A Big Hand For The Little Lady

A totally fun movie from 1966. I decided not to do the ending "segment," which has more than one surprise. If you've never seen this film, watch and enjoy it without trying to find out the ending first, as you'll just ruin things for youself. While the movie has tension to it at times, it also has a good many lighthearted scenes, and the cast is superb. By the mid 1960s, Henry Fonda had been a major film and stage star for many, many years, and Joanne Woodward had won an Academy Award for her performance in 1957's "The Three Faces of Eve" (the award ceremony was held in 1958). Jason Robards was a pretty well known face for his stage, film and television appearances, and Kevin McCarthy had received an Academy Award nomination in the early 1950s for his role in "Death of a Salesman," but many are more likely to remember him for starring in the famous science fiction thriller "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" released in the mid 1950s. Charles Bickford was a long time supporting actor and multiple-time Academy Award nominee, and this was his last film, although he then took on one of the starring roles in NBC's popular Western series "The Virginian" for about a year, until his death. Charles Bickford played a number of grumpy, grouchy, difficult characters in his long career, perhaps because he looked older than his actual years and because his voice was perfectly suited for such, and he played the same kind of character here. Burgess Meredith was born here in Cleveland, and when he made this film, he had been around on stage, films and television for quite some time. He later was nominated for a couple of Academy Awards, but right after making this picture, Burgess Meredith signed on to play the role of "the Penguin" in television's "Batman" series on ABC. Robert Middleton was one of those actors who was more likely known to many people by sight, rather than by name. He played a lot of "bad guy" types during his career. Paul Ford was well known to people my age or older from his earlier television role in "The Phil Silvers Show," although he was also in some movies. He had a distinctive voice and I still remember him in a television commercial for some model of car, where his name was used in the punch line, which was something like, "Go down to your nearest car dealer and tell them a 'Ford' sent you. That oughta shake 'em up." Finally, John Qualen had been in movies for many, many years, and he was a regular in movies directed by famous director John Ford (there's that name again). Like with Robert Middleton, Qualen was likely better known to audiences by sight than by name.         

 

Main Cast:

Henry Fonda as Meredith

Joanne Woodward as Mary

Jason Robards as Henry Drummond

Kevin McCarthy as Otto Habershaw

Charles Bickford as Benson Tropp

Burgess Meredith as Doc

Robert Middleton as Dennis Wilcox

Paul Ford as C.P. Ballinger 

John Qualen as Jesse Buford

Gerald Michenaud (real given name Jean-Michel) as Jackie

While there is no date given for the setting of the movie, it seems to be the latter part of the 1800s, as there is one scene where the doctor is listening to music on what is some kind of early gramophone which were in use in that era. The film is also set "out West," but this isn't a typical "western," with cowboys, cattle drives, Indian wars, outlaws and such. The five wealthiest men in the territory gather in the back of a hotel barroom for an annual marathon poker game: Henry Drummond, Otto Habershaw, Benson Tropp, Dennis Wilcox and Jesse Buford. The whole town is excited about the game and the town folks struggle to get bits of news about how the game is going, as no one except the five players and the hotel owner are allowed in the room, and the hotel owner only goes in and out to bring in poker chips and drinks. After the game had been going on for awhile, into the hotel comes a man, a woman, and a young boy (Meredith, Mary and Jackie). While the hotel owner tells them his hotel isn't really for women and children, after a few words of coaxing, the owner rents them a room. They tell him there is a bad wheel on their wagon and they need to get it fixed before they can move on. As they start to go to their room, out of the poker room comes one of the players, Dennis Wilcox. He pays for $3000 in chips, as Meredith stares on, but Mary has a bit of apprehension on her face. Wilcox takes the chips and goes back to the poker room. Meredith asks the hotel owner what this is all about, and he learns that there is a big poker game in progress. Mary interrupts and gets Meredith headed to their room, with a few words exchanged between them (not harsh words, but it's still obvious Mary is not pleased). A little while later Otto Habershaw comes out into the barroom where he is quite taken with Mary when she goes to take the wagon to the blacksmith, leaving young Jackie with Meredith. After a little talk with Otto, Meredith learns that Otto is one of the poker players, so Meredith asks him if he can just watch the game. Some of the townspeople tell him no one is allowed to watch, but the super rich Otto tells everyone, "He can watch, if I say he can watch." Otto takes Meredith and Jackie into the poker room with him. When he tells the other players about his new friends, they object, but Otto gets firm and Meredith and Jackie remain as the game takes up again. Meredith explains that they are on their way to San Antonio for a small farm of 40 acres, and the size of the farm makes the rich poker players laugh, as they each own many times that.

 

Meredith is almost drooling as he watches the game, and finally he asks if he can play. He's told he must have the price to play; that is, $1000. Jackie protests to Meredith, but Meredith takes off and goes upstairs to get the money. (Note: Remember, this is the second half of the 1800s and $1000 was QUITE a sum of money.) He comes back downstairs, and Otto orders the hotel owner to give Meredith chips for the $1000. Meredith goes back into the poker room and learns that the rules of the game say that if he doesn't have enough money to stay in the game during a betting sequence, he must leave his money on the table and exit the game; thus, he will lose all of his money. The game resumes, but now with Meredith as a player, Jackie watching, and Mary at the blacksmith's. Meredith's chips dwindle as the game goes on, and he says the cards have got to soon break his way. With the next hand, Meredith shows indications that he's happy, and he stands pat with his hand, but his problem is, he's low on chips and the ruthless men at the table see it, so Drummond ups the ante past the amount Meredith has in front of him in an attempt to drive him out of the game. Meredith hands his cards to Jackie and tells him not to let anybody see them and Meredith rushes back upstairs and takes all of the money left in the traveling bag, $3000. The money is for the farm he had told the others he will be starting near San Antonio. He gets the chips and the game takes ups again, with Drummond telling him he essentially will try to force Meredith from the game, causing him to lose everything. All the players act as if they have good hands to play, and the pot increases substantially, but the players seem to believe Meredith must have a pretty good hand. 

