Celebrity recipes are always a mixed bag and in my experience that bag usually holds a lot of bland disappointments and ill-advised oddities. Frank DeCaro's The Dead Celebrity Cookbook does much better than most to battle this opinion. It's an amusing compendium of fond remembrances and celebrity recipes by A- , B- and C-list stars loved and lost. Most of the recipes serve to … [Read more...]
MAMIE EISENHOWER’S CHOCOLATE MARBLE COOKIES
Look what arrived in the mail, just in time for Presidents' Day: a batch of Mamie Eisenhower's Marble Cookies. Baked with love and sent with care by my very own First Lady, my mom. Sweet, nutty and a little flaky (I refer to the cookies) Mamie's marble cookies presage the wining streak of chocolate cookie victories of her successors, notably Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, … [Read more...]
TAMPIQUENA
Tampiquena is a south of the border alternative to the summer grilling familiars. At its most basic it's a seasoned grilled skirt steak served with a variety of sides and garnishes. Not surprisingly beans, rice and corn tortillas are usually included. It's the upgrades and add-ons to standard carne asada that give Tampiquena its flair. A sweet-spicy marinade is a good … [Read more...]
SALTED CARAMEL PECAN CAKE
Picture #1: Salted Caramel cake as made by House Beautiful food columnist Alex Hitz. Picture #2: Salted Caramel Pecan cake as made by Spectacularly Delicious. Although these two cakes wouldn't be mistaken for identical twins they do bear more than a passing resemblance looks-wise. But down in their souls, their very essence, they are one in the same: lightly salty, … [Read more...]
CUPOLA di BUCATINI / PASTA DOME RECIPE
Frequent readers will know that Spectacularly Delicious has a fondness for tall food. From croquembouche pyramids to kugelhopf ziggurats, the peaks of Mont Blancs to tumbling cascades of lobster, we take the "haute" in haute cuisine very seriously. That goes for alta cucuina as well. The arching swell of Spec D's Pasta al Duomo is joined by another architectural marvel: … [Read more...]
“LOOKING” FOR PERI PERI CHICKEN
The season finale of Looking, HBO's new gay-boys-in-San Francisco show, left fans hanging. Was it a bad career move for Patrick (Jonathan Groff) to have sex with his boss? Can Agustin (Franki J. Álvarez) reverse his downward spiral of drugs, escorts and tacky art? (A unicorn!) What's up with Lynn (Scott Bakula) and Dom (Murray Barlett)? Are they just investor and protegé -- or … [Read more...]
Steak au Poivre Alex Hitz
My new issue of House Beautiful fell open to Alex's Kitchen and his recipe for Steak au Poivre. I took it as a sign from the heavens and the angels did sing when these steaks hit the table. Oh my they were good. I'm a big fan of Alex Hitz recipes and his My Beverly Hills Kitchen cookbook. His food is flavor-packed and usually rather showy which is right up Spectacularly … [Read more...]
TIRAMISU
I jumped at the invitation to a Lavazza coffee party with special guest Debi Mazur. Many moons ago I did PR for Bumble + bumble hair salon where young Debi M (as she styled herself then) was a rising star beautician. Her path led to celebrity and stardom, to Goodfellas and Entourage. The downtown It Girl who was Madonna's best friend and Pee Wee Herman's girlfriend. And now … [Read more...]
JULIA DELLA CROCE’S SPECTACULAR LENTIL SOUP
I got involved in the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorator Show House this spring -- House Beautiful partnered with KitchenAid and designer Christopher Peacock to create an über glam kitchen in a grand Manhattan townhouse. Helping pull the kitchen together, working with the above and as well as friends at Caesarstone, Grothouse Lumber and Frontgate, was a lot of fun and the … [Read more...]
LIBERACE RECIPE FOR CHICKEN DIVAN
"I don't care about the money -- I just want Lee back!" cried this rueful Scott Thorson (the late, great Peter Croce) on a balmy Greenwich Village Halloween long ago, as seen in this New York Native's full-page photo headlined Night of Beasts and Fairies. No doubt jilted lover Thorson also missed Liberace's (or Lee, as he was known to family and intimates) scrumptious … [Read more...]