Sonny Bono's Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Sonny Bono's Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

1 pound spaghetti
5 large ripe tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch basil, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. While cooking, prepare sauce. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute, then peel and dice. Sauté garlic in oil over medium heat until tender. Add tomatoes and sauté one minute. Add basil, stir, and remove from heat. Toss pasta with tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper to taste and Parmesan cheese to taste. Serves 4.

Recipes by Dirk Bogarde: Minestrone; Quiche Lorraine

Dirk Bogarde's Minestrone

1 cup kidney (red or white) beans
1/2 cup diced salt pork (or Italian garlic sausage cut in 1/4-inch rounds)
1 clove garlic
1 large yellow onion
2 1/2 quarts beef stock (or canned beef broth)
3 large peeled carrots
2 large branches celery
1 small head of cabbage
4 sprigs of chicory
4 peeled plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cups fresh green beans
1 cup fresh peas
1 1/2 cups small pasta (elbow macaroni)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Soak beans overnight in cold water, drain, simmer gently 1 1/2 hours in salted water. Drain. Saute salt pork (or sausage) in bottom of 8-quart stock pot until brown. Pour off most of the fat. Add minced garlic, chopped onion, diced carrot, and celery to pork (or sausage). Cook until vegetables begin to soften, stirring. Add beef stock, simmer uncovered 3/4 of an hour. Add cabbage cut in eighths, chicory, tomatoes and sliced green beans. Simmer slowly about 1 hour longer. Add peas and pasta to stock pot. Simmer slowly until peas and pasta are tender, adding more liquid as needed. Season to taste. Just before serving, stir in olive oil and parsley. Serve in soup bowls with grated Parmesan (or Romano) cheese. Serves 8.

Dirk Bogarde's Quiche Lorraine

Pastry for 9-inch pie
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup crisp bacon broken into bits (or chopped lean ham sauteed slowly in tablespoon butter)
3 eggs plus 1 extra yolk
2 cups light cream
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 pound grated Gruyere (or Swiss cheese)

Line deep 9-inch pie pan with pastry (homemade or prepared mix); prick bottom with fork. Partially bake shell about 8 minutes (or until shell begins to brown) in preheated 425 degree oven. Cool. Saute onions in butter until soft. place in bottom of partially baked pie shell with bacon bits (or cooked ham). Beat whole eggs with extra egg yolk until light, blend in cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Pour over onion-bacon mixture in shell. Top with grated cheese and grated nutmeg. Pop into preheated 375 degree oven. Bake about 40 minutes until the filling is puffy and golden (and a silver knife inserted in center comes out clean.) Serve hot or at room temperature with chilled white wine. Serves 4 as main dish.

Claire Bloom's Green Peppers and Veal

Claire Bloom's Green Peppers and Veal

For the tomato sauce:

1 lb. 10-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsps. minced carrot
1 small stalk celery, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3/4 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, pressed
Dry white wine (or water)

l. Drain tomatoes slightly, put in large saucepan With olive oil, onion, carrot, celery, salt and pepper to taste. Add basil, parsley and garlic; cook slowly uncovered until sauce is thick and reduced by half (about 1 hour). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

2. Add a little wine (or water) if sauce becomes too thick. Set aside.

For the stewed peppers:

6 large green (or red) bell peppers
3 tbsps. chopped onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce (as prepared above)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Clean, stem, seed and cut peppers into large pieces. Heat olive oil in large saucepan (or deep skillet) with onion. Cook until golden. Add tomato sauce, peppers and seasonings.

2. Cover and cook over low heat until peppers are tender (about 45 minutes). Add more sauce if needed.

To prepare the veal:

1 lb. veal scallops, cut into small pieces
2 tbsps. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup additional tomato sauce (as prepared above)
1/4 cup dry white wine (or water)
1 recipe stewed peppers (as prepared above)

1. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet until sizzling. Season veal liberally with salt and pepper. Brown meat quickly on all sides. Add tomato sauce.

2. Cook over low heat until veal is fork-tender, stirring often. Add wine (or water) and peppers; correct seasonings. Simmer gently to thicken slightly. Serve with plain or saffron rice. Serves 3-4.

