Barack's kitchen technique
On '60 Minutes" Sunday there was a clip showing Barack Obama making tuna sandwiches for his daughters in the kitchen of their Chicago home. I found three things revealing.
First, he emptied the tuna can on a butcher block and sliced the tuna carefully and deliberately into small slices about a half-inch square. He didn't do what most of us do, dump it into a bowl and stab it with a fork. He was meticulous.
Second, did hit cutting left-handed. He seems very skilled with it.
Third, the Hellman's mayonnaise jar was sitting upside-down on its lid. No waste. A thrifty cook!
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Unless the tuna was really, really bad, the green stuff he was slicing was a pickle.
Even so, I think he's a terrific dad and I truly value the sacrifice he and his family are making so that he can right this foundering country.
November 17, 2008 1:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did you notice whether he tucked his fingers in while he chopped? That's very important. Especially if you're cooking while you're drunk.
November 17, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Drunk cooking=bad idea.
Almost as bad as drunk blogging.
November 17, 2008 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Considering the potential physical danger, I'd have to go with drunk cooking myself...
November 17, 2008 4:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Of course he was cutting left-handed - the guy's a southpaw.
And meticulous is good, both in the kitchen and the White House. Beats the living hell out of what we're soon to see the back of, wouldn't you say?
And yes, curl your fingertips under while cutting. And grasp the blade (of a cook's knife, anyway) between thumb and forefinger, with your palm resting on top of the blade - then let the knife work for you instead of forcing it. (Cooked professionally in an nearlier life, now it's just an obsessive hobby!)
November 17, 2008 2:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did he drain the tuna first?
I do find it admirable that he cut up pickles (were they sweet gherkins?) rather than using yucky pickle relish.
OTH, that could give fuel to another David Brook's column about Obama's elitist tendencies.....
November 17, 2008 3:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Right...because David Brooks, of all people, is the arbiter of what's elitist and what's not. (And even if true, wouldn't that, inherently, be elitist?)
November 17, 2008 4:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, Lord, let's keep David Brooks out of this. I've never read anyone who can convey such emptiness, such vapid sentences.... I've tried to analyze what qualities make his prose so annoying. But he puts me to sleep on the tv.
November 17, 2008 4:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
As a gherkin fan, I would have to admit that they could be considered elitist.
However, if the pickles in question are dill chips, the elitist case would be harder to make.
November 17, 2008 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nah, he's still safe with pickles; the elitist charge on tuna doesn't kick in until you add the capers.
November 17, 2008 5:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the minced onion and the finely chopped Granny Smith apple.
November 17, 2008 5:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I used to do the caper thing.......and a teensy bit of fancy mustard...and have been known to use apples if no gherkins are available.
Diced onions are a staple and not one bit elitist.
Are they?
November 17, 2008 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent point, Lally. Onions are everyman. So for the elitist charge, let's stick to capers, and Granny Smith apples.
November 17, 2008 6:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
And then, to pull out all the stops -- especially the elitist comfort food ones -- grill it. (My son's all-time favorite.)
November 17, 2008 6:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
The apples are good and supply a crunch that I provide with celery....uh oh.
Nah, celery isn't elitist.
However, Hellman's is more elitist than Best Foods mayo is.
Grilled tuna, especially if you are buying it guaranteed to be mercury-free, is beyond elitist.
November 17, 2008 9:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Onions are everyman, shallots are elitest.
Arugula is socialist.
November 17, 2008 8:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
So nayonaise or veganaise (soy mayo) instead of Best Foods or Hellman's would be REALLY elitist?
November 18, 2008 12:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
granny smith apples in tuna? that sounds interesting...something to try next time. with my starbucks.
November 17, 2008 6:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
What an obviously sexist post. You wouldn't be writing this about a female President-elect. ;)
(I mention this as a partial effort to counter the selection bias that many of us suffer from.)
November 17, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll yield to the pickle observation. At least he isn't slicing the baloney.
November 17, 2008 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
TPM people can sure milk a post!
Seriously, though, you did a great job of seeing into this man's character simply from that one little scene!
November 17, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was gonna say...
I'm extremely glad Obama will be president. And don't take this the wrong way -- But you people are getting a bit obsessive.
November 18, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. But it's fun!
November 18, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was supposed to be for Bat Guano.
November 18, 2008 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hellman's is more elitist than Best Foods? I think Best Foods is Hellman's sold west of the Rockies. Same mayo, different label.
The true non-elitist spread? Miracle Whip. (Shudder.)
November 22, 2008 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink