"In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy" - Candice Bergen's Tortellini Salad in honor of Muppet creator, Jim Henson

Date I made this recipe:  September 28, 2014 (to celebrate Jim Henson's Birthday)

(People Weekly Presents) In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy – written and published by:  Jim Henson™, Jim Henson Publishing; People Weekly, People Magazine; Time®Life Books, Time-Life Books

ISBN:  072440-10640-6; copyright 1996

Purchased at Succotash, a very cool retro store in St. Paul – 781 Raymond Ave

Recipe:  Candice Bergen's Tortellini Salad – p. 30

So.  Miss Piggy.  One of The Muppets.  One of The Muppets on the TV show, The Muppets, a show I never watched.  Oh, I was familiar with it to be sure, but that show premiered the year I graduated from high school so.... And I never watched Sesame Street, either, which is where Muppet creator, Jim Henson, got his start.  Miss Piggy's love interest, Kermit the Frog, was one of Henson's original Sesame Street characters.  Miss Piggy though, was only on The Muppets (as well as starring on the big screen in The Muppet movies). And so I don't have much to say about Sesame Street or The Muppets although I can wax nostalgic forever  and ever about how I feel about Captain Kangaroo, my childhood hero.  I especially loved Bunny Rabbit and now that I'm older, would really kill to wear Bunny Rabbit's glasses but alas, they don't look good on me.  Anyway...

Muppet creator/puppeteer, Jim Henson's birthday was September 24, and so in his honor, I cooked from In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy cookbook.  Poor Miss Piggy – she's forever mooning over Kermit the Frog, "Kermi," as she calls him, but her love is not returned.  As Kermit knows, "It's not easy being green," and it's not easy to be the object of Miss Piggy's affection but it is darned cute to watch. 

And since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Miss Piggy should be tickled to know that many years ago, one of my friends dressed up as Miss Piggy for Halloween, right down to the (pig) nose, the ears and the gloves.  I believe she also added pearls as they were a Miss Piggy fashion statement at the time.  This cookbook contains several photos of Miss Piggy along with several tidbits of advice from "Moi," as Miss Piggy calls herself.

Since Miss Piggy is uber popular, all kinds of celebrities have appeared with her on The Muppets:  Whoopie Goldberg, Katie Couric, Brooke Shields, and so on and so on and many of them also contributed to this cookbook.  This made it difficult for "moi" to choose which one to make as I didn't want to leave anybody out; Miss Piggy wouldn't.  But alas folks, I needed to choose just one and so I did – eventually.

As I said in last week's blog, the weather at this time of year makes it especially challenging to find just the right fit.  In fact, I feel like Goldilocks and The Three Bears, trying to decide which one was "too hot, too cold or just right."

For the longest time, Whoopie Goldberg's Peas Porridge Hot, Peas Porridge Cold soup was in the running but then time sort of ran out on the fresh vegetable cycle so I back-burned that.  Then I was stuck on Glenn Close's Chicken, Mushroom, and Barley Stew, except by the time I got around to making it, it was too hot for soup.  Samuel L. Jackson's Spinach Linguine and Ground Turkey Sauce was in the running for a brief bit but again, was beat out by the weather and so long story, short – Candice Bergen's Tortellini Salad won out.  I don't know as I ever spent so much time debating about what to make and of course, by that time, Jim Henson's birthday had come and gone.  I wish him a heavenly belated birthday.

I can see why Miss Piggy included Candice Bergen in her cookbook as Candice is a great actress, just like our Miss Piggy.  Although Candice made a name for herself in movies, and more recently, as part of the cast of Boston Legal, I loved her in the TV show, Murphy Brown.

