Oyster Stew

American style oyster stew is creamy to the umpteenth degree and if you have more than one serving of this and don't weigh nearly a ton by the next day, don't blame this recipe! hahaha  Understand, if you want to lighten the calorie count and fat, you can use all milk to make this dish, and remember too, you're not supposed to gulp this down by the gallon. My father loved oyster stew and my mother made it a couple of times a year (she used milk, no cream), in the fall and winter, but never during summer. It has long been held that we should not eat oysters in months without an 'r' in the name; thus, May, June, July and August. Oysters were said to be poisonous then, and there is likely at least some truth to that. The warm weather months in the Northern Hemisphere is when algae blooms take place, and some types of algae can be poisonous to humans. The idea was that oysters would sometimes be affected by these large summer algae blooms, ingesting some, or a lot, of the algae, which then could poison humans who ate the oysters. Since these algae blooms tended to match the warm weather months in the Northern Hemisphere, it was easy for people to remember the precaution by the months without an 'r' in the name. In our times now, I'm not sure how significant an impact these algae blooms have on oysters, because of oyster farming, rather than in the past, when oysters were almost always taken from the wild, but about a year ago when I asked a young fishmonger about the 'r' months and oysters, he told me he'd never heard of that, so either that isn't as prevalent today, or he's the only person on the planet who sells seafood that hasn't heard it. hahaha Another reason talked about in the past was that the warm months are the time for oyster breeding, and that they needed to be left to increase the oyster population. My maternal grandmother believed that oysters eaten with milk in the warm weather months were poison, but she never said why she believed that, and it could just be a variable condition to the algae bloom idea. 

On a comedic note, there is a famous scene, hysterically funny, from one of the Three Stooges' episodes (I believe they repeated it in a later episode or two) from 1941, called "Dutiful But Dumb." The scene involves Curly ordering oyster stew in a little restaurant, but when he drops in some crackers, an oyster pops ups and eats the crackers. Curly tries his best to beat the oyster to the crackers, but the oyster is just too fast, and it squirts some of the stew at Curly. When Curly tries witholding the cracker, the oyster begs like a trained seal for him the drop the cracker into the stew. 

 

Ingredients (3 to 4 servings): 

1 pint shucked oysters (20 to 25 oysters) in their liquid (I always check for bits of shell, just in case)

1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into pieces to melt faster

2 cans evaporated milk (not condensed milk!)

1/2 pint heavy cream 

1/4 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or your favorite hot sauce)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

tablespoon or two of snipped/chopped chives for garnish 

 

In a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the onion. Saute for just a couple of minutes (do not let the butter brown; remove the pan from the heat if the butter starts to brown, lower the heat if need be; it can always be put back at medium later), and then add the canned milk; cook for another couple of minutes, until the milk heats up, but does not boil. Add the oysters and their liquid and stir well. Add the Worcestershire, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper and salt; stir well to mix everything together. Add the heavy cream and stir well again. Let the oyster stew come up to heat, but do not let it boil! Add some snipped chives to the top of each serving. My father ate oyster stew along with some thick slices of Italian bread; but hey, crackers are fine too, just don't get into a fight with one of the oysters.

The oysters I bought were so good, I just had to put a picture of a couple of the raw ones here, besides the stew ...

WORD HISTORY:

Liquid-This word is closely related to "liquor," a word of Latin derivation and borrowed by English from Latin-based French. "Liquid" goes back to Indo European "wleik," seemingly with the meaning, "to be wet or moist, to make something moist." This gave Latin the verb "liquere," meaning, "to be fluid, to flow like water;" thus also, "to be clear." This gave Latin the adjective "liquidus" meaning, "to be of a fluid state (not of firm, solid or gaseous state);" thus also, "flowing," and this was taken by Latin-based Old French as "liquide," with the same meaning. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s, initially as "liquide." The use of the word as a noun began in the 1500s, but it was not widespread until circa 1700. 

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge

This 1951 film was a British produced version of Charles Dickens' story "A Christmas Carol," which was also the name used for the film's release in the United States, while the title for release in the UK was "Scrooge." If Americans remember the name Alastair Sim, it is likely because of this movie, which, from what I can tell, has received the most accolades of the "Scrooge" films, and it IS a good one. Americans might also recognize some other performers, like Michael Hordern, who was in quite a number of movies like, "Gandhi," "Where Eagles Dare," "El Cid," and "Khartoum;" and Francis de Wolff, who appeared in films like, "Ivanhoe," "From Russia With Love," "Walt Disney's Treasure Island" and "Moby Dick;" while Hermione Baddeley was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in "Room at the Top," and she also appeared in "Mary Poppins," "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," and she was the maid, Mrs. Naugatuck, in the CBS television series "Maude," and she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for that role (she had replaced Esther Rolle, who had been the maid, but who joined the cast of the new show "Good Times" in 1974); and Patrick Macnee was on the ABC television show "The Avengers" in the U.S. in the 1960s (the first couple of seasons originally aired in Britain, not in the U.S.).

 

A very sad note about one of the cast members, John Charlesworth committed suicide at the age of 24, nine years after the release of this film. Please folks, if you or someone you know suffers with depression, seek help, preferably professional help, but even talking with family or friends can help. Don't wait and hope things will get better on their own. Don't worry about what someone might say about you, or what they might think about the situation. Be an activist!  

 

Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is undoubtedly one of the best known Christmas stories of all time. Unfortunately, but realistically, the story never goes out of style, although it was set in the England of the early 1840s, and it is a story that deserves more than just a traditional telling to celebrate the Christmas season, but rather it is important to really think about and understand the story, as it is more than a story about a mean old moneygrubbing man. It is a story about redemption and renewal. As we get older, we often can become bitter about the things we did, or perhaps about the things we wish we had done, but didn't do (notice I didn't say EVERYONE). We can grow more than a little skeptical, letting ourselves become so negative that we become a pain in the neck (or lower) to those around us. Life takes a toll on us, and that toll is oft manifested by our bitterness and negativity as we get older. So think deeply about the story and how it relates to you, as each of us may well see the story somewhat differently. There are several film versions, although they are pretty much the same basic story, and back in the early 1960s, there was even a cartoon version featuring Mr. Magoo as Scrooge (Jim Backus was the voice of Mr. Magoo).      

 

 

Main Cast:

 

Alastair Sim (Irish actor) as Ebenezer Scrooge

Kathleen Harrison (English actress) as Mrs. Dilber, the housekeeper

Mervyn Johns (Welsh actor) as Bob Cratchit 

Hermione Baddeley (English actress) as Mrs. Cratchit 

Michael Hordern (English actor) as Jacob Marley 

George Cole (English actor) as younger Ebenezer Scrooge

Glyn Dearman (English actor) as Tiny Tim

John Charlesworth (English actor) as Peter Cratchit

Francis De Wolff (English actor) as the Ghost of Christmas Present

Michael Dolan (Irish actor) as Ghost of Christmas Past

Czeslaw Konarski (Polish actor) as Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come

Patrick Macnee (English actor, of Scottish descent on his paternal side), as young Jacob Marley

The movie opens with the narrator telling us that "Old Marley is dead as a doornail," and that we need to understand this fact to understand the coming story. Ebenezer Scrooge appears and briefly talks with a couple of businessmen, telling them he doesn't celebrate Christmas, as Christmas keeps men from doing business. When Mr. Scrooge goes outside, he berates a debtor over the money the man owes him. In all of about one minute, we find out that Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean and angry man, and this is reinforced within about another 60 seconds, as Mr. Scrooge chases away three young carolers singing outside of his business. When one approaches him seeking a bit of change, Scrooge pushes her aside. Inside, Mr. Scrooge meets briefly with two businessmen who have come to ask for a contribution to help provide food and shelter for the poor, but Scrooge crudely points out that he supports things like prisons and work houses for the poor, but when the men protest that most of the poor would rather die than go to such places, Scrooge tells them that the poor should go on and die then, "and decrease the surplus population." He goes on to say that such things about the poor and their fate are not his business, and he sends the men on their way. In comes Scrooge's nephew to wish his uncle a merry Christmas, which goes over about as well as the men asking for a donation to help the poor. Mr. Scrooge tells his nephew that the young man married against his wishes, because his nephew's wife was penniless. Though his uncle is so unpleasant and so hostile towards Christmas, his nephew wishes him a good Christmas anyway and leaves. During the first few minutes of the film, we have heard Scrooge utter the word "humbug" more than once; and indeed, I would have to say that while the origin of the word is not known, it almost certainly is still with us because of this popular Dickens' Christmas tale. The word appears in the mid 1700s, but that doesn't mean it wasn't around earlier, perhaps in a somewhat different form. It's basic meaning is "a hoax, a fraud, a deception;" thus also, "nonsense."  

