Pier Angeli's Lasagne Gemelle

Pier Angeli's Lasagne Gemelle

Sauce:
One 5 1/2 to 6 pound stewing chicken, jointed
2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced or two 3-ounce cans chopped mushrooms
1 (No. 2 1/2) can tomato puree (3 1/2 cups or 27-29 ounce can)
2 (No. 2 1/2) cans solid pack tomatoes (7 cups or two 27-29 ounce cans)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-2 cloves garlic (if desired)
1 tsp. oregano

Put chicken in a pot with the other ingredients and simmer until meat separates from bone. (If canned mushrooms are used, include their juice.) Lift out chicken. Discard skin and bones. Break chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cool sauce, which should have consistency of good gravy, and skim off excess fat. Add chicken.

Filling:
6 hard cooked eggs, finely chopped
1 pound Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
12 thin slices Prosciutto ham
1/4 pound grated Parmesan cheese

Cook a one pound package of lasagne according to instructions on package. Drain, rinse in large pan of cold water, lay on wax paper. Oil a rectangular (9x16x3) baking dish. Put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom, then layers of lasagne, ham, sauce, lasagne, cheese and eggs, sauce, lasagne, in that order until dish is full. Top layer should be lasagne. Spread with more sauce and sprinkle generously with cheese. Bake about 3/4 hour at 350 degrees F. Cut in squares and top with hot sauce and more cheese. Freeze leftovers. Serves 8.

Heather Angel's Chef's Salad

Heather Angel's Chef's Salad

Tear hearts of lettuce into good-sized pieces. Chop together with hearts of celery, a small bunch of watercress and chicory, and mix with a cup of diced baked ham. Add to this three tomatoes, quartered, and serve with the following French dressing:

Rub the salad bowl with garlic. Take the juice of one lemon and one half cup Italian olive oil. Beat for few minutes with an egg beater. After the dressing has thickened slightly, add vegetables and ham. Mix this thoroughly. Garnish with chopped parsley and hard-boiled eggs. Serve at table from bowl. This serves six persons with a dinner course and four if served as a main luncheon course.

Julie Andrews' Lamb Stew

Julie Andrews' Lamb Stew

4 lbs boneless lamb (leg or shoulder) cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, diced
1 large pinch of thyme
4 sprigs of parsley
Water (or diluted beef broth) to cover
8 medium-sized carrots, peeled, quartered
4 medium-sized potatoes, halved
12 pearl onions, peeled
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Freshly minced parsley

Place lamb in bottom of large saucepan (or Dutch oven). Season liberally with salt and pepper. Add bay leaf, onion, thyme, parsley and liquid (water or diluted canned beef broth) to pan. Bring to boiling point. Cover and simmer about 1 1/2 hours (or until meat is fork-tender). Add carrots, potatoes and whole onions. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender (about 30 minutes). To serve remove lamb to heated serving bowl. Strain the liquid from the vegetables and place them on top of the lamb in serving bowl. Skim any fat from top of the cooking liquid. Cook to reduce in volume, season with Worcestershire sauce to taste and pour over lamb and vegetables. Garnish with parsley. Serves 8.

Thoughts: Julie's stew can be made with small loin lamb chops (bone-in). Adjust cooking time to allow meat to simmer only 15 minutes. If desired, fresh garden peas or cabbage (quartered) may be added at the end and cooked long enough to tenderize the vegetables.

Recipes by Ursula Andress: Fresh Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti; Hungarian Beef Goulash

Ursula Andress' Fresh Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti

2 tbsps. butter
2 tbsps. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. parsley, minced
1 clove garlic, pressed
6 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 leaves fresh basil (or good pinch dried)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 lb. cooked spaghetti

1. Heat olive oil and butter in skillet. Add onion and cook over low heat until onion softens. Add parsley, garlic, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to taste.

2. Cook over high heat stirring about 10 minutes. Sauce should be juicy and fresh tasting. Cook spaghetti al dente. Serve sauce over spaghetti. Serve at the table with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Thoughts: This fresh tomato sauce is delicately flavored and can be further seasoned with oregano or by adding 2 or more chopped filleted anchovies.(Reduce salt in sauce if anchovies are used.)

Ursula Andress' Hungarian Beef Goulash

3 lbs. top grade beef steak (top sirloin or lean sirloin)
Salt, freshly ground pepper, Hungarian sweet paprika and flour
2-3 tbsps. vegetable oil (or butter)
3 onions, peeled and chopped
2 large peppers, cut in large pieces
4 tomatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tsps. salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 heaping tbsps. Hungarian sweet paprika
About 1 to 1 1/2 cups liquid (beef stock mixed with 1/3 cup Cognac)
Snipped parsley

1. Trim beef in 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes. Sprinkle cubed meat generously with salt, pepper, paprika and a little flour (use sparingly). Set aside.

2. Heat vegetable oil (or butter) in bottom of a heavy Dutch oven (or deep skillet). Add onions and peppers; cook slowly until vegetables begin to soften; remove vegetables from skillet; set aside.

