Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Welcome to Monticello, the first home on our dinner tour. Situated on a hill outside Charlottesville, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson designed this home for himself. He lived lived there for over 50 years. A one time minister to France, he developed quite a taste for French culture. Speaking of taste and the French, let's get started with our first course--a little amuse-bouche. In honor of Mr. Jefferson's red hair, we'll begin with a serving of Steak Tartare. What is it?
2. For our second course we're going to get this party rockin' and head over to Graceland, the home of Elvis. Located in Memphis, Tennessee it is the second most visited house in the U.S.(we'll head to #1 next). Over a half million people see it every year. For celebrity mansions, though, it is actually only a modest 17,500 sq ft in size! Alright, let's eat. For the next serving, an appetizer, you can have your choice of any 'Elvis-ized' dish below. Which one shouldn't you eat?
3. That was delicious, so let's move on to our next stop: The White House. Every president since John Adams has lived there. It is over 55,000 sq ft and has six stories. The architecture was inspired by some French blueprints and an Irish building. The kitchen staff is used to preparing themed state dinners, so I asked them to come up with one for us. As a tribute to the French head chef, the staff has prepared 3 French salads, and since they know we are all trivia buffs and like a challenge, they mixed in another salad that isn't French. Which of these doesn't fit in?
4. Let's keep moving folks, we've still got a lot of touring and eating to do! Next, we are heading down to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. As of 2010 it was the largest private residence in the U.S. Built by the grandson of business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, it is over 175,000 sq ft and has 250 rooms. If you'll follow me, we'll get the next course served.
OK, this is a little tacky, but in honor of Cornelius, yes, we are having some corn chowder. Oh, that smells great! Say, did you know that corn is actually a:
5. Alright, enough nibbling! We've been invited by "The Pajama'd One" to have the next course, an entree, at his humble abode. Yes, we'll be jetting to the West Coast to join Hugh Hefner and friends at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. The mansion is 22,000 sq ft and has its own zoo, aviary and a separate 'game house' to play in. So about the meal...unfortunately when I gave my request to the chef I made a small faux pas and now the Playmates are all upset. We're having Daube de Lapin for the 5th course. Why are they mad?
6. We'll stay on the West Coast and head over to San Jose to one of the stranger homes on the tour. This is the Winchester Mystery House and it has 160 rooms. Let's go this way, the dining room is down the hall and up those crooked stairs. The house was built by Sarah Winchester, beneficiary of the Winchester gun fortune, and was under continuous construction for 38 years. For our 6th course, another entree, we'll stick with a gun theme to honor the Winchesters. The theme was supposed to be "Shotgun Shellfish" (nice!) but the chef mixed up one dish so you can't have that one, because it's not shellfish. Which is it?
7. Our next stop is the Hearst Castle, the previous home of business mogul William Randolph Hearst. Talk about growing up with a silver spoon in your mouth! He was born to millionaire parents in the 1920s and quickly made a lot of money in newspapers. Located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the total area under the Castle's roof is over 90,000 sq ft and it has over 120 acres of gardens. It also has the world's largest private zoo. During his career, Hearst got into a subscription war with Pulitzer (yes that one) in New York which gave rise to "yellow" journalism. Now I don't like yellow journalism but I DO like yellow food. Dig into the appropriate dish below.
8. Well, we've already stopped by the home of "The King" and now we'll visit the home of "The King of Pop"--yes, Michael Jackson. Neverland Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County in southern California and the estate is one of the most colorful on our tour. The grounds contain an amusement park with a railroad, a zoo, the main mansion and a giant floral clock.
In 1984 while filming a Pepsi commercial Jackson's hair accidentally caught on fire. We don't want any possibility of that ruining our 8th course, a dessert. With which of the following would you not risk catching your hair on fire?
9. It's starting to get late, only a one more stop after this. Let's head back to the east coast. Pennsylvania is beautiful this time of year and we're getting a private tour of Fallingwater. A spectacularly original design, this house is actually built over a waterfall. Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece accentuates organic design and highlights the balance between nature and man. As we prepare for our 9th course, dessert, we have a wonderful view of the surrounding woodlands. It's such a peaceful setting.
Well, go ahead and remove your plate covers and... oh no! NO! The dessert looks ruined. I'm calling it Fallingsouffle. What should I have done differently with the souffle?
10. Our grand tour and ten course dinner is nearly complete. Let's head back to Virginia to conclude the day with a tour of another presidential home--that of George Washington. Mount Vernon sits on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River near Alexandria. The original home on the site was built by Washington's father, but Washington ended up rebuilding and expanding the home several times during his residence. During Washington's two terms as president he spent over a year of accumulated time there. Let's retire to the study and we can end our tour with an after dinner drink. Washington himself would certainly approve of the choice, as at one point he was one of the largest producers of this in the United States. You're drinking:
Source: Author
Omakase
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WesleyCrusher before going online.
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