Tuesday, July 29, 2014

7/29 PERRY KING

THE GREATEST ESCAPE MOTORCYCLE RIDE BENEFITING VICTIMS OF MESOTHELIOMA LED BY A GRAND MARSHAL, PERRY KING WILL BE HELD SUNDAY AUGUST 3, 2014!

A host of celebrities, Law Enforcement and the general public will join Grand Marshal, Perry King for a beautiful motorcycle ride from Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, Marina Del Rey to Paramount Ranch, Agoura Hills with lunch & concert Sunday, August 3, 2014.

Organizers have announced that the much anticipated THE GREATEST ESCAPE, 2014 led by Grand Marshal, Perry King and a host of celebrities, scheduled for Sunday, August 3, 2014 will begin with a beautiful ride from Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, 4141 Lincoln Blvd., Marina Del Rey, CA along the Pacific Coast Highway with stunning views of the ocean to the rustic and historic Paramount Ranch, Cornell Road, Agoura Hills, CA. Join Perry King for what will be a wonderful day ending with a concert and lunch on the ranch. The Greatest Escape, 2014 will include a BBQ lunch by J Wolf BBQ and a concert by The Walking Phoenixes, a Johnny Cash tribute band.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer which is diagnosed in about 2,000-3,000 people in the United States every year. The asbestos fibers, finer than human hair and invisible, are easily inhaled and able to proceed past the lung and lodge in the chest lining (pleura) over a course of 20-60 years. This rare disease often goes undetected as doctors look to more common causes of the symptoms.

www.thegreatestescape.org

Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American television and film actor. King played the role of Cody Allen on the detective series Riptide from 1983 to 1986.

King made his film debut in the 1972 film Slaughterhouse-Five and in 1975 portrayed Hammond Maxwell in the exploitation film Mandingo. Since the 1970s, he has appeared in dozens of feature films, television series and television movies. He auditioned for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars, but the role ultimately went to Harrison Ford. However, he played the character in the radio adaptations of Star Wars and both its sequels. In 1984, King was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his role in the TV movie The Hasty Heart. That same year, he landed the role of Cody Allen on the series Riptide. In 1995, he portrayed the role of Hayley Armstrong on Melrose Place. He also appeared as Richard Williams in the NBC TV series Titans with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000 and as the President of the United States in the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow.

King has made guest appearances on TV shows including Spin City, Will & Grace, Eve, and Cold Case. He has also worked as a voice actor, voice-acting for Samson in the 1985 animated feature Samson & Delilah and the character of Randall in an episode of SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron.

www.thegreatestescape.org 

Recipe of the Week!

Quick Tiramisu

Biscotti Cookies (chopped up)
Semi Sweet Chocolate (chopped up)
Marscaponi Cheese
Sugar
Viscanto Wine

Chop cookies and chocolate and reserve some for the top of the dessert.

Put chopped up cookies in a bowl and pour over the Visconto to soften them. Put aside to allow the cookies to absorb the wine.

Take another bowl and add the marscapone cheese, sugar, the chopped chocolate and a little wine. Stir untill combined.

Pour the cheese mixture over the soaking cookies and spread till even.

Sprinkle the rest of the chopped chocolate and cookies over the top and refrigerate or serve immediately.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

07/22 Frankie Avalon

Frankie Avalon (born September 18, 1940) is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.

Life and career

Avalon was born Francis Thomas Avallone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Mary Loretta and Nicholas J. Avallone. By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints. In 1959, "Venus" (5 weeks #1) and "Why" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. "Why" was the last #1 of the 1950s. Avalon had 31 charted U.S. Billboard singles from 1958 to late 1962, including "Just Ask Your Heart" (U.S. #7), "I'll Wait For You" (U.S. #15), "Bobby Sox to Stockings" (U.S. #8), and "A Boy Without a Girl" (U.S. #10). Most of his hits were written and/or produced by Bob Marcucci, head of Chancellor Records. He was less popular in the U.K., but did still manage four chart hits with "Why", "Gingerbread", "Venus" and "Don't Throw Away All Those Teardrops".

