My Favorite Purple Food

Eggplant stuffed with a sesame-peanut masala
Monday, June 25, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"5 Spices, 50 Dishes," by Ruta Kahate (Chronicle Books, 2007)

Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ground cayenne and ground turmeric are the five relatively commonplace spices featured in this slender book of Indian dishes. Although Ruta Kahate cheats a bit by using green chilies, ginger and garlic as additional flavors, she delivers on her promise to demystify her native food. Most ingredients can be found in a supermarket, and vegetarian offerings may satisfy even meat lovers.

-- Evelyn Shih

* * *

Eggplant stuffed with a sesame-peanut masala

• ¼ cup brown (natural) sesame seeds
• ½ cup raw or lightly toasted unsalted peanuts
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons water, divided
• 1 teaspoon finely grated garlic (about 2 large cloves)
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 8 mini Indian eggplants or 6 of the smallest Japanese or Italian eggplants you can find (about 1½ pounds)
• ¼ cup canola oil

Using a food processor, separately pulse the sesame seeds and peanuts to semi-coarse powders. Remove to a bowl. Add the cilantro, sugar, salt, 2 teaspoons of the water, garlic, cayenne and turmeric to the powdered mixture and mix well. The mixture should become lumpy. Taste and adjust the salt and sugar if needed.

Leaving the stem end intact, make 2 intersecting diagonal cuts on the bottom end of each eggplant. Stuff each "X" with the filling, packing it down well. It will feel awkward, but push in as much filling as the eggplant will take, using your fingers to gently pry open the eggplant.

Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold all the eggplants in a single layer. Gently place each eggplant in the pan, and turn the heat to medium. Turn them occasionally so they are evenly browned on all sides. Pour in the remaining water, cover, and cook on low until tender, about 15 minutes. To check doneness, pierce the stems with a small, sharp knife -- it should slide in easily.

Servings: 4 to 6.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

BOOK REVIEW: Divisadero

Novel a collection of stories
Sunday, June 24, 2007

DIVISADERO, by Michael Ondaatje; Alfred A. Knopf, 273 pages, $19.95.

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

If you open Michael Ondaatje's new book expecting one story, you will be disappointed. In fact, the central story line ends at Page 165 with more than 100 pages to go -- leaving you to wonder what happens to the protagonists.

Perhaps Ondaatje, who wrote "The English Patient" and "Anil's Ghost," described the book best. In an early scene, the "woman formerly known as Anna" tells in first person the way she and her adopted sister Claire thought about Cooper, another adoptee that their father treated as a farm hand.

"Who was Coop, really? We never knew what his parents were like. We were never sure what he felt about our family, which had harboured him and handed him another life. ... Everything was collage."

Everything in "Divisadero" certainly feels like collage. The book reads more like a collection of short stories that hover around a knot of characters, painting lives in daubs. Chapters jump between viewpoints, skip years, and sometimes vault several thousand miles.

We're with Coop and Anna as their forbidden sexual relationship develops, and we're there when her father discovers them and rages violently, destroying their assembled four-member family forever. (In retrospect, Anna calls it "something very small, something that might occur within just a square inch or two of a Brueghel. But it set fire to the rest of my life.")

We're in Coop's fast-paced heist story as he becomes a card sharp who can "deal a pack of cards to the Supreme Court and get away with it," and we come back to him later to follow another ruse, where the joke's on him.

We're with Claire as she works meekly in a law office during the week and rides horses on the weekend. We're with Anna in France, years later, as she researches an obscure, dead French poet from his last known residence.

It is the life of this poet, Lucien Segura, in which we are immersed after the sudden end of the first narrative. The only tenuous ties are Anna's obsession with him and the minor presence of the boy Rafael, who would grow to be Anna's middle-aged lover. Can we help but mourn the early loss of our good friends, whom we now know so intimately?

But as the second act continues, spinning out the tale of Lucien with a full cast of characters and perspectives, we realize that it is no loss after all. The power of Ondaatje's (pictured left, courtesy of www2.davidson.edu) book is not to deliver the thrill of a plot line, with exposition, development and full denouement. He does deliver that on the small scale, building to climactic moments in individual segments like a masterful short story writer; but the real payoff is in the totality.