3. Add more vegetable oil (or butter) if needed; brown beef quickly on all sides. Return vegetables to skillet with tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika and liquid. Mix well. Cover, cook over low heat about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover, cook 1/2 hour longer to reduce stock. Correct seasonings. Garnish with snipped parsley. Serve with boiled potatoes, buttered noodles or sauerkraut.

Thoughts: Sometimes Ursula prepares her goulash with wine instead of cognac particularly when sauerkraut is used. (Cooked with goulash or cooked as a side dish flavored with red wine, apples, bay leaves, onion and spices.)

Ed Ames' Valencia Paella

Ed Ames' Valencia Paella

2 1/2 pound frying chicken, cut in very small pieces
1/4 pound chorizo (or garlic-flavored pork sausages), sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound large whole fresh shrimp (cleaned and deveined)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
About 1 1/2 cups stock (chicken broth, clam juice or water)
2 1/2 cups long-grained uncooked rice
Good pinch of crushed saffron (diluted in few tbsps. warm water)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1 1/2 dozen cherrystone clams, cleaned
1/2 pkg. frozen peas
4 ounce can sweet red pimientos, sliced
Chopped parsley
1 green pepper, sliced
2 peeled, chopped tomatoes cut in quarters

Brown chicken and sausage in a paella pan (or large frying pan) until golden; remove meat, reserve. Saute lobster and shrimp in same pan; remove and reserve. Saute onion, green pepper and garlic in same pan until vegetables are transparent. Add tomatoes, wine, stock. Bring to a boil, simmer uncovered 5 minutes, stirring. Add chicken and sausage to the pan with rice, saffron and seasonings. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes without stirring. Add cherrystone clams, half of them peeled and half of them on top so they will steam open. Put shrimp, peas and pimiento on top. Simmer until just heated through. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 6.

Ed's Thoughts: For appearance, some cooks like to run the dish in a hot oven to brown and crisp the top of the rice. For party touches use pieces of cooked lobster or mussels to decorate the top.

Recipes by June Allyson: Asparagus Vinaigrette; Beef Stew; Vegetables

June Allyson's Asparagus Vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette sauce:

1 tbsp. fresh lemon Juice
2 tbsps. wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tbsps. olive oil (or melted sweet butter)

Combine lemon juice, vinegar and mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add olive oil (or melted butter), beating with fork until sauce thickens. Keep in warm place until ready to use.

For the asparagus:

1 bunch of asparagus
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
2 tbsps. chopped parsley
2 gherkins, minced

Wash asparagus thoroughly. If sandy, scrub With vegetable brush. Remove any woody stalks (determine by breaking them rather than cutting stalks). Tie in bunch. Stand asparagus in deep, narrow pan filled With boiling water. Simmer gently 10-15 minutes (or until stalks are tender). Drain and serve hot or cold with vinaigrette sauce garnished with hard-cooked egg, parsley and minced gherkin. Makes a fabulous main luncheon course or side dish with steak or chops. Serves 2.

June Allyson's Beef Stew

2 lbs. lean round (or chuck steak)
3 tbsps. butter (or salad oil)
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups potatoes, cut in large pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cups green peas (or string beans)
1 cup corn cut from cob
2 cups water (or undiluted beef broth)
1/2 cup vermouth
1 1/2 tsps. salt (more if needed)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. tarragon
Pinch of thyme
1 bay leaf
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Brown beef quickly in melted butter (or salad oil). Remove beef to heated dish. Brown onion and garlic in pan drippings over low heat. Prepare vegetables and set aside. Return beef to stock pot with onion and garlic. Add carrots, potatoes, celery and water (or broth) vermouth, seasonings and herbs. Cover and simmer 1 1/4 hours (or until meat is tender). Add green peas (or beans) and corn. Cook 10 minutes (or until vegetables are tender). Taste to correct seasonings. Spoon into soup plates. Garnish with Parmesan cheese at the table. If desired, stew can be thickened with flour but tastes best using natural juice of vegetables and meat to flavor the stew. Serves 4-6.

June Allyson's Vegetables

June Allyson likes to glaze vegetables such as carrots, turnips or onions in brown sugar syrup. She also serves carrots with melted butter to which chopped parsley, chives, or mint has been added.

To make spinach attractive, she seasons it with crumpled crisp bacon, topping it off with a hard-boiled egg which has been put through a sieve.

For extra delicacy in asparagus tips, she boils them in milk.

June claims that cooked green beans are even more delicious when placed under the broiler rack to catch meat drippings.

Steve Allen's Rack of Lamb

Steve Allen's Rack of Lamb

1 rack of lamb
1 bottle honey-mint sauce
Lemon pepper seasoning
Salt to taste

Marinate lamb in honey-mint sauce for 12 hours, turning twice. Season rack with lemon pepper seasoning and salt. Stand lamb on a metal roasting rack in a flat pan. Bake, uncovered and unbasted, for 45-50 minutes at 325 degrees F. for pink, medium doneness. Cover ends with foil to avoid burning. To serve, cut lamb rack into chops of 2 at thickest part, and 3 at the narrow end. Dress ends of chops with "lamb pants" in various colors. Serves 2-4.