Prime November 2013

DINNER KILLS

‘American Psycho’ themed dinner at Three Floyds

by Kathleen Dorsey

DISTANT HORIZONS Vermont’s Green Mountains perfect for leafwatchers

by Jane Ammeson

MEDIAWATCHER

Fall TV: The best of the old with the excitement of the new

by Kathryn MacNeil

A New Leaf Marsha Coats’ Real Life in Public Service

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by Pat Colander

A LIFESTYLE RESOURCE • NOVEMBER 2013

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I have two grandsons now. They’re brothers.

In certain ways they are already different.

One is 25 months older than the other. The younger one has longer legs, a longer nose and a larger forehead. The older one was born in a hospital so he had to deal with much more post-traumatic birth stress than his little brother who was born at home.

The younger brother met a lot of his relatives the same day he was born.

The older brother had to wait to go home before he could meet everybody in person. The baby’s California grandparents spoke with him by Face Time on iPad Minis. Actually, his parents borrowed his brother’s iPad Mini so they could see the new brother for about five minutes while he was having a diaper change. His California grandfather was the first to notice the long legs.

The older brother has a lot of experience in decisionmaking. He does it all the time and has certain areas of expertise. He doesn’t much care for peas in his fried rice, he knows how to do most of the car puzzles on PBS Kids, but he’s having some trouble lining up bunches of grapes or bananas from smallest-tolargest and from largest-down-to-smallest. So he quits sometimes and moves on to something else that he knows he can do like popping all the purple balloons, or orange balloons, or green balloons before they float off the screen. But he goes back to smallest to largest because he likes challenges, just not frustration.

I brought some of the older brother’s toys and games he had outgrown, when I came to visit: A doorbell with a door, with a mail slot. A roof with a water spout that sings “Itsy-Bitsy Reddit FriendFeed Microsoft MSN Spider,” when you send a little round ball down the chute. A wheel that you can turn to make a daytime song play or a nighttime song. This was like a year in review for the older brother.

He conquered this material a long time ago. And after a while it got boring. So boring thatSlideShare the older brother Newsvine App Store Amazon started to wonder what’s happening with Elmo on the iPad. And he announced to his grandmother that he (He refers to himself in the third person now, exactly like Elmo does when he talks to people Yahoo Yahoo Qik Vimeo about himself) wasBuzz going to go check on Mommy and Daddy and Henry.

There was not much happening with those three since they were pretty tired after the big morning they had on Saturday.

Everybody was Microsoft MSN Tumblr WordPerss asleep except his grandmother who may not be as fast of a runner as he is but she asks some perplexing questions about his opinion of pink cake pops.

So the older brother is considering whether or not to go home with her, he has his own room at her too. But he eventually decides that it’s Apphouse Store Amazon Behance Design Float too cold for the beach anyway and he has to keep an eye on his younger brother at least until he gets to know him better.

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By ASHLEY BOYER The most exciting and best-deals on upcoming events including health screenings, classes, arts-related enrichment, culinary workshops, parties and receptions.

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By DENISE DECLUE The history of garbage is anything but sanitary.

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Marsha Coats changes lives in Indiana and Washington alike.

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By KATHRYN MACNEIL This year’s fall TV schedule brings back Googlethe best of last yearMister Google Talk Last.fm Wong with new shows such featuring magic, superheroes, vampires and more.

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By KATHLEEN DORSEY Three Floyds hosted their first themed Netvibes AOL Psycho,” Viddler Virb dinner based on “American complete with blood splatter and 80s-glam food styling.

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By JANE AMMESON

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calendar.

THROUGH OCT 26 Chesterton’s European Market, 8am-2pm, Broadway & 3rd St, Chesterton.

219.926.5513. dunelandchamber.com. Artists, chefs, merchants and farmers from across Indiana, Michigan and Illinois offer an array of products and services—artisan breads and pastries, boutique creamery cheeses, ethnic foods, meats, spices, oils, rare books, clothing, accessories, jewelry and fresh-from-the-farm produce and flowers—at this market. The day also features food vendors and live performances.

THROUGH OCT 27 70th Annual Salon Show, Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Rd, Munster. 219.836.1839. southshoreartsonline.org. Up to $10,000 of cash awards is on the line during this 70th annual exhibition. This juried exhibition accepts original art in all fine art media—painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber, glass, digital, mixed media, ceramics, video, multimedia and jewelry.

THROUGH FEB 8 We are Porter County, Porter County Museum of History, 153 Franklin St, Valparaiso. 219.465.3595. This interactive and engaging exhibit highlights the formation of the county from its founding in 1836 to present day and visitors can learn about the transformation of the county from frontier to modern landscape.

