google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday November 12, 2009 Kelsey Blakley

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Nov 12, 2009

Thursday November 12, 2009 Kelsey Blakley

Theme: DNA SEQUENCE (64A. Human fingerprint, and what's hidden in five puzzle answers) - DNA is sequentially embedded in each theme answer.

17A. All-big-gun battleship: DREADNAUGHT. Dread Not. Fear Nothing.

24A. Deeply ingrained habit: SECOND NATURE

39A. Shanghais: KIDNAPS. This extended "kidnap" meaning is named after the seaport Shanghai. Wonderful nightlife there. Great bars.

42A. Gap subsidiary: OLD NAVY

53A. Cuba or Puerto Rico, e.g.: ISLAND NATION

Two of the non-theme entries (31A. Most piquant: ZESTIEST & 48A. Convenience store: MINI-MART) have longer letters than the two shortest theme answers. Odd. They don't normally bother me if placed in Down rather than Across.

Neat to have three "filler" clues for a trio of three-letter fill:

52A. Hard-rock filler: AS A. Hard as a rock.

71A. Museum filler: ART

66D. Balloon filler: AIR

I loved the tie-in answer DNA SEQUENCE. Terrific title and great theme concept.

Across:

1. FBI sting that began during Carter's presidency: ABSCAM. What does AB stand for?

7. In this way: THUS. More used to "As a result" clue.

11. Tapped-out message: SOS. Morse code.

14. Sheep herder: COLLIE. Correct clue this time.

15. Old World Style sauce maker: RAGU. Or do you prefer Prego?

16. Hawaiian Punch rival: HI-C. Was stumped again. The C here refers to vitamin C. The Minute Maid drink brand.

19. It might be pale or brown: ALE

20. Blackguards: CADS. Blackguard is a new word to me.

21. Powerful health care lobbying gp.: AMA. "Powerful" indeed, appearing in Xword so often.

22. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN. Rooted in Chinese lamian ("pulled noodle"). The Japanese kanji for RAMEN is the same as Chinese character.

28. TV sched. notation: TBA

32. Extremely cold: POLAR

34. Birthplace of "Wayne's World," briefly: SNL. I was ignorant of the fact that the film was adapted from a sketch of the same name on SNL.

35. Cheese in a ball: EDAM. The Dutch cheese.

44. "The Time Machine" leisure class: ELOI. They are blond, they are beautiful and they are yummy entrees for the the Morlocks.

45. Org. with the blog Greenversations: EPA. Easy guess, with the "Green" hint.

47. Further off the beaten path: ODDER. "Off the beaten path" = unusual.

57. Parisian's "Presto!": VOILA!

58. Family nickname: SIS

59. "__ the hint!": I GET. I simply say "I get it!", not "I get the hint!".

63. Lat neighbors: ABS. Lat the muscles. Not the country.

68. ___ Percé: Pacific Northwest tribe: NEZ. No idea. Nez Percé is French for "pierced nose" (nez=nose). Maybe the tribe members all had pieced nose when first encountered by the explorers.

69. Irish Rose's beau: ABIE. "Abie's Irish Rose". Learned from doing Xword.

70. Prepare to slip off: UNLACE. Of shoes or lingerie.

73. Singer Sheena: EASTON. Scottish singer. Here is her "For Your Eyes Only". I've never heard of her name before.

Down:

1. Type of elec. adapter: AC/DC

2. Afghanistan's Tora __ region: BORA. The region where our military could have caught Osama during that intensive battle.

3. Huskies' burden: SLED

4. School group: CLASS

6. Serious threat: MENACE. Such as the Fort Hood military major who opened fire at the base. Ultimate betrayal.

7. Unauthorized absentees: TRUANTS. Such as the military AWOL's. And ATTEND (23D. Show up).

8. Broom rider: HAG. Could only think of witch.

9. Exclamation with a shudder: UGH

10. Buddha's teachings: SUTRAS. I wonder when Kama Sutra was written.

11. SeaWorld celebrity: SHAMU

12. Carrier of crude: OILER. Crude oil.

13. Dramatic segment: SCENE

18. Songwriter Tori: AMOS. Pure guess. What's her most famous song?

25. University founder Cornell: EZRA. You should eat worms if you missed this one. I've mentioned his name several times on the blog before.

26. Pebbles's pet: DINO. From "The Flintstones".

27. "Little" Dickens girl: NELL. No idea. Little Nell is a character from Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop".

