“The Ides of November for Donald Trump” was the inspired headline of Mrs Myrna Nikolaidou's article in the Greek newspaper ESTIA, of the 28th October 2018.
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| "Et Tu, Brutus..." |
The headline was borrowed from the soothsayer's warning phrase to Julius Caesar “Beware the Ides of March”, in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
On the 6th November, the intermediary elections will be decisive for the future of Donald Trump’s presidency.
If the Republicans keep or increase their control in the Congress, Mr Trump will be able to abolish OBAMACARE, which is one of his obsessions.
Also, he will be able to suspend the inquest of the Ministry of Justice, concerning his collaboration with the Russians, during his electoral campaign against Hillary Clinton.
Moreover, he will be authorised to finance the erection of the notorious wall between Mexico and the United States.
On the other hand, if the Republicans lose the majority in the Congress, Mr Trump will encounter serious difficulties, not only in practising his office but also his political survival will be in doubt. If this occurs, there are serious possibilities that the Democrats will vote a censure against him and start an inquiry for his economic and professional connections, that could lead to tax refunds.
Also, they could block Mr Trump’s appointments of judges in the High Court, and, evidently, his plans for the Mexico wall will be stopped with summary procedures. Apparently, he never forgets his other favourite issue which is the confrontation of refugees from Honduras.
Incidentally, this is a difficult period for Mr Trump as he has received a resonant defeat in the Senate, due to the revolt of three Republicans. Also, all gallops show him as the most unpopular president of the United States, so BEWARE OF THE IDES OF NOVEMBER MR TRUMP!!
(Most of the information for this post was, besides Mrs Nicolaidou's article mentioned above, from the Greek and international press, such as the Kathimerini, Time Magazine and the Guardian UK and TV talk shows and reports, like ERT, BBC, FRANCE 24 and CNN, all of whom I sincerely thank.)
According to the Greek daily Kathimerini, the American Senator Elizabeth Warren, on Thursday, urged Donald Trump’s government to discharge him of his duties if he cannot execute them, as described in an explosive, anonymous article published in the New York Times, on Wednesday.
“The Constitution allows this procedure if the Vice President and high government officials consider that the President cannot execute his duties,” said the Massachusetts Senator on CNN. "On the contrary, the Constitution does not make provisions for high government officials to by-pass the President, to remove documents from his office and to write anonymous articles …All these officials have taken an oath to abide by the American Constitution, so it is time they started doing their job”.
She was referring to an article published in the New York Times, on Wednesday, concerning the revelations in Bob Woodward’s book called “Fear: Trump in the White House”, extracts of which were published on Tuesday in the New York Times. In this article, he refers to the president's anonymous high government official who had stated that he and his colleagues, at the beginning of Trump’s term in office had considered using the 25th amendment of the American Constitution. But they quickly refrained from this idea because it could cause a constitutional crisis.
The 4th amendment foresees a difficult and complicated process which begins with the Vice President’s and the government’s initiative and it, then, has to be passed by the Congress in order to exempt the President from his duties. (This is not an impeachment).
The White House is in chaos, with officials trying to raise a wall of aversion around Donald Trump, so that they can protect the country, by refusing to obey his orders and by removing documents from the Oval Office.
I decided to publish a few recipes from the US and Mexico that will, hopefully, comfort their hearts, also yours and ours.
AMERICAN CHEDDAR SOUP
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| Cheddar Soup Garnished With sprigs of Thyme |
Cheddar soup is equally good cold. Chill it thoroughly and serve it in chilled cups.
30 g (1 oz) butter
3 tbsp finely chopped onions
3 tbsp finely chopped carrot
3 tbsp finely chopped green peppers
3 tbsp finely chopped celery
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp plain flour
1000 ml (4 cups) hot chicken stock
250 g (½ lb) mature Cheddar, coarsely grated
375 ml (1 ½ cup) milk
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
In a large saucepan, sauté the finely chopped vegetables and the bay leaf, over moderate heat, for 6-8 minutes until soft but not brown. Stir in the flour, cook for 2 minutes more, pour in the hot stock and bring to the boil, whisking constantly, until it thickens slightly. Then reduce the heat and simmer the soup, partially covered, for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaf.
A handful at a time, stir in the cheese and cook until it dissolves, then add the milk gradually until the preferred thickness has been reached, it should have the consistency of double cream. Bring almost to the boil and strain through a fine sieve into another saucepan. Taste for seasoning and sprinkle freshly ground white pepper, and salt if necessary. Heat once more almost to the boiling point and serve.
SOPA DE AGUACATE
(Avocado Cream Soup)
A delicious Mexican soup that will warm your hearts. For adults only.
3 large, ripe avocados, peeled, halved, stoned and chopped
177 ml (4/5 cup) double cream
1250 ml (5 cups) chicken stock
3 tbsp dry sherry
A tiny pinch of salt and
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
A pinch of Cayenne
A pinch of Cayenne
1 ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
Blend the avocados with ¼ of the cream until smooth and velvety. Beat in the remaining cream, a tablespoonful at a time.
Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan, reduce the heat, and when the stock is barely simmering, stir in the avocado purée. Add the sherry, salt and freshly ground pepper and taste for seasoning.
Serve the soup hot in a tureen, strew with the thinly sliced avocado and serve immediately. You could also refrigerate the soups and serve it cold.
60 g (2 oz) butter
CEVICHE
There can be nothing more delectable than fish or seafood “cooked” by the acidity of lime, lemon or vinegar, which one can find and enjoy all over Latin America.
500 g (1 lb) sea-bass, sole or halibut, skinned, filleted and pin-boned and cubed
1 tsp salt
1 red chili, deseeded and very finely sliced (one should always wear gloves when handling chilies)
375 ml (1½) or more lime juice
2 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, peeled and very finely sliced
Salad:
1 round heart lettuce
1 endive
1 bunch wild rocket
(All washed, dried and torn into bite-sized pieces)
2 spring onions, trimmed, washed, dried and thinly sliced diagonally or
2 tbsp snipped chives
Dressing:
1 tbsp tarragon vinegar
Salt
1 tsp mustard with honey
1 tbsp or more full milk
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
( Mix the 3 first ingredients together until the salt dissolves, then stir in the milk and the olive oil. stirring constantly until the dressing thickens)
Place the cubed fish in a pyrex in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and the sliced chilli, evenly and pour the lime juice over. Tuck the herbs all over the fish and top with the onion slices. Cover the pyrex with cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning the fish once. The fish cubes should be opaque by now. Cut one in half to see if they are “cooked” through, if not, marinade them a bit more. Then remove the fish from the marinade, pat dry and place it in a covered container in the fridge until needed.
Arrange the salad attractively on a flat dish, place the ceviche evenly over, sprinkle with sliced spring onions or snipped chives, drizzle with dressing and Bon Appetite!
DILLED SALMON SOUFFLE
DILLED SALMON SOUFFLE
A gourmet US fish dish, which is very easy to prepare.
60 g (2 oz) butter
3 tbsp finely chopped onions
4 tbsp plain flour
240 ml (almost 1 cup) milk
5 egg yolks
1 tbsp tomato paste
470 g (14 oz) tinned salmon, thoroughly drained and flaked
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
1½ tsp lemon juice
1½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper
6 egg whites, whipped to stiff peaks
Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F) and coat the bottom and the sides of a soufflé dish, lavishly with butter.
Sauté the onions in the remaining butter for about 4 minutes but do not let them brown. Off the heat, stir in the flour until a smooth paste occurs. Add all the milk and beat to partially dissolve the flour. Then, cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly until the sauce is smooth and very thick.
Remove the pan from the fire and stir in the 5 egg yolks, one at a time. Then stir in the tomato paste, salmon, dill, lemon juice, salt and Cayenne pepper. Stir in a heaped tbsp. of whipped egg whites and very gently but thoroughly, fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks show.
Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, reduce the heat to 190 C (375 F) and bake, undisturbed for 35-40 minutes or until it has puffed and is slightly brown on top.
Serve immediately with an hollandaise sauce, if you wish.
SAUCE HOLLANDAISE
The boiling butter method of preparing this sauce is an off the heat method, which raises the eyebrows of classicists, but it is certainly very easy to prepare. It takes about 5 minutes to make, and, if served promptly, it presents no heating up problems at all, a sauce without tears.
2 tsp lemon juice (or for a more strongly flavoured sauce: 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tbsp water
or white wine, 1 tsp minced shallots, reduced to 2 tsp)
2 egg yolks weighing 15 g (½ oz)
8-12 tbsp butter weighing 120-180 g (4-6 oz)
1/8 tsp salt
Freshly ground white pepper
In a small bowl beat the egg yolks until thick and pale (about 1 minute). Stir in the lemon juice and salt until well mixed together.
Place butter over moderate heat to melt; then raise the heat and bring to the boil until it crackles loudly, indicating that the water content just started to evaporate.
Immediately, remove from the heat. and on no account let it brown. Holding the pan with the scalding butter in the left hand and egg beater in right, pour the boiling butter, in a thin stream of droplets onto the egg yolks, beating constantly so that the butter is being continuously absorbed. The hot butter cooks and thickens the yolks, as it absorbs them. The finished sauce should be thick enough to hold itself in a spoon. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper and lemon juice if necessary.
Serve the sauce in a warm bowl. If the food, masked with the hollandaise, is very hot, it is wise to add 2 tbsp of béchamel into the sauce to prevent it from splitting.
MOLE POBLANO DE GUAJOLOTTE
(Turkey in Chocolate and Chilli Sauce)
Do not be alarmed by the large number of chillies used in this recipe, as they are from rather mild to very mild. In Mexico, chicken and pork are often prepared and served in this sauce.