Teamed frequently with Annette Funicello, Avalon starred in a number of popular "beach party" comedy films during the mid-1960s. The wholesome and romantic coupling of "Frankie and Annette" in summer movies such as Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo became iconic figures in American films during that era.

Avalon also had straight dramatic parts in the John Wayne historical western film The Alamo, as well as the science-fiction story Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) with Barbara Eden.
Materializing as a character called Teen Angel, his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" in the hit 1978 film of the musical Grease introduced Avalon to a new generation of viewers.

Avalon appeared in nearly two dozen TV episodes, including ABC's The Bing Crosby Show and The Patty Duke Show, appearing often as himself. Later, he became a national television spokesperson for Sonic Drive-In. In 1965 he appeared in the Combat! episode "Brother, Brother" as a childhood friend of Pfc.Kirby, played by Jack Hogan.

The 1980 film The Idolmaker, written by Ed Di Lorenzo and directed by Taylor Hackford, was a thinly-disguised biography of Avalon ("Tommy Dee" in the film) as well as 1950s teenage star Fabian (called "Caesare" in the film), along with songwriter/producer Bob Marcucci (called "Vinnie Vacarri"). In the movie, Dee clashes with the record producer and younger singer Caesare, who he feels threatens his career. Eventually, Dee and Caesare quit the label, but their record careers collapse just as the British Invasion begins. The real Fabian threatened a lawsuit, despite the filmmakers' insistence that the film presented only fictional characters (though Marcucci was a paid consultant). Avalon denied most of the movie's events.

Avalon married Kathryn "Kay" Diebel on January 19, 1963. She was a former beauty pageant winner, and Avalon met her while playing cards at a friend's house. He told his friend that Kay was the girl he was going to marry. His agent warned Avalon that marriage would spoil his teen idol mystique. Still together, they have eight children - Frankie Jr., Tony, Dina, Laura, Joseph, Nicolas, Kathryn and Carla. They have 10 grandchildren. Frankie Avalon Jr. is a former actor who appeared in the original The Karate Kid and is now a musician, and Tony, the second oldest son, plays guitar and taught at the Rock Nation School. Both sons play on tour with their father.
In 1987, Avalon and Annette Funicello returned to movies with Back to the Beach. In 1989 they also appeared as themselves in cameo roles out jogging the streets in Troop Beverly Hills. Not long afterwards, Funicello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and retired.

Afterwards, Avalon turned to marketing and created Frankie Avalon Products, a line of health and cosmetic aids. Avalon promotes his products on the Home Shopping Network with host Bob Circosta. He made a cameo appearance as himself with Robert De Niro in the 1995 film, Casino.

In recent years, Avalon has starred in stage productions of Grease in the role of Teen Angel and Tony n' Tina's Wedding as a caricature of himself. Additionally, in 2007, he performed "Beauty School Dropout" with the four remaining female contenders (Kathleen Monteleone, Allie Schulz, Ashley Spencer, and winner Laura Osnes) for the role of Sandy on the NBC television reality show Grease: You're the One that I Want! On April 8, 2009, he performed on American Idol.

Legacy

He was mentioned in the System of a Down song "Old School Hollywood". The song supposedly is about Daron Malakian's experience in a celebrity baseball game, where he and Avalon were both ignored.

Avalon is also mentioned in "It Takes Two", a song from the hit musical Hairspray, sung by the character Link Larkin, and in a song by the Wu Tang Clan called "The City" which refers to his experiences of being a big part of the beach party film genre ("Ride the wave like Frankie Avalon").

One of numerous obscure cultural references present in Midway's video game Mortal Kombat 3 was a lo-res image of Frankie Avalon's face that would dart up in the lower right-hand corner of the screen when Goro killed his opponent by knocking him into the spike pit on the Bridge level.
His song "Venus" was featured in Cranium Command (1989–2005), an attraction at Epcot's Wonders of Life Pavilion (now closed) at Walt Disney World. In the attraction, a 12-year-old boy named Bobby (Scott Curtis), tries to survive the pressures of life and falls in love with a beautiful girl named Annie (Natalie Gregory) at school.