28. Pay-as-you-go rd.: TPKE (Turnpike)

29. Cook, in a way: BOIL. Boiled (freshly picked) peanuts are very tasty.

30. Gucci of fashion: ALDO. Man, I can never remember his name.

33. Mink or sable: ANIMAL. Well, FUR is too short. Nice clue.

36. Pop, to baby: DADA. Chinese baby would say "BABA".

37. Parade rtes., maybe: AVES

38. Vidal's Breckinridge: MYRA. Here is the book cover. We've seen this clue before.

40. Remain undecided: PEND

46. Gathered up: AMASSED. As fortune.

49. When Rome wasn't built?: IN A DAY. Idiom: "Rome wasn't built in a day". I don't like the word "When", though I could not think of a better alternative.

50. Play to __: draw: A TIE

51. Off-color: RISQUE. Tried RIBALD first.

53. Trump with a cameo in "The First Wives Club": IVANA. Donald Trump's first ex.

54. Not even tipsy: SOBER

55. "Faust Symphony" composer: LISZT. "Faust" is also a play by Goethe.

56. Physicist Bohr: NIELS. The Danish physicist.

60. Swarm insect: GNAT

61. Nestlé cereal beverage: ECCO. Totally unknown to me. It's a barley, rye and chicory-based beverage. ECCO is Italian for ECCE, "behold".

62. High schooler: TEEN

65. Jazz org.?: NBA. Utah Jazz. Nailed it.

67. Italian "a": UNA. Spanish "a" too.

Answer grid.

Thanks for the stuffing recipes, everyone. Will ask my husband to add dried cranberries to ours this Thanksgiving (the only day Boomer actually cooks).

C.C.

63 comments:

Martin said...

No googling yoday but then ELOI, LISZT and EZRA are very familiar. I got TPKE, NEZ and ABIE from the perps.

70. Prepare to slip off: UNLACE. Of shoes or lingerie

Oh, right, shoes. I didn't think of shoes.

Martin

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning. Not a bad puzzle but I have one peeve concerning it.

Though it is sometimes spelled dreadnaught that spelling is incorrect. The correct spelling for a battleship is dreadnought. The battleship name derives from the HMS Dreadnought, a Royal Navy battleship launched in 1906. She represented a marked advance in naval technology and thus a class of battleships was named after her.

The other spelling is defined as a 1) fearless person or 2) A garment made of very thick cloth, that can defend against storm and cold.

Dreadnaught is also the name of a heavy metal rock band based in Melbourne Australia. Another experimental rock band in New Hampshire is called Dreadnaught (USA).

Here's hoping I didn't bore everyone and also hoping that you all have a great Thursday.

November 12, 2009 6:26 AM

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and all, a very difficult solve for me today. I was able to complete the puzzle without any help except the perps, but it took about 45 minutes to complete.

The SE corner was the last to fall because I kept trying to make DNA science fit in lieu of DNA sequence, but always had one space without a letter.

I really liked this puzzle even though I got only a few fills the first time through.


C.C. the “AB” in ABSCAM stood for "Abdul Enterprises, Ltd." which was a fake organization set up by the FBI posing as Middle Eastern business men.

Hope you all have a great Thursday.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. This was a good puzzle but quite a challenge for me. I did have to hit the G-spot for some of the clues.

I liked ANIMAL for Mink or Sable, since they are usually clued as an article of clothing.

I also got a kick out of seeing Jazz org = NBA.

I got HIC and ASA through the perps. I was thinking of music when I read the Hard-Rock filler. I figured out it was actually "AS A" before I read CC's explanation, however, it took CC's explanation of HI-C for the Hawaiian Punch rival.

My favorite clue, however, was When Rome wasn't built = IN A DAY.

QOD: Time sneaks up on you like a windshield on a bug. ~ John Lithgow

tfrank said...

Good Morning, C.C. and all,

This was quite a workout for me, but I was able to finish in 35 minutes online. I needed much perp help, and had solved four of the theme answers before discovering what the theme was. Second nature was my last theme fill. NBA was a d'oh moment for me, as I don't follow basketball. Hic did not make sense until I read your solution, C.C. It took a while to get ramen, even though Jean has a delicious recipe for a broccoli slaw salad which has ramen noodles in it.

I am happy to give you an update on Jean's recovery from severe depression. Thanks to a change in medication, she has made a miraculous recovery, almost back to normal. It is a delight to see her smile and hear her laugh again.

I will refrain from boasting about the Cowboys as they have yet to go through their December games. My hope are high, however. Beating the Eagles at home was a major accomplishment.

Have a great day!

Barry G. said...

