Dinner with Frank & Dinah

When setting up the menu for the month, I decided to try out a recipe for Romaine Salad with Avocado "Caesar" Dressing (which, ultimately, wasn't anything exciting). I wanted something kind of traditional to go with, and started hitting the 'retro/oldies' cookbook shelf for ideas. Matt & I thought pasta with a basic sauce would be perfect.

After paging through three or four volumes, without inspiration, I turned to Someone's in the Kitchen with Dinah, Dinah Shore's Personal Cookbook. A collection of recipes from family, friends, and guests on her hit show. It's a very down-to-earth book, and clearly a product of the times (published in 1971). Some dishes are interesting, some appealing, and others...I wouldn't touch no matter how much cash you offered.

Dinah loved to cook, and had regular cooking segments on her television show. There's some from her mom (Mother's Borscht & Mother's Chili Con Carne), some from restaurants (Rice Pudding from the Riviera Hotel), and others from her more well-known friends. The Benny's Roast Chicken (yes, that Mr. Benny), or her pal Bill's Marinated Hawaiian Steak (that would be William "Bill" Holden), or our spotlighted recipe, Frank's Fresh Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti.

Yeah. Dinah's buddy Frank. Maybe you've heard of him? He used to be a big star. Did a little singing, a little dancing, and even pulled off a career as an actor. Maybe you caught him in the original production of "The Manchurian Candidate", for example. Or a little film called "From Here to Eternity"...

Apparently, Frank also liked to cook. And one day, on Dinah's program, he made tomato sauce.

It's a pretty standard pomodoro sauce, which is exactly what you want for a dish like this.

Onion, tomatoes, pepper & salt, basil, oregano, parsley, garlic. Spaghetti...no other pasta will do...finished with some grated Romano and a dash of red pepper flakes.

No surprises here. A recipe without the bells & whistles, but with a solid foundation. Good flavor, with a pinch of nostalgia...

And yes, I did put in one of Frank's CD's during dinner. Mwah!




Tagged with: Food and Drink + Vegetarian + Pasta + Spaghetti + Tomatoes + Celebrities + Cookbooks + Dinah Shore + Frank Sinatra