It’s right here on my desk. My Holy Grail of cookbooks: A Treasury of Great Recipes. Written in 1965, it is a loving compilation of 1960s recipes, travel tales from around the world, gorgeous color photography and menus from little cafes and famous four-star restaurants.
This collectors’ book is a gem of Mad Men-era meals written by true gourmets: Vincent Price and his second wife Mary.
Oh, what? You only know Price from his creepy B-horror films from the 1950s? Although, personally, I think the original House of Wax is a classic. Or maybe you younger pups can only recall him as the creator in Edward Scissorhands or as the narrator of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Man, I wish time travel was real. The menu from that era lists a Bourbon Manhattan for $1.05 and a one-pound grilled prime sirloin with side salad for $6.50.
Well, the creepy actor is probably how most think of Price, but truth be told his favorite passions were food, poetry, fine art and travel. Dr. Phibes was quite the sophisticate.
But, back to the cookbook.
I first heard of this book about three years ago when my dear friend Francie Mendenhall told me about it. She not only had a copy of the cookbook, it was personally autographed by Vincent Price.
Yes, Mendenhall knew Price. While longtime theater buffs around town may remember her from the original cast of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas that premiered in 1979 at the Tower Theater 9 (which now houses El Real Tex-Mex), where it ran for a full year, before that she was on TV as one of Dean Martin’s Golddiggers. By 1972 the singing, dancing backup girls had their own show.
“Vincent Price was one of our first guest stars,” Mendenhall says. “He was talking about his love of food and this cookbook he and his wife had written and we all wanted one. So the next day he came to the set with a box of books and personally signed them for us!”
The inscription reads: For Francie, our best and bon appétit, Mary and Vincent Price, 1972.
Now, underneath that there is another dedication to me from Mendenhall. She gave me her book, a much beloved book with her own notations penciled in the margins. So here is this classic cookbook, signed by the author and filled with memories of a dear friend. Best. Foodie. Gift. Ever.
The book chronicles the travels of the Prices through France, Italy, England, Mexico and even Scandinavia and the Unites States.
So far one of my favorite recipes comes from the famed Lüchow’s in New York City. Long gone now, this is what the Prices wrote about it when they dined there in the 1960s:
“When New York was young and Fourteenth Street was the city’s center of music and theater, Lüchow’s was its mahogany monument to good living. Fourteenth Street has decayed over the past eighty years but Lüchow’s Old World gemülichkeit has simply grown mellower and richer. To dine there is to go back in time to an era when meals were leisurely and plentiful, and waiters really cared.”
Man, I wish time travel was real. The menu from that era lists a Bourbon Manhattan for $1.05 and a one-pound grilled prime sirloin with side salad for $6.50.
But until someone invents a time machine, I must just salivate over the gorgeous photos and the recipes of classic German food. And, although I’ve lived in Germany and love the food, I’ve never attempted to cook it myself. But here’s a simple and delicious recipe from Lüchow’s for steak tartar that anyone can do.
Oh, and Price recommends a raw beef binge as a weight loss plan. I’ve never heard a doctor concur, but what the heck, I’m willing to try.
Beef Steak Tartare
1) Remove all fat from two pounds of fillet of beef or round steak. Grind meat fine. (If, unlike the Prices, you don’t own a meat grinder just ask your butcher to do it.)
2) Toast four slices of bread and spread with butter or margarine. (OK, it was the '60s, but please use real butter.) Trim off crusts but serve slices whole.
3) Arrange 1/2 pound of ground beef on each slice of toast. Put one raw egg on top of each serving.
40 Garnish each with two sardines and 1/2 tablespoon capers.
Not sure how you can lose weight with this much meat and butter, but I’m willing.
Well, the creepy actor is probably how most think of Vincent Price, but truth be told his favorite passions were food, poetry, fine art and travel. Dr. Phibes was quite the sophisticate.
