Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

“They not like us!” (that’s for sure!)

I’m just a talker, trying to find a channel!

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

This fight is for everything.

Joe Biden can go out like FDR, not by dying in office, but by crushing the fascists.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

“Why isn’t this Snickers bar only a nickel?”

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires Republicans to act in good faith.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

You are here: Home / Food & Recipes / Food / Muffaletta

Muffaletta

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muffalata

In the comments to Betty C’s sandwich post on Tuesday I promised I’d post my muffaletta recipe later in the week. Since things seem to be a bit slow, I think now is the time and here is the place! I learned how to make muffaletta while I was doing my masters in comparative religion. I worked in a specialty, gourmet grocery and the catering manager, who managed the deli, butcher shoppe, and cheese department would make it based on her family’s recipe. She was an excellent caterer and a really good person. And she liked her muffaletta with bite! And that’s how I make it. You’ve got two serving options with it: fresh or let it sit and ferment for a few days. I prefer the former. To me it has a cleaner, sharper taste. But if you prefer your muffaletta fermented, that’s okay too.

Muffaletta:

2 8 oz cans of black, pitted olives

2 8 oz cans of green, pitted olives

Olive oil (to taste – this’ll make sense in a bit)

Ground Parmesan Cheese (to taste – this’ll make sense in a bit)

Red pepper flakes (to taste – this’ll make sense in a bit)

Directions:

Drain the green and black olives and run them through the robo-chopper until minced (medium – you don’t want big chunks, but you don’t want paste/tapanade either). Or, if you prefer, mince them by hand. Place the minced olives into a mixing bowl and add the ground parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to taste and combine all ingredients thoroughly. Then drizzle in the olive oil while mixing until everything is basically in suspension. You don’t want it oozing oil, nor do you want it looking like just chopped olives. Once you have everything to your preferred taste/level of heat, refrigerate.

Once the muffaletta is chilled there are several ways to serve it. Before I get to the classic sandwich, you can also take a sourdough round, or any other type of bread round, slice the top off, and scoop off the inside. Then fill with the muffaletta and dice up the scooped out bread to dollop the muffaletta onto. Its also quite good with non-smoked brisket or other roasted meats in place of horse radish.

For the muffaletta sandwich:

Ingredients:

One large sourdough round

1/3 lbs of thinly sliced (but not shaved!!!!) genoa salami

1/3 lbs of thinly sliced (but not shaved!!!!) capicola

1/3 lbs of thinly sliced (but not shaved!!!!) mortadella

1/3 lbs of thinly sliced (but not shaved!!!!) provolone or mozzarella

Directions:

Slice the top off the sourdough round about 1/3 down and set it aside. Scoop out about 1/2 to 2/3 of the remaining bread inside the bottom of the round. Layer the cheese, the mortadella, the capital, and the genoa salami – the only thing that matters in this order is that the cheese goes in first and is on the bottom. Then scoop muffaletta on top of the top layer of meat – as much or as little as one prefers. Place the top of the sourdough round back onto round. Wrap in wax paper, place on a plate or a tray, and set something heavy on it. If you’re considered about food sanitation and you want to use, say a heavy, hardback book, then wrap it in silver foil. Place the wrapped and weighted sandwich into the refrigerator. Let sit overnight. Remove from fridge, slice, serve, and enjoy.

Bon appetit!

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  2. 2.

    sharl

    Ooh, that goes in my recipes file.
    …
    Just looked over at JGC’s twitter feed:

    Thurston just ate my HS diploma.

    Poor John…

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Satby: You’re welcome. I learned to make this with a lot of red pepper flakes for quite a bite. But you can make it as hot or mild as you prefer.

  5. 5.

    Adam L Silverman

    @sharl: I have a spare Emory University BA diploma if he’s got cash… True story, when you graduate from Emory with honors, regardless of the level, they don’t have the diplomas for the honor’s graduates ready for commencement. So they actually give you a regular diploma and then mail you the appropriate one several weeks later. If John’s got cash, bidness can be done… Just kidding Emory!

  7. 7.

    Steeplejack

    @sharl:

    He’s en fuego tonight. I liked: "My Kickstarter idea—slippers made out of a comfortable material that dogs find repulsive."

  9. 9.

    lamh36

    They make muffalettas here in NOLA.

