The Behrend Beacon
LEB shows films with a twist
By Aaron J. Amendola
staff writer
The Lion Entertainment Board is at it once
again this semester. LEB brings to the Behrend
movie screens a new film series.
The “Twisted Film Series” made its debut
on Jan. 18 in Bruno’s, showcasing David
Fincher's cult-classic film “Fight Club.”
Though LEB is known for delivering box
office hits for a fraction of the cost directly to
Behrend students, this new film series has two
things going for it: it is free and the films are
exquisite.
Though LEB charges only a dollar for ad
mission into their newer films, the Twisted
Film Series offers its services for free. Col
lege students love anything that is free and
the fact that it’s a widely popular film among
teenagers doesn’t hurt. “That’s a deal even my
crazy alter ego would go for” says film buff
Tom Zmijewski 04.
I'he series is sure to resonate with students
as time goes on. “To see these movies and
enjoy them is one thing, but if everyone can
enjoy them and it’s free, well, that’s just awe
some" says Shawn Zipay 04.
In the coming weeks, LEB will continue to
show films with the same tone and overall
“twisted” sense that springs from so few' films
such as “Fight Club.”
On Feb. 22, Quentin Tarantino’s gritty mas
terpiece “Pulp Fiction” is sure to grab people's
attention. Bruno’s will house one of America’s
best imports: “The Boondock Saints," on
March 22. Rounding out the film series is the
most recent of the four. Jake Gyllenthal’s pow
erhouse performance in “Donnie Darko" was
only one highlight of the movie and on April
19, audiences are sure to find other things to
fall in love with in the flick.
Why pay movie theater prices when LEB
brings the box office to you? The Twisted Film
Series is sure to entertain audiences and make
people see the world from a more “twisted”
viewpoint.
PHII. MASTI'K/O/KRT
Asian sauces and seasonings are the hot new thing
in /American cooking.
‘Barbershop’ opened Hollywood doors for Ice Cube
By Chris Hewitt
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Will the real
Ice Cube please stand up?
Early Cube fans knew him from
the hip-hop collective N.W.A. and
such songs as "Gangsta Gangsta."
That was 16 years ago, though, and
since then, he has built a more-than
one-page acting resume, with roles
in "Boy/ n the Hood" and "Barber
shop."
His latest is "Are We There Yet?"
which opens Friday and could not be
less like N.W.A. Instead of singing
about hoosting cars, the movie has
more to do with fitting car seats into
them. Cube plays a small-business
owner trying to impress a foxy
neighbor by hauling her bratty kids
from Portland to Vancouver.
Although he's still making music,
he released "The Predator" two years
ago, and that's him glowering at the
camera behind Beyonce's hair exten
sions in the new Destiny's Child
STUDENT LIFE
Some
spice
By Jane Snow
Knight Ridder Newspapers
()pen wale, because we're adding a whole con
tinent to America's culinary melting pot. Just as
in the past we appropriated fish sticks from En
gland. hollandaise sauce from France and spa
ghetti and meatballs from Italy, America is in
the process of making a slew of Asian foods our
Already. Japanese lemon grass and ponzu
sauce can be found in Stouffer's Lean Cuisine
entrees, and French's makes wasabi-fiavored
mayonnaise
Asian sauces and seasonings started sneak
ing into American restaurant kitchens in the
1980 s. By the mid-19905. East-West fusion cui
sine. the blending of ingredients and techniques
from both cultures was the hot culinary trend in
America's upscale restaurants.
Some of these ingredients are so handy that
they've entered the mainstream of American
cooking. Others are on the verge, chefs love
them, but they haven't trickled down yet to home
kitchens.
It's time to change that, starting with 10 of
the most popular ethnic seasonings among chefs.
The pros love these powders, herbs and sauces
because they are convenient, readily available
and offer a lot of flavor for the money. You'll
like them for the same reasons.
The seasonings aren't just for stir-fries and
curries. They also can be used to punch up the
flavor of ordinary American dishes such as
meatloal and barbecued ribs.
Although you may not be familiar with some
of the seasonings, chefs have known about them
for years. The spotlight first shone on Asian in
gredients in a big way in 1983, when chef
Wolfgang Puck opened his groundbreaking res
taurant. Chmoise on Main, in Santa Monica, Ca
lif The menu blended Asian and French cui
sines (and still does) in such dishes as grilled
S/cchuun-seasoned steak with hot chili oil and
a cilantro-shallot sauce and Mongolian lamb
chops.
Fast-West or Asian fusion cuisine eventually
spread from coast to coast and spawned dozens
of cookbooks (Hugh Carpenter's "Pacific Fla
vors" remains one of the best). Ingredients such
as pon/u sauce (a citrus-spiked soy sauce) and
keeap manis (a thick, sweet Indonesian soy
sauce) became as common in upscale restaurant
kitchens as beurre blanc (butter-wine sauce).
