“Women's meal is a cultural exchange - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette” plus 2 more |
- Women's meal is a cultural exchange - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- MFA wing kicks off cultural renaissance - Boston Herald
- Palin Goes Out On Cultural Limb To Promote Herself - NPR News
| Women's meal is a cultural exchange - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Posted: 11 Nov 2010 09:25 PM PST When you're new to a country but don't understand your hosts' language or customs, it can be tough to fit in, let alone make friends. But food? The promise of a good meal has always brought people together. As evidenced by the International Women's Association of Pittsburgh annual International dinner, held last Friday at Church of the Ascension in Oakland, food also is a way to teach each another about cultural traditions. Take the culinary handiwork of Akram Kamrani, who grew up in Tehran and moved with her husband, Amir Moghimi, to North Oakland in 2006. It's the rare meal in Iran that doesn't marry a yogurt product with bread and fresh herbs. Iranian cuisine also is heavy on spices such as saffron and turmeric, a subtle reminder that Persian territory at one time stretched as far east as India. The popular national dish with which she wowed the dinner's 100 or so guests, then, had all of the above. Similar to the Middle Eastern dip baba ganoush, Kashk-e-Bademjan is eggplant-based, flavored with garlic, onion and a whey-based product known as kashk. (Think yogurt, only thicker and with a deeper flavor.) You don't care for eggplant? Perhaps that's only because you've never had it like this, fried until it's silky soft and then spread on a wedge of pita and topped with chopped walnuts and fresh mint. "It's one of our most popular dishes," says the 27-year-old Ms. Kamrani, who earned her masters in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009, and is now the driving force behind two big community projects: building an Iranian Nationality Room at Pitt's Cathedral of Learning and a new scholarship program that will enable an American grad student at Pitt to study abroad. Close to 100 women (and their husbands) from countries as diverse as China and the Phillipines filled the landmark church's fellowship hall, bringing with them a multitude of ethnic dishes. All were carefully labeled before being put on the table, and a few of the cooks also served up recipes. One of the prettiest entrees, representing Japan, was a colorful inari sushi, or fried bean curd pouches filled with ground chicken simmered in soy sauce and katsuo (fish) broth. Other offerings included a vegetarian version of the Greek classic pasticcio, Columbian potato salad, Korean vegetables with seafood (chapehe) and kakiage, a type of Japanese tempura made with vegetable strips. And that was just on the first go-around. Attendees, who paid $5, also enjoyed dessert -- the banana cake supreme prepared by Candace MacPherson looked particularly luscious -- and a performance by the CMU Ballroom Dance Club. "Our members are always cooking and eating something interesting," says dinner chairwoman Paula Casasent, who joined the group more than 20 years ago, or before it became an official association in 1993, and for several years taught a cooking class. What they haven't quite grasped is America's hearty appetites. Asian eaters in particular tend to enjoy smaller portion sizes, so to give the women an idea of how to prepare a dish for 12 (or at least America's version of 12), organizers handed out 8-by-12-inch metal pans along with the invites. As a result, there was plenty of food for seconds and even thirds. "They're learning," says Mrs. Casasent with a laugh. For more information on the International Women's Association of Pittsburgh, which meets Thursday mornings September through May at First Baptist Church, 159 Bellefield Ave., visit http://iwap-home.blogspot.com or call 412-441-8102. Kashk-e-Bademjan This tasty Iranian comfort food is similar to baba ganoush, a popular Middle Eastern salad made with roasted or grilled eggplant and sesame paste. The key ingredient is kashk, or yogurt that has been simmered and strained through a cloth. You can watch Akram Kamrani and her mother-in-law, Susan Moghimi, prepare it at waffleshop.org; search the menu on the right side of the page for "Persian cooking show.")
Fry eggplants in 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan until brown and soft. You may need to add oil as you go. Or, brush both sides of eggplant with oil and broil each side until brown. In a large pot, saute onions until light brown. Add garlic, stir and cook for a minute more. Remove 2 to 3 tablespoons of onion and garlic to a small fry pan and set aside (for garnish). Add eggplant, 1/2 teaspoon tumeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 to 3/4 cup water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until soft and water has cooked out. To frying pan with reserved onion and garlic, add mint and remaining 1/2 teaspoon tumeric and 1 tablespoon oil. Continue to fry until the mint is fragrant, and onion are medium-dark brown and starting to crisp a bit, about 3 to 4 minutes. Arrange the eggplant in a shallow serving dish. Pour as much kashk as you like over the eggplant (either a layer or a drizzle). Garnish with fried onion/mint mixture, and or kashk mixed with a pinch of saffron for color. Serve warm or at room temperature with pita or lavash bread. Serves 8 to 10. -- Akram Kamrani, North Oakland Inari Sushi (Rice Wrapped in Fried Bean Curd) Don't like fish? Inari sushi is less expensive and more commonly eaten than nigiri sushi (rice topped with raw seafood). It's made by stuffing sticky sushi rice, and sometimes veggies, into fried bean curd pouches. This recipe from Fumi Shiraishi Akabori, who was born in Japan and grew up in the U.S., also includes ground chicken. You can find packaged inari sushi at most Japanese groceries, including Tokyo Japanese Market on Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside.
