To eat the chalupa!
Let me explain. One of the highlights of my year was the opening of the O’Connor House. The 1950′s adobe was moved brick by brick to its new location in Papago Park. I’d been invited to have lunch but had no idea that the home’s previous owner, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, would be in attendance. Nor did I know that it would be the first time she’d seen the home since it was moved. And finally, imagine my delight (here we go again) in being seated next to her for the meal.
Sandra Day O'Connor and the O'Connor House
The Justice toured us through her former home and shed tears describing the life she and her family had there. What I found most intriguing was her description of her kitchen and the activities that took place within.
Prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice O’Connor was the majority leader of the Arizona Senate. In 1972, she was the first woman anywhere in the country to hold such a position. And when she wasn’t in the Senate, she was at her adobe home, in her adobe kitchen. She held a robust social schedule where she invited leaders and representatives from both parties to her home for Mexican food and beer. Sometimes she didn’t know them well and sometimes, they didn’t like each other but in her words, “they made friends.”
Instead of pointing fingers or shouting threats, during her tenure as Arizona Senate Majority Leader, Justice O’Connor won adversaries over by inviting them to share a meal. Today, in the US Congress, our representatives travel great distances to convene for three days prior to traveling back to their homes. Much of their time is spent on airplanes and resting from their journey. What if, instead of adhering to such a schedule, they “stayed over’ and spent time in fellowship consuming Mexican food and beer? Would there be more civil discourse? Can a shared meal be a method for achieving consensus?
Serves ten
-
2 ½ lbs. of pork tenderloin
- 2 ½ lbs. of roast beef
- 4 cloves of crushed garlic
- 2 cans of green chiles or 8 fresh roast chiles
- cayenne pepper
- fresh Jalapenos diced (you be the judge)
- 1 ½ cans mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
Put all meat in a large pan; cover with 4 cloves of crushed garlic, green chiles, cayenne pepper and diced fresh jalapenos. Cover and cook at 250° at least six hours. Add mushroom soup and sour cream. Return to oven and cook another 1 ½ hours. Serve with warm flour tortillas, salad, and salsa. Build consensus!
Amy
/ March 21, 2010I sweat S D O’C something fierce. Thanks for the info!
Kathleen Bartolomei
/ March 21, 2010My dear … Spot on! Another brilliant life lesson from the kitchen! With the adventures and people who come into your life, no wonder your operative word is “delight” … and no wonder you live a life of joy! I do hope you clip this out and send it in a card to Madam Justice … she will be delighted!
btw — Just saw the humorous line about the chalupa. My laptop timed out, and I saw it when I opened the link!
Rena
/ March 21, 2010wow…fabulous….loved your post…what an experience!! thanks for sharing…
Tammy McLeod
/ March 21, 2010Thanks Rena. It was definitely a highlight of my year.
Diane D'Angelo
/ March 21, 2010So cool! I’m envious.
Tammy McLeod
/ March 21, 2010Thanks Diane. It was really a fabulous day.
Anne Smith
/ March 21, 2010What an amazing experience! Thank you for sharing!
Tammy McLeod
/ March 21, 2010You are welcome. Thanks for reading the blog.
Sally Mom
/ March 21, 2010Tammy, That was heart warming and tummy warming. What a privledge for you and the Justice. I wish I had been a fly on the wall.
Thank you for sharing and I can hardly wait to make the CHALUPA sans the pork. Yum!
You continue to be always amazing.
Brum
/ March 22, 2010My Uncle Jim knew Sandra Day O’Connor pretty well. I don’t know if the connection was political, geographic or genetic…maybe a mixture of all three. I’ll have to ask him if he ever had Chalupas y Cerveza in that old adobe.
and THANK YOU for including green chile!!!!
Tammy McLeod
/ March 23, 2010You are welcome – even though they are not in season – assume that these were roasted and out of my freezer.
Susan
/ March 23, 2010What we also need are more women leaders, I think, to go along with the beer and chalupas. I’m in awe of your experience, Tammy.
Tammy McLeod
/ March 23, 2010Amen Susan! She’s a fabulous role model.
Jessica
/ March 26, 2010Unreal! I can’t believe you shared a meal with Sandra Day O’Connor! What an honor and amazing that food can bring even battling politicians together the way it did in her home.
Tammy McLeod
/ March 27, 2010Yes, it really was a highlight of my year. Thanks for reading the blog.
ozarkhomesteader
/ March 26, 2010What a wonderful opportunity! And getting House and Senate partisans together for regular meals sounds like a great idea. It’s very hard to be uncivil if you know the person.
Moe
/ April 13, 2010Glad to see we seem to share the ability to admire a woman – hell, anyone for that matter – for who they are and not just their politics.
Tammy McLeod
/ April 14, 2010Yes, I’m certain that she and I would not be perfectly aligned politically but that doesn’t take anything away from her greatness and her ability to bring about civil discourse.