A few weeks ago, I talked about American-style pizza, which is as popular here in the U.S. as hamburgers and French fries. Another dish that has a borrowed beginning (started somewhere else), but that people consider American, is the chicken fried steak.

Despite its name, there is no chicken in chicken fried steak. Chicken fried steak is a breaded cutlet: a thinly-sliced (cut with a knife) piece of steak (beef; cow meat) that has been coated (covered on the surface with) flour (powder you get from grain) and then pan-fried (cooked in a pan with a little hot oil). It is served with a cream gravy (light-colored thick sauce made with milk or cream) on top of it and usually with mashed potatoes on the side. Typically, you also eat it with a biscuit, a small, round piece of bread that you can use to sop up (for a liquid to be put on or soaked into bread for eating) the leftover (remaining) gravy.

Why is it called chicken fried steak if there is no chicken in it? The name comes from the preparation of the meat, which is similar to how fried chicken is made.

Chicken fried steak is very popular throughout the U.S., but it is considered Southern food, from the southern part of the United States. Two different towns in Texas claim (say without proof or evidence) to be the birthplace (place something is born or created) of the chicken fried steak, and one of the towns even has an annual (yearly) celebration of the dish (type of food).

No one really knows the origins (beginnings) of the chicken fried steak, but some people believe that it was brought to the U.S. by German and Austrian immigrants (people who move to a country to live) who cooked a similar popular dish called Wiener Schnitzel.  If it’s true, then the dish probably got a name change in the 1930’s, perhaps due to anti-German opinions leading up to World War II.

Sometimes this same dish is called “country fried steak” and the light-colored gravy is referred to as “country gravy.” The “country” part of the name refers to this dish being a Southern or rural (not city) dish, giving it a more homey (comfortable and cozy) kind of feeling. You’ll find this dish most often in casual American sit-down (not fast food) restaurants and diners (casual restaurants that serve sandwiches, hamburgers, and other casual food and are often open long hours). In addition to having it at lunch or dinner, you’ll also see it sometimes on the breakfast menu, served with eggs and bacon.

Is there a similar dish where you live?

~ Lucy

Photo Credit:  Chicken fried steak from Wikipedia   

In a democracy, people are supposed to be able to tell the government what they want and how the country should be run (organized and managed). In reality, that’s not exactly how American democracy works.  However, on September 22, 2011, a new feature appeared on the White House website that gives Americans a new way to give the government their two cents (opinion). It is called “We the People.”

This website allows Americans to write an electronic petition and to gather (collect) signatures. A petition is a written request to the people in power who can make the changes or do the things you request.  A petition usually states what the petitioners (people asking) want and also contains the signatures (hand-written name) of the people who want to show their support for the petition. “We the People” is an opportunity for citizens (people who officially belong to a country) to send in their ideas and to provide solutions to a number of different political problems in the country.  Petitions have long been used in the American political system, but in the past, petitions were written or printed, and people had to sign their names to it in person.

On this website, any American can start a petition, but it must get the support of other Americans. First, for it to appear on the White House website and be searchable (able to be found by doing a computer search), it must receive at least 150 signatures within 30 days.  Second, to receive a response from the White House staff (workers), the petition must get at least 100,000 signatures within 30 days. (Before January 2013, that number was just 5,000. I guess the website has become too popular and there isn’t enough staff to respond to all of the most popular petitions.)

As you can imagine, there are serious and not so serious petitions. A not so serious petition was submitted in 2012.  The petition asked the government to construct (build) a Death Star.  If you have seen any of the Star Wars movies, then you know what the Death Star is.  It is a fictional (not real) space station the size of the moon that is armed (supplied with) many weapons and is very powerful, powerful enough to destroy a planet, like the Earth. Creating a Death Star, the petitioners said, would stimulate (cause something to work better, more, and/or faster) the economy and create jobs.  The petition received enough signatures to receive a response, which the government released in January of 2013. It was a humorous (funny), tongue-in-cheeck (using irony (using words that mean the opposite and not showing seriousness or respect)) letter.