 

We next see a crippled boy with a crutch looking at and enjoying the display of various mechanical dolls and toys as his mother buys the family Christmas goose. This is Mrs. Cratchit and the boy is her son, Tim. As they begin their walk home, Mrs. Cratchit lets us know she's not the least bit fond of her husband's boss, Ebenezer Scrooge. At Scrooge's business, Scrooge prepares to leave and he tells Bob Cratchit how unfair the Christmas holiday is to himself and to other business people (he says it's workers getting to pick the pockets of their employers). While Scrooge grudgingly grants Cratchit Christmas Day off, the nasty old man tells his employee he expects him in early the day after that. When the brooding Mr. Scrooge gets to his house, the face of his deceased former partner appears on the entrance door, but Scrooge scoffs and goes into his house, locking the door well from the inside with upper and lower locks, beside the door's main lock. He goes up to his room and he locks the door there the same way. As he prepares to eat a bit of hot soup, Scrooge hears a voice call his name, then he hears various noises, mainly the sounds of small bells. The well locked door to his room flies open and in comes the image of a man who says he's Jacob Marley, and he lugs along a large chain with a lock. Scrooge tries to act brave, but when the image screams in a tortured agony, and asks if Scrooge believes in him, Scrooge cringes and mutters that he does believe in him. Scrooge asks why Marley is chained and why he walks the earth. Marley answers that he didn't walk among his fellow men in life and now he must do so incessantly in death and that he made the chain that he must bear by his actions in life. When Scrooge defends Marley as having simply been a good man of business, Marley yells out that mankind and the common welfare should have been his business. He warns Scrooge that he needs to change his ways, or he will share the same fate in death. Marley lets Scrooge know that he will be visited by three spirits and that only by their help can Scrooge hope to escape Marley's fate. Marley has Scrooge look out the window where there is a homeless woman clutching a child to her in the cold of Christmas Eve. (Comment: Remember, Scrooge told the men who sought a contribution to help the poor, that the fate of the poor was not his business.) 

 

Scrooge hops into bed and draws the drapes around the bed, as if drapes can protect him from ghosts. As Marley's ghost had told him, at 1 o'clock, a bell clangs and the first ghost appears to Scrooge and introduces himself as "the Ghost of Christmas Past," Ebenezer Scrooge's past. The ghost takes Scrooge back to Scrooge's school days. We learn that Ebenezer's mother died when giving birth to him and that Scrooge's father then foolishly blamed his son for his wife's death, never having anything to do with his son, and never giving the boy the love he needed. We see Scrooge's sister come and visit Ebenezer when he was a young man, and she tells Ebenezer that their father sent her to bring Ebenezer home, that he is a changed man regarding his son, even though he has never known his son. The ghost then takes Scrooge to his former place of apprenticeship, where the owner and his employees are having a merry time with music and dancing, and Scrooge can't help but to find himself enchanted by the fun, as he recalls his time there many years before. He asks the ghost if there ever was a kinder man than the owner. The ghost then reminds Scrooge that the party cost the owner a small sum of money, and Ebenezer quickly replies that the amount of enjoyment it gave to the employees made it seem to have cost a fortune. With this, Scrooge realizes what he's just said, that maybe money isn't everything, after all. The ghost then shows Ebenezer when he was in love with a woman named Alice, to whom he gave a ring. She is fearful to accept the ring, as she has no money or wealth whatsoever, but the Ebenezer of those days said that didn't matter. Next, the ghost takes Scrooge to when he was working for the owner mentioned above. The man is offered a large sum for his business in the name of "progress" by a big businessman, but the owner turns down the offer, telling the big businessman that there's more to life than money. When the owner goes to tend to some matter, the businessman talks with Ebenezer about him being able to get more money and advancement working in a new company, but Ebenezer tells the businessman he understands his employer's feelings, but the businessman still offers to meet with Ebenezer sometime. The ghost then takes Scrooge to the bedside of Scrooge's dying sister. Like their mother, the woman is dying after giving birth to a boy, the grown nephew we met earlier in the story. Scrooge leaves his sister's room before she is able to get Ebenezer to promise to take care of her newborn son, and she then passes away. The Scrooge who is with the ghost is now sorry. And the scene shifts to Scrooge working for the big businessman, having left his old employer. There he meets Jacob Marley, who works for the businessman too, and the two men find they have many similar beliefs, first and foremost, that the world is changing and that the changes will bring hardship to many, and that "one must steel oneself to survive it and not be crushed under with the weak and the infirm." (Comment: Dickens' story was set in the early 1840s, but since the ghost has taken Scrooge into the past when he was a young man, this part of the story would have been in the earlier 1800s.) We then see that Scrooge's former employer is going out of business, and when Scrooge comes to the building as it is being taken over, a young employee asks if he will still have a job, and Scrooge asks if he'll take a pay cut, which the young man accepts, then thanking Scrooge for helping him retain his job. When Scrooge looks over, he sees his former employer, but he can't bring himself to go to him; instead, he chooses to walk away. The ghost takes Scrooge back to Alice, who has released Ebenezer from his promise of marriage as she watched him change, and she tells him, "Another idol has replaced me in your heart, a golden idol." Scrooge answers by asking if it can be wrong to want to better yourself. Alice and Scrooge discuss his changes in attitude toward the world, and she reminds him that when he first courted her, they were both poor, but they were content in their lives, but that now he judges everything by gain, and she is still poor and brings nothing to his rising wealth. He leaves her. Scrooge tells the ghost he doesn't want to see and hear more, but the ghost says that he hasn't created this life story, as it the life story of Scrooge himself, and it is he who is responsible for these things. He takes Scrooge to the time of his joining with Marley in partnership when the big businessman has stolen money from the company, and Scrooge and Marley make good on the stolen money, but they then acquire a controlling interest in the company as partners. (Comment: Scrooge and Marley are such greedy and ruthless men, even the crooked big businessman warns the company directors about them!) Years pass and as Marley lies dying, a message is sent to Scrooge to come and see Marley before he dies, but Scrooge won't leave the business during business hours, which end at 7 o'clock. At that time Scrooge goes to see Marley, who is barely alive. When Scrooge gets to Marley's, a man is sitting outside Marley's room, and Scrooge asks the housekeeper if he is the doctor. She answers, "The undertaker," and the man tells Scrooge he is there before Marley dies, because it's a very competitive business. (Comment: Damn!) Marley tells Scrooge they were wrong, but Scrooge asks "Wrong about what?" Marley then warns Scrooge to "Save yourself," but Scrooge asks "Save myself from what?" But Marley has died. (Comment: At least the undertaker's happy.) Scrooge tries to stop the ghost from showing him more of his life, but the ghost tells him there is one more thing, and that is about Marley's funeral, and how Scrooge ruthlessly took Marley's money, house and furniture. Scrooge is now back in his bed and a bell clangs again, as a second ghost comes calling.

