On Monday Take Two will discuss nurses meeting with Governor Jerry Brown about Ebola precautions in California, a boom in Chinese investors in an LA suburb, a new cookbook with tips from 65 big chefs, the cast of play "The Trip to Bountiful" and more.
California nurses to meet with Governor Brown to talk Ebola concerns
According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria is officially Ebola free -- after six weeks with no new cases of the disease.
Meanwhile, President Obama has been reassuring Americans that the risk remains extremely low in the United States, pointing out in his weekly address Sunday that there have been only three cases of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S., a nation of over 300 million.
But still many Americans are nervous -- especially healthcare workers. The Centers for Disease Control is revising guidelines for health workers treating Ebola patients. And Tuesday, leaders of two nursing organizations say they plan to meet with California Governor Jerry Brown to talk about Ebola. They hope to persuade the state to do more on the training front and increase safety precautions for health care professionals.
Bonnie Castillo is a registered nurse with National Nurses United. She will be meeting with Governor Brown and she said that nurses and their families are feeling vulnerable.
How drugs we take end up in the water supply
High-profile chemical spills and algae blooms have raised concerns about the safety of drinking water in the U.S.
But there's another kind of pollutant in water that we can't even see: The medicines we take pass through our bodies.
But they eventually end up in the water supply.
In a report for the BBC, chemist Andrea Sella of University College London takes a look at how drugs are ending up in our environment.
Who is the funniest person in the world? You and the Laugh Factory decide
We've been hearing a lot about environmental threats, Ebola scares and then of course, all the stories of international strife. Sometimes it's hard to find humor among today's headlines, but that's just what Jamie Masada is trying to do. He's the owner of Hollywood nightclub The Laugh Factory, and he believes you can bring the world together through laughter.
That's why he's launched a contest to find the funniest person in the world.
Masada pored through videos of comedy festivals looking for funny men and women. He winnowed them down to 31 competitors hailing from all corners of the world, from Switzerland to South Korea, Australia to Pakistan.
Online voters narrowed the list down to 10 semi-finalists who will perform at the Laugh Factory and before a worldwide Internet audience Monday night. From Monday night's competition, the top 5 will go to the Laugh Factory's sister club in Las Vegas. There, a winner will be crowned on Oct. 24, which also happens to be United Nations Day.
You can watch and vote for your favorite here: Funniest Person in the World Competition.
Voting will start at 8 p.m. PST On Oct. 20 and continue until 4 p.m. on Oct. 21.
New wave of Chinese home buyers pose questions for Arcadia
Arcadia, California is home to nearly 57,000 residents, the famous Santa Anita Race track, and a booming real estate business.
In recent years, wealthy investors from mainland China have been flocking to this city, located about 15 miles north east of Los Angeles.
They've spent millions tearing down old properties and building super-sized homes in their place.
That's brought added revenue to the city and provided for community services, said John Wuo, mayor of Arcadia.
"We definitely have seen the general budgeting revenue increase because of the property tax increase and we have [been] able to enjoy the property value appreciation for the last few years," said Wuo. He estimates that the property taxes amount to about $10 million a year, some of which goes to police and fire departments and city schools.
But the influx of money has also brought tension among some residents. And the latest follows several waves of immigrants, first from Taiwan and then from Hong Kong.
"Now what we're seeing is a new influx coming from mainland China," said Karen Weise, reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek. "This has been going on for several years but by all accounts has really intensified in the past two years or so."
Tom Xia, a resident of Arcadia, moved to the city as a child with his family. He's explored some of these issues in his film, Xmas Without China.
"The fact that Arcadia represents the American dream and they want a better life for their family and their kids here says a lot about the American suburb and the image of American throughout the world," said Xia.
Read Karen Weise's article in Bloomberg Businessweek: "Why are Chinese millionaires buying mansions in an LA suburb?"
On the Lot: 'Fury' at the box office, more comic book movies, a Latino-centric animated film
Rebecca Keegan writes about film for the LA Times and joins Take Two each Monday to discuss the latest in film for On the Lot.
