Brown Sugar

The revival of Bubbling Brown Sugar that opened last night at the Walnut Street Theater has the lightly purposeful manner of a show that has done it before and knows exactly how to do it again, maybe a little better. It has been 11 years since audiences at the same theater saw the the first edition of this golden-oldies revue of black pop music. The cast has changed, and the staging has become more sophisticated even if the remnants of the book are still an embarrassment. The great popular success of the musical (two years on Broadway, a year in London)

Although a frequent flaw in many of the musical productions presented at the Claridge Hotel & Casino during the last couple of years has been careless casting of the star roles, producer Maynard Sloate found the right man for the job with his latest shore show, Bubbling Brown Sugar. Billy Daniels is not only the right man for this mission, he is perfect. Bubbling Brown Sugar wasn't written with Daniels in mind, but it could have been. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1976, and Daniels stepped into the role of John Sage two years later for a highly successful London production.

Even now when its star should shine brightest, winter squash tends to be a victim of culinary abuse. Here it is, available everywhere in prime condition: inexpensive, flavorful, easy to prepare. It's low in calories and high in healthfulness, loaded with fiber and beta-carotene, the Vitamin A precursor that is currently much in the news for its beneficial qualities. But what happens to this monument of nutritional correctness as soon as it hits the kitchen? Butter and brown sugar!

The 75-year-old woman behind the musical Bubbling Brown Sugar looks as though she would be more at home in a church than in the nightclubs of 1920s Harlem glorified in the musical, now at the Walnut Street Theater. But actress Rosetta LeNoire knew the nightlife of Harlem well. As a child, she recalled in a recent interview, "we lived at 137th Street and Seventh Avenue, facing the Renaissance Theater. " She pointed to a picture on the wall of her office at the Manhattan-based AMAS Repertory Theater, which she founded 17 years ago. "My godfather, Uncle Bo - there he is over there - there is no place he wouldn't take me. " No ordinary uncle, Uncle Bo was Bill Robinson, the legendary "Bojangles," perhaps the most famous tap-dancer of the century.

Three years after Joni Mitchell apparently dissed him in the song "Not to Blame," Jackson Browne is extracting his revenge by branding Mitchell "very embittered" for not getting her due as a musical innovator and a "violent" woman who physically attacked him twice. "She's not really well," says Browne in a Dallas Morning News interview. ". . . She has had deep fallings-out with many people in her life. . . . She's not a happy person, and what she said in that song is absolutely, 100 percent wrong.

Phil Schmidt used to buy his penny candy at the local Hunt's Kaiser Store in Collegeville. Decades later, he owns it, but it's Phamous Phil's BBQ & Grille now. Pay particular attention to the Sloppy Phil sandwich ($7.99), a variation of the sloppy Joe that blends chopped pieces of his ribs (from Leidy's in Harleysville), onion, green pepper, brown sugar, and seasonings on a sturdy kaiser roll from Norristown's Corropolese Bakery. And to the Western Beef sandwiches ($7.99)

The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, as Adam Bonin figured. While wooing writer Jennifer Weiner a decade ago, Bonin decided he would learn to cook, a decision prompted by a trip to the Williams-Sonoma store at the Bellevue, where he picked up The Best Recipe , a volume in the Cook's Illustrated series. "This is a book on cooking written for someone like me," says Bonin, a lawyer. "It explained the science and the technique, and why certain things work. " And besides, cooking "is a form of self-expression.

Dear Polly: Several years ago, we discovered that if you buy day-old bread (especially whole wheat), freeze it and then thaw it, it tastes like fresh- baked. Doing the same to fresh-baked white bread makes it taste almost like cake! - J.M.K. Dear Polly: When cooking cauliflower, add a little milk (about 1 teaspoonful). It helps to keep the cauliflower white. My toilet gets brownish stains because I have hard water. I flush the toilet, then before the water comes back, I use a steel wool soap pad to scrub the stain away.

Children and teens get too much added sugar in their diets, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly one in every six calories they eat and drink comes from some type of added sugar. That isn't exactly surprising, but the statistics underscore the magnitude of the problem. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of U.S. children and teens ages 2 to 19 found that: Boys consumed an average of 361 calories' worth of added sugar a day. For girls, the daily average was 282. Though the total amount of added sugar in the diet was higher for boys than for girls, the proportion of total calories from added sugar was similar - 16.3 percent for boys and 15.5 percent for girls.

Dear Polly: I keep a scented candle in my bathroom. During the evening when I am home, I light it. It makes a pleasant night light and has a lovely scent. I put it out when I retire for the night. - Jean Be absolutely certain the candle is in a safe, fireproof area and can't tip over, drop hot wax on flammable materials or otherwise cause a fire hazard. Dear Polly: For a couple of days now, I have been trying to care for my badly chapped hands. I have to wash them frequently and try to keep hand lotion on them.