OCT 15 Laugh for the Health of It! 7-8pm, Lake County Public Library Merrillville Branch, 1919 W 81st Ave, Merrillville. 888.303.0180. lcplin.org. Led by a certified laughter yoga instructor, this unique exercise routine encourages unconditional laughter, without jokes or comedy, to oxygenate the body, reduce stress and improve mood. No mats needed.

OCT 15 Women’s Fair, 2-7pm, Blue Chip Stardust Event Center, 777 Blue Chip Dr, Michigan City.

800.235.6204 ext. 2415. iuhealth.org. This 12th annual event celebrating women features quality vendors, demonstrations, exhibits with health information, screenings and giveaways.

OCT 17 Night Hike, 7:30pm, Taltree Arboretum & Gardens, 450 W 100 N, Valparaiso. 219.462.0025. taltree.org. Glow sticks and flashlights are encouraged during this 45-minute hike through nature at night. Guests should wear comfortable shoes and dress for fall nighttime weather.

OCT 19 Under the Harvest Moon, 6-10pm, Dunes Learning Center’s Cowles Lodge, 700 Howe Rd, Chesterton. 219.395.9555. duneslearningcenter. org. This unique night of tastes and tales features Chef Tom Boldt’s four-course harvest menu complemented by beverage pairings and an entertaining and informative presentation by author and educator, Dr. Ken Schoon.

OCT 20, NOV 3 In the Dome Fall Fair, noon6pm, The Dome and CP Family Fun Center, 1301 Merrillville Rd, Crown Point. 219.663.3663. cpdome. com. Up to 60 Northwest Indiana vendors and

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Taltree Arboretum and Gardens. crafters display their talents, wares and products during this free indoor event. The Crown Point Fire Department and Police Department performs demos of CPR and search and rescue.

OCT 24 Blood Pressure Screening, 10am-noon, Lake County Public Library Munster Branch, 8701 Calumet Ave, Munster. 219.836.8450. lcplin.org.

Free blood pressure screenings provided by a representative from Hospice of the Calumet Area.

No appointments or registration needed.

OCT 26 Fall Colors Hike at Indiana Dunes, 1-2:30pm, Kemil Beach, E State Park Boundary Rd, Beverly Shores. southshorecva.com. A ranger leads this crisp, fall hike. Hikers can enjoy the variety of fall colors on display on the Dune Ridge Trail.

OCT 26-27 Harbor Lights, 7:30pm Sat, 2:30pm Sun, Theatre at the Center, 1040 Ridge Rd, Munster.

219.836.3255. theatreatthecenter.com. Back by popular demand, Harbor Lights takes audiences back to the birth of early rock ‘n’ roll with the fantastic sound of doo wop. The group’s stirring harmonies and unique arrangements make this a can’t-miss performance.

NOV 1-FEB 9 Citizen-Soldier-Citizen, Lubeznik Center for the Arts, 101 W Second St, Michigan City.

Tony V. Martin | The Times 219.874.4900. lubeznikcenter.org. Contemporary works by military combat veterans will be on display at this exhibition honors those who have fought for freedom and those fighting to reintegrate into society after their war experiences.

NOV 2-3 Porter County Antique Show, 9am-5pm, Porter County Expo Center, 215 Division Dr, Valparaiso. 219.241.3328. portercountyantiqueshow.com. This expansive antique show features wares from a variety of vendors and one free appraisal comes with paid admission.

NOV 9-10 Fall Antiques & Collectibles Show, 10am-4pm, Lake County Fairgrounds, 889 S Court St, Crown Point. 219.663.1800. crossroadschamber. org. A variety of antiques and unique collectibles fill the Industrial Building at the Lake County Fairgrounds, while arts and crafts are located in the 4-H Building during this two-day festival.

NOV 16-17 Holidaze Art and Craft Show, 10am-5pm, Porter County Expo Center, 215 E Division Rd, Valparaiso. 219.464.9918. The holiday shopping seasons begins early with this art and craft show set to feature 150 art and craft vendors from 5 states selling thousands of beautiful items.

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60-something.

Clip-clop, Clip-clop, Part I:

What a Waste!

How’s your garbage lately? Gone, probably. Many of us separate the recyclables (most of them) into one bag and dump the food scraps, vacuum bag, (litter box?) and everything else in another bag. Then we move them outside into grotesque plastic bins. Voila! Garbage gone. Problem solved before it even becomes a problem.

