Text 10105, 196 rader
Skriven 2014-02-19 14:47:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: carousel of time 235
============================
 ML> I credited the miles to United, as these were Star Alliance
 ML> flights, so they could see that I bought business class
 ML> fares, which are profit makers. 
 NB> Ah.  That makes sense...

For me the limit for a premium-class fare is 3x coach, preferably
2x (equitable and profitable, and I don't know why the airlines
don't do this). I'll pay up to 3x if I get full double miles. It's
not straightforward, and luckily United's budgetary brains haven't
been wrapped around all the ins and outs yet. They did throw a
major monkey wrench into my top-status renewal by requiring an
annual spend of $10000 a year, for which I get 6 upgrades (i.e.,
1 1/2 international trips with Lilli or 3 by myself), first dibs
at exit rows, and some actually fairly valuable perks that might
be worth $10000 a year if I had that much to spare. As of about
a month from now, I have been promised "lifetime platinum" by
the airline, which gets all those perks except no upgrades and
normally requires a $7500 spend (I spend on average $5000). When I
first made status on the airline, one official told me "you need
never fly in coach again if you don't want to." Two bankruptcies
later, neither mine, that turns out not to have been true.

 ML> so to get me there. My expenditure on United runs perilously
 ML> close to that dime, so it's barely making balance. If it knew
 ML> how much I gave to its former partner, it would perhaps treat
 ML> me even better than it does, in an effort to get a bigger
 ML> share of that spinach.
 NB> Possibly.  :)  If anyone was thinking rationally that makes policy...

Hard to say. There might be someone somewhere who can figure
things out, but it appears from most activities that United
(and Delta, and American, and Southwest, and so on) are big
money hoovering machines that don't really care where the
revenue comes from just so it does.

=
 ML> the hostess asked if I was asthmatic or something; only
 ML> after I'd assured her that I'd be okay was I allowed to
 ML> sit at the bar for my lamb tips and sausage with a half
 ML> bottle of red wine (terrible inky stuff, but cheap and
 ML> alcoholic). 
 NB> She didn't want any casualties laid to her door, I see..

Pretty much, but it appeared to have a bit of real concern
mixed in.

 ML> Also in another post in this packet. $48 turned out to be a
 ML> considerably good deal, as it included more than a bottle of
 ML> wine that retails for almost $20 per in the discount stores.
 NB> Saw the report... :)  Yes, that does seem like a better deal when put
 NB> that way...  :)

I wasn't complaining, though it was a bit of a financial stretch.
 
 ML> I'll be in Williamsport for the week after Easter, so
 ML> we will see about the feline dynamic there. 
 NB> By then the newest arrival should be well settled in... :)

No doubt; whether it's amity or disharmony, that's to be
seen. Annie remains silent on this, but that might be from
power outage.

=
 ML> Today's treat was a drink at Frank's Tiki Room, a dimly
 ML> if luridly lit, smoky bar straight out of the movies -
 ML> the kind of place where World War II sailors would get
 ML> drunk in and be robbed or get venereal disease. 
...
 NB> So the value of the place was in the atmosphere, not the offerings.. 
 NB> ;) Either the sailors were less picky, or the pickings were better back
 NB> in the day...  (G)

In the olden days at such places, the sailors weren't picky.
I doubt they ever were, especially after a couple Mai Tais.

But this place wasn't actually a place where World War II
sailors got in trouble. Vegas may have been well on its way to
becoming Sin City, but it wasn't and isn't somewhere that sailors
would frequent, being in the middle of the desert and all.

I said it was "the kind of place ..." - Richard Herd tells a
story of how he was sitting in his agent's office chewing the
fat, and the agent got a call from a director looking for "a
Richard Herd type"; so the agent said, Richard's right here,
why don't I ask him?, and the guy on the other end said "I
said I wanted a Richard Herd type, not Richard Herd."

Carousel cake
cat: dessert
servings: 15 to 18

h - COOKIES
1/2 c shortening
1 c packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 ts baking soda
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
1/4 ts each ground cloves, nutmeg and allspice
6 Tb milk
h - ICING
4 1/2 ts meringue powder
2 c confectioners' sugar
warm water (2 to 3 Tb)
Purple and pink gel food coloring
8 miniature semisweet chocolate chips
h - CAKE
1 1/2 c butter, softened
2 1/2 c packed brown sugar
3 eggs
4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/4 ts baking soda
1 Tb ground cinnamon
1 1/2 ts salt
3 c applesauce
2 cn (12 oz each) whipped vanilla frosting
Purple and pink gel food coloring
h - special equipment
4 10" lengths of 1/4" wooden dowel
2 13" pieces of 1/8" wide purple ribbon
1 10" serving plate
1 thin lightweight plate
- or 9" round piece of cardboard,
1 star #21 pastry tip
pastry or plastic bags
patterns on page 19 of Country Woman magazine March 2002

In a large bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar.
Add egg; mix well.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves,
nutmeg and allspice; add to the creamed mixture
alternately with milk. Cover and refrigerate for
1 hr or until easy to handle. Roll out dough to 1/4"
thickness. Trace body and tail patterns onto waxed
paper and cut out. Position patterns on dough; cut out
four horses and four tails. Place on ungreased baking
sheets. Bake at 350F for 8-10 min or until edges are
golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. (Bake
remaining dough for additional cookies to serve on
the side or refrigerate dough for another use.)

For icing, in a small bowl, beat meringue powder,
confectioners' sugar and water on high speed for
5-7 min or until smooth and thickened. If too stiff,
add more [water]. Place 1/4 c frosting each in two
bowls; tint one purple and the other pink. Leave the
other remaining icing white.

Wrap the 15" ribbon around the 3/4" dowel, leaving
2 1/2" at end of dowel unwrapped. Use icing to attach
ends of ribbon. In same way, wrap each 13" ribbon
around a 1/4" dowel. Attach tails to horses with
white icing. Spread white icing over one side of
horses. Use pink icing for manes, forelocks, tails,
and saddles of two horses; use purple icing for the
other two horses.

Attach chocolate chips for eyes. With icing, attach
each horse 2 1/2" from the top of a 1/4" dowel.
Let dry 2 hr. Cover and refrigerate remaining icing.
When icing on horses is dry, decorate other side in
the same way; let dry.

For cake, in a large bowl, cream butter and brown
sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Combine flour, baking
soda, cinnamon and salt; add to the creamed mixture
alternately with applesauce. Spoon into three greased
and floured 9" round baking pans. Bake at 350F for
30-35 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool
10 min before removing from pans to wire racks to
cool completely.

Place 1 c whipped frosting in a bowl; tint purple.
Place 1/2 c frosting in another bowl; tint pink.
Leave the remaining frosting white. Place one cake
on a 10" serving plate. Frost top of cake white; top
with a second layer. Frost top white and sides purple.
Place remaining cake on a thin lightweight plate or
9" round piece of cardboard; frost cake top white and
sides pink.

Cut a hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag. I
nsert star tip #21; fill with white frosting. Pipe
evenly spaced vertical stripes on sides of cakes.
Using pink frosting and star tip, pipe rosettes
between each strip on pink cake.

Insert large dowel in the center of purple cake. Insert
remaining dowels evenly spaced around cake. Place pink
cake on top of dowels. For more stability, attach top
cake to dowels with cookie icing if desired.

tasteofhome.com
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