Accents

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia   Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard.
The Northeast
The Midland
The Inland North
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Is this a Boy out of Philly, Philly out of Boy situation? (my that sounded bad). It's a short quiz, but I'll be if they didn't get it right. Take the quiz and post your result.

Hoyer in

Hoyer beats Murtha for Majority Leader in the House. This is good news. As important as Murtha has been in changing the debate about the war, he has a record of cronyism, his brother is a high-paid lobbyist (always a red flag) and has a dim view of the proposed ethical reforms, which in my opinion, don't go far enough.

If the Democrats want to make a lasting difference, they need to be squeaky clean. They would do themselves a favor in the long term by pushing Harry Reid aside as well. He has a Frist-lite financial disclosure scandal in his recent past, a set of embarrassing earmarks, one of which benefitted his property value directly and by all appearances and rumors, was Jack Abramoff's best Democratic ally- a relationship which is turning out to be far more cozy than Reid would have us believe. A replacement? Either senator from New York will do, no need to look any further.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part six

Serving

Give your meat 5-10 minutes to relax. Cover with foil, if you wish. Locate your sharpest knife that's 8" or longer. Do not use a serrated knife of any sort, only a smooth, sharp blade will do. You want to cut against the grain, which in this case, means starting with the top of the "triangle". As best you can, slice at an angle, 30° or so. Eventually, the meat will be longer than your blade. Split the remainder down the middle and continue slicing. Pour any collected juices back on to the meat and serve immediately.

This preparation is great with some good bread- a good french or italian roll, sourdough toast or a good flour tortilla. Leftovers are, as I mentioned before, incredible. You'll also find that you can slice the meat much more thinly when it's cold.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part five

The cook

I should begin this section with a distinction. The style of tri-tip discussed in this lesson owes its debt to the central coast or "Santa Maria" tradition. This is a dry preparation (no sauce) and has the taste of well seasoned, but quite smoky, steak. There are methods that involve a little longer cooking time and make use of sauce. Maybe one day I'll teach you, but it's a lot more work and while very good, is at best, marginally better than the method described here, if at all.

By now, your meat should be seasoned and sitting at room temperature. After the coals have had a good 10 minutes to heat up your grill, it's time for the meat. The initial temperature will be in the 400-600 range, which is fine. Add a few more pieces of wood, directly on to the coals, then place your roast(s) on the "cold" part of the grill, fat side up, with the thickest part of the roast closest, but not above, the coals. Close the lid. Your temperature should stabilize in the 275-400° range. Anywhere below that is basically OK, but you'll be waiting awhile. Anything above that is bad news, so adjust your heat as best you can, and move the meat as far away from the heat source as possible.

The rest is simple. After 15 minutes, add some wood and flip the meat. You only need to do this once. After another 10 minutes, check the internal temperature of the meat at its thickest point. You're shooting for 130°, no sooner and hopefully no later. This is for medium rare- add a few degrees for medium. If you're the medium well type, don't force your bad taste on anyone else. Even a medium rare roast will be cooked to medium well towards its ends. If consulting a temperature chart for doneness, be sure to remove the roast 5° before the desired temp. This is a large piece of meat, and the residual heat will continue to raise the internal temp for a while. You may be waiting as long as 30 minutes to reach your desired temp, but there is no need to flip again, just wait and check ever five minutes or so. Since you're only flipping once and cooking indirectly, you'll find it helpful and practical to use the sort of thermometer that has its probe separate from its display

If you're hesitant, I implore you to take a chance with medium rare, it is the ideal temperature for beef- the point after the proteins break down, but before the coagulate. The best texture and the maximum amount of flavor. Despite what you've been told, the red stuff is not blood.

Alternative method: If you're comfortable with fire, begin with placing the meat directly over the coals for five minutes on each side. Continue with the same instructions, but keep your meat as far away from the coals as your can (within reason, or course) and monitor your internal temperature.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part four

The fire

A charcoal chimney starter (pictured) is the best method for starting your fire. Do not use lighter fluid or Match Light charcoal. However evocative of simpler times a whiff of petroleum may be, it does no favors for your meat. Simply fill a chimney starter with your favorite charcoal, crumple two full-sized sheets of newspaper underneath the charcoal chamber and set fire to the paper. In about 20 minutes, your coals will be ready. The telltale sign of readiness is when your coals have ashed over, in other words they will be generally white instead of generally black. The coals are very hot by this point, so don't keep the chimney going for longer than you have to.