H

aving traveled to a few ThirdWorld countries and through some very poor neighborhoods in the United States, I can tell you that “no visible garbage” is one of the distinguishing marks of a prosperous and civilized society.

Removing trash requires organization on a rather grand scale and nearly religious private participation.

Wagon-train trails leading through America’s pristine west were often littered with refuse: bean cans, dirty clothes, heavy furniture. No trailblazers forged ahead to distribute garbage canisters along the routes. The modern camping practice of burning and burying refuse had yet to be invented. No rules and regulations in this huge unincorporated area!

Yippee Yi Yah! Toss it out the window!

Documentaries I watched about India and Afghanistan lingered on the trash piling up in what were supposed to be good neighborhoods. Recently the people who revolted in Egypt were angry about the government’s inability to remove trash (as well as just about everything else.)

Even Singapore, that tiny, wealthy, benevolent dictatorship has a big garbage problem. They built an island just to use for landfill (basically ash from incinerated trash). Then they filled it up. Singapore encourages garbage abatement in subtle ways: there aren’t any fast-food coffee cups or napkins or cans or bottles lying around on the street, because they basically don’t exist. Even in the vast food malls that evolved from hawker stands, you have to bring your own napkin and you have to take it away.

Singapore is appealing to peoples’ inner angels, but according to Reuters, “Convincing people to buy less in a country whose national pastime is shopping is a hard win. Instead, a wave of ‘softlysoftly’ initiatives are being deployed to enthuse, inspire, or slyly enforce compliance. Recreational Sentosa Island pushes edu-tainment, with a troupe

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Denise Declue

John Luke, The Times of trained macaque monkeys who perform daily recycling displays.”

Recycling reduces the garbage headed for landfills considerably. It’s the law in Europe, and American communities are stressing it more and more. Each American creates about a ton of trash every year. In case you haven’t heard, electronic garbage bins are being developed which assist in automatically fining folks for careless recycling.

One of my journalism professors spent an entire semester lecturing about garbage: waste management, the Mafia, city councils, zoning boards, state boards, landfills, incinerators, the EPA. Everything led back to garbage.

Recently it came to my attention that my town’s Environmental Committee’s Dumpster Subcommittee had concluded that we have an evergrowing garbage problem. Most likely they’ll try to solve it when nobody’s looking, like they did before.

For years we lived so far out the road that the garbage truck never came and we took our garbage to the town dumpster. Then one winter while we were away, the town instituted a new plan. They

didn’t just move the dumpster. They re-moved the dumpster and started collecting money to pay The Garbage Collector and his Behemoth Garbage Trucks.

Most of the people around here had sturdy little houses built just for the garbage. They were cute protection from the pesky paws of raccoons and opossums. The garbage houses merged with woody landscape. But the new Garbage Collector System apparently didn’t like the little houses. They seemed to want to empty garbage plastic bins automatically.

Many people remember the old dumpster with fondness--about as much fondness as anyone can have for garbage. People wrapped up their refuse and dropped it off on their way to the little store, or the post office. Many also abhor the brightly-colored bins that people who come here on weekends are unable to remove from the roadsides on Mondays, when they have already left town.

Now they say there is more garbage than ever and it looks like the town is going to have to make another plan.

I have a new RRI (Really Radical Idea) and I think we could print it on yard signs and wage a campaign.

The signs would read: CLIP-CLOP. CLIP-CLOP. Our little town should hire horse-drawn carts to pick up our garbage.

I first saw these garbage carts in Montevideo, Uruguay. Many of their streets are cobblestone or brick, and the city was designed for horses not cars.

Makes sense. Just like it does in more than sixty French towns, and in villages like Bristol, Vermont, and in Washington State.

Residents and children love the horses. They feed them apples, hitch rides in the wagons, help with the garbage collection. Like my old professor, I fear there is a lot more to say about garbage--and my wonderful, charming, melodic way of removing it.

You’re right, there are a few problems. But we can deal with them. Stay tuned.

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work/after work

MARSHA COATS Real Life in Public Service

S

enator Dan Coats was a person who has this legendary status that certain government leaders from Indiana just seemed to acquire.

The iconic people you hear about from the Hoosier state like Congressmen Dan Burton (30 years), Lee Hamilton (34 years), Senator Birch Bayh (18 years), Otis Bowen (Governor and U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services), Robert Orr (Governor and Ambassador to Singapore). For the most part these men are regarded with reverence, serving with distinction at international posts, Washington think tanks and occasionally respected universities.

Most of us are barely aware of their political affiliation. There is never a discouraging word uttered.

