US – Thursday, March 18
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The week's releases
Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.
 
My Entertainment
Flash-fried finger-lickin’ chicken
Here, “un-fried” really means flash fried. Flash frying is a high-heat deep-frying technique used to rapidly brown small pieces of quickcooking food such as tiny calamari or small shrimp to avoid overcooking them before the crust browns. Flash flying requires an oil temperature of at least 400°F — which means you have to use an oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed oil. By poaching the chicken first and then flash frying it, I was able to eliminate 20 grams of fat and at least 250 calories from traditional fried chicken. Because the chicken is already cooked, it only has to spend enough time in the hot oil to brown the crust, which means it absorbs less oil.

Taken from “Now Eat This!” by Rocco DiSpirito.

 
My Entertainment
Take comfort in lighter dishes
As a chef, Rocco DiSpirito knows a thing or two about the transcendent, magical power of a stick of butter. But loading up on the good stuff wasn’t really an option when writing recipes for his new book “Now Eat This!,” a collection of comfort foods that clock in at under 350 calories.
 
Music
‘The age of the freak is almost here’
For the past few years the tourist shops near where the SXSW Music Conference takes place have been selling goods emblazoned with the axiom “Keep Austin Weird.” And if the first night of live music was any indication, visitors, revelers and performers are taking the sentiment to heart. Here are a few of the highlights from Wednesday
 
Philly Arts
Dreaming up life in a ‘Future City’
Gene Coleman has a recurring dream in which he finds himself in a strange city. “I don’t know where this place is, and I don’t think it’s any place that actually exists,” he says. “But it has these fantastic, almost surrealistic architectural qualities to it.”
 
Published 00:02, September the 24th, 2009
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de la Guardia, dancing with a whiter shade of Palin?de la Guardia, dancing with a whiter shade of Palin?
Photo: KAREN SYDER PHOTOGRAPHY
 

You betcha!

The vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden sparked constant political satire last year, but a local group has turned it into an opera

When Curtis K. Hughes watched the vice presidential debates last year, Palin and Biden’s amusing personalities and musical voices inspired him to compose a full-fledged opera he called “Say It Ain’t So, Joe.”

“Sarah Palin is melodious,” says Hughes. “Biden just drones on and on and on in one or two notes, or gets incredibly dynamic and wide ranging, then seems to exhaust himself and go back to the drone.”

The production, currently being staged by Guerilla Opera, aims to stay politically neutral, says Aliana de la Guardia, who acts as Diane Sawyer and Palin.

“A message is definitely that people should think for themselves and be aware of the media and how it works,” she says.

Most of the opera’s lyrics come straight from the text of the debate.

“I came out of it feeling like there were really no purely heroic figures in any of this,” says Hughes.

“If there’s any kind of evil character, it’s probably the media itself. I was just continuously dumbfounded by the really stupid things the media had to say and ask.”

‘Say It Ain’t So, Joe’
Through Sunday
Boston Conservatory
8 The Fenway, Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Hynes
$7-$12, 617-912-9222

KATRINA BALLARD
 
 
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Music
MMMpod
The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.
 
 
 
Metro Life Panel
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