Food Porn: Post-Beach Pasta

Today I went to Newport Beach to help my production group buddy, B shoot her project. It was an absolutely gorgeous day even though it took a long time to find traffic. But it was so worth it. Travel+swimming+beaches=hunger, so the best way to remedy that was to make pasta for dinner. I'm not one for fancy sauces that pile on the herbs because it can detract away from the taste of the other ingredients, and even the taste of the pasta itself. Pasta isn't a tasteless tabula rasa, it has its own flavors. After all, a lot of great and simple pasta sauces are made using pasta water.

The bowl on the left is leftover Hot & Sour soup from the Chinese restaurant.....
just so you won't be confused.

Ingredients

• Whole wheat penne pasta from Trader Joe's
• Tomato & Basil chicken sausage also from TJ's
• Red pepper flakes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic
• chopped mushrooms
• Asparagus that's been sitting in the fridge for a week and screamed to be used. Sliced on the diagonal.
• Fresh basil in a chiffonade (pile the basil leaves on top of each other, roll like a small cigarette, and slice perpendicular)
  
• Fresh mozzarella cheese from TJ's, cut into small cubes

Hi, I'm a big clump of melted mozzarella and I want to be inside your mouth.

Directions

• Bring water to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, lower down the heat a little bit, and add a generous handful of salt, put in pasta and stir
• In a saute pan, heat up olive oil, then add garlic and pepper flakes. The amount of pepper flakes depends on you. I like a little heat so I put in about a generous tablespoon. Put it on medium heat and let the garlic lightly brown.
• Add sausage and brown, lowering the heat just a smidgen. The fattiness of the sausage basically creates this sauce, so pay attention while it cooks. Add a bit more olive oil.
  
• Add asparagus and mushrooms, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add about a half ladle full of pasta water.
  
• Let all of these ingredients simmer and make love happily for a few minutes. While this happens, the pasta should be about ready, so turn off the heat.
  
• Using a slotted spoon or one of these bad boys, take out the pasta and place into the saute pan with the sauce. Mix and let them mingle.
  
• Top with basil and mozzarella.

I was tired from the beach and hungry, and this baby only took about 20 minutes to cook, so it's possible to cook quick and gourmet-ish meals. So please, no Chef Boyardee or Cup of Noodles (unless that's your thang and you just crave the stuff).


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Hawtness: Asian guys modeling it up (finally).

Alrighty so September seems to be the month of hot Asian men. Thanks to the Angry Asian Man blog, I stumbled upon these delectable articles...


John Cho on GQ?!?!
Seeing this made me happy. I don't know if this online article appears in the magazine itself, but I gotta admit he looks quite sophisticated modeling those posh double-breasted suits. (can't believe he's 37 already...) I'm so happy to see his career rising, from Star Trek to ABC's new series, FlashForward where he co-stars with Joseph Fiennes. And in the article he talks about how rare it was to actually see Asians on TV and how things have improved since then. He doesn't forget his roots, and that's not only awesome, but hot.

Note to GQ: Can you also feature James Kyson Lee?



Daniel Liu: Ford Model.
Now I'm just flapping my petticoats in happiness in discovering Daniel Liu. He's not just your typical model, but he has the renowned Ford Modeling Agency taking care of him. While the interview was short and he really didn't go deep into diversity in the modeling industry, he did give this short yet admirable quote, "You know, I don't worry about being accepted. I think the world's definitely ready for just models of all types." Definitely shows he has the strong backbone needed to survive modeling. He has a great career ahead of him. His high cheekbones are freakishly amazing.

Note: There was this John Ford fragrance ad of him naked with just a fuzzy blanket to hide his privates, but you have to earn it by clicking on the link. It's a LARGE pic, just to warn you if you're at work.

Ok, I'm attracted to all kinds of guys regardless of race, body type, and all of those exterior and interior factors, but I'm just so happy to see that Asian guys are finally getting the attention they historically have never received until recently. Yes, these modeling and GQ ads do have a tinge of superficiality and materialism to them, but the one asexual and caricatured image of the Kung-Fu/Foo Manchu Asian man are now (slowly but surely) evolving to images of men who are just as sophisticated and sexy as all the other guys on the catwalk. As the master Tim Gunn says, "Make it work."


http://scribbler-chan.blogspot.com