Morning, folks!

This puzzle started off swimmingly and things continued to go well until I hit the SE corner and everything suddenly got weird. I got the theme, but tried putting DNA MOLECULE at first (hey -- it fit!) Once that prevented me from getting any of the perps, however, I removed everything after DNA. And there I sat for a looooong time staring at the grid.

Most of the problem was caused by the fact that I confidently put in RIBALD instead of RISQUE and was sure it was right because SIB was obviously correct for 58A. But I wasn't at all helped by the fact that I had never heard of ECCO before (except for the candy wafers) and "Prepare to slip off" had me thinking about leaving and not removing a shoe.

Fortunately, I finally realized that the theme must be DNA SEQUENCE and that got me back on track. But it was tough going there for awhile...

Hahtoolah said...

Great news, TFrank, about your wife. I am so happy to hear that she is doing better.

I never heard of ECCO, either. I think the candy you were referring to, Barry G is the Necco Wafer.

kazie said...

i knew a lot less than what I didn't know today, and when I was about halfway through, thought I'd be hitting the g'spot or coming here to finish. But I just kept plugging away with educated guesses and got it all with no outside help.

I also liked IN A DAY. Had the theme and DREAD for ages before I got NAUGHT since the perps there were slow coming. Nevr did recognize HI-C--thought it was HIC, and just dismissed it, since everything around it worked. As noted before, I'm not into brandnames.

On that note, C.C., I have never used either RAGU or PREGO--I always make my own, that way I know what is in it. Commercial brands are full of salt and not much else.

Al said...

@kazie, that's not true... Commercial sauces also have a lot of sugar or HFCS.

Spitzboov said...

Didn't get ASA until I googled. A DF moment.
Everything else eventually filled in. Had Barry's experience with the SE corner.

Glad to see EZRA clued w/ Cornell for a change.

Didn't like ODDER

Didn't know Puerto Rico was a NATION.

Another nice day in the Mohawk Valley.

Annette said...

Thank you, Chickie! Reading your recipe reminded me of the ingredient I'd missed that was bugging me - eggs!

And to clarify, I noticed the other recipes list water chestnuts, which sounds really good to me, but mine are regular chestnuts. No DF notions raised by this sentence, right? ;-)

kazie said...

Al,
You're right--I was forgetting that. I only thought of the salt, because DH is trying to keep it down so much that I have sneak a little in to what I make or use the potassium chloride substitute, which I hate. It always seems so dusty, flies up my nose when I use it in cooking. I like a little red wine and lots of garlic, oregano, basil and thyme in my spaghetti sauce.

Lemonade714 said...

Morning:

Getting back to normal; and I agree about the NAUGHT, NOUGHT usage. A fine puzzle, had to work at it some, and enjoyed the reference to the NEZ PERCE who did not all have nose piercing, but those who did obviously got the attention of the French.

From the range, where never is heard….

Anonymous said...

18. Songwriter Tori: AMOS.

Tori is from North Carolina.

Tori

Crucify

Caught a Light Sneeze

Anonymous said...

Puerto Rico is not a nation!

Philope

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Frosty and foggy here this morning.

Dr. Dad -
Thanx for the DREADNOUGHT explanation. That's how I spelled it.

Had a tough time with this puzzle, but I'm slow to wake up (I guess my first marriage is a testament to that fact.)

Had all sorts of trouble in the SE corner. ECCE, eh. Never heard of it. For some reason GNAT came slowly.

Didn't know EZRA or ALDO. Stared at "Jazz Org?" for a long time, then realized I don't belong. Had PIKE in for TPKE, and that really slowed things down.

Didn't like the clues for ODDER and POLAR.

Never thought I'd spend so much time among the ELOI. Yum!.

A real struggle this time, but I think it's me, not the puzzle. Feel very mentally sluggish today.

I posted an interesting sky shot on my blog. Can anyone explain it to me?

Cheers!
JzB the foggy trombonist

Anonymous said...

Kazie,

Have you tried this spaghetti sauce?

Bertolli I like the marinara (Burgundy wine), Olive oil and garlic, tomato and basil sauce.

Bertolli

Anonymous said...

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico

(Commonwealth of Puerto Rico)


Puerto Rico



ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF

Barry G. said...

I never heard of ECCO, either. I think the candy you were referring to, Barry G is the Necco Wafer.

Ah, yes. That would be it. I should know better, since the Necco factory is (was?) actually quite close to where I live.