One of the running jokes of the show was that hard-hitting newswoman, Murphy Brown, was so hard to please that she went through about a secretary a day.  Wikipedia reported that 93 secretaries came and went during the run of the show. Many a (now) famous actor and actress was one of Murphy's casualties but I do recall that she liked actor Paul Reubens (a/k/a "Pee-wee" Herman) because he always called her "Miss Brown."  In one memorable scene, reporter Frank Fontana tried to take a doughnut "Pee Wee" brought for Murphy and "Pee-wee" chastised him by saying "Is your name Miss Brown?"  (Side note:  one of the companies I used to work for also had trouble finding a receptionist at the front desk, prompting me to joke that the receptionist du jour was just another Murphy Brown secretary.) 

Out of all the episodes in the series, the two that still make me chuckle are when Murphy was a bridesmaid in Corky Sherwood Forrest's wedding (Season 2, Episodes 48 and 49:  Going to the Chapel, Parts 1 and 2) (OMG, that bridesmaids dress!) and of course, the most-well known of all the Murphy Brown episodes, Season 4, episode 26 – Birth 101.  In one scene, we return to Murphy's hospital room where, while in labor, and if memory serves, she has Frank and Miles (Silverberg, her producer) by the throat and is banging their heads up and down on the hospital bed while yelling "You son of a bitch!" After she is done with her tirade, she releases them and they fall to the floor, probably grateful to have lived to breathe another breath.  Hilarious. Even today, I cannot stop laughing every time I think of that scene, and if you ask me, and you didn't, that goes in the Candice Bergen Hall of Fame. 

As to her recipe, it was good but were I to make it again, I'd want to make some adjustments.  Generally, you cannot go wrong by boiling some tortellini, nor can you go wrong with adding vegetables to them.  Where this recipe went slightly wonky though, was in the interpretation of the following:  "Grill or broil the bell peppers, zucchini, and onion until well browned and tender."  Okay, did that.  But my broiled vegetables in no way resembled the seemingly crisp ones featured in the photo that accompanied the recipe.  I wondered about that before I set out to make the dish and here's what I think:  I think not grilling or broiling the peppers will yield just as tasty of a result as grilling or broiling them.  In fact, I contemplated using fresh vegetables but in order to be true to the recipe, I followed her directions.  The result was not bad and in fact, I kind of liked my very tender, broiled veggies but that might just be me.

As to the vinaigrette, I liked it but felt that even a quarter of a cup of oil was a tad too much.  I recommend starting with one-eighth cup and see how that works for you.

All in all, this is a fun cookbook and a fun trip down memory lane for me with Candice Bergen.  "Moi" loves Candice Bergen.  Miss Piggy also loves Candice Bergen.  Many people love Miss Piggy AND Candice Bergen.  So there you go – enjoy!

Candice Bergen's Tortellini Salad – serves 4

1 small yellow or red bell pepper, halved and seeded

1 small green bell pepper, halved and seeded

1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise

½ small red onion, cut into thick rings

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)

¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon dillweed

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pinch of sugar

1 ½ cups dried cheese-filled tortellini (about 6 ounces)

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

3 scallions, finely chopped

Grill or broil (Ann's Note:  Or don't!) the bell peppers, zucchini and onion until well browned and tender.  Chop them into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile, place the lemon juice and zest (if using) in a large salad bowl.  Whisk in the oil, mustard, dillweed, salt, pepper, and sugar to make the vinaigrette.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente, 10 to 12 minutes, or according to the package directions.

Drain the pasta and add it to the vinaigrette.  Add the grilled vegetables, tomatoes, and scallions.  Toss well to combine.  Serve the salad warm or at room temperature.

"Celebrity Recipes" - (Walt Disney's) Chili and Beans - celebrating the Hollywood movie and TV awards season

Date I made this recipe:  January 18, 2014 (Screen Actors Guild Awards)

Celebrity Recipes compiled by Helen Dunn

Published by:  Grayson Publishing Corp.

© 1958 (October, 1958)

Recipe:  Walt Disney's Chili and Beans – p. 54

Before we get into the gist of this recipe and this book, a word about the cover:  zzzzzzzzz.  Boring.  Really boring. (As was the recipe, but we'll get to that.)  I suspect the black and gold print on a cream page is supposed to convey elegance or "celebrity," but I must say, it's one of the most "vanilla" covers I've ever seen.  And as someone with over 1800 cookbooks, I've seen a lot.

