Category Archives: Recipes

50s Retro, Lucille Ball, Recipes, Stork Club

Inspiration: Lucy and Desi at The Stork Club


Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz liked to visit The Stork Club in Manhattan, New York City, which was a celebrity hotspot during its heyday from 1929 to 1965.

Here are some interesting original Stork Club collectibles you can use to recreate your own Stork Club themed table for a special evening.

      1. The Stork Club Pitcher
        This original black tilt water pitcher matches the one seen on Lucy and Desi’s table in the above photo. Marked Shenango New Castle China  on the base.  One sold  recently for $275 on eBay.  Hall China also made their version of the same pitcher for the Stork Club.  Shenango tilt pitchers were sold in a variety of colors for the general market and the Hall China  ball pitcher came a range of colours as well.
      2. The Stork Club Stork Centerpiece
        The Stork Club figural bud vase can be seen on  Lucy and Desi’s  table and this iconic piece is frequently seen on the table  in old photos of celebrities at the famous club.  I see two of them on eBay this week .
      3. The Stork Club AshtrayThis Stork Club Ashtray is more easly found.  The example above is made by Hall China. I see one or two offered on eBay this week.
      4. The Stork Club cookbook and Bar book
        The Stork Club Bar Book Lucius Beebe 1946 First Edition

        The STORK CLUB cookbook  by Sherman Billingsley (Signed) Seen on eBay
      5. The Stork Club Perfume

        The owner of The Stork Club, Sherman Billingsley, liked to give extravagant gifts to the famous patrons. In front of Lucille Ball on her table is a box of Sortilège perfume by Le Galion, which became known as the “fragrance of the Stork Club”. The box may contain a stork figure holding a vial of the perfume as pictured below.
      6. The Stork Club Table Ware
        Following are  examples of the table setting used at The Stork Club – and a recipe for the popular Stork Club Coconut Snowball dessert:

        For dessert serve The Stork Club Snowball. Pour chocolate sauce over a large ball of vanilla ice cream and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

        An example of  dinnerware used in The Stork Club is seen in the ad above.  The black banded plates look like Shenango New Castle China restaurant ware. One of Shenango’s  main lines was Incaware restaurant china. The floral banded dinner plate is in a similar style to dinner plates made by Shenango China.

        The Stork Club Table Setting

        The Stork Club Place setting with banded Reataurant ware.

        Shenango also produced dinnerware for presidents and serving dishes for the White House.

      7. The Stork Club Cocktail

    Complete your meal with a Stork Club Cocktail

  2. Stork Club Suspenders
    Desi Arnaz and his gift of Stork Club red suspenders

    Lucille Ball holds her souvenir perfume gift while admiring Desi’s Stork Club souvenir red suspenders.
    Get yours at http://storkclub.com/product/stork-club-red-suspenders/

Reference:

 

Hollywood, Recipes, The Brown Derby

Lucy Eats Spaghetti at the Brown Derby

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Lucy eats her spaghetti and meatballs at The Brown Derby in I Love Lucy, LA at Last!

At the Brown Derby Restaurant the meat sauce was a specialty of the house according the the 1949 Brown Derby cookbook, Lucy Ricardo ordered her spaghetti and meatballs with extra meat sauce, The set decoration scene looks very like the real Brown Derby. ( see archival photo here ).

Willow Pattern dinnerware at the Brown Derby
Willow Pattern dinnerware at the Brown Derby  L to R. Sally and Bob  Cobb of the Brown Derby, Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance.

In real life Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz along with many Hollywood stars regularly dined at the Brown Derby. Google image search brings up  numerous 1950’s photos that match the decor of the scene. The dinner ware in use in the restaurant was classic Willow Pattern  – in the original color photos of the day pink/red willow pattern dishes can be seen.

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Derby Meat Sauce original recipe from The Brown Derby cookbook.

derbyashtrayOriginal Vintage Brown Derby Ashtray Seen on Etsy – Click to View Details

Hollywood, Recipes, The Brown Derby

William Holden’s Cobb Salad

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William Holden orders Cobb Salad at the Brown Derby in I Love Lucy, L.A. at Last!

Bill Holden gets the Cobb Salad he ordered in the hilarious Brown Derby scene from the I Love Lucy show. The Brown Derby was the birthplace of the Cobb salad  invented by owner Robert H. Cobb. The original Cobb salad recipe uses a French Dressing – not blue cheese. Get the Brown Derby Old-fashioned French dressing recipe at the end of this post.