    I’ve never been a fan though.

    Still interesting to see a recipe for it.

  11. 11.

    sharl

    @Satby: Yeah, I know he’s sick (and then there’s this blog thing too), but little stuff like that just bums one out a bit extra (in my experience at least) if it adds to an already high and deep pile of crappola.

  12. 12.

    Adam L Silverman

    @lamh36: I never liked it until I learned this recipe. I find most muffellatta to just be chopped olive salad. As a result I’ve stopped ordering it and only eat it when I make it – usually for someone’s party.

  15. 15.

    Gin & Tonic

    I neither know nor care where my high school diploma is or was. High school and I didn’t get along very well, and I’ve never set foot in the place nor had any contact with anyone from there since I walked out after graduation.

  19. 19.

    Corner Stone

    @lamh36:

    They make muffalettas here in NOLA.

    Best poboy I’ve had pre-Katrina was a Debris poboy from Mama’s in the quarter.
    I’ve been back since but no chance to dine in NOLA.

  20. 20.

    sharl

    @Gin & Tonic: I hated the HS experience as well, but loved most of my teachers, got decent grades, and I associate the graduation ceremony with happy parents and grandparents, most of whom are gone now. THAT part of it is a cherished memory.

  21. 21.

    benw

    @MomSense: this is my question, too. Adam, have you tried adding baby spinach or other greens? I’ve never heard of muffaletta before but it sounds delish.

  22. 22.

    Adam L Silverman

    @MomSense: I think it would be fine. I might adjust the amount of red pepper down so as not to overwhelm the vegetables. I think it would do really nice with roasted, sliced portobella mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, and squash. If I was making it for someone who was a vegetarian I’d rub the veggies in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste, and then roast in the over at 350 until they were done. Or over a flame – say on a charcoal or natural gas grill. Just replace the meats with the sliced, roasted veggies and you’re good to go.

  23. 23.

    lamh36

    @Adam L Silverman: I still just can’t even eat them. I have a reflex gag reaction to then…I don’t know why.

    So I’ve just never been able to eat them. It’s the mixture I think

  24. 24.

    Gin & Tonic

    @NotMax: When I got to college I learned that they didn’t care if you’d graduated from HS or not – once you got the acceptance letter, that was that. I was pissed I wasted the last two months there.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    @NotMax: One of my sons refused to walk but instead went to see his friend walk. He wanted me to go with him, but I’m not quite that nice.

  26. 26.

    lamh36

    @Corner Stone: When asked from folk from out of town about Poboys…I always recommend Jean’s PoBoy in Marigny and almost to person, my NOLA peeps agree.

    If you have in mind a hot ham and cheese or roast beef poboys…or if it’s been a long night on Bourbon Street and you need a late night detox eat…Jean’s is the place.

    They have a pic on their site saying “even Jay Z and Beyonce love Jean’s PoBoy”…lol

    http://genespoboys.com/

  27. 27.

    lamh36

    @Corner Stone: When asked from folk from out of town about Poboys…I always recommend Gene’s PoBoy in Marigny and almost to person, my NOLA peeps agree.

    If you have in mind a hot ham and cheese or roast beef poboys…or if it’s been a long night on Bourbon Street and you need a late night detox eat..Gene’s is the place.

    They have a pic on their site saying “even Jay Z and Beyonce love Gene’s PoBoy”…lol

  30. 30.

    Tommy Young

    Every human should have to have a shrimp or oyster Po’ boy in New Orleans. I got the places I think serve the best, but to be honest you can throw a rock in any direction in the Quarter or the Garden district and hit a place that makes an amazing one.

  31. 31.

    ruemara

    That’s a massive dose of salt. Therefore verboten.

    @Mnemosyne (tablet): Jealous. I got through editing one long scene, decided I had made the worst movie ever and gave up on scene 2 after my head hurt. And I’m marveling at Hard to Kill. This was popular?

  34. 34.

    raven

    “In the late 1800s fried oyster sandwiches on French loaves were known in New Orleans and San Francisco as “oyster loaves”, a term still in use. A sandwich containing both fried shrimp and fried oysters is often called a “peacemaker” or “Ia Mediatrice”.