I selected this cookbook to pay homage to the start of the Hollywood movie and TV award season, starting with the Golden Globes and ending with the big daddy of them all, The Oscars, in early March.  And you would think that a book titled Celebrity Recipes would feature all the Hollywood heavyweights that (some of us) know and love but it turned out that the name was a misnomer.

In 1958, the year this book was published, many more people than the Hollywood actors and actresses we've come to know, were considered celebrities.  In fact, the back of the book gives us a short list:  President Dwight D. Eisenhower (34^th President of the U.S. just before Kennedy was elected); Her Majesty, Queen Frederica of Greece (Greece did away with its monarchy in 1967 after a military coup.); Prince Aly Kahn (who married Hollywood star, Rita Hayworth); J. Edgar Hoover (head of the FBI) and so on.  In other words, no Kardashians, no Miley Cyrus, no Real Housewives of [insert city name here], and no to anybody who is currently making a spectacle of herself/himself in Hollywood (and that field is wide open.  Wide.).  This book does contain recipes of some actors and actresses but they were people who were at the top echelon of  Hollywood back in its heyday like Arthur Godfrey, Rock Hudson or even the contributor of today's recipe, Walt Disney.

Before we get to Walt, let me just point out that I should have been included in this book.  It was published in October, 1958, and I was born that month and obviously would have merited a recipe mention or two had I not been just days old (celebrity newborns are rare).  As my dad would say:  "Story of my life:  a day late, and a dollar short."

Okay, on to Mr. Walt Disney.  When I was growing up, just about every significant movie of my childhood was produced by Disney Studios.  Walt Disney, former animator turned magnate ruled the world.  Here's just a small sampling of Disney movies:

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
• Pinocchio (1940)
• Fantasia (1940)
• Dumbo (1941)
• Bambi (1942)
• Cinderella (1950)
• Peter Pan (1953)
• Lady and the Tramp (1955)
• Old Yeller (1957)
• Sleeping Beauty (1959)

And on and on and on.  And then in 1964, Disney produced Mary Poppins, one of my favorites, and wouldn't you know the (sanitized) story of how that movie was made is now a popular movie, Saving Mr. Banks.  I haven't seen this movie yet but it's the story of how Walt Disney worked with Mary Poppins' author, P.L. Travers, to create the memorable movie version, featuring a significant amount of animation, of Travers' book. Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney and British actress, Emma Thompson, played P. (Pamela) L. Travers.  I've read that in real life, P.L. Travers was so angry about how the 1964 movie turned out that refused to have any other of her Mary Poppins books made into a movie.  So...all was not well in the Magic Kingdom.

And speaking of the Magic Kingdom, Walt was also instrumental in building Disneyland.  Until Disney World was built (1971), Disneyland (built in 1955) in Anaheim, California, was THE place to visit.  There was not a kid I knew growing up who wouldn't have killed to go there but alas, the cost of a trip to California was beyond most families' reach.  We were lucky to go there in 1973 and even though I was a bit older, it was still magical. 

One of the attractions at Disneyland that made me positively giddy was the "It's a Small World" ride.  That 1973 California visit was not the first time I saw "It's a Small World" as my parents took me through that ride at the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair.  Thereafter, many relatives sent me "It's A Small World" dolls as birthday and Christmas presents; I just recently discovered that my mother had saved them all for me.  I want you to know that to this day, I can still sing along with the theme song: "It's a world of laughter, a world of tears, it's a world of hope, it's a world of fears, there's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, it's a small world after all.... [EVERYBODY!] It's a small world after all....."

(Let me just say that one of the other rides I looked forward to the most, Autopia, where you got to drive your own little car on a track, provided insight into how my dad and I would do in a car for real when it came time for me to take Driver's Ed.  Hint:  not good!)

