Fishing

Ever watched an episode of "Next Iron Chef" and thought, "I'd give anything for a little smellavison!"? This week, you can actually go a step further and taste a recipe from the show. Chef Eric "Greeny" Greenspan, a competitor on the current season, will serve his Secret Ingredient Showdown dish from Sunday night's episode at his restaurant the Foundry on Melrose. In one of the biggest upsets of the season, Greenspan was eliminated from the competition  Sunday night . The dish that did him in?

Coral under attack from toxic seaweed can actually call for help, recruiting fishy bodyguards to fend off an attacker within minutes, a pair of scientists has found. When poison-producing algae make contact with coral, the coral can send out a chemical signal that alerts goby fish to come and eat away at the weed, according to a paper released Thursday by the journal Science. The platoon of gobies provides a last line of defense against toxic seaweed. The seaweed emits harmful chemicals that damage the coral, which it competes with for resources.

Unbuckling the mailbag: Question: I completely understand that you are the biggest USC honk in the land, but . . . the whole rest of the country is jumping on the ND bandwagon and you are being dragged behind in the dust. When are you going to give the Irish their props and at least admit they are real? William Trainor Answer: You should see my bumper-sticker collection: "I don't brake for Leprechauns. " "Honk if you hate the NCAA (but love personal foul penalties). " "Baby and vacated BCS title on board!"

MUSIC Hailing from San Francisco but possessed with a pan-cultural spirit far more difficult to pin down, Rupa and the April Fishes mix rock, gypsy music, reggae and Malian guitar tangles for an intoxicating live mix led by multilingual vocalist Rupa Marya. The group has performed with Devotchka and Manu Chao, and elements of its new album "Build" focus on social justice with references to Tahrir Square, Guantanamo and the Occupy movement. The Mint, 6010 West Pico Boulevard. L.A. Thu. 8:30 p.m. $12. http://www.themintla.com .

It's my favorite “Twilight Zone” episode. And news from Irvine this week -- OK, I'll say it, another fish-out-of-water story -- got me to thinking about it again. In “ To Serve Man ” (for you young folk), an alien race comes to Earth, bringing with them tools to end war and hunger and disease.  Our plan for you is all in this book, they tell Earth's leaders.  Written in their language, it's undecipherable to humans; government scientists can only crack the title: “To Serve Man.” But it all works out:  Happy, healthy, well-fed Earthlings are soon boarding spaceships to vacation on the aliens' home planet.

On behalf of the animal rights group PETA, an Irvine woman is asking the city to erect a memorial at the street corner where 1,600 pounds of fish died this month when a container truck crashed into two other vehicles. Dina Kourda, a volunteer with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote to the Irvine Public Works Department to request that a sign be placed at Walnut and Yale avenues to honor the lives of the fish - believed to be saltwater bass - lost in the accident. The fish had been stored in large tanks that cracked open as a result of the Oct. 11 accident.

More than 18 months after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, 40-foot tsunami and nuclear power plant woes that struck Japan starting March 11, 2011, levels of radioactive cesium 134 and cesium 137 originating from the crippled Fukushima-Daiichi plant remain elevated in some fish and seafood in nearby waters. That suggests that radiation from the plant is still being released into the ocean, wrote Ken Buesseler, a marine of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass., in a perspective article in Friday's edition of the journal Nature (subscription required.)

This week's Culinary SOS request comes from Arlene Rebuyon in Rancho Santa Margarita: "I love the mac 'n' cheese at King's Fish House. I specifically go there just for this dish. Could you please get the recipe?" King's Fish House, a Southern California chain, was happy to share its take on this classic comfort food.  Thanks, Arlene! You can find the recipe below. See more Culinary SOS recipes . If you have a favorite restaurant recipe you'd like to request, email me at noelle.carter@latimes.com . I'll do my best to track it down.

Dear SOS: I love the mac 'n' cheese at King's Fish House. I specifically go there just for this dish. Could you please get the recipe? Arlene Rebuyon Rancho Santa Margarita Dear Arlene: King's Fish House, a Southern California chain, was happy to share its take on this classic comfort food. Enjoy! Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Servings: 8 to 12 Note: Adapted from King's Fish House 1/4 cup (½ stick) butter plus 2 tablespoons melted butter, divided 1/4 cup flour 2 cups half-and-half 1 pound Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes 3/4 cup (4 ounces)