Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 18, 2012

8

GOOD FOOD & DRINK

 Mountain Views News Saturday, February 18, 2012 

HOW ABOUT A FEW DAYS OFF FOR 

PRESIDENT’S DAY

 To say I loved summer vacation would underplay the rapture I found each June. Every 
moment in the penitentiary of school was a clockwatching moment until my release for 
Summer Vacation. Show me a boy that doesn’t love summer, and I will show you a boy who 
has read Huckleberry Finn but doesn’t practice the spirit. 

 So, I must admit as a schoolboy, I looked forward to the 
month of February. Mostly because I knew a holiday in 
honor of two presidents was soon to be mine, I could escape 
my teacher’s scrutiny for a day, and most years there 
were only 28 days to get through. 

 These days I look forward to Presidents' weekend once 
again because my home away from home, Santa Anita 
Race Track, is open. Don’t worry, my concerned readers: I 
might have a champagne appetite but this writer’s budget 
is strictly a beer allowance. A $2 exacta box is about all this 
hopeful gambler can muster. But when it comes to food, I 
gambled that researching our Presidents this year would 
find a handful of winning flavors, and I was right. I uncovered 
a wide assortment of favorite foods enjoyed by those holding our highest office. Here 
is what my research came up with.

My favorite Executive of the Oval Office was 
our 35th President -JFK. 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first president to shine a spotlight on the White House 
chef. His staff approached chef Jacques Pépin, but having already served for France's President 
Charles de Gaulle, he turned down the generous offer. 

"I loved Kennedy, but I had no inkling for the potential publicity in the White House," 
recalls Pépin. Turned out, John Kennedy wasn't a big foodie; instead, he often had to be 
reminded to dine. When at the table, President Kennedy was true to his New England roots, 
munching on New England clam chowder, corn muffins, and baked beans.

Here are the rest of our Presidents since JFK, and their food favorites:

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969): Ice cream, pancakes, seafood, spinach soufflé, sweet potatoes 
with toasted marshmallows

Richard Nixon (1969-1974): meatloaf, dried figs, cottage cheese

Gerald Ford (1974-1977): pot roast, red cabbage

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) eggplant, chicken, sirloin steak, cornbread

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989): Jelly beans, macaroni and cheese, monkey bread

George H. W. Bush (1989-1993): pork rinds, hated broccoli

William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001): enchiladas, ribs, hamburgers, and pie

George W. Bush (2001 – 2009): Mexican food, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

Barack Obama (2009-present): Chili, hamburgers.

Join me this Saturday afternoon for Dining with Dills Talk Radio 790 AM KABC


ITALIAN PASTA 

CASSEROLE RECIPE


INGREDIENTS

•2 cups uncooked spiral pasta

•1/2 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)

•1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage links, 

 casings removed

•1 small onion, finely chopped

•1 garlic clove, minced

•2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced 

 tomatoes, undrained

•1/3 cup tomato paste

•3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

•1/2 teaspoon chili powder

•1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

•1/8 teaspoon salt

•1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

•1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

•1/8 teaspoon pepper

•2 ounces sliced turkey pepperoni

•1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim

 mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

•Cook pasta according to package directions. 
Meanwhile, crumble beef and sausage 
into a large skillet; add onion. Cook and 
stir over medium heat until meat is no longer 
pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. 
Drain. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste 
and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; 
simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

 • Drain pasta; stir in meat mixture and pepperoni. 
Transfer half of the pasta mixture 
to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking 
spray. Sprinkle with half of the cheese; repeat 
layers.

 • Cover and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes 
or until bubbly. 

Yield: 6 servings.

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com


Buy our chicken fried steakand eggs at the regularprice and get anotherorder for $2.95.975 No. Michillinda Avenue • (626) 351-0388 • Open 7am - 2:30pm dailyAnd be sure to check out our lunch combos:
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7 Delicious Choices at $7.95 (includes soda)
(Coupon not necessary • In the Albertson’s shopping center, Michillinda and Sierra Madre Blvd.)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SAFE HOUSE Review by Sean Kayden

 Safe House radiates a promising plot that grows exceedingly predictable once 
it’s kicked into high gear. Director Daniel Espinoza takes a few examples right out 
of the Tony Scott director’s handbook. Boisterous action displayed in shaky cam 
mode soaked with color filtration. 2000s action filmmaking 101 is back into play in 
Safe House. Ryan Reynolds plays green CIA agent, Matt Westin, who is in charge 
of a safe house in South Africa. He sees his first bit of action when the CIA captures 
one of their most wanted 
rouge agents, Tobin Frost, who’s 
been on the run for many years. 
Denzel Washington, in his usual 
always-cool-under-pressure disposition, plays Frost. 
Don’t get me wrong, there are moments of pleasure in 
Safe House. The performances carry a less than stellar 
script (ironically hailed one of the best “unproduced” 
scripts back in 2010) to heights that could only be done 
with talent such as this. However, once the film concludes, nothing feels memorable or eternal. Safe House 
is agonizingly paint-by-numbers that we’ve all seen before countless times. 

 After the real CIA agents bring in Frost to the safe house, the stage is set. Reynolds’ boy scout persona 
meets Washington’s character for the first time. Their introduction is brief given the fact that the people 
trying to kill Frost in the beginning of the movie have now just raided the safe house. Of course they kill 
the CIA agents, which leads Westin having no choice, but to get Frost out of harm's way. The two go on 
the run and eventually escape from the bad guys after an outrageous, quite unbelievable car chase. Now 
that the two are alone, Frost warns Reynolds about the CIA and that now he could be in danger as well. 
Not surprisingly he doesn’t believe or at least, want to believe Frost could be right and that he’s only strictly 
getting inside his head. After a serious of events, Frost manages to break away from the novice field agent. 
When the agent reports back to the CIA about Frost, they begin to believe of the possibility that Westin 
could be working with Frost. The problem with the film is that the audiences knows exactly how the CIA is 
functioning, but frustrating as it may be, it takes Reynolds’ character two-thirds of the film to catch up with 
us. When the movie feels it’s time for some action, it hits you with gunfights and car chases. Cool? Yeah, 
sure, but it’s as if nothing of substance needs to be said and all it does is give the audience another “keeping-
you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat” sequences. The third act, while pretty intense and mostly enjoyable, feels 
devastatingly derivative of any action movie you’ve seen in the past decade. Nothing new or revolutionary 
is happening and the film slips into predictability ever so effortlessly. 

 If you enjoy Denzel Washington movies, then you should find something likable here. Safe House is by 
no means a bad film. It’s just a painfully generic one. You’ll predict every twist well before it is presented on 
screen. Unfortunately, in doing so, it takes away most of the fun and excitement. While Reynolds may get 
a bad wrap from time to time, I’ve always enjoyed the guy. Although Washington may be headlining this 
movie, it’s Reynolds’ film all the way. Washington is a bona-fide movie star, but with Safe House he takes 
bits and pieces from his previous acting performances and combines them here. He rarely disappoints 
(because he’s always the coolest guy in the room), but he’s sort of grown into a caricature of himself. He’s 
trapped in playing the same guy always, even though it’s what we expect from him. At any rate, Safe House, 
despite its familiarity and laborious plotting, does supply strong performances and excitement in small, 
bursting fragments. I just wish Safe House didn’t play things so conventional and, well, safe. 

Grade: 3 out of 5. 


“Safe House”

Directed by: Daniel Espinosa

Written by: David Guggenheim

Rated R for strong violence throughout 
and some language

Theatrical Release Date: February 10, 2012