As for spaghetti sauce, I also prefer to make my own. I add a lot of salt for flavor, however, and just recently discovered that a bit of sugar makes it extra tasty. I guess I might as well buy it in a jar, eh? Maybe next time I'll add some red wine, though. I've recently started cooking with wine (white wine my seafood scampi, red wine with my beef stew), but I never thought of putting it in spaghetti sauce. My favorite food-related whine, of course, is still, "Can't we order pizza tonight? Pleeeeeease?" ^_^

I didn't used to cook much, but now that my mother-in-law lives with us and does most of the cooking I find I need to volunteer once a week in order to give myself a break from her cooking. Not that her cooking is bad, but it's certainly nothing like what I grew up with...

Spitzboov said...

@ Jazzbumpa re: interesting sky shot on my blog

Looks like high level water droplets or ice crystals. Can see other cirrus as well. Same type of light refraction physics that explain rainbows.

Very interesting photo

eddyB said...

Good morning all.

For a nice little laugh this morning, see 21A in the Matt Jones puzzle (cruciverb.com). He might be reading this blog.

eddyB

windhover said...

Annette, re: chestnuts.
It's a scientific fact that chestnuts become chestmelons, thus changing to fruit. Isn't science great?

kazie said...

RSD,
Those products certainly look tempting, but I guess I'd rather just keep doing what I do, since I'm happy that way, and it's cheaper! Especially in a good year when I can use our own tomatoes.

Barry G,
I use a little sugar as well--my son started me on that. It's amazing what a difference just a teaspoonful makes.

Jeannie said...

I struggled a bit today on this puzzle. I didn’t know that a big gun battleship was called a dreadnaught. I got Old Navy and kidnap. Not being much of a shopper I didn’t know Old Navy was a subsidiary of The Gap. To be honest, I’ve never been in either store. I wanted something “rock and roll” for hard rock filler. I had to hit the g-spot for Faust Symphony composer – Liszt. Perp help today included eloi, Aldo, and Niels. Ramen noodles were a college staple for me. Anyone else? Like Kazie, I have never used a jarred spaghetti sauce. I make my own. Easy recipe to follow later…

Dennis, you must have had one helluva good time to still be missing.

For the ladies...abs

JD said...

Good morning CC and all,

Thanks for clearing up my confusion over hic(HiC).I read 28D as pay as you go, so I put cash at 1st, and when I filled tpke, I had no idea why.(We have freeways)Both were head slappers.So was pend when I figured out the e.Doh!I knew Liszt, but had a hard time with the spelling...lots of work out for my "Magic Rub."
I failed to complete the NW corner, not knowing dreadnaught, abscam and acdc.This was very challenging until I got to Old Navy, and I knew there was hope.Clever theme.

I am so impressed that Boomer cooks your Thanksgiving dinner!! Bob eats and cleans up.



worm girl

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, D'oh! HI-C, not HIC. I must have stared at that entry almost as long as it took to do the rest of the puzzle. It finally dawned. Pass the worms, JD.

I enjoyed the theme very much, but didn't see DNA in each answer until I filled in the kicker DNA SEQUENCE.

I didn't even notice ECCO until I was finished because the perps had already filled it in.

I'm with others on the spelling of DREADNAUGHT. If you are interested in history books, Dreadnought is an excellent (and long) account of the background history of WWI.

Another excellent book on a very different historical subject is Children of Grace by Bruce Hampton. It is an account of the NEZ Perce war of 1877. A rather well known quote by Chief Joseph was "Hear me, my chiefs. I a tired and my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

tfrank, so glad to hear about Jean's recovery.

Jeannie said...

Easy Marinara:
Coat the bottom of your sauce pan with olive oil, add two cloves of crushed garlic and sauté…watch that you don’t burn the garlic. If you smell it, it’s done. Add one large can of crushed tomatoes and one large can of tomato puree. Add in a heaping tblspn of dried Italian herbs. I grow and dry my own but you can buy one that includes rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil. Add about ¼ cup of red wine and a tblspn of honey to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, an enjoyable puzzle but I had to finish most of it online (my wife had to leave early today). I got the DNA theme early enough to help some.

TPKE - turnpike made me remember my first trip to Massachusetts in about 1980 or so. I was a green kid at the time and had never seen a sign like a thumb saying 'Mass Pike', I was looking for I-90 signs and I think that I landed ~10PM and it took me until 2 AM to find my hotel. Here's a humorous view of mass pike

Warren said...

Now I remember, it was a
pilgrim hat
not a thumb, quite a strange sign if you've never seen it and are looking for a standard interstate sign. They've changed it since then to make it more understandable.