For that song alone – "It's a Small World" -  Walt Disney was a genius.  But alas, while his movies were outstanding and the idea for Disneyland and Disney World was genius, (and he even sponsored several Disney TV shows), this chili recipe fell short.  In fact, it is the only chili to date that I've ever made that had no flavor.  None.  And I'm puzzled as to why.

The basic recipe calls for three spices:  paprika, dry mustard and chili powder.  So I added them and tasted and....nothing.  I added salt and pepper (not called for in the recipe) and...still nothing.  Walt suggested that if I wanted a more spicy chili I could add other spices from an "optional" list so I did:  cumin, cinnamon, dry ginger and....oh for God's sake!  Still bland.

An even worse problem was the great abundance of liquid that turned this recipe more soupy than a stand-a-spoon-in-it thick chili and I'm not sure if that was the intent.  To start the recipe, you need to simmer the beans with onions in water and although I read and re-read the recipe, it never said to drain that water but drain I did!  I drained out a significant amount of liquid before adding all the additional "spicier" spices but by this time I think the recipe had just derailed and there was nothing I could do about it.  It wasn't bad chili, it just wasn't that great.  And what is more interesting is that Walt likely obtained the recipe for this chili while in Mexico!  Now granted, many people think that Mexican food is overly spicy and not all of it is, but I wouldn't have minded a tiny bit of tongue-singe here and there. 

The other critical thing you need to know about this recipe besides the fact that it (in my opinion) doesn't have much flavor, is that you must be prepared to devote hours to making it.  The beans have to soak overnight.  The next day, you are to simmer the beans for four hours, then make your sauce mixture and simmer than for an hour and then add that to the beans and simmer for one-half hour more.  Good thing I could dedicate a day to making this recipe because it took about that long.  I'm willing to bet that a master animator like Walt could get the illustrations done in far less time than it took me to make his chili!

Chili and Beans – serving size unknown but half a recipe still makes a lot!

2 pounds coarse ground beef

½ cup oil

2 onions, sliced

1 cup chopped celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dry mustard

2 lbs dry pink beans

1 large can solid pack tomatoes

1 tsp chili powder, or to taste

Soak beans over night in cold water. Drain.  Put in pot with water to cover, about 2 inches above beans and simmer with onions until tender – about four hours.  (Ann's Note:  unless you want really soupy chili and beans, drain most of the water).

For the sauce, brown the meat and garlic together in oil.  Add other ingredients and simmer for one hour.  When beans are tender, add sauce and simmer for one-half hour more.

For spicy Chili and Beans, add a pinch of:  coriander seeds, tumeric, chili seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnammon, dry ginger and a little yellow Mexican chili pepper.

"The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook" & "Foodarama Party Book" - Black Forest Ham and Coat Cheese Pizza and Gala Cake

Date I made these recipes: February 22, 2009 (Academy Award Night)

The Wolfgang Puck Cookbook – Recipes from Spago, Chinois and Points East and West by Wolfgang Puck
Published by: Random House
ISBN: 0-394-53366-6
© 1986
Recipe: Black Forest Ham and Goat Cheese Pizza – p. 112-113

Foodarama Party Book – What to Serve-What to Do at parties for all occasions – Children, Teenagers, Adults by the Kelvinator Division, American Motors Corp., Detroit 32, Michigan
Published by: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc.
© 1959
Recipe: Gala Cake – p. 37

Well, folks, we are just hours away from the start of the 81st annual Academy Awards – can you stand the excitement?? I know I can’t—so many dresses to critique (it is about the dresses, right?), so little time.

Sadly, folks, the only movie up for an award (Best Supporting Actress) that I’ve seen this year is Vicky, Christina, Barcelona, a quirky yarn directed by Woody Allen (who else?) and that was only a week ago. I am, quite sadly, light years behind on my movie watching.

Once upon a time, though, I was queen of the cinema. I went to movies all the time, especially weekend matinees when it was cheap (today, you can’t even buy the popcorn for what I paid). I was even at the local Uptown Theater when they screened the documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk, Harvey Milk being the subject of this year’s movie, Milk, starring Sean Penn. Who knew that this kid from the middle of nowhere would be so cutting edge?