Children and teens get too much added sugar in their diets, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly one in every six calories they eat and drink comes from some type of added sugar. That isn't exactly surprising, but the statistics underscore the magnitude of the problem. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of U.S. children and teens ages 2 to 19 found that: Boys consumed an average of 361 calories' worth of added sugar a day. For girls, the daily average was 282. Though the total amount of added sugar in the diet was higher for boys than for girls, the proportion of total calories from added sugar was similar - 16.3 percent for boys and 15.5 percent for girls.

An excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " So the plan for my daughter's Super Bowl viewing party was the white chili featured last week. But here is the joy of roommates and male friends: There is no such thing as making something in advance. And no such thing as leftovers. The chili was consumed within minutes - housed was actually the verb my daughter used - the night it was made. Thus the need for another game-day recipe, something easy that would feed a group.

Phil Schmidt used to buy his penny candy at the local Hunt's Kaiser Store in Collegeville. Decades later, he owns it, but it's Phamous Phil's BBQ & Grille now. Pay particular attention to the Sloppy Phil sandwich ($7.99), a variation of the sloppy Joe that blends chopped pieces of his ribs (from Leidy's in Harleysville), onion, green pepper, brown sugar, and seasonings on a sturdy kaiser roll from Norristown's Corropolese Bakery. And to the Western Beef sandwiches ($7.99)

The way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, as Adam Bonin figured. While wooing writer Jennifer Weiner a decade ago, Bonin decided he would learn to cook, a decision prompted by a trip to the Williams-Sonoma store at the Bellevue, where he picked up The Best Recipe , a volume in the Cook's Illustrated series. "This is a book on cooking written for someone like me," says Bonin, a lawyer. "It explained the science and the technique, and why certain things work. " And besides, cooking "is a form of self-expression.

PUMPKIN-BUTTERMIK PANCAKES 3 cups flour 3 tablespoons sugar 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup milk 3 eggs 3 ounces butter, melted 2 cups Homemade Pumpkin Puree (see below) Butter Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar together in a bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, milk and butter; stir just until ingredients incorporated. Fold in pumpkin. Melt butter in medium-hot skillet and pour some batter in. Cook on one side till batter firms up and bottom browns; flip to brown other side.

Cooking outdoors doesn't always have to mean grilling food on an open rack. This recipe from Francis Mallmann's "Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way," uses a flat metal griddle called a chapa to cook the pork. A large cast-iron skillet or griddle would work just as well. You also can cook this on the stovetop. Use the confit, cut into small strips, as a garnish with any roasted meat or poultry, or as an addition to salads, soups or stews. PORK TENDERLOIN WITH BURNT BROWN SUGAR, ORANGE CONFIT AND THYME 6 pieces orange confit, plus 2 tablespoons confit oil (recipe below)

  With the Super Bowl coming Sunday, we consulted a few experts on how to serve a spread that just might replace the commercials as the highlight of the evening. Your "coaching" staff: Ann Taylor Pittman , food editor at Cooking Light magazine, who once hosted a Super Bowl party with a mashed potato bar. "Standard mashed potatoes, smashed red-skin potatoes, and mashed sweet potatoes. I had three slow cookers and all kinds of toppings. People loved that. " John T. Guseman , author of the recently released Driveway Chef's Cookbook for the Football Season , a book of themed recipes for each team in the league.

Put your crock pot to good use with these recipes, the first from Mount Airy schoolteacher Maryann Domanska. CROCK-POT POT ROAST 2 pound boneless beef pot roast 1 cup red wine 1 cup warm water, with 1 cube beef bouillon mixed in 1 tablespoon Maggi Seasoning Sauce (or Worchestershire sauce) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 4 medium baking potatoes, chopped 1 onion, diced 4 whole carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, chopped The night before: Marinate pot roast in red wine and refrigerate.

Good-luck Dutch treat The Dutch Eating Place's serpentine lunch counter at the Reading Terminal Market is known for no-crust chicken pot pie and oversized farm breakfasts. But this week customers will likely be ordering its juicy pork and sauerkraut special (with mashed potatoes), the traditional New Year's good-luck platter for the Pennsylvania Dutch. We don't know about the luck. But it's unquestionably a great comfort. (The pork loin - chopped and stewed with brown sugar and the kraut - is from L. Halteman, the local duck and meat stall a few aisles away.

Q: I would like to stock up on peaches for the winter. Please tell me how I go about freezing them, or is it better to go the preserving jar route? I would also like to know why the yolks always turn dark around the edges every time I hard-boil eggs. They don't look right in a salad; what am I doing wrong? - LC A: Freezing peaches is a great way to save them for delicious uses throughout the year. Of course, you could travel down the "jar-preserving route," but for someone who's not looking to do the hard work, that can end up being a road with a lot of potholes.