DCannon said...

More of the Chief Joseph quote. It always makes me cry. "It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.
Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Harder than usual puzzle today. Had to google several. For some reason Old Navy came to mind immediately. Must have heard somewhere that it is a subsidiary of The Gap. Knew Nez Perce. I see I'm not the only one who had trouble with SE. Had "take the hint" for a long time. Ecco? Hmmmm!?

Love the harder puzzles.

JimmyB said...

My personal morass was the midwest section. I wanted PIKE for 28D and PSA for 28A. Which actually worked with ALDO and KIDNAPS. It took a long time to figure out that wasn't meant to be.

My mother's pasta sauce was the talk of the family. She also added a teaspoon or so of sugar. But her secret ingredient was the addition of dried porcini shipped to her from relatives near Genoa. The imported porcini found in stores today aren't bad, but have nowhere near the fragrance and flavor. Just make sure to add the water that you soak them in to the sauce. It's an incredibly distinctive flavor and well worth the cost (about $7/ounce last time I bought some).

Argyle said...

For those like me who don't know what porcini is: Dried Porcini

Argyle said...

For those like me who don't know what porcini is: Dried Porcini

Part 2

PJB-Chicago said...

Eccomi!
[Here I am, in Italian}

Jeannie: I think a few of us might need a worm recipe.... What d'ya got?

Tough puzzle but doable after a few passes through acrosses and downs. A couple squirrely clues in my book: as noted PR isn't a nation. DREADNAUGHT versus NOUGHT (not sure why I noticed this) and I just plain didn't care for ODDER.

Is TPKE the most common abbrev. for Turnpike? Anyone ever heard of ECCO drink? I know the shoe brand, but that's it, amigos.

On to the good stuff: No JA RULE music today. Liked the Rome reference to IN A DAY, the play on words for the NBA and the reference to Wayne's World. Funniest thing Dana Carvey (sp?) ever did. SECOND NATURE was a bit of welcome fill. I don't remember seeing MINIMART in a puzzle before.

I actually knew the names today, and sniffed out the theme after two entries. Sort of a milestone for me. I'd forgotten that SHANGHAI could be used as a verb, and since this is a day of honesty for me, I forgot the meaning as well.

TFrank: wonderful news about your wife.

More on pasta sauce, etc. later!

Jerome said...

Hey Gang- This is a follow up to Robin's query the other day about whether there are many constructors who are women. I responded to that question a couple of days ago, but today I did a search that revealed an interesting stat. Two of the top five most published authors of a New York Times crossword are women.

Manny Nosowsky- 244 puzzles
Rich Norris (Mr. Saturday)- 186
Elizabeth Gorski- 171
David J Kahn- 136
Nancy Salomon- 124

Our constructor today, Kelsey Blakley is a wonderful puzzle maker and a budding superstar. Yesterday's New York Times puzzle was also hers!

It's estimated that fifty million people in the USA solve crosswords. By a large majority most are women.

Anonymous said...

Argyle,
Thanks for the picture of the dried porcini. I didn't have a clue. Think I'll try it in my next spaghetti sauce.
Doreen

Robin said...

Good Afternoon C.C. and all. Hard, hard puzzle for me. A lot of new information to be absorbed.
Jerome, the stats are interesting. I am shocked that women outnumber men as solvers. Do you all think it is more a 'left brain, right brain' type of thing??

I still live on ramen noodles Jeannie, adding a little of this and that. Thanks for the 'Easy Marinara'.

tfrank do you think Jean would share her broccol-ramen salad recipe? It sounds yummy.

Kazie, excuse my ignorance but where is OZ? I am sure you don't mean Kansas ;)

Have a lovely Thursday. How many are having pasta for dinner now?!!

Hahtoolah said...

Thanks for the science lesson, Windhover. I didn't realize that chestnuts could become chestmelons!

Robin said...

I say BOO to the NFL for banning the Captain Morgan Pose!! Don't we all have a little Captain in Us?

eddyB said...

Hello,

Okay. I forgot about 1A. But, the Ds filled it in. I had never heard
of ECCO, but the As filled it in.

Without the "A" in dreadnoght, we would not have had DNA or Tori Amos.

Pike is a common word for road back East. Some are toll roads and others aren't.

The theme jumped off of the page.

There was nothing in this puzzle that anyone should have had a problem.

I alreadly had the dried mushrooms
and the cranberries in the pantry.

I cook most of the major meals and so does our son. We both worked in
kitchens in restauants.

I think that 21A is still funny.

