I'm sure many of you will be gathering friends and family today to celebrate (as always) the 242nd anniversary of the Battle of Bennington in which a rowdy bunch of New Englanders routed "British" forces...the Brits were actually led by Germans and consisted mainly of Hessians (I love that term, but few these days evidently are taught about their role in the Revolutionary War). Key battle in the fight for independence...had we lost it, we might all be speaking English today, so think about that. (or German perhaps).
We have spatchcocked some chickens, they shall be grilled and served with shaved brussels sprout/walnut/parmesan salad and tahini laced sweet potatoes...throw in a fresh blueberry crisp for good measure.
Oly would have pointed out that "spatchcock" is a late 18th century word believed to be of Irish descent, and therefore the odds of that term being used immediately after the Battle of Bennington by Colonists, Brits or Hessians were somewhat remote although theoretically possible.
Miss him as well.
I got #1 covered... Sometimes I miss VT.
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Let's go Duke!
Ah, I happen to have six Double Bags in my fridge at this moment...a favorite, and one that Dr Devildeac hisself wandered into on his own during a trek to VT a few years ago...one could do far worse, 7+% ABV does not hurt either.
Regarding Hessians and the term falling into disuse, I think on several occasions I may have cynically (but not maliciously) referred to one of our incoming classes of hoopsters as "our latest flock of Hessians," and found that
many had never heard the term...I just remember from a sixth grade history book or something, and everyone in the class wondered WTF was a Hessian...had to be 'splained to us, needless to say.