Cast Iron Skillets and A World In Flames

This week, the finer points of cast iron skillets, Yorkshire pudding, and oh, yes, the burgeoning French revolution, courtesy of Claire Berlinski in Paris, the state of Brexit with Toby Young in London, and the demise of the Weekly Standard in Washington D.C. with our hosts, who have been reading it from day one.

Music from this week’s podcast: Murder By Numbers by The Police

Subscribe to The Ricochet Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Please Support Our Sponsor!

Boll & Branch

Use Code: RICOCHET

Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing.

There are 48 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Charlotte Member
    Charlotte
    @Charlotte

    Sorry, but even allowing for some headline writers’ license, “the world” isn’t in flames. A small portion of one city is. 

    • #31
  2. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Look at comment #23 

    We are living in a world whose values have been massively distorted by brainless socialists in the last 30 years. We are to the point where we barely know up from down. Those guys in the yellow vests are speaking for the whole human race at this point.

    • #32
  3. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Chris Campion (View Comment):

    Boss Mongo (View Comment):

    Miz Claire (paraphrase): Can anyone name a single violent revolution in history where things were better at the end?

    Me: Yes. Yes we can.

    You’re far too kind.

    She openly voter for and supported Hillary for president. I get it, she didn’t like Trump. But to vote for Hillary puts Claire on my “no fly” list.

    And thanks, Peter, for eliding right past the still-existing violence perpetrated by Muslims. Maybe it’s not covered as much, or as loudly, but it’s still there. Claire’s comments and laughter about “right-wing” concerns in France, largely relegated to the lumpen proles who do not live in Paris, aligns perfectly with my assumptions about how she sees the world.

    A 2-minute google imparts more information than Claire did.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/27/how-the-murders-of-two-elderly-jewish-women-shook-france-antisemitism-mireille-knoll-sarah-halimi

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-shots/gunman-kills-at-least-two-in-french-christmas-market-and-flees-idUSKBN1OA2A8

    The Guardian is a leftist publication, so expect a good deal of equivocation in the article as a whole; but here is a useful extract:

    “France is the only country in Europe where Jews are periodically murdered for being Jewish. No fewer than 12 Jews have been killed in France in six separate incidents since 2003: Sébastien Selam, Ilan Halimi, Jonathan Sandler, Gabriel Sandler, Aryeh Sandler, Myriam Monsonégo, Yohan Cohen, Philippe Braham, François-Michel Saada, Yoav Hattab, Lucie Attal and Mireille Knoll.

    “In each of these cases, at least one of the perpetrators was from what the French call minorités visibles, or ‘visible minorities’, which typically refers to those of north African or west African descent; in most cases, the perpetrators have been linked with some form of extremist Islam. In nearly every case, the victims have been either identifiably Jewish or personal acquaintances of the perpetrator.”

     

    • #33
  4. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Petty Boozswha (View Comment):

    If Trumpkins were as good at attracting new Republicans as they are at making old ones like Claire walk the plank we would be in good shape.

    People need to think about why people want him and why he won. So much centralized government is dysfunctional, but there are a bunch of people that just need it to work like it “should”.

     

    I can give some benefit of the doubt to those who didn’t vote at all in 2016. Especially if they wise up, look at the judges etc, and vote for a second term in 2020. But I can’t see how any “Republican” who voted for Hillary in 2016 was ever really a Republican, or can claim to be so now.

    Claire lives in Europe, she didn’t really understand Hillary the way we did. I agree it was a wrong move, but she’s still the kind of conservative we need.

    Maybe I missed something, but didn’t she relocate to Europe in the past few years?  If that’s the case she had plenty of time to learn all too much about Hillary, and to have known better than to vote for Hillary for ANY office.  Not even Dog Catcher.  Maybe Dog VOMIT Catcher.

    • #34
  5. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    She lived in Turkey for many years before moving to Paris. 

    • #35
  6. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    That raises another interesting point.  If someone can’t be bothered to live here, for maybe 20 years or more, and so doesn’t really know what’s going on, maybe they give up voting rights until they return.  It’s not the same as military people for example, being stationed overseas, maybe for a couple years or even several years.  But ex-pats who voluntarily live elsewhere for decades, how can they possibly know enough about what’s going on for their votes to be informed?  Lord knows there are plenty of people who LIVE HERE who were foolish enough to vote for Hillary.  Why add the willfully ignorant too, those who voluntarily removed themselves from any exposure to and hence direct knowledge of the Loony Left here?

    I doubt that there’s any constitutional right to absentee voting for decades from other parts of the world.  Those issues seem to be handled by state legislatures.  And don’t voters even just for federal puposes have to be residents of A State to vote anyway?  What State does Claire Berlinski claim residency in, after being out of the country for years/decades?

    Why should Claire Berlinski get voting rights from foreign countries, that residents of DC don’t have?

    • #36
  7. Petty Boozswha Inactive
    Petty Boozswha
    @PettyBoozswha

    Would you feel the same way if she voted for Trump?

    • #37
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Actually, yes.

    • #38
  9. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Charlotte (View Comment):
    Sorry, but even allowing for some headline writers’ license, “the world” isn’t in flames. A small portion of one city is. 

    Agreed. It’s a big planet. 

    • #39
  10. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Charlotte (View Comment):
    Sorry, but even allowing for some headline writers’ license, “the world” isn’t in flames. A small portion of one city is.

    Agreed. It’s a big planet.

    Everyone calm down: it was a play on the skillets part of the hed. 

