Dipnote - U.S. Department of State Official Blog http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2008-08-29T19:16:00-05:00 What It’s Like To Be Secretary Rice’s Chef on Overseas Missions
Transport our nation’s senior civilian and military leaders to locations around the globe...during peace, crisis, and conflict... and providing combat ready forces to theater combatant commanders.


After receiving rave reviews from everyone (and I do mean everyone) on our last trip to Turkey, Israel, and the Palestinian territories, it was decided that the world must know more about Khristine—the woman who keeps the Secretary, her staff, and all others aboard the flights nourished and satiated.

How long have you served/cooked with the 89th?
Three and a half years.

What’s your earliest memory of cooking, in general?
I remember cooking for my dad when I was 10 years old. I learned to cook eggs and pancakes first.

Do you have a favorite meal to prepare?
I really don’t. I enjoy cooking almost anything, but I do love cooking a good steak or Spaghetti Bolognese.

Describe the process of cooking for a Secretarial flight:
Wow, where to begin? First I put together a menu with two options per leg of the trip. Then the menu is sent in to Mrs. Perez’s office for approval. Afterwards the shopping list is made and we shop and prep for the meals as much as possible. For example, for the lamb chop meal I marinated and seared the lamb chops ahead of time in our prep kitchen at the squadron before the mission departed.

Do you cook when you are home?
Yes! I love to cook at home. My husband is my guinea pig at times. I try out recipes that I want to use on the jet on him. Granted, if I just came back from a trip, I like to wait a few days before I cook.

What is a standard meal for the Secretary?
For breakfast, she loves scrambled eggs with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms on the side. She also loves bacon! For dinner, she enjoys salmon and grilled chicken.

If you were not a chef, what would you be?
I became a flight attendant to travel the world, and being able to cook on an airplane interested me. Since becoming a flight attendant, my culinary skills have definitely improved.

Do you have a favorite restaurant?
I have so many, but I love Sweet Water Tavern and Balducci’s is awesome, too. They serve the best seared scallops!

What’s your inspiration when preparing a meal?
No matter how difficult a meal is to prepare, (whether it’s finding certain ingredients or preparing the actual meal) I think about who I’m preparing the meal for and picture them enjoying it and being able to put a smile on their face.

Any disaster stories to share while cooking on the plane?
Well nothing mission-stopping, but little things like forgetting dinner rolls and then realizing they’re in the belly of the plane and not being able to get to them. Another time we had to serve a steak meal with no A-1 sauce. But no, sorry, nothing awful like burning a meal or anything like that.

What’s the best cooking-related compliment you’ve received?
I made the Spaghetti Bolognese for a Congressional Delegations Mission and a Congressman said it was better than what his mom used to make! And the one compliment that tops them all is anytime I cook something and people want the recipe afterwards. The Secretary wanted my Turkey Burger recipe on my last trip. That was very flattering!

What’s the one ingredient that you can’t live without while cooking on the road…I mean, in the air?
Garlic! And Butter. The real stuff, not that Parkay or jarred garlic. And hot sauce…gotta have hot sauce.

Thanks to Khristine and her crew at the 89th for all of their hard work!
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/cooking_plane/ 2007-11-16T16:00:00-05:00 Homeward Bound
For starters, we’ve got some die hard Red Sox baseball fans in the traveling party. I won’t say who these people are, but one devotee’s name rhymes with “dawn”…which is the time of day that this person had to wake up in Moscow to see his beloved team play in the playoff series. Never before have I seen such a crowd of people—ladies and gents—so mesmerized by a live TV stream on a laptop in the middle of the night. Technology can be a beautiful thing sometimes.

Secondly, the Secretary’s squad of travelers is quite the athletic bunch. We start our days extremely early, but many of us are in the gym at the crack of dawn to squeeze in a workout. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that even those who I thought were the most stern and straight-and-narrow amongst us have unexpectedly modern taste in music. Never would I have thought that one of the Secretary’s advisers, a 3-star general, would listen to some of today’s most popular acts such as The Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie, Maroon 5, and Rihanna during his daily exercise regimen. Moral of the story: Never judge a general by his exterior.

Lastly, I must share with the blogosphere how fortunate the DC-based traveling team is to work with such capable Embassy and Consulate staff based in the regions to which we traveled this week—namely Moscow, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Cairo, and London. These extensions of the State Department know the lay of the land and have the expertise to organize a Secretarial visit in a matter of weeks (and in the case of this trip, sometimes days).

The Secretary has been in high spirits throughout this trip; walking the aisle of the plane a bit more frequently than I’ve seen in the past. It’s been a long, productive week. All the same, I think everyone is ready to get home.
]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/homeward_bound/ 2007-10-18T23:40:00-05:00 Listening, But Not Always Liking
So, here I am in the city that never sleeps – wait, isn’t that Las Vegas? Here I am in the city that never stops negotiating. From Wall Street to the General Assembly, there’s always a deal waiting to be struck. This is the time of year when the world’s governmental bodies come to the Big Apple, the United Nations Headquarters specifically, to talk about global issues like environmental concerns, international sanctions, poverty and war. Not only are they here to talk, they’re also here to be seen. I’ve never witnessed so many impeccably dressed people in one place. The Europeans walk through the lobby of our home for the week, the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, in their grays and blacks. The Americans in their shiny lapel pins, power suits, and blackberries. The Africans in their colorful garbs and stylish headdresses. The Middle Easterners in their traditional dress.

