Roast

When Susan had breast cancer, we heard a lot of lame remarks, but our favorite came from one of Susan's colleagues. She wanted, she needed, to visit Susan after the surgery, but Susan didn't feel like having visitors, and she said so. Her colleague's response? "This isn't just about you. " "It's not?" Susan wondered. "My breast cancer is not about me? It's about you?" The same theme came up again when our friend Katie had a brain aneurysm. She was in intensive care for a long time and finally got out and into a step-down unit.

A note from Pop & Hiss writer August Brown: My assignment to review KROQ's Weenie Roast 2013 coincided with a visit to L.A. from my mom, Helen Balz Brown, who previously wrote a counterpoint to my review of Power 106-FM's Powerhouse in 2009 . She's but a final thesis project away from a master's in journalism from the University of South Carolina. (It was due in 1974). Her review of Weenie Roast, commissioned by music editor Lorraine Ali, is the second in a recurring series.

Right now I've got two trays of tomatoes in the oven roasting very slowly. Fresh tomatoes aren't the best right now, but if you take smaller or cherry tomatoes, halve them and roast in a slow oven, they'll deepen in flavor as their juices concentrate. In the end, they're almost as sweet as candy. Lately, I've been making them with two-pound boxes of “cocktail” tomatoes on the vine from Camarillo, which my husband picked up at Costco. I basically use a method adapted from Patricia Wells' 2007 book “ Vegetable Harvest ” (William Morrow, $34.95)

2013 was the year indie finally conquered KROQ-FM. At the station's annual day-long Weenie Roast festival in Irvine on Saturday, almost every headliner evoked a certain scrappy outsiderdom -- even if those bands had radio hits hiding in their plaid shirts and adorably green-dyed hair. From the Black Keys' retro road-dogging to Of Monsters and Men's precious folk-pop and Vampire Weekend's class-conscious quirk, Weenie Roast's main acts subverted KROQ's reputation as a home for brawny bro-downs and '90s survivalists.

When I was a diehard vegetarian a number of years ago, packaged meat alternatives were slim pickings at best. Sure, you could find the occasional veggie "burger" or "hot dog," but there was no comparison to the real thing. Burned enough times, I grew wary of anything masquerading as meat. Especially a tofu "roast" during the holidays. Meat fanatic that I am nowadays, unless a tofu roast was studded with bacon, I probably wouldn't give it a second glance. But when I saw the Holiday Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute from Field Roast, I was curious . I decided to give a few of their products a try: the holiday roast (hazelnut-infused grain "meat" stuffed with Field Roast sausage, ginger, cranberries and apples, then wrapped in puff pastry)

Ooooh, the holiday season does bring out the cranky in some people, doesn't it? When our S. Irene Virbila wrote a blog post the other day about her new favorite roast chicken - from British chef Simon Hopkinson's “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” - some of the online commentary got a little hot. The issue is one of timing - Hopkinson (and Virbila) call for roasting the chicken for 40 to 60 minutes with the oven first on high heat at 475 degrees, finishing at 375 degrees. Someone calling himself “wordsmyythe” wrote: “I guarantee if you follow these directions exactly as stated, you'll have raw chicken on the inside.” And that was mild compared to the ironically named “decentdiscourse” who opined, “Where did they find a food writer who believes a whole chicken at 400 degrees will be ready for basting in 15 minutes and ready to eat less than an hour later?

Enough already! Hardly worthy of newsprint (although fittingly it was the lead story on local television news broadcasts), the Ted Danson and Whoopi Goldberg "blackface" incident has now garnered an editorial (Oct. 12) and two commentary pieces (Karen Grigsby Bates, Oct. 13 and Michelle Williams, Oct. 14) in The Times. Lighten up, folks; humor is generally offensive to someone--that's much of what makes it funny. Poles (and Aggies) have been the butt of jokes for generations, lawyers the object of cruel humor, and politicians are always fair game.

Jamie Lee Curtis is not happy, and Seth MacFarlane and the Oscars broadcast are to blame. MacFarlane, the Oscars and ... that song. (You know the one. But more on that later.) The "True Lies" and "Halloween" actress let her criticism fly in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post. "I was offended last week," she wrote Friday, referencing the Feb. 24 broadcast. "As an Academy member, as the child of former Academy members and as a woman, I expected more from the best that the movie business has to offer.

Comedian Jeffrey Ross knew he would upset some people when he showed up at the taping of the "Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne" dressed as deceased Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. But when he unleashed a few jokes connected to the recent "The Dark Night Rises" shootings in Colorado, he knew that the jokes would not make the Aug. 12 broadcast. And that's fine with him. "Yes, I crossed a line, and that is what the roasts are all about," Ross told NBC News. "That's what Roseanne is about -- unapologetic comedy.