 

This is the Ghost of Christmas Present and he has Scrooge touch his robe to receive the magic power to be transported with the ghost to the places of the ghost's choosing. First they go to where a group of coal miners and their families are celebrating Christmas, and the group is having a warm celebration, although the miners work very hard in rough conditions, but still they celebrate. Next they go to the household of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's employee. The Crachit family can be seen enjoying Christmas Day after Bob Crachit carries in his crippled son, Tiny Tim. Scrooge asks the ghost if Tiny Tim will live, and the ghost answers that there is a shadow of an empty seat and an unused crutch that suggests that Tim will no longer be alive, unless events can alter this situation. He uses Scrooge's own words against him when he says the boy could "die to decrease the surplus population." As the family has their dinner and punch, Bob Cratchit offers up a toast to Mr. Scrooge, but the complaints rise about the nasty, miserly Scrooge from every corner, including Bob's wife. Bob objects to the complaints, especially on Christmas, so everyone settles down and drinks to Scrooge's health, in spite of their inner feelings. The next stop for the ghost and Scrooge is at Scrooge's nephew's home, where there is more great celebration of the Christmas holiday, as well as a toast from his nephew, but as happened in the Cratchit home, complaints rise at the very mention of Scrooge's name. His nephew stands by his uncle, saying that he feels sorry for him, and that his uncle's behavior hurts himself and leaves him alone in life. Off the two go to see Scrooge's former fiancée, Alice, who is tending to elderly, sick and poor people. Alice's kindness cheers these people and one old soul tells her that it's the best Christmas she's ever had. The ghost reminds Scrooge that he cut himself off from his fellow human beings when he lost Alice's love. The ghost takes Scrooge back outside and asks if Scrooge has learned any lessons yet, but Scrooge is unsure. The ghost opens his robe to show two young children, one boy and one girl, both with rags for clothes. Scrooge asks if the children belong to the ghost, but he answers, "They are man's. The boy is 'ignorance' and the girl is 'want.' " The ghost tells Scrooge to beware of both of the children, but especially the boy. When Scrooge asks, "Have they no refuge? No resource?" The ghost again uses Scrooge's own words as an answer, "Are there no prisons, are there no workhouses?" And as Scrooge covers his ears to block out his own words, the ghost repeats the words again and again, much to Scrooge's discomfort. As Scrooge tries to run away, an upraised hands stops him, and a bell clangs again. Scrooge realizes this is the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, and Scrooge tells the ghost he fears this ghost more than any other, but that he is too old to change his ways, although he feels sorrow for the things he has done in life. 

 

The ghost takes Scrooge to the Cratchit home again, but there is no joy or celebration this time. In the corner is the empty seat and the unused crutch mentioned by the previous ghost. The family mourns the loss of Tiny Tim. The ghost takes Scrooge to a group of cleaning women who are selling the belongings of a now deceased man, a man about whom they offer no kind words. Next we hear a conversation between two businessmen about the funeral of a man yet unnamed, and one of the men says he'll attend the funeral, but only if there's free food. The ghost takes Scrooge to the graveyard, where Scrooge asks if these are all things that must be, or whether these events can be altered by changes in a person's deeds. The ghost points to a gravestone with the name "EBENEZER SCROOGE." Scrooge breaks down and begs the ghost for mercy, saying he will make good the wrongs he has done, and then repeatedly uttering, "I'm not the man I was." Scrooge is back in his bed and his housekeeper knocks at his door to bring him his breakfast. Scrooge asks her the day, and she tells him it's Christmas, and Scrooge is happy and skips about joyfully. At this behavior, the housekeeper asks Scrooge, "Are you quite yourself, sir?" Scrooge tells her, "I hope not," as he runs and skips about, wishing himself and the housekeeper a merry Christmas. The woman is absolutely terrified by Scrooge's actions, but Scrooge tries to reassure her that he's not gone mad. He gives her some money and he then raises her pay substantially. Scrooge runs and opens the window to better hear the sound of the ringing church bells. He yells to a boy passing by and arranges for him to bring the butcher to him with the promise of a great tip for the boy. Scrooge has the butcher send a huge turkey to Bob Crachit and his family, but only Tiny Tim seems to think the massive bird has been sent by Mr. Scrooge. Then Scrooge goes to his nephew's house, where the group gathered there is singing, only to stop at the sight of Scrooge, who asks if it's too late to accept his nephew's invitation to dinner. His nephew welcomes him, and Scrooge asks his nephew's wife, "Can you forgive a pigheaded old fool for having no eyes to see with, and no ears to hear with all of these years?" The piano player plays an upbeat song and Scrooge dances with his nephew's wife, as the others join in. The next day, Scrooge sits in his office acting busy as Bob Cratchit comes into work a bit late. Scrooge acts as if he's about to fire Cratchit, but instead, he gives Cratchit a raise, as he laughs and laughs. The look on Cratchit's face leaves no doubt that he thinks Scrooge has lost his mind, but Scrooge assures him otherwise, and he tells Cratchit that he wants to help him raise his family. Scrooge can't keep from smiling, he's so happy. The narrator tells us that Ebenezer outdid himself and became one of the best men the city ever knew, and that he became a second father to Tiny Tim, who lived and got better.                          

 

 

 Photo is of the 2014 VCI Video colorized DVD version           

 WORD HISTORY:

Crutch-This word is related to "crook/crooked," "crouch" and "creep," all words from Germanic, and "likely" all are original English words, with some caveats for "crook" and "crouch" "perhaps" being from, but maybe just reinforced by, Old Norse, another Germanic language), and it is also related to "crochet," a word borrowed by English from French, which had borrowed it from Germanic (likely from Frankish, but here too Old Norse "could" have been involved). "Crutch" goes back to Indo European "ger/grewg," which had the notion, "to bend, to turn, to twist." This gave Old Germanic "krukjon," meaning, "crooked staff," which then became "krukjo" in West Germanic, meaning, "staff with a crooked handle or arm support." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "crycce," with the same basic meaning. This then became "crucce," before the modern form. Other Germanic languages have: German "Krücke," Low German Saxon "Krück," Dutch (and Frisian?) "kruk." The North Germanic languages borrowed forms from Low German: Danish and Norwegian "krykke" and Swedish "krycka." Icelandic does not have a form, as apparently, it (Icelandic) was already established out in the North Atlantic when these other borrowings (into North Germanic languages) took place. 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

"Home Alone 2" is the 1992 sequel to the original massive 1990-91 box office hit "Home Alone;" and like the original movie, this film took in many times the amount it cost to make it. Also like with the original movie; and indeed, comedies in general, you have to turn down your "reality gauge" more than a little, and just relax and enjoy the movie, instead of being hypersensitive to things that don't always make sense. There is a discrepancy, for instance, over Kevin's age and the time line of the film. In the original movie, Kevin was 8 years old. In this movie, Kevin is 10 years old, but there are references to the events of the original movie having taken place one year before. It's my understanding that this movie began filming about a year after the release of the original film, but that doesn't explain the discrepancy, but it's not really all that important. For those who saw this movie when it was first released to theaters, just to give you some perspective on how time goes so quickly, Macaulay Culkin turned 40 years old this past summer (August 2020), and John Heard, who played his father, died in 2017, age 71.      

 

Main Cast: 

 

Macaulay Culkin as 10 year old Kevin McCallister

Joe Pesci as Harry

Daniel Stern as Marv

Catherine O'Hara as Kate McCallister, Kevin's mom

John Heard as Peter McCallister, Kevin's father

Tim Curry as Mr. Hector, the concierge of the hotel

Rob Schneider as Cedric, the bellman at the hotel

Brenda Fricker as the Pigeon Lady of Central Park

Eddie Bracken as Mr. Duncan, the owner of the toy store

Ralph Foody as a gangster in a film Kevin likes

Dana Ivey as the check-in clerk

 

The story opens, as in the original movie, with lots of activity at the McCallister home in suburban Chicago as the Christmas holiday approaches, but this time, the family is flying to Florida, an idea that Kevin finds unacceptable, because he and the others will be away from a real Christmas tree. Peter, Kevin's father, accidentally disconnects the alarm clock when he unplugs a battery charger; so, keep this in mind. The family is also going to a Christmas pageant at the local school the evening before their trip to Florida, and the McCallister children will sing in the chorus, with Kevin scheduled to sing a solo. During Kevin's solo, his older brother, Buzz, gets the audience laughing at Kevin as Buzz does things right behind Kevin's back. This leads Kevin to shove Buzz and he the chorus members fall from the riser where they've been stationed for the performance. Afterwards at home, Buzz gives a phony apology to the entire family and then challenges Kevin to beat his performance, but this last is out of earshot of everyone else. Kevin refuses to apologize and insults his uncle (his dad's brother) by calling him a cheapskate, which he is (Peter has good income and his brother and his brother's wife and kids benefit from it, including by going on the vacations that are paid for by Peter). Kevin is sent to the attic and it seems we're being led down the same path that took place in the original movie, which seems confirmed when the family oversleeps because Peter unpluged the alarm clock by mistake earlier. (Comment: Obviously this is one of those things that doesn't make sense, as this family has a BIG beautiful house, a couple of cars and lots of nice and modern appliances and furniture, but I guess they can only afford one alarm clock. I'm tellin' ya, life's tough!) We learn from a windblown newspaper, that Harry and Marv have escaped from prison during a prison riot. (Comment: For those who didn't see the original movie, Harry and Marv were the crooks who sought to rob the McCallister home while the family was in Paris, but initially they didn't know Kevin was still in the house. The bungling robbers had their hands full with Kevin, and they ended up being taken off to jail.) Anyway, the next morning, the airport transportation service arrives and the doorbell rings, but the family is still asleep. They all have to rush to get ready and get to the airport for their plane to Florida, and yes, Kevin is present. We learn that the family members will not all be sitting together, which makes sense, because there are so many of them. Once at the airport, Kevin wants batteries for his portable recorder, which are in his dad's travel bag, along with lots of cash. Since Kevin wants the batteries, his dad lets him carry the bag as they all rush to get their plane. As Kevin stops briefly to load the batteries into the recorder, the family runs well ahead of him, and a man wearing the same type coat as his dad enters into the crowd of people and runs to catch his plane, making Kevin think he still has his dad in sight. The thing is, his dad and the rest of the family have turned off for the gate with the plane for Florida, while the man Kevin is following is hurrying to get a plane to New York City.

