THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wandering the Web
Wednesday June 23,1999
BBQ on the WWW? You betcha!
Section:
Entertainment
SEE PAGE 5B
B
Music review
Someone old: Randy Newman; someone new:Danger Bob; Chris Eckert muses in his weekly music review.
SEE PAGE 3B
Page 1
Señor Stan
The sombrero-wearing jalapeño on the bottle can only mean one thing — It's Lawrence's own Señor Stan's Salsa.
SEE PAGE 5B
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what's cooking?
Pak-Chi Lu gathers lettuce leaves from a garden in his back yard. The lettuce will be stir-fried and served along with Cantonese-Chinese-style barbecued fish and pork for guests.
Photo by Lisa John/KANSAN
Nature provides cooking adventure
Kansan managing editor
By Lisa John
University faculty and staff show off their culinary talents with cool summer recipes For more recipes, see page 4B
Water ripples gently across a small, sandstone-bordered pond near the front steps of the West Lawrence home of Pok-Chi Lau. As Lau dons tall, black rubber boots and steps into the water to look for a leak in the hose that leads to a waterfall, goldfish dart just below the surface and find shelter beneath the leaves of the lotus and water lilies.
Behind Lau, orange, yellow and white lilies sway on graceful stems while the leaves of a cottonwood tree rustle in
the warm summer breeze.
Gazing at the scene,
even the most casual
observer might wonder
at the home of PokChi Lau, University of Kansas associate professor of photography, does art follow life, or does life follow art?
The answer might be that Lau brings art to everything he undertakes. A garden surrounds his house. The interior staircase he designed curves upward and out upon a cloud of en
ward in a cloud of snowy
witnesses. "His" photograph accents the home in black and white, still life
Lau's life seems to be imbued with art, his kitchen included.
He holds the fish carefully, cuts a long slit down the belly and removes the insides. Lau's actions are painstakingly slow and methodical.
Standing barefoot at the kitchen sink, Lau scrapes the scales off of two 15-inch large mouth bass he caught in a farm pond this week. The opalescent scales fall from the fish and catch the sunlight from the nearby window before they drift to the cool enamel surface.
"Anything worth doing is worth doing well." he said. "Nothing good comes quickly."
Once cleaned, the sides of the bass will be slit with shallow strokes of a knife, and the fish will be marinated for two hours. Pork, too, is marinating, but in a different sauce.
Lau and his wife are hosting friends for a fish and cook barbecue. Cantonese- Chinese style.
Lau said he began learning how to cook after he left his native Hong Kong at 19 years old. For two years he worked at a Chinese restaurant in Canada, where his training taught him, among
other things, how to de-bone a chicken in 55 seconds.
from there he went to photography school in California, and six years later, Lau received his master's degree in fine arts from the California School for the Arts. He came to Lawrence to teach at the University in 1977.
Lau said he tried to keep his cooking simple.
He cooks according to the seasons, using homegrown vegetables, and buys what is in season.
He is concerned about chemicals on vegetables, so he not only washes store-bought vegetables thoroughly but also cooks them.
"I try not to eat anything raw unless I grow it myself." he said.
Even the commercially grown lettuce he buys is cooked, unless it's organically grown.
Lau is torn when it comes to cooking beef
His solution is to serve fish often — fish that he catches himself. But even this makes him wonder, he said, mentioning that with the possibility of chemical runoff into ponds and lakes, even fish may not be safe.
"The marbled quality is what makes the meat taste good, but too much fat will kill you." he said.
But for today, in this corner of the world where life and art flow into one graceful portrait, two bass
the fisherman caught shine amber, drenched in brown marinade in the midday light.
Ingredients:
Using a paper towel, sponge up any water that is in the fish cavity. Dry the outside of the fish. Slit the side of the fish. Pour the marinade over the fish and inside the slits, being sure to coat the fish. Also, be sure the side of the fish have been slit and pour the marinade in these slits.
1 tablespoon red wine
Marinade for pork
Marinade for fish
top of a thumb), peeled and diced
1 piece of ginger root (about the size of the top of a thumb), peeled and diced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons soy sauce
Directions:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
By Katie Burford
Put the fish and pork over a grill that is not too hot and cook for about 25 minutes.
Using the above recipe, substitute honey and omit the ginger. Use rice wine instead of red wine.