 

Mary returns from the blacksmith's and when she enters the barroom, no one will tell her what has been going on. The owner lets her into her room, where she sees the empty travel bag. The owner then tells her Meredith is in the backroom playing poker. Mary begins to cry. In the backroom, Meredith needs over $400 more to stay in the game. He gets $100 for his gold watch, but the more than $300 still needed seems beyond him. Mary comes into the room, much to the anger of Benson Tropp, the undertaker for the area. He earlier made it clear that he hates women. Otto shuts up Tropp and Meredith begs Mary to understand that he has a great hand that could earn them a huge amount of money. Meredith offers to sell his wagon and team of horses for $500. He claims these are actually worth $700, but he finds that these wealthy men have no need of a team and wagon, as they already own horses and wagons. (Note: A hard and brutal law of business is, what do you need to sell something? Most people guess "a price," but nope, that's not it, although it will tie in. The anwer is, "a buyer," or preferably, "buyers." To Meredith the horses and wagon cost $700, but since these men aren't interested in buying the horses and wagon, the value is "zero, zilch, nuthin'.") Meredith is tense and he suddenly grabs his chest and collapses. They send someone to get the doctor, who had made a rather brief appearance in the barroom earlier. Meanwhile, Mary sends Jackie to their room to get a bottle of pills they have with them. He returns and they give Meredith one of the pills. The doctor arrives and he has Meredith moved into the kitchen. Henry Drummond yells into the doctor to ask if Meredith will be able to continue the game. Mary is shocked to hear such a question as Meredith is possibly dying. Otto speaks out against Drummond asking such a question, but Drummond argues there is nothing any of them can do to save Meredith and that he (Drummond) had interrupted his daughter's wedding to leave and take part in this poker game as he had promised. Otto, who is an attorney, answers back that to play in the game, he left his client in court, and that his client could have been hanged by now. 

 

The doctor comes out of the kitchen for Mary. As Meredith clutches his cards to his chest, he struggles to tell Mary she'll have to play his hand in the game. Mary is stunned, but she and Jackie go out to the poker table where she asks the five other players, "How do you play this game?" The men are shocked that the inexperienced Mary will replace Meredith in the card game. The doctor calls Mary into the kitchen again and tells her he's having Meredith moved out of the hotel and into his home, where has some medical equipment that will help him to better take care of Meredith. Mary returns to the poker table and asks the men to explain to her how to play the game. Most of the men complain, but Otto Habershaw offers to calm everyone down with his explanation of the game's current situation, essentially telling Mary that each of the five men thinks he has better cards than the other men and that each has bet $3500 to remain in the game. He explains further that Meredith only bet $3000 and that he needed $500 to remain in the game or he had to drop out and lose everything, but that Meredith then took sick. Mary understands, but Henry tells her that she will need more than $500, because the pot is going to grow, with Henry essentially indicating that he intends to up his bet, and that this could drive her out of the game. After some squabbling among the men and another refusal to lend her any money on the team and wagon, Mary asks if there is a bank in town. The bank is across the street, so Mary prepares to go there, initially with (a lustful) Otto accompanying her to insure that she does not tamper with her cards in any way. Otto tells her that she has to think about the four men she's leaving behind, and that they could tamper with their cards; so, four of the five men march across the street to the bank behind Mary. (Note: This bothers me, because one man is left at the poker table.) At the bank, Mary eventually gets in to see the owner of the bank, C.P. Ballinger, a cantankerous conservative lender known for his toughness before approving loans. Mary explains the basic situation and asks to borrow money using her hand in the card game as collateral. Ballinger thinks it's all a joke, although Otto tries to assure him it is not. Ballinger snarls and turns down Mary's request. The group returns to the poker table and some of them begin to laugh about all of the goings on. Only Otto and Benson Tropp, the undertaker, seem to think about how Mary, Meredith and Jackie are about to lose their life savings, along with their new life in San Antonio. 

 

Suddenly, in walks C.P. Ballinger. He says he came to see for himself if this is all a big joke, especially because several of the men are laughing so much. Otto again assures him this is no joke. Ballinger goes over how he once had a man who wanted to borrow $2 on a cow he had that gave 6 quarts of milk a day. In order to prove the collateral was good, Ballinger had the man move the cow into Ballinger's backyard, where he watched the man milk the cow for a week. The cow actually gave a little more than 6 quarts of milk a day, so he made the loan to the man. So after this speech about making loans on good conservative principles, Ballinger declares he's never been offered better collateral than Mary's cards. C.P., as the men call him, sits down at the table and buys $5500 dollars in chips. He puts in the $500 to keep Mary in the game, then he raises by $5000. Now the tables are turned, and it is the five men who must each put up $5000, or lose their bets. The now nervous men all look at their cards, and one by one they throw their cards down and drop out. 

 

That's as far as I'll take this, as it would be grossly unfair to ruin things for those who have never seen this movie; so, please watch this film, you won't be sorry. The performances are great all around.          

 

 Photo is of the Warner Brothers 2013 DVD 

WORD HISTORY:

Milt-This word is closely related to "smelt" (to melt metal), "malt" and "mild" (all from the Germanic roots of English). It goes back to Indo European "meld," with the meaning, "to soften, to make soft." This gave Old Germanic "miltjo," which meant "spleen" (perhaps because of its softness, but more likely because they believed it softened food products in the body. Don't laugh, because the spleen was long thought to be the center of anger; thus the expression, 'vent one's spleen'). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "milte," with the same meaning. The ending 'e,' pronounced "eh/ah," was gradually dropped. The late 1400s and early 1500s saw the meaning become "reproductive fluid from male fish." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German "Milz," Low German "Milt," Dutch "milt," West Frisian "milt," Danish "milt"^ Icelandic "milta," Norwegian "milt," Swedish "mjälte."

 

^ The general forerunner of the North Germanic languages, Old Norse, seems to have had a few forms of the word: "milti," "milta," "mjalti."   