Thoughts: For a change of pace, omit tomatoes, using only onion, green peppers and wine to complement the veal.

Recipes by Karen Black: Chicken Cashew Guk; Parslied Rice

Karen Black's Chicken Cashew Guk

3 whole broiler-fryer chicken breasts
2 tbsps. safflower oil
2 tbsps. margarine
1 green pepper, cut in strips
1 cup diagonally-cut celery
3 tbsps. minced scallions
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup liquid (1/2 cup pineapple or peach syrup plus 1/4 cup water)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 large can pineapple chunks (or 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks)
4 peach halves (fresh or canned), cut
2 tbsps. arrowroot (or cornstarch)
A little cold water (about 2 tbsps.)
Small (4 oz.) can pimiento, drained, cut in pieces

1. Bone chicken breasts (or buy already boned). Remove skin, cut each breast into strips with scissors.

2. Prepare and assemble remaining ingredients: Melt safflower oil and margarine in large skillet (or wok). Add chicken, cook over high heat stirring constantly 3 minutes. Add green pepper, celery, scallion and cashew nuts; sprinkle with curry and nutmeg. Continue stir-frying 2 minutes longer.

3. Add liquid, bouillon cube, soy sauce, pineapple chunks and peaches. Bring to boil, cover and cook 4 minutes. Blend together arrowroot (or cornstarch) with cold water. Stir rapidly into chicken-vegetable-fruit mixture until thickened. Garnish with pimiento. Serve with hot brown (or parslied) rice. Serves 6.

Karen Black's Parslied Rice

2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsps. minced fresh parsley
2-3 tbsps. margarine
2 cups packaged pre-cooked rice

1. Bring water and salt to a boiling point. Stir in rice. Cover, remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes. Add parsley and margarine. Toss lightly with fork to mix. Serves 6.

Jacqueline Bisset's Beer Stew

Jacqueline Bisset's Beer Stew

2 lbs. top lean beef (shoulder or steak, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes)
Seasoned flour
1 tbsp. vegetable shortening
3 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 tbsps. butter (or oleomargarine)
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large turnips (or parsnips), peeled, cut in coarse dice
Bouquet garni, wrapped in bag (pinch of thyme, large sprig of parsley, large bay leaf)
6 peppercorns, slightly bruised
1 1/2 pints dark beer (or undiluted canned beef broth)
Water as needed.

1. Pre-brown flour-dredged cubes of beef in hot vegetable oil in heavy skillet (or casserole). At the same time brown chopped onion slowly in melted butter (or oleomargarine). Add chopped carrots, turnips (or parsnips); brown slightly.

2. Pour off excess fat from browned beef. Arrange browned beef and vegetables together in one casserole. Add bouquet garni, peppercorns, beer (or canned beef broth) and enough water to cover. Bring to slow simmer; cover, cook slowly about two hrs. (or until meat and vegetables are tender). Add more liquid as needed. Correct seasonings. Thicken stock with flour as desired (not required since stew thickens as it cooks down). Serve as a main course with green salad. Serves 6.

Thoughts: For sweet-sour treatment, add small quantity of sweet spices (ground cinnamon or cloves) to stock, brown sugar (or treacle), twist of lemon (or few tsps. of malt vinegar) to stock during the "stewing."

Recipes by Joey Bishop: California Salad; Make-Me-That-Potato-Jazz

Joey Bishop's California Salad

1 head washed, drained, crisped bronze lettuce
1 head washed, drained, crisped escarole
1 head washed, drained, crisped curly endive
1 lb. can cut green beans, drained
1 lb. can red kidney beans, drained
1 lb. can garbanzo beans, drained
2 or 3 ?nely chopped scallions (white part only)
6 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup distilled (or red wine) vinegar
1 1/2 tsps. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 small jar (2.25 ounces) drained, sliced ripe olives
1 or 2 cans (2 ounces each) anchovies, rolled or fillets

Break lettuce, escarole and endive into bite-size pieces in a large salad bowl. Add green, kidney and garbanzo beans, and 4 sliced hard-cooked eggs. Toss lightly.

