google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday December 2, 2009 Ed Sessa

Gary's Blog Map

Dec 2, 2009

Wednesday December 2, 2009 Ed Sessa

Theme: RAIN CATS AND DOGS (65A. Come down in buckets; also, when applied in sequence to the answers to starred clues, this puzzle's theme)

17A. *Nightly news show segment: WEATHER FORECAST. Rain.

27A. *Big Apple show: BROADWAY MUSICAL. "Cats", one of our Buckeye's favorite musicals. Clear Aye's too, I think.

49. *1955 Disney animated film featuring Darling Dear: LADY AND THE TRAMP. Both are dogs.

Very innovative theme, isn't it? I've never seen such type before. And all of the theme answers have grid-spanning 15 letters and intersect every Down entry.

Only letter X is missing, otherwise it would be a pangram. Quite a few nice clues in the grid. My favorites are I DO (23A. Veiled consent?) and YALE (60D. It's a lock). The latter is similar to "It's a wrap" for SAREE/SHAWL.

Across:

1. Square after Connecticut Avenue: JAIL. Monopoly property. Scrabbly start.

10. Wax remover: Q-TIP. Oh, earwax.

15. Israeli seaport: HAIFA. The only 5-letter Israeli port that I know.

16. Choice in a booth: VOTE. Have never voted in the US. Not a citizen. China does not allow dual citizenship.

20. Match starter: SERVE. And LOVE (62D. Tennis score). Both tennis terms.

36. Houston Aeros' org.: AHL (American Hockey League). Just realized that Houston Aeros is the affiliate of our Minnesota Wild. Sadly an unknown fact for me.

37. Brass or pewter: ALLOY. Wanted METAL.

38. Overplay a part: EMOTE

39. Breakfast corner: NOOK. What did you have for breakfast today? I've been loving mochi rice balls (with honey walnuts & chopped dates inside) lately.

41. Long Island __: SOUND. The answer revealed itself. I only knew Long Island Iced Tea.

43. Poker Flat chronicler Harte: BRET. Learned the name from doing Xword. Not familiar with his book "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".

44. To the point, in law: AD REM. AD = To. REM is accusative of RES (matter/thing). I can never remember this Latin phrase.

46. Author Nin: ANAIS. The famous diarist.

48. Evian, par exemple: EAU. French for "water".

53. Show about Capote: TRU

54. Candy in 12-piece dispensers: PEZ. Look at her pez collection. Some of the vintage no feet ones are worth hundreds of dollars.

57. Pisa place: ITALY

61. Two-time opponent of Ike: ADLAI (Stevenson)

68. Witty Bombeck: ERMA. Often confuse her with IRMA, The "Joy of Cooking" author Rombauer.

73. Doctor's advice: REST. Wrote down TEST first.

Down:

1. __ of Life: JAWS. Have never heard of this tool. Tiger's wife just used an iron. His sterling brand is now seriously endangered.

2. Not windward: ALEE. It's clued as "Dodging the draft?" in one of Paul's Clever Clue of the Month candidate list. Brilliant.

3. Construction beam: I-BAR

4. Baltic country: LATVIA. Capital is Riga.

5. One who'll be comin' round the mountain, in song: SHE. Easy guess. Was unaware of this folk song.

6. Bellyache: CARP

8. Get an __ effort: A FOR

9. Henner of "Taxi": MARILU. Got her name from Across fill.

10. Home shopping channel: QVC

11. Small hopper: TOAD. Brought to mind Arliss's horny toad in "Old Yeller".

13. Folk icon Seeger: PETE. Peter, Paul and Mary covered several of his songs.

18. Ibsen's "__ Gabler": HEDDA. Nope. See the book cover. Is it very famous?

19. Beethoven's "Für __": ELISE

24. Mice catchers: OWLS. Wanted CATS.

27. Clichéd: BANAL

28. Neighbor of Mary: RHODA. Another stumper. I had no idea that Mary here refers to Mary Tyler Moore.

29. Prayer starter: O LORD

30. Tons: A LOAD

31. Hall of Famer Robin of the Milwaukee Brewers: YOUNT. Gimme. Hall-of-Famer. Unfortunately his baseball cards are not worth much.