French Tuna Salad Sandwich: Pan Bagnat

French "Pan Bagnat" is considered one of the supreme picnic foods by many people in France, especially in its home region of southern France around Nice and vicinity. The meaning of the French name is "bathed bread," because the bread is bathed in olive oil and some vinaigrette. It is a combination of the famous French salad, "Salad Niçoise,"* although not everyone uses all of the varied salad ingredients in this sandwich; in fact, some do not even use tuna, but rather sardines and/or anchovies. The foundation of this sandwich is the bread and the olive oil. "Traditionally" small crusty loaves of bread are used, or crusty rolls, typically a day or two old, as the crust will stand up to the oil and vinaigrette and soak it in, but not fall apart. Baguettes are also used and then sliced into sections. The thing is, not everyone can bite into and chew crusty bread, including me, so I use somewhat softer bread or rolls, although I give them just a little toasting first. You also want to use tuna packed in olive oil, and then use good extra virgin olive oil for the sandwich. The small dark Niçoise olives are traditional for this sandwich (and for the salad), but they may be difficult to find, and Kalamata olives or other dark olives are fine. I'm not very fond of the common canned black olives sold in U.S., but if you like them, hey, who am I to condemn you to being chopped like a "Salad Niçoise?" While certainly not traditional, if you like some "heat," add some chopped chili pepper, or a couple of small whole chilies to the sandwich. I've actually seen this sandwich made with green beans added! One more thing, if you find these sandwiches somewhat messy, do not despair, you've likely succeeded, as they are meant to be almost dripping with olive oil and the juices from the sandwich. 

Ingredients:

 

2 cans (6 ounce cans) tuna in olive oil

2/3 of a sliced red bell pepper (thinly sliced into about 2 inch slices)

1/3 cup chopped red onion (small chop)

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 or 3 small tomatoes (Romas are good for this, but if you don't have them, say "Arrivederci Roma"), thinly sliced

1/3 cup halved Niçoise olives (or Kalamata olives)

5 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use

1 or 1+ tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

6 to 8 basil leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

baguettes, kaiser rolls or small loaves of ciabatta bread 

serve with some cornichons on the side

 

Cut each piece of bread or roll in half lengthwise. You can take out a little of the inside of both halves of the bread/rolls to make a little room for the filling. In a bowl mix together the tuna (with its olive oil), red bell pepper slices, red onion, garlic, olive halves, ground black pepper, salt and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. In a cup, mix together 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1teaspoon honey (taste the mixture and you can add more vinegar if that suits your taste). Put a few of the thinly sliced tomato pieces on the bread/rolls (if you've removed some of the bottom of the bread, put the tomato slices there). Spoon some of the tuna salad onto the tomato slices and smooth it out. Drizzle on some of the dressing and then add a couple of basil leaves. Place the tops on the sandwiches and press down a bit, then wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap. Put a tray or plate on top of the sandwiches with some fairly heavy item, like a skillet, to weigh them down, and put them into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but 8 or 10 hours is better. 

 

* For "Salad Niçoise," here is the link:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/07/salad-nicoise-sort-of.html

 

I added a few cornichons on the side ...

WORD HISTORY:

Scald-This word is likely distantly related to "callus," a word borrowed by English from Latin, but it is related to "chowder," "cauldron," and "calorie," all Latin words borrowed via Latin-based French. "Scald" goes back to Indo European "kel(he)," which meant, "warm, hot." This gave Latin the verb "caldere," meaning, "to be warm/hot" (with other meanings over time). Latin added the prefix "ex" ("out, out from, away from") from Indo European "eghs," which had those meanings and many similar ones. This gave Latin "excaldere," meaning, "to make warm or hot by putting into warm/hot water;" thus also, "to bathe in warm/hot water." This gave Old French "eschalder" meaning, "to rinse or bathe with warm or hot water," with the northern French dialects (rendered as "escalder") meaning, "to burn with hot water or other hot liquid." This was borrowed by English in the first half of the 1200s as "scalden," with that same meaning, "seemingly" a little later adding the meaning, "to heat liquid to near boiling." As English verb conjugation changed, the "en" ending was dropped.  

Tibetan Butter Tea: Po Cha

"Butter Tea" is a common beverage in Tibet, a region of the northern side of the Himalayan Mountains, designated as an "autonomous region" of China. The region has plains, but even these areas are at high elevations, and the climate is low humidity, breezy in many parts, with cold winters and relatively mildy summers (temperatures in the 80s F are considered "hot"). 

 

This is a "creamier" version of butter tea, as many recipes use primarily water with little milk. "Pu-erh" tea is commonly used, but Russian Caravan black tea is said to be a good substitute for this, although I've not tried it in this recipe,* or you can just use your favorite black tea. "Traditionalists" simmer the tea for hours to make a tea concentrate. To serve, they then add very hot water (and sometimes a measure of milk), and they churn it in a wooden churn (a chandong) with chunks of yak butter until it's very creamy. Nowadays, some people use electric blenders instead of the wooden churns. Because they make this very strong concentrate, they can dilute the concentrate with 3 or 4 times the amount of fresh water. Not all Tibetans use milk or cream, but the butter and the churning still give the tea a creamy texture. Likewise, not everyone uses sugar, but I prefer sugar in my butter tea, and I actually use more sugar than I use in regular tea. I streamline things by using more milk, with far less cooking time involved. Because I use more milk, I've found that using a blender doesn't really do much for the tea, so I simply stir the tea well. Now, if you do not use milk or cream, I would suggest using a blender to mix the butter in very well, and it also gives the tea a little more body. One other thing, unless you're in Tibet, I have a feeling you don't have a neighborhood yak butter shop, but you can use regular butter. I use salted butter, but I also add some salt to the tea, because it is supposed to have a bit of a salty taste.   