Last year’s Best Actor, Daniel Day Lewis, was also the subject of a quirky 1988 movie, Stars and Bars that also played at the Uptown during a film festival. From what I recall, he played an art dealer who had to go down south to sign an up-and-coming artist named Freeborn (what would I do without http://www.imdb.com/?). The one scene I distinctly remember was when Day Lewis stayed overnight at a theme hotel and had to paddle a canoe (yes, a canoe) across a waterway built in the registration area to get to the registration desk. If memory also serves, he tipped the thing over. Perhaps you had to be there but it was damned funny. It was especially nice to see DDL is a lighthearted comedy for once; that guy does “serious” like nobody’s business.

But alas, people, between the cost of the movies (not to mention snack canyon) and the movie-watching public’s increasing inability to remain quiet in a movie theater (“This is NOT your living room, and yes, I know he has a gun, thank you very much!”), we stopped going. I hate to admit this, but the last time I was in a theater was for The Matrix 3. Why I bothered with that flick, I have no idea but after that, it was DVD rental or bust. (Incidentally, another make-it or break-it moment took place in a movie theater in a state that shall remain nameless for security reasons—my own security—involving me and a woman I referred to as a “(expletive) hillbilly.” It was a heat of the moment thing and I forget where I was (not to mention my manners) and out it came; my entire row, consisting of me, my husband, my brother and sister-in-law slid down in our seats the minute that phrase was uttered in anticipation of a life-changing incident (otherwise known as “death.”). The fact that I lived to tell about this is probably due to the fact that back then, guns were not allowed in the theater…I think.)

But I digress…in order to honor the Academy winners, I turned to the man who has fed the stars for years on end: Wolfgang Puck.

Although famous in Hollywood, Wolfgang opened up a restaurant here in the Twin Cities a few years ago called 20.21 - (http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/finedining/2021/minneapolis/ It’s located in the Walker Art Center (our modern art museum), is primarily Asian-influenced and just darned good. That Wolfgang knows his way around a kitchen even though he came, he saw (the opening) and then he left and went back to sunny California where he doesn’t have to bring his car battery inside during a cold snap like we do.

It was a little challenging making something from Wolfgang’s book but I finally settled on a pizza. I did not make the pizza dough recipe in the book because I’m lazy and because (as I’ve stated before), “why do for yourself what others can do for you?” Just go buy a large pizza dough from Broder’s Cucina Italiana (or your local pizzeria) and be done with it!

Now at first blush, the gala cake recipe doesn’t seem like it’s a good fit for a pizza and you’re right, but there was a method to my madness. Last night, Saturday night, was the second annual Arcademy Gala. Arc Greater Twin Cities is a nonprofit organization serving individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families, and I’ve had the privilege of volunteering for them for the past 22 years. Over time, I’ve chaired national convention events, the 50th anniversary party and last year, stepped in with T-minus 6 months to go to chair the 1st annual gala. Because the event is held in February, we decided to play on the group’s name, Arc, and throw our own Oscar-themed party. Both last year and this year were a hit with a lineup of outstanding entertainment and high-spirited fund-raising auctions. It is a great time for a great cause and for Twin Cities’ residents looking for a great evening out, this is THE event to consider.

And so in honor of THE event of the season, I selected this Gala Cake for my Oscar-evening lineup from the book, Foodarama. (I absolutely adore the name of this book! My husband and I used to throw a summer party on the huge deck of a previous apartment that we dubbed Deck-O-Rama. That party series – Deck-O-Rama 1 -5 – was a big hit but that’s another story for another day.)

Now this recipe calls for a combination of frozen and fresh fruit but if I were you, I’d consider going with the easier and less expensive option known as fruit cocktail; I did, and I never looked back. (Besides, this book was published in 1959; are you going to tell me that frozen fruit was preferable over fruit cocktail? I think not.)

“And the Oscar goes to….”