Bye.

eddyB

kazie said...

Robin,
Oz = Australia. As I said last night, we like to shorten a lot of words. Sorry you were puzzled about that, most people here know my history. It's also why I was referenced in the discussion of ROO yesterday.

If I shortened it to Aust. most people would think I was Austrian. And Oz is an almost officially recognized abbreviation in Oz anyway.

TFrank,
I omitted to say earlier, I'm so glad your Jean is showing such a great turnaround in progress.

Jeannie,
That marinara looks great--I hadn't thought of trying honey instead of sugar. I have a folder full of your recipes now. Thanks!

Rex Parker said...

@Jerome, "It's estimated" is not a stat. It's an assertion w/o corroboration. Not saying you're wrong, just saying that you should cough up your source.

The most recent stats about crossword solving in the U.S. I've seen are in Dean Olsher's "From Square One" (2009). I don't remember anything about an ENORMOUS gender disparity, but I do remember that the 50 million number was actually low ... anyway, a citation would be welcome if you're going to go throwing around stats. "It's estimated," yikes. Passive Voice!

And re: women constructors, those stats are not indicative of gender parity overall. Count up the numbers of male/female constructors at the NYT over the past year. That pool is still overwhelmingly male, and most every young (under 30) constructor is a man. Kelsey's recent spate of puzzles is therefore welcome from the standpoint of gender parity (that they're good puzzles is also nice...). I did not know until today that Kelsey was a woman. Kelsey GRAMMER is not.

rp

Warren said...

For EddyB?

21A in Matt Jones puzzle?

I went to cruciverb.com using C.C. link but didn't see that one.

Annette said...

Tfrank: That’s wonderful news about your wife!

Well, I thought I’d finally completed the puzzle, until I read C.C.’s write-up and found I had 3 wrong letters. I’d had to google a couple things: LISZT for the spelling (perps showed as AB? and NES…), and totally forgot that Jazz was a basketball team. Oh, and I probably googled NIELS a little too quickly, since I knew we’d just had it. I thought I’d have remembered that one.

I wouldn’t call ‘Hard-AS A–rock filler’ an AHA moment, more like a groan! And I was looking forward to another good science lesson on the blog about ‘Hard rock fillers’…

Windhover: I should have known that’d bring you out of the woodwork! Didn't someone post a photo of those on the blog not long ago? Still no luck with the iPhone? I wish I had a solution for you…

Jeannie: Yes, Ramen noodles were one of my college staples too. And thanks for the sauce recipe! My mother made amazing sauces, but never the same twice! And I was always stuck with stirring the pot or opening tomato cans, so I sadly never really learned.

MR ED said...

C,C. , Teddy Roosevelt wore a pair of nez perce (eyeglasses).

embien said...

8:18 today. Well, a "theme" that doesn't include all the theme-length entries seems a bit of a cheat, but it was clever as far as it went.

If I ever make marinara sauce again I'll definitely try honey instead of the pinch of sugar I usually use. (The sweetness counters the acidity of the tomatoes. If you don't use it you can get a "metallic" taste in your mouth.)

I eat out every meal, many dinners at Italian restaurants since my wife is vegetarian. It's unbelievable how many truly lousy marinara sauces are served in restaurants (it may be because many places don't cook marinara to order--leaving the sauce simmering on the stove for hours on end, like they do at Olive Garden is death to the fresh flavor of a good marinara.)

SNL: Here's Taylor Swift's hilarious SNL "Monolog Song". As you no doubt know, she won CMA Entertainer of the Year at last night's CMA Awards show (the biggest award in country music). She's the youngest person (19) to ever win this honor and the only female in the last ten years. Taylor Swift Monolog Song

embien said...

@Mr Ed: I think you may mean pince-nez glasses, not nez percé. Here's a picture of Teddy Roosevelt wearing a pair: pince-nez

MR ED said...

If our military could've caught Osama in Tora Bora, I wonder why they didn't.
The ab in abscam stands for Arab.

Embien, thank you very much for the clarification. Of course you are 100% correct.

MJ said...

Hej folks,
I enjoyed today's puzzle, and found it more challenging than most in recent weeks. The only trouble I had was with 61D ECCO. As I did not know Sheena EASTON , and figured 59A could be either IGoT or IGET. I had to guess the vowels beginning and ending the CC. Guessed incorrectly. After the fact I googled "Nestle Ecco" and can't find that the product is sold in the USA. C.C.'s link took us to Nestle Australia, and other google links take me to Latin markets.