Ingredients (3 to 4 servings):

 

2 tablespoons black tea

2 cups water 

1 cup milk (I use evaporated canned milk, not sweetened condensed milk)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (optional, but I suggest first trying the tea without sugar and then deciding)

2 tablespoons salted butter

 

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy bottom sauce pan and add the tea. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the milk, continue to simmer the tea for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir well, then add butter and simmer until it melts and stir well (or whisk). Remove the tea from the heat and strain it into small cups or into a tea pot. 

 

* "Pu-erh" is a fermented tea from China that is available in some tea and coffee shops and Asian stores, and it is easily available online. It is usually described as "earthy," a description I find appropriate. For some, pu-erh could prove to be an acquired taste. Russian Caravan tea has a smoky smell and taste, and it is much more readily available in tea and coffee shops, and in some supermarkets. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Callus-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, although there are relatives in other Indo European languages (for example: Old Irish "calad" and Welsh "caled," both meaning "hard," and both are Celtic languages, and Russian "kalit," meaning "to heat, to roast" (application of heat to "harden"), Serbo-Croatian "kaliti" meaning "to temper metal (to harden it)" (Russian and Serbo-Croatian are Slavic languages).^ It is far from certain that the word "callus" is even of Indo European origin, although an Indo European root of "kal" + the suffix "no" have been proposed and meaning "hard," from Indo European "kel(he)," with "kal," seemingly from the notion of applying heat to harden. This gave Italic "kaln" or "kaln-so," with the same meaning. This gave Latin the noun "callum," meaning, "thick hardened skin;" thus, "animal hide," and this produced the noun "callus," a word borrowed by English from Latin in the mid 1500s. Latin "callum" also produced the adjective "callosus," meaning, "relating to hard, thick skin," and this was borrowed into English in the early 1400s as ''callous,'' but the meaning was more about "hardened in emotions;" thus, "unfeeling," a secondary meaning in its Latin ancestor.

 

^ See "The Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages," by Michiel de Vaan, Brill (Publishing), Leiden (The Netherlands) and Boston, 2008  

French Chicken with Vinegar: Poulet au Vinaigre

"Chicken with Vinegar," or "Poulet au Vinaigre," is a specialty of the French city of Lyon, dating back to the 1500s, 1600s or 1700s; take your pick, as historical information on the dish is scant. Serve with noodles, rice or mashed potatoes and a salad. You can use other parts of the chicken, but for this article I chose whole legs. There are quite a number of recipe variations, with red wine vinegar being the major preference, over the white wine vinegar that I use. Further, fresh or canned tomaotes are one of the other variations, but I chose to just use some tomato paste, although you can substitute ketchup, as the vinegar in the ketchup will simply blend in with the dish anyway. (Note: I needn't really tell you that using tomato paste can pose the problem of what to do with the unused portion, as many recipes call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of the paste. Of course there are tubes of tomato paste which can help with the problem, but if you aren't a prolific user of tomato paste, you'll still have a problem. I choose to frequently substitute ketchup, and to my knowledge, I have yet to turn into a pillar of salt; however, I did walk through some snow the other day, and IT MELTED! Another variation in some recipes is the amount of vinegar. I've seen recipes that call for what I view as "scary" amounts of vinegar, like 1 cup or more, and I'm not one to like a lot of sour taste in foods. Other recipes use 1/2 cup, but that's still a bit much for me, so about a year or two ago I tried using 1/3 cup, and while it was better, I finally settled upon using 1/4 cup, so if you like this dish, try it with 1/4 cup of vinegar and escalate the amount from there to see what you prefer. The old food preparation rule applies; in this case, to the use of vinegar: you can always add vinegar, but once you add it, try getting it out; so, use small amounts to start.        

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

4 whole chicken legs

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste (or thick ketchup)

2 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (if the broth is salty, you can leave this out)

1 cup cream

 

In a large skillet (it will need to be covered later; so preferably, a skillet with a lid, or you can cover it with foil), add the butter and oil over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the chicken and cook until it is browned ('about' 3 minutes per side). Remove the chicken to a plate, cover and set it aside temporarily. Add the onion to the skillet and to the existing oil/butter (add a little more oil if needed), then reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic and cook until the onion/garlic mixture is softened (like about 4 or 5 minutes). Add the tomato paste or thick ketchup, white wine, white wine vinegar, chicken broth, thyme, tarragon, black pepper and salt (if using). Keep the heat on low and let the mixture come to a simmer, then add the browned chicken pieces to the skillet, cover the skillet and let the chicken cook for about 50 to 60 minutes, until tender, stirring the liquid several times during the cooking process and spooning the sauce over any exposed chicken. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate and add the cream to the sauce, mix well and let the mixture just start to bubble and simmer over low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, during which time the sauce should cook down to thicken the sauce a little. Return the chicken to the sauce to reheat it, then serve. 

 

With mashed potatoes and salad ... 

WORD HISTORY:

Opus (Opera)-These words are related to "operation," "copy" and "optimism," all Latin-derived words borrowed by English via French, and to "optimum," another Latin-derived word borrowed directly from that language by English. "Opus" goes back to Indo European "op," which meant "to work, to produce;" thus also, "to have ability to do (something);" thus also, "to have skill." This gave Latin the noun "opus" (perhaps via Italic "opis/opi/ope?" ^) meaning, "a work, a work of skill;" thus also, "a work of art or a composition of music or writing;" also in religious belief, "a miracle" ("a special work or deed beyond belief"). English borrowed the word from Latin circa 1810. Latin "opus" produced the verb "operari" (seemingly via the genitive case of 'opus,' which was 'operis') and meaning, "to work." This spawned the noun "opera," meaning, "a work, an effort," which carried over into Italian with the same general meaning, but also, "a composition." The specific meaning, "a dramatic work presented with orchestral music and vocals," seems to have developed in Florence (Italian: Firenze) in the latter part of the 1500s. English borrowed the word and this meaning from Italian in the mid 1600s.

 
^  Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most of which have died out. Latin's own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others.