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The Brown Derby Cobb Salad Recipe from the Brown Derby Cookbook

 

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Vintage Brown Derby Luncheon Menu – the blank spaces are for pasting in the daily specials

 

The Brown Derby Sign in the background on the I Love Lucy set
The Brown Derby Sign in the backdrop on the I Love Lucy set
Hollywood, Recipes, The Brown Derby

Lucy’s Brown Derby Mixed Green Salad


Lucy,Ethel and Fred have Lunch at the Brown Derby in Hollywood
The Brown Derby Cook Book – click here to find it on eBay

The Cobb Salad was invented by Bob Cobb of the Brown Derby however another house salad the Derby Mixed Green Salad was very popular as a side dish.  In the Brown Derby Scene, episode “L.A. At Last!,” Lucy selects a tossed salad from the menu which the waiter explains is a mixed green salad. The Derby Mixed Green Salad recipe can be found in the  Brown Derby Cookbook.
Make your own Mixed Green Salad and  the Derby Old-fashioned French Dressing  to go with it from the original recipes pictured below from The Brown Derby Cookbook.

Derby Mixed Green Salad
Serves 4

1/2 head romaine cut in 1-in pieces
1/2 head (medium size) Lettuce, pulled
1/2 bunch watercress
1/2 head chicory
2 tomatoes,peeled and quartered
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup Brown Derby Old-fashioned French Dressing (see recipe below)

Toss the greens in a large cold salad bowl and mix lightly. Garnish with the tomatoes. Sprinkle chopped celery on top. Just before serving add French Dressing and toss lightly.

Brownderbymixedgreensalad
Brown Derby mixed green salad original recipe

Brown Derby Old-Fashioned French Dressing, 1/ 1/2 qts.
This is the French Dressing which became so popular among the stars that the Brown Derby was prevailed upon to bottle it for home use. The cup of water is optional depending upon the degree of oiliness desired in this dressing.

1 cup water
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Juice of 1.2 lemon
2 1/2 tbs.* salt
1 tbs. ground black pepper
1 tbs.  Worcestershire Sauce
1 tbs. English mustard
1 bead garlic chopped
1 cup olive oil
3 cups salad oil
(*Uk readers note a US tablespoon = British dessert spoon)
Blend together all ingredients except oils.  Then add olive and salad oils and mix well again. Chill. Shake before serving.

This dressing keeps well in the refrigerator. Can be made and stored in a 2 qt. Mason jar.

 

French Dressing for the Derby Mized Green Salad
The Old-Fashioned French Dressing for the Derby Mixed Green Salad
Recipes, The Brown Derby

Lucy’s Lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby

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Lucy, Ethel and Fred have Lunch at the Brown Derby in Hollywood

The I Love Lucy Episode “L.A. At Last!,” 1955, is memorable for the famous scene at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Lucy is hoping to spot  movie stars, so she and Ethel and Fred go to the Hollywood Brown Derby for lunch where she has the hilarious scene with Bill Holden. Lucy orders a Derby tossed salad and spaghetti and meatballs with lots of meat sauce and Ethel opts for the same.  I have an old Brown Derby cookbook – pictured below – so I looked up the recipes. You can find the Brown Derby Mixed Green Salad, on p. 74. Spaghetti Derby p 27 and the Derby Meat Sauce on p 28

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Lucy browses the menu at the Holly Brown Derby Restaurant

The Menu Lucy choses from is similar to the vintage menu pictured below

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The Brown Derby Luncheon Menu

 

Lucy,Ethel and Fred have Lunch at the Brown Derby in Hollywood
The Brown Derby Cook Book – click here to find it on eBay

Brock of California, California Pottery, I love Lucy Props, Kitchen, Recipes

Lucy and Ricky’s Brock Coddled Egg Cups

Brock Egg Cup/Coddler
Brock Egg Cup/Coddler

In an early I Love Lucy episode entitled ‘Be a Pal’ Lucy and Ricky are having coddled eggs for breakfast. The egg cup is double sided and large enough to make coddled eggs on the top side and to hold a standard boiled egg on the smaller side. The maker is Brock of California and the design  seen on the show is called Harvest with a yellow  top edge. They are also seen on the kitchen shelves in several episodes.

Brock of California Egg Cup Coddlers seen on eBay
Brock of California Egg Cup Coddlers seen on eBay

Brock of California was founded in 1947 by Bert J Brock and closed down in 1980. The company designed a limited number of dinnerware patterns in the 40’s and 50’s that are popular with collectors today. Brock of California were known for their charming country style designs and the Harvest design can be still be found on eBay and Etsy with either brown or yellow edges. Search for “Brock California” for a current selection.

Set of Brock Egg Cup/Coddlers on eBay
Set of Brock Egg Cup/Coddlers on eBay

Recipe: Coddled Eggs

Coddled eggs are made by Continue reading Lucy and Ricky’s Brock Coddled Egg Cups →

Ernest Hemingway, Recipes

Hemingway’s Hamburger Recipe

recipe
Hemingway’s Hamburger Recipe from the JFK library

Hemingway’s 4th wife Mary wrote that they ate the hamburgers to fortify them for “tramping through the sagebrush after pheasant, partridge or ducks” in Idaho or Wyoming, which they visited every autumn. She typed the recipe out for the Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery while Hemingway was still alive.The version above, with the  “Wild West” annotation, was for a later edition.
Ingredients included: Continue reading Hemingway’s Hamburger Recipe →