Fall in love, the book seems to say. Fall in love with the little details that make up the characters' lives, no matter if they span half the world and skip a century; and in turn, fall in love with the human life in general. In another beautiful passage, in which Rafael puts together details about his new lover even as she scrounges for scraps about the poet, he wonders:

"Who is she? This woman who has led him into this medicine cabinet of a room where most of her possessions exist. ... As if this orderly collection of things is what she is. So we fall in love with ghosts."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Greek--But Not So Big and Fat

Cauliflower with tomatoes and feta
Tuesday, June 19, 2007

A NEW LEAF

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Eating the Greek Way," by Fedon Alexander Lindberg (Clarkson Potter, 2007)

Eating Greek means eating healthy -- at least, when you're eating with Lindberg. Born and raised in Greece, Lindberg began studying internal medicine and endocrine disorders because he was worried about diabetes in his family. He now owns four clinics in Norway, where he is also well-known as a food writer. Perhaps it's only to be expected that Lindberg's cookbook prefaces the recipes with a hearty 45-page dietary primer. Lindberg explains the nutritional balance in Greek food and parses terms like "glycemic load" (GL) that are listed with each recipe. He teaches you how to measure portions with your palm, plans sample weekly menus, and even suggests how to stock your kitchen. Vegetables and legumes are low in GL -- a positive quality -- and most meals require two palm-sized portions, so vegetarian and vegetable-based recipes are bountiful.

-- Evelyn Shih

# Cauliflower with tomatoes and feta

2 tablespoons clarified butter
1 large onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
8 tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, cinnamon and a little salt and pepper. Stir well, cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower florets to the tomato sauce, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Top with the feta. Bake until the cauliflower is tender and the cheese has melted, about 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings: 4.

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Got Counseling?

Counselors are school's Mr./Ms. Fix-It
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

By now, high school seniors are getting themselves ready for college life. High school is fast becoming a memory. And the school counselors who masterminded the college admissions battle are only too glad to have a huge weight off their shoulders.

But their work is never really done.

"We fix everything here," said Amy Bria, school counselor at Rosa Parks High School in Paterson.

For four years, high school counselors are parents who advise on life and academic decisions without a parent's power to command. They are faculty members who proctor tests and visit classrooms without classrooms of their own. They are, in short, the essential but largely unnoticed cogs in a school's machinery.

And, at least until recently, in much of New Jersey they were more likely to be overlooked as a profession by the very students they nurtured academically. To renew interest in the profession and keep pace with industry changes, the state Department of Education in 2004 dropped a requirement that high school guidance counselors be current or former teachers in the schools in which they work.

"We were losing good people," said Mark McGrath, president of the New Jersey School Counselor Association. Now instead of teachers in the workforce studying to be counselors through night classes, college students with psychology and sociology backgrounds can go to graduate school and expect to start work as counselors straight out of the program, he said.

"There's been a minor spurt [in counselors]," added McGrath, who works in Lawrenceville. Indeed, the number of counselors in New Jersey saw a slight uptick in the past five years, rising to 2,702 during the 2006-07 school years, up from 2,512 in 2001-02 , according to the state Board of Education.

That is good news for North Jersey students, who already enjoy more attention from counselors than many of their peers across the state and nation.

Local high school guidance counselors serve just 220 students each, on average. Compare that with guidance counselors throughout New Jersey and the nation who divide their time among hundreds more students: 386 on average in New Jersey, and 488 nationwide.

The numbers point to a fact of life for high school guidance counselors: You have to learn to juggle and react.
(clip art to left courtesy of scoutbase.co.uk)
Of course, there's consulting on college applications and life after high school, but they also work as liaisons between parents and teachers, update academic records, perform a variety of administrative tasks, and, of course, bond with students. They also take over general faculty duties: Bria, for one, leads the National Honor Society and proctors tests.

But the job can change from hour to hour. During an interview in Bria's office, a teacher approached her with a discipline problem, and she agreed to see a female student who was acting out during lunch.

