Spartan Gold: champagne flute and more

pg 185

...a French bejeweled snob with a poodle under one arm and a champagne flute in the other.

The champagne flûte (fr. Flûte à Champagne) is a stem glass with a tall, narrow bowl. The bowl of a flute may resemble a narrow wine glass as seen in the illustration; or a trumpet shape; or be very narrow and straight-sided.

As with other stemware, the stem allows the drinker to hold the glass without affecting the temperature of the drink. The bowl is designed to retain champagne's signature carbonation, by reducing the surface area at the opening of the bowl. The flute has largely replaced the champagne coupe or saucer, the shape of which allowed carbonation to dissipate even more rapidly than from a standard wine glass. Its smaller diameter also allows more flutes to be carried on a tray.

Nucleation in a champagne glass helps form the bubbles seen in champagne. Too much nucleation will cause the carbonation to fizzle out quickly. A smoother surface area will produce fewer bubbles in the glass, and more bubble texture in the taster's mouth.

While most commonly used for sparkling wines, flutes are also used for certain beers, especially Belgian lambic and gueuze, which are brewed with wild yeast and often fruited. The tart flavor of these beers, coupled with their carbonation, makes them similar to sparkling white wines, and the champagne flute an ideal choice of glassware.

Langdon is one of the best Formula One drivers in Monaco

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply.^[3] The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning grand prizes), held on purpose-built circuits and public roads. The results of each race are combined with a points system to determine two annual World Championships, one for the drivers and one for the constructors. The racing drivers, constructor teams, track officials, organizers, and circuits are required to be holders of valid Super Licences, the highest class of racing licence issued by the FIA.^[4]
Formula One cars are among the fastest circuit-racing cars in the world, owing to very high cornering speeds achieved through the generation of large amounts of aerodynamic downforce. Formula One cars race at speeds of up to 360 km/h (220 mph) with engines limited in performance to a maximum of 18,000 revolutions per minute (RPM). The cars are capable of lateral acceleration in excess of 5 g in corners. The performance of the cars is very dependent on electronics – although traction control and other driving aids have been banned since 2008 – and on aerodynamics, suspension and tyres. The formula has had much evolution and change through the history of the sport. Europe, the sport's traditional base, is where about half of each year's races occur. That said, the sport's scope has expanded significantly during recent years and an increasing number of Grands Prix are held on other continents.
Formula One had a total global television audience of 527 million people during the course of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.^[5] Such racing began in 1906 and, in the second half of the 20th century, became the most popular kind of racing internationally. The Formula One Group is the legal holder of the commercial rights.^[6] With annual spending totalling billions of US dollars, Formula One's economic effect and creation of jobs is significant, and its financial and political battles are widely reported. Its high profile and popularity make it a merchandising environment, which results in great investments from sponsors and budgets in the hundreds of millions for the constructors. However, mostly since 2000, due to the always increasing expenditures, several teams, including works teams from car makers and those teams with minimal support from the automotive industry, have become bankrupt or been bought out by companies wanting to establish a team within the sport; these buyouts are also influenced by Formula One limiting the number of participant teams.

Langdon was a commando before he retired - British Special Air Service

Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950.^[5] They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world. The SAS together with the Special Boat Service (SBS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), Special Forces Support Group (SFSG), 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing form the UKSF under the command of the Director Special Forces.

The SAS traces its origins to 1941 and the Second World War, and was reformed as part of the Territorial Army in 1947, and named the 21st Battalion, SAS Regiment, (Artists Rifles). The Regular Army 22 SAS later gained fame and recognition worldwide after successfully assaulting the Iranian Embassy in London and rescuing hostages during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege, lifting the regiment from obscurity outside the military establishment.

The Special Air Service presently comprises 22 Special Air Service Regiment of the Regular Army, 21 Special Air Service Regiment and 23 Special Air Service Regiment from the Territorial Army. It is tasked primarily with counter-terrorism in peacetime and special operations in wartime.

French scrambled eggs with leeks, fresh pepper and mint

Scrambled eggs is a dish made from beaten whites and yolks of eggs (usually chicken eggs). Beaten eggs are put into a hot pot or pan (usually greased) and stirred frequently, forming curds as they coagulate.

• scrambled eggs à l'arlésienne - with zucchini (courgette) pulp and a concentrated garlic-flavored tomato fondue served in hollowed-out courgettes and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

• scrambled eggs à l'américaine - with pan-fried smoked bacon, garnished with slices of broiled bacon and small grilled tomato halves.^[3]

• egg bhurji The Indian variant of scrambled eggs. Additions include onions, green chili, chopped ginger, turmeric powder and chopped tomatoes. Sprinkled with chopped green coriander and eaten with roti. Another variant of egg bhurji is the Parsi akuri.

• Soy scrambled eggs - mixed with soy sauce and often eaten with congee.

• scrambled eggs with sucuk or pastırma; Sucuklu yumurta and Pastırmalı yumurta respectively - Scrambled eggs are mixed with Turkish beef sausages, or dried cured beef. It is cooked in a sahan with butter or olive oil. Some tomato can be added. In Turkey and Egypt it is eaten regularly for breakfast.

• scrambled eggs with digüeñes - a variation from Chilean cuisine in which the eggs are fried together with the native fungus Cyttaria espinosae.

• migas - a Tex-Mex dish (not to be confused with the Iberian dish of the same name) consisting of scrambled eggs augmented with strips of corn tortilla, to which vegetables and meat may be added.

• Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs - a very common main course in China. It is quickly and easily prepared, and so is a favourite among teens and university students.