Everybody Wang Chung Tonight - Shrimp and Crab Devilled Eggs

How much longer before Donald Trump starts to tank in the polls? I have to admit that I expected it to happen long before this. Instead, he keeps get stronger, with ever-higher double digit poll numbers that are the envy of everyone else running for the position.  What does this say about the voting public? Everybody have fun tonight? Everybody wang chung tonight! The Donald shakes things up; he has enough money and more than enough chutzpah to say whatever he wants and anyone who doesn't like it can kiss his tuchis. And he says things other people would like to say but are afraid due to the ubiquitous spectre of political correctness. The Donald is New York. The Donald is fun. And let's face it - this is going to be one hell of a long election season, and Donald is necessary comic relief.

Watching the Republican candidate's debate on CNN. My problem is cognitive overload - eleven candidates talking over each other, five CNN folks trying to unsuccessfully manage the conversation. They might as well try to herd cats. The bright lights and flashy colors, the voices, the arguments - too many notes.  My eyes are starting to burn and my head is starting to hurt.  P.S.: Carly Fiorina is doing a fabulous job up there.

Having been woken up at a ridiculous cow-milking hour by palpitations (can't blame that on the fibromyalgia), I popped my daily Inderal earlier than usual and began checking my mail and the news. Looks like CNN agrees with me in declaring Carly Fiorina the winner of last night's shindig. For every winner there has to be a loser, and last night's was as obvious as the nose on my face (go check my photo to the left) - Rand Paul. Feh. Rand, after last night's debate, you've been fired.  Next time, expect to be consigned to the second tier candidates.

So we have a winner, a runner-up (in my opinion, Jeb Bush; CNN declared that to be Marco Rubio, with Jeb third)) a loser, and a disappointment - Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor, and someone I like to listen to, except when he goes off the deep end about religion, or when he (and many other politicians) insist that the courts are "legislating from the bench."  Okay, follow me here: just because you don't agree with the court's decision doesn't mean they are legislating from the bench.  Case law is a primary source of law. The Court's job is to interpret the law, and many times that results in the law being tossed out. That is what happened when the Supreme Court decided that the state laws denying same sex couples the right to get married are violative of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. As a result of that decision, most states began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.  That's not legislation, that's interpretation, and yes, it does make law. Governor Huckabee's fundamentalist support of Kim Davis, the Clerk in Kentucky who refuses to follow the law, is a bit scary, based as it is on "God's Law". The First Amendment forbids the supremacy of God's Law, and Governor Huckabee should know better. You can disagree with the law, but you should not disobey it, especially when, like Kim Davis (who I thought was going to fall down on the stage floor, start writhing and speaking in tongues) you have take an oath of office to uphold the law. Shame on you, Mike Huckabee.

In case you had not already figured it out, I love the whole Presidential election process. Having all these Republican candidates to put under the microscope, to discuss with Robert and others (keeping in mind that politics is something you really shouldn't discuss with most people) is my idea of fun. Your mileage may vary.

I have a new toy I want to try out, so I decided to make a small batch of devilled eggs and use my "Eggstractor" to help me peel the hard boiled eggs "instantly."  Ha.  Don't waste your money.

Shrimp and Crab Devilled Eggs

6 medium eggs, hard boiled, cooled, and peeled, plus 1 for good luck

12 cooked and peeled salad shrimp, defrosted and rinsed in cool water

1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup crab meat (I had some crab legs in the house)

2 heaping tablespoons Hellmann's mayonnaise

1/4 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 rounded teaspoon prepared horseradish (Gold's white)

1/8 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

You just know that you are probably going to lose one or more egg whites to the peeling process, no matter how careful you are. So I always add an extra to the pot.  If all the shells come off perfectly, that's great. In any case, I add the extra yolk to the filling, which gives you a nice, piled-high devilled egg half.

Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl, toss them with the lemon juice and set aside. In another small bowl, combine the crab meat with the remaining ingredient. Remove the yolks from the eggs and grate them, using a small box grater, right into the rest of the filling. Stir gently to incorporate and smooth the yolks, then fill the egg white halves with a small spoon.

Carefully press a shrimp into each filled egg, curved side up. Use the spoon to smooth the filling so it holds the shrimp in place.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.