Every man a king

The problem with various people's anger about Obama's "spread the wealth" theory is that our putatively right wing government has spent the last month betraying capitalism. I find myself a lot more sanguine about Obama's leftism when we've got worse already.

Amish pork and apples

I also cooked while up in Lake George. Given that apples and apple ciders were everywhere, I made a dish I remember from an excellent amish cookbook - pork chops with apples and cider. The technique is easy enough, befitting its amish roots. All you need to do is cook the pork chops in a pan with a little oil until well browned, remove from the pan, remove and drain, and then cook cored, thick, apple slices in the same pan until about as brown as the pork. You deglaze with apple cider, add the pork back into the pan, and cook for about 20 minutes until the cider has reduced to a sauce and the pork is ready. You can always thicken the cider with cream, but I think that makes it swing a little too far towards dessert.

Lake George - The Sagamore

We visited the charming resort town of Lake George over the long weekend. It's a favorite of my fiancee - a sort of old-timey vacation spot in a beautiful setting. On Saturday night, we stopped by the one fancy hotel in the area for a drink, and let ourselves get talked into the Risotto of Braised Veal Cheeks and Mascarpone. The dish hit the spot with our wine (I was quite taken with the Willamette Pinot Noir I was drinking), but only in an appetizer portion, and only shared. The idea of eating an entire portion of something so over-the-top fatty as that risotto would make me ill.

* They also messed up my bill, and I missed it when paying. That will have to be fixed.