Prepare dressing by mixing together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over salad greens, tossing lightly. Garnish with remaining sliced eggs, olive slices and anchovies. Serve at once with crusty slices of fresh Italian bread. Serves 8-10.

For convenience salad can be prepared several hours ahead. Refrigerate, add dressing at last minute. Makes an ideal offering for a buffet table.

Joey Bishop's Make-Me-That-Potato-Jazz

Peeled Irish potatoes
Hard-boiled eggs, diced
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Sliced yellow onion browned in schmaltz
Schmaltz (rendered chicken fat)

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, mash until light, adding a little hot water if necessary.

Add eggs, salt and pepper to taste and browned onion, mixing well. Heat schmaltz in cast-iron skillet and add potato (or place in casserole lightly rubbed with schmaltz and heat in moderate oven). Cook over low flame about 5 minutes. Serve as main course for luncheon or supper dish or as side dish for roast breast of beef.

Ready-made schmaltz can be purchased from a kosher butcher or prepared in the following manner: Cut chicken skin and fat into 1-inch squares. Place in a heavy saucepan with a small amount of diced yellow onion and a little water. Simmer very gently until all the fat has been rendered and the chicken skin is crisp and brown. Strain schmaltz, reserve grebenes (cracklings) and use to season chopped liver or eat plain.

Recipes by Herschel Bernardi: Combination Spring Salad; Special Zorba Diet Glueppe

Herschel Bernardi's Combination Spring Salad

2 peeled, chopped cucumbers (after chopping, let set few mins. to drain off liquid before adding to other vegetables)
2 peeled tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup minced scallions
Small bunch red radishes, washed and sliced paper-thin
1 cup plain yogurt
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
Small carton farmer's cheese (or skimmed cottage cheese), optional
Paprika

1. Combine vegetables in salad bowl; season to taste. Cover, chill thoroughly before serving. Mix vegetables with yogurt; garnish with dusting of paprika for color. For an added bonus of protein, serve combination salad along with a generous helping of farmer's cheese (or skimmed cottage cheese).

Herschel Bernardi's Special Zorba Diet Glueppe

1 large yellow onion
1 cup lean chopped leftover cooked meat (beef, veal or lamb)
1/4 tsp. lemon-pepper marinade (if not available, raid your spice cabinet and combine: freshly ground pepper with dash of monosodium glutamate and a sprinkling of garlic salt)
Dash cayenne (or dry  mustard), optional
3 tbsps. grated hard cheese (Parmesan, Cheddar, Romano, Edam or Gruyere)
3 eggs
Salt if desired
1 1/2 tsps. minced parsley (or chives), optional

1. Brown onion in a Teflon-coated skillet (do not use butter). Sprinkle meat with lemon-pepper marinade (or your own blend of seasonings); throw mixture into skillet with browned onion.

2. Add grated cheese. Beat eggs separately until light; add to mixture, cooking over high heat. When eggs begin to congeal, lower heat, continue cooking until eggs set. Turn out on heated plate, garnish with parsley (or chives). Consume at once. Makes one large he-man serving.

Herschel says, "Glueppe is only the beginning of some wonderful creations! How good it tastes depends on what kind of leftovers you find in the refrigerator, plus your talent for improvisation!"

Some Innovations

Seafood: Add 3 tbsps. minced celery to onion; substitute diced cooked shrimp (or lobster) for meat. Omit cayenne (or mustard) and cheese. Season with few drops lemon juice and a dash of Tabasco sauce.

Chicken: Omit onion and substitute 2 tbsps. each chopped water chestnuts, canned mushrooms and minced celery and brown. Substitute cooked minced chicken (or turkey) for meat; omit cayenne (or mustard) and cheese. Season lightly with nutmeg and white pepper.

Italiano: Add three tbsps. chopped green pepper to onions to brown. Omit cheese, cayenne (or mustard). Substitute 1/4 tsp. each oregano and basil for lemon-pepper marinade. When adding beaten eggs to mixture, add 2 peeled chopped ripe plum tomatoes.