Salmon with pistachio crust

By Scott Beveridge

Having been raised on Hamburger Helper, it took a trip a decade ago to America’s Northwest for me to discover salmon.

And, that it’s best eaten freshly cooked from the water and served on the sweet side.

That revelation arrived at a salmon bake in Juneau where the main course was served in a bourbon-molasses sauce. The clincher was an amazing salmon sandwich with apricot chutney spread at a restaurant in Hood River, Oregon.

Back here in Pittsburgh, a good fishmonger can be found at a number of locations with salmon that doesn’t taste fishy. Among the best are at the new Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson Township. This huge store is a destination in itself with prices ranging from those at Wal-mart to the finest gourmet supermarkets. (What its staff does with cheese is sinful)

That is where the ingredients were purchased today for this recipe for salmon with a pistachio crust:

Ingredients:

2 large salmon fillets (about 2 pounds total)
½ pound or more of shelled salted pistachios
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Zest of one Navel orange
1 1/3 cups of orange juice
A few drizzles of olive oil
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

Salt and pepper the fish and then marinate it in a cup of orange juice for an hour in the refrigerator

Pulse the nuts and orange zest in a food processor before adding the olive oil, brown sugar and the 1/3 cup of juice to make a paste.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the fillets on a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover the fish with the paste, pressing the mixture down with a spoon. Top with fresh cracked pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serves four.

That fishy smell

Stas Horency, right, and Jeff Karolski man the kitchen Friday at the fish fry at Holy Trinity Polish National Catholic Church in Canton Township, Pa. (Scott Beveridge photo)

A coworker walked past my desk this afternoon and said, "Whatever you are eating smells good. It's making me hungry."

"Oh that's me you smell," I replied. I had just returned from spending two hours at a Lenten fish fry at a Catholic church for a newspaper assignment, and felt as if "I had been rolled in batter and dropped in the fryer."

So fish fry is the cologne I wore at the office today.

Never mind the cat

Soldier's goodbye & Bobbie the cat, ca. 1939-ca. 1945 / by Sam Hood, originally uploaded by State Library of New South Wales collection.

Sapphire - quizzed by Cal U. students

The author known as Sapphire, center, poses with members of the Black Student Union at California University of Pennsylvania, from left, Ronald Taylor, Ashley Munoz-Briggs, Marquia Parnell and Melinda Quinerly. (Scott Beveridge photo/Cal U. backdrop)

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The author and poet known as Sapphire fielded questions tonight from members of the Black Student Union at California University of Pennsylvania. Her novel, “Push,” about a physically and sexually abused, overweight black girl in 1980s Harlem has been adapted into the Oscar-nominated movie, “Precious.”

Q. What was the inspiration for the book?

A. My major inspiration was the experiences I had living in Harlem. I was just blown away by some of the lives of my students. I wanted to document them on paper.

Q. Was Precious a real person?

A. Precious is known as a composite character composed of many different people.

Q. Why suffer the entire book without a good ending?

A. That’s what you call reality. A lot of Hollywood stories are based on fantasy. You lose weight, find a husband and ride off into the sunset. I wanted the world to look at what happens to some segments of the population.

Q. Did you like the movie?

A. I was really emotionally drawn into the movie within the first few minutes. It was surprising, shocking. I also thought it was very beautifully done.

Q. Why the title “Push?”

A. In the book several scenes have the action word push, push. The first time it was used Precious was giving birth to her baby as a young teenager, and an angel, medic tells her to push. Again, she is so far behind her teacher resorts to telling her to push.

Q. Is everything in the movie true”

A. Everything in the book is true. Everything in the movie is not true.

Q. Did you think the movie would become a success?

A. I was thinking I would have to get on the phone and call my friends to fill the theater. I thought it would play a two-week run at a New York art-house.

Q. How are black people reacting to the story?

A. The portrayal of the mother and father, they find it problematic. It’s OK to read about it in the newspaper, but people don’t it fictionalized. They say, why can’t you write a more positive portrayal of the black family?

Q. Did you feel pain writing the book?

A. When you write about something, it’s not painful. The painful part is living it.

Q. What one message did you want to give?

A. The power of language and the ability of human beings to transform themselves through language, education is the message I wanted to give. Your education can change your life.

The old college try aboard a Harley

California University of Pennsylvania President Angelo Armenti Jr. and his wife, Barbara, pose in this publicity stunt to help sell raffle tickets for a 2010 Harley-Davidson Road King in the school's colors of red and black. The fundraiser to benefit student scholarships is sponsored by the Industrial Arts and Technology Education Alumni Society, with the winner determined by the May 3, 2010, 4-digit Pennsylvania Lottery drawing. More info: www.cal-ia-te-alumni.org (Photo: Cal U.)

Downed trees add to flooding concerns

A downed tree at the foot of Power Street in Webster, Pa., after a storm two weeks ago dropped as much as 2 feet of snow on southwestern Pennsylvania. (Scott Beveridge photo)

By Scott Beveridge

Trees took the brunt of the big storm this month, as so many of them have been uprooted under the weight of the heavy snow and ice.

Many of them still are leaning across power lines, appearing as if another inch or two of fresh snow would lead to more outages. More than two weeks after Stormageddon, the roads are still like obstacle courses with tree braches sticking out of the snowplow mounds.

But the toppled birch, maple and weeping willow trees along the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, which spill into the Ohio, are causing even greater concerns if a major flood develops during a quick thaw accompanied by rain. A river rushing with big trees would have devastating consequences on everything in their wake, and could clog and lead to worse flooding.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said Friday it is “fighting a flood” that has the potential of putting the Three Rivers in downtown Pittsburgh 25 feet of flood stage. It would be a record cresting along the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio rivers. A perfect storm could be in the making with more than 50 inches of snow in the mountains and at least 7 ½ inches of rain in the snow pack.

High water is a concern as far downstream as St. Paul, Minn., where there is a 90 percent chance the Mississippi will flood because of severe winter weather, the Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported Friday.

“In many places, flooding is almost a sure bet, forecasters said, with a substantial possibility of severe or record levels,” the newspaper said.

The following are quotes reporters at the Observer-Reporter newspaper in Washington, Pa., gathered last week about the threat of high water:

"It's going to take a miracle to get rid of this snow without a flood," said Bill Drzal, a meteorologist and hydrologist for the Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

"We are praying for a slow warm-up, but there is so much water in the snow," said Jeff Yates, public safety director in Washington County.

“There is the potential it could be one of the worst,” said Jeff Hawk, corps spokesman in Pittsburgh.