"All of the cooks who come to work for me
know what keeap manis is," said Jared Kirby,
chef at Moe's in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
In Akron, Ohio, chef Roger Thomas was ex
perimenting with Asian ingredients in the 1980 s
at Ken Stewart s Grille.
"The creative cooks took these flavors and
tried them in their own dishes," Thomas re
called.
Even though his current restaurant, Piatto,
serves classic Italian food, Thomas still uses
keeap manis at home as a barbecue sauce on
hamburgers and star anise to flavor creme
brulee. And Middle Eastern pomegranate mo
lasses has found a permanent place in his res-
video, "Soldier." he acknowledges
that the guy trying to silence the kids
in the back seat is much closer to
who he is: a 35-year-old father of
four who has been married for 12
"1 thought people would get a kick
out of seeing me with kids," says
Cube, who cheerfully spent a day in
the Twin Cities chatting about "Are
We There Yet?"
"I have four kids (ranging in age
from 4 to 18), so 1 have seen every
family movie made. 1 know the good
ones like Home Alone' and 'Find
ing Nemo,' and 1 know the ones you
let your kids watch while you sleep
in the theater."
Cube's familiarity with family-film
pros and cons ("I don't want to dis
anybody, but I slept through “Lem
ony Snicket'") came in handy when
his company was putting together
"Are We There Yet?"
"The last thing I wanted to do was
make another sappy kids' movie,"
says Cube (born O'Shea Jackson, he's
now legally Mr. Cube).
sugar but mostly
from the
(KRT)
"That's why we hired the guy who
made his living directing children's
movies like 'Beethoven' and 'Jingle
All the Way.' That's why we worked
on the family message, so you feel it
but you don't feel like you're being
beat over the head with it."
They were determined to keep the
movie on the right side of the
schmaltz line, but Cube says there
was also discussion about making
sure it wasn't too hard-core:
"We had a lot of debate about, let's
see, I want to be specific here - we
talked about whether it was OK for
kids to be shown driving cars and
hopping on trains, since we want to
make sure we're not setting a bad ex
ample for kids."
Yup, the guy who once sang "Get
Off My D*** and Tell Yo B***** to
Come Here" is now worrying about
the effects of movies on children.
And about making sure his movie
gets marketed to all audiences, not
just black audiences. And about what
to do when you're sitting in a car with
two child actors, dripping with puke.
taurant kitchen, where he uses it to enrich sauces
and stocks
"It's got a nice sweet and sour flavor," he said.
Asian fusion cooking is not exclusively Ameri
can, although it is a New World phenomenon. It
has taken hold primarily in the United States and
Australia, maybe because of our melting-pot cul
tures or maybe because our cooking traditions
aren't as entrenched as they are in most of Eu
rope. The popularity of sushi bars also may have
played a part, Kirby said.
Whatever the reason, the result is a pantry's
worth of ingredients to add to the pot. The 10
seasonings we're recommending are readily
available in Akron-area stores. Chili oil can be
found in the Chinese section of most supermar
kets. So can a range of Chinese and Thai sauces,
although the prices are often lower in Asian gro
cery stores. Most large supermarkets stock fresh
cilantro, and some carry fresh lemon grass.
You'll probably have to visit an Asian market
for wasabi paste, five-spice powder, kecap
manis, star anise, the seasoning mix shichimi
togarashi and ponzu sauce. Pomegranate molas
ses is sold primarily in Middle Eastern grocery
stores.
Don't be afraid to experiment with the sea
sonings and sauces. To get you started, here are
some suggestions:
Chili oil: It's hot, so use it sparingly. Sprinkle
on foods as you would Tabasco sauce, or use
for subtle heat in soups and casseroles.
Cilantro: The fresh, grassy, slightly tart fla
vor cuts through the richness of foods such as
curry. Add a chopped tablespoon or two to green
salads, steamed carrots or wrap sandwiches.
Five-spice powder: The haunting flavor hints
of cinnamon and anise. Use just a pinch or it
can be overpowering. Add to beef stew or
chicken salad.
Kecap manis: The thick, molasses-like soy
sauce makes a great glaze for grilled meats and
fish. A dollop can add richness to a stew or stock.
Lemon grass: Float a few inch-long pieces in
a delicate chicken-based soup for a muted lemon
flavor, saute with vegetables or add to stir-fries.
Pomegranate molasses: The flavor is very tart,
and must be balanced with sweetness. A splash
will perk up barbecue sauce and add a tart note
to just about any dish.