Kansan campus editor
Summertime salad inspires music
There are two things that Carol Dressler, an office specialist in the department of journalism, likes making: music and food.
Often the two overlap. While she was recording her compact disc Forward Motion, released in 1997 on the J-Bird Records label, Dressler and her friend Sandy Wick, associate director of the University Honors Program, used food as fuel the keep their creative juices flowing.
On the CD, Dressler sang and played the guitar to her original music. Wick provided moral support.
Dressler said that she enjoyed cooking as opposed to eating out because it reduced the risk of getting an unsatisfying dish.
Although there is always risk involved in trying a new recipe, Dressler has a secret weapon against culinary failure — a good bottle of wine.
a good bottle of wine. "That's my trick."
"That's my trick,
she said. "Get them
sauced, and
they'll like any-
thing you
make."
The following recipe, taken from a barely le gible , stained and worn piece of notebook paper, is one that Dressler acquired about 18 yea r s a g o from a member
of a band in which she played. It's been a summertime favorite ever since.
Chicken Salad Habeñera
**Chicken Salad Habenerd**
Salad ingredients:
1 1/2 cups boned and cooked chicken cut in thin strips
1 cup ripe black olives, sliced
1 avocado, onion in crescents
1/3 cup green pepper, cut in rings or strips
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons pimento cut in thin strips
4 cups green-leaf or red-tip lettuce.
Marinade ingredients:
1/3 cup salad oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon fresh garlic
**Directions:**
Cook the chicken and cut it into thin strips
Combine
marinade ingredients and po over prepared chicken. Chill for at least three hours.
Carol Dressler, an office specialist in the department of journalism, is a multi-talented musician who likes to cook for company. Photo by Roger Nomer/KANSAN
Combine and chill salad ingredients, except lettuce and avocado. Immediately before serving, combine chicken, salad ingredients, chicken marinade and avocado. Toss lightly.
Serve on a bed of lettuce with crusty bed. A light white wine is recommended. Serves four.
Union cook suggests cool summer salad
Kansan editor
By Matthew Friedrichs
Now he's a cook at the Kansas Union, preparing breakfast and lunch, overseeing the food in the Prairie Room during the school year and fixing meals while people watch during lunch on Wednesdays.
He suggests a Strawberry Avocado Salad as a quick and cool summer side dish.
Jason Arnett started flipping burgers at Bucky's Drive-In, 2120 W. Ninth St., 13 years ago.
"You're not heating your kitchen up," Arnett said as he tossed the salad Friday afternoon.
And, by preparing the ingredients ahead of time, a well-prepared cook can throw together a colorful and delicious dish in only a few minutes.
Arnett had mixed the dressing and set it aside in the refrigerator — as per
the instructions Friday morning, and it took him only about five
Arnett's recipe for Strawberry Avocado Salad serves 4 to 6 people and takes about
30 minutes to prepare.Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN
Jason Arnett, Kansas Union chef, prepares a dish called Strawberry-
Avocado Salad. Arnett it was a quick and cool dish for summertime.
Photo by Joseph Griffin/KANSAN
minutes to prepare the final salad.
From his humble beginnings in fast food, Arnett has developed a taste for more complex dishes.
He knew he was hooked when he compared his roommates' cooking—microwave meals—to his own budget gourmet made from scratch.
It's not that he's lost his touch on the grill. When he's at home he likes to cook scrambled eggs and hash browns. But, he also enjoys pasta.
Arnett cites a Hudsucker Pasta — penne pasta, shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes — he made from Paul Newman's cookbook as a success.
"There's something about pasta," Arnett said. "It's just great."
Arnett will demonstrate how to make Jamaican Jerk
Salad sandwiches at the union cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, and will serve the sandwiches with the Strawberry Avocado Salad listed below for $4.95.
Strawberry Avocado Salad
Dressing
Salad:
Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
5-6 ounces canned mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup strawberries, stemmed and quartered
1/2 cup sliced red onion (about 1/2 small onion)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 avocado, sliced
Combine the olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a jar. Shake well and refrigerate for two hours.
Directions:
Combine the romaine, oranges,
strawberries, onion, pecans and
avocado in a large bowl. Top
with dressing. Toss well. Serve
immediately.
Makes 4 large salads or 6 small salads.