First, a Death Star could not be built, the letter said, because the cost is estimated to be 852 quadrillion dollars ($850,000,000,000,000,000).  Second, at the current rate of steel (strong metal) production, it would take 833,000 years to construct. Finally, the letter said: “The Administration (government) does not support blowing up (causing to explode and to be destroyed) planets.”  You can the read the entire response here.

So, the answer was no.

Some people have criticized the “We the People” website saying that the petitions are not taken seriously and that they don’t really cause any change. In fact, there is a petition asking the government to shut down (close) the website because it is “worthless.”

Still, there are many serious petitions.  For example, there are petitions asking the government to reexamine (look again at) gun control (allowing people to buy and own guns and other weapons) laws and to establish new federal (national) holidays. You can see current petitions by clicking on “view the petitions” here.

Are petitions used in your country to change the government?

~ Lucy

P.S. To learn why the website is called “We the People,” listen to English Cafe 92, in which Jeff talks about the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

George is George Washington, the first president of the U.S. And the question – What would George do? – is the title of an article written by Louis Jacobson, a reporter for the Tampa Bay (Florida) Times newspaper and Politifact web site.

Several months ago, Jacobson found a copy of a small book – Washington’s Rules of Civility (polite behavior) – that was written when George Washington was a teenager. Today we might call the book Rules for Becoming a Good Person.

At that time, it was common for students to copy lists of social and moral (what is good/evil, right/wrong) rules like these. The goal was for students to learn the rules and become good people and citizens and partly, I believe, to improve their handwriting. According to Jacobson, the rules Washington copied come from a French book – Good Manners in Conversation Among Men – written in 1595.

In celebration of our Presidents’ Day (the third Monday in February), President Lincoln’s birthday (February 12), and President Washington’s birthday (February 22), I thought it would be fun to try to rewrite a few of Washington’s rules in simple modern English and to share them with you. Some will make you smile. Others, I hope, will make you think. Here they are:

Everything you do should show respect for the people around you.

Don’t say anything, either jokingly or seriously, that will hurt another person. Don’t laugh at or talk about anyone in a way that lets them know you think they’re stupid, even if they are.

When others are nearby, don’t sing to yourself with a humming (“mmmmm”) sound or drum (tap on the table or floor) with your fingers or feet.

If you cough, sneeze, sigh (breath out with a loud sound when you are tired, bored, etc.), or yawn, do it quietly, not loudly. Don’t speak while you’re yawning, but put your handkerchief or hand in front of your face and turn to the side.

Don’t sleep when others speak, don’t sit when others stand, don’t speak when you should be quiet, and don’t walk when others stop.

Don’t act happy when someone has bad luck, even if he or she is your enemy.

When you visit someone who is sick, don’t act like you’re their doctor, especially if you don’t know anything about medicine.

Don’t argue with someone who is your superior (someone who has a higher position than you); obey (do what they ask you to do) them and don’t try to act more important than you really are.

Don’t wear smelly, dirty, or torn clothes; brush them off at least once a day; be careful not to look dirty, not even a little.

If you have any respect for your own reputation (what people think or say about you), spend time with good people; it’s better to be alone than to spend time with bad people.

Don’t share news if you’re not sure it’s true.

Don’t be curious (wanting to know something) about other people’s business and don’t try to listen when others are speaking to each other privately.

Don’t be so anxious to win an argument that you don’t give every person a chance to share their opinion; let the majority decide who is right.

Don’t say anything bad about someone who is not present, because that is unjust (not fair or reasonable).

Don’t take a second bite of food until you have swallowed the first one; don’t take bites that are too big for your mouth.

Don’t drink or talk when your mouth is full of food; don’t look around while you are drinking.

Don’t clean your teeth with the table cloth, napkin, fork, or knife; use a toothpick.

Whatever happens, don’t get angry at the table, and if you have a reason to be angry, don’t show it; be cheerful, especially if strangers are at the table, because good humor (a pleasant attitude) turns one dish of meat into a feast.

And my favorite:

Work hard to keep that little spark of heavenly fire called conscience (the voice inside that tells you if what you’re doing is right or wrong) alive in your heart.

If you’d like to see all of Washington’s rules as they were originally written, you can find them here.

~ Warren Ediger – English tutor/coach and creator of Successful English, where you can find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.