Recipes by Joan Crawford: Bread Omelet; Charcoal-Broiled Steak with Roquefort Cheese and Mustard Sauce; Poached Salmon; Sausage Rolls; Thin Pancakes

Joan Crawford's Bread Omelet

4 eggs, separated
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
4 tablespoons milk
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/8 tsp. baking powder

Beat egg yolks well. Add salt, pepper, and milk; beat the bread crumbs into
the mixture. Add baking powder to egg whites and beat until stiff. Fold into first mixture. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in frying pan, turn in mixture and spread evenly. Cook over slow fire until brown, then in slow oven until top is set. Fold and turn out on hot platter. Serves 4.

Joan Crawford's Charcoal-Broiled Steak with Roquefort Cheese and Mustard Sauce

First of all be sure that the steak is a thick one, and that the coals are glowing red before starting to cook it. In case you oven broil the steak, the secret is to have the oven at just the right temperature -- say preheated to 450 to 500 degrees. To prepare the steak for broiling, first wipe it with a damp cloth. Then salt and pepper and rub with a clove of garlic. When this is complete, brush with butter. Arrange the steak on the pan at least one and a half inches from the flame. (For thick steaks at least two inches) broil it first on one side, and then on the other. I have discovered that twelve to fifteen minutes is sufficient for a rare steak, fifteen to eighteen minutes for medium well-done and twenty to thirty minutes for well-done. Here is a tip for oven broiling, try leaving the oven door ajar while cooking and see what a difference it makes.

Roquefort Cheese and Mustard Sauce

1 square Roquefort cheese, beaten
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Broil steak as above. The sauce is made as follows: mix together the beaten Roquefort cheese, mustard and melted butter. After turning, and just before the steak is done, spread on the sauce and let broil until brown. This is delicious.

Joan Crawford's Poached Salmon

1 (3 pound) piece of fresh salmon
3 lemons
6 cups water
10 pearl onions, peeled
1/2 stalk celery with leaves
2 sprigs parsley
3 small bay leaves
12 peppercorns, crushed
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups mayonnaise
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Rinse and dry fish. Cut lemons in thin slices. Place slices on both sides of the fish. Wrap fish in a double thickness of cheesecloth and secure with kitchen string. Put water, onions, celery, parsley, bay leaves, crushed peppercorns and salt in a fish poacher or on a rack in a deep saucepan. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Place fish on rack in the kettle so that it is halfway submerged in the water. Cover and slowly simmer 40 minutes, or until fish is barely done. Place fish on a heated platter. Remove cloth and lemon slices carefully. Combine mayonnaise, prepared mustard and lemon juice; mix well and serve with fish. (Fish and dressing may also be served cold on a bed of lettuce.)

Joan Crawford's Sausage Rolls

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons shortening
2 to 3 cups milk
8 sausages,partially cooked

Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. Add milk until a soft dough is formed. Knead lightly on a floured board. Roll out to about l/4-inch thickness. Cut into oblong pieces and roll each sausage in the dough. Place in a buttered pan and bake in a very hot oven (450 degrees F.) for 15 minutes.

Joan Crawford's Thin Pancakes

2 eggs
1 pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1 pint of whole milk

Beat eggs well. Add salt and half the milk. Beat the flour into this mixture, and when smooth, add the remainder of milk, beating until smooth. Have griddle or pan hot and well greased. Put on 3 tablespoons of batter, spreading into one thin pancake. In just a moment it will be ready to turn, and do this by slipping the turner under center of the pancake. Heap in layers on a plate. They are a new and highly pleasing high in pancake goodness.