 

Kevin bumps into the flight attendant, knocking the boarding passes out of her hand, including his own pass. Kevin explains that his family is on this flight and that his dad just got on, so the attendant goes with Kevin onto the plane. Kevin points to the man he thinks is his dad and the attendant is satisfied and she tells Kevin to find a seat in another part of the plane, as there are no seats by his "dad." (Comment: Just to clarify, when Kevin bumped into the flight attendant, his boarding pass got mixed up in all of the other passes knocked from the flight attendant's hand.) Kevin sits down next to a man and tries to start a conversation, but the man speaks French, and Kevin puts on his headphones to drown out the man's incessant chatter. (Comment: They didn't even translate what the guy was saying in subtitles. Maybe they were afraid Kevin would read them.) With headphones on, Kevin can't hear the flight attendant announce that the plane is bound for New York City. So later, the plane lands in New York and Kevin can't find any member of his family. He asks a lady at the information counter which city this is, and she tells him it's New York City. Kevin knows he's messed up. At first, Kevin is scared, but then he realizes he's in New York City and away from his family; so, off he goes to explore the Big Apple. Meanwhile, in Florida the family's plane lands and they all go to pick up their baggage, but when Kevin's bag is handed around, they now realize Kevin is not there! Peter and Kate report their missing son to airport security, but they make a terrible impression by cracking that such a situation has happened before, because they forgot Kevin at home on a vacation trip, so this is the second time Kevin has been missing, "but we never lose our luggage." They laugh, but the security officer isn't amused, and he tells the couple security will contact the police in Chicago to see if the boy is still there.

 

In the meantime, Harry and Marv arrive in New York City as stowaways in a seafood truck. The two crooks begin to look for a place to rob. Kevin tours part of the city, but when he goes to Central Park, he's frightened by the sight of a rather shabbily dressed woman covered with pigeons, and he runs off. (Comment: If she's covered with pigeons, is she also be covered by what pigeons leave behind, and I'm not talking feathers?) As Kevin crosses a street, Harry and Marv pass by, and at first Harry thinks he recognizes something about Kevin, but he then moves on and Kevin doesn't see the two crooks. He goes to the Park Plaza Hotel where he uses his recorder to record a message reserving a room by telephone, and when it plays back, he slows the speed to disguise his voice. He calls the hotel 800 number on a payphone and reserves a room, then a little later he goes to the reservation desk where he checks in. Because he has his dad's carry on bag, he has his dad's money and wallet, which has his dad's credit cards in it. He presents a credit card, telling the clerk his dad is in a business meeting and that he dropped him off at the hotel. The clerk makes an impression of the credit card info (the procerdure back then, with carbon copies), and she tells Kevin his dad will have to sign some papers. Not far away, the concierge is suspicious, but he sends the bellman to take Kevin to the room. After Kevin checks out the room, the bellman waits for his tip, and Kevin hands him a piece of chewing gum. Meanwhile in Florida, the security officer hears there is no sign of Kevin in Chicago, so he asks for a recent picture of the boy, but when his dad reaches for his wallet, it's not in his pocket, and he realizes Kevin has his money and credit cards. 

 

Kevin uses the hotel indoor swimming pool and he then proceeds to enjoy some time in the hotel room, including a room service waiter to make to serve him dishes of all kinds of ice cream. All the while Kevin watches a gangster movie video on the room's VCR with the same leading gangster character from the original movie, only this time, the gangster is in a dispute with his girlfriend and he takes out a Tommy gun, and as in the original movie, he uses it. A little later the concierge, who had been suspicious of Kevin in the hotel lobby, knocks at the door and pretends to be with housekeeping. Kevin runs into the bathroom and sets up a large inflatable clown in the shower (it had been given to him as a gift to use at the beach in Florida), and then he gets his tape recorder from when his uncle was singing in the shower (I didn't cover this earlier, but prior to going to the Christmas show at the school, Kevin needed his tie, but it was in the bathroom where his uncle was in the shower and singing too. Kevin recorded his uncle, who then saw Kevin and yelled, "Get out of here you nosy little pervert or I'm going to slap you silly.") The concierge hears the singing in the bathroom and he decides to peek in. When he does, through the shower curtain he sees the shadow of who he thinks is Mr. McCallister, but then comes the part about the "nosy little pervert," and the concierge runs through the suite to get out (keep this scene in mind for later). Kevin hasn't been found out yet. Meanwhile in Florida, it's pouring down rain! 

 

Kevin looks at a picture of his family from his dad's wallet and he begins to miss them. The next morning, the day before Christmas, Kevin's arranged for the htoel to get a limo for him to see the city. The concierge wants Kevin to explain his intrusion into the bathroom the night before, and Kevin plays it all well, but the suspicious concierge gets the credit card information out. He puts the numbers into the device and across the top comes "STOLEN." He's happy. Kevin is out and about in the limo and he has the driver take him to a toy store, "Duncan's Toy Chest." Inside, Kevin buys a few things and he goes to pay for them. The kindly older man at the cash register chats with Kevin. It's Mr. Duncan, but Kevin doesn't know that at first. During their chat Mr. Duncan tells Kevin that the store owner is going to donate all the money taken in for the day to the Children's Hospital. Kevin is so impressed, he takes $20 from his dad's money and donates it for the hospital. This brings Mr. Duncan to give Kevin two turtledove decorations from one of the store's Christmas trees. He tells Kevin he'll need to keep one and to give the other one to someone special, and that then the two will be friends forever. Kevin leaves, but there's no limo waiting outside (undoubtedly recalled because of the credit card being stolen). While Kevin had been in the limo, Harry and Marv see an ad for "Duncan's Toy Chest," and they decide it would be a good place to rob that night, Christmas Eve. They go to the toystore to check it out and develop a plan. They are in the store at the same time as Kevin, but it's only when Kevin and the two crooks go outside that Harry and Marv see and recognize Kevin. When Kevin turns around and sees the two bungling robbers, he screams, which brings looks from all over the street, making Harry and Marv hesitate to do anything to Kevin, and it gives the boy a chance to run off through the New York City traffic, but with the two prison escapees following not too far behind. A street peddler is shouting out his deal for bead necklaces (fake pearls) and Kevin quickly pays the man and gets some necklaces. He runs across another street as Harry and Marv begin to cross the street after him. Kevin starts breaking the bands holding the beads on the necklaces, which sends a multitude of beads all over the sidewalk. As Harry and Marv charge across to the sidewalk, they step on the beads ...WHOOPS! Down they go, flat on their backs. The thing is, as Kevin approaches the hotel, the concierge is outside and sees Kevin coming. This brings a big grin to his face, and when he stops Kevin, he grabs the credit card from Kevin's pocket and tells Kevin that it's been reported as stolen. The concierge thinks he now has Kevin, or does he? Kevin runs past the concierge and into the hotel and he is able to get to the elevator in spite of the bellman and the front desk clerk. 