My Bro-I-L makes a terrific marinara sauce. He starts it on the stove top, then transfers it to the oven at a low temp for a long time in a cast iron cook-pot. He uses a carrot instead of sugar or honey for the sweetness. Healthier, perhaps? His sauce is to die for! He uses sweet Italian sausage for the meat, but I know it would be great meatless, as well.

tfrank and Jean--AWESOME news!

Chickie said...

Hello All--I had much the same problems as everyone else. The SE corner with the crossing of Risque and Sis I felt CERTAIN was sib and Ribald. They fit, until I couldn't get anything else to go in properly.

I've never heard of The Ecco drink. I am wearing a pair of Ecco shoes today and Ecco is a shoe to me. Also Hic and Hi-C were a puzzle. I had it filled in, but couldn't make any sense of the fill.

My favorite clues today were When Rome wasn't built, and Jazz Org. Both were very cleverly done.

T-Frank, so glad Jean is doing well.

I use a pinch of cinnamon in my tomatoe based sauces. It seems to bring out the flavor as nothing else does. It doesn't take much. I do use the sugar as well, but honey sounds like a great substitute. I'll try it next time. Thanks Jeannie.

JD said...

Jeannie, another great recipe! Thanks! I am so impressed that you will be entering the P.Bake-off! I used to buy those little books with the year's best recipes.It's a $ maker for them, and it validates great cooks, like you.

TFrank, so happy about Jean.

Embien, we loved the SNL Monolog.

MJ,it's Necco(the candy),not Ecco.

Bob thanks everyone who sent good wishes for his 68th. My wish is that his cold/cough would disappear.

My turkey stuffing recipe is similar to many of yours, but I add sliced olives.My mother never did , but I think I got the idea from a college roommate waaaay back.

MJ said...

JD--You wrote "MJ, it's Necco (the candy), not Ecco."

HUH? I don't get it. I didn't write about candy. ECCO is a product in OZ and apparently elsewhere put out by Nestle. BTW, my eraser of choice is the "Magic Rub." I'm glad you also use and appreciate it!

Jazzbumpa said...

tfrank -
I'm delighted to hear about your wife's improvement. Depression is a terrible thing, and it's great to be able to get rid of it.

Here is a darn fine worm recipe that I won't be trying any time soon.

Our stuffing is chopped celery and onions, sauted together, that are mixed with Pepperidge Farm herbed croutons and baked. Purdy simple crumbly stuffing, baked in or out of the bird.

But I grew up with this. I just checked the family recipe and a Hungarian cookbook, and it's basically the same. As you might expect, a bit vague on quantities.

About 1/2 to one loaf of Vienna or white bread - stale or even dried, cut into cubes.
1 lg onion
6 eggs
Salt, pepper, parsley (to taste)
Chicken livers - optional (no quantity listed?!?)

Soak the stale bread in water, and squeeze dry by hand. (Some things you just don't question)
Brown the onions in butter. Chop the livers and saute with the onions. (As a kid I hated liver, but loved this stuffing.)

Place the eggs in a large bowl. (optionally, place the yolks in the bowl, beat the egg whites and fold in last - like ANYBODY's gonna do that!)
Add everything else to the eggs, and mix.

Bake, either in the bird or along side in a loaf pan. this makes a very dense and solid stuffing.

Sometimes we have both.

Cheers!
JzB the doubly stuffed trombonist

Jazzbumpa said...

That s/b stale or OVEN dried - cut into cubes and placed on a cookie sheet in a medium warm oven for however long it takes to get dried out, but not toasted.

Cheers!
JzB the even oven trombonist

Jeannie said...

Kazie, your recipe for "gravy" as the Itai's call it is very similar to mine. I just use honey in most marinades/sauces instead of sugar as I think it's more natural.

JD, do you use green or black olives in your stuffing?

TFrank, so good to hear that your Jean is getting back to her old self. When one is suffering from depression usually the other part does as well.

Robin, in your new avatar I see you are bundled up in a parka? Aren't you from AZ? And yes, I have had a little Cap'n in me one time or another. One I remember, the other I don't.

Rex, I was going to say lighten up, but it's not worth me to tell you that as you are always right in your mind. Let Jerome and all of us know when your first puzzle is published.

PJB, you asked for IT bon appetite!

Lois, you okay? I heard there were bad storms in VA. Still concerned about Dennis. Do you have him hostage?

Jerome said...