  35. 35.

    raven

    @Gin & Tonic: When I flunked out of Illinois my first semester (I started 10 days after I came home) I learned that one you were accepted you could get back in. It took some time and some Jr College but I graduated 9 years after I started.

  36. 36.

    JPL

    @raven: That shows a lot of determination. If you found God in the interim, you could run for President.
    Don’t you have your Masters also?

  38. 38.

    Tommy Young

    Meanwhile, I’m really disappointed in LSU tonight.

    My connections to LSU run deep, far beyond going to school there. Sports are just that, they are a game. But today is not a good day in this household nor that of my father. The game isn’t over but I can assure you in both households there have been a lot of swearing and maybe a few things thrown across the room.

  40. 40.

    Mnemosyne (tablet)

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    He ran into someone he used to work with at the conference. They’re now a prison librarian. So many jokes flooded my mind that I couldn’t get them all out, but they revolved around the idea that his old office is a worse place to work than a prison.

    @ruemara:

    You may need to take a break, especially if you’re still operating on no sleep. Sometimes you need to clear your brain a little to make room for creative work.

  42. 42.

    sharl

    OT: Moar BENGHAZI!!!1!!eleventy!! From Politico, newly released e-mails include communications between HRC and daughter Chelsea, the latter posting under the pseudonym “Diane Reynolds”.

    Looking forward to the wingnuts once again trying to make something of another nothingburger.

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    @Gin & Tonic: Ah…ok. Gene’s is not in the Quarter. It’s in the 9th ward outside the quarter.

    To be perfectly honest, I’m a local. 9 times out of 10, I can get the majority of the NOLA fare by going to a family members house and having them cook it. My family have worked or cooked for a number of the restaurants in NOLA area. So I’m not the one to ask for restaurants that cater to the “tourist” crowd…i.e. in and around the Quarter.

    I actually have to ask my fam when it comes to Quarter restaurants and stuff.

  51. 51.

    benw

    @sharl: Approximately half of the US believes that the most criminal Presidential administrations in history were Clinton and Obama and pine for the return of Reagan and Bush. Of course, the other half believes that the most criminal Presidential administrations in history were Reagan and Bush and wish to continue the Clinton and Obama presidencies. Experts on both sides disagree! :)

  52. 52.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    Gawd, the Shitty PAC-12 Refs(SPTR) were at the UW Utah game tonight. Really bad call on a PI against the Huskies.

  53. 53.

    Tommy Young

    @raven: It is so hard for me to wrap my mind around a draft. I was born in ’69 so kind of in the middle of it. My father says he tried to enlist, but he broke his back jumping out of a plane in military high school, and they wouldn’t take him. I’ve asked him many times what the fuck was he thinking. He said he wanted to serve and he did for 30+ years civil service for the Army and then the Air Force at pretty high levels.

    The only plus is till this day, and he taught this at the Army War College, war is not a good thing and we should never fight one if we don’t have to, and often we have that choice. Pounding the Talabain into the dark ages, good idea. Invading Afghanistan and much less Iraq a terrible idea. Terrible.

    I’ve said the above here more than once or twice but I think it needs repeating. A person that was paid for his expertise in war craft thinks we should fight less, not more wars. Funny when the hippie liberal son can agree with dad, military guy and Republican, on we should fight less not more wars.

  54. 54.

    p.a.

    No vinegar with the olives to give it a little more pop, like a giardiniera?

    Did you have the mortadella with pistachio nuts in it?

  55. 55.

    Gravenstone

    @ruemara: The novelty of Steven Segal as an “actor” hadn’t yet completely worn off at that time. His first movie, “Above the Law” actually wasn’t terrible. But then he was surrounded by some decent actors for that one.

  56. 56.

    Tommy Young

    @lamh36: Can I come to your families house for dinner?

    Long story short my grandfather was stationed in TX learning to be a flight surgeon during WWII. He’d head to New Orleans on the weekends and fell in love with the town. We kept going back almost every year. Dad’s PhD is in Civil War military history. T. Harry Williams was the only choose for a college. LSU it was.

    For my entire youth we always spent at least a week in Louisiana. Also stayed at the same hotel right off the Quarter. Last time I was there the doorman, about 75 and a ficture of the place, welcomed me as Mr. Young. Been there a little.

    When I was looking for grad schools, my parents and their mini-van took me on a two week trip throughout the US to look at schools. It was a pretty kickass trip but there was never really any conversation, I was going to LSU.

    It is hard to put to words how much my family loves southern Illinois where we have lived since the mid-1800s, but Louisiana is our second home town/state.

    I don’t have children but my niece, already wearing LSU gear at 6. LSU, LSU, LSU!

    Did I say LSU and Louisiana.

  60. 60.

    max

    @Omnes Omnibus: My grandfather’s dead, you son of a bitch.

    OK, so you definitely are not going to want to be bringing it up to his face at Thanksgiving this year.

    max
    [‘I’m not going to ask.’]

  61. 61.

    Tommy Young

    @efgoldman:

    I mean, if your grandfather slogged across Europe or the Pacific in WW2, would you dare tell him it’s ancient history?

    Nope I would think not. Both my grandparents served, not with us anymore, and the thing I always found amazing about them is they never, never, not for a second talked about what happened. I would only learn it later in his passing, the newspaper story of his death, that I had a grandfather that was kind of a total stud, but again, he never talked about it.

    I’ve had a lot of thoughts of why they didn’t talk about it, but at the top of the list is that it was such a terrible, horrifying experience they were doing everything in their power to not think about it.

  63. 63.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @efgoldman: While you are ancient, I’m not; but I remember the Watergate hearings. I was glued to my parents black and white TV(we might have gotten color for the house impeachment hearings in 74) for the whole summer in 1973 and 1974.

  64. 64.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Tommy Young: Those that really serve rarely want to talk about it. The only reason my dad talked about sailing into Pearl the day after the attack was to explain to my mother why he’d always send one of the other guys on trips to Hawaii. My mother always wanted to go to Hawaii, but my dad never wanted to go back.

  67. 67.

    Tommy Young

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Interesting what we recall. There was never a TV on in my house for almost my entire life. But I do recall one of the first times watching TV, Carter at the Democratic Convention. We did watch as a family those kind of things.

    I recall a few days ago somebody wanted to know if the Tommy working on this site was the Tommy “with cool parents, in southern Illinois, and loves his niece Katie.”

    I thought that was about the nicest sentence ever said about me ……

  68. 68.

    max

    @Omnes Omnibus: It would be uncomfortable to say the least.

    Yes. Almost certainly wouldn’t want to do anything that results in a falling off. Er, falling out.

    max
    [‘This intermittent server barf is new.’]

  70. 70.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @efgoldman: All my grandparents were gone by 1966. When the page loading failure occurs, I just assume the comment has gone to the bit bucket. I may do a control-C in the future to save it in the paste buffer prior to posting.

  71. 71.

    sharl

    @BillinGlendaleCA: I found those Watergate hearings gripping as well. I vaguely recall “being too sick” to go to (high) school on at least a couple occasions, so I could stay home and watch those hearings. I’m not sure I would do well in a trivia contest these days, but still remember a few names like Sam Dash, as well as his GOP staff counterpart, a young Fred Thompson. Then of course there was Sen. Sam Ervin and those eyebrows of his with their amazing vertical displacement range.

    Republicans have never stopped being mad about all that, conveniently ignoring Nixon’s criminal behavior. Wasn’t it Henry Hyde who pretty much admitted that the Clinton impeachment effort was revenge for Watergate?

  72. 72.

    jl

    thanks for muffalleta recipe.

    And for some political theater for mufalleta and popcorn, aging pundits fight over proper mode of Zombie Reagan worship.
    Maybe we are watching a schism open up right before our eyes.

    Bill O’Reilly Calls George Will A ‘Hack’ In Heated On-Air Argument (VIDEO)
    at talkingpointsmemo.com today.

  74. 74.

    Gin & Tonic

    @efgoldman: Fucking OJ Simpson in that stupid fucking “chase” interrupted coverage of the goddamn NBA playoffs. First time the Knicks were in the finals in 20 goddamn years, they were beating the Rockets and that asshole had to go for a drive and interrupt everything. I’d give him the fucking electric chair just for that.

  76. 76.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @Gin & Tonic:

    asshole had to go for a drive and interrupt everything. I’d give him the fucking electric chair just for that.

    Well he is a U$C Trojan.

  77. 77.

    Tommy Young

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Yeah. I learned about my grandfather’s service in the local paper. He was a well-known doctor, known as the “baby doctor” and he delivered about every kid in the town (he delivered me). His death was kind of a big deal. In the story they talked about this or that and then they went to this military service and frankly my family was kind of stunned. We knew some of it, but not most of it.

    Here is a somewhat happy story ….

    He was a flight surgeon on HUMP flights. Supply flights to China. Not a safe thing, about 35% of the planes never came back. He was on a flight where they lost almost everybody on board. He is saving everybody he can and then it realizes he is the only person that can land said plane. On the weekends the pilots taught him the basics, because they knew there was a chance, well a good chance they might not come home and this would happen.

    He landed the plane, saved some lives.

    As the medics came on the scene they found he had 8 sharpenal wounds.

    We have a pic or two of him in the hospital, but we don’t know what happened from there. I like to think it asked the Air Force to let him go home, he did his shit.

  78. 78.

    max

    @efgoldman: I hear bee colonies are failing all around the world, and we are in danger of not being able to grow crops and other things because they won’t be pollinated.

    Is that why Cole hasn’t has any clothes on all day?

    max
    [‘Well, dip me in honey and call me bzzt bzzt.’]

  79. 79.

    Tommy Young

    @Gin & Tonic: It is pretty cool, if for no other reason then Ajax. You won’t have to hit refresh for new comments to appear. But there are issues with it, meaning things people here want it doesn’t do. As I said we’re working with the developer and I hope we’ll have most of the stuff people want, but there is no option where people get everything they want. Trade-offs is the reality of the situation.

  80. 80.

    sharl

    @jl: I saw something about O’Reilly vs. Will on Twitter, but didn’t know its origin (nor care, for that matter). Wishing for a draw with heavy damage on both sides seems the way to go there.

    It was useful to be reminded of this though:

    Richard M. Nixon @dick_nixon

    Remember that O’Reilly’s Lincoln book was banned from Ford’s Theater. They counted something like 200 errors of fact.

  83. 83.

    Tommy Young

    @efgoldman: LOL. Nothing anybody can do will upset me at this point. A few adult beverages and Liz Phair on blast. I joked in another comment I have come to really like Adele. Like to go on a date with her. Accurate. But if I could have any date with a singer it would be Liz Phair. This:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmC_ACA_Nv8

    I follow very few “famous” people on Twitter. I tend to use it as a tool to follow people that I respect in my industry. To gather information. I follow Liz and the lady is a rock star. She doesn’t Tweet very often but when she does, it is pretty amazing.

  88. 88.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: I keep missing him. I was one of the 92-93 Bobby Jones Fellows. He came through St. Andrews to give a talk and the Fellows were introduced to him and attended a reception for him. Unfortunately I was out of town at the time and my three colleagues met him and I didn’t. Then, when I was doing my masters in religion, my major advisor – a top Indologist – who has done a lot of work with the Dalai Lama had him come in and give a talk. And, again, I was away from the university when this happened. Its like the guy is trying to avoid me…

  89. 89.

    seaboogie

    I live in Sonoma CA – so amazing local wine and food. Tired tonight after a long week, so I picked up two ready to reheat entrees from “The Noble Spoon” at my local market. The one I selected to heat in my oven tonight was a cassoulet with roast pork and squash. OMG! Well, the recipe is from John Ash, a deservedly celebrated local chef.

    So what is really cool about this (apart from an incredibly delicious restaurant quality meal that is ready in my oven in 15 mins) is the fact that this is part of an outreach from The Council on Aging, which manages the local Meals on Wheels. From what I gather in my online reasearch, the $7 cost of the meal is probably a no profit sale for local retailers, but the sales support the COA and the meals on wheels program, as does government funding and donations. I guess there is an economy of scale there that makes this possible, and this was probably the best seven bucks I’ve ever spent on food.

  94. 94.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Gravenstone: Its also that aikido was not well known outside of those that did it (at the time) and other martial artists that knew of it. So it was something completely knew and different to see. As someone who’s been doing aikido for 23 years (this month), and did other martial arts – though not Japanese – before I started aikido, the movies were an eye opener. Of course I didn’t watch any of them until after I started aikido.