 

Kevin gets to the room and grabs some snacks and his dad's travel bag and prepares to leave, but into the room come the concierge, the bellman, the desk clerk and two other hotel employees. Kevin picks up the video remote control and starts playing the scenes from the gangster movie (if you've never seen the movie, this scene is hilarious, but it's too involved to try to explain here). In the gangster film, the gangster argues with his girlfriend, but the concierge thinks this is Mr. McCallister yelling at him for being in the room the night before (Hey, I told you to keep that scene of the concierge entering the room in mind). The gangster says "you were smooching with my brother," and the whole crew sort of gasps, and the concierge doesn't know what to say. There's more, but tough to explain, so you have to watch it. Eventually in the film, the gangster tells the girlfriend to get down on her knees "and tell me you love me." The concierge and the other personnel get down on their knees trying their darndest to convince the guy they love him! hahahaha The gangster takes out the Tommy gun and threatens to open fire, bringing the hotel crew to dash for the door just before the sound of shots ring out. They crawl along the hallway floor as the shots continue, and as guests peek from their rooms to see what all of the commotion is about. Kevin sneaks out and uses the stairs to get out of the hotel, but when Kevin exits the door at the rear of the building, Harry and Marv are right there and they nab him, and tear up his plane ticket. Marv is a talker and he blabs out the two crooks' plans to rob Mr. Duncan's toystore at midnight. While Harry tells Marv to shut up, they don't know it, but Kevin has switched on the recorder in his pocket and it records everything that's been said (keep this in mind). Harry and Marv want to get Kevin to the subway and Harry tells the boy he has a gun in his pocket. When the three stop at a corner to wait for the traffic light to change, Kevin reaches over and pinches the "behind" of a young lady in front of them. When she turns around, she assumes Marv did it, and she punches him, knocking him to the ground, but Kevin points to Harry and says he did it, so she slugs him too. Kevin races off. Harry and Marv decide to give up on catching Kevin. 

In Miami, the rain continues, and the McCallister family is stuck in their hotel watching "It's A Wonderful Life," in Spanish! (Hey, it's Miami). The police call and tell them Kevin is in New York City, so the family prepares to fly to New York. Peter wonders if Kevin might try to contact Peter's brother who lives in New York, but the brother and his family are in Paris vacationing, and their house is under renovation while they're gone. (Comment: Hey, this whole family's got some bucks! Just call me "Kevin.") Kevin has his uncle's address from his dad's address book in his travel bag, so he goes to the house, but he sees it's under renovation and that no one is even there. As he walks through Central Park alone, Kevin sees the rough side of life for many people, they're homeless and mentally ill. He finally stops to eat a couple cookies he took from the hotel room before leaving, but a pigeon lands right by him as Kevin prepares to eat. He crumbles some of the cookie and holds it out, and the pigeon starts to eat. Then another pigeon lands and starts to eat, then another and another, until the cookies are gone, but the pigeons are happy. (Comment: I guess that's how the cookie crumbles.) From behind a rock, the head of the "Pigeon Woman" emerges (the woman covered in pigeons from not long after Kevin arrived in New York City). Kevin screams and tries to run, but his foot gets caught between some rocks. The woman comes closer and Kevin screams again, but she bends down and frees his foot from between the rocks. Kevin runs, but then he stops. He turns around and starts talking to the woman who just helped him. She is very soft spoken, and when Kevin asks why the pigeons come to her, she gives him some seed to throw into the air. When it hits the ground, dozens of pigeons swarm in and land to eat the seed. Kevin asks the woman if she'd like to get some hot chocolate and she agrees; off they go. The woman takes Kevin to a dusty, secluded attic-like room above Carnegie Hall. The two talk some more and Kevin finds out the woman was once in love, but the man left her and broke her heart. Kevin encourages her to talk to more people and to trust others. (Comment: While such things never go out of style, it's important to understand that when the movie was filmed, many people were going through rough economic times, and "downsizing" was the mantra of the business world. Quite a number of people had had decent jobs, but they were cut from payrolls, sometimes to help a business to survive, and sometimes to just make more money for already wealthy owners and investors. I can't tell you how many people, but a number of people who lost the decent jobs were left taking jobs with far less income or benefits, like health insurance. There was serious homelessness; and thus, serious emotional stress on many, bringing with it mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse. Along with these things came panhandling, including aggressive panhandling by some, and robberies to survive, or to also support addictions. The Pigeon Lady represents a segment of the people who felt left behind (also true today) and she tells Kevin how some people don't want people like her to be a part of "their city." Kevin tells her people don't always forget about others intentionally, they sometimes need to be reminded.) Kevin tells the woman he thinks being alone would be more fun, but then, when he IS alone, it's not fun, and that he'd rather be around people. He tells the woman he's done some bad things, and she tells him that a good deed erases a bad deed and that he should think of a good deed to do. Kevin and the woman part and they wish each other a merry Christmas. As Kevin walks along a thought comes to him and he runs back to his uncle's house and gets inside by climbing up the debris chute. He finds lots of tools and materials from the ongoing renovation work and he starts working on traps for the crooks. 

 

Meanwhile the McCallisters arrive at the hotel and confront the concierge and staff for letting a child check in to a hotel alone. Kate decides she wants to go out looking for Kevin while Peter goes to the police station to check on what they're doing to find Kevin. The clock strikes midnight and the guard at the toystore building locks the door. Harry and Marv have been hiding inside waiting for this moment. Harry finds the cash register full of money and Marv pries open a chest used for donations for the children's hospital; it's full of money! The two have struck it rich when Kevin peeks in and taps on the window. When the crooks look at Kevin, he snaps their picture and then he throws a rock through the window with a note on it. The broken window sets off the alarm and Harry and Marv take out after Kevin. As Kevin runs toward his uncle's house, Kate is already there, but finds no one there, so she gets into a taxi and leaves, just as Kevin gets to the house, with Harry and Marv a little distance behind. Kevin climbs up through the debris chute again and heads up to the roof. When he looks down, there are Harry and Marv who try to make a deal with him to give up the camera with their picture stealing the money in the toyshop. They ask the boy to just throw the camera down, and Kevin agrees, except he throws down a brick, not the camera. Marv is struck and falls to the ground. When Harry challenges Kevin to throw another brink, he does, and Marv is hit again, then again, and one more time. While Harry goes around to the back, Marv tries to enter through the front door, but when he grabs the door knob and pulls, Kevin has a rope tied to a large staple gun. When the rope is pulled tight, it will pull the trigger, firing a staple through the opening left by the doorknob. Marv struggles at pulling the rope, so he turns around, putting his backside up against the door, and pulls on the rope. BAM! The staple attaches the rope right to his butt, so when he turns around, it tightens the rope again and fires another staple into him, causing him to drop to his knees and putting his head even with the staple gun, which cuts loose with another staple that firmly pins Marv's nose to his face, if it needed such.

 

Harry sees a fire escape ladder in the back of the building. He tries jumping over to get it, but Kevin has covered it with some slimy substance that causes Harry to fall back down. When Harry finally opens a door, Kevin has it rigged up to release a bunch of tools onto the person entering, and Harry is entering! Meanwhile, Marv kicks open the front door, but when he steps inside, he plunges down to the basement level, as part of the floor has been removed for the renovation. When he recovers, he begins to walk, but Kevin has covered the floor with the same slimy stuff he put on the outside ladder, and Marv slides into some shelving full of paint cans. Down comes the shelving, paint cans and all, right onto Marv. When Marv goes to the basement sink to wash, Kevin has a battery connected to the pipes of the sink and he switches on the power. As soon as Marv tries to turn the water on, he's zapped by mega volts of electricity. So Harry wanders around, and he finds no tricks from Kevin; at least, not at first. He pulls the chain to turn on one of the lights and Kevin has it connected to a type of igniter which sets Harry's hat ablaze (similar to what happened in the original movie). Kevin has emptied kerosene into the nearby toilet, and when Harry tries to douse his hat and head by sticking his head into the toilet bowl ... KA POW! Marv's hair is all frizzly from the jolt of electric and he tries climbing up to the ground level through a hole in the floor. Kevin has a rope tied to a large bag of cement, but when Marv pulls on the rope, it seems solid, until he actually puts weight onto it. Down comes the bag of cement onto Marv. He regains his composure as Kevin climbs a ladder to the second floor (Kevin looks over at Marv and says, "Don't you know a kids always wins against two idiots?"). Kevin had used a saw to cut through part of the ladder, but it was still able to bear Kevin's weight, but not the weight of an adult. Harry is the adult... so to speak, and the ladder breaks and Harry falls to the floor. The two bungling crooks try going up the stairs, but Harry remembers how Kevin hit them with suspended paint cans before (in the original movie). So the two guys stomp around to try to make Kevin think they're coming up the stairs. Down swings a paint can and then another. Harry and Marv scream as if they've been hit, but they assume that's the end of Kevin's devices on the stairway. They begin to charge up the steps, when down swings what seems to be a large drain pipe on a rope ... BOOM! The two crooks are not only knocked down the steps, they are knocked down through the hole in the floor into the basement. As the pipe swings back up to Kevin, he cuts the rope, letting the pipe bounce down the steps right down through the hole in the floor and onto Harry and Marv. The two recover and climb back to the main floor, only to have Kevin taunt them with about how scared he is. Kevin ties another rope to the doorknob of the door to the attic stairway. He then ties the other end to a large tool chest on wheels, which he has right at the edge of the top of the stairs. Harry and Marv pull the doorknob and they wonder what the loud noise is they hear (it's the sound of the tool chest coming down the steps), so they put their ears to the door. The chest slams against the door, taking the door off the hinges and pushing the two crooks up against the opposite wall. Kevin heads to the roof where he climbs down a rope. Harry and Marv get to the roof and look down and see Kevin. Harry has to coax Marv, but the two begin descending the rope, only to realize that Kevin has soaked the rope in kerosene, and after Harry and Marv get part way down the rope, there's Kevin with a lit match at the bottom. He lights the rope and the two bungling criminals try to climb up the rope as the fire pursues them. They fall from the rope and break the scaffolding set up outside the building for the renovation. As they look up, now here comes paint and varnish cans down upon them from other scaffolding that has given way. 