Black Forest Ham and Goat Cheese Pizza – Makes 4 small pizzas or 1 large one
1 recipe Pizza Dough (p. 110) divided into 4 equal pieces (or one large dough made from a box or purchased from a local pizzeria)
Extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
1 cup grated Italian Fontina cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese or an equal amount of fresh, sliced mozzarella
2 baby Japanese eggplants, sliced lengthwise to ¼-inch slices and grilled or sautéed in olive oil
1 cup cubed goat cheese (Note: it’s easier and slightly cheaper to go with crumbled goat cheese)
2 ounces Black Forest ham, cut into julienne strips
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped, with 1 sprig reserved for garish

Before we get started, let me tell you about all my variations on a theme for this pizza:
I don’t have a pizza stone and don’t intend to buy one and so used a pizza pan and it worked out just fine. You will probably have to bake it a little longer than planned to achieve the same results.
I made one, large pizza and purchased the dough from Broders’ Cuciana Italiana in south Minneapolis – http://www.broderscucinaitaliana.com/. I also bought my fontina cheese and my mozzarella there.
I used one baby eggplant since my husband is not a big fan and I sautéed them in olive oil and then drained them on paper towels before putting them on the pizza.
Goat cheese is expensive so I used half the amount and went with crumbled instead of cubed.
I couldn’t find Black Forest ham and so went with Viriginia ham instead. I doubt I missed much in the flavor category and it saved me a trip to several other grocery stores.

And now for our actual instructions:
Before you are ready to bake the pizzas, preheat the oven with a pizza stone inside to 500 degrees for 30 minutes.
Roll or stretch the pizza dough, a quarter at a time, into a 7- to 8-inch circle. Now let’s pause here a minute to talk about this dough. For some reason, this sucker did not want to stay put and my husband and I had to wrestle this dough like alligator wranglers in order to get it into shape and onto the pizza pan. I suspect it might be because the dough was cold (I threw it in the refrig for a bit while making other things before taking it out to warm up) but it was a major endeavor. Let’s just say we were sweating, tired and covered with flour!
One at a time, place the pizza on a wooden peel (paddle) dusted lightly with flour or semolina. (Yeah, right Wolfie—like we all have a pizza paddle just hanging around our kitchen someplace.)
For each pizza, brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle it with dried chili flakes according to how s spicy you like your pizza. Arrange a quarter of the fontina and mozzarella cheese on the dough. Then add a quarter of the eggplant, goat cheese and ham. Sprinkle some chopped basil on top. Assemble the three remaining pizzas in the same way.
Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake it for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling lively.

Gala Cake – no serving size given
½ cup frozen diced pineapple
½ cup frozen diced peaches
½ cup seedless grapes
¼ cup halved maraschino cherries
OR buy two cans of fruit cocktail and drain (so much easier)
1 cup heavy cream
Confectioners’ sugar (added to the whipped cream)
½ tsp orange extract
½ tsp lemon extract
2 8 or 9-inch yellow cake layers (I purchased a generic yellow cake mix for all of $.99 – sweet!)

Thaw and drain the frozen fruits (or drain your fruit cocktail). Add grapes and cherries if purchased separately. Whip cream; sweeten to taste with confectioners’ sugar. Fold in the flavoring extracts, then the drained fruit. Fill and frost cake layers with the whipped cream-fruit mixture. Garnish with additional fruit, if desired.

Note: the photo in the book shows that the cake is frosted in between layers and on the top but not on the sides. I decided not to frost the cake at all and instead pulled out my frosting as I went along and added it to the cake as if it were a whipped-cream topping. It saved on space in my refrigerator and didn’t turn my cake into a soggy mess.

