Yesterday was, of course, Election Day. It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve been waiting 8 long years to see Bush leave the White House. I’ve supported Obama since the primaries, and even though he was ahead in all of polls, I still didn’t believe that he would actually win. Both 2000 and 2004 were such disappointing losses that I had lost a lot of faith in the electorate to choose the better candidate. Still, I awoke with nervous anticipation and happily dropped off my absentee ballot at my polling place in exchange for a “I Voted” sticker. (Gotta love those stickers.)
I knew that no matter what happened, I wanted to watch the election returns with like-minded friends. So I convinced (i.e. coerced) JY to have a small gathering because he has cable and I don’t. In exchange, I offered to provide food and beverage in the “Blue” theme: chili with blue corn chips and Pabst Blue Ribbon. OK, so the chili is red, but because it was made with veggie meat instead of ground turkey, I’m calling it “blue” in a liberal/hippie-sense.
A few sidenotes about the chili. First, JG informed me that the chili was actually Brunswick stew because it had corn in it. Second, it was made in a crock pot that I inherited from JG and AW after they got a new one as a wedding gift (Thanks, guys!). It was the first time I used it and it worked pretty well, except that I left it on too long and it burned the chili later in the evening. Oops. Finally, the best part about making the chili was that the recipe called for one glass of beer. I bought a large bottle of Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale and poured one cup into the chili and the rest into a pint glass. What else to do but drink it?
Back to the election night story. By the time I got to JY’s house, all of the networks had called Ohio for Obama, so an Obama victory was almost inevitable. I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to take in the historic moment. B, with great foresight, brought a bottle of champagne which we opened as soon as Obama captured over 270 electoral votes. What an amazing night. Yay for President-elect Obama!
"I will use this BLUE chip to eat you, RED salsa!"
Beer chili or Brunswick stew. Whatever you call it, it's delicious!
Pabst BLUE Ribbon=victory?!
Celebrating an historic moment with bubbly.