Brad Pitt leads a cast of tough guys and a Sherman tank to the top of the box office this week.
"Fury" grabbed the top spot, and Rebecca Keegan talks about visiting the set last year. She says there were lots of manly-man things going on there, including sparring matches between the actors. And, she says, co-star Shia LaBeouf refused to shower during the filming, and slashed his own face for one scene. Method acting to the extreme?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OGvZoIrXpg
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has announced a full slate of 10 films, all based on comic book characters, to be released over the next five years. Keegan says the studio is struggling and just announced a $200 million operating budget cut. Layoffs are expected to begin next month.
Another film opening this weekend is the work of a young man who grew up in Tijuana and San Diego and wondered why he never saw people who looked like him in the movies. Animator Jorge Gutierrez took a story about The Day of the Dead, and brought it to the screen in "The Book of Life." Keegan says the film is an indicator that Hollywood execs are beginning to understand just how big and powerful Latino audiences are - both here in the States and internationally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBw5YScs8iQ
Sumi Haru, 75, insisted that Hollywood create better roles for Asians
Sumi Haru might not be a household name, but she did a lot to influence the way Asian-Americans are seen on screen.
She passed away late last week at age 75, and the actress had modest success with TV roles in the 1960s and 70s.
However, she found her true calling as an activist.
"It wasn't until I came to Hollywood that I found out that I was Asian because that's all I was going to play -- I wasn't going to be the girl next door," she told the website Genius in Motion, "and so then I had to get steeped in not being Filipino because most of the roles were Japanese -- that's what the name Sumi Haru comes from. My real name is Mildred Acantilado Sevilla."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLVkJ4uFM8s
Haru founded many of the diversity initiatives at SAG, working with Hollywood executives to have more roles for Asians that weren't limited to being domestic workers, dragon ladies or martial artists.
Her friend and fellow actor Jack Ong explains that she had no regrets in putting her activism ahead of her own career.
Prop 1: What would the water bond mean for California's water?
California Governor Jerry Brown is kicking off his week with an environmental policy meeting at Stanford University.
They'll be talking about water - and what to do about the future of the state's water is something the governor has spent more of his political attention on this fall than his own re-election campaign.
He's been campaigning for a $7.5 billion water bond called Proposition 1 on the ballot next month.
"I've been around long enough to know the pendulum always swings in California, between wet years and drought, between booms and busts. And when it’s bad, people get hurt. Not enough water to grow crops. Deep cuts in vital services," the governor says, in a recently released ad, where he goes on to say that Proposition 1 will help "even out the boom and the bust."
Southern California Public Radio's Molly Peterson helps explain what this proposition is all about.
RELATED: Election 2014 FAQ: Prop 1 — the state's big water bond
Preventing California megafires: Drought, forest overgrowth among concerns
With drought, comes an increased fire risk.
California may see big, more dangerous fires more often.
One problem is that many of our forests have become overgrown with trees and homes have been built too close to them.
From Capitol Public Radio, Amy Quinton looks at what needs be done to better prevent megafires.
GOP targets Congressional seats in California
California has become a focus for Republicans this election season.
Nationwide, the GOP has targeted more than half a dozen Congressional seats - three of them in the Golden State.
KPCC's Kitty Felde says the races are bringing out big bucks - and big names.
Related: Ventura Congressional race brings out Speaker Boehner and the Koch brothers
Food & Wine's Dana Cowin can't cook--but learned from 65 chefs for new book
Dana Cowin is the long-time editor of Food & Wine Magazine.
And you may have seen her as a guest judge on Bravo's reality cook-off "Top Chef."
But there's something else about Cowin that - given her resume - you may find surprising.
She isn't a very good cook.
It's something she has come to terms with - and endeavored to improve on - and it all comes together in her new book "Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen: Learning to Cook with 65 Great Chefs and Over 100 Delicious Recipes."
Dana will be at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles Monday night. She'll be talking about her book with everyone's favorite LA chef Roy Choi. It starts at 7 p.m.
Below is a recipe and excerpt from the book.