 

Kevin runs to a payphone (there were such things back then ... haha) and calls 9-1-1 for the police. He reports that the men who robbed Duncan's Toy Chest are in Central Park West at 95th Street. He adds, "Look for fireworks. Hurry, they've got a gun." Harry and Marv recover and take out after Kevin, who can't hold back on one more taunt to "come and get me," but when he runs across a street, he slips on the ice and is dazed when he hits the ground. He looks up and there are the two crooks staring down at him. Harry and Marv walk Kevin into the park and they open the bag and take out the photos of themselves robbing the toystore. When Harry pulls a gun from his coat pocket, it's dripping with paint, varnish and slimy guck from the night's adventures. We hear the sound of wings flapping, hm, maybe angels? Buffalo wings? Honey barbecue? Nope, they're pigeon wings, and more and more pigeons are congregating. Suddenly the Pigeon Lady appears with a bucket. When Harry and Marv turn towards her, she yells for Kevin to run, and he grabs the bag and heads a short distance away. The Pigeon Lady empties the bucket onto the two crooks and we find the bucket is full of seed. With the various sticky substances on the two men, the seed sticks all over them and the pigeons cover them in a scene that undoubtedly had Alfred Hitchcock laughing in his grave (ah, if that's possible). (Comment: Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed the famous 1963 thriller film "The Birds," about masses of birds run amok and attacking people. Hitchcock died in 1980, and his body was cremated, so no laughing in his grave for Alfred.) Kevin thanks the Pigeon Lady and takes some fireworks from the bag with the camera. He lights the fuse and "BAM! POW! KABOMB!" The police arrive and fire a shot to scare the pigeons away. We see Harry and Marv covered with pigeon feathers and ah, what the Pigeon Lady's coat is covered with from the pigeons too. The police find the photos of the men robbing the toystore, as well as the tape of the guys threatening to kill Kevin from earlier in the movie. The police take the two away. 

 

A little later at the toystore, the police report to Mr. Duncan that the robbers have been caught and the money recovered. Mr. Duncan wants the money delivered to the Children's Hospital immediately and the police officer assures him he will deliver it personally. A detective has found the rock with Kevin's note tied to it and he gives the note to Mr. Duncan. In the note Kevin explains that he broke the window to help get the robbers and that if Mr. Duncan doesn't have insurance, he'll send him the money to pay for the window. He also again thanks Mr. Duncan for the turtledoves. (Comment: I wonder if Mr. Duncan offered anyone some of his donuts. You know, "Duncan donuts.") Meanwhile, Kate walks along asking people if they've seen her son, as she tries to show them a photo of Kevin. Most are disinterested, but she comes upon a police car with two officers in it (one with a cup of coffee, as likely he has already eaten a "Duncan donut"). At first she has trouble getting them interested in her situation (remember Kevin's talk with the Pigeon Lady, people have to be reminded not to forget, and she reminds the officers of their own children, and how the officers would react if one of their kids was missing), but she finally succeeds a bit, and as she talks about Kevin deserving to be at home with a Christmas tree, she tells the policemen she knows where Kevin is... Rockefeller Center (which has New York City's Christmas tree display every year). They take her there. As Kevin stands before the huge tree at Rockefeller Center, he confesses his mistakes and promises to forgive and love everyone in his life, regardless of their mistakes. Kate calls to Kevin and she runs to him and they hug and then go to the hotel. The next morning, Christmas morning, the family awakens to find all kinds of presents under a tree in their suite (which is pretty sweet). We find out the gifts are from Mr. Duncan (probably donuts), and as Kevin looks at the Christmas tree, a thought strikes him. He runs to get dressed and he heads to Central Park. There, surrounded by pigeons, is the Pigeon Lady. Kevin wishes her a merry Christmas and she turns toward him delightedly and returns the greeting. Kevin has her hold out her hand and he places one of the turtledoves in it. She is a bit confused, and Kevin explains that as long as she has a turtledove and he has a turtledove, they will always be friends. She is very touched and Kevin tells her, "I won't forget you, trust me." The two hug each other. 

                    

At the hotel, the bellman knocks at the McCallister door and delivers Kevin's room service bill, totaling $967. Buzz takes the bill into his dad. Outside, Kevin is with the Pigeon Lady when he hears his father scream, "KEVIN! You spent $967 on room service?" Kevin runs off. 

                   

  

Photo is isolated from the DVD Home Alone Collection by Fox Home Entertainment 2013

WORD HISTORY:

Pew-This noun is a close relative of "podium," a word English borrowed from Latin, but it is also related to "pedal," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French, which had gotten it from Italian, and it is distantly related to "foot" and to "fetter," both words from the Germanic roots of English. "Pew" goes back to Indo European "ped," which meant "foot," with extended meanings like "support, base." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "pous," which meant "foot" and this produced the transliterated noun "pódion," a diminutive form meaning "(small) base" (seemingly initially used in regards to statues and vases). Latin borrowed the word as "podium," meaning, "an elevated area, platform or balcony in an amphitheater or an arena." "Podia," the plural of "podium," gave Old French "puie/puye," meaning, "elevated seat or platform, balcony, mound, parapet." English borrowed the word circa 1400 initially as "pewe/peue," and initially it was used for "elevated benches for certain, often important, people in a church," but later broadened to more commonly mean "rows of benches fixed in place within the worship area of a church," but the idea of an area for "important people" has also persisted in some churches.    

Vietnamese Crab Omelette: Trứng Chiên Với Cua

Vietnamese "Trứng Chiên Với Cua" means "Omelette with Crab." This omelette is good served with Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Ingredients (2 servings):

4 large eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (or black pepper)

1/2 cup crab meat, in small pieces

3 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced

2 small red chilies, seeded and sliced (I generally prefer not to seed them)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

3 tablespoons peanut oil (divided uses, see below)

Vietnamese dipping sauce to serve (link to the recipe for the dipping sauce: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/12/vietnamese-dipping-sauce-nuoc-cham-or.html ) 

 

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in an 8" or 9" skillet (a nonstick skillet is best for this) over medium heat. Add the chopped green onion and the sliced chili pepper, saute for about 90 seconds, then add the crab meat and saute another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring the ingredients around as they cook. Empty the contents onto a dish and set it aside briefly. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Beat the eggs with the pepper and the fish sauce in a bowl. Add half the eggs to the skillet and as they cook, keep pulling the edges in toward the middle to allow the still raw egg to fill in the outer edge (tilt the skillet to help with this). Cook until the eggs are almost set, then add half of the crab mixture to top half of the basically cooked eggs, and then fold the other half of the egg over onto the filled half. Press down lightly to secure the filling. Carefully turn the omelette over to the other side and let it cook until it reaches the desired level of doneness (I don't care a lot for well browned omelettes, as can be seen in the photos below, so I don't let them brown much, but many people prefer them well browned, so whatever you prefer; none of this will end civilization any time soon). Repeat the cooking process for the second omelette.

 

Vietnamese nuoc cham dipping sauce on the side ...