Jeannie- Thanks for being a pal. But all is cool. Rex is an academic who exists in the rarified air of an ivory tower, and from that lofty point of view it's often difficult to grasp simple concepts. I was merely trying to give encouragement to Robin. That he failed to grasp that is his fault. That I failed to make that clear to Rex is mine.

Robin said...

Jeannie, yes the pic is from Colorado, my home, I am in AZ for the time being!! and one of my best friends is a CAPTAIN! and I also remember one, not the other...;) Could have been a General...LOL

@Jerome I should have explained to Rex , it was me who said it was a stat, therefore, bein MY, "My Bad" so therefore JEROME I appreciate your encouragement, and THANKYOU Mr. J
Rex just chill......

Lemonade714 said...

Too much tension; come on guys. RP's comments were not personal, and we all know statistics are often manipulated to promote someone's agenda. personally, I do not ponder the gender, age, religion or thumb size of the constructors. I really enjoy your comments Jerome, but I do not like to see the blog as a battleground. As far as RP's prowess as a constructor, you know I appreciate my sweet tart, and I understand the concept, but there are those who become very good critics, who could never do what they write/speak about. I also always know the opinons expressed are just opinions; some more educated but not necessarily right for me.

There is plenty to read on the internet about Puzzles and I am sure you as a constructor know much more about where to find information than I do.

good night all

Robin said...

JEANNIE: ROTFLMAO @ IT, I Think PJB would love this!

JD said...

Sorry MJ, I thought you were talking about the Nestle candy company. It was my mix-up, sorry.

BTW, Neccos and valentine candy hearts have the same ingredients..it was the one treat I could give to my autistic student a few yrs ago.

Jeannie,black olives. I slice them because whole ones look and feel firmer.

Jeannie said...

Robin, just curious...which was your favorite? I am leaning towards the pureed dip just because of the tomato/basil thread and you can dip fried slices of potatoes into it. Never mind the bit of dirt you might encounter. What's a little dirt among friends?

Lemonade...point well taken.
Mostly Tart, Lo-li-ta.

PJB-Chicago said...

Jeannie, JazzB: The sushi recipes and the quiche recipes looked good, but MINUS the worms, por favor. The quiche recipe avoids the messy business of "gutting" the worm just by cooking it beyond recognition, but there's still that nasty issue of the sand that the worm uses to digest its food. Blech....Performing "gastric lavage" (intestinal cleansing) on a worm sounds time-consuming and unpalatable.. Still, I admire the creativity of the recipe writers.

Jeannie: the tomato sauce sounds wonderful. The honey does taste better than the sugar. I live near a spice store with wonderful fresh spices (high turnover = fresher ingredients) and you can buy just a "dime bag" of most of them so you don't end up with a bottle of Turmeric if you only need a little bit. They also have blends and about 15 different kinds of salt and 9 different types of cinnamon. I have used cinnamon in tom.sauce or even a little fiery chipotle pepper action sometimes, or different spice combos. I am sure you love to experiment as well. Some mixes work better than others, but I try to stick with the best tomatoes I can afford. Pretty hard to screw it up, except when you lose track of how long the garlic has been"tanning" in the pan.

I have been known to doctor pre-made sauces on occasion. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods (which we dub :"whole paycheck" have some that are OK in a hurry, without too much sodium or weird aftertastes. I do watch out for the inclusion of anything I can't pronounce so that really leaves out most commercial brands. There's almost nothing more enticing than the smell of a good tomato sauce or a hearty soup simmering.

I taught a friend of mine to make some basic soups and now he creates all kinds of different recipes, and he knows his wife will thank him in her own special way! Talk about marital therapy.... They should at least name a kid after me, right?

MamaRuth1950 said...

I almost gave up on this puzzle until I noticed the Ezra Cornell clue. Had to get that one since I graduated from Cornell many years ago. Came here to find out about dreadnaught; had never heard of it. Worked around in circles until I got everything but the Jazz org. clue. Never thought of the sports reference.

I used to make many quarts of tomato sauce in Sept. when the garden tomatoes come in. I froze most of it but it was often watery when defrosted. I usually keep a few jars of Francesco Rinaldi in the pantry for quick meals; think it is the best tasting of the commercial ones. My mother always put a pinch of sugar in her tomato sauce to neutralize the acid and a Greek boyfriend used cinnamon in his.

I checked out the link to Sheena Easton on Utube. Didn't like her voice so I tried her duet with Kenny Rogers on an old-favorite song ("We've got tonight"). Still didn't like her singing so I listened to Kenny and Dolly Parton
singing "Islands in the Stream". It was delightful, esp. compared to Sheena's [screechy] voice.