Meanwhile, soak your wood chunks or chips in water. They should be sufficiently soaked by the time your fire is ready. When the coals are ready, dump them into your pit, moving most to one side. Leave a few spread about- this will add just a little direct heat to your roasts, which encourages browning. Add a few pieces of wood, put the cooking grate in place and close the lid, but make sure all vents are open. In about ten minutes, you'll be ready to cook.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part three

Preparation

A good tri-tip has a fair amount of intramuscular fat, as well as a fat "cap" on one side. Costco removes this cap, so you won't see it in the pictures. Ralphs will typically keep it on. It's a great thing, but left intact it's too much. My recommendation is if it is left intact, trim the fat cap to half it's original thickness, or wherever you're comfortable. These roasts are from Costco, so the cap has been removed. Keep your roast out, as you want to bring it to room temperature (or close) by the time it goes on the grill.

Season on both sides with equal parts kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic salt and Lawry's seasoning salt. Apply our first ingredient to give you a basic dusting of the surface and follow suit with the rest. Once applied, rub it into the meat. That's it. This will require no sauce at all. Allow it to rest while you start your fire.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part two

Shopping

In California, if you're cooking one tri-tip roast, buy USDA Choice at Ralphs, which is much better than Vons/Safeway/Albertsons etc.. If making two or more, buy USDA Choice at Costco. Some Ralph's stores offer USDA Prime tri-tip, which is everything you would hope it to be, but you're not ready for it, so wait until you are a master. Look for healthy, bright, not too pale, but not too dark, red flesh, with no sign of browning. Roasts that show surface moisture should be avoided. Among equals, try to find the roast with the most white marbling through the meat. Tri-tips are two to a cow, and are removed intact, so size will not vary much. Count on one roast for three hungry adults or 4-5 adults if served with sides worth eating. I must warn you- if you follow these directions, you and/or your guests may want to eat little else. Also, it makes the best next-day sandwiches, hot or cold, so it always helps to buy a little more.

For seasonings, we'll keep it simple. Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic salt and Lawry's seasoning salt. Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper are very important because they add texture and intensity to your crust. They absorb smoke and standout well in each bite. Regular table salt and pre-ground pepper will just soak into the meat. Ignore this advice at your own peril. Also, whether you are using gas or charcoal, get some hardwood chips or chunks. Most BBQ woods will do if you don't have the options, but you have a choice, use oak. Oak is good for little else, but it's the best for beef like tri-tip and brisket. It you've had real Texas barbecue, your memories will spring back immediately.

Cooking Lesson- Tri-Tip, part one

This is the first class in the cooking class series. It will be broken up into several parts over the next few days. Enjoy!

I'm careful with the word barbecue. I use it most often as noun, occasionally as a verb and as an adjective only when modifying a noun that would otherwise be correctly described more generally as "barbecue". We'll get into that another day, and yes, we actually will. But for now, I thought I would would begin the cooking class series on the simplest of the barbecue endeavors, tri-tip. I'm taking the liberty of labeling the method below as barbecue, because it involves an open flame, indirect cooking and a lot of smoke; also, the 30-40 minutes cooking time is about the longest time advisable for a cut of this size and tenderness.

Tri-tip

The tri-tip comes from the bottom potion of the sirloin and is triangular in shape. It is fattier than the rest of the sirloin, but also a bit more tough. There are only two tri-tips per cow, which meant it historically was not a commercial cut, and would usually be ground and sold as hamburger. Today, nearly all the tri-tips are gathered and sent west to states like California, where they are plentiful. In the rest of the country, they are nearly impossible to find, so call around. Most butchers in the know keep a few around. When prepared correctly, it has a steak-like taste and texture, but with many flavor traits of slow-cooked cuts like smoked brisket.

This lesson assumes the use of a charcoal grill, but gas-grill methods will be offered. I tried my best to simulate barbecue conditions for years on gas grills, so my alternative methods are real-world tested. In the interests of full disclosure, my agenda is that of a charcoal evangelist. I strongly advocate a decent, sensible charcoal pit to complement your gas grill. But for now, come as you are!

The fightin' 25th!

My thoughts on a great post-mortem election piece on SCV Talk. Too long for a comment, heck, probably too long for a post...

It seems that, like almost anywhere else in California, the districts are rigged from the outset. Even this year, you had to be an Abramoff All-Star to be in danger of loosing your California congressional seat. The party ID differential may be too much to overcome, at least against an incumbent. But on the bright side, Buck had less support this year than at any point since his initial election in 1992.