  95. 95.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tommy Young: Tommy Young, who is your Dad and when did he teach at US Army War College? Feel free to send the info to me offline if you’d prefer. I’m curious if I know him.

  96. 96.

    max

    @Omnes Omnibus: God, I hope that isn’t part of the new capabilities of the site post upgrade.

    If Cole does a Vine of himself wearing that Steelers throwback jersey and no pants while asking if you’ll take him back to your hive, I’m going to … write it off as an upgrade from falling off a curb.

    max
    [‘The cat is socked out on the bed, the dog is socked out on the bed, the other dog is socked out in the dog taco, the asshole redneck neighbors are socked out and probably not going to set off any fireworks or burn anything down, so its all…better.’]

  97. 97.

    seaboogie

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Don’t want to rain on your new ‘puter parade (and they’ve likely gotten much better since Ms. Fiorina is out of there and living off her golden parachute while sporadically seeking employ in the government that she doesn’t believe in), but I’ve had two bright and shiny HP computers that were awesome-seeming, until both went “PLINK!” and just keeled over and died. Do have an HP printer though – and they don’t die, they just kind of piss you off on a regular basis when you need them most.

  98. 98.

    divF

    (Tentatively dipping my toe in the water – first comment since the site rebuild).

    I’m in major debugging trance, trying to get a prototype for a project done this weekend. A comment from Tommy Young in an earlier thread along the lines of code anxiety (“Worried I will make things worse and not better”) gave me a sense of fellow-feeling.

    I’m also turning 14 lbs of pork shoulder into carnitas. Good smells.

    The belief that you only have “one more bug” is the triumph of hope over experience.

    ETA: it worked !

  99. 99.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @seaboogie: This will be my 3rd HP, the only problem I’ve had with them is the power supply on the oldest one died after about 4 years. Put in a new power supply and it run great.

    ETA: I’ve had HP printers for years, the only thing that bothers me about them is the paper feed sucks donkey balls.

  100. 100.

    Anne Laurie

    @lamh36:

    I have a reflex gag reaction to then…I don’t know why.

    Olives seem to be one of those foods that people either love or loathe. Apart from the texture, there’s the ‘faint hint of lye’ that puts some palates off. A friend once said they seemed like the sort of food poisoners would use to disguise their evil ingredients.

    Po’ boys, on the other hand, include oysters… speaking of foods that are easy to loathe with a texture that takes getting used to!

  101. 101.

    Tommy Young

    @seaboogie: Sounds like that is a tastely meal and for a good cause.

    Another happy story. My little rural town wanted to build a food pantry for those less fortunate about a decade ago. The town wasn’t so sure, “poor people will come here.” Well we built it anyway and maybe poor people came here. But there was no increase in crime, they didn’t start to camp out on our streets, all things people were worried about.

    The place has won every award the state of Illinois can find for a place like this.

    My town has embraced it. Willing to bet, per capita, my town might give more food away than any town in the country.

    I often talk about my town here and I should do it more, because YOU CAN DO THIS. A right leaning or blue dog district, but our City Manager who really runs things, just runs things like a well oil machine. We have a fiber backbone in my town. Just rewired the entire town for power lines. New $60M highschool. TV ad campaign to come to my town and shop local. My town has an ad campaign.

    My favorite two things are these.

    We paid local artists to create art in my town. Let me say that again we paid them to create art we would feature in our town.

    We voted almost a decade ago to raise our taxes ….. wait for it to improve our parks.

    It is hard for me to walk 4-5 blocks in any direction and not find a park or a “green” space, although we don’t call them that. That would vbe a liberal thing. They are parks or baseball fields :).

    We actually bought buildings on Main Street that were falling down, tore them down, and put in parks. Said paint a picture on the side of this building. Hey put a sculpture in this park.

    We can do these things. Oh my town went from 5,500 people in 2000 to 8,700 in 2010. We can’t build houses fast enough. Funny, people what to come live here.

  102. 102.

    redshirt

    @Anne Laurie: “Olives seem to be one of those foods that people either love or loathe. Apart from the texture, there’s the ‘faint hint of lye’ that puts some palates off. A friend once said they seemed like the sort of food poisoners would use to disguise their evil ingredients.”

    I’m in the “hate ’em” camp, though I love olive oil. And I’ve tried to give olives their fair shake, but poison. They taste like poison. Unless properly soaked in a martini, and then they’re passable.

