wine was round, soft, simple, with notes of orange, green apples and cinnamon. Almost made us forget the nasty goings on in Washington.

Max and Charlotte began their contribution for our dinner yesterday. They prepared one of the dishes Charlotte grew up having in her native Belgium, Belgian Boeuf Carbonade. Slow cooked, very slowly cooked, in excellent, dark Flemish beer, the dish was perfection. Naturally, Pommes Frites were called for, and some simple grilled vegetables and large garlic heads. Instead of a French wine though, Max and Charlotte brought some bottles of a vastly good Spanish Marqués de la Concordia Hacienda de Súsar 2001, a deep, rich red blend of 49% Tempranillo, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 17% Syrah. The "professionals" call this a very plummy wine with hints of raisin and fig, red plums and gingery French oak. There. Tempted?

Cooking Boeuf Carbonade for 50 is not difficult. You probably will never be faced with preparing such large quantities, but if you are, let us know and we'll let you know where we get our enormous roasting pans with their supremely heavy lids that keep the juices in the pan and prevent the greater part of the beer used in the preparation from evaporating.

Dessert and Time With the Kids
We thought, even though we still planned to sip our Grand Marnier, that we would have our dessert in the great room with the kids. (Young adults?) Marie Christine tonight prepared that classic from her country, Oeufs à la Neige (Floating Islands, or molded poached egg whites.) Every great French cookbook has this recipe. We had ours over end-of-the-evening conversations with our wonderful teenagers, who are good children, good students, and bless them, indispensable help around the kitchen, farm and ranch. No wonder so many cultures procreate just to have extra helping hands!

Max could hardly contain himself. He was so desperate to use his new toy again, the Breville Espresso Machine he bought two of them so he could make espresso for as many of us who wanted espresso. He got his two machines at Sur La Table, that wonderful emporium where we get so many of our cooking goodies. After coffee and a few more minutes of visiting with the teenagers. Just before everybody bundled up for the trip home, Liz left us to think about this statement by John Dryden (1631 - 1700) British poet and dramatist, and if you think it fits you know who, well, what can I say?
"During his office, Treason was no Crime.
The sons of Belial had a Glorious Time."

Summary
Well, it turns out, kiddos, that filthy, scummy, slithery, skunky Whacko Bush himself is this decade's Deep Throat, spilling the private beans at the time of his choosing and in the places of his choosing. Turns out the Devil's Spawn is the very one who has leaked "state secrets" for his own twisted political reasons. Not for shame: for Impeachment. Traitor. Now lets just hope our party, the Democrats chosen by God because we're better human beings, will not falter in our methodical, careful steps leading to this cloven-hoofed one's impeachment