Baked Ziti Arrabbiata
The last time I made baked ziti arrabbiata, based on one from the maestro of Italian cooking, Mario Batali, I started cooking early in the afternoon, giving myself ample time to “fail and fix” the dish if necessary. When I made the béchamel, I thought it was too thin, so I decided to reduce it—but it wouldn’t reduce. I assumed my problem was using skim milk (the only milk I had in the house), but my diagnosis was incorrect, as I found out when I told the story to the Food & Wine test kitchen crew. They explained that béchamel never, ever gets reduced. If you want a thicker béchamel, you add more flour at the start. I realized I had to stop using my ill-informed instincts to solve a problem. Mistakes aside, this is my absolute favorite baked pasta, particularly when I’m cooking for a crowd. Mario told me it was one of his favorites, too, so I got a little more advice from him on perfecting it.
Active Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves 6 to 8
1⁄4 cup olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing
1 garlic clove, minced
11⁄2 teaspoons crushed red pepper, divided
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, smooshed with your hands, juices reserved
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, warmed
Freshly grated nutmeg
11⁄2 pounds ziti
1⁄2 pound mozzarella cheese, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 cup coarse bread crumbs
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and 1 teaspoon of the crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, just a minute or so. Add the tomatoes, with their juices, and a very large pinch of salt, turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heatand simmer the sauce until just slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until a smooth paste the palest shade of brown forms, about 2 minutes. While whisking continuously, slowly pour in the milk. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook, stirring, until it is nice and thick, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and season the béchamel to taste with salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
4. Fill your largest pot with water, bring it to a boil and season liberally with salt. (You might need to cook the pasta in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pot.) Add the ziti and cook it 3 minutes short of the package instructions—you don’t want it to cook all the way through, or it will overcook when you bake it. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl.
5. Add the reserved tomato sauce, the béchamel, mozzarella and 3⁄4 cup of the Parmesan to the ziti and stir well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and scatter the remaining 1⁄4 cup Parmesan over the top.
6. Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl and season with salt. Scatter the bread crumbs over the ziti, then sprinkle with the remaining 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
7. Bake the pasta until it is bubbling and the top is browned, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta rest for 10 minutes before serving.
MAKE AHEAD
The dish can be assembled ahead, covered with plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Add an extra 5 to 10 minutes baking time to compensate. You can also bake it, cool it and refrigerate it for up to 1 week, or freeze it for up to 1 month. To reheat the pasta, thaw to room temperature, cover with foil and bake in a 325°F oven until hot all the way through (test with a paring knife or metal skewer).
Chef Tips from Mario Batali
ON HOW MUCH WATER TO USE FOR COOKING PASTA
As much as possible. Imagine that you’re dancing and want to be expressive, you need room. The pasta needs room to dance, too. If you’re cooking less than 2 pounds of pasta, 8 quarts of water is fine. But you don’t need to measure—just use your biggest pot.
ON PRECOOKING PASTA BEFORE BAKING
The package tells you exactly how long to cook. For baked pasta, cook it 3 minutes less than what’s called for; it’ll be super al dente. Drain it; don’t ever rinse it.
ON THE BENEFITS OF BÉCHAMEL
When you bake stuff with béchamel, it stays moist and rich. You might ask, “Why not just add cheese?” Cheese breaks! Ricotta in the right hands tends to look wrong. Béchamel, even in the wrong hands, looks right.
ON BÉCHAMEL RATIOS
For a light béchamel use a ratio of 1 tablespoon butter to 1 tablespoon flour to 1 cup milk.
ON MAKING BÉCHAMEL
Your béchamel will go faster if your milk is warm (you can use the microwave), but don’t worry if it’s cold. Just take your time! If you add too much milk, just mix some cold butter with flour (this is called beurre manié) and whisk it in pinch by pinch until the béchamel thickens. If it starts to boil over, whisk it.
ON OTHER USES FOR BÉCHAMEL
Allow it to cool so it gets firmer, then add carbonara ingredients (pancetta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, eggs, black pepper), to make a ravioli filling. Cook the ravioli and toss with butter.
