Beef

WHAT COLOR is mad-cow disease on the Homeland Security alert system? The newly discovered case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Washington state is not the reason Tom Ridge issued last week's "orange" warning. But the threat of BSE is worth taking seriously, maybe even more so than threats from outside terrorists. When it comes to preventing food-related illness, the enemy may be us. The mad-cow outbreak that led to the deaths of 153 humans, and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of cattle in Europe has its roots, most speculate, in the diseased sheep that were being fed to livestock cattle.

Beef? It's what's not for dinner, at least in its traditional "and- potatoes" form. Pork, the other white meat? Get that chop outtahere. Iceberg lettuce? Its appeal is melting away. But arugula? A-OK. Kiwi's catching on, shiitakes are shooting off the shelves, and crowds are milling in front of the gourmet shelves at Copps grocery in Appleton, Wis., a town more middle-American than which you cannot get. So saith the Wall Street Journal in an article that contends Americans who've never had a whiff of Walnut Street are now cooking more like Georges Perrier than Betty Crocker.

WHAT DO YOU get the carnivore on your list who has everything? Why, meat, of course. Even beyond kitchen gimcracks and gadgets, the ideal gift for the friend or loved one who loves great food is an experience - something he or she can touch, taste, feel, smell. Typically, this person dines out often, making a restaurant gift-certificate one step away from ho-hum. But he appreciates a good cut of meat and may be an expert grillmaster at home, quick to sear up inch-thick Delmonicos on his 154,000 B.T.U.

When people shop for beef, they usually do it at a favorite supermarket or meat store, and tend to think the meat came from that particular store. But not too far in the future, beef will be sold as a brand item much as chicken and pork products are today. Rod Bowling, vice president of Monfort of Colorado Inc., said brand beef will change the way packers buy beef from producers and the way grocery stores market the product. Jim Gryzmala of Monfort said his company is conducting research for some supermarkets on brandname beef and also precooked beef.

YO, CHEFS! I would like to know how Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant in Chinatown makes its orange beef. Helen T. Diehl Philadelphia Dear Helen, Peter Fong, the former chef at Harmony, is now the manager of Singapore Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, also in Chinatown. He gave us this version of orange "beef," which is a popular dish at both places. Fong makes all his "meat," "poultry" and "seafood" dishes from tempeh, or soy gluten, a protein substitute that is available at most Asian markets and health-food stores.

RE "KOBE: NO love in the 2-1-5": As much as Kobe Bryant would love to be embraced by MY hometown of Philly, he needs to realize that it just ain't gonna happen. Philadelphia loves the rest of our hometown professional athletes who represent that blue-collar Philly spirit, like Rasheed Wallace, Aaron McKie, Cuttino Mobley, and Rip Hamilton (even though he's officially from Coatesville). So what is it about Phonie Bryant that makes him draw boos here unlike any boos ever uttered for Santa Claus or Destiny's Child?

My daddy told me once, "Son, never throw a necktie away!" That was Daddy's way of sayin' "what goes around, comes around," or "everything old will one day be new again. " Daddy was right! Seems he always was, especially when it came to meat. After all the bad rap, meat, particularly beef, has gotten in recent years, it seems "according to recent surveys" to be making a comeback. A survey conducted in January and June of 1987 by Walker Research Inc. showed "an increase in consumers' positive perception of beef during that period.

I'm not as sure today as I was yesterday about what I knew for sure was true the day before. It's a bit unsettling. For years, I have believed that more people are disappointed with the beef they buy today because it hasn't been properly aged than for any other single reason. Well, last week we had a taste test. It's a bit unsettling. Albert Levie, president of Gulliver's Restaurants and one of this nation's foremost meat authorities, organized a taste test at his southern California restaurant in Marina del Rey to try to determine the effect of "dry" vs. "wet" aging on the palatability of beef steaks.

Beef used to come to market in carcass form, with the bones still in. Yeah, it did. I know it's hard to believe. You seldom see a bone these days but that's the way beef used to come. All of the cutting was done on the premises by the butcher or butchers on duty and the cuts of beef were pretty basic, most often identified by the shape of the bone that was in them. You had, for example, your basic T-bone steak, then there was the sirloin steak which was either "round bone sirloin," or "flat bone sirloin" or "wedge bone sirloin," depending on the shape of the bone.