Added Bill Joosten, who has served as guidance counselor for more than 40 years, most recently at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale: "You really can't do a lot of planning with all this stuff going on, because the minute you sit down to do something, someone's at your door and they need help."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

JVC: J for Jazz, not Japan

Annual JVC events mark big birthdays
Friday, June 15, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

If you don't think it's already "too darn hot," check out the JVC Jazz Festival taking place in Manhattan -- and soon you'll feel "Fever in the morning/fever all through the night."

The lineup this year for the annual gathering of jazz minds -- which begins Tuesday and runs through June 30 -- includes big names like Keith Jarrett, Joshua Redman, Branford Marsalis (brother of Wynton) and Kenny Barron. The list reads like a who's who, like always.

Ron Carter, courtesy of kaufman-center.org.

But the story this year is big birthdays.

Bassist Ron Carter and chanteuse Nancy Wilson celebrate their 70th years, while saxophonist Lee Konitz and singer Eartha Kitt hit high notes for their big 8-0s. Each of the legendary performers will be having a Carnegie Hall bash under the auspices of the JVC festival.

"We did a little research and just found those special moments that we really wanted to celebrate," said Dan Melnick, festival programmer. Konitz's and Carter's nights will feature them playing in various formats with different collaborators. Kitt will be appearing with her band and singing duets with three Tony Award-winning singers. Wilson will sing with her own band as well but receive salute performances from other jazz artists instead of singing with them.

Lee Konitz, courtesy of jazzaction.co.uk

Konitz, who celebrates his real birthday in October, says he has more gigs than ever. "The 80th year is kind of a magical time," he said. "They want to get it before it's too late. ... When I look at the list [of engagements], I wonder how I'm going to make it. I am getting older."

Jazz fest info, tickets

---

Main events for the JVC Jazz Festival will take place at Carnegie Hall. For those performances, buy tickets online at carnegiehall.org or call 212-247-7800.

For information on all performances, go to festivalproductions.net, and click on "JVC Jazz Festival, New York." A full schedule is available on the site.

Carter commented that he relishes the opportunity to play with old friends. In one concert configuration, he will be playing in a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Billy Cobham -- "I haven't played with those guys for 25 or 30 years," he said.

Alternately, in a touring trio with drummer Russell Malone and pianist Mulgrew Miller, the audience can "hear me try to manipulate their sounds to match mine." Carter also plays a few string duets with guitarist Jim Hall and swings with a new quartet -- "new" meaning a mere 10 years old.

Although the Carnegie Hall engagements are the centerpiece of the festival, smaller events at various venues give vastly different audience experiences. Sarah Partridge, an actress turned jazz singer who lives in South Orange, will be singing a weeklong engagement in the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel, an intimately small space in contrast with the grand hall.

Sarah Partridge, courtesy of sarahpartridge.net

"This room will be a little formal, and you can hear a pin drop," said Partridge, who sang there last year. "People are there really to hear the music."

She performs with pianist Allen Farnham, bassist Bill Moring and drummer Tim Horner, all from Teaneck. "We call them the 'Teaneck Trio,' " said Partridge.

A diverse lineup has always been central to the festival's mission, said programmer Melnick. Part of that objective has been to feature emerging jazz artists from around the world. West African Lionel Loueke, Israeli Avishai Cohen and Anat Fort, Cape Verde native Cesaria Evora, and Indian-Americans Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa are among the many artists bringing their own musical heritage to the melting pot that is jazz.

"There is a lot of musicians all over the world who are attracted to jazz and play jazz," said Melnick, adding, "There might be more young jazz musicians who are living in New York now from other countries."

But some things about jazz never change. "If you think about it, jazz is usually in the basement," said Konitz, who will be playing in the lower level Zankel Hall at Carnegie. "If you play softly, you can hear the subway."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Doppelganger

Ridgewood resident a Superman of sorts
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Vince A. Sicari, attorney at law, leads a double life. During the day, the River Edge lawyer works at a Ridgewood law office, driving to various court dates across North Jersey.