All of your pasta fillings will be twice as good if there’s some béchamel in them—they will ooze. Béchamel is also great for a croque madame.
ON NUTMEG
Nutmeg adds exotic flavor to the béchamel; it takes it to another level.
ON USING CANNED TOMATOES
Always use whole tomatoes because then you are in control of the product and know exactly what quality you’re getting. Usually canned diced tomatoes are parts of broken whole tomatoes and crushed ones are a mix of all of the leftovers. Crush the tomatoes for the sauce with your hands. The pieces should be the size of your thumb— pieces that are too big don’t let you get a bite along with other stuff. Everything should be in harmony.
ON SAUCING BAKED PASTA
The most important thing about a pasta dish is the pasta. Dress it like a salad. You don’t want to lose the noodles—don’t blanket them with cheese.
ON BREAD CRUMBS
Cut slices of day-old bread and pulse them in a food processor. For this, I like what we call “fat boy” crumbs. Save finer ones for something like a Milanese.
ON TOPPINGS
Sprinkle the Parmesan on top first, before the bread crumbs, so the cheese won’t burn. A drizzle of olive oil will help make the crumbs nice and brown. And sprinkle crushed red pepper only on half so if some friends don’t want it spicy, they won’t go hungry.
ON OVERCOOKED BAKED PASTA
If it’s overdone, just cut the whole thing into pieces, bread them and fry them!
From Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen by Dana Cowin. Copyright 2014 Dana Cowin. Excerpted by permission of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Serious Barbecue pops up in heart of Hollywood
When you talk BBQ, the conversation probably will turn to which style of BBQ is best.
Texas style, North Carolina style, Kansas City style.
What if we told you that you might add one more? Urban style.
Alex Cohen visited with noted BBQ chef Adam Perry Lang to see the food he's making at a BBQ pop-up spot in the heart of Hollywood.
International guitarist gives back to charity that helped him forge career
Does talent guarantee success?
Or do even the most gifted need a little help along the way?
Classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic has followed his talent to forge an international music career - but his route to success wasn't always clear.
Now he is taking an active role in a charity, Awards for Young Musicians, that supported him in the days before the big record companies came knocking on his door.
The BBC's Jason Caffrey reports.
Cicely Tyson, Blair Underwood and Vanessa Williams star in 'The Trip to Bountiful'
The play "The Trip to Bountiful," written by Horton Foote, tells the story of an elderly woman named Carrie Watts. She's living in Houston with her son and his domineering wife when one day she runs away to visit her childhood home in the small town of Bountiful, Texas.
Nearly three decades ago, Cicely Tyson saw Geraldine Page take on the role of Carrie Watts in a film version and was so moved by the Oscar-winning performance that she went straight to her agent and told him, "You get me my 'Trip to Bountiful' and then I will retire."
She never thought it would be possible to play the role herself, but she says, she just wanted one more good role. "I figured, you know, I have been really blessed throughout my career. And I said I just want more. I won't be greedy, just one more, and then I'll go away."
Tyson waited for years and then one day she met a woman who told her that she wanted to do a production of one of her father's plays, but with a black cast. She said she knew her father wouldn't want anyone else to play the lead role but Cicely Tyson.
When Tyson asked her who her father was, "She said 'Horton Foote.' I said, 'And the play?' She said, 'The Trip to Bountiful.' I fell off the chair," Tyson says. "I literally fell right off of the chair I was sitting on."
Tyson finally got her wish. She played Mrs. Watts on Broadway and won a Tony for her performance.
She also stars in a film version of the production along with Blair Underwood and Vanessa Williams that aired earlier this year. The trio is currently appearing in a production at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
And now that she's gotten to play her dream role, Tyson says that even after 200 performances (without missing one) she's still having a ball.
"It's really, it's a wonderful gift," Tyson says.
To hear the full interview with Cicely Tyson, Blair Underwood and Vanessa Williams, click the link above.
“The Trip to Bountiful” plays through Nov. 2, 2014. For tickets and information, click here.