"Hollywood du Jour" & "Chasen's" & "The Brown Derby Cookbook" - Oscar night recipes from old Hollywood

Dates I made these recipes: February 24 and 25, 2007

Hollywood du Jour – Lost Recipes of Legendary Hollywood Haunts by Betty Goodwin
Published by: Angel City Press
ISBN: 1-883318-22-X
© 1993
Recipe: Paprika Chicken from Mama Weiss Restaurant (in business from 1930-1954) – p. 32

Chasen’s – Where Hollywood Dined - Recipes and Memories by Betty Goodwin
Published by: Angel City Press
ISBN: 1-883318-23-8
© 1996
Recipe: Chili – p. 32

The Brown Derby Cookbook – prepared by the staff of The Brown Derby Restaurants (foreword by Robert H. Cobb, President, The Brown Derby Corporation)
Published by: Doubleday & Company, Inc.
© 1949

The Brown Derby Restaurant - A Hollywood Legend by Sally Wright Cobb and Mark Willems
Published by: Rizzoli New York
ISBN: 0-8478-1925-6
© 1996
Recipe: Cobb Salad – p. 22 of the original Brown Derby Cookbook and p. 17 and 18 of The Brown Derby Restaurant published in 1996.

And the Oscar goes to….

Well, not that I want to brag or anything, but…me. Okay, not me since I wasn’t nominated and have never acted beyond my 11th and 12th grade school plays, but it was no easy feat to get these recipes done and served in time for the Oscar telecast. I think that deserves a medal of some kind. (Although don’t ask me why I invest my time watching a 4, 8, 12-hour program year after year. I’m pretty sure I fell asleep before the final award was handed out, but seriously, could you blame me? And the Oscar goes to zzzzzzzzzzzzz…….)

Last week, I talked about how I tend to get all “matchy matchy” with my cookbooks and menus. I like themes. This past weekend, Academy Awards weekend, was the perfect time to pull out four Hollywood-related cookbooks.

On Saturday night, I made a Paprika Chicken from the cookbook, Hollywood du Jour. This book is fun because it provides recipes and stories about all the famous places that Hollywood’s elite used to frequent back in the day. This recipe was good but my guess is that it could have been better had I used really fresh paprika. The stuff I used came from a local spice store but it lacked that zing. The thing I really loved about this chicken recipe was the method: after browning onions in a little oil and paprika, you put the chicken in, cover, and let the chicken cook in its own fat for a half an hour. The chicken was unbelievably moist. I loved that method so much, that I used it when I made the Cobb Salad on Sunday.

On Sunday, I made two recipes, Chasen’s Chili and a Cobb Salad. Just like the participants in this year’s Oscar ceremony, I started my day darned early in order to get these recipes done by 6:00 when Barbara Walter’s special came on. (We can’t be missing “Baba,” now can we?) Make sure you allow 2 hours alone to cook the beans required in Chasen’s Chili recipe. You’ll also need time to cook the chicken, bacon and hard boil the eggs called for in The Brown Derby’s Cobb Salad.

And speaking of which, Chasen’s and The Brown Derby were THE Hollywood Hot Spots back in what I considered to be the glory years of old Hollywood (1930-1960). Actress Elizabeth Taylor so loved Chasen’s Chili that she had it sent to Rome where she was filming Cleopatra. In all honesty, I don’t know what the fuss is about but I’ve always associated Chili with Chasen’s so I made it. Same thing with the Cobb Salad and The Brown Derby.

For those of you who are fans of the TV show, I Love Lucy, you’ll recall the famous episode where Lucy, Fred and Ethel ate at The Brown Derby and Lucy, in her earnestness to meet the stars, accidentally caused a tray of food to be dumped on movie star, William Holden. That was one of my favorite episodes and so I was thrilled when I came across the cookbook several years ago. In 1996, Sally Wright Cobb, wife of founder Robert Cobb (for whom the Cobb salad was named) wrote a book about the history of this famous restaurant (the restaurant was actually in the shape of a brown derby hat). The photos alone will make you wax nostalgic for the glory days of Hollywood. Until that time, I’ll just keep working on my own version of an acceptance speech: “I’d like to thank my butcher without whom this would not be possible. A big shout out to the dairy section of my grocery store and….”