It was refreshing to see an energetic and organized opposition candidate in Rodriguez, but he was doomed from the outset, by virtue of the numbers. The shift in power in the House is an important point of reflection on the McKeon era. His most influential period may have passed. He's had six terms, five in the majority and ascended to a chairmanship previously held by the now, but not for long, majority leader. I can't speak for the rest of his district, but the view from SCV is that he's delivered little for our community. The Elsmere bill was significant, but we've seen little since then. I'm no fan of pork, but we are a large city, by national standards, now and, as compared to much of the country, in greater need for roads- big roads, many of them facilitating interstate traffic, because we are not yet "settled". Our infrastructure hasn't caught up yet. Yet our take of the massive transportation bill was disproportionally low.

But more importantly, the TMC issue is, despite the noble efforts of the City, a federal issue. We've been denied any sort of recourse at every level because this mining is allowed by the federal government. The only way this can be remedied, it would seem, is by some executive action by the Dept. of Interior or an act of Congress. Buck's bill, which was years too late, seems to have been an empty gesture. 5471 has seen no movement since the spring and is likely to die a miserable death. McKeon seemed to distance himself from his own bill during the debate.

With the Democrats taking the House, McKeon will have less of an incentive to jockey for position, since the positions available to him are far less attractive, one would think. I've had the sincere feeling that he's been a faithful representative of his party, but his constituents are of secondary concern. Some may feel differently- local businesspeople haven't been shy about donating to his campaigns, and his role in the Education and Workforce Committee has been a good thing for institutions like COC and locally he put considerable weight behind Measure M. But on the issue of the day he's come up short. It's worth noting that Tom Delay's brother has been Cemex's lobbyist in Washington, and such arrangements are never by accident. Tom Delay had a history of speaking on behalf of Cemex interests at odd, but opportune times. Buck was a DeLay apologist to the bitter end, so that may give you some idea of where his loyalties have rested.

Congress- predictions

Calling my shots now-

Dems pick up 29 house seats and 5 senate seats

MD, MO, NJ, OH, PA, RI, VA all go D, TN and MT go GOP.

My ballot - The Candidates

Governor : Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
This was a close call and I may live to regret it. The prospect of setting up Maria Shriver as the Democratic candidate in 2010 tipped the scales.

Lieutenant Governor: John Garmendi (D)
I've always liked John Garamendi. I have an old friend whose career may get a major boost in the event of a McClintock win, and if such a thing happens, good for him, but T. McC is as right wing as they come. Consistent yes, but more often wrong than right.

Secretary of State: Debra Bowen (D)
I believe strongly that this office, more than any other, should be non-partisan and cater toward non-politicans. A partisan political figure should not control our elections. Therefore, this is an office for which I feel very free to cross party lines when voting. Not this year, though I think McPherson has been a good and able SoS, his enthusiasm for electronic voting is too high for my tastes and I happen to believe Debra Bowen is just as qualified in every regard.

Controller: John Chiang (D)
Uh...yeah

Treasurer: Bill Lockyer (D)
He was a great AG.

Attorney General: Jerry Brown (D)
I'm thrilled at the prospect of Jerry Brown returning to state politics.

Insurance Commissioner: Steve Poizner (R)
Cruz is less than able and has a history of deceit and selfishness, and fails the #1 test for IC candidate, he's accepted insurance industry donations. Another office I'd like to see become non-partisan.

I'm going straight D for Legislature, Congress and so on. Remember to vote yes on Measure M for COC. Especially if you went there, you owe it to the kids man, the kids.

Propositions- early impressions

My initial leanings on the propositions on Tuesday's ballot:

1A Y
1B N
1C Y
1D Y
1E N
83 N
84 N
85 Y
86 Y
87 Y
88 N
89 Y
90 N

I should not that I, and I hope you, take a very skeptical eye toward bond measures and will need to consider each a few times again before making a decision. Also, my gut feeling is that 83, by widening the radius in which a sex offender cannot live, will concentrate them in permissible areas, likely to the shock and horror of those residents.

Should I vote some other way? Convince me. Meanwhile I'll be studying these more closely. I'm tempted to vote "No" across the board in protest, so that may happen too.

Update- I went with a "yes" on 83.

Hello world

I'll begin with the obligatory "I'm starting a blog" post. It's an accountability measure to embarrass myself into posting something substantive in the near future. I'm not the indulgent type and I rarely crave attention, but I do like good conversation and debate. Expect plenty of politics, as it is my first love. Also expect, as John Hodgman might put it (if he weren't funny), matters culinary, matters comedic, sporting matters, matters musical and cinematic, California matters and a thing or two about technology.

Also, please comment.