DIANE'S CORNER: Filet Mignon Day

DIANE'S CORNER ...

Celebrate Filet Mignon Day

10 Outrageous National Food Holidays You Should Be Celebrating ...

When you’re a failure in Hollywood, that’s like starving to death outside a banquet hall, with smells of Filet Mignon driving you crazy.
Marilyn Monroe

There is a cut of meat that is the very definition of luxury and decadence, one that falls from the lips of the common people and the rich debutante royalty of Hollywood in equal measure. Filet Mignon is French for “dainty fillet” and first found its way into the world in the 1906 book ”The Four Million”. Filet Minion Day celebrates the history of this steak and the delicious role it has played in exquisite meals.

History of Filet Mignon Day

Tenderloin. The very word implies a rich and succulent meal that absolutely melts on the tongue, but even in this most perfect cut of meat, there is a portion that is unquestionably the best. This portion is the fabled Filet Mignon. This delicious cut is served in 4 to 8oz portions and comes prepared in one of three varieties, seared in a pan, grilled over coals or the most famous, wrapped in bacon. The bacon is typically added to enrich the piece with fat, as Filet Mignon tends to leanness.

Even though it comes from the tenderloin, there are still multiple cuts of Filet Mignon one can choose to indulge in. The prime cut is the most popular and is available from any form of cattle, the Angus Cut, however, comes specifically from vegetarian fed beef and is far and away one of the best forms of beef available. If you’re truly feeling decadent, you can purchase a 32oz whole Filet Mignon Roast. It may set you back about $65 a pound (That’s $130) but it’ll be worth every succulent bite.

Joke of the Day

A Shower of Meat

Three dinosaurs stumble across a magic lamp. They rub it and a genie appears.

“I have three wishes, so I’ll give one to each of you,” the genie announces.

The first dinosaur thinks hard. “Alright,” he says, “I’ll have a big, juicy, piece of meat.”

Instantly, the biggest, juiciest piece of meat he’d ever seen appears in front of him.

Not to be outdone, the second dinosaur thinks even harder. “I know! I’ll have a shower of meat!”

Immediately, huge pieces of meat rain down around him. The third dinosaur, certainly not to be outdone, thinks harder than the previous dinosaurs.

“I’ve got it!” he cries, “I want a MEATIER shower!

Word of the Day

topsy

Topsy & Eva

MEANING:

noun: Something growing without intention or direction.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Topsy, a young enslaved girl, in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Earliest documented use: 1885.

NOTES:

Topsy, a young girl, is purchased by the slaveholder Augustine and she becomes friends with his daughter Eva. When Eva asks Topsy who made her, she replies, “Nobody, as I knows on. I s’pect I growed. Don’t think nobody never made me.” The cute reply became popular in the English language to refer to an unplanned or an enormous growth.

USAGE:

“The securities lending business had grown like topsy without any proper supervision, ballooning to as much as $2 billion.”
Ben Butler; Fast Cars, Big Houses, Hot Money; The Australian (Canberra); Sep 13, 2018.

“But [Channel 4 is] also that uniquely British thing: a hodge podge that works, an institution you couldn’t invent because, somehow, it’s just grown. Topsy TV.”
Peter Preston; If Channel 4 Didn’t Exist, You Couldn’t Invent It; The Independent (London, UK); May 10, 2016.

Idiom of the Day

A tumbleweed moment

A period of stunned silence when someone says something particularly stupid or offensive is a tumbleweed moment,

This Day in History

1889 - A patent for a coin-operated telephone was issued to William Gray.

1924 - "The Prisoner's Song" by Vernon Dalhart became the first country music record to sell one million copies.

1931 - The first community hospital in the U.S. was dedicated in Elk City, OK.

1934 - Al Capp's comic strip "L'il Abner" made its debut in newspapers.

1942 - Henry Ford unveiled his "Soybean Car." It was a plastic-bodied car that weighed about 1000 lbs. less than a steel car.

1942 - Walt Disney's "Bambi" opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY.

1959 - In New York, ground was broken on the $320 million Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

1961 - Berlin was divided by a barbed wire fence to halt the flight of refugees. Two days later work on the Berlin Wall began.

1965 - The Beatles album "Help!" was released in the United States.

1967 - The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to allow Joan Baez to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, because of her opposition to the Vietnam War. Baez responded with a performance at a free concert at the base of the Washington Monument.

1994 - It was reported that aspirin not only helps reduce the risk of heart disease, but also helps prevent colon cancer.