  103. 103.

    Anne Laurie

    @efgoldman:

    Somebody tell Cole that they sell crates for dogs. He seems not to know it.

    Bitter laughter. I’ve been using that c-word around him since he was still contemplating the adoption of Lily — who obviously didn’t need one, although she might like having a place of her own to get away from the puppies. Cole’s got an idea in his head that they’re “cruel”, and once that man gets an idea, he by gawd Germaniacally will hold onto that idea.

  105. 105.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Anne Laurie: I snacked on some blue cheese stuffed olives earlier this evening. As far as oysters go, you just made me want to order a dozen or so. Too bad I am too far from the sea for that to be reasonable.

  107. 107.

    seaboogie

    @efgoldman: In my experience – at work and at play – the generic laptop was a Toshiba, which is very resilient – if not particularly sexy – and can stand up to a lot of travel and abuse.

    My current computer is a Lenovo Yoga 2, which I adore (great screen resolution, and a touch screen) EXCEPT for the fact that the hinges which allow it to become a tablet when you flip it over 180 degrees are also the most salient feature – in that one of my hinges is busted, and I can barely open it up to a usable angle, and the flip to tablet option is not longer viable. HP is using these same hinges in their flip screens, so I think that they rush to market with fancy shit without checking it all out. BELLS! WHISTLES! WE HAVE IT ALL!

    When I can afford to replace this computer, I am going to get the newer Lenovo that has a “piano” hinge that is most of the length of the connection between screen and keyboard. I’m not a gamer nor a graphic artist (in which case I’d likely have a mac instead), so I just use this computer for work and watching Netflix. Except for the fucked up hinge that limits the original intent, I really love this computer – it’s kind of iphone-esque in its human/technology interface.

  109. 109.

    Tommy Young

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Too bad I am too far from the sea for that to be reasonable.

    What you said. I’d give my right arm to have access to fresh seafood. Living in Louisiana and then DC, now landlocked is painful.

  110. 110.

    seaboogie

    @Anne Laurie: Pretty sure that Cole is a stone softie with his critters, as much as they aggravate him. But if you want him to use the “C” word, I’m inclined to believe that we are the ones that would find ourselves confined to a crate. Commentariat also a “C” word. Could the update glitches be on purpose, perhaps? No weblinks for you tonight, my lovelies – Bwahahahahahah…!!!!!

  111. 111.

    Tommy Young

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well Google says you are correct. I guess it was the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). Dad always said Army War College. Been saying the wrong thing for years, heck I am Ben Carson. That hurts.

  113. 113.

    Anne Laurie

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I snacked on some blue cheese stuffed olives earlier this evening.

    I love mushrooms, and I love cheese, but unfortunately blue cheese sets off my allergies. One of those cartoon “sneeze 17 times & my eyes puff up so fast it alarms the other diners” responses.

    So your olives, like your oysters, would be safe from my depredations.

  114. 114.

    minachica

    @Omnes Omnibus: It’s too late for tonight for oysters, but have you tried The Tempest? It’s been awhile since I’ve been there, but the oyster selection was quite good and not too expensive if you get there around happy hour.

  115. 115.

    Brother Dingaling

    Two quick things:

    In New Orleans, the bread is the muffuletta, your recipe is the olive salad. (Looks to be on point)
    If you really want it to pop, when you take it out the fridge, wrap it in foil (ferl) and put it in the oven at about 300 for like 8-10 minutes. Do this with poboys too when you bring them home

    Geaux Saints!

  117. 117.

    Tommy Young

    I will just keep saying Lousiana rocks.

    Recall as Hurricane Andrew came down. I am this “Yankee.” The lady that lived next to me is filling up her bathtub and every pot in her house with water. I am like WTF. She is like you don’t understand, and gave me her key to her place. I needed that because I didn’t have power for two weeks nor water for six. I used her key and drank water out of her tub. Lady had my back and I so love that about Louisiana. Knew I was clueless and helped. Maybe something like that would happen in say Mississippi, but not so sure about it.

  119. 119.