32. Mimicking bird: MYNAH

33. Chick of jazz: COREA. The favorite jazz musicians of Katherine, one of the earliest posters on this blog. She is now happily married to a drummer and does not do puzzles any more.

35. Ease off: LET UP

40. Piano's 88: KEYS

42. Reduction plan: DIET. Reduction of weight. "Losing plan" would be a great clue too.

45. Frenzied: MANIC

47. Valuable violin, for short: STRAD. Sometimes it's Amati.

50. Write, as music: NOTATE

51. Steering device: RUDDER

54. Co. VIP: PRES (President). We see EXEC more often.

56. Coors malt beverage: ZIMA. ZIMA means "winter" in Russian.

58. Razor brand: ATRA

59. Exam for an aspiring D.A.: LSAT

63. Important periods: AGES. Of course, I fell into the ERAS trap.

66. Afternoon break: NAP. Not TEA.

67. One of the Bobbsey twins: NAN. Bert's twin sister. Learned from doing Xword of course.

Answer grid.

C.C.

66 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and gang - this one seemed fairly simple for a Wednesday, but I thought the theme was just outstanding. I actually stopped after the first three theme answers and spent a couple minutes trying to think of a possible link, but it was useless.

    Had an immediate problem with 1A as I was thinking of Washington D.C., and couldn't think of a famous square in the Connecticut Avenue vicinity. Perps made it easy though. C.C., I agree, 'veiled consent' was a great clue. Other than those, seemed like a lot of very familiar clues/answers.

    Today is National Fritters Day. Corn fritters, apple fritters, they're all good.

    Today's Words of Wisdom: "A failure is someone who saw the possibilities and chose not to experience them." -- Unknown

    ReplyDelete
  2. Morning everyone.

    Nice little Wednesday puzzle. A lot of old answeres and new clues.
    Don't know why I thought of the monopoly game for 1A. I don't think
    knowing the theme helped in solving
    the puzzle.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning C.C. and all, a difficult solve for me today. I just never seemed to get on the proper wave length. I did manage to complete the puzzle without help, but it was no cake walk. To start, I wanted Love of life for 1D which quickly resolved itself when I realized that 1A was “jail”. Next I wanted cats for owl, tea for nap and 33D “Corea” was a complete unknown to me. The theme clues/answers were very good and were revealed quickly as I skipped to the bottom early on and worked my way up thereby getting 65A early.

    Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey-hey,

    I was impressed by the minimal use of the standard word strechers, like plurals, er's, re's and ed's.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Morning, CC and friends. What a good puzzle today and a very apt theme for today. It truly is RAINING CATS AND DOGS here.

    My favorite clues were the same as yours, CC. Plus, I was also amused by Reduction Plan: DIET.

    Jaffa is also an Israeli port, although since is now a part of the metropolitan area of Tel Aviv it is now merged into that city.

    QOD: Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain. ~ Lily Tomlin

    ReplyDelete
  6. A well constructed puzzle, though the fill was old school puzzle words, with some new cluing. I had a brain freeze with QTIP and QVC, the Q the only slow thing for me. Lots of 15 letter words is always fun. Enjoyed the same puns already mentioned, and now the week marches on.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm familiar with the American Hockey League. The KY Thoroughblades were in Lexington from 1996-2001. They were a farm team of the San Jose Sharks.

    my favourite player was Miikka Kiprusoff he is the starting goalie for the Calgary Flames. I saw his last game as a T-Blade, the next day he was called up to the Sharks as a back up goalie after Steve Shields was traded to Anaheim for Teemu Selänne.