But when he leaves, he makes a beeline for a New York comedy club, stopping by the side of the road to change out of his suit. By the time he hits the stage and grabs a mike, he isn't Vince A. Sicari anymore. He is Vince August, stand-up comedian and actor.

Tomorrow he headlines a show at Carolines, one of the top comedy clubs in the city, and will record his second comedy DVD.

Like most comics, Vince August makes fun of his life onstage. He might even joke about intimate sex moments. But he never, never talks about Vince A. Sicari.

"I refuse to do a law joke," said August. "... Superman doesn't talk about Clark Kent."

Vince A. Sicari works in a solo practice, a situation that allows him to dash out for acting auditions and stand-up comedy sets. Associates have never asked him where he goes when he leaves early or disappears in the middle of the day.

"You always hope for office days," said August. "When I have to go into court, it really puts a wrinkle in my day."

August does closing sets at the Laugh Factory, another Manhattan club, four nights a week. "I'm working 250 nights a year," he said. "I pretty much never say no to a gig. If a club calls me at 6 o'clock [at night] and says, 'Will you fill in?' I'll do it." Sometimes he's in the city until the wee hours of the morning; but when the clock strikes 9 a.m., he is once again Vince A. Sicari.

"I'm not a funny lawyer -- I'm a funny comedian," said August.

It's a point of pride for the comic, who never stepped inside a comedy club -- or pursued any sort of entertainment career -- until the age of 27. The son of Italian immigrants in Hackensack, August was told from a young age that he had to stay in school and have a real career, even though he knew at age 7 that he wanted to "be on TV."

So Vince Sicari went to college. He went to law school. He started working at a firm. But one day 10 years ago, he made a comedy tape and sent it to a friend. Later that evening, he got a call.

"He said, 'We're dying laughing over here,' " said August. "He was the one who told me, 'You've got to do something with it.' "

August took a comedy class. The final product of the course was a six-minute stint at Carolines, which he calls the "mecca" of comedy clubs. The class instructor required all students to turn in final versions of comedy scripts and then rewrote most of August's material. But August had turned in a fake script in anticipation of this.

On the night of that debut performance, August listened to the awkward silence as his classmates performed one by one and drew little laughter. Finally, it was his turn.

"I just went on there, and I just set the place on fire," he said.

Right after the show, August was booked to do a set at Gotham, another high-profile comedy club, and his career started to take off. In August 2004, August snagged the opportunity to open a show for one of his comic heroes, Andrew Dice Clay (pictured left , courtesy of comedycentral.com).

"His crowds are very unique," said August. "They're brutal. If you don't win them over in the first 20 seconds, that will be the most miserable 10 minutes of your life."

But he must have done something right, because that night, the owner of the Laugh Factory asked him to book a regular gig. And that's when Superman really started to fly.

"For me, the stand-up is a drug," said August. "I can't even explain the high you get from being onstage performing in front of people."

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com


Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Jazz Fest

WPU's Miller joins Peterson tribute
Friday, June 8, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

The one-day Fujitsu Jazz Festival swings into Carnegie Hall tonight with a tribute to legendary pianist Oscar Peterson (pictured left, courtesy of npr.org). The all-star lineup includes Hank Jones, Marian MacPartland and Mulgrew Miller, all of whom will be tickling the ivories, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, guitarist Russell Malone and trumpeter Clark Terry.

Festival producer Pat Philips says they chose to honor Peterson "because he deserves it and has really never gotten a big tribute in America." The 82-year-old Canadian musician has been honored in his native country, but never here. Peterson, who is not well, is unable to attend the concert; his wife and daughter will be present.

Miller, the director of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University, took some time to speak on the phone about the tribute, being a jazz musician and training young talents.

Q. With whom will you be performing at the concert?

I'll be playing in a band with [bassist] Christian McBride and [drummer] Lewis Nash. We've played together and know each other very well, personally and musically. And Wynton Marsalis will be joining us, another old friend. I'll be amongst friends, so to speak. That said, we do have our own respective bands, so we don't play together (often).

Festivals are devised to draw a lot of people to the music. So that a large group of people can see top musicians play together.