2012 - Taylor Swift's single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was released in the U.S.

thanks, Sofia

DAILY SQU-EEK

If You Were Born Today, August 13

There is a regal, masterful aura about you. You are very intelligent, creative, and clever. Very passionate, you are a natural leader – people turn to you for answers – but you are also a fair and gracious person, not a domineering person. You are proud of your intellect. You live by your own truth, and you are very responsible. In fact, you thrive most when you are meeting your responsibilities. As strong as you are, you feel very helpless without a partner, and you are at your best when you maintain a healthy and strong partnership. There is also a somewhat reclusive part of you. You are not always explicit in expressing your affections. However, if a partner considers your actions instead of your words, he/she will value your loyalty, family values, and self-sacrifice. Famous people born today:

1860 Annie Oakley [Phoebe Ann Moses], American sharp shooter (Buffalo Bill's Wild West), born in North Star, Ohio (d. 1926)

1899 Alfred Hitchcock, English director (Psycho, Birds, Rear Window), born in Leytonstone, Essex (d. 1980)

1912 Ben Hogan, American golfer (9-time major title winner; US masters 1951, 53), born in Stephenville, Texas (d. 1997)

1926 Fidel Castro, Cuban revolutionary, Prime Minister (1959-76) and President (1976-2008), born in Birán, Holguin Province (d. 2016)

1963 Sridevi Kapoor [Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan], Indian actress and film producer referred to as Indian cinema's "first female superstar" (Himmatwala, Solva Sawan), born in Sivakasi, Madras State (d. 2018)

READERS INFO

1.

(Not So) Totally Useless Facts of The Day:

Where were you 13 years ago today, on January 9, 2007? If you were Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and tech mogul, you were at the Macworld Convention introducing the world to Apple’s latest creation, the iPhone.

While it may appear that a chimpanzee is hairier than a human, that is not the case. On average, humans and chimpanzees share the same number of hair follicles. Chimps appear hairier as their hairs remain thick and long.

Mortimer Mouse is a Walt Disney character who gives Mickey Mouse some competition when it comes to the affections of Minnie. A lesser known fact is that Mortimer was the original name given to the Mickey character. It was Lillian Disney (Walt’s wife) who suggested the name Mickey. She felt that Mortimer sounded too arrogant.

2.

CELESTIAL EVENT TONIGHT

August 13 - Venus at Greatest Western Elongation.

The planet Venus reaches greatest western elongation of 45.8 degrees from the Sun. This is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the bright planet in the eastern sky before sunrise.

3.

Coronavirus Style by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent

RHUBARB ALMOND CRUMBLE SQUARES

Pictures of the day

Portsmouth Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral church in

Portsmouth, England. A chapel was built on the site and

dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury in 1188, and became

a parish church in the 14th century. Following substantial

damage during the English Civil War, the tower and nave

were reconstructed between 1683 and 1693. The building

became a pro-cathedral when the Diocese of Portsmouth

was split from the Diocese of Winchester in 1927. Plans to

enlarge it were interrupted by World War II, and the building

was finally consecrated as a cathedral in 1991. This

photograph shows Portsmouth Cathedral's three-manual and

pedal, 49-stop organ, installed in 1994 by Nicholson & Co Ltd.

The pipes originated from the John Nicholson organ of 1861

built for Manchester Cathedral, which had been relocated to

Holy Trinity Church, Bolton.

The disappearing fish

The lookdown fish at the top of this beautiful image are cleverly camouflaged from predators using special platelets in the skin that reflect polarized light, making it appear invisible. The contrast between them and the grey grunt below is staggering.

knit
thanks, Millie

Ninja Bike Mask (of awesomeness) pattern by Jennifer Wang

knit
thanks, Helen

Easiest Classic Knit Top Pattern

knit

Gletscher Color Socken pattern by Regia Design Team

knit

Temple Windows pattern by Steven Hicks

knit

Field of Flowers Dishcloth

Knit Pattern of the Day:

thanks, Valerie, Canadian Correspondent

Starry Night Baby Blanket

Subtle Mesh Summer Sweater

crochet
thanks, Helen

'Vintage' Easy Crochet Sleeveless Top Pattern

crochet
thanks, Bertha

Tapestry Alphabet Blocks

crochet

Mini Butterflies

crochet

1 Skein Crochet Farmer's Market Bag

crochet

Pattern of the Month

Quarantine Cooking Recipes

thanks, Debbie

Ingredients

2 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening or lard
1 1/2 cups milk to which has been added 1 tsp of vinegar, or 1 1/2 cups buttermilk if you have it

Instructions

Blend with fork or sift flour baking powder and salt.
Cut shortening into flour until very small. I use my fingers for this.
Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour a little bit of the milk in the biscuits, stirring between additions, until flour is just taken up by the milk.
What you should be left with is a ball of dough that looks neither too wet nor too dry to handle.
Pinch off small balls of dough rolling very gently between the hands into balls.
Touch the dough as little as possible to do this (don't knead).
Bake in a 400°F oven until starting to brown.

Too Soon To Laugh? Coronavirus-Themed Foods

RECIPE

thanks, Shelley, New York Food Correspondent

Spiced Burgers With Cucumber Yogurt

Too Soon To Laugh? Coronavirus-Themed Foods

CROCKPOT RECIPE

thanks, Anita

Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Peppers

VEGAN/ VEGETARIAN RECIPE

Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.

thanks, Alice