    T-Blades


    If I remember correctly Melissa B's daughter works for the Sharks hockey team.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The theme today is one of those phrases that people will make up stories to try to explain, but when you go looking for print evidence, those explanations are only there anecdotally, with just someone's assertion that it is so.

    A common one is that in olden times, cats and dogs would hide in houses that had thatched roofs, and when it rained, the animals would come raining down to get away from the leaks.

    Another try was to explain it mythologically, linking a sailors belief that cats could control the rain and dogs the wind. No such myths are recorded in any of the literature, though.

    In 1710, Jonathan Swift penned a poem, A Description of a City Shower which contained these lines:

    Sweeping from butchers’ stalls, dung, guts, and blood;
    Drown’d puppies, stinking sprats, all drench’d in mud,
    Dead cats, and turnip-tops, come tumbling down the flood.

    In 1738 he used the expression in A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation: “I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs”.

    Although, a variant form is recorded even earlier in 1653 in City Wit, a work of the English playwright Richard Brome, in which he wrote “It shall raine ... Dogs and Polecats”, which seems to suggest a stranger and less easily comprehensible origin.

    All the above taken from Michael Quinlan's World Wide Words website.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sorry, that's Quinion, not Quinlon...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Not a big challenge. Loved the 15 letter theme words but they came rather easily, simplifying the rest of the solve.

    ELISE: a gimme; my cell ringtone.

    At least 3 nauticals: RUDDER, ALEE, SOUND

    QTIP should not be used in your ear to remove wax

    ADLAI, ERMA, ATEAM, EARN and a few others are getting clichéd.

    Haven't seen ALLOY and ZIMA much.

    Enjoy the day; beautiful sunshine here in upstate NY.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi C.C and all.
    Puzzle was pretty straight forward and fun. Thought of monopoly immediately. Jail took a while though.
    Plumbing all backed up. Was hoping that I would not have to use porta potty again. Three days now. It will of course cost a zillion dollars to fix soft water system, which I am told is the culprit. (Sigh.)
    See physical therapist again today. Medicare has given me several more visits!
    Happy Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. PS I seem now to have no choice anymore. So FERMAT PRIME = LORRAINE L. for the nonce.
    (PS You still with us, Vern?)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good morning to all.

    Fermatprime, as if you need anything like plumbing to add to your discomfort! I hope it's quickly and cheaply resolved and that your shoulder isn't put to more strain because of it.

    Today started with my wondering how the hell are we supposed to know what city Connecticut Avenue is in, much less what square is nearby? Never thought of Monopoly, since mine has all London place names and I've never played an American version. I only guessed JAIL after JAWS became the only thing that worked in 1D, and was still thinking it was a weird name for a square.

    I did complete the CW with no help, but it was a bit of a slog. Q-TIP, MARILU and hence MUSICAL, COREA, BRET and ZIMA all gave trouble, either unknowns or dependent on perps that were slow coming.

    I've had a bad cold all week, and instead of improving, today it's worse. That probably doesn't help my brain. I've got sanitizer nearby all the time, so as not to contaminate everything I touch, but I still feel like a germ farm.

    Have a great day everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good theme and fairly easy puzzle. But I would have preferred "Dwight" instead of "Ike" in the clue for 61A. First of all, it would have been a little more difficult but, more to the point, "Ike" was Eisenhower's nickname and "Adlai" was Stevenson's given name. I don't think Adlai has a nickname, at least a publicly known nickname.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning, C.C. and friends,

    A little harder than yesterday, I thought, based on my completion time. My only hangup was the z in the pez/zima crossing, since I do not eat candy nor drink beer. The theme was clever and the theme answers were guessable after a few letter fills.

    I agree with C.C. and others on favorite clues.

    Off to the gym. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Good morning, everyone.

    Hand up for ERAS and TEA. Quickly reversed by the perps, though. Also wanted CATS for OWLS.