    • #40
  11. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Charlotte (View Comment):
    Sorry, but even allowing for some headline writers’ license, “the world” isn’t in flames. A small portion of one city is.

    Agreed. It’s a big planet.

    Everyone calm down: it was a play on the skillets part of the hed.

    Ah.  You were being subtle.  Sorry I didn’t pick up on it, BY; I don’t do subtle well.

    • #41
  12. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Plus Rob did say, early on, “The world is burning.”

    So it’s actually Rob’s fault.

    • #42
  13. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    P.S.  Michael Cohen didn’t “go to the big house” for 3 years.  He isn’t scheduled to actually report until March 6.  And things could happen before then.

    • #43
  14. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    Ricochet Audio Network: Music from this week’s podcast: Murder By Numbers by The Police

    Great to hear that song, @blueyeti . Sting, Summers, and Copeland are all delivering excellence here.

    But there’s also the version Mr. Sting did with Frank Zappa, incorporating Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments:

    • #44
  15. J Ro Member
    J Ro
    @JRo

    kedavis (View Comment):

    That raises another interesting point. If someone can’t be bothered to live here, for maybe 20 years or more, and so doesn’t really know what’s going on, maybe they give up voting rights until they return. It’s not the same as military people for example, being stationed overseas, maybe for a couple years or even several years. But ex-pats who voluntarily live elsewhere for decades, how can they possibly know enough about what’s going on for their votes to be informed? Lord knows there are plenty of people who LIVE HERE who were foolish enough to vote for Hillary. Why add the willfully ignorant too, those who voluntarily removed themselves from any exposure to and hence direct knowledge of the Loony Left here?

    I doubt that there’s any constitutional right to absentee voting for decades from other parts of the world. Those issues seem to be handled by state legislatures. And don’t voters even just for federal puposes have to be residents of A State to vote anyway? What State does Claire Berlinski claim residency in, after being out of the country for years/decades?

    Why should Claire Berlinski get voting rights from foreign countries, that residents of DC don’t have?

    The urge to disenfranchise is strong in this one!

    In this age of instant global communications, it is not clear to me how a voter living in Oregon or Hawaii is any better able to know what’s going on in DC than a voter living in Paris. Besides, not everyone is as interested in national politics (and typos) as you are. It can be argued, and there is plenty of behavioral evidence, that it is irrational to spend too much time considering the fine details of all the many political issues. One doesn’t have to completely understand climate science and economics to have a position on energy taxes.

    As for residency, the Supreme Court has struck down one-year residency requirements to vote (while supporting more reasonable requirements, such as 30 days residency) because they violate the equal protection clause.

    Remember that while the government may require us to maintain a residence for voting, taxes, and other purposes, they can’t actually make us live there. Most local governments are fine with that as long as they get to claim one more resident, maybe squeeze some taxes out of him, and use him to generate some periodic revenue at the DMV.

    • #45
  16. bill.deweese Inactive
    bill.deweese
    @bill.deweese

    THANK YOU for down-to-earthing cooking with cast iron.   From many pieces of cast iron in the kitchen, Dutch Ovens for outdoor cooking, to cast iron’s best cousin the carbon steel pan, it’s simple and amazing and gets more simple and more amazing as time goes on. 

    Why people insist on making this complex or filled with pan seasoning mystiques has always escaped me.   Buy them and start cooking with them and sit back and watch your grandkids fight over them.

    • #46
  17. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    J Ro (View Comment):

     

    The urge to disenfranchise is strong in this one!

    My argument would be that people who don’t actually live in the US, have disenfranchised themselves, voluntarily.  (Other than military stationed overseas, whose families would still likely have a US residence, etc.)

    As for residency, the Supreme Court has struck down one-year residency requirements to vote (while supporting more reasonable requirements, such as 30 days residency) because they violate the equal protection clause.

    Is there any evidence that Claire Berlinski has ever lived in the US for 30 days before any election that she voted in?

    Remember that while the government may require us to maintain a residence for voting, taxes, and other purposes, they can’t actually make us live there. Most local governments are fine with that as long as they get to claim one more resident, maybe squeeze some taxes out of him, and use him to generate some periodic revenue at the DMV.

    Okay, but where is Claire Berlinski’s US residence that she hasn’t actually lived at for decades?  My guess is that she hasn’t “contributed” any funding to any US DMV in years either.

    I wonder if any voter-roll confirmation postcard was ever sent to her supposed US residence, and if it was returned undeliverable.  That’s the kind of thing that stands out as an indication of voter fraud.  Undeliverable confirmations, non-existent addresses, residence addresses that turn out to be factories or condemned buildings…

    • #47
  18. CarishmaThomas Inactive
    CarishmaThomas
    @CarishmaThomas

    For Yorkshire puddings with the right amount of ‘sink and bounce’, spoon off the fat from the skillet and pour it into a 12-hole muffin tin. You can top up with bits of beef fat from the roast, ghee, duck fat or peanut oil if not enough fat has come off the roast into the skillet. Use a pastry brush or a tissue to smear the base and sides of each hole and put the tin into the oven (turn it up high) to heat up for a couple of minutes. 

    The batter can then be poured in to each muffin hole and baked at a high temperature for 10 – 15 minutes (keep an eye on them to ensure that they do not burn – but don’t open the oven door until they are ready or they will deflate).

    Add half a bottle of wine (or 1/4 bottle port) and the same again of beef stock to the remaining meat juices (and any caramelised onion) in the skillet and boil on the stove until syrupy for the perfect gravy to accompany the roast meat. This has the added advantage of deglazing the skillet, making it easier to clean.

    • #48
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.