Alfredo

Jim Huesz, manager of Carrabba's Italian Grill in Ellicott City, isn't satisfied with business. It's no use telling him that most other restaurants are half-empty on Tuesday nights. Or pointing out that we had to wait half an hour for a table. He's comparing his business to that of the Outback Steak House a few yards away."People just love their steaks," he says mournfully. "Even though we are a grill, and we have steak, too."Unfortunately, Carrabba's happens to be the companion chain to what's probably the most popular steak house in America, maybe the world.

Creamy rich Mexican dishes are always a favorite, but not always a quickie. We've found a streamlined version, however, that saves time as well as calories.To accompany the chicken enchilada bake, toss together a simple salad with chopped ingredients from the supermarket salad bar.Serve fresh fruit of the season for dessert. If desired, serve a bit of fruit dipping sauce such as butterscotch or fudge to enliven the pears.Chicken enchilada bakeServes 62 cups cooked shredded chicken meat1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes1 4-ounce can chopped Ortega chilies, drained1 10-ounce container prepared Alfredo Sauce Light1/2 cup finely chopped scallions1/4 cup chopped green pimento stuffed olives, plus 8 to 10 whole olives for the top1 1/2 teaspoons taco seasoning mix6 (6-inch)

Item: Five Brothers Creamy Tomato Alfredo Pasta SauceWhat you get: 17 ouncesCost: $2.75Time to prepare: 5-10 minutes simmered on low heatReview: Cheese is in this year, which may explain why several companies are introducing new pasta sauces containing Parmesan or Romano. There's Classico Tomato Alfredo (sweet but garlicky) and Florentine Spinach & Cheese (tangy); Ragu Chunky Gardenstyle Tomato, Spinach & Cheese (cheaper than the other brands but too sweet for me); and the two best, in my opinion, Five Brothers Creamy Tomato Alfredo (thick and sweet)

It was 1910 when Alfredo Angelo Appetito Sr., then a 12-year-old boy, left his boyhood home of Segni, near Rome, and boarded a ship as a stowaway bound for the New World and a new life.It was a life that included heroic service as an infantryman during World War I, followed by a 45-year career as a welder at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Key Highway shipyard. It came to a quiet end Nov. 18 when Mr. Appetito died in his sleep at the Veterans Administration Hospital on Loch Raven Boulevard. He was 99.Landing in New York, the young Mr. Appetito disappeared into the crowds of the city and eventually made his way to Pennsylvania, where he located some cousins.

I'm sitting in the newest Liberatore's (there are two others, one in Timonium and one in Eldersburg) wondering how this one could conceivably be called a bistro. And how the owner could have characterized it -- before it opened, to be sure -- as having "rustic decor."Unless, of course, your idea of rustic decor includes classical columns, sponge-painted walls, murals of Italian landscapes, the trademark Liberatore cherubs -- both paintings and plump little statues -- white tablecloths and fresh flowers.

Luis Alfredo Estupinan, 52, head of Pompeian Olive OilLuis Alfredo Estupinan, a self-educated man who worked his way up from a salesman with Pompeian Olive Oil company in Baltimore to become its president, died Dec. 8 of a heart attack. He was 52.Born in Quito, Ecuador, Mr. Estupinan came to the United States in the early 1960s, first to New York.A graduate of New York University in 1967, he taught himself five languages and traveled the world. He settled in Baltimore in 1976.Mr. Estupinan started at Pompeian as a wine salesman in 1978.

Few operas are so abused as Verdi's "La Traviata." There is its tear-jerking plot -- the story of a prostitute with a heart of gold who sacrifices herself for a higher purpose. Then there are the details that have always made opera a target for satire.In fact, "Traviata" is a likely candidate as the source of the expression, "it ain't over till the fat lady sings." Violetta, the Parisian courtesan who is the central figure, dies of tuberculosis. No soprano thin enough to pass for a consumptive, however, could negotiate Violetta's death scene, which calls for the singer to begin with a tiny stream of tone that widens to a river.

Meeting tough demands, the Annapolis Opera gave a credible production of Verdi's "La Traviata" at Maryland Hall last weekend.Verdi's songful tale of the ill-fated love shared by Violetta and her headstrong Alfredo is truly a stiff test, requiring three star-quality singers, a succession of handsome sets and a stage director adept enough to prevent the slender, anachronistic plot from seeming sillier than it already is.Thankfully, most of these objectives were...

When I first moved to Baltimore, Little Italy was the place to go if you wanted to eat downtown. (This was before Harborplace.) And Chiapparelli's was probably the restaurant in Little Italy. The amazing thing is that it hasn't changed that much in all these yearsm even if we have.Case in point: the salad. Perhaps the most famous house salad in Baltimore. But it no longer seems out of the ordinary, maybe because the night before I had eaten a house salad at another restaurant made of baby mixed greens and radicchio with a fresh pear-basil vinaigrette.