Place ground chicken in a bowl. Add ginger, 2/3 cup katsuo, 2 tablespoons sugar, sake, 2 tablespoons mirin and 4 tablespoons soy sauce and mix well. Cook in frying pan over medium heat until half the liquid is gone, about 10 minutes, making sure meat is broken apart. Cool and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix eggs with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Cook in separate frying pan until eggs are well cooked, being careful not to burn. Cool and set aside. Boil snap peas for 1 minute and cut into thin pieces. Place in a bowl and add remaining 2/3 cup katsuo broth and remaining 11/2 teaspoons mirin and 11/2 teaspoons soy sauce. Refrigerate until cooled. To assemble: Wet your hand with a little water, then take about 3 tablespoons of rice and squeeze it with both hands into a rectangular shape. Carefully peel a fried bean curd skin open (they're delicate, so take care not to break the skin). Fill with rice first and, using a spoon, sprinkle with meat on one side and egg on the other. Place a pinch of sliced peas on top, right in the middle of the two toppings. Makes 16 pieces of sushi. -- Fumi Shiraishi Akabori, Friendship Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1419. First published on November 11, 2010 at 12:00 am This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| MFA wing kicks off cultural renaissance - Boston Herald Posted: 11 Nov 2010 09:03 PM PST Recession? What recession? Boston's cultural institutions are in the midst of a growth spurt. Here's a list of the projects done or soon to be completed: • New Art of the Americas wing at the Museum of Fine Arts. Opens Nov. 20 (Nov. 14 for members). Cost: $504 million. • Expansion and preservation projects at Harvard Art Museums' Fogg, Busch-Reisinger and Arthur M. Sackler museums, Cambridge. Opens in 2013. Cost: $350 million. • Restoration and expansion at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. Opens next fall (restoration) and spring 2012 (new wing). Cost: $134 million. • New Boston Conservatory Theater, 31 Hemenway St., Boston. It opened Oct. 15. Cost: $32 million. • Suffolk University's restored and expanded Modern Theater, Washington St. Opens this month. Cost: $42 million. • Emerson College's restored and expanded Paramount Theater, 559 Washington Street, Boston. Opened in March. Cost: $92 million. • New Maud Morgan Visual Arts Center and Faye Chandler Gallery, 20 Sacramento St., Cambridge. Opened last month. Cost: $1.5 million. • New Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College, Brookline. Opened last month. Cost: $3 million. • Expansion of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point. Opening in January 2012. Cost: $30 million. • New Edward M. Kennedy Institute, Columbia Point. Opening in 2013. Cost: $125 million. • Renovated Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum, Congress Street Opening: Spring 2012. Cost: $25 million. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Palin Goes Out On Cultural Limb To Promote Herself - NPR News Posted: 11 Nov 2010 02:58 PM PST  Enlarge Gilles Mingasson/TLC Sarah Palin's new reality show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, premieres Sunday. Gilles Mingasson/TLC Sarah Palin's new reality show, Sarah Palin's Alaska, premieres Sunday. If Sarah Palin wanted to supply ammo to her enemies, her reality show is like handing them a cannon. But if she runs for president, Sarah Palin's Alaska will be looked back on as a brilliant move. It's not a great TV show. It's really just a nature documentary mixed with footage of her day-to-day family life. And when you live in Alaska, life just happens to involve navigating treacherous terrain. When teaching her children to fish, Palin notices a nearby bear and tell the girls not to aim toward the bear. "OK? Because if you hooked the bear he would get ticked off." The show offers nothing on her qualifications for higher office, which is precisely what makes it a shrewd marketing strategy. Palin's show is just another example of politicians going a little further out on a cultural limb than you might presume they would to promote themselves. Think Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on Arsenio Hall's show or Barack Obama appearing on The View, where he was asked if he knew that Lindsay Lohan is in jail.  Courtesy of Andrew Wallenstein Andrew Wallenstein is the senior editor at PaidContent.org. Now it may sound tawdry to say — Sarah Palin is going to go on a reality show — but reality show is the most meaningless term in the television business. The unscripted genre is really like eight different kinds of shows. It makes no sense to compare Sarah Palin's Alaska with Jon & Kate Plus Eight or Dancing With the … Oh, wait, Palin's daughter Bristol is on that show. When some people hear "reality show," they presume they're getting an all-access pass to somebody's life. That may be true for average Joes who sign their lives away to be on these shows, but not someone of Palin's stature. The truth is, what you're going to see on the show won't really be the truth. What it will be is a carefully choreographed projection of the kind of life Palin wants you to think she leads. And should any unguarded, unflattering moments occur while filming, trust me, she won't allow them to air. Which isn't to say Sarah Palin's Alaska is completely sanitized. You'll see her overdosing on her Blackberry and scolding her kids. And that's smart. If she seemed like some kind of superwoman, it would ring false even to Palin's most devoted followers. Now if her detractors find they relate to her in a whole new way, well, then going on TV will have really paid off. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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