No disparaging remarks. The weight of history has long been on their side. Many spent their lives moving from a state office to the House of Representatives, to the Senate, to the Governor’s Mansion or the VicePresidency, in one case to the Supreme Court. Everyone seems to think highly of the leaders in Indiana. For the most part they tend to take the long view and compared to their counterparts in Illinois are incorruptible.

This was the course that Senator Coats seemed to be on: After he graduated from IU law school he got a job in Fort Wayne at a life insurance company and then in 1976 to run the district office for U.S. Representative Dan Quayle. Then odd things began happening in politics even in Indiana, and Dan Quayle ran for the Senate in 1980 and beat the incumbent Birch Bayh. Dan Coats ran for and won Quayle’s seat in the House. Eight years later, Dan Quayle was elected Vice-President and Coats was appointed to replace him in the Senate.

Dan Coats stayed in the Senate for 10 years and made more friends than enemies. He was generally regarded as an intelligent and trustworthy person who no Republicans in Northwest Indiana had any problem supporting. After serving 18 years in the Congress, Coats honored a term limit commitment he made to voters and chose to opt out of running for re-election to the Senate in 1998. Meanwhile, Evan Bayh finished his two terms as governor and decided to run for the Senate seat his father had lost to Quayle 12 years earlier. No one seemed very surprised about Bayh’s choice. Evan Bayh had a good reputation as governor, especially when it came to money, so he cruised into office in 2000.

And who could forget that Presidential election?

Let’s stop there and catch up with Mrs. Coats, Marsha Coats, who was also on a fairly classical path

8 |||||| PRIME ||||| OCTOBER 15, 2013

BY PAT COLANDER

TONY V. MARTIN PHOTOS U.S. Senator Dan Coats talking with the Times’ Doug Ross in September. for a political wife, even though tradition was taking a beating out there. Well, not at first.

Marsha and Dan Coats met at Wheaton College in Illinois, which is still a conservative Christian school in a conservative suburb of Chicago, but Wheaton has a reputation and supports a value system that has always been unassailable then and now.

The college was founded in the mid-1800s by abolitionists and was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Not only did the school graduate the first African-American in Illinois in 1866, it was also the only school in the state at that time with a university-level program for women. Marsha, who is the granddaughter of Nazarene ministers born into a

second generation of educated women (Olivet Nazarene in Kankakee) and raised in Waukegan, made her own decision about school. Dan, whose family was Baptist, grew up in a small town in (Jackson) Michigan. “Both of our parents left it up to us,” she says about their choice to attend the college. As Marsha explains it, the birth order worked in their favor because Dan is the middle child with an older sister, but Marsha was the oldest and she had a younger brother, who ended up following her to Wheaton. The school’s motto is ‘for Christ and his Kingdom,’” she says, but the school is “non-denominational, so it was not just about church on Sunday but seeing faith from a much broader lens, in whatever path we walk down.”

Really, no dancing? Marsha Coats kind of smiles and says “there was a pledge we had to sign and we promised we wouldn’t drink, smoke, dance or go to the movies. But we were there because we had a very strong faith,” so it didn’t seem like they were giving anything up. And there was serious music going on at Wheaton; the Conservatory of Music is internationally renowned, and while Marsha was there she sang in the school’s Oratorio Choir. She also played on the women’s tennis team. Dan was the co-captain of the soccer team in college and played on the men’s tennis team. He got his degree in political science and she graduated with a bachelor of arts in education. The Coats’ were married in September 1965. The next year, Dan Coats got drafted into the Army and served from 1966-’68. “After he got out of the Army he didn’t know what he wanted to do,” she says. She suggested he use the G. I. Bill to go to law school.

Marsha Coats still seems slightly amazed that he listened to her on that one. So they lived in Indianapolis where he went to law school at Indiana University and she was a teacher and they started a family. The Coats’ had two little girls at the time and Marsha was a parttime substitute and in 1972, Dan was hired in Ft. Wayne and they moved.

Teaching was a great career for her then; Marsha says it wasn’t a big decision. Her grandmother was a teacher, her other grandmother was a minister. “My Mom was a teacher and she was home a lot too. I didn’t want to teach when they were in pre-school, when they were babies.” The Coats’ have two daughters and a son, Laura, Lisa and Andrew. Marsha went back to teaching and taught sixth, seventh and eighth grades in the public elementary school in Ft. Wayne and

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discovered she enjoyed teaching middle school. “They are un-formed humanity,” she says. “Not children, but it is a very formative time.” When the family moved to McLean, Virginia, she taught middle school math at a private school and her children went to Langley High School, which was both “challenging and competitive.”

