The Lucretia Borgia Cookbook

Well all the girls want to have a cookbook -- even Lucretia Borgia. This slim volume, The Lucretia Borgia Cookbook, appeared in the early 1070's, growing out of research by Dorothy and Martin Blinder. In sniffing out foods of antiquity they began to notice a pattern; the more sinister the behavior, the better the food. One would think that watching some cooking programs on television not much has changed since Lucretia Borgia.

So it would seem that Lucretia and her brother, Cesare, were fond of throwing lavish dinner parties and lacing the food with something more than freshly ground black pepper. It would seem they were a bit fond of each other, too, but that's another story. Her artichokes were legendary, especially when they were served with a lovely arsenic dressing. Alas, that recipe is lost to us so the artichokes will have to suffice.

Steamed Stuffed Artichokes

4 large artichokes
8-10 slices day old bread, cut into small cubes
1 onion, chop fine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Romano cheese, grated
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Trim top and bottom of each artichoke and cut off thorn of each leaf with kitchen shears. Parboil in slated water for approximately 15 minutes. Drain artichokes and reserve some of the water.

Combine all ingredients, mix well, stuff a bit into each leaf. Return stuffed artichokes to the pot, crowding them in so that they hold each other upright, and pour back reserved water to a depth of one inch, taking care to pour at the sides, rather than over the artichokes. Cover and slowly simmer just below boiling for 2 1.2 hours. Add more of the reserved water occasionally if needed. (Again, be careful not to soak artichokes.) Shake the pot occasionally to prevent sticking. Serves four.

probably Bartolomeo Veneziano

First, I'm not to sure Lucretia Borgia had kitchen shears and if she did, she would have probably stabbed someone with them. Secondly, I'm not sure that someone, faced with a big old artichoke, would exactly know what to do with it from Lucretia's recipe. I guess in the end, some of us are meant to cook and some of us are meant to be murderous femme fatales.

Cristina Ferrare's Family Entertaining

Cristiana Ferrare was one of the most famous fashion models of the 1970’s and 1980’s. She was famously married to John DeLorean, the guy who invented the car that Michael J. Fox drove in the movie, Back to the Future. Like Tucker before him, DeLorean was having some trouble with the financing of his car company, so he choose the unique route of drug trafficking as a way to make ends meet. Perhaps it's a venture GM might want to try? Alas, he lost both the De Lorean Motor Company and Cristina. Cristina Ferrare remarried and wrote a cookbook, Cristina Ferrare's Family Entertaining.

The cookbook is arranged by holiday experience and since tomorrow is Mother’s Day, I thought I would share one of Cristina’s recipes for her Mother’s Day meal.

Broccoli Puree

1 pound fresh broccoli
One 8-ounce package nonfat or low-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut broccoli into florets. Steam or boil until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well. In a food processor, combine cooked broccoli, cream cheese, lemon juice, and nutmeg. Cover and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

This is one of those books that wildly fluctuates in price. There was a time when copies could be had for $3 -- until I wanted to buy one for my BFF, Beverly. Then, it was not at all unusual to see copies for $100, slightly less than one could purchase a DeLorean. Prices are moderating now, so you should be able to grab a copy without drug trafficking.

Bridge Food For Bridge Fans

Sex is like bridge, you don’t need a partner if you’ve got a good hand.

My extensive bridge knowledge can be summed up in preceding slight off-color joke. Since I no nothing about bridge, it may not even BE funny.

My Mother played bridge and often held “bridge parties.” There was always a flurry of activity around these parties, setting up tables, fussing over food and organizing guests. Bridge parties require guests in groups of four. This is harder than it sounds. It requires equipment, and proper “card” tables and game food. Unlike sporting events, where food is bold and messy, like wings and dip, bridge requires dainty, unmessy food. You simply can’t have barbecue sauce and Cheeto residue on your playing cards!

My mother made amazing food for these parties. Well, they seemed amazing to a child. Perhaps because it was food we didn’t have everyday. It was special and a bit “prissy.” She made gigantic sandwiches from whole loaves of bread. We would walk to the bakery to buy these loaves. Occasionally, if there was a bridge party with a special theme, like the Christmas Bridge Party, the bakery would tint the loaves. I remember pink and green loaves, carefully un-crusted and sliced in long slabs. The layers were thinly filled with savory fillings, and stacked higher and higher. The huge sandwich block was then sliced in tiny, manageable slices.

