I found this Wedgwood plate at an estate sale:
The United States Supreme Court, number 4 in a series of 4. I bet you, like me, won’t be able to sleep until you know what the other three in the series are. Mystery solved — I found a complete set listed on eBay, which also includes the Capitol, the White House, and a panorama of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Whew — now we can all sleep at night.
I’ve never had a case go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, although we tried once when I was a new lawyer working in NY. The partner I was working with sent me to D.C. to file our hopeful little petition for certiorari in person. He put me in a cab with a trial bag filled with our 40 copies, and in no time I was on the Trump Shuttle, (which flew hourly between NY and D.C.). In case you are wondering, this is what a trial bag looks like:
Unfortunately, the oversized trial bag was awkward to carry and the petitions kept shifting in the bag, and as I was navigating the aircraft’s aisle, a critical button popped off of my dress. I buttoned my heavy winter coat up and tried not to think about it. But it was no longer cold out, and by the time I got to the Court I was hot, sweaty, cranky, and looking a wee bit crazy. I announced that I was there to file a petition for certiorari, and the clerk looked at me said “Are you filing in forma pauperis?” which basically means “are you a poor person who can’t afford the filing fee?” Defeated, I said, “I knew you were going to ask me that,” and explained about the missing button on my dress, which was probably TMI. He assured me that he asks everyone that, but I didn’t believe him. He gave me a safety pin for my dress and accepted my 40 (unsuccessful) petitions for filing. In case you are wondering, this is what the safety pin looked like:
The honorable plate and memories of my one and only trip to the United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the U.S., is the inspiration for this recipe for Grapefruit Crudo, adapted from Bon Appetit, with its pretty grapefruit supremes and virbrant colors.
Supreming grapefruits (or any citrus) is easy, and makes them so much nicer to eat. Cut the top and bottom off the grapefruit, then cut off the rind, trying not to take too much of the flesh with it.
Then slide your knife between the membranes to release the individual segments:
This salad (or crudo) is interesting, beautiful, and delicious. It looked especially pretty on my green platter — I’d suggest laying some little gem or Boston lettuce leaves on your platter before assembling the salad to achieve a similar look.
- 2 large grapefruits, supremed (cut into segments)
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large watermelon radish, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoons roasted and salted cashes, chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 Fresno or other red Chile, thinly sliced
- In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, lime juice, and honey.
- Shortly before serving, arrange radish slices around edge of serving platter.. Arrange avocado slices inside watermelon radishes. Mound grapefruit and red onion in center of platter. Drizzle fish sauce mixture over salad, garnish with cashews and Fresno chile slices, and serve.
Beautiful!
Like an Iron Chef, your cuisine will reign supreme