But this is where the story gets interesting because once the kids are off to college and her husband is in the Senate, Marsha has a kind of unusual idea to go back to school and get a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins in Clinical Community Counseling. She graduated in 1997 and had a practice.

Marsha explains that in the early part of Dan’s career the families stayed in the home state and the legislators traveled to Washington. Traveling just wasn’t as easy and as inexpensive. In the mid-’80s they were able to live as a family, but the mother was still the parent on duty most of the time. But as Andrew was ready for college, Marsha realized she was “still young and wanted to get a degree.” Becoming a psychologist she could work flexible hours and help people.

“I saw from Dan’s work that the breakdown of the American family was creating problems with youth and families that stemmed from the lack of a stable home environment. In counseling and using family systems theory, you look at the problem and the interaction and the effect on the whole family. It is not just an isolated individual, and that’s what interested me.” Marsha discovered that if you can talk with people and they see that the decisions they make, the paths they choose affect their parents, their children and even future generations. “Our grandparents have a huge impact on who we are, and we will do the same for our children and our grandchildren. I wasn’t always successful, but if I was able to work with a husband and wife that were just furious with each other and bring them together six months later, I really felt fulfilled in my counseling work.”

But first there is another detour. After Dan Coats leaves the Senate there is speculation that he will be the next Secretary of Defense. But that job goes to Donald Rumsfeld and Coats is sent to be the Ambassador to Germany.

This, she says, is “the experiences of a lifetime, to be the wife of an ambassador you learn so much history, and living in another country is a wonderful thing.” Her favorite perk was having a language teacher. “I could read a speech in German,” she says. The people are very different there; they’re reluctant to get involved in any kind of foreign conflict. “They very much want peace and to keep things within their own borders.

“Germans value the trades highly. If you don’t go to college that’s fine. If you are an electrician or a carpenter, you can be proud of that, they are paid well and they’re happy. Every student shouldn’t have to go to college. Education ought to be diverse. People who want to get a PhD in some exotic course of study should be able to do it. There should be something for everyone; this is really a good thing to do.”

When the couple returned from Germany in 2005, Marsha resumed her work with families eventually as a

counselor in private practice and in support of the office of the U.S. Senate Chaplain.

Marsha also served on the Board of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services of Northern Virginia right up until her husband was drafted again.

This time to run against Senator Evan Bayh in the 2010 election.

Five days after Coats publicly committed to running for his old Senate seat, Senator Bayh announced his retirement.

When I met the former senator at a luncheon a few weeks later, the first thing he told me was that he was totally surprised about Evan Bayh quitting the Senate. But the second thing he said was how proud he was of his wife who went back to school and got her master’s degree and was a clinical psychologist with her own practice.

I always wanted to meet her after that.

While I admire the Margaret Thatchers and the Angela Merkels of the world, I’m even more interested in women like Marsha Coats who never stopped learning, and changing, and adapting, taking a yoga class and playing with her eight grandchildren because she sets a good example.

When you are part of a family system, sometimes it’s your turn to do what you want and be the person who gets to go back to school. As she says, “You’re not equipped to stay in the same job for the rest of your life,” when you graduate from college.

I feel guilty, I’m telling her. Maybe I would have been a better parent if I had stayed home more with my kids when they were little. Marsha Coats shakes her head, signaling the universal parent guilt trip. She says, “I wish I had been a better listener to my children sometimes. Andrew was 5 years old, and he took my face like this (she puts her hands on her cheeks), and he says, ‘I don’t like it when you go um-hum.’”

Because she is the National Chairwoman from Indiana to the Republican National Committee, Marsha Coats can travel with her husband anytime she likes.

She is happy.

“It’s stimulating, challenging, you feel like you’re in on what’s happening in the world,” she says. “It’s not a relaxed lifestyle.”

Marsha Coats

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OCTOBER 15, 2013 |||||| PRIME |||||| 9

Risk management

media watcher.

W

ell, it’s that time of the year again: no more lazy, carefree evenings basking outdoors in the dappled sunlight. It’s time to get serious, buckle down and adhere to a strict routine.

I’m speaking, of course, about the advent of a brand-new fall TV season.

I write this during a delicious week for a television fan, trembling on the cusp between the Emmy Awards ceremony and the series finale of “Breaking Bad.” And more importantly, after I spent the summer desperately binge-watching both “Orange Is the New Black” and the entire 2008-10 run of “In Treatment,” the season premiers of all my favorite series are finally starting to roll out this week.

For me, keeping up with returning shows requires dedication and discipline, largely because I’m too loyal to abandon even a sinking ship.