I never learned to play bridge. It seemed too complicated and I was afraid I might be forced to actually play bridge. Now days, it is becoming popular again. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are huge bridge players, in fact, they donated a million dollars to teach school kids to play bridge. Ironically, bridge is the one game a computer can’t play – Gates has tried, but evidently it IS too complicated.



Della Lutes was one of the most prolific cookbook writes in the 20’ and 30’s, though her books were often thought of as gastronomical autobiography. She combined tales of Michigan farm life with recipes. Bridge Food For Bridge Fans is a slim volume combining playing bridge and recipes. This is the introduction from 1932.

These be perilous times. Presidents come and go, and are maligned one and all, alive and dead. Banks fail. The radio promises marvelous prizes, but do we ever win one? The wicked flourish and the green bay tree up and dies. The cracker barrel croaker is gone, but there are a lot of Gloomy Deans in high places. There are serious problems to be solved and grave affairs to be settled.

Shall laws be repealed or ignored?

Shall women be made eligible for the Presidency of the United States (as if they couldn’t get talked about enough without that)?

But what in the name of Kingdom Come, can we serve for Afterbridge Tea that won’t add pounds to a woman’s weight?

Let us, then, with crusading zeal, consider the last and most serious question first, and lay those of less gravity back where they were, under the table.

I have a sinking feeling that somewhere in our government, a high official is roaming the corridors of power with a copy of Bridge Food For Bridge Fans tucked in his briefcase. There is a distinct possibility that Della Lutes is engineering our domestic policy!


According to Lutes, May is the best month for throwing a social ball, or perhaps a bridge party followed by an Afterbridge Tea, and the best month for her May Basket Fruit Cup.

May Basket Fruit Cup

Make a grapefruit or orange basket, fill with fresh fruit and top with a candy flower.

Hey, if you can play bridge, you can figure out how to make a fruit basket!

The Good Cook

Cooking without onions is like cooking with heat.

Allegra McEvedy

We are planting our favorite beans again this year. Chinese longbeans, yardlong beans, liana, red noodle, they are beans that grow to almost 3 feet. I gave some to Harry Lowe, who wanted to snap them – I protested. After spending months growing them, I had no desire to see them snapped!

Allegra McEvedy is a British chef who loves to make cooking accessible for everyone. In her book,

The Good Cook, she writes:

“There’s no point in writing a book about how accessible and universal food is, and then stuffing if full of technical jargon, exotic ingredients and specialist equipment.”

Her books are chatty and easy to use. She truly loves food and wants to share that joy with her readers. Here is her recipe for long beans. There is and editing error in the recipe, instructing you to add the beans – twice. I think you can probably add them at either point, but I would add them after the garlic and chilli sauces.

Yard Beans with Sesame Seeds

225 g (8 oz) Chinese long beans
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and firmly chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons black bean sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and prepare a mixing bowl of iced water.
Blanch the beans for 3 minutes, then drop them into the iced water to stop them overcooking.
In a big frying pan or a wok heat the sesame oil until it is about to smoke.
Throw in the garlic and chilli, followed a minute later by the beans.
Stir-fry for a moment, then add the sesame seeds. As soon as you see them toasting – going a beautiful golden brown – add the black bean and sweet chilli sauces.
Throw in the beans and toss everything together so it all gets a good coating of sauce and serve. No fun cold.

This is not the most gratifying picture of the yardlong beans, but you get the idea

In Nirmala’s Kitchen

Nirmala Narine travels the world looking for exotic spices. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Once she has found and imported these unique spices, she sells them on her web site, Nirmala's Kitchen. Then you purchase them and become the interesting and creative chef you always wanted to be. Perhaps I have over-simplified things, still...

If you are having trouble thinking of how to use a particular spice, look no further than her book, In Nirmala's Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine. While the recipes can be exotic, they are not above the skill of moderate cook; a cook who can navigate a stocked international market. The book has an informative glossary in the back, detailing many of the ingredients she uses. Her recipes offer detailed stories of how she came to prepare or sample her recipes. Today, hummus is a staple on grocery shelves. Buying ready-made hummus in a grocery is tantamount to buying ready-made guacamole; there is simply no need! Hummus is a breeze to make and far better than anything in a store. This one has a nice kick.