Mulgrew Miller, hard at work. Courtesy of internationajazzproductions.com

Q. What is your role with the WPU Jazz Studies program?

I'm one of the overseers of the program. I teach what's called small ensembles: I supervise a small group that you would see in a nightclub and coach them.

They're all on a pretty high level since they have to audition to get into the program. ... I find it very stimulating to be there with them because they're so young, enthusiastic and eager to learn.

When I was first offered the job [in September 2005], I wasn't sure how I would like it. I was just kind of testing the situation and testing myself in the situation. I'd always taught; I've done workshops and things before. So it wasn't totally foreign. But to have a commitment to an institution where you're coming back week after week was a whole new thing for me.

The part I didn't expect was the personal connection with the kids. After awhile, they become a part of your life, almost a part of your family. You start to think of them as your children.

Q. Where do your students play?

There are some clubs near Newark, Cecil's and Trumpets, where some of them hang out. ... Quite a few of them hang out in New York. But not many of them have graduated to the actual scene.

Q. How do you balance your duties at the university with your busy performance schedule?

It's a very, very delicate balancing act. I'm in school Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I have a long weekend to myself for touring. So I'm touring on weekends now. Once a semester, I might go out for two weeks in Europe and Japan.

Q. What are you doing this summer?

Right after the Oscar Peterson tribute, I'm going to be in New York making a record with [bassist] Ron Carter. And right after that I'm going to Europe with Ron Carter. Then right after a Ron Carter tribute in New York [during the JVC festival], I'm going back to Europe with him. I have a full plate.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Get Fired Up

Capturing Fire Island's magic
Thursday, June 7, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER
Ann Brashares, author. Courtesy of weeklyreader.com

On the heels of her last "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" book, author Ann Brashares dives into fictional adulthood with a new island-themed novel, "The Last Summer (of You and Me)."

Instead of teens, she features twentysomethings. And instead of those ubiquitous pants, she introduces a mystical setting to distill the emotional center of the story: Fire Island. Brashares' characters are three childhood friends who grew up summering on the island and now face the transformation into adulthood.

Before her upcoming appearances in North Jersey, we spoke to Brashares, who owns a house on Fire Island, about her own memories of the summer enclave.

Q. How did you first find out about Fire Island?

I first heard about Fire Island when I was in third grade. A girl in my class in D.C. had just moved there from New York City, and she was the only girl I knew whose parents were divorced. She talked about this place with such longing. ... This girl's husband was actually the one who introduced me to my husband.

It was freshman year of college when I started going out with my husband, and that summer -- along with my exciting new boyfriend -- I arrived on Fire Island by ferry. There were no cars, no streets; just boardwalk everywhere. We arrived at night, and it just felt so different. Everything was so incredibly lush and overgrown, almost jungly.

My first impression of it was that it was otherworldly and wonderful.

Q. Did you go back later as an adult?

When we had our first two kids, we had a little money to rent a place for the summer. We rented a house that was hilariously bad. I remember the mosquitoes feasting on our kids. But with a screen door, we thought, it would be great ...

My daughter [and youngest child Susannah Collins] spent the third night of her life on Fire Island. She is the one most connected to the place, because she was there from the beginning. We hadn't been able to go yet that summer because I was so pregnant. But when she was born, she was healthy, and she was our third child, so we just went.

Now the whole family comes over to our house in the summer. My kids [Sam, 11, Nathaniel, 8, and Susannah, 6] have great cousin action. I'm excited for them to have the full experience.

Q. Fire Island seems to be almost another character in your new book. Why was it such an important part of the story?

I wanted to capture the intoxication of the place, just the majesty of it. It's the feeling of being perched on this tiny piece of land next to a huge ocean. It's dramatically interesting in terms of human endeavors: You're contending with the universe, with love. It's a dramatic setting.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

It was mid- to late summer, and that deep into the summer you sort of surrender yourself to this place. I was relaxed. I remember seeing my daughter walking in front of me in a poncho, and that's when I started wondering, "How do you grow up here?"

Q. Two of the main characters are sisters, and you write a lot about close friendships between girls. Did you grow up with sisters?