When I become a fan of a television program, I am invested to the bitter end, even when my guilty pleasures offer all of the guilt and none of the pleasure. I stuck with “The Office” well past its quality expiration date, watched every episode of “Smash,” and (this one is painful to admit) I’m the only one I know who’s still watching “Grey’s Anatomy” (even my sister-in-law, a former GA fan, snorted in disbelief when I inadvertently let that fact slip out over Thanksgiving dinner…and that was two years ago).

With all of this faithful viewing, I don’t have time to waste on new shows, most of which are either derivative, terrible, or—my personal curse— addictive and prematurely cancelled after a crazy cliffhanger. No, with the wisdom of my advanced years, I’ve learned my lesson: never start a new TV series until it has stood the test of time. No matter how much tempting buzz a show receives, trust me—wait until the inaugural season is complete, make sure the show is renewed, and watch it over the summer as a lead-in to its second year, which was my strategy when “Lost” premiered.

Or, better yet, wait several years until the entire series is over and its diehard fans assure you that the ending was satisfactory, thus avoiding Severe Finale Disappointment (which should have been my strategy with “Lost”).

Just to keep things a little interesting, I make

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an exception each fall, allowing myself to try one new series. Last year, I took a chance on the drama “Chicago Fire.” I got lucky on that one, although it wasn’t much of a stretch that I would enjoy a show about emergency responders (Daring rescues! Tear-jerking endings! That guy from “House”!), set in my favorite city in the world.

This year, to balance the universe, I decided to try a new comedy, and the sentimental choice was the new Michael J. Fox show (cleverly named “The Michael J. Fox Show”). Like most people who were young adults in the ’80s, I have a soft spot in my heart for the diminutive star, and I am intrigued by the fact that he is embracing his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the show. (After watching the premiere episodes, the jury is still out; the pilot was much better than the second installment, but I’m planning to give it a few more weeks to find its groove.)

Luckily, my steely resolve to resist any additional new fall programming is immune to advertising. Superlatives such as “Critics are saying that [insert the name of every single new show here] is this year’s most riveting new drama” have no effect on my determination. But this year I underestimated the most powerful force of all: peer pressure.

It started with an innocent late-night Facebook post by a distant acquaintance: “Did anyone out there watch the pilot of ‘The Blacklist’? It was a great show!” I shrugged and almost moved on, but my fatal flaw was to check out the comments on her post, where her friends agreed that the show was terrific and gushed about the always-compelling James Spader. Before you could say “pop culture junkie,” I had whipped out my ear buds, opened up the NBC app on my iPad, and let myself get sucked into the show’s vortex of implausibility.

Was it good? Sure, if you like “The Silence of the Lambs,” disturbing violence, adorable children in extreme danger, and creepy antiheroes. In other words, against my better judgment, I’m all in.

Welcome to a new fall season. Just remember to proceed with caution…and if “The Blacklist” is cancelled just as it starts to get good, you know whom to blame. — Kathryn MacNeil

Bryan Cranston, star of “Breaking Bad”

AP Photo, Charles Sykes A Special Publication of The Times Media Co.

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A Special publication of the Times Media Co. October 15, 2013 |||||| Prime |||||| 11

zest-food-drink.

Three Floyds’

‘American Psycho’ dinner kills

Kathleen Dorsey Dorsia—an amber ale, and Three Floyds creation formulated specifically for the evening.

Kathleen Dorsey Ostrich Bulgogi, Bubblegum Plum Puree, Bibb Lettuce, Cucumber, Cilantro, Candied Sesame Seeds

O

n Monday night, I had the amazing good fortune to be invited to Three Floyds Dorsia dinner—an American Psycho-themed feast of inventive cuisine and well-paired alcohol.

We are all big fans of Three Floyds in our office, so when I got the call the week before from Three Floyds executive chef, I didn’t even hear what the dinner was for—I just said yes immediately. I didn’t even have a chance to hang up the phone before Matt Sharp, our intern and jack-of-all-trades, called dibs on the second ticket.

So we truly didn’t know what to expect when we walked through the door at 6pm on a Monday evening, but one look at the menu was enough to tell Matt that he’d need to call in a replacement for his softball game that night.

It turned out to be a six-course dinner with dishes and ambiance based on “American Psycho.” In fact, many attendees were dressed in ’80s-style black suits with slicked back hair.

As you walked into the restroom of Three Floyds you were surrounded by blood splattered walls, newspaper all of the floor, roses meticulously placed, and bloody hand prints on the mirrors.

Unfortunately the joke was lost on us—I actively avoid horror flicks, and

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Matt is not very well-versed in pop culture. I had to surreptitiously google “Dorsia” at the dinner table to figure out what on earth everyone was talking about.