    Tommy Young

    @Omnes Omnibus: At the time I thought it was a total overreaction. I was totally wrong. I have storm sirens in my town, thought I knew storms. In hindsight I didn’t know much of anything. I would argue many here that have not been in like a CAT 4 or 5 hurricane got no idea. It is some base shit.

  120. 120.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Tommy Young: I moved from the Chicago area to Connecticut and shortly thereafter a hurricane hit the East Coast. We filled tubs and containers.

    I would argue many here that have not been in like a CAT 4 or 5 hurricane got no idea.

    Dude, I don’t go to the basement during tornado warnings because I want to see what happens. But then, when power outages that threaten water supply are mentioned, I take precautions.

  121. 121.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    I watched the first half hour of SNL, I remember now why I don’t watch SNL anymore.

  127. 127.

    sharl

    @BillinGlendaleCA: It’s hard to believe your negative review, after reading this:

    Donald J. Trump ‏@realDonaldTrump 8h8 hours ago

    I am at the Saturday Night Live Studio – electricity all over the place. We will be doing a “tweeting” skit, so stay tuned!

    Don’t see how one could go wrong with a “tweeting skit”, especially with the “electricity all over the place.” That is, unless people were electrocuted during the “tweeting skit”…which might have made for a more interesting show.

  129. 129.

    NotMax

    @Anne Laurie

    As nummy as the olives stuffed with blue cheese can be, these cheese-stuffed ones are better.

    And if you can find tins of anchovy-stuffed olives imported from Spain in your area, even better still. Downright addictive, in fact. I loathe the taste of salt, and the anchovy olives (surprisingly) pass the taste test with flying colors.

  132. 132.

    NotMax

    @Tommy Young

    Weathered Hazel, Donna (the only Atlantic storm documented to batter every single eastern seaboard state with hurricane force winds) and Agnes, among other lesser ones. Also Iniki when in Hawaii.

  134. 134.

    PurpleGirl

    WRT olives: My maternal grandfather and his brothers owned olive orchards in Sicily. They sold the orchards and left Sicily; my grandfather to come to the US, the other brothers went to Argentina and bought farm land.

    I don’t olives and I don’t like or use olive oil. Something about them upsets my digestive system. I can only eat pizza that has been out of the oven for a few hours, something about the length of time from cooking denatures the aspect of olive oil that upsets my stomach. In other foods, not so much.

  135. 135.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    @sharl: Keep in mind, I’m in my mid 50’s and have probably watched SNL 2 or 3 times in the last 15 years. I was a regular viewer prior to that.

  137. 137.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tommy Young: Considering I was between five and ten, you are correct! That said Carlisle Barracks/Carlisle is a small community. So you’d be amazed who you’ll bump into. I once came back to my office and found a guy in his 90s standing staring at the name plates next to the door. I asked if I could help him and he said no, he was on post to use the commissary and just wanted to come buy and see who was assigned to his old office. I introduced myself, we chatted for a few minutes, and that was that.

    Since your Dad was assigned to either the Command and General Staff College or the School of Advanced Military Studies at FT Leavenworth, not the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, it makes it even less likely.

  138. 138.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Tommy Young: This is a complicated and politically fraught discussion… Basically Command and General Staff (CGSC) covers what we call Joint Professional Military Education 1 and Military Education and Leadership 2. US Army War College covers Joint Professional Military Education 2 and Military Education and Leadership 1. The real differences is that CGSC, now known as Intermediate Leadership and Education (ILE) is preparing majors for the high tactical and low to middle operational level of their professions. US Army War College prepares select colonels and lieutenant colonels, and their civilian equivalents, to work at the strategic level – national to theater strategic. The School for Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) is the senior school for preparing Soldiers who are Functional Area (FA) 59s: strategy and plans officers. It is geared to majors as well.

    With all of that said, I have yet to see a Combined Arms Center Commander who has not tried to claim the US Army War College as his own. And I would bet good money there are precise plans on where to locate the school house at FT Leavenworth… It won’t ever happen for several reasons – USAWC is a direct reporting unit of the Chief of Staff of the Army, the PA Congressional Delegation is bigger than the KS Congressional Delegation, having the school within a 90 or so minute drive of the National Capital Region is advantageous for the students, as well as for folks in DC that need to leverage the subject matter experts on the USAWC faculty and staff. But bless their hearts out at FT Leavenworth: they’ll keep trying!

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