He and his song "Venus" are mentioned in Wendy Wasserstein's 2005 play Third. The main character, English professor Laurie Jameson, watches a PBS reunion show featuring Avalon singing the song, and sings a line of it to her daughter. In stage productions of the show, part of the song is played and a portion of the supposed PBS special is screened as part of the scenery.

He is also mentioned in Adam Sandler's 2008 comedy, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, for his haircut, which the Zohan (Sandler's character) thinks is the latest hairdo. He is also numerously referenced in the 1994 film, The Stöned Age, in which he makes an ending scene cameo appearance.
His song "Venus" additionally appeared in season 4 of the TV series Dexter in which John Lithgow's character, Arthur Mitchell, plays it to remember his deceased sister.

Avalon is also mentioned in The Vaccines song 'Teenage Icon'. Where they claim they are no teenage icon, "no Frankie Avalon".

www.frankieavalon.com

wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_Avalon

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

7/15 TONY COMMISSO, SILENT PARTNER

TONY COMMISSO – AUTHOR OF SILENT PARTNER (A MURDER MYSTERY)

Synopsis:
Frank D’Antonio wants to make his own mark in life without his family's name as help. But his father’s death forces him to join his brothers to save their business.  After twelve years of dedicated work, his brothers conspire to sell out, leaving Frank confused, angry, and totally unsure of his future.

He moves away, escaping from everything, even his family's name. Assuming a new identity, he takes a job in a hotel once owned by his family and starts a new life. In a few short months, he falls in love with the hotel's tennis instructor and eventually gets caught up in a political scandal. The twists and turns of his new life lead him to answers about himself and his father, changing his world forever. Silent Partner is a fast paced novel that builds up as you read along. It's a murder mystery woven through one man's struggle to find himself that will keep you turning the pages to the very end.

www.ACommisso.com


Recipes of the Week

Italian Meat Loaf

1 tbls olive oil
3 cups chopped onions (3)
1 tsp chopped thyme
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tbls tomato paste
2 1/2 lbs ground chuck
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 large eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Italian sausages (out of the casing and crumbled)

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Heat the oil and add onions, thyme, salt and pepper until the onions are translucent. Stir occasionally, Off the heat add Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste. Allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine meat with sausage mixing the two evenly distribute. Add the onion mixture, bread crumbs, and eggs and mix lightly with a fork. Don;t mash the meat or the loaf will be dense.

Shape the mixture into a rectangular loaf on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Spread the ketchup evenly on top.

Bake for 1-1 1/4 hours or  until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. A pan of hot water under the loaf will keep the top from cracking. Serve Hot!








Tuesday, July 8, 2014

7/08 Chef Rick Tarantino

Rick Tarantino or Chef Rick as he is know in the media has a diverse back ground that has helped him build a successful career as a celebrity chef. He attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Campus and graduated with a Bachelors' of Science from the School of Food Science and Nutrition. Then began his work experience at the prestigious chain of Sheraton Hotels and Resorts from Los Angles to New York's five star St Regis Hotel, Rick worked his way up the corporate ladder. But that was only the beginning, with years of experience in the family hotel business that he was raised in and now with corporate hospitality business under his belt, he began his entrepreneurial career and started Inn Vision a state of the art in-room movie company in hotels around the country. After successfully selling that venture he went back into his family hotel and restaurant business with his father. Emerald Hotel and Resorts International, owned and operated hotels and restaurants in New England.

Rick then returned to school and received his Masters of Science degree from Johnson & Wales University, the world leading hotel and culinary school. Wanting to give back he began teaching at the school. That lead to an opportunity to develop an alumni and development office for the Chancellor, so when his father retired, they sold the hotel company and Rick began his next career as an educator, author and fundraiser. During the ten year period at Johnson & Wales, Rick met Justin Miller a young inspiring 6 year old who loved to cook. Rick trained Justin to become the Guinness Book of Records Worlds Youngest Chef and the two travelled the world cooking and inspiring others. This launched Rick in to the Television and Media industry.