It soon became abundantly clear, as every dish, though delicious, was accompanied by what looked like blood spatter, but was in reality bubblegum plum puree or beets.

The menu was created by the Three Floyds chef in partnership with Edward Lee, restauranteur and cookbook author based in Louisville, Kentucky.

The reception was accompanied by the first beer of the night, Dorsia—an amber ale, and Three Floyds creation formulated specifically for the evening.

First Course: Beef Tartare, Buckwheat Pancake, Fried Nori, Beets and Kimchi Paired with: Drunk Monk, a creamy hefeweizen with notes of orange blossom and clove.

The Beef Tartare was my absolute favorite. Although the traditional addition of eggs and breadcrumbs was absent, the kimchi on top of the beef really popped and made the flavor stand out. I ate the rest of Matt’s.

Second Course: Smoked Sweetbreads, Pancetta, Fennel, King Mushrooms, Sweet Corn Foam, Lemon, Chili Oil and Goat Cheese Consomme.

Paired with: Munsterfest, Three Floyds award-winning Octoberfest ale.

This was very interesting. I had never had sweetbreads before, and the overall flavor of the dish was very, very smokey.

The goat cheese consomme turned this into almost a soup course, with a thin broth settled in the bottom of the bowl.

Third Course: Octopus Bacon, Jalapeno Puree, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Kalamata Olives, Yogurt Paired with: Zombie Dust, a citrusy and intensely hopped IPA.

I’ve never been a huge fan of octopus, but this offering was not at all rubbery, and was set off very well by the jalapeno puree.

Fourth Course: Ostrich Bulgogi, Bubblegum Plum Puree, Bibb Lettuce, Cucumber, Cilantro, Candied Sesame Seeds Paired with: Calumet Queen, a maltforward kolsch style beer.

I was surprised that these resembled lettuce wraps more than pieces of ostrich, which is what I had expected.

Very peppery and yet refreshing because of the plum puree, this was a great fourth course.

Fifth Course: Seven-day Aged Duck Breast, Fermented Raspberry Coulis, Carbonated Raspberries, Smoked Squash Paired with: Razor Hoof, a saison/ farmhouse air with intense hop aroma and hints of dried fruit.

Unfortunately this was my least favorite of the evening—the duck was very hard to chew, though it had some great flavor. The skin on the duck breast was perfectly crispy.

Sixth Course: Cherry Balsamic Ice Cream, Toasted Marshmallow, Cherry Chutney, Hopped Vanilla Wafer, Bourbon Chocolate Ganache Paired with: DeLorean Barleywine, a very thick and cloyingly sweet brew.

This one was amazing. I could have killed for another one of the house-made marshmallow slabs.

By the last few beers, I couldn’t drink more than a sip. Though the courses were small, they were many, and by the end of the evening I was completely stuffed.

We are very much looking forward to the next Three Floyds themed dinner— and anyone who wants to go will have to pry the ticket from my cold, dead and blood-splattered hands. ­—Kathleen Dorsey

A Special Publication of The Times Media Co.

distant horizons.

M

y first action after arriving in Stowe Vermont is to follow Covered Bridge Road to Emily’s Bridge that spans Gold Brook in Stowe Hollow. It’s an old bridge, built in 1844 and I wonder, as I park my car and grab my camera, who was Emily. As I go to shut my door, something stops me from leaving my keys in the ignition. That’s silly, I tell myself as I put the keys in my pocket, who would steal my car out in the middle of nowhere?

But later, as I talk to Carol Crawford, the concierge at Topnotch Resort and Spa where I am spending the night, I learn that maybe Emily wouldn’t have gone for a joy ride but she might have locked my door with the keys inside.

That, it seems, is one of the mischievous tricks that Emily likes to play, though others have reported more vindictive acts such as shaking cars with passengers in them and leaving scratch marks, first upon the carriages that once rode over these boards and now cars.

So who was Emily and why has she spent over 160 years doing these things? According to Carol, there are several tales but all have the same theme.

Jilted – or maybe her lover died – Emily either hanged herself from the bridge or threw herself into the creek below. Whatever happened, it ended badly for Emily and now, at night, people can hear a woman’s voice on the bridge and see ghostly shapes and sometimes, Emily obviously being a spirit who has 21st technological knowledge, maybe their keys will get locked in the car.

My Vermont mornings always begin on the patio at Topnotch with a cup of locally roasted coffee named after the nearby Green Mountains as I prepare for what are busy days.