I actually have three brothers, no sisters. In my family, there are very few girls at all -- a bit of a dearth of sisters. So it's partly been a fantasy for me. ... When I had my daughter, that was a real shocker. She was the first girl born [in the family] in 35 years. I do partly take from my own sibling relationships when I write, although they are of a different gender.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Bite Me

Priciest items in 'Sex and City' star's line is $20
Monday, June 4, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Photographer: Evelyn Shih.

Her face may not launch a thousand ships, but fashionista Sarah Jessica Parker certainly knows how to front a sales campaign. Thursday, the "Sex and the City" star launches her new women's casual wear line, Bitten, in collaboration with Steve & Barry's.

Steve and who?

"We realize that the majority of shoppers in America have never heard of Steve & Barry's," said Howard Schacter, chief partnership officer and co-manager of the Bitten brand for the sports and casual wear company. The business, which was founded in 1985 by two seniors at University of Pennsylvania, started with humble beginnings in collegiate and sportswear.

What may shock Parker's fans is the $20-and-under price tag of all the 400-odd spring/summer items. But "this line was designed by Sarah Jessica Parker, not Carrie Bradshaw," said Schacter.

More important, the low prices reflect Steve & Barry's "cost-based philosophy," which minimizes costs at every stage of garment production -- including a low advertising budget -- in an effort to pass on savings to the consumer.

Maybe that's why you haven't heard of them.

Then again, maybe you have: Last year, Schacter helped put together the Starbury brand, a men's casual wear line in partnership with Stephon Marbury of the Knicks. The star product, a sneaker selling for less than $15 that Marbury pledged to wear all season, became hugely popular.

The Bitten line will try to achieve the same success -- but with classy, everyday women's wear.

"We've been a primarily male-oriented store," said Schacter. "Bitten marks our true entry into the women's market."

Bitten on a mannequin. Photographer: Evelyn Shih

When approached for the partnership, Parker herself had never heard of the store, which has locations in the Palisades Center and Jersey Gardens malls. It wasn't until she visited one of the Manhattan stores and spoke with the founders about their vision that she was "bitten by the Steve & Barry's bug."

"Something about this company and this opportunity spoke to her," said Schacter, who spearheaded the effort to cement the partnership. "She wanted to do the same thing for women that Stephon and Steve & Barry's was able to do for younger men."

Parker grew up as one of eight children and attended high school at Dwight Morrow in Englewood. She understands what it's like not to have enough money to dress well.

The Bitten manifesto proclaims loud and clear: "Fashion is not a luxury, it's a right" -- and that message grew out of Steve & Barry's mission to re-educate the public, said Schacter.

The manifesto. Photographer: Evelyn Shih.

"Shoppers tend to think the materials must be more expensive for an expensive piece of clothing," he explained. "We take great pains to tell shoppers that [our products are] the same quality as higher priced lines. We certainly welcome any expert in manufacturing and merchandise to go through our merchandise with a fine-toothed comb.

"It does not cost what a lot of consumers think it costs to make clothes and shoes," he added.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
* * *

Where to shop

Sarah Jessica Parker's (above) new casual wear line, Bitten, launches Thursday in all Steve & Barry's stores, including:

PALISADES CENTER

* 1000 Palisades Center Drive, West Nyack, N.Y.
* Phone: 845-358-1576
* Hours: 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

JERSEY GARDENS

* 651 Kapkowski Road, Elizabeth
* Phone: 908-436-9640
* Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

MANHATTAN MALL

* Sixth Avenue and 33rd Street, Manhattan
* Phone: 212-564-1959
* Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

For a preview of the Bitten line, log on to bittensjp.com/collec tion.php

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Type A Vegetarianism

A new leaf: Vegetarian recipes
Monday, June 4, 2007

Vegetarian recipes from recently released cookbooks:

"Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way," by Leanne Ely (Ballantine Books, 2007)

Superwoman Leanne Ely comes to the rescue with the newest -- and only vegetarian -- addition to her "Saving Dinner" cookbook series. With a strong sense of structure, Ely provides six weeks of recipes for each of the four seasons, complete with weekly shopping lists and "do ahead tips" for the next day's meal. In special deference to the nutritional needs of vegetarians, she features protein prominently in her nutritional facts for each recipe. Most offerings are meant as standalone meals, although Ely occasionally offers accompanying menu items in sidebars. The summer section features food served cold to cool the palate on warm nights.