The pair appeared on almost every national television show venue from Good Morning America, David Letterman, Disney, to the Food Network. Rick also became a research chef for many national brands like Westinghouse, Rival's Crock -Pot, Cattlemen's, BBQ sauce, Kraft Foods, and VacuWare to just name a few. In addition he now appears regularly on HSN ( Home Shopping Channel ) and The Shopping Channel Canada as well as National Infomercials and Tradeshows.

Chef Rick has experience in many media outlets, live appearances, press tours, news shows, morning shows, radio, infomercials, cook books, and currently co-hosts a cable cooking show called You Won't Even Miss it. He worked with Celebrities like the late Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, Jarred Fogle from Subway and Martin Yen. He is sought after for recipe development by food companies and supermarkets. He develops many of the free recipes you pick up at the grocery store and tours supermarkets regularly teaching customers recipes and how to enhance their meals to get out of the "Food RUT". You can see him at Hannaford's, ACME, Lowes, Sweet Bay and Shaw's. He also endorsees his own line of products called Chef Rick Spices, Chef Rick Seafood , Proware Professional Kitchen Products and Bold Chef. He does product development for companies like All-Clad , Williams Sonoma and Westinghouse.

Go to www.myrastellidirect.com/chefrick!


Chef Rick’s Grill Beefsteak Tomato

Ingredients:
2 Large beef steak or heirloom tomatoes
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basal
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic crushed
¼ cup olive oil

Instructions:
Preheat grill on high for 20 minutes. Place foil or grill pan on grill. Set temperature on medium and keep closed.
Wash tomatoes and cut tops off. Using a melon scoop gently spoon out inside being careful not to go all the way through to the outside. Chop inside tomato pieces into smalls diced pieces then set tomato pieces aside.
In a 2 quart mixing bowl mixing bowl, combine chopped tomato pieces, 1/4 cup each of Mozzarella, Parmesan and Italian bread crumbs. Add salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, basal and garlic. Mix well, drizzle olive oil in to mixture until ingredients begin to stick together,  using your hands or a spoon stuff tomato shells place tops back on tomatoes
Brush tomato skin with oil and place over low heat
Cook for about 15 minutes until skin is begins to wrinkle and tomato is fork tender

Chef Rick Tip:  wrap the tomatoes in foil and place on your grill, cook for 10 minutes wrapped. They will steam and cook quickly. Carefully remove from grill with spatula underneath tomatoes or it may fall apart.



MOJO Marinade

Ingredients
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano flakes
1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup olive oil
Instructions
Pulse the garlic and onion in a blender until very finely chopped. Pour in orange juice, lime juice; and remaining seasonings. Blend using the pulse setting until thoroughly incorporated. While pulsing, drizzle olive oil into mixer to emulsify evenly.

Chef Rick Tip: Try marinating your meats over night for extra flavor or place in a vacuum sealing bag and seal to “Power marinade” you meats



Mango Peach Salsa

Ingredients
2 peaches, peeled and diced
2 mango, peeled and diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toss all the peaches, mango, onions, lime juice, oil and cilantro together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Chef Rick Tip:  try adding in some Kiwi or Strawberries to sweeten up this salsa!


Nonna’s Hot Dog Frittata

Ingredients
6 leftover or fresh cooked hotdogs
1/4 cup olive oil
8 large eggs
1 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
1 Cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
3/4 cups diced red pepper
3/4 cup diced green pepper
¼ cup diced Yellow Onion
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Pre heat oven to 350 F.  Take cooked Hotdogs and cut into ½ inch thick pieces. Preheat skillet (black cast iron works great) on medium heat.   Add in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté peppers and onions until soft.  In a 2 quart mixing bowl combine eggs, remaining oil salt and pepper and blend set aside.  Add hotdogs to skillet and heat for 2 minutes. Pour in eggs, add in cheese and stir. Keep stirring for 5 minutes to mix up cooked eggs.  Let set for 5 minutes then place entire skillet in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean (Nonna’s method).
  