    That was an unusual theme. Had to cogitate on it a bit after completion before it finally cleared up. I couldn't bring up the correct side of the Monopoly board to make 1A work. Started at the south and went north, and did get some solving ease from groking the theme early on.

    @dennis Or my favorite, blueberry fritters!

    EILAT would also be a five letter Israeli seaport, IIRC.

    @al Thanks for the lesson.

    @kazie Get well, Sheila.

    The WRW quote today is horrific and very difficult for me to parse (for the O people).

    Have a fantastic Wednesday!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. fyi cc... the "toad" in old yeller was not a "toad" at all ... but a reptile whose proper name is the horned lizard ... aka horned toad, aka horny toad ... we use to catch them as kids in west texas all the time

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good morning!
    The good news is that my new "lucky puzzle pen" works wonders--it's much smarter than I am. MYNAH and COREA flew off the tip with no measurable brain wave activity on my part. I got the theme answers without figuring out the theme until I landed here in the Corner. Very fine clues/answers today.

    PEZ was the worst tasting (just like soap), best dispensed candy EVER. Three years of studying Russian and all I remember is that ZIMA means "winter." Talk about a product that had a short shelf life. Since Coors and Miller teamed up, their new HQ is located in the Chicago Loop district, not far from Willis Tower--formerly known as Sears Tower.

    JAWS of LIFE may be used to describe how Tiger W was rescued during his recent "incident." See, goes to show that none of us are as squeaky clean as our publicists may claim!

    This week may be a good time to pen a note/email to the LAT or your local paper to express appreciation for the return to better puzzles. We need to outnumber the complainers who long for an earlier, simpler time in puzzledom. Just a thought.
    Say "I do" or "I shall." Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good Morning All, I loved today's theme. I didn't figure it out until completing 65A. It was a very nice AHA moment.

    I had to leave the NW pretty early on and sneak up on it from below. I couldn't get "FACT of life" (1A) out of my brain and Monopoly didn't even cross my radar. The FORECAST part of 17A, made WEATHER a gimme and with ALBA and SERVE, I finished up JAIL and JAWS.

    I've never tuned into QVC, but I've skipped over it enough times to know that it is a shopping channel.

    We all know that we shouldn't remove wax with a Q-TIP, but most of us have, at one time or another.

    LADY AND THE TRAMP was a Disney movie in which, unbelievably, none of the dogs die. I love Peggy Lee's star turn as the vampy bitch (yup, that's the right word).

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anon, I believe the complete name is "American Horned Lizard." Yes, they used to be plentiful in West Texas, but we hardly see them in town anymore. Probably quite a few out in the country, though. People used to catch them and mail them to friends/family in the north and east, but it is illegal to do that. "Old Rip" is a legend in Eastland, Tx. Story goes that a horned toad was trapped in a cornerstone of the courthouse(?) and when it was opened 31 yeas later, he was still alive. He was the inspiration for the cartoon with the singing frog - can't remember the name of it. He sang "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone."

    Fairly easy puzzle today. I did not know Corea at all and my mind blanked out on the French word for water (DUH!), so I G'd for Corea to finish the puzzle. Did not know 1A until I got "Jaws" for 1D. I'm not a big fan of board games. Except for baseball, I'm not a big sports fan, so I penciled in NBA which the perps changed it to AHL. I had "O Lord," so I thought the "Mary" clue would be something Biblical until I had the 'R.'

    Al, thinks for the info on "raining cats and dogs." I had always assumed it was just a saying like the one we have here "It came a toad strangler."

    Clever theme. I got it this time.

    36º here. Our snow flurries yesterday didn't amount to much, but we did get a little rain.

    ReplyDelete
  21. What a great puzzle. A beautiful example of cleverness and fun. Clean fill, lots of theme entries, and all topped off by a super "Aha" moment. Perhaps best of all, the theme is unique in the way it's presented, and what you have to do to find it. Not difficult, no, just simply ingenious.