-- Evelyn Shih

Orzo-and-corn-filled tomatoes 3 quarts water ½ cup orzo 3 strips lemon zest 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed 1 cup diced Monterey Jack cheese 2 green onions, sliced 2/3 cup chopped celery 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil ¼ cup apple juice 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 6 large tomatoes Orzo, an underappreciated carb. Courtesy of gourmetsleuth.com In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add orzo and lemon zest, and cook for 8 minutes or until orzo is al dente. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Discard the lemon zest. In a large bowl, combine orzo, corn, cheese, green onions, celery, basil, apple juice, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Set tomatoes upright, trimming bottoms if necessary. Cut off tops and remove cores. Dice the tomato trimmings (except the stem) and add to the orzo salad. Scoop out the tomato pulp and discard. Invert tomatoes onto a plate lined with paper towels and let them drain. Before serving, fill each tomato with about ½ cup orzo salad. To serve, place each stuffed tomato on a plate and add about 1 cup of orzo salad around the base of the tomato. Serve cold or at room temperature. Servings: 6.

Live From New York

People flock to NY television shows
Sunday, June 3, 2007

By EVELYN SHIH
STAFF WRITER

Audience hopefuls wait in line, some for hours, for the chance to be part of the taping of "The Daily Show with John Stewart." Courtesy of northjersey.com. Photographer: Carmine Galasso.

With a smorgasbord of events going on in New York, where will you find new kicks this summer? Instead of a Broadway show, this may be the year some tap into one of the city's behind-the-scenes resources: the studio television taping.

Live audience shows that tape in New York include evergreen staples such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," popular fake news programs "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report," food-friendly fare such as "Emeril Live" and Food Network alum Rachael Ray's new day-time talk show, the daytime fireworks session that is "The View" and, of course, "Saturday Night Live."

In total, more than a dozen televised shows tape in the Big Apple. Unlike many Manhattan tourist destinations, these shows are free. There is one catch: You will pay with your time – time spent doing some research, and, later, waiting in line.

Conan is worried, but you shouldn't be. Courtesy of centerclick.org.

Most of these shows have dedicated ticket Web sites or telephone numbers where you can request seats in advance. And while some of the more popular shows may have months-long waiting lists, unlike many out-of-town tourists, North Jersey residents have the home-field advantage.

Small tweaks and uncertainties in the actual show date aren't as big an issue when plane or train tickets aren't at stake. And being local also gives you more of an opportunity to scratch a last-minute talk show itch, making staking out early spots for standby tickets only a moderate inconvenience.

Going Undercover

To test drive the process, I decided to attend a taping of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" as a member of the studio audience.

The NBC peacock, courtesy of...well, NBC, I guess.

First things first: I called NBC and requested a ticket by phone, leaving my name and e-mail. Within a day, I received an e-mail with instructions to arrive "no later than 4:15 p.m." for a 5:30 p.m. taping a month from that date. Because programs often overbook, spaces were "not guaranteed" and were allotted on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To try to "guarantee" myself a spot, I arrived nearly an hour early at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where "Conan" is taped. Seeing no signs, I asked a security guard, who promptly directed me to the second floor. Within minutes, two official-looking men with clipboards had checked me off their list, and I had the keys to the kingdom: a green "Conan O'Brien" paper wristband and a purple voucher that guaranteed my place ... in line.

Now I had to fill the time before the audience was to meet up at a nearby stairway at 4:15 p.m. At 30 Rock, you can browse the oh-so-conveniently located NBC gift shop or downstairs in the basement retail concourse.

Waiting game
30 Rock: Not as cool as the show. Courtesy of Nbc.com

The last 20 minutes were a delicate dance: I needed to stay close enough to pounce when the actual queueing up began, but far enough to not be noticed by Katie P., the curt NBC employee who kept shooing us away from the stairwell for "fire safety" reasons.

