Pork

Let's see if we can make some sense out of this new version of Washington gridlock, the successful Republican filibuster that skunked President Clinton's economic stimulus plan, the one that would have meant about $70 million for Philadelphia. First, Arlen Specter, the Philadelphia senator who voted with the bad guys, claims to have acted out of principle. But enough humor. This is serious. What we have here is worthwhile projects, things that probably should be done even without considering their economic effect, going undone for naked political reasons.

It's what we've come to expect from Congress, especially in the House, where scores of people have been driven mad because they haven't gotten to be chairmen of committees since Ike was a pup. This week's circus has featured many of the Honorables baying at the moon and making the hilarious claim that the president is "partisan," as they plan to oppose him should he declare that the sun rises in the East. After the administration had given the Republicans anything they might want in a crime bill - lots of death penalties, prisons enough to hold the next several generations of Americans and a promise to continue racially skewed executions - flecks of foam remained around their mouths.

Cantonese-style roast pork is a favorite specialty at Chinese take-outs. Easily identified by its reddish-brown glaze, the pork is tender and succulent. It's ideal as a main course, added to stir-fried rice or noodles, or used as a topping for scrambled eggs or omelettes. Thanks to a fragrant marinade made with simple Asian seasonings, and to slow roasting, home cooks can produce savory results that are a near match for Cantonese "barbecued" pork from Chinese restaurants. Cantonese Roast Pork Makes 4 to 6 servings 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon minced ginger 2 tablespoons minced shallot or green onion 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry (see note)

Down the road from Grandma Peng and the woman called Old Zhao are 2,500 reasons why Chinese farmers will have to work even harder in the future. Pigs. Zhu Huanxian, 45, has the biggest pig farm in Yangzhen. Before Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, he worked for the village commune. He became a pig farmer in 1989 and borrowed money to buy his own business this year. His farm supplies pork to the village of Yangzhen, as well as to markets 18 miles away in Beijing. Like all Chinese, Zhu can measure his affluence by mouthfuls of pork.

How much pork would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck pork? Woodchucks like Punxsutawney Phil, that legendary meteorological marmot, usually don't eat meat. But that didn't stop Rep. John Peterson (R., Pa.) from lavishing $100,000 worth of federal pork on the groundhog's hometown in Peterson's district, to upgrade a weather museum. With a regularity straight out of the movie Groundhog Day, federal "earmarks" such as this one reappear each appropriations season.

The National Pork Producers Council has asked retailers to lower retail pork prices and to increase price specials. Don Gingerich, the council's president, said last week that the organization had asked 20 major retailers to reconsider their pricing of pork. Pork is carrying about a 40 percent markup in the meat case, which he said was unfair considering the prices that producers are paid for their hogs. "We are not asking (retailers) to take a loss," but cooperation is needed to avoid damage to producers, Gingerich said.

In a state full of bad ideas about how to distribute taxpayers' money, New Jersey's recently revealed "Norcross Grants" stand out. Trenton has had all kinds of creative names for pork distribution - "Property Tax Assistance and Community Development"; "Livable Communities. " There have been colorful nicknames, too. The infamous "Mac account" - conjuring images of a cash machine - referred to then-Treasurer John McCormac, whose department oversaw the fund. But the name "Norcross Grants" - which, for good reasons, was not used in public - tells a plainer and even uglier truth.

Their little piggies are going to market, but not before they helped their owners make at least a little bit of Farm Show history this week. Two students from the W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences at 7100 Henry Ave. in Philadelphia were honored for raising prize-winning pigs in separate market-hog categories. Robert Corradi, a senior, won a grand champion prize for his Yorkshire pig. Jonathan Monford, also a senior, won the reserve champion award for his pig in the Berkshire division.

The chain: California Pizza Kitchen Location: 4040 City Ave. Order time: Leisurely. Price: $13. Company Description: "Slow-roasted pulled pork, red onions, cilantro pesto, Mozzarella and Queso Quesadilla cheese with SPICY habanero salsa. " Calories: 1,170, with 6 grams of fiber, 65 grams of protein, 18 grams of saturated fat, 2,210 mgs. of salt and 118 grams of carbs. Review: CPK has a variety of odd, interesting pizza choices, but the Gang decided to pig out on this new pulled-pork entry.

I'm pushing chorizo, the in-your-face paprika-laden sausage, to the top of my list of dearly beloved pork products. My only hesitation is a reluctance to betray bacon, for which I had a fervor decades before it was, like cupcakes and balsamic vinegar, marketed into a cliche. Let me note that, after a few minutes of horror, I, too, have rejected as hogwash recent propaganda from a pork advocacy group in England that the world will run short of pork - bacon was stressed in the stories to induce panic and hoarding - next year due to bad weather this year.

WASHINGTON - An analysis of more than 33,000 cases of foodborne illness shows that ground beef and chicken have caused more hospitalizations than other meats. The report by the Center for Science in Public Interest says chicken nuggets, ham and sausage pose the lowest risk of foodborne illness. The group used government data on 1,700 outbreaks over 12 years to analyze salmonella, E. coli, and other pathogens that were definitively linked to a certain meat. CSPI categorized turkey and steak as "high risk" and deli meat, pork, roast beef and beef or pork barbecue as "medium risk.