Trout in Cream Sauce: Forellen in Rahm

This is based on some German recipes, and in German, Bavarians call it "Forellen in Rahm" (in the plural, see "Word History" below for history of "Forelle" and its English relative).* Bavaria has lots of mountainous areas and streams that provide a habitat for trout. Naturally, you can adjust the recipe for the number of trout and/or to use trout of varying sizes. 

 

Ingredients (for 1 trout cut into 2 fillets): 

1 cleaned, skin on, trout (about 8 to 10 ounces)

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated carrot

1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley

1 cup cream

2 tablespoons flour

 

Heat the oven to 375 F. In a large oven proof skillet melt the butter on the top of the stove over low heat. Sprinkle the trout fillets lightly with lemon juice, then sprinkle on some salt and white pepper. Lightly sprinkle the trout with flour, then lay the fillets in the melted butter, skin side down, and spoon some of the butter over them. Now sprinkle (lots of sprinkling in this) the fillets with grated carrot and chopped parsley, then carefully add the cream to the skillet without disturbing the seasonings on the fish fillets. Cover the skillet (foil is fine) and put it in the oven until the trout is tender. After about 10 or 12 minutes, remove the lid or foil and spoon some of the cream over the fillets, cover the trout again, but repeat this procedure in about 4 or 5 minutes. Serve with boiled potatoes.    

 

 

* For the history of the English relative of the word "Rahm," it is in the "Word History" of this article: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/schnitzel-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy.html

"Trout in Cream Sauce" with boiled (and buttered) potatoes and cottage cheese ...

WORD HISTORY:

Trout-This word for a type of fish is distantly related to "drill" (the noun for a tool to make holes), "drill" (the verb meaning to make holes), "thresh" and "throw," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "trite," a word borrowed by English from Latin, and to "turn," a word borrowed by English from Latin, but with some French influences. "Trout" goes back to Indo European "tereh," which had the notion, "to turn, to twist, to rub or wear down during a turning process." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek the verb "trogein," meaning, "to gnaw, to chew (at, on), to munch (on)," and this produced the noun "trṓktēs," meaning, "gnawer, muncher," which was applied to the name of a fish with sharp teeth. Latin borrowed the word as "tructa" as the name for trout-type fish, and this was taken by Latin-based Old French as "truite." Old English borrowed the word from Latin as "truht," and with later influence by French, it became "troute," before the modern version. NOTE: When Old English borrowed "truht," English already had "forn" as the name for trout. It goes back to Indo European "perk," which meant, "spotted, speckled," seemingly used for fish and animals. This gave Old Germanic the noun "furhno," which was the name for the fish, "a trout." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "forn," with the same meaning. Old High German (pretty much the contemporary of Old English) had "forhana," which then became "forhen," and the pronunciation "forhel" (a colloquial diminutive form?), which then became "Forelle" in modern German. Dutch still has "voorn," which means "minnow," but Dutch has "forel" for "trout" (I didn't research it, but it's likely a borrowing from German, or Low German), Old Saxon was the Germanic dialect that remained in what is now northern Germany after some of the Saxons went to Britain, had "furhnia," which then became "vörne," although modern Low German has "Forell" for trout, which was obviously borrowed from German.^

 

^ Old Saxon is the ancestor of Low German, but Low German is not a standardized language, but rather a collection of dialects which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Whether "vörne" (in some form) still survives in any of the component dialects of Low German, I don't know, but the influence of High German (now standard German) was very strong, and "vörne" may have been completely overtaken by "Forell" (as with standard German, Low German capitalizes all nouns in modern times).  

Vietnamese Pickles: Đồ Chua

"Đồ Chua" means "pickled things" or "pickled items." This is an easy recipe and you want to use non reactive containers, like glass jars; otherwise, the vinegar can cause other materials, especially most metals, to begin to break down and to seep into the brine and this will add an off taste to the pickles, which then can even cause illness.

You can adjust the amount of sugar for the pickling solution to make it as sour or as sweet as you like. There really aren't set amounts of ingredients for the pickling solution. Regular readers know I frequently mention that I'm not a big fan of sour foods, so I tend to use modest amounts of vinegar or lemon juice in recipes. I like dill pickles, but if they are really sour, I likely will not eat them. On the other hand, some people like sour foods, so this is a recipe you can do to your own preference. Further, you can cut the daikon and carrots into the size strips you want. They can be very thin (like matchsticks) or they can have a "little more" body to them, but you don't want them too thick.   

 

Ingredients (for about two 16 ounce jars):

1 large carrot or 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into pretty thin strips about 2 to 3 inches long 

same amount of daikon radish, peeled and sliced the same way

3 to 4 tablespoons salt, divided use (2 tablespoons for initial salting, then 1 or 2 tablespoons for the brine) 

2/3 cup water, just slightly warm

1/3 cup white vinegar

4 to 6 tablespoons sugar 

 

In a bowl, add salt to the carrot and daikon pieces and mix in well. Cover the bowl lightly with a towel or some plastic wrap and let the salted vegetables sit for 30 to 40 minutes, then pour off the excess liquid that has accumulated. Rinse the veggies. In another bowl, add the slightly warm water, then stir in some of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of salt to dissolve it. Then add the vinegar. Take a little taste to see if you want to adjust the amount of sugar, salt or vinegar. Now add the veggies to a jar or a bowl and pour the vinegar mixture over the veggies to cover. Put a lid or other cover (plastic wrap is fine) over the jar or bowl and refrigerate the pickles for a minimum of 24 hours, but 2 or 3 days is better.    