HIGH ABOVE the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, as though in the upper deck of dead center field at a ball park, Peter Allen takes to the mike again tomorrow to do the play-by-play of Giuseppe Verdi's great game of love, separation and love, "La Traviata."Allen, a tall, friendly man, will be seated next to his wife, Sylvia, a small, friendly woman, in a tiny broadcast booth squeezed like a broom closet between the women's and men's bathrooms on an upper level of The Met. But for the padding, they might hear the toilets.

Simon impresses Orioles starter Alfredo Simon did his part to keep the Orioles in a game they eventually lost in the bottom of the ninth inning in Viera, Fla. An error by Justin Turner with two outs allowed Anderson Hernandez to score and complete a two-run comeback in the ninth. Simon, however, kept the Nationals off the board for the first four innings. He retired the first 11 batters he faced and allowed one hit and one walk overall as he competes for one of the three open rotation spots.

Simon says: : In his first major league start in Game 2, Alfredo Simon, who spent most of the season in the Mexican League, pitched 7 2/3 outstanding innings. Simon frustrated Tampa Bay with his heavy fastball, which helped produce 12 ground-ball outs and six strikeouts. In his most recent Triple-A start Sept. 1, Simon allowed seven runs on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. Bullpen blues: : After Simon allowed a solo homer to Evan Longoria, Trembley brought in Jamie Walker to protect a 5-3 lead.

With a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night and a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 3, Yamon Figurs joined the Chicago Bears' Devin Hester, the San Diego Chargers' Darren Sproles and the Seattle Seahawks' Nate Burleson as the only players to return a kickoff and punt for touchdowns this season. Praised by his coaches and teammates for giving the team a spark, the rookie return specialist knows about giving a boost to people around him. You were a volunteer firefighter during the summer between high school and college.

J. Ernest Green and the Annapolis Chorale and Chamber Orchestra reached a new artistic pinnacle last weekend in concert-setting performances of Verdi's La Traviata. The music director's promise to "put the audience in the thick of the action, close to the singers so that music and drama envelop them" was fully realized, creating a memorable experience for the audience at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. On opera stages in Brazil, Paris and Hawaii, Green has become known as "a singer's conductor."

Jareene Barkdoll of Baltimore wrote looking for some "truly tasty" recipes that used canned salmon as an ingredient. She said that she usually makes salmon patties or salmon loaf but finds that they both can be dry and sometimes have a strong fish taste. Susan Petrie of Owings Mills sent in some recipes that she has enjoyed over the years that use canned salmon in different ways. Her recipe for Salmon Tortellini Gratin, an easy one-dish meal, seemed interesting and worth a try. Thanks to the use of store-bought tortellini and Alfredo sauce, this dish can be whipped up in no time.

As he lathers up before surgery at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa mentally prepares himself to repair a living human brain. This one belongs to Robert Hawkins, a 28-year-old surfer from Vero Beach, Fla., who lies on an operating table with a tumor the size of an orange inside his head. The growth makes it difficult for Hawkins to control his left arm and left leg. But removing it takes hours and carries its own risks - a wrong move by the surgeon can ruin the cranial nerves that control Hawkins' movements, memory and ability to speak.

Here's to the classic neighborhood pizza joint, long may it live. Unfortunately, this garlicky and grand quick-and-dirty eating destination has become something of a dinosaur in these days of Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza and other big chains. But a fine example exists in Catonsville, tucked into a corner of the Forty West shopping center on Rolling Road. By all rights, this place should be called Tony's Pizza, and, indeed, that's what the voice on the other end of the phone says when you call for a take-out order.

On September 5, 2004 LENA MARCELLA KRUG (nee O'Connor) beloved wife of the late Charles E. Krug, devoted mother of Sharon Angeles and her husband Alfredo, Susan Grahe and her husband David, Patricia Fendryk and her husband James, and the late Charles Krug, dear sister of Agnes Meacher, Dorothy Gaglino, Jack O'Connor, Pat Cosner and Annmarie Patterson, loving grandmother of 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren, also survived by many nieces and nephews....

On July 1, 2004, GABRIEL P.; beloved husband of Connie Rodriguez; loving father of Shirley Camiolo, Debbie and David Rodriguez; dear grandfather of Lauren Blumenfeld, Michael and Jonathan Camiolo; dear brother of Alfredo Rodriguez. Friends may call at CONNELLY FUNERAL HOME OF DUNDALK, P.A., 7110 Sollers Point Road, Monday 5 to 9 P.M. Funeral Service Tuesday, 9:30 A.M. Interment Holy Rosary Cemetery.

On June 12, 2003, GEORGINA, beloved wife of Alfredo E. Lozano Sr., devoted father of Alfredo E. Lozano Jr. She is also survived by one sister Mary Colon, one brother George Amey Jr. and other relatives. Friends may call at the CALVIN L. WILLIAMS FUNERAL HOME, P.A., 2818 E. Baltimore St. for visitation on Saturday from 3-5 and on Sunday from 3-5 and 7-9 P.M. Funeral Service and interment private.