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Tram-The history of this word is obscure, but it seems to be from the Germanic languages along the North Sea (for some strange reason referred to as " North Sea Germanic"... hm, wonder why? And by the way, English is one of those North Sea Germanic languages, although this grouping is generally used for the ancestors of the modern languages, like Old English and Old Saxon). The word seems to have come into English in the late 1400s or early 1500s from Flemish,^ Dutch or Low German, which had forms like "traam(e)," "trame," and where it meant "beam;" thus also, "handle for a (wheel)barrow," then the word began to be used for the carts used to haul coal and ore in mines (the carts had handles). Where the word came from is unknown, and some believe it developed in the Germanic languages and dialects in the northwestern part of Europe from a word now lost to us. By the early part of the 1800s the word was also used for "the track/rail for a cart," and between that usage and the cart meaning, this developed into the use for "tram-car;" that is, "streetcar," and this was then shortened to "tram," and this was also used for cable cars.       

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce: Nuoc Cham or Nước Chấm

Vietnamese is part of the Austroasiatic language family, which includes several other languages, the largest of which are Khmer, the national language of Cambodia, and Mon, which is one of the languages of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). Vietnamese has several diacritic marks, commonly called "accent markings" by some, and Vietnamese was influenced beginning in the late 1700s by Portuguese, later by French and by Engish (largely via Americans) and by Chinese.

This is one of those sauces with a large variety of recipes, as many people simply make it at home, although I believe I've heard there are commercial brands of this dipping sauce. Please don't be afraid of fish sauce. Yes, it has both a strong odor and a strong salty and fishy taste, but when mixed with other ingredients, it provides a special savory flavor. A small amount is a common addition to a number of Southeast Asian recipes, but in the case of this sauce, it has a larger representation, especially given the small of amount of overall ingredients, but I absolutely love this sauce; and remember, this is a "dipping sauce," not a beverage. Myself, I haven't had a drink of it for at least 15 or 20 minutes. hahaha  Also, I tend to use one small hot chili pepper and half of a small milder, but still with some heat, red chili pepper. If you don't like much heat, I'd suggest just using a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper instead of the fresh hot chilies. If you're a busy person, making this sauce could be a tough one, because it will take all of about 4 or 5 minutes to make it ... wow, so time consuming. hahaha! 

 

You can vary the amount of some ingredients to fine tune the sauce to your own taste preference. Hm, if this is a "dipping sauce," maybe old Randy has another recipe? Stay tuned! (And it's "ol' Randy!")

 

Ingredients:

 

4 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sugar (more to taste, if needed)

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 

1 or 2 small hot red chili peppers, minced

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fish sauce 

Dissolve the sugar in 2 tablespoons of warm, not hot, water, then add the other 2 tablespoons of water, the lime juice, the rice vinegar and the fish sauce. Mix well, then add the chili pepper and garlic and mix well again. Taste the sauce to see if it needs a little more sugar, or perhaps some more lime juice. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Example/Sample-These words are closely linked and they are closely related to "exempt," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English via French (with lots of influence from Latin itself). The first part of "example" goes back to Indo European "eghs/ekhs," which had the notion, "out from, away from," and this gave Latin "ex," with the same basic meanings. The main body of the the word is from Indo European "em," which meant, "to take," and this gave Latin the verb "emere," initially meaning "to take," but with added meanings, "to obtain, to acquire;" thus also, "to buy." Together the parts gave Latin the verb "eximere," meaning, "to take away from;" thus, "to remove." This produced the Latin noun "exemplum," meaning, "a pattern or model (taken from an item or event);" thus, "a sample (taken from a product)," but also, "a warning or lesson;" as taken from an event or a person; as in, "Let that man's prison sentence be a warning (or example) to you." The Latin form was rendered as "essemple/essample," and English borrowed the word in the 1300s with seemingly variable spellings (not uncommon in those tymes .. ah, I mean times), but centered around "essample." By the second half of the 1400s, under the influence of Latin, the spelling added "ex" for the first part of the word (French did the same, as there was something of a revival of Latin influence and, thus, spellings.) Old French "essemple/essample"  produced the shortened form "saumple" in the French that developed in England over time and this was borrowed by English in the 1300s, with the modern spelling following in the 1400s (?). The commercial idea of "a small portion of a product used to promote the sale of a product" seems to be from the first half of the 1400s, and the use of the term for medical and scientific purposes is from the second half of the 1800s. The verb use of the word developed in the mid 1700s meaning, "to take small parts of things, often food, to get the notion of the whole objects;" as in, "I want to sample all 10 flavors of ice cream to see which one I like best."   

Merry Christmas!

TO EVERYONE: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Or for a bit of Old English, "Myrige Christmas!" (See Word Histories, below.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WORD HISTORIES:

Merry-This word goes back to Indo European "mreghuz," which meant "short." This gave its Old Germanic offspring  "murgjaz," which had the notion of "short (also of time), short duration." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "myrige," which meant "pleasant, delightful," and the connection to the base meaning "short duration" is that if something is pleasant, time passes quickly; that is, it is shortened. Old English also had a verb form, "myrgan," meaning "to be merry." Forms of the word seem to have died out in the other Germanic languages, the last main vestiges being Middle Dutch "mergelijc," which meant "joyful;" that is, "feeling merry" (see note below), and German had the verb forms tied to the original meaning, "mukeln" and "murken," which meant "to cut into pieces;" that is, "make shorter, shorten." In English, over time, the meaning "pleasant" evolved into "happy, jolly." NOTE: Middle Dutch was the collection of West Germanic dialects that later evolved into modern Dutch dating from 1150 A.D. until 1500 A.D.

 

Yule-"Yule" just love this one! (Okay, I couldn't resist that!) How this word originated is uncertain, although some speculate that it goes back to Indo European "qwelo," which had the notion of "turning, going around." In this case, Yule would have meant " turn of the year," as it originally meant the mid-winter period of the year, and it was not necessarily associated with any festival. Later it denoted a twelve day heathen festival in winter (in what is now the month of December), and when Christianity spread, the term began to be applied to Christmas. In Old English is was "geol/geola" (the "ge" combination was likely pronounced like or near to modern "y," as its German cousin's pronunciation for "je" combinations is like English "yea"), and this then became "yole," before the modern form. The various Germanic tribes that invaded Britain during the 400s (A.D.), collectively simplified as "Anglo-Saxons," came from what is now principally northern Germany and northeastern Holland (The Netherlands), including the North Sea islands of those regions, and they most certainly would have had much contact with their North Germanic cousins, the Norse, who had "jol." Whether this is how the West Germanic dialects acquired the word or whether they already had it, is uncertain, but the Anglo-Saxons seem to have taken it along with them to Britain. When Christianity arrived in England, the term "Christmas" began use as the word for that religion's holiday, but the strong influence of Old Norse on the people of northern and northeastern English saw "yule" not only survive, but transfer over as the name for the Christian holiday. German, a close relative of English, and another West Germanic language, has "Julfest," as a term for Christmas, but it isn't all that common, to my knowledge, although it may well have been centuries ago, and Germans certainly would understand the term today, just as English speakers understand "Yule." The Old English word most certainly would have been reinforced by the Danish invaders, who settled in much of northeastern and eastern England mainly during the 800s and 900s (A.D.) The word gradually became obsolete in English, as the word "Christmas" took over for the holiday festival, but it was revived in the 1800s in literary circles, and "Yule" has remained a secondary word for Christmas up to the present time.

Seafood Bisque

Nothing like a good seafood bisque.

 

 

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

 

1/3 cup lobster meat bite size pieces

1/3 cup crab meat bite size pieces

1/3 cup small shrimp, or larger shrimp cut in half (peeled and deveined)

2/3 cup onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup carrot, shredded

2 cups mild chicken broth (or vegetable stock)

3 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons butter + 1 teaspoon regular olive oil

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon tarragon (if you use the leaves, crush them in your palm first)

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 can evaporated milk (not condensed milk!)*

1/2 cup half and half

3 tablespoons brandy (+ 1 or 2 for yourself  hahaha)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

In a large heavy bottom pan or pot over low heat, add and melt the butter and mix in the teaspoon of oil. Add the onion and the carrot and stir frequently until the vegetables soften; this can take a little time, but it is important to continue cooking the vegetables until they are softened. Unless you're Bugs Bunny, you don't want to bite into a bunch of crunchy carrot and start going around saying, "What's up, Doc?" When the veggies are softened, sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir it in. Adjust the heat upward to medium and add 1/2 cup of the broth, stirring to mix the broth with the flour coated vegetables, until the liquid just starts to bubble. Add another 1/2 cup of broth and stir again and repeat the process, allowing the liquid to heat up to nearly boiling, before adding another 1/2 cup of broth. The liquid should thicken somewhat by the time all of the broth is added and heated (I said "somewhat;" we're not making pie filling or cement). Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, tarragon and cayenne pepper (1/3 teaspoon of cayenne in this amount of ingredients will not cause you to dial 9-1-1 or seek treatment in your local emergency care facility; on the other hand, if you're a person who seeks your own personal Hell in spicy food, I personally don't think you should use a lot more than 1/3 or 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, because seafood is mild in taste and you would be overdoing it in a great bisque.) Turn the heat back down to low, stir, and then add the evaporated milk and the half and half, stirring as you add the dairy products. Add the shrimp, the lobster meat and the crab meat. Add the brandy and the ground black pepper and gently mix them in. Let everything warm up completely, but do NOT let it boil at all and do not let the shrimp cook too long, or they'll become rubbery. (To test, you can take a piece of shrimp from the bisque and throw it at the wall, if it bounces back, you've got two problems: the shrimp is overcooked, plus you'll have to clean the wall  hahahahaha!)

