Salute to the American Flag

The American Flag has truly taken some hits as of late. As a patriot and a proud American, I have always and will always love what the flag stands for.

The last photograph ever taken of my mother, she actually took herself, long before the invention of selfies. It was Flag Day, and as customary, my father had placed a flag on the front of the house. When my mother took a picture of the flag, her own reflection could be seen in the family room window. Days later, she past in her sleep.

My “woke” friends and family think I love the flag because I’m of that privileged group of citizens. Really? My mother wasn’t an American – she was Filipino and Spanish with a splash of Chinese thrown in for good measure. Dad’s family comes from Ireland, and eventually blended with Cherokee. That doesn’t exactly make me white. And I’m Catholic to boot. We’ve talked about the bigotry Catholics have had to endure in America since it’s Protestant conception. Yet for me the flag stands for freedom and opportunity and a better tomorrow. Nothing is ever free. To achieve sucess, you must willing to do two things. First requires hard work, to always do your best and never expect nor demand a free ride in the form of handouts. Second, understand that the big house, fancy cars and fat bank accounts aren’t the key to lasting happiness. Those things will only make you comfortable in your misery. Value the things that truly matter – family, community pride, faith and service to others. Those are what bring rewards beyond measure.

Enough of the rant and defense of America. Let’s talk about the flag itself. When the American Revolution broke out, there was no single flag representing the yet to be established country. Each regiment had designed their own flag. In June of 1775, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to create the Continental Army. While a single army, there remained no unitizing flag. On June 14, 1777, the Congress took a break from drafting their Articles of the Confederation, and passed a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white, and the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” It wasn’t until June 1916 that President Woodrow Wilson marked the anniversary of that decree by officially establishing June 14 as Flag Day.

In the 1959, when Alaska was admitted to the Union as the 49th state, designers nationwide began to retool the flag to add a 49th star to the existing 48. However; there was also talk of Hawaii becoming the 50th state in just a matter of months. Bob Heft, a 17-year-old Ohio student, borrowed his mother’s sewing machine, disassembled his family’s 48-star flag and stitched on 50 stars in a proportional pattern. He proudly handed his creation to his history teacher as a class project, explaining that he had included Hawaii in his design. Young Heft also sent a flag to his congressman, Walter Moeller, who in turn presented the flag to President Eisenhower once the two states had be admitted to the Union. President Eisenhower had been tasked with the job of selecting a new American Flag from a sea of submissions. On July 4, 1960, the president and the high school student stood together as the new 50-star flag was raised for the first time. Bob’s class project grade when from a B- to an A and until his death, Bob had met with each sitting president at the White House.

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In honor of Flag Day, I give you an American Flag Bean Dip. This is perfect for today, or maybe to include in your 4th of July Banquet Table.

American Flag Bean Dip
2 bunches Green Onions
1 cup crushed Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 slice Provolone Cheese
2 (16 oz) cans Refried Beans
3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
8 oz Sour Cream
8 oz Cream Cheese
2 cups shredded Pepper Jack or Mexican Cheese
8 oz Hot or Medium Tomato Salsa
8 oz Hot or Medium Guacamole Dip
1 bag Red, White and Blue Tortilla Chips for serving

Trim green onions, chop and set aside. Crush Blue Corn tortilla chips, set aside. Seed and dice tomato, set aside. With a small star or round piping tip, cut stars or dots from the Provolone cheese, set aside.

Empty refried beans into a skillet over medium-low heat. Season beans with taco seasoning. Heat until beans are easy to spread.

Spread warm beans in a 9-inch by 13-inch glass casserole dish. Spread a guacamole dip over the top of the beans. Spread a layer of salsa over the top of guacamole dip. Sprinkle green onions over the layer of salsa. Scatter shredded cheese over green onions. This is the bases for the flag dip.

Sprinkle the crushed blue corn tortilla chips in the upper left corner of pan for the blue background of the flag. Place the small circles or stars in neat rows over the crushed blue chips to create stars for the flag.

Mix together sour cream and cream cheese. Place in a zip-lock bag or pastry bag fitted with a wide tip. (If using a zip-lock bag, snip off one corner of the bag to allow piping). Pipe white stripes for the flag, leaving room for the red stripes between. Create red stripes for the flag with the diced tomatoes.

Serve with a bowl or platter of red, white and blue corn chips.

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Today is also New Mexico Day. And in honor of New Mexico Day a twist on a French Classic –

Hatch Chile Croque Monsieur
Hatch Chile Cream Sauce
2 Hatch Chiles, roasted
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Flour
3/4 cup Milk
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste

Position oven rack in the top quarter of the oven, turn the oven to broiler. Line a baking ban with foil.

Wash Chile Peppers, lay out on the prepared pan. Roast under the broiler element for about 8 minutes, until skins are blistered. Flip over, roast for about 5 or 6 minutes on back side for even blistering.

Remove from oven, Cover roasted peppers in the pan with a second sheet of foil to hold in the steam. Allow peppers to cool to room temperature.

Once cooled, remove peppers, peel each to remove the skin. Stem and slice open. For less heat, scrap out the seeds. For more heat, retain the seeds and simply dice the peppers. Set aside.

Note: This method of roasting peppers can be used for any type of pepper, in any amount desired. The peppers will last about a week in the refrigerator or months in the freezer.

While the peppers roast and cool, peel garlic and mince. Grate cheese from a block, wrap to keep soft and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Once butter is foamy, add garlic. Stir until butter begins to really bubble. Stir in the flour to create a roux, cook for about 2 or 3 minutes.

Slowly stream in the milk, whisking constantly, until the milk is added and the sauce is smooth. Add Hatch peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until thickened.

Add grated cheese, whisk until melted. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

Croque Monsieur
4 tablespoons Diced Green Chilies
4 tablespoons grated Monterey Jack Cheese
8 slices Sourdough Bread
16 oz sliced Black Forest Deli Ham
4 slices Pepper Jack Cheese

Reposition oven rack to the center of the oven and place a baking sheet under the rack as close as possible. The sandwiches will be built directly on the top rack, with a baking sheet to catch any spillage. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Make four piles of the dice chilies for quick assembly, squeezing out liquid as much as possible. Grate four piles of Monterey Cheese, set aside.

Place the bread directly on the oven rack – let toast lightly, about 2 minutes. This will dry out the bread just a little, making it more sturdy to hold up to the other ingredients.

Build sandwiches directly on the rack. Pull rack out as much as possible to allow room to build without removing completely from the oven.

Layer 4 slices of bread with 4 ounces each of the deli ham. Spoon about of the Hatch Cream Sauce divided over the 4 ham-topped slices of bread. Top cream sauce sliced Pepper Jack Cheese, then the diced chilies.

Close the sandwiches with remaining bread slices. Spoon remaining cream sauce over the tops of the sandwich. Top with grated cheese.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Switch to broil, continue to cook another minute or so, until the cheese is bubbling and brown.

Enjoy this sandwich with a knife and fork.

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Holy is the Lord, our God.