A small amount of chorizo provides big flavor. Roasted Pork Tenderloin With Black Bean-Chorizo Ragu Makes 6 to 8 servings Ingredients: 1 3/4 pounds trimmed pork tenderloins (2 pieces) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon dried oregano Salt and black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, cut in 1/4-inch dice (1 cup) 1/2 medium red pepper, cut in 1/4-inch dice (1/2 cup) 4 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 1/2 cups black beans (homemade or 15-ounce can, drained)

WASHINGTON - The bill was 153 pages long. It was written only the day before, by Washington insiders working in the dark of night. It was crammed with giveaways and legislative spare parts: tax breaks for wind farms and race tracks. A change to nuclear-weapons policy. Government payments for cheese. And most significant, the bill would raise taxes but do relatively little to cut government spending or the huge federal deficit. To a tea-party-influenced crop of House Republicans, the bill to resolve the fiscal cliff crisis was everything they had wanted to change about the way Washington worked.

CHRISTMAS WITHOUT the swine? Not in Jose's world. Although he was born in Chicago, "Iron Chef" and restaurateur Jose Garces is a product of his parents' Ecuadorean roots. While other families were passing the Pillsbury dinner rolls and carving the holiday Butterball turkey, his clan reveled in roasted leg of pork with sides like black beans and roasted hominy salad. In his family, like those of millions of other newly minted Americans, embracing a new home came with a heaping helping of old homeland comfort food on the side.

Ramen Boy lasted, oh, about as long as one slurp. Or so it seemed for this sleek Chinatown entry from the owners of Yakitori Boy into the city's suddenly piping hot ramen scene. After a steady thrum of (justified) bad buzz on the "Yokohama-style" bowls, it closed after just five months while the owners regrouped. What a remarkable turnaround they've made in forming a new partnership with the Terakawa ramen restaurants from New York, which brought new recipes and a new chef. The cozy wood counter decor is the same, but the soups, focusing on richer tonkotsu, the cloudy broth steeped from Berkshire pork bones in the Kyushu style, are entirely more satisfying, and definitely worth another visit.

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat: Craig LaBan: First off, I have the recipe for that fantastic Israeli couscous I was bragging about last week. It comes from my good friend Michelle Shlomo, who shares it with our family every year under their sukkah. Here it is: www.philly.com/couscous . Reader: Favorite fall beers (pumpkin and/or Octoberfest) this season? C.L: For pumpkin, I've always loved the Dogfish's Punk the best - don't like my beer to taste like pie. Though I haven't done an extensive survey, I feel pumpkin ales have become like the molten chocolate cake . . . Drank those, pretty much done with 'em. For 'fest, I'm always partial to the brews of Ayinger, one of my favorite German breweries, period.

I'm pushing chorizo, the in-your-face paprika-laden sausage, to the top of my list of dearly beloved pork products. My only hesitation is a reluctance to betray bacon, for which I had a fervor decades before it was, like cupcakes and balsamic vinegar, marketed into a cliche. Let me note that, after a few minutes of horror, I, too, have rejected as hogwash recent propaganda from a pork advocacy group in England that the world will run short of pork - bacon was stressed in the stories to induce panic and hoarding - next year due to bad weather this year.

HERE'S A recipe for Pork Albondigas from Christina Wilson's winning dinner menu on Season 10 of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen. " It has the same proportions as the dish did for the show. It makes about 60 small meatballs - perfect for a party. PORK ALBONDIGAS 2 cups Spanish onion, small dice 2 tablespoons garlic, minced 2 tablespoons shallots, fine dice 1 4-inch piece ginger, grated 4 tablespoons ground cumin 4 tablespoons ground coriander 3 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon coarse-ground black pepper 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 pounds ground pork 2 pounds hot Italian sausage, removed from casing 3 large eggs 1 cup panko bread crumbs 1 bunch cilantro, cleaned, picked and chiffonade chopped 2 bunches scallions, chiffonade 1/2 bunch mint, cleaned, picked and chiffonade 3 Serrano chilis, seeded and minced Salt and pepper to taste In a saucepan over medium flame, heat the butter and sauté the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.

Here's a quick alternative to grilling pork tenderloin: cut it into slices, then pound them into cutlets. Turn marinade ingredients into a glaze.   Curry-Glazed Pork 4 servings 3 cloves garlic 1/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons red curry paste 2 tablespoons tamari or wheat-free soy sauce 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil 11/2 to 2 pounds pork tenderloin Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper   1. Mince the garlic and place in medium bowl.

For the last several summers, Bridget Gray's job could be described as culinary curator. As part of the staff behind the food-focused fund-raiser known as Feastival, she is charged with overseeing the menu items that nearly 90 restaurants and bars will serve Wednesday. She has to keep the selections diverse, to satisfy the 700 or so patrons who are paying upward of $250 a head for the night of entertainment and cocktail-party-style nibbling at Pier 9 on the Delaware River. This third Feastival - whose participants are wrangled by restaurateurs Stephen Starr, Michael Solomonov, and Audrey Claire Taichman - is expected to raise $400,000 for the Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.