Located on land that was

Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, Vermont

Provided

Idyllic Green

Mountains once a dairy farm, the sleek resort still has traces of its past in the silvery-toned whitewashed barn and vintage butter tubs found in its cozy public rooms.

My entire breakfast at Flannel’s — a rather cozy name for Topnotch’s upscale restaurant — is made from locally sourced foods, including the pale yellow butter swirls for my housemade croissant and, later, at dinner, the to-die-for Crispy Oyster BLT, layers of baby greens, heirloom tomatoes and North Country bacon.

The local mantra is stamped on this part of Vermont like the differing shades of light and dark greens mark the mountains. Organic animal and vegetable farms and chocolatiers and dairies dot the

countryside.

“It’s about quality and supporting local food producers,” says Crawford.

But though I could tarry here for hours, talking about and sampling food, I have a few calories to burn before dinner.

Fortunately at Topnotch, getting active is easy. Though I haven’t played tennis for many years, I take a private lesson at the Topnotch Tennis Center, ranked by Tennis Magazine as No. 1 in the Northwest and among its Ten Best U.S. Tennis Resorts.

As we work on general ground strokes, the pro, one of about 10, all of whom are USPTA/PTR certified, helps me correct an awkward backhand. “It’s all about muscle memory,” he tells me noting that I need to

reintroduce myself gradually back into the game, as my muscles relearn lessons from long ago.

Retraining muscles makes me sore, so my next activity — a gentle horseback ride aboard Suzi Q, a trail horse who has been at the Topnotch Equestrian Center for 20 some years — seems perfect.

We follow an hour-long path that meanders across a wooden covered bridge, crosses the West Branch of the Lamoille River, climbs Luce Hill past patches of shamrocks and weaves through wavy grasses dotted with pink yarrow and painted daisies.

Then it’s on to my own selfcreated food tour. At Laughing Moon Chocolates in downtown Stowe I watch as salted caramels are hand dipped into

hot chocolate and ponder the difficult decision of what to buy. It’s a delightful place, in a century old building, with wooden display cases and such yummy and intriguing chocolate fillings such as blue cheese using an artisan blue cheese made by a local creamery. Who could resist?

Taking a winding road, I stop to chat with Molly Pindell, owner of the 27-acre Sage Farm Goat Dairy. We walk amongst the Alpine goats that look up from the sweet grass and fall apples they are munching on to watch us. Goats, Molly tells me, are friendly and loyal. Think dogs with horns.

As Molly shows me her goats and then takes me into the creamery where she starts packaging pyramids of ash rind goat cheese, I think how great would this life be? Cute goats, great cheese and a chance to get back to the land.

Though, on second thought, milking goats everyday early in the morning when it’s cold and snowing may lose its appeal pretty quickly. Better just to buy goat’s cheese at great places like the one Pindell runs with her sister Katie.

To relax after my endeavors, I head to the spa for a Maple Sugar Body Scrub (this is Vermont after all, a maple syrup epicenter).

I end my day much as it began, sitting on the patio near the outdoor fire pit with its flicker of flames highlighting the garden art on the grassy hillside.

I am tired in the exhilarating way of time well spent, but have energy enough to eat the Confit Leg of Duck with butter beans, Tasso ham and cipollini onions in a cherry balsamic reduction as well as a side Sweet Pea Spaetzle Mac and Cheese while watching the Green Mountains fade into dark.

For information about Stowe, 800-GO-STOWE; gostowe. com; for Topnotch, 800-4518686 or topnotchresort.com — Jane Ammeson

A Special publication of the Times Media Co. October 15, 2013 |||||| Prime |||||| 13

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photo finish.

Are you a photography addict? Do you carry your camera with you wherever you go, looking for the perfect shot? If so, send your photos in to prime@nwi. com and you will be entered for a chance to win a $50 giftcard to The Times advertiser of your choice. The photos will also run in an upcoming edition of Prime.

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ABOVE: First Place “Sand Angels” by Joan Godlewski FAR LEFT: Second Place “Frozen Rose”

by Jeffrey Hickman LEFT: Third Place “Yellow Swallow Tail Butterfly” by Carmen White

A Special publication of the Times Media Co. October 15, 2013 |||||| Prime |||||| 15

My heart-touching cancer story.

When I first heard the word cancer, I was stunned. But that was only the beginning. My cancer was right next to my lung and touching my heart in two places.

My doctor said we needed to start treatment immediately. I said, “But it’s touching my heart— can that even be done?” He said, “I know exactly what to do.”

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16 |||||| PRIME ||||| October 15, 2013

A Special Publication of The Times Media Co.