 

WORD HISTORY:

Infer-This word is distantly related to "bear," the verb meaning, "to carry, to carry or transport a burden; thus also, "to be pregnant;" thus also, "to produce," and it is also distantly related to "burden," and these words are from the Germanic roots of English; and "infer" is more closely related to "differ," "defer," and "fertile," all Latin derived words borrowed by English via French (although likely with Latin reinforcement, or perhaps originally borrowed from Latin, then spread and reinforced heavily by French). "Infer" goes back to Indo European "en," that meant "in" (also the source of English 'in,' a word from the Germanic roots of English), and also Indo European "bher," with the notion, "to carry, to tote or bear a burden." The 'bh' was rendered as "f" in Italic and it's Latin offspring, giving Latin "ferre," with the same basic meaning. Together Latin had "inferre," meaning, "to carry into, to carry forward, to bring forward;" thus also, "to bring forward or draw a conclusion." English borrowed the word circa 1530 (from use by Sir Thomas More?), but the meaning shifted around between the receiver of information and the supplier of information doing the 'inferring.' The 20th Century saw some learned people (who? don't ask me) begin to press for 'infer' to be used only for the receiver of information, and 'imply' to be used for the supplier of information, but to this day not everyone uses 'infer' in that way; rather, the meaning is still used by some to be applied to the provider of information. Example: Many, and probably most, English scholars would now say the verb 'infer' is for the receiver of information, as in, "The weatherman said the temperature is expected to drop and the winds will become brisk. From this I inferred that I had better wear warmer clothing to go outside today." So, the weatherman is providing the information, and another person has heard the information and has drawn a conclusion about what type of clothing to wear, based upon the weatherman's information. But some people still use 'infer' this way: "I'm sure the weatherman didn't mean to infer that the weather would be super cold tomorrow," with scholars likely to favor (or insist) upon, "I'm sure the weatherman didn't mean to 'imply' that the weather would be super cold tomorrow, but I mistakenly 'inferred' that." 

All in the Family Episode: The Games Bunkers Play

This episode first aired in November 1973, and I think I would still remember it, even without the fact that the episodes of this popular and famous television series have been shown innumerable times over the decades to reinforce my memory; and besides, I have the dvd box set. hahahaha But really, this was a memorable episode. Being able to face criticism and to look at ourselves in the mirror is not easy for most of us; perhaps, all of us. Sometimes our feathers get ruffled, but we then settle down and get over it, and we even accept our flaws and mistakes; at least, to some degree.

Cast for this episode:

Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker

Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker 

Rob Reiner as Mike Stivic

Sally Struthers as Gloria Bunker Stivic

Betty Garrett as Irene Lorenzo

Vincent Gardenia as Frank Lorenzo

Mike Evens as Lionel Jefferson

 

The episode opens with the Bunker family finishing their chicken dinner, but Gloria telling her mother that the chicken was a little under done, and Archie adding, "What do you mean, under done? It was alive. It was fighting me all the way down." He then says that Edith's dessert took charge though, because, "the apple pie is now holding him down and the ice cream is freezing him to death." hahaha Mike and Gloria have invited their neighbors Frank and Irene Lorenzo and Lionel Jefferson over to play a new game that evening, "Group Therapy," where the players are to tell how they really feel about themselves and about each other. When Archie previews a couple of the questions, he scoffs at playing the game and he goes out to drink some beer at the neighborhood bar. The Lorenzos show up, then in comes Lionel, and Mike immediately tells him about an article he read covering "the black problem" (if you are unfamiliar with "All in the Family," Lionel Jefferson was the neighbor of the Bunkers, and black). The group sits down to play the game, which has printed cards with questions or descriptions of something a player must do, and upon completion of the answer or action, the other players vote if that player was sincere ("With it!"), or faking it ("Cop out!). The players each have a playing piece that moves along a game board according to how the other players vote on their answers and actions. (Note: We never really see the details of the board, or learn what the goal is, but it's not important. I just added this so you get an idea of what's going on.) 

 

Edith goes first and the card says for her to tell the players which person in the world she would like to look like and why. Edith immediately answers, "Katharine Hepburn," and that Hepburn's eyes and hair are similar to Edith's, so that wouldn't upset Archie. (Comment: Edith is devoted to her husband and she knows how Archie can react negatively to new things, so this is her first thought.) She also says she liked Hepburn's voice in movies, and the whole group responds positively to Edith's answer by holding up cards saying "With it." Frank Lorenzo is next, and his card tells him to discuss the part of his body he is most proud of. (Comment: This is the same card that had sent Archie off to the bar to drink beer, as anything that might hint about sex made him uncomfortable; in fact, in more than one episode, if I remember right, even the word "sex" brought a quick "shush" from Archie. The sexual implication of the question is obvious, and while today audiences at a movie or stage show would likely chuckle a little at this "implication," in the early 1970s, this implication brought hysterical laughter from the audience, and likely "some" very uncomfortable people, as the subject of sex on television was highly controversial. "All in the Family" was filmed with a live audience present; thus, reactions from the audience are real and specific to what the audience saw and heard, and the filmed version was not provided with recorded laughter and audience reactions (called "laugh tracks"), which were quite common on television.) Anyway, Frank says he's most proud of his nose, and he goes onto say why, which gets Frank 4 votes of "With it," but then Irene tells the others Frank is most proud of his body, mainly his hairless chest, and this persuades the group to reverse their votes to "Cop out." 

 