Chef Rick Tip: Try the Sunday version of this by substituting, hotdogs with cooked Italian sausage.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

7/01 James Darren

James Darren has enjoyed a successful, multi-faceted career, spanning five decades of motion picture, television, recording and live concert performances. With a notable career in films (“Gidget,” “The Guns of Navarone”) as well as television (“The Time Tunnel,” “T.J. Hooker,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), Darren has re-emerged on the recording scene with his latest CD, Because of You (Concord Records), an impressive collection of standards and big band swing. The album, a follow-up to his acclaimed 1999 release, This One’s From the Heart (Concord Records), reaffirms Darren’s incomparable talents as a singer.

Born in South Philly as James Ercolani, a second-generation American of Italian descent, Darren cites his beloved grandmother as the greatest guiding light of his life and his career. By the age of 14, Darren knew he wanted a show business career, and he embarked on the road to stardom by singing in nightclubs in Philadelphia and South Jersey. By age 18, he was in New York, studying acting for several years with the legendary drama teacher Stella Adler.It was a chance introduction to Hollywood movie producer Joyce Selznick (niece of the legendary David O. Selznick) that led to Darren’s seven-year contract with Columbia Pictures and his first big break: starring as the college student-surfer Moondoggie opposite Sandra Dee in the 1959 classic comedy hit, “Gidget.” Two sequels would follow, and Darren was soon on Hollywood’s short list of most sought-after young dramatic actors. He would make 20 films in all, including “The Guns of Navarone,” “The Lively Set,” “The Gene Krupa Story,” “The Brothers Rico,” “Gunman’s Walk,” “Let No Man Write My Epitaph,” and “Diamond Head.”

Darren’s singing career encompasses an impressive roster of musical credits including 14 albums and five Top 10 singles, including the 1961 Grammy- nominated “Goodbye Cruel World,” which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks. Throughout the early 60s, his recording career continued to skyrocket with subsequent Top 10 hits including “Her Royal Majesty,” “Conscience,” and “All.” In 1976, he landed still another hit with “You Take My Heart Away” from the Oscar-winning film “Rocky.”

Darren would also make his mark on the small screen, starring in several hit television series, including “The Time Tunnel,” “T.J. Hooker,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Melrose Place.” In 1987, the versatile entertainer began another phase of his career, this time as a highly in-demand director for television whose credits include several “movies of the week,” and more than 50 television shows ranging from “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills 90210” to “Hunter” and “Walker, Texas Ranger.”

But it is James Darren’s love of music that finds him back in the spotlight. In 1999, he returned to the recording industry in a big way, releasing This One’s From the Heart, a collection of some of the greatest classics ever penned, including “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Come Fly With Me,” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” which re-introduced the world to Darren’s lush vocals.

In his recordings, his concert appearances in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, as well as his concerts with world-renowned symphonies across the U.S., including the San Diego Symphony, the Dallas Symphony and the Iowa Symphony, the media has also taken notice of James Darren the singer. The San Diego Union-Tribune called him a “compendium of coolness, a wizard of with-it-ness.” The Chicago Sun-Times said “Darren is as smooth as silk.”

Actor, director, recording artist – James Darren has made an indelible mark in the entertainment industry. And as the song says, the best is yet to come.

jamesdarren.com

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

July 3, 2014
San Diego County Fair
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA 92014

October 3-5, 2014
Destination Star Trek 3 is set to return to the U.K. – to the ExCel in the heart of London’s Docklands, the first set of guests include Jamesdarren, William Shatner, Karl Urban and Jeri Ryan

Fri., Sat. & Sun. December 12-14, 2014
Creation Entertainment's Official STAR TREK Convention
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
HYATT REGENCY SAN FRANCISCO
1333 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010