    Now for some things even a caveman could think of-

    MARILU, I'M RAUL
    BRET, meet BERT
    ANAIS IS ANA
    ELISE IS LEE
    ADLAI, here's the DALAI
    TRU is in a RUT
    HEDDA HAD ED

    Let's eat in the NOOK. NO? OK!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hello again.

    The Johnstown Chiefs (PA) of the ECHL is an affiliate of the Houston Aeros (AHL) and the Minnesota Wild (NHL).

    I was hopping someone would provide
    a link to Chick Corea. It has been a while since I have heard his music

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi C.C. & gang, we got stuck with the unknown 44A: ADREM and I finally got it by going online. I was trying to find a biblical reference to the Mary clue and had forgotten about the Mary Tyler show.

    For Eddyb:

    Here's a link to a Chick Corea classic.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Although I was able to complete the puzzle unaided with just a little red letter help, I didn’t see the theme at all. Got some perp help with Haifa, Bret, ad rem and Mynah kinda just fell in place. I don’t understand the bellyache – carp clue. Doe that mean carping means complain? QVC was a WAG as I have never bought anything from a home shopping network.

    C.C. my breakfast this morning was a pumpernickel bagel w/veg cream cheese.

    Kazie, I am sorry to hear you are suffering from such a bad cold. Try a shot of whiskey in hot water with lemon and honey. If anything it might help you sleep!

    ReplyDelete
  25. My breakfast is coffee and this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I make these whenever I have people over for brunch. They are yummy little “bites.” This one is for you Crockett

    Blueberry Fritter Bites

    1 cup flour
    2 ½ tsp baking powder
    4 Tbsp sugar
    ¼ tsp salt
    1/3 cup of milk
    1 egg
    1 cup of blueberries tossed in flour

    Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl whisk the egg and milk together. Combine the dry with the wet ingredients and fold in the blueberries. Pre-heat about 2 inches of oil in a frying pan and drop spoonfuls into the grease and cook until they are brown. Cool on brown paper bag and roll them in powdered sugar. Serve with toothpicks.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi C.C. and all -

    I stared at 1A for quite a while before the light bulb went on and I thought of Monopoly. I didn't know several clues: 14A (never heard of the show or actress),43A, 44A. 28D Neighbor of Mary had me completely fooled! Very clever.

    As much as I love beer, I have never tried Zima..is it still around?? Anyone ever tried it?

    I never did understand the theme even though I got all the long clues..I had to read C.C.'s explanation.

    Breakfast this morning: 1 grapefruit, 1 slice whole wheat toast with a hint of peanut butter spread on it. 1/2 cup of coffee.

    Cold, windy and sunny here. Possibility of a dusting of snow on Sat. Arghhh!!! :(

    ReplyDelete
  28. @DCannon, "toad strangler" led me on a merry chase. I found "frog strangler" with the explanation that if it was raining hard enough to choke a frog, it must be pretty bad weather, indeed. The <ahem> leap after that, from frogs to toads, doesn't take too much imagination.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Jeannie,
    Thanks for the toddy suggestion. I have had a couple of those minus the whiskey--I knew something was missing!
    CARP took me a while to figure out too--a verb instead of a fish.

    Despite feeling miserable today, I have achieved something: got flights arranged to Oz next June so I can go to the Northern Territory, a bucket list item for me for some time now. I have two friends in the Sydney area who are coming along too.

    I have to admit, despite getting them all, I never saw the theme connections until coming here either.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Good afternoon C.C. and all.

    O LORD this was a fun puzzle. I also wanted tea for nap. We play monopoly during down time at work so JAIL came easily as did JAWS. Those are handy little gadgets. Elin Woods did prove a nine iron just as useful!!
    C.C., My husband and I are looking into adoption in China. If you became a US citizen what would you be considered in China? I guess an American.

    Kazie hope you feel better and I second Jeannies Toddy for the Body!