"You cannot wait here," she trumpeted at the shaggy teens slouched against the wall and the middle-aged couple sporting NBC merchandise bags. "Take a walk around the building. Please come back at 4:15."

At 4:16, I suddenly noticed that a four-person-wide line of my wrist-banded compatriots was swarming up the stairs. I squeezed into line in a hurry.

But I rapidly realized that it made no difference whether I was the first one up the stairs or the last. My voucher, labeled with the letter "N," was my place holder ... in the holding area. There we waited some more as Katie P. and her colleagues warned us not to harbor metal -- we would be passed in line if we didn't pass the detector. Finally, we coursed back down some stairs, through the safety check, and into an elevator.

We were ushered into a small studio, with just a few hundred seats, which the crowd filled in orderly fashion. Conan's desk and the stage area where he delivers his monologue seemed tiny, crammed in shoulder to shoulder. A bandstand for the Max Weinberg 7, Conan's musical foil, crouched against the audience on stage right.

Warm-ups, then showtime

Conan! Courtesy of pleasantmorningbuzz.com

A few minutes before showtime, a comedian comes out to warm up the audience. At the comedian's mention of New Jersey, a large whoop takes over the upper middle section of the audience.

But nothing compares with the excitement of the crowd at 5:20, when Conan himself springs into the room with his long, thin frame to grace us with his own warm-up. He leaps right into the front row and perches there, mantis-like without his suit jacket, adding a few hip thrusts in time with the band's music.

Conan looks even thinner than on television, and more earnest. He riffs off the audience around him for about five minutes before the band sends him back out the door for his jacket with a jazzy number. The audience buzzes with energy. After a few camera position adjustments, Max Weinberg whips into the familiar Conan theme. And now, for the first time, the "APPLAUSE" sign shows off its high wattage, but we hardly notice: We're genuinely excited.

Let the show begin.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com
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Advice for attending

• Plan ahead. We're talking months in advance if you want to snag tickets for popular shows. Comedy Central representatives recommend booking three months in advance for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and five or six months ahead for "The Colbert Report." Why the discrepancy? Audience size and taping schedules vary. The "Colbert" studio seats 110, while Stewart's digs seat 216. Both tape four times weekly. By contrast, "Letterman" seats a whopping 461 and tapes five days a week.

• Do your research. TV shows operate on different schedules – so aspiring audience members should consult a show's Web site for specifics. Shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Emeril Live" tape a set number of episodes throughout the year, depending on the length and cycle of their seasons. "Rachael Ray" is currently booking audience members for its second season, which starts taping in November. August is a big request month for shows like "Martha Stewart" and "Saturday Night Live."

Dave Letterman. Courtesy of cbs.com.

• If you decide to go last minute, check out the show's standby policy. In many cases, this involves lining up once in the morning for a standby spot, and then again before the actual showtime. Keep in mind that there are no guarantees for standby.

• Go prepared to wait. Getting a ticket is half the battle. Next comes the wait to see the taping. And it is a wait – anywhere from an hour to two. Bring snacks and water, and dress appropriately, keeping the weather in mind.

• Follow the rules. Do not bring still or video cameras, and do not carry anything sinister that will set off a metal detector, which many shows employ. They mean it when they say the line will move on without you!

• Be ready to pounce. Many shows take e-mail requests and do not inform you whether you have seats for the requested date until a few weeks before the show date. Try to leave your schedule open during a general time period -- and don't set your heart on a date.

• Play along. Not only should you follow the instructions on your e-ticket to a T, you should also do what hosts ask of you. During a recent "Conan" taping, an audience member received a pair of Max Weinberg's drumsticks after stepping up to hug Conan during the warm-up.

Shows that tape in New York City

"The Daily Show"
"The Colbert Report"
"Late Night With Conan O'Brien"
"Saturday Night Live"
"Late Show With David Letterman"
"The View"
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
"Montel Williams"
"Martha Stewart"
"Rachael Ray"
"The Maury Povich Show"
"Emeril Live" (lottery system)
"Judge Hatchett"
"CenterStage" (tapes sporadically)

Copyright © 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.