Donny Laing - 1952- 1984

December 20, 2002  6:21 AM

Enjoy the holidays -- but don't over do it (like this guy)

December 19, 2002  8:26 PM

Ok, Ok -- for all you broccoli haters, here's my Fast Seafood Pasta Recipe -- it's truly decadent and great for New Years Eve (before the resolutions kick in ).  No it's not "gourmet" as my personal cooking rule is it must be made in 15 minutes or less.  This one is comes close to breaking that rule.  Serves 4-6.

8 oz. scallops, medium

8 oz. large shrimp, peeled

8 oz. lump crab meat -- please don't use the fake stuff unless there's no other option

8 oz. lox (or smoked salmon)

8 oz. brown mushrooms

one medium sweet onion

one large red bell pepper

garlic

fresh basil and oregano

olive oil

one lb. bow ties, Radiatore or other medium pasta shape, uncooked

white pepper

one jar of your favorite Alfredo sauce -- 1 1/2 jars for creamier sauce optional (no I don't make my own)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Provolone cheese (or Mozzarella)

1/2 cup sliced ripe olives (optional -- but I love them)

skim milk as needed

1/2 cup dry white wine

salt as needed

Recommended to be served with: 1 dozen steamed clams, 1 dozen steamed mussels, hot French bread/w butter, blanched green beans in sliced almonds w/butter and, of course, white or red wine.

Start a four quart pot of boiling water.  Add a dash of salt.  When at full boil add pasta but do not over cook (al dente).  When cooked, drain completely, transfer to a large bowl and mix in a bit of olive oil.  Set aside.

Concurrently, heat a large pan to med-high with olive oil.  Add Minced onions, sliced mushrooms and chopped red bell pepper with a dash of salt and white pepper.  Sauté until tender but not over-cooked.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add a bit more olive oil to the pan and heat again.  Add mince garlic and sauté scallops and shrimp.  Add a dash of white pepper and salt.  Do not over-cook.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Again, with an empty fry pan, add a bit of olive oil and minced garlic.  Carefully turn heat to high and sauté crab meat for only 30 seconds.  Add fresh minced basil and oregano and stir.  Immediately add mushrooms/onions/red bell pepper, shrimp and scallops (and optional ripe olives ).  Add white wine and reduce at high heat for 1 minute maximum.  Gently stir while reducing.  Remove from heat.

Transfer everything to the big (empty) pot.

Add Alfredo sauce and pour/mix a 1/4 cup of skin milk in the jar, to get it all.  Add the pasta and mix in Parmesan cheese.  Note:  you may not want to use all the pasta or if you do, add more sauce.  Stir on occasion until slightly simmering.  Remove from heat. 

Coat a large casserole dish lightly with olive oil.   Fill the dish with the seafood pasta.  Cut lox into small long strips and place on the top of the pasta.  Sprinkle on the Provolone cheese and bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with all the options listed above.  Enjoy!  Switch back to nightly steamed veggies for the rest of the month!

December 17, 2002  5:11 PM

Burgers, Bush & Broccoli

I'm delighted to see McDonalds has lost money this quarter for the first time in history and that their stock is in the pits.   I'm also happy to see that their burger wars are having an negative impact on fast food profits in general.  Diageo Plc recently sold Burger King for about $1.5 Billion -- a big loss I understand.  Bravo!

I'd like to say that I've never eaten at McDonalds since reading Fast Food Nation, but that's not quite true.  On two occasions while traveling I had breakfast at Micky-D's simply because I was in need of some "fast food."  That's about the only justification for eating fast food that I can conceive of.  I'm preaching here because I to, once thought it was OK.  I've had my fair share of Quarter Pounders and Whoppers.  But NO more!

I'm not totally anti-burger like some groups.  I do like a good burger on occasion, but have yet to find one in a fast food place.  Even the so-called premium restaurant chains fall way short in my view.  Aside from a good grade of beef, two things are absolutely essential for a great hamburger:  a charcoal grill and a bun that tastes like something other than Styrofoam.  It's so simple.

The best burger that I had (outside of my home town) was in Torrance, CA on Pac Coast Highway.  I don't remember the name of the place but it was run by Chinese guy who only used hickory charcoal.  His condiment bar was massive and inventive.  He made his own hearth-baked buns daily and they were almost as good as a Sheboygan Hard Roll (but not quite -- more on bratwurst at a later date -- pros & cons ).

I suspect if you got this far, you may be wondering what heck George W. has to do with burgers.  Well as delighted I am to see the blight of the burger stocks, I'm equally distressed that Dubya is going ahead with deploying this missile defense thing, especially when it still needs some major tweaking to work.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for a strong defense (I work for the defense industry ) -- but let's put this threat in some perspective relative to the $9.5 billion cost.

Since heart disease (cardiovascular disease) is the number one killer in the US, it seems to me Dubya has his priorities screwed up.  Sure, first and foremost he is commander-in-chief and it's far easier to rally the troops & citizens against evil toads like Saddan and Bin Laden.  But based on recent actions, I think he, congress and the military are far more concerned about saving face over saving lives, should a terror group or "rogue nation" attack again. 

Fat, cholesterol, sodium and couch-potatoism are what's really killing Americans.  Odds that you will die in a terrorist attack:  minuscule.  Heart attack, stroke, cancer:  astronomical.  Until fiscal year 1998, no federal funding had been directed specifically targeting cardiovascular diseases, yet:

• More than 61 million Americans have some form of CVD, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other conditions.
   

• More than 2,600 Americans die each day of CVD. That is an average of 1 death every 33 seconds.
   

• CVD will cost the nation an estimated $329.2 billion in 2002, including health expenditures and lost productivity.

  Source: American Heart Association, 2002 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update. Dallas: AHA, 2000.

I suppose one could argue that we, as Americans are free to eat ourselves to death without government intervention.  Yet health care costs are a major factor in the crippling of this nation -- most for diseases that are almost 100% preventable.   I'll pass on my smallpox shot, thank you Dubya.

Well there's only about 1.5 million web pages that talk about heart disease so I'll stop my little rant.  Let's see, oh yes, I forgot broccoli.  How the heck can I juxtapose that into missile defense? 

Maybe Dubya could spend a little of his time promoting broccoli, or at least fruits & veggies in general.  I know it's not too presidential and there are massive government agencies that already do that, but America really needs some help from the top.  George is an avid jogger after all.  Yet jogging is only part of the equation and most couch potatoes hate jogging more than broccoli.  

Thanks to my mother, I happen to like just about all fruits & veggies.  I make a nightly ritual out of steaming a wide variety with broccoli & carrots almost always at the core (the broccoli goes in the steamer last so as not to create green mush -- 4 minutes max ).  Sure I put a dash of salt and a splash of non-trans-fatty spread on my creations for a bit more favor -- moderation is key.   I eat healthier than anyone I know yet I'm still at least 20 lbs. overweight! 

My sympathies really go out to those poor folks that don't like their fruits & veggies.  They are condemned to burgers, pizza and all that other fat-clogged stuff that is so good to eat and so bad for them. 

I urge you all, for the sake of your family, your friends and the nation:  take the plunge, eat your fruits & veggies in mass quantities daily -- even if it requires a little grated cheese to start.

Mr. President, I'll support you in getting those bad guys if you make just a tiny effort in getting your priorities right -- help stop the real threat to Americans -- declare War on the crap they eat!