One 4 kg (8lb) turkey, disjointed, cut into 8 serving pieces, washed and patted dry
Salt
Mole sauce:
4 dried pasilla chillies
4 dried mulato chillies
14 ancho chillies
(All the chillies are split in half and seeded, under running water, and chopped)
375 ml (1½ cup) boiling, tasty chicken stock
120 g (4 oz) blanched and roasted almonds
120 g (4 oz) peeled and coarsely chopped onions
3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
60 g (2 oz) Greek raisins
1½ tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 tortilla, broken into small pieces
A scant tsp finely chopped garlic
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground coriander seeds
¼ tsp aniseeds
1 tiny pinch of salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter
375 ml (1½ cups) chicken stock
60 g (2 oz) unsweetened chocolate
5 tsp sesame seeds, lightly roasted
Simmer the turkey, covered with salted water, for about 1 hour or until almost cooked through. Set aside, off the heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the mole sauce. Pour enough hot chicken stock to just cover the chillies and soak them for about 30 minutes.
Blend the toasted almonds until they resemble a paste. Press the nuts with the back of a spoon through a sieve and return them into to blender. Add the chillies and their soaking liquid, the onions, tomatoes, raisins, 1 ½ tsp of sesame seeds, tortilla, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, aniseeds, salt and pepper and blend until the mixture is reduced to a thick purée.
Simmer the above paste in 1 tbsp butter, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, add the cold stock and chocolate, and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has melted. Cover the pan and set aside, off the heat.
Lift the turkey out of the saucepan, with a slotted spoon and place on a double thickness of kitchen paper to drain. Then pat it until completely dry. Melt the remaining butter in a large frying pan and brown the turkey pieces on all sides, turning them around frequently in the hot butter. Drain the fat from the frying pan and pour the mole over the turkey, turning the pieces about in the sauce in order to coat them evenly. Cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, basting the turkey occasionally with the sauce.
Serve over steamed rice, sprinkled with the remaining toasted sesame seeds.
BARBERQUED SPARERIBS
Barbeque sauce:
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp minced garlic
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and finely chopped
180 g (6 oz) tomato purée
4 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil or thyme
4 tbsp thick honey
8 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
2 kg (4 lb) spareribs
Sauté the onions and garlic in butter, for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, but do not brown. Combine the tomato purée with the vinegar and add it to the pan, then stir in the salt, herbs, honey, Worcestershire sauce and mustard and mix very well together. Simmer over very low heat for 10-15 minutes and remove from the stove.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400F) and place the spareribs, fat side up, on a rack, in a shallow roasting tin. Brush the barbeque sauce, lavishly over the meat and bake, in the middle of the oven, for 46 minutes to 1 hour, basting thoroughly every 12 minutes or so.
When the spareribs are brown and crisp, cut into individual portions, and serve immediately.
AVOCADO AND TOMATO SALAD
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1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and cubed drenched with
1 tsp lemon juice
2 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsp vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
Mixed the avocados, tomatoes and spring onions together, drizzle with vinaigrette, toss gently and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.
ENSALADA DE NOPALITOS
(Cactus-Leaf Salad)
600 g (1 lb 3.3 oz) tinned diced cactus leaves, strained and patted dry
3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
3 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh coriander
Vinaigrette:
2½ tsp vinegar
¼ tsp dry mustard
Salt and pepper
2½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
(Mix the three first ingredients well together and whip in the oil until the dressing thickens)
Place the cactus leaves, tomatoes and chopped onion in a salad bowl, drizzle with the vinaigrette, toss gently and sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander.
CARAMELIZED MILK PUDDING
Dulce de leche, a very popular sweet throughout Latin America.
450 g (15 oz) condensed milk
625 ml (2 ½ cups) fresh milk
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
210 g (7 oz) dark brown sugar
3 tbsp water
Bring the three first ingredients to the boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Immediately remove from the stove.
Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and simmer over low heat stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves. Pour in the hot milk mixture and stir well. Cook over very low heat, for about an hour, stirring occasionally. The mixture will turn into a thick, amber coloured pudding. Serve at room temperature or iced.
TWO LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE
A superb chocolate dessert.
180 g (6 oz) bitter dark chocolate, melted
180 g (6 oz) butter
625 g (1 ¼ lb) sugar
4 eggs
1 vanilla
250 g(½ lb) plain flour sifted with
1½ tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
250 ml (1 cup) milk
Icing:
210 g (7 oz) dark chocolate (I use Ygeias Pavlidou a lovely Greek chocolate), chopped
210 ml (7 fl oz) cream
2 tsp Greek honey
(Heat the cream almost to boiling point, pour over the chopped chocolate and the honey and whip well until thick and shin. Cool)
Walnut halves for garnish.
Preheat oven to 190 C (375 F). Brush a cake tin with butter and layer the base with buttered baking parchment.
Beat the sugar and butter until, light and creamy and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then fold in the melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add the flour in three portions alternately with the milk mixing very well each time. Scrape into the prepared tin and bake for35-40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and reverse the cake on a rack to cool.
Place on a serving dish, cut in half, spread the bottom layer with the chocolate icing cover with the second layer and cover with the remaining chocolate icing and garnish with walnut halves.
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| "Roses in a Basket" by Jeanne Illenye |
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