Lionel is next and his card has him choose a player, to then stand back to back, and push against one another while Lionel tells the other person why it's hard for him to be direct with that person. Lionel chooses Mike, and they stand back to back, then Mike asks why it's hard for Lionel to be direct. Lionel tells Mike to look at what's going on, that Mike isn't really pushing, and Mike says he doesn't want to knock Lionel off balance, to which Lionel asks, "Would you push harder if I was white?" When Mike acts somewhat indignant about Lionel's statement, Lionel says Mike is always bending over backwards to agree with him, that he wants Mike to treat him like Lionel Jefferson and not a representative of the whole black race. Mike denies that he does that, but Lionel mentions that every time he sees Mike, Mike brings up about "the black problem" (Remember what Mike said when Lionel first came to the house that night). Mike asks if he should talk about the weather, and Lionel answers, "Sometimes yes, black people have weather too, you know. We get rained on and everything." Mike exclaims that Lionel was faking this whole thing, so he votes "Cop out," but the rest of the group votes "With it," displeasing Mike, but not totally getting under his skin. Gloria is next and the card says for her to tell the person closest in the group to her (in her life) something that will help that person. Gloria stands and goes to Edith. Mike immediately tells Gloria she's wrong, because he's the closest to her, because he's her husband and he wants Gloria to say whatever it is to him. So Gloria obliges by saying what she was going to say to her mother, "Michael, I think the dresses you've been wearing make you look older," which brings tremendous laughter from the audience, but it brings a very stunned looked to Mike's face. Mike is next and the card tells him to stand and tell the group what makes him mature. After Mike's behavior, this brings more laughter and some teasing facial expressions from Gloria. Mike starts by saying that he's tolerant of the other guy's opinions, but this brings an outburst of laughter from Gloria, plus a comment about how Mike and Archie argue. Mike says "Archie is a walking monument to intolerance," prompting Edith to briefly interrupt. Mike asks how many "With it" votes there are, but he gets all "Cop out" votes. After some more squabbling, Mike declares the rest of the group is dead wrong, but that he won't spoil the game. 

 

Irene draws a card that tells her to sit on the lap of the person who makes her nervous and to tell that person why they make her nervous. Irene goes over and sits on Mike's lap, which upsets him very much, but she tells him that they way he's acting about this game is making her very nervous. Mike votes "Cop out," but the others vote "With it," just rubbing more salt into the wounded Mike. Edith is next and her card says for her to tell one of the players something she's never said before, but that she'd like to say to them. Edith turns to Mike and says she doesn't like the way he's been acting so stuck up lately. Mike is surprised, and Edith continues, "I think it's mean to make fun of Archie and to call him names the way you do." Mike becomes more agitated, saying that Archie says dumb things and that Achie can't be taken seriously. He ends by saying, "C'mon ma, I have a brain." Edith replies by telling Mike that if he's really smarter than Archie, then he shouldn't let Archie see that. (There is applause from the audience) When the others in the group agree with Edith, Mike gets very upset and charges that they are ganging up on him. He says he doesn't want to play anymore, and he overturns the game board and cards, and runs up the steps. Gloria goes upstairs to Mike, but he's very angry and again mentions how Gloria chose her mother over him in the game. Gloria tells him it's possible to love two people at the same time, but in different ways. She also tells Mike he can't take criticism. After a few more minutes Mike settles down and goes downstairs where everyone is about to have tea. Mike has them all sit down, and he apologizes, but then he just can't stop himself from couching his apology in some self pity. This causes Mike and Lionel to raise their voices to one another and Mike challenges Lionel to do what Edith had done; that is, to say something to someone he has never said, but that he really wants to say. Lionel agrees, and he goes to Edith. He fumbles over his words at first, but then says that he and his family were very scared when they moved into the neighborhood, but that Edith was so welcoming to them, they knew they had one good friend no matter what happened. Lionel continues, "I don't know why it took so long to tell you this, but I'm very grateful." Edith thanks Lionel and she leans over and kisses him on the cheek. (Comment: Today, most people wouldn't even pay much attention to such a thing, but in those times, a white woman of any age even giving a friendly kiss on the cheek to a black man was likely to cause great anger among many people, especially whites, and likely far more so in the southern areas of the country. So this scene was a big deal back then and I'm glad they did it.) Mike is angry that Lionel was so nice to Edith and he asks why Lionel didn't criticize Edith, but Lionel says he didn't have any criticism. Mike gets angrier and challenges Frank to criticize someone, but Frank says he doesn't have any criticism. This brings Mike to say that Frank and Irene have been married for more than 20 years, and that Frank must have something to say to Irene, maybe about their sex life. Frank turns to Irene and thanks her, bringing laughter and applause from the audience. (Comment: Again, even saying something like that on television in those times was apt to cause heart palpitations in a part of the American population, but "All in the Family" challenged the traditional fear and discomfort of sexual topics by Americans.) Mike rants and says how Archie yells, but Gloria tells him he yells at her dad just as much as her dad yells at him. Mike says that Archie forces him to yell, but this brings Edith to tell Mike she doesn't think Mike yells at Archie because of Archie, but because of himself. She tells a story one of her teachers told them in school about a man who saved another man's life, but the man who was saved was not grateful, but rather he got madder and madder at the man who saved him. Mike flies off the handle again, saying that Edith is referring to the fact that he owes Archie a lot of money, but Edith tells Mike it's more than that, and that her teacher said when a person owes another person a lot, they can resent that person more and more because they begin worrying they'll never be able to pay the person back. Mike is somewhat less upset, but he ends up going to the kitchen. As Gloria starts to head to the kitchen to talk with Mike, Edith stops Gloria and instead she herself goes to talk with Mike.

 

In the kitchen, one of the best minutes of television history (in my opinion) takes place between Edith and Mike. Edith asks if Mike wants to know why Archie yells at him, and Mike says that Archie hates him. Edith tells him, "Oh no Mike. Archie yells at you because he's jealous of you." Mike scoffs and says he doesn't want to listen anymore, but Edith gets firm, grabs Mike by the arm and says, "Now wait a minute, you WILL listen to me. Archie is jealous of you." She tells Mike that it really isn't hard to understand, because Mike is going to college, but that Archie had to quit school to help support his family. "He ain't never goin' to be nuthin' more than he is right now. But you, you got a chance to be anything you want to be, that's why Archie's jealous of you. He sees in you all the things he could never be." Edith tells Mike to try to be a little more understanding with Archie and to think these things over,  she then goes back into the living room. (The audience applauds Edith's words to Mike!) 

 

Mike's facial expression shows he IS thinking it all over, when through the back door comes Archie. As always, Archie immediately says, "Keep away from me, Meathead!" Mike says, "Arch, I wanna tell you something ... I understand," and he grabs Archie and hugs him, leaving Archie totally perplexed.          