    Cheese omelet with avocado for breakfast. The mochi ball sounds delish.

    Hahtool, loved your QoD and Dennis' WoW.

    Later...:)

    ReplyDelete
  31. From Vern:
    To Fermatprime--you can't get rid of me so easily although Google is trying hard. I frequently get caught between exercise and golf and miss the puzzles (sacrilegious?). Golf on December 2 in the Chicago area is a challenge. Cold weather doesn't stop me but I absolutely refuse to golf in the snow.

    ReplyDelete
  32. @jerome And Ed was glad to be a had lad.

    @jeannie Yes. Oh, Jeannie, you're a living doll. Can you send me the meatloaf recipe? I wasn't in to copying and saving the recipes when that one went by.

    @carol Don't throw a gasket. You know that it won't happen!

    @al The "ahem" almost made me croak.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Guday, all. Had a little prob. with the midwest section. It started with 29d "Prayer starter". I had "Gimme" but that didn't fit. I didn't get it until I said aloud, "O, Lord, I can't figure this one out". AH-HA!!

    Really fun puzzle, though. I, as many of you, did not really get the theme until I arrived here. Oh, well.


    Must keep this short because it's a big evening here at GBRV. First off, we've got a problem with Imma BeHaven. Seems she ain't. Imma's never been married. She and Dick Fitzright have a little thing going. Every time I ask Dick what he's up to he replies, "Just doin' a little "misbehavin'".

    Gotta go. We're having a Holiday show tonight. Some guy named Phil Harmonic is performing. They say he'a a one man band.

    I must be off!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. @warren. Thanks for the link. It lead to several others. If and when he comes back to Yoshi's, I'll make the trip up on BART.

    I wondered about CARP. I thought HARP would have been better.

    ReplyDelete
  35. @Warren. Thanks for the link. It lead to several others. If and when he returns to Yoshi's, I'll make the trip up to Oakland on BART.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hello All--I really enjoyed the theme today and was able to figure it out after I filled in Rain Cats and Dogs. Very clever. The long fills weren't too hard to figure out once some of the perps were in, but I stumbled over q-tip and QVC. I had put in HSN (Home Shopping Newtwork) at first so that threw the NE corner off for a while.

    I thought the best clues were Veiled consent?, Reduction Plan, and Choice in a booth. All of them could have thrown us off the trail.

    Dennis, a great WoW today and Hatool a QOD to be repeated!

    Kazie, get well. My husband has been home for three days with a bad cold. No fun, no fair!

    I'm baking my first Christmas Cookies today, so am busy answering the oven timers when they go off.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Someone may delete the second comment since I am not able.
    I didn't wait long enought to
    if the first one posted.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  38. I've been frittering my time away today, go I guess I have been honoring Fritter Day.

    I felt sorry for Vern trying to golf in the snow. I don't think my husband would be so golf addicted if he had that to contend with. As it is, the weather today was lovely (about 70 degrees) and he is out amongst them.

    Breakfast this morning was a toasted whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter and jam. Coffee? Of course!

    Feel better, Kazie.

    Buckeye...well, you know.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Good afternoon CC and all,

    It took a bit to start filling in some gimmes this am; I knew 1A had to be a Monopoly property, but haven't played for awhile, so had to wait til I went thru the "downs". The J for jaws obviously gave me jail.If you were poor you invested in Baltic Ave. Only the rich could buy Park Place.Always hated that drawing of the little guy on the "Go to Jail" card.

    Loved I do/owls.Yount had to come with perps, as did Rhoda & adrem.

    S-I-L addicted to QVC; when she moved she HAD to promise to give it up. I don't think it lasted too long. I hate to shop, but love to browse. I never look forward to the Dec rush.