Whether it's your first time or your 30th, there's always a point as you cook Thanksgiving dinner when you could use a little help. Maybe you need pointers on carving, or a brush-up course on gravy. You might simply want a good cranberry recipe (we've got one). Consider these pages your personal holiday cheat sheet. More Handbook on H14

The Black Keys, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Vampire Weekend top the lineup for the 2013 KROQ Weenie Roast, coming up May 18 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, KROQ officials announced Monday. Tickets go on sale this Friday for the annual indie rock-punk-pop show, which this year also includes Of Monsters and Men, Silversun Pickups, Jimmy Eat World,   Imagine Dragons Awolnation, Atlas Genius, C2C, Fitz & the Tantrums, the Neighbourhood, Capital Cities, New Politics and Twenty One Pilots.

Funny how the chicken has become our most beloved bird. My neighbor is raising some exotic chicks, but even those of us who don't go to that extreme have our own favorite named chickens to buy - Rosie, Rocky, Mary or the more exotically named Jidori. Roast chicken is the go-to dish for every chef I can name. And chicken is a perennial favorite on most restaurant menus - fried, pan-fried, rotisserie-roasted, in tagine , salad, soup, pot pie, curry and every which way. Here are three of my favorite chicken dishes in L.A. Bouchon Bouchon may be famous for its lusty fried chicken, and that is one of the great fried chickens of the world, but my heart is firmly fixed on Thomas Keller's roast chicken grand-mère , which may be the prettiest chicken dish in L.A. It arrives tall and proud, the breast stacked on top of the leg and thigh, with dainty pearl onions, demure fingerling potatoes, button mushrooms and bacon lardons strewn around the plate in the bird's winter savory-infused juices.

La Rioja Alta is one of the great old Rioja houses, best known for Viña Ardanza, long one of my favorite Riojas. The 2004 Viña Arana is winning me over, though. Made with 95% Tempranillo, rather than Ardanza's 80% (the rest being made up with Garnacha and, in the case of Arana, with Mazuelo), the 2004 has a beautiful balance and grace. It's all in there - dark cherries, licorice, leather and earth. Ready to drink now or put away for a while. Give this terrific Rioja some time in the glass for all its layers to show themselves.

Ever since I got Seattle chef John Sundstrom's cookbook and iPad app " Lark: Cooking against the Grain " (Community Supported Cookbooks, $50 for the book; $9.99 for the app), I've been cooking out of the book like crazy. For a Sunday supper, his mustard roasted chicken with drippings, potatoes and chard is easy as can be. Basically he mixes together equal parts Dijon mustard and whole grain mustard with minced shallot, thyme leaves, a glug of olive oil and a big splash of white wine.

As the mayoral candidates crossed the two-month mark until the runoff election, Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti are struggling with a bit of a paradox -- the two long-time, pro-labor Democrats are jockeying over which of them is more likely to stand up to city-employee union demands. Both candidates have labor backing, but the most influential and deep-pocketed unions have thrown their support behind Greuel. That has resulted in a political dynamic few expected -- Greuel has emerged as the de facto labor candidate while Garcetti has been painted as a union nemesis.

Los Angeles mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti have traded bitter campaign attacks for months. At an annual fundraiser for diabetes research Thursday night, they traded jokes. The rivals took the stage at the Los Angeles Political Roast, which brought hundreds of elected leaders, lobbyists and other City Hall power players to the Beverly Hilton to have fun with serious issues like low voter turnout and the city's financial crisis. Their target this year was Councilman Tom LaBonge, who was ribbed for his love of television cameras and his rather ample waist size.

If you're going to spend the money for a rolled beef roast, get the most for your dollars by understanding the quality and type of meat you're buying, then preparing and roasting it in a way that will get the best flavor and most tenderness from the meat. The three top USDA grades of meat are prime, choice and select. The difference between grades is the amount of marbling--the streaks of fat interlaced with lean muscle tissue. Prime meat has the most marbling and is the most tender.

Faith Ryan Whittlesey, in addition to being the highest-ranking woman in the Reagan White House, also has been described as its last true conservative. Reportedly battle-fatigued from dealing with White House moderates who do not see eye-to-eye with her, Whittlesey will leave her post as White House director of public liaison next month to resume her job as ambassador to Switzerland. But her kindred spirits could not let her go without that fine Washington tradition, a farewell roast.

Jamie Lee Curtis is not happy, and Seth MacFarlane and the Oscars broadcast are to blame. MacFarlane, the Oscars and ... that song. (You know the one. But more on that later.) The "True Lies" and "Halloween" actress let her criticism fly in an opinion piece for the Huffington Post. "I was offended last week," she wrote Friday, referencing the Feb. 24 broadcast. "As an Academy member, as the child of former Academy members and as a woman, I expected more from the best that the movie business has to offer.

Roasted chiles are great for adding wonderfully rich flavors and depth to a recipe, and they're amazingly easy to prepare. To roast peppers, place whole fresh peppers on a rack over a stove-top burner (if you're roasting large peppers that will fit directly onto the burner grate without slipping through, you can skip the rack) and turn on the burner. Rotate the peppers over the fire using a set of tongs just until the outer skin blackens and blisters and becomes charred on all sides.