JOHN M. Kaufmann, who wrote that he couldn't find any conservative-slanted books on display at a major local bookstore, raises a valid point. While I'm a staunch Kerry supporter, having the ability to purchase material concerning the other side of the political coin should never be made difficult. Removing Bush from office is critical, but it doesn't trump the right of American voters to have access to any and all viewpoints that help them form a decision. Tom Speyer, Philadelphia

Deborah Madison - gardener, author, restaurateur and chef - is famous for her love of vegetables and deep knowledge of vegetarian cooking. But ask her about veggie burgers, and you get a surprising blast. "I hate the word 'veggie.' I don't even like the word 'burger,' " she says, "and I'm not really into veggie burgers. " Like it or not, the veggie burger is everywhere these days, from fast-food chains to hipster hangouts and places in between, including the frozen-food case in the supermarket.

Makes 6 servings 2 pounds beef          chuck, cut into    1/2-inch cubes 1 tablespoon             cumin 1 tablespoon             coriander 2 teaspoon chili          powder 1 teaspoon             cinnamon 4 tablespoons          olive oil 1 large yellow          onion, diced 2 carrots, large          dice ...

Whether it's newspapers, magazines, or direct mail, printing has been a difficult business to be in over the last few years. So it caught my attention Tuesday when Quad/Graphics Inc. , one of the nation's biggest printers, announced that it would be making "multimillion- dollar" investments in two plants, including one in Westampton. The publicly traded Quad/Graphics said it would be adding mail processing and equipment to create "commingling centers" at Westampton and a plant in Effingham, Ill., to cut the postage costs for direct-mail clients.

WASHINGTON - Gun-control legislation the Senate debates next month will include an expansion of federal background checks for firearms buyers, Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday in a victory for advocates of gun restrictions. The announcement underscores that Democrats intend to take an aggressive approach in the effort to broaden the checks, currently required only for transactions involving federally licensed firearms dealers. President Obama and many supporters of curbing guns in and out of Congress consider an expansion of the system to private gun sales to be the most effective response lawmakers could take in the aftermath of December's school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Worried about horse meat in your beef? Try water buffalo, donkey, and goat. South African food scientists said they have found all three in mislabeled foods including beef burgers, ground beef and sausages. A study published by three professors at Stellenbosch University found that 68 percent of 139 samples contained species not declared in the product label, with the highest incidence in sausages, burger patties and deli meats. The study found soy and gluten were not labeled in 28 percent of products tested.

WICHITA, KAN. - Years of drought are reshaping the U.S. beef industry with feedlots and a major meatpacking plant closing because there are too few cattle left in the United States to support them. Some feedlots in the nation's major cattle-producing states have already been dismantled, and others are sitting empty. Operators say they don't expect a recovery anytime soon, with high feed prices, much of the country still in drought and a long time needed to rebuild herds. The closures are the latest ripple in the shockwave the drought sent through rural communities.

Bullfighting gains in Spain MADRID - Spain took a key first step Tuesday toward enshrining bullfighting as a key part of the nation's cultural heritage, a move that could roll back a ban on the blood-soaked pageants in the northeastern region of Catalonia. Lawmakers in parliament accepted a petition from bullfight supporters asking for the special status in a 180-40 vote that included 107 abstentions. A parliamentary cultural commission will now begin work on proposed legislation over the coming months with expectations that it will go to a vote this year.

As Pub & Kitchen on Lombard Street prepares for change, with the recent departure of chef Jonathan Adams and a brief closure for renovations in March, the menu under interim chef Palmer Marinelli is as good as ever, from the super-savory whey-braised pork sandwich to the silky salted caramel pudding for dessert. But if ever there was a dish to carry the devoted through the coldest winter months, it is this stellar take on steak and ale pie. Whole beef shoulders are braised down to tender cubes, then sauced with Black IPA gravy and root veggies, the malty darkness perked with a hops that give a potentially somber stew some bright personality.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - NATO agreed Tuesday to send new American-made air defenses to Turkey's volatile southern border with Syria, a boost to an alliance member on the front lines of the civil war and a potential backstop for wider U.S. or NATO air operations if Syria deteriorates further. The military alliance's approval of Patriot antimissile batteries represents NATO's first significant military involvement in the 20-month-long crisis, even if it falls well short of rebel demands for help.

As dawn breaks over the city, the meat men pull up at restaurant back doors, dropping off steaks, ground beef, and other cuts. More of these trucks now bear a 201 or 646 area code on their doors. Pat LaFrieda and DeBragga & Spitler - New York-rooted butchers who enjoy cult followings among chefs who rave about their dry-aging - have recently begun nibbling at the wholesale-beef business in the region. Their appearance in Philadelphia has everything to do with the price of real estate in Lower Manhattan.