    R.S.Dem, yes,Melissa's beautiful
    daughter was out there on the ice last night helping the Sharks' mascot, Sharkie, flip T shirts to the fans.It looks like such a fun job.

    breakfast: Rice Chex and blueberries. Jeannie, will try your Blueberry Fritter bites as fresh BB have hit the stores again.Sound yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Jeanne: I'd like the meatloaf recipe also, please.

    doreenlorand@earthlink.net

    ReplyDelete
  41. Buckeye, you old phartt, I absolutely howled at 'Dick Fitzright'...you are hilarious!!! Thanks for brightening up my afternoon.

    Crockett, you are right....whenever they predict snow, it never happens (almost). Last year was a big exception and not likely to repeat for several more years.

    Jeannie, you should start a recipe blog, or try out for a job on the Food Network to host your own show. Everyone who has tried your recipes seem to really love them. Keep 'em coming. :)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Here's a scanned copy of:

    Jeannie's Meatloaf:
    (I save the hard copies of her recipes in a file folder)

    There are tons of variations on a good old fashioned meatloaf. Here is my take on it.
    1 1/2 lb ground chuck
    1/2 lb ground pork
    4 strips of bacon
    1 medium onion diced fine
    1 cup shitake mushrooms diced fine (secret ingredient)
    1 clove of garlic minced
    1/2 cup of bread crumbs
    1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
    2 medium eggs
    1/4 cup of ketchup (I am guessing here as I just squirt some in)
    A couple shakes of the bottle of Worcester sauce
    A few drops of soy sauce
    Black Pepper to your liking
    3 sprigs of thyme (strip the leaves) or 'i4 tsp dried thyme

    Saute the onions, mushrooms, and garlic in some butter until they are soft and the onions are translucent. Set aside to cool.
    In a large bowl combine all the other ingredients except for the bacon strips. Work in the onion/mushroom mixture and form into a loaf. Place in a 9x13 glass baking dish and drape the bacon slices over the top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours at 350. Enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hello Buckeye, I don't think we have met. My name is Robin. I think you are very charming. What "home" are you in and do you need rescue? ;)

    Carol and Warren, what a great idea, Jeannie are you up for a L.A. Times Crossword Corner Cook Blog/Book?? You could be a huge success and I could be your manager!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  44. @warren Thank you, sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

    @robin Go for it!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Good evening.
    Forgot to answer the breakfast question. Often it's unflavored kefir (like yogurt) with berries and piece of banana with some cereal or muesli thrown in. In a hurry, I eat sliced apple with peanutbutter (a favorite snack too) or a wholegrain pita with either tahini or peanutbutter, with jam. Love a good fritatta, a BLT or b'fast burrito on the weekend.

    @ Jeannie: Yum on the blueberry objects! I second Robin's vote for you doing a food blog. I read lots of recipes and am not offering idle compliments to say yours are among the best: unfussy, clear, and tasty. Just one recipe a week, even, would work! We have several bloggers here who might help with the setup.

    RHODA was a very funny show at times. Julie Kavner's voice work on TV ("Family Guy" or "Simpsons"?) is right up there, too. Most of the TV comedies except for The Office and 30 Rock seem too formulaic. I'm waiting to see the character DWIGHT to pop up in a puzzle someday! Too obscure, maybe.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Oops, I left out Carol's name on the suggestion to Jeannie. Sorry, Carol!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hey PJB - no problem:) I can see you are a peanut butter lover too. I have to be careful of that stuff...too much can ruin my 'girlish' figure - LOL.

    Jeannie are you listening to our suggestions???

    C.C. - Thanks for getting my 6:11 comment on here...I don't know what happened.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Jeannie, I think a few of the peeps have spoken, I will bet more will follow.....

    ReplyDelete
  49. Good evening, folks!

    Loved the puzzle and theme today! Favorite clues were 20A: "Match starter", and 23A: "Veiled consent".

    @C.C.-I don't think HEDDA Gabler is particularly famous, but it is a play for which Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright, is well known. This was a gimme for me--read/studied/critiqued it in college and later saw a production. Quite honestly I don't remember the story line well, but remember the title and author.