It’s the time for flowery speech making at podiums and hand shaking in front of cameras. Even the most unliked and least admired receive their five minutes of fame during UNGA. The particularly unpopular Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, addressed the Assembly amid a fair share of empty seats on Tuesday. Just a day earlier, he gave a speech to a skeptical crowd of Columbia University students, where he was characterized by the university’s president as having “all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.”

I was surprised by the frankness with which Columbia University president Lee Bollinger spoke, but was pleased all the same by his unfiltered words. The institution leader’s introductory remarks reinforced the existence of freedom of speech that we as Americans have enjoyed since the creation of this nation. If I could send Mr. Ahmadinejad a welcome message, it would go something like this: ‘Sure, you can have your time at the podium because that’s how we do things in the U.S. I don’t have to like what you say, because that’s what the American way of agreeing to disagree is all about. But just so you know, while you’re out pushing your agenda, there’s going to be a fair share of people just beyond the walls of the United Nations Headquarters, Columbia University’s lecture hall where you’ll be speaking, and on the streets of New York with a few thoughts of their own. Just thought you might want to know that people have voices here, aren’t afraid to use them, and refuse to go unheard. Welcome to America.’

In fairness to both sides of the debate, there were a handful of protestors outside the UN Headquarters who were proponents of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s policies. Again, you’ve got to love this country for the fact that all sides are able to freely voice their opinions to anyone and everyone that will listen.

I heard both sides. Here’s to agreeing to disagree…]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/listening/ 2007-09-26T20:44:00-05:00 August in the Big Easy
**********

It’s August in New Orleans—The Big Easy. The sun beats down relentlessly on the sandy lot as dozens of volunteers build roofs, frame porches, and paint new homes. “Drink, drink, drink! If you’re thirsty, it’s too late: you’re dehydrated,” warns one of the site coordinators. Covered in sun block and dirt, I work, laugh, and learn.

As a Presidential Management Fellow working with an eclectic group of Washington-based PMFs, CEPs, and ELOs, we came together in New Orleans as members of a taskforce set up to alleviate the passport backlog. Our time in New Orleans presented a new opportunity for us to serve—not only through our work at the Passport Agency but also by volunteering to help rebuild this special city, one that has charmed me with its tastes, sounds, and spirit since I was a child.

The city of New Orleans—and the state of Louisiana—is uniquely special to me because it is my home. Having been raised in nearby Lafayette, Louisiana, and a graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans, coming back was very important to me. Of course I wanted to do my part in the city’s Passport Agency, but more importantly, my homecoming would be my first significant visit since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. I owed the city and its citizens my support in way that I hadn’t been able to deliver up to this point.

Nestled on the mud-lined banks of the Mississippi River, New Orleans was the site of the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. “After Katrina, people either lost their homes or their livelihoods. Some lost both. I don’t know a single person who was not affected at all,” said Gwen Fallo, a long-time resident of New Orleans. Two years after Katrina, thousands of families have still not settled in permanent homes, many still living in trailers provided by FEMA.

Entire neighborhoods, particularly the Ninth Ward where levee breaks caused the most damage, are still ghost towns. Unkempt lawns engulf house after house still filled with debris, their roofs blown away, and facades still bear the dreadful markings made by rescue workers indicating how many people or animals were found alive, how many dead.

The daunting challenge of providing housing to those displaced after the hurricane inspired my colleagues and me to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat is a faith-based, non-profit organization that works with sponsors, volunteers, and partner families to build simple, affordable homes for those in need. With several local projects, Habitat is contributing tremendously to the reconstruction of communities across the city.

One of these communities is Musician’s Village, in the Upper Ninth Ward. Conceived by New Orleans world renowned musicians Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, this community will consist of 70 homes for displaced New Orleans musicians and other Habitat partner families. The community will be anchored by the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music dedicated to the education and development of homeowners, their families, and neighbors.

Musician’s Village is rising fast, and several families have already moved into their new homes. Painted in bright yellows, greens, and blues, this neighborhood is a vivid expression of the spirit of renewal we’ve found across New Orleans. Some have planted lovely gardens; others embellished their porches with plants and wind chimes. In every detail, I was able to see the real investment each family is making into the rebirth of the city.

Local Habitat-built homes are sold to partner families for $75,000 with a zero interest mortgage. For families whose livelihoods and savings were washed away with the storm, this can be a substantial commitment. Families also contribute what Habitat calls “sweat equity.” Each family is required to work 380 hours on the construction of their home.

Through “sweat equity,” families worked side-by-side with all of us this summer. Meeting families made my experience even more meaningful; it made it personal. Throughout the city, my group interacted with people in shops, restaurants, and on the streets—each sharing their story and expressing gratitude for our presence and support. Before the storm, and even more so afterwards, New Orleans is a place where tourists and locals share a sense of community that is almost as flavorful and rich as the foods and music that set this city apart from any other.

While the memory of the destruction and the loss of life that occurred in 2005 should never be forgotten, the opportunity to witness the revitalization of New Orleans was an experience I will always remember. In the end, our group reached our goal of helping the Passport Agency return to its normal processing levels, but the highlight of my summer experience was knowing that I’d been a part of a team of phenomenal people who were working to make local families’ lives a little better by providing them with homes of their own.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/big_easy/ 2007-09-25T13:51:03-05:00