…be home for dinner?

This is a recent photo of the Senator grinding meat for his tenderloin chili recipe. Sometimes he cooks this for friends, or a church supper club or a special occasion because it’s tenderloin chili and absolutely delicious. It is his very special recipe. His own little creation. It’s even been published in a cook book because it includes real tenderloin not just ground up chili meat which is what makes it so special. Promise.

The reason I’m posting this photo is because it reminds me of the good ol’ days when my Senator actually made it home in time for dinner. During the legislative session, the chances of my Senator joining us are slim to none. Probably not gonna happen.

When he was first elected, I used to cook dinner hoping for the best case scenario which would have him flying through the back door just as dinner was served. I would even go to the trouble of cooking something he really might enjoy after a hard day at the Capitol which typically resulted in a messy kitchen, no Senator and tons of left overs. Just to prove my point and for the record, the Senator has been home for dinner once (OK, maybe twice) in the past MONTH at which time he brought his friends along with him! We’re not holding that against him or anything. I’m just saying he is a public servant and dinner is simply an extension of his work day.

Regardless, dinner with the Senator during session is never a guarantee. We never really know his status, it is always fluid and one must master the art of graceful flexibility. It’s not like I enjoy cooking or anything, that is a completely different post…I just enjoy his company.

Bon Appetite,

The Senator’s Wife

There’s always a dome where you roam…

And, here is another dome from another Capitol…

Any ideas?

If you guessed Puerto Rico you would be correct. San Juan, Puerto Rico. They hope to be the 51st state. I kid you not.

Last weekend my Senator and I went to a Mardi Gras party at a friend’s house, and it was some Mardi Gras party. In fact, it was the real deal as these friends herald from “the deep South”. They had imported food, cups, king’s cake and of course tons of Mardi Gras beads.

In speaking with our host and hostess we learned all about the history of Mardi Gras. She had even printed up a copy of it which she gave to all the guests as party favors. You learn something new every day.

My favorite tidbit however, was the cape hanging in the corner. This was her cape that she wore in a Mardi Gras parade. It was homemade and had a colorful applique of a giant catfish sewn on the back. Our hostess explained that one was supposed to choose items that represented their interests to adorn the back of their queen’s cape with and she liked to fish. Hence the catfish. Not real “queen” like, she went on to explain, but then that was half the fun of it! We like her…a lot!

Here is what else we learned from our Southern friends: Mardi Gras, translated from the French means “Fat Tuesday.” Fat Tuesday falls on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the solemn forty days prior to Easter. Since Easter is a movable feast day, Mardi Gras changes every year and can be as early as February or as late as March 9th.

Carnival is a period of feasting and celebrating before the fasting days of Lent. Carnival starts January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany and ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday. Carnival is a Catholic celebration and is licensed by the Catholic Church. Carnival means “farewell to flesh.”

King cake is only eaten during the carnival season. King cake is a French pastry made traditionally with cinnamon and colored sugar and is oval or ringed shaped. Now they are made in several flavors. King cakes have a bean or a baby doll hidden in them. The person who finds it buys the next cake or throws the next party. King cake is always decorated with sugar in the colors of carnival which are purple, gold and green. Purple symbolizes justice, gold symbolizes power and green symbolizes faith.

More than you wanted to know… but you can”t say you didn’t learn anything today!