In one of our most predictable moments of all time, we're going to confess to you that the Inauguration 2013 coverage we were most excited about was the menu for the epic luncheon. However, in a classic TV moment that makes crystal clear just how much more we care about food than most people, MSNBC talking head Chris Matthews let loose a little gripe about culinary flourishes.
"Has anyone ever picked a restaurant because of its reductions?" Matthews quipped, sarcastically. "Every time I see one on the menu I say, 'What is that, and why do I care?' What is a reduction??"
The fit of giggles we collapsed into was only rivaled by his co-host, Rachel Maddow's, who is a notorious and lovable food and cocktail nerd (seriously, watch her make a Jack Rose cocktail and you'll totally understand why we love her). And we would like to take a moment to recognize and seriously applaud commentator Chris Hayes' attempt to explain what a reduction is, and why you wouldn't just call it a "sauce." You're fighting the good fight, Chris Hayes.
Chris Matthews, we'd like to thank you for inadvertently creating one of our favorite TV moments of all time, but seriously, you're welcome to come by for a cooking lesson any time. We'll start with reductions. Then you can start complaining about emulsions and espumes.
Once you get the hang of those, we'll tackle the Inaugural Luncheon menu, which the White House helpfully posted all the recipes for (we can't even tell you how much we want to recreate this).