    Breakfast today was a bowl of cottage cheese--Knudsen's Low-Fat--(important). We buy it at Costco and usually go through the three pound container in less than a week.

    Cheers to all!

    ReplyDelete
  50. Are all you telling me to not post recipes here anymore? I am comfortable on this site once more.

    C.C. is this bugging you? Dennis?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Jeannie, I think everyone just meant you'd do well with a food blog; no one said anything about leaving this one.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Jeannie,
    No, I think they are just complimenting your recipes by saying they deserve a wider audience. I concur!

    Thanks to all you who wished my cold gone. Hopefully by tomorrow..

    ReplyDelete
  53. I was planning on my breakfast post being my last for the day, but want to say to Jeannie that my point was only that your recipes deserve a wider audience than just us puzzlehounds. Your site would have an automatic fanbase, and I have friends who would love it too, without having to wade through our debates on whether _____ is a word or if ____ is a nifty theme or not. Yes, blogging is a little work, but you already have a great backlog of recipes to copy/paste in if you're so inclined. I personally enjoy your posts here, those with a recipe and those without.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Jeannie, no babe. I think that you could find a huge following for your recipes. It all started on C.C.s blog, but you have such an adoring following for said recipes. I think that most find your recipes fun and yummy. Selfishly we want to have the recipes for our use, but maybe there is a world out there waiting....

    It is all good, and my compliments to the chef.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Hey - Jeannie..I echo the comments for starting your own recipe blog, you'd be wonderful at it. Please, please do not take this that we want you to leave this wonderful blog. You just have a talent that should be further explored and your own blog might be a great way to start a new career.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Thanks folks for enjoying my "otherwise" comments to the blog. I never considered leaving it, okay maybe once, but was wondering if perhaps my recipe posts were not welcome. I really don't know how to set up my own blog and thought that a shoot off from C.C.'s was taboo. I guess C.C. this is your call, but I need help. Hey, don't we all. I just tried to find my own "niche" here, kind of like Dennis' WOW and Clearayes poems. Cooking is my "thang" that's for you Windhover.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Tons of food blogs out there. Sated.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Jeannie, I'm selfish; I'd like to keep you to ourselves. You're our own secret recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Thanks anon. I am glad you are sated. Hopefully from one of my recipes. Post your name next time and maybe we can take you more seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Argyle, you dear, what is your favorite food? I might have a recipe in my head. I also almost never say what a great job you do administering the blog. It can't be easy to do which is why I shy away from starting a "recipe" blog. Like anon said they are a dime a dozen and I think I will keep my recipes here with my blogging friends if C.C. doesn't tire of it.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Jeannie, you are one of the reasons I love this blog. Stay here.

    Hungry in Chicago

    ReplyDelete
  62. The Fiesta Bowl is in Glendale,AZ

    ReplyDelete
  63. 1across made me think of Washington, D.C. but that didn't give me an answer. Never thought of Monopoly until I came here. Got the starred clues from the perps but they didn't give me the theme; it took awhile to figure out how the theme and long clues went together.

    The local PBS station is playing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show so I'm going to watch in a few minutes while I make some dinner. I have a friend who was in the audience the night that show was taped. She says her throat was so sore from screaming that she couldn't talk for awhile.

    We always grew a lot (too much) corn on the farm where I grew up so we often made corn fritters. We would put the water up to boil, then go out to the garden to pick the corn. White corn wasn't popular until later and the yellow kind lost its sweetness very fast so we had to get it right from the field into the pot for it to taste good. The kernels were cut off any ears that were left over and used for fritters. I think we used Bisquick for the batter and cooked them in an electric deep fryer. A special meal was fried fish (home breaded) but we usually ate healthier stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  64. @buckeye No Oregon type loyalties here. Born and raised in Ohio. Go BUCKS!

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.