            

 

Photo is of the 2005 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Fourth Season DVD set 

WORD HISTORY:

Couch-This word has noun and verb forms, and the history of the word is interesting, although a bit shaky as to its actual Indo European ancestor. If its ancient ancestor is as below, then it is distantly related to "stall" (the noun: place for animals, small business stand, a tactic to delay doing a particular activity), also the verb form "stall" (to halt, come to standstill, to avoid taking action on something), and to "still" (the adjective meaning 'quiet, stable,' later also used as a noun), which are from the Germanic roots of English, but with the "delay tactic" meaning for "stall" likely coming via French, which had it from (Germanic) Frankish from the same Germanic source as the English words, and to "install/installation," again based upon Germanic, but borrowed by Latin and then by English (the verb "install" likely had French reinforcement), and also "location," a word of Latin derivation borrowed directly from Latin by English. The word "couch" is really a prefixed word. It goes back to Indo European "kom/ghem," which had the notion of "by, with, near, beside." This gave Latin "com" (and its variant form "con") meaning, "together, with," which is a common prefix in Latin-derived words. The main part of what became "couch" seemingly goes back to Indo European "stel," which had the notion, "to put into a place, to be in a place, to stand something in place." This gave Italic "stlocus,"^/^^ seemingly meaning, "a place, a location," with the beginning sound dropped in the Latin form, leaving "locus," meaning, "a definite place or position, a region." This gave Latin the verb "locare," meaning, "to place (in a position)," and the prefixed form with "com" was rendered as "collocare," meaning, "to place, to settle into a place, to put together." This passed to Latin-based Old French initially as "colchier," then as "couchier," meaning, "to go to bed, to lie down," and which then became "coucher" and produced the noun "couche," meaning, "a bed, a place to lie down, a place to sleep." English borrowed the verb in the early 1300s as "couchen,"^^^ meaning, "to lay down to rest/sleep," with a military meaning of "to lie in wait to spring an ambush, to lay low." The noun was borrowed in the mid 1300s, initially as "couche," and meaning, "a piece of furniture for resting or relaxing, often for more than one person, but capable of allowing a person to lie down for rest or sleep," but also, "an animal's lair" (typically a hidden place where an animal lives and sleeps"). The meaning "to talk about a difficult subject indirectly," seems to be from the military meaning of "lay low."   

 

^  Italic is a branch of the Indo European family of languages and includes Latin, Umbrian, Venetic, and others, most which have died out. Latin's own limited use today is mainly because its dialects evolved into several modern languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Rumanian, Catalan, Sardinian, and several others. 

 

^^ The ancestor of the Italic form "stlocus" is a problem, and not everyone agrees that its ancestor was "stel," but at this time, I have no reason to change my opinion. 

 

^^^ English typically used 'en' on the ending of verbs to form infinitives, just as its cousin, German, still does. In modern English we use 'to' to form infinitives: 'to go,' 'to read,' 'to eat,' but in the times of the 'en' endings (even earlier often as 'an'), there was no need to add 'to.'

Thai Pumpkin Curry

This is a great and nutritious curry. Thai red curry paste is available in many supermarkets, Asian grocery stores and some spice and seasoning shops (it's not expensive). It is usually sold in small jars, which is how I buy it, but just to prove me wrong, when I went to buy it for this recipe, they were out of the brands in jars, but they had it in small cans.

 

Ingredients (4 servings): 

 

3 cups chopped fresh pumpkin, in bite-size pieces (you can substitute acorn or butternut squash, if you'd like)

3 tablespoons peanut oil

1/4 cup chopped red onion

4 cloves minced garlic

2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 hot chili pepper (preferably red, but green is fine)

3 or 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste 

1 cup kale, torn into smaller pieces, with no thick stems

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (use black pepper if you don't have white)

3/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2/3 cup mild chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 can (13.5 to 14 ounces) coconut milk

2 teaspoons soy sauce + 1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

garnish with roasted peanuts and/or cashews or serve on the side 

Heat the peanut oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add the red onion, garlic, ginger, chili pepper and red bell pepper; saute for about 3 minutes, then stir in the Thai red curry paste. Cook just about 1 1/2 minutes (don't let anything scorch or get dark in color), then add the pumpkin, ground turmeric, ground cinnamon, ground white pepper, ground coriander, and stir constantly. After another 2 minutes, add the chicken or vegetable broth and let the curry heat up again until it begins to bubble, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat (to low or to 'simmer,' if you have that setting) to maintain a steady light simmer (not a rolling boil) and let the curry simmer about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender (when the pumpkin is about half cooked, add the kale and continue to mix the kale in as it cooks down). When the pumpkin is just tender, stir in the coconut milk, and mix it in well. Do your best to dissolve the brown sugar in the soy sauce and then stir this into the curry (civilization will not end if the brown sugar isn't completely dissolved, as it will dissolve in the hot liquid). Cook a further 2 to 3 minutes, then mix in the fresh lime juice. You can sprinkle some roasted peanuts and/or roasted cashews on top of each serving, or simply serve them on the side. Serve with rice. 

I put the peanuts and cashews in a small dish on the side ... 

WORD HISTORY:

Shawl-The origin of this word is uncertain, but it "could" be as simple as being derived from transliterated Persian "Shaliat," the Persian form of transliterated "Chaliyam," a city in southwestern India.^ The "theory" is, the cloth used for making the piece of clothing used as a large scarf for the head and upper body got its name from the city where it was made. The Persian form, transliterated "shal," was taken by Urdu and Hindi and then borrowed by English in the mid 1600s, when England was getting more and more involved in India. German seems to have had initial exposure to the word from Persian, but it didn't really become more common in German until the 1700s as a borrowing from its cousin, English; and indeed, German used the spelling "Shawl," but later altered it to the more typical German phonetic spelling of "Schal." 

 

^ Chaliyam/Shaliat is in the Indian state of Kerala in southwestern India, along the part of the Indian Ocean known as the Arabian Sea. The main language there is Malayam, which is from the Dravidian family of languages (English is from the Germanic family of languages, which is from the broader Indo European language family).