Look To The Stars News: Marcus Samuelsson

Celebrities Blog In The New Year For UNICEF

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 -0000

For the final 12 days of 2008, UNICEF’s celebrity ambassadors and supporters have been blogging on their site about the impact UNICEF Inspired Gifts are having on children around the world.

“Thanks to lifesaving vaccines, measles is mostly history in our country,” wrote Al Roker. "But in working with UNICEF, I was shocked to learn that this terrible disease still affects hundreds of thousands of children every year. In fact, it steals the future of 540 children around the world every day.

“Not one child should die needlessly, and UNICEF is giving us a chance to help those remaining few whose lives could be saved with simple vaccines. For just $26.30, you can give the gift of health to children in need, providing 100 doses of anti-measles vaccination. This year, let’s celebrate the New Year together by resolving to make measles a thing of the past.”

UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu, who was recently honored with the prestigious Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award in recognition of her tireless work on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable children, also took part.

“Of the 25,000 children who die every day from preventable causes, many of those children lack the most basic nourishment needed to survive,” she wrote. "On my recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, I witnessed firsthand how something so simple could save so many lives.

“High-energy/protein biscuits (a kind of nutritious “cookies”) were specially developed to help children in emergency situations and are crucial to their survival. For only $40.26 you can purchase two cartons of biscuits, full of the vitamins and micronutrients needed to improve children’s health and prevent them from developing severe malnutrition, which can be deadly."

Tea Leoni – a board member of the US Fund for Unicef – had this to say: "A mother will always do whatever it takes to protect her child from danger. And no mother would intentionally put her child in harms way. Yet every minute of every day, somewhere in the world, a child dies of AIDS-related causes and another child becomes infected with HIV—usually contracted during pregnancy, labor or delivery.

“Your gift of $100.00 will provide 100 HIV/AIDS tests so expecting mothers can be sure they are doing whatever it takes to save their child.”

Other stars to blog on the UNICEF site include Benji Madden and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte, Nicole Richie, Mia Farrow, Ne-Yo, Marcus Samuelsson, and Alyssa Milano. The full celebrity blogs can be read here.

Stars Take Water Campaign South

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:35:13 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A UNICEF campaign launched by Sarah Jessica Parker and Marcus Samuelsson in New York last year has hit the shores of the remote South Pacific.

The Tap Project, established to help UNICEF provide safe drinking water to children around the world, has just been launched in New Zealand – the only country outside North America to take part so far.

UNICEF NZ is inviting restaurants around the country to join the campaign by asking diners to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they normally enjoy for free. The initiative will run for 1 week from April 5-11, and a full list of the restaurants can be found at www.tapproject.org.nz.

“We’re very excited and honored to be leading this NZ initiative,” said Dennis McKinlay, Executive Director of UNICEF NZ. “Just $1 can provide a child with safe drinking water for 30 days. Over 1 billion people around the world still do not have access to safe water & sanitation. Every day, 5,000 children die of water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria. Clean drinking water means more than protection against disease. It can mean a 50% increase in productivity for a village and, freed from the daily task of collecting water from distant sources, more children are able to attend school.”

Over $100,000 was raised by the campaign in America last year.

Dacor Taste of Tennis

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:02:31 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

On August 23, 2007, at the W Hotel in New York, over 400 food, wine and tennis fans convened for the Dacor Taste of Tennis Food and Wine event to benefit the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Coinciding with the launch of the 2007 US Open, the event featured tennis stars such as Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas and Rafael Nadal as they traded in their rackets for aprons and joined forces with some of the world’s top chefs in cooking demonstrations. Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson and more than a dozen top-ranked restaurants – Amalia, The Palm, Barbounia, Anthos, davidburke&donatella – all had chefs on hand to prepare mouthwatering dishes such as mini crab cakes with Aleppo mayonnaise and braised short ribs with sea salt and butterscotch-carrot puree.

Aquavit chef Marcus Samuelsson, whose new African restaurant opens in October, guided Roddick through the culinary process of making mango, raisin and jalapeño couscous with Moroccan-spiced lamb. Guest enjoyed stations and bars set up by Rums of Puerta Rico, Pilsner and Palm Bay Imports, while players participated in cooking demonstrations and mingled with guests in lounges spread throughout the hotel.

In addition to Andy Roddick, several other tennis professionals were in attendance. Nicolas Kiefer served up hamachi crudo, Tomas Berdych took a stab at sesame oil-spiked tuna, Mario Ancic drizzled oilive oil over steaks from the Strip House, Ashley Weinhold perfected Amalia chef Ivy Stark’s crab cakes and Rapahel Nadal simply enjoyed the food.

The event also showcased a silent auction with incredible sports memorabilia such as boxing gloves signed by Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, a signed poster of Dale Sayers and ice skates signed by the controversial Tonya Harding.

AYS, a company specializing in creating, managing and marketing unique sports and entertainment related events, hosted the event. President and event founder, Judi Lerner, said, “This event has grown each year and we’ve found the players and chefs really look forward to it.”

If you’d like to test your own culinary expertise, below are several of recipes that were prepared during the event.

Berbere-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Mango Couscous
Makes 6 to 8 servings

From chef Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit (made with help from Andy Roddick at Dacor Taste of Tennis)

1/2 cup olive oil
11 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary
1 large garlic clove, smashed
2 frenched racks of lamb (1 1/2 pounds each)
3 tablespoons Berbere or mild chili powder
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons beaten egg yolk
1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs
1 to 2 tablespoons dry red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon dry red wine
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Combine the oil, rosemary and garlic in a large zipper-lock bag. Add the lamb, then seal the bag, forcing out the excess air. Marinate in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours, turning the bag several times.

Preheat the oven to 400. Make the berbere paste: Stir together 1 tablespoon of the Berbere (or chili powder), the mustard, yolk and breadcrumbs in a small bowl, then add enough wine to make a paste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove lamb from the marinade; discard the marinade. Heat a dry 12-inch heavy sauté pan over high heat until very hot. Reduce the heat to medium-high and brown the lamb, one rack at a time, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer, fat side up, to a large roasting pan.

Smear the Berbere paste on the fat side of the lamb. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the rack reads 125 for medium-rare, about 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

While the lamb is roasting, toast the remaining two tablespoons Berbere in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil, then boil until reduced to the consistency of a sauce. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter bit by bit until incorporated. Serve with the lamb.

Mango Couscous
Makes 4 cups

1 cup couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
1 jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 ripe tomato, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup loosely packed small cilantro sprigs, chopped
1/4 cup loosely packed small parsley sprigs, chopped
Salt

Prepare the couscous according to the package directions. Set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the garlic, mango and jalapeño and sauté until the mango begins to color lightly. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, the couscous, raisins, tomato, lime juice, cilantro and parsley and toss to heat through. Season with salt. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Look To The Stars News: Marcus Samuelsson

Celebrities Blog In The New Year For UNICEF

Related past articles

Stars Take Water Campaign South

Related past articles

Dacor Taste of Tennis

Related past articles