Paprika Chicken – serves 3 to 4 (from Hollywood du Jour)
2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons shortening
2 ½ pounds chicken parts (I used two gigantic chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon paprika (try to buy the freshest paprika possible)
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons flour
½ pint sour cream
½ cup water or chicken stock

Saute the onions in the shortening. Add paprika, salt and pepper, to taste. Add the chicken pieces and cover pot. Let it cook on a moderate flame in its own juice for about 30 minutes or until tender. Blend the flour and sour cream and add it to the pot. Add ½ cup water or chicken stock and cook for a few more minutes.

Chasen’s Chili – makes 10 cups, or six main dish servings

Okay, before we get started, let me tell you that I had to deviate from the recipe because of the unavailability of a few items. Chasen’s recommended that one use beef chuck, coarsely chopped and pork shoulder, coarsely chopped, but I had to settle for packages of ground beef and pork as that was all my store carried. I imagine most grocery stores are the same. I’m not sure if it made any difference or not, but there it is.

Similarly, Gebhardt’s chili powder and Farmer Brothers ground cumin are only available online so I substituted other brands. I am not enough of a connoisseur to know whether all chili powders are alike, but it’s possible that the use of these brands (available back in the 50’s) made all the difference because I found the chili to be bland despite the 1/3 cup of chili powder I added. It could be just my palate, but my mother’s chili had way more flavor than this recipe. Not that I want to argue with Elizabeth Taylor, but seriously, honey, I’m not sure I would have paid the big bucks to have this sent to you in Rome….

Chili
½ pound dried pinto beans
Water
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup parsley, chopped
½ cup butter
2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped
1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Gebhardt’s chili powder (see above)
1 tablespoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons pepper
1 ½ teaspoons Farmer Brothers ground cumin (see above)

Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand one hour. Drain off liquid.

Rinse beans again. Add enough fresh water to cover beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour or until tender

Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Simmer five minutes. In a large skillet sauté bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and sauté beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain.

Okay, let’s pause for a minute and talk about browning the beef and pork. First, the combination of a whole stick of butter with the ground beef and pork was a sight to behold. I thought the butter was overkill and didn’t think it added anything to the dish. Second, the amount of fat that resulted from the combination of these three was enormous, such that I drained the beef into a colander that I set on top of another pan. There had to be at least an inch of fat. When the directions call for “drain,” think “DRAIN!” or you will have one greasy pot of chili.

Once you DRAIN the meat, add it to the bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili shouldn’t be too thick – it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like soup. Skim off excess and serve.

NOTE: I was hoping that the flavor of this chili would improve upon age but it didn’t and that’s a tragedy because I have a ton left over. Oh well, just like the Academy Awards, not every recipe walks away a winner.

Cobb Salad – serves 4-6
½ bunch of lettuce
½ bunch watercress
1 small bunch chicory (Note: I could not locate any chicory in my grocery store)
½ head romaine
2 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled
2 breast of boiled roasting chicken (Note: I used the method described in the Paprika Chicken recipe and the chicken tasted great)
6 strips crisp bacon
1 avocado
3 hard-cooked eggs
2 tablespoons chopped chives
12/ cup fine grated imported Roquefort cheese
1 cup Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing (recipe to follow)

Cut finely lettuce, watercress, chicory, and romaine and arrange in salad bowl. Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds, slice finely, and arrange in a strip across the salad. Dice breasts of chicken and arrange over top of chopped greens. Chop bacon finely and sprinkle over the salad. Cut avocado in small pieces and arrange around the edge of the salad. Cut avocado in small pieces and arrange over the top the chopped eggs, chopped chives and grated cheese. Just before serving mix the salad thoroughly with French Dressing.

Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing - makes 1 ½ quarts
Note: I cut this recipe in half.
1 cup water
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
2 ½ tablespoons of salt (whoa!)
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 bead garlic, chopped
1 cup olive oil
3 cups salad oil

Blend together all ingredients except oils. Then add olive and salad oils and mix well again. Chill. Shake before serving.