 

 

* Evaporated milk is heated to kill bacteria and it has more than half of the water removed. It is similar in appearance to homogenized milk, with it typically being just slightly off white in color, although with some brand names it is more to a light tan color. Condensed milk also has more than half of the water removed, but then sugar is added, making the milk thick and sweet. It is typically kind of beige in color.

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Bisque-English has two words of this spelling, with the least used word meaning "a type of unglazed ceramic," which is simply a shortened form of "biscuit," due to the material being baked. The more common form, meaning "a thick and creamy soup," is "seemingly" an altered form of "Biscay," a province of Spain that is the heart of the Basque part of Spain (in Spanish, the region is known as "Vizcaya"), with the bay between Spain and France also bearing the name. The soup may well have acquired the name from the bay, as it is often a soup of fish or other seafood, which would have been caught in the bay. On the French side of the border, in southwestern France, is the seaside resort of "Biscarrosse Plage," with the first part of the name obviously derived from the same ultimate source, presumed to be the Basque word "biskar," thought to mean "mountainous area, mountain ridge," which if true, would be a likely reference to the Pyrennes Mountains.

Happy Hanukkah To Our Jewish Friends & Neighbors

Happy Hanukkah To Our Jewish Friends & Neighbors! 

"Hanukkah," which has several other spellings, perhaps the most common of which is "Chanukah," is an eight day festival season that commemorates the recapture of Jerusalem from the Greek led Seleucid Empire in the Second Century B.C. (B.C.E.). With the retaking of the city, Greek laws and customs were done away with and Jewish religious tradition and manner of worship were restored; that is, re"dedicated" (see Word History, below) in the center of Jewish religious life, the holy Second Temple.   

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Hanukkah-This is a transliteration of Hebrew, which goes back to the Hebrew verb "khanakh/chanakh," which meant "to dedicate;" thus also, "to designate for holy commitment;" thus also, "(of people) to lead to holy commitment;" thus also, "to teach (to)." The use of the noun for the "Jewish festival commemorating the recapture of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Second Temple in the 2nd Century BC" seems to be from the late 1800s.      

Spanish Poor Man's Potatoes: Patatas a lo Pobre

This Spanish dish is from the Andalusia region of southern Spain. The capital of the region is Seville. You can use two medium to large potatoes or 6 small potatoes. When I made the potatoes for this article, I used 6 small red skin potatoes, which I washed well and then dried; thus, I left the skins on. You don't want to really "fry" the potatoes in the olive oil, in the sense of making them crispy, but rather you are cooking the potatoes through and thus softening them, and lightly browning some of them. The Spanish name of the dish literally means "potatoes of the poor," but the common English translation is "poor man's potatoes," because the ingredients are basic, although in more modern times the dish is eaten by Spanish people from all income levels of society. Add a fried egg or two and the dish is a great lunch, and don't forget some good bread.  

 

Ingredients:

 

2 large/medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into about 1/4 inch thick slices (you can leave the skins on, if you've washed the potatoes well)

1/2 cup chopped onion (red or white)

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips

3 garlic cloves, peeled and "crushed"

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

garnish with cilantro, parsley or chives  

In a skillet (nonstick or cast iron, about 10 inch diameter) over medium heat, add enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan by about 1/4 inch. When the oil is hot, add the potato slices. Use a turner or a spatula to turn and to move the potatoes around, as the object here is not to make crispy fried potatoes. When the potatoes are about half cooked (softening, but still very firm), add the onion, green and red bell pepper and garlic. Keep turning and moving the ingredients regularly until everything softens. Season with salt and pepper. Use a slotted spoon or turner to remove the ingredients from the skillet and to allow the oil to drain off, although I must admit I like to leave some of the oil and to then use some good bread to sop up the flavorful extra virgin olive oil (see photos below). Garnish with some chopped cilantro, parsley or chives. Serve as an appetizer or a side dish, or fry an egg or two and serve as a lunch dish.

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sup (Super)-English has more than one word of this spelling, although they are related; indeed, the various relatives in English and in the other Germanic languages are rather difficult to separate out from one another. First, "sup," a verb form meaning, "to take food or drink into the mouth in small amounts." It is related to "sip," a word from Germanic, and likely an original English word (there were close forms in Old English/Anglo-Saxon), although "perhaps" borrowed in "sip's" form and meaning from close English relative, Low German. It is also related to "soak," "suck" and "sop," all words from the Germanic roots of English. Further, it is related to "soup," with Latin having borrowed a basic form from Germanic, and eventually borrowed by English via Latin-based French (keep reading). "Sup" goes back to Indo European "su/sewe," which meant, "to take in liquid," which developed the extended form "sub/sup." This gave Old Germanic the verb "supanan," meaning, "to drink, to take in liquid, to sip, to gulp." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "supan" ("suppan" Northumbrian dialect?) meaning, "to take in liquid, to drink, to taste." This then became "suppen" (then "supp?") before the modern version. Other Germanic relatives: German "saufen" ^ ("to drink," used properly of animals, but also, "to drink alcohol in excess;" that is, "to guzzle;" not uncommon to hear something jokingly like, "Trinkt dein Onkel Alkohol?" Then the answer: "Nein, er trinkt nicht, er säuft." ("Does your uncle drink alcohol?" "No, he doesn't drink, he guzzles." Low German Saxon has "supen" ("to drink lots of alcohol"), Dutch "zuipen" ("to booze, to guzzle alcohol"), Icelandic "súpa" ("to drink," seems little used now?), Swedish "supa" ("to drink alcohol to excess"). Remember, in most cases the original meaning was, as in English, "to drink or take in liquid," but the "drink alcohol to excess" meaning later became the dominant meaning in the Germanic languages, and often the original meaning grew to be little used. The other verb "sup," meaning, "to eat the evening meal," is closely related to "soup." It goes back to the same Indo European and Old Germanic forms as the first verb "sup." Latin borrowed a form from one of the Germanic tribes (Lombardic? Gothic?) as "suppa," meaning, "broth, bread soaked in broth." This passed to Latin-based French as "sope," then "soupe." Broth was a common nighttime food, and the word "sope" provided the basis for "soper," which meant "late evening meal." Unclear to me if "soper," the noun, came first, and provided the basis for "soper," the verb, "to eat a late evening meal," or rather the other way around; in which case, the noun is likely simply the use of the infinitive as a noun. In any case, the form "super" was the form among the Normans and their descendants in England and English borrowed the word in the mid 1200s and it became "supper," "the last meal of the day," and the verb form "to eat the last meal of the day." This was shortened to become the verb "sup." Not everyone in English speaking areas will likely agree to exactly what "supper" means. When I was growing up, people in our neighborhood would have defined "supper" as "a relatively large serving of food eaten in the late afternoon or early evening," after the arrival of the family worker or workers (certainly in those times typically seen as the husband/father). "Dinner" was not a common term in my neighborhood in that same sense. Other Americans, however, called such a meal "dinner," and they rarely use the word "supper." Some perhaps see "dinner" as being at least a little more formal meal. In the famous television comedy series "All In The Family," when Archie Bunker would get home from work, he was always after his wife Edith to, "get supper on the table." In the 1962 British film "The Phantom of the Opera," in this film set in London,^^ one of the characters says something to the effect of having "dinner," and "then later, we may have some supper."           

^ A sound shift in the high dialects of German brought a change to "f" from "p." Modern standard German "saufen" was once spelled "sufan," and then "sufen." By the way, in German, a "Säufer" is "a drunk, an alcoholic."

^^ For the article about this film, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-phantom-of-opera-1962.html