Celebrity Cooking

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I find what celebrities cook in their own kitchens more interesting than what they wear on the red carpet.  With clothing, they just name the designer, but with cooking, there is always more of a story behind a favorite recipe.  Regis and Kathie Lee, and now Kathie and Hoda, seem to love having cooking segments on their shows.  This book from 1994 is great!  It not only has wonderful recipes, but also extensive party planning tips.  The book is organized by season and theme, from a New Year’s brunch, to 4th of July picnics, to Christmas dinner.  Regis and Kathie Lee reminisce about Regis visiting his daughter and attending Notre Dame tailgate parties, and Kathie Lee’s annual Christmas party.  There are also recipes for a Super Bowl party, Easter, Passover, a Kentucky Derby party, and Memorial Day picnic fare.
This next celebrity cookbook was compiled by one of my favorite celebrity cookbook authors, Dinah Shore.  I found it for $1 at a used book store, and inscribed inside with the date of May, 1968, was “To dear Susie, in remembrance of all your delicious dinners in your home.”  What makes the book even more interesting than some great recipes, is how they are printed.  Each person autographs the recipe on their private letterhead.  The head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer sent a lamb recipe written on offical studio stationary.  Edie Adams has a recipe for Shoo-Fly Pie, and on her stationary is a cute sketch of herself at the top.  There is a 2-page recipe from Gene Kelly for Coq Au Vin that sounds amazing.  A recipe from the wife of Jim Backus of Gilligan’s Island fame, states that he does not cook.  Mrs. Backus says that one time when she was ill, the doctor told her to eat boiled eggs.  Jim decided to prepare it himself, except he just put a raw egg into a pot with no water and turned on the heat.  Apparently it exploded, and the aroma did not help his wife’s already churning stomach.  For tastier recipes, you will find Bette Davis’s red flannel hash, Jacqueline Kennedy’s waffles, Edgar Bergen’s Swedish meatballs, and Beef Stroganoff from Natalie Wood. 
I have all kinds of celebrity cookbooks, which are  fun reading along with some great recipes here and there.  But this one still is still one of the strangest ones from the National Enquirer which has no specific date, but includes a recipe from the first President Bush.  It was an entire issue of the Enquirer with no gossip, just celebrity recipes.  So what do you think – should we trust these recipes to be authentic?!

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