Ponzu sauce: Use as a dipping sauce for
chicken tenders or fried shrimp, drizzle over
grilled seafood, and use as a dressing for a cold
noodle salad or thinly sliced cucumbers. Add
grated fresh ginger if desired.
Shichimi togarashi: Use as a seasoning for
meat before cooking, or sprinkle over pasta.
Star anise: Use in marinades for pork and
chicken, which are complemented by the warm,
anise-like flavor. Star anise also is being used
by some chefs to flavor custard desserts such as
bread pudding and creme brulee.
Wasabi paste or powder: Add to mayonnaise
and spread on sandwiches or serve as an alter
native to tartar sauce. Use in delicately flavored
foods when you want a burst of heat that hits
hard but fades quickly.
Here are three easy ways to use some of the
ingredients.
"It wasn't real. It was this concoc
tion of Fruit Loops and Karo syrup
mixed with tomato paste. But the
kids treated it like it was real vomit,"
says Cube of the horror involved in
shooting a carsickness scene. "They
didn't want no part of it. They
wouldn't touch anything in the car.
But the props people are taking
pieces of it and throwing it at us, so
the kids are screaming, 'lt touched
me. I got some on i y head.
Ewwww!"’
The good news is that Cube was
getting hurl hurled at him on the set
of his biggest movie. "Are We There
Yet?" cost $5O million, a budget that
signals his transition from an actor
with a following to an actor who can
open a movie.
"We're breaking a lot of the Hol
lywood rules," he says. "This is a
big-budget family movie with an al
most all-black cast. That doesn't hap
pen unless it's Eddie Murphy in it."
But Murphy has no movies com
ing out this year, and red-hot Ice
Cube has three. In addition to "Are
Friday, January 21, 2005
East
STAR ANISE CREME BRULEE
1 quart cream or half-and-half
6 whole star anise
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Bring cream and star anise to a simmer in a
medium saucepan. Remove from heat, cover and
let steep for 30 minutes. Remove and discard
the star anise.
Place cream over medium-low heat. Set about
2 quarts of water to boil in another pan. Place 6
1-cup ramekins or 8 custard cups in a larger ob
long baking pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg
yolks, two-thirds cup of the sugar and vanilla.
In a thin stream, pour 1 cup of the hot cream
into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously
to prevent the yolks from cooking. Repeat with
remaining cream.
Ladle custard mixture into the ramekins or
custard cups. Pour the hot water into the oblong
pan, to come halfway up the sides of the
ramekins. Bake the custard in the water bath in
a preheated, 350-degree oven for about 40 min
utes, or until the custard is set but still wiggles
slightly. Remove from water bath and chill for
4 hours or overnight.
Sprinkle remaining sugar over top of custard.
Melt with a blowtorch or under a broiler. Chill
again briefly to harden melted sugar.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
LACQUERED SALMON
1 salmon filet (1 pound)
1 tablespoon kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy
sauce)
Place salmon skin side down on a plate and
spread the kecap manis over the side without
skin. Let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
Place salmon in a shallow baking pan, such
as a pie plate or jelly-roll pan. Bake uncovered
in a 400-degrcc oven for about 10 minutes, or
just until opaque in the center.
Makes 2 servings.
SAUTEED CHICKEN WITH POMEGRAN
ATE MOLASSES
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
Salt, pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon butter
Coat chicken all over with the pomegranate
molasses and marinate for 20 to 30 minutes. Re
move from marinade and season with salt and
pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium
high heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Cover,
reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for
about 5 minutes, just until chicken is cooked
through. Overcooking will make the chicken
tough.
Remove chicken from pan and add sherry. In
crease heat to high and boil, stirring up browned
bits on the bottom of the skillet, until liquid is
reduced slightly. Whisk in butter a bit at a time.
Pour sauce over chicken.
Makes 4 servings.
We There Yet?" he stars in the ac
tion films "XXX: State of the Union"
and "The Extractors."
Cube has also had his share of dis
appointment, he auditioned for, but
did not get, a role in Oliver Stone's
"Any Given Day," and he was a fi
nalist for the Laurence Fishburne
role in "The Matrix" but Hollywood
isn't hating on him anymore.
"For me, personally, after ‘Barber
shop,' a door flew open in Holly
wood. I have been in a lot of mov
ies, but, without the success of'Bar
bershop,' you wouldn't be seeing me
in a family movie. Those people in
Hollywood put a lot of effort into
projections like, 'lf he's never had a
success in a PG-13 movie, can we
put him in one?'" says Cube.
The answer now is yes. And maybe
the answer to the Ice Cube riddle is
that he's not the angry hip-hop guy
or the happy-go-lucky star of the PG
rated "Are We There Yet?" He's both
and neither, since they're just two of
the many characters he has played.