Israeli Hummus

2 cups plus two tablespoons cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
About 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
Cayenne and chopped parsley for garnish
Pita bread or store-bought or homemade spiced Pita Chips for serving

1.In a food processor, combine 2 cups chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic,1/2 cup olive oil, and 3/4 teaspoon salt; blend until smooth. Drizzle additional olive oil mixture to obtain the desired consistency (it should be thick enough to spoon onto pita bread or chips). Season to taste with additional lemon juice and salt.

2.Transfer hummus to serving bowl. Garnish with remaining 2 tablespoons chickpeas, cayenne, and parsley; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Serve with brad or Spiced Pita Chips.

This is hummus even a Palestinian could enjoy.

The Pooh Cook Book

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
A fly can’t bird , but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply:
“Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie.”

Winnie-the-Pooh

I just love Winnie-the Pooh. Well, actually, my big love is Tigger. I am not adverse to donning my Tigger suit on Halloween. I must say that wearing a Tigger suit puts reckless and unfriendly drivers on their best behaviour. Clearly no one wants to go home and tell their kids they wasted Tigger in the crosswalk. Even out of the crosswalk, a giant Tigger is pretty safe!



A.A.Milne who created Winnie-the Pooh and his bouncy sidekick, Tigger was never that enamoured of his creation. He wanted to be a "serious" writer known for serious writing and not for a story he wrote to amuse his son. Sorry, Alan. I believe Milne would be flabbergasted and way miffed we he to walk into a Disney store, today, not to mention what he would think if he saw me in a crosswalk! Among the many spin-offs of these characters, my favorite is The Pooh Cook Book, compiled by Virginia Ellison. The cookbook takes many of the smackerlings envisioned by Pooh and brings them to life in the kitchen. There is a large section devoted to recipes with Pooh's favorite Hunny. The recipes are easy enough to cook with kids near by. Here is the Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie of Pooh's poem.

Cottleston Pie

(Preheat oven to 375 F)

1 9-inch pie shell baked until firm but not browned
3/4 cup bite-sized pieces of cooked ham
3 eggs
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Grind pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter cut into tiny dots
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)


Bake the pie shell in a preheated oven at 425 F.
To keep the shell from sliding down the sides and puffing up at the bottom, prick sides and bottom well with the tines of a fork.

Line the bottom with a double thickness of cheesecloth and cover it with small clean stones, which you have gathered at the beach and washed, or with 1 inch of raw rice. Keep the rice and use it again and again.

Distribute the ham on the bottom of the baked pie shell.

Beat the eggs and cream with seasonings in a bowl until thoroughly mixed.
Pour on top of the ham.
Scatter the butter dots and cheese, if you use it, on top.
Set on rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until Cottleston pie has puffed up and browned.
Serve immediately while pipping hot.

The book uses illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard,who illustrated the original Pooh books.

The characters came from Christopher Milne's nursery toys, though Shepard admitted to using his son's bear, Growler, as the inspiration for Pooh. Pooh was originally called, Edward. Somehow, I don't think Edward at Pooh Corner would have inspired such a following though I am rather partial to Growler-the-Pooh!



As Piglet just wanted to be sure of Pooh, you can be sure that The Pooh Cook Book is a winner.

The Perfect Hostess Cook Book

Mildred Knopf was married to the film producer, Edwin Knopf. She grew up in the New York City inhabited by doyennes with the servants that Lila Seely sent into their great houses. Actually, Mildred Knopf’s mother ventured to Ellis Island and found her cook on her own. Marie Agress had been an apprentice in the kitchens of Kaiser Franz Josef’s palace. When her paramour drowned, the distraught young woman came to America.

For twenty-five years she cooked for Mildred Knopf’s mother. Only twice, once for a wedding and once for a funeral, did she take a day off. Mildred Knopf learned to cook from Marie. She then ventured around the world, collecting recipes and sharing them with family and friends in a series of cookbooks.

Knopf has rules to make you a “perfect” cook. Her four rules:

FIRST: Enthusiasm.
SECOND: Pride in what you serve.
THIRD: confidence in yourself.
Forth: Confidence once again.

In her book there is recipe for squash purée. As a child I loved summer squash served this way. As a teenager, I opted for a strict vegetarian diet and instead of squash puree, I at summer squash simply sliced and boiled. It was quite bland and I soon grew out of my vegetarian phase. My great-aunts, however, had no recollection of my ending this phase, at least not where squash was concerned. Every time I came home, one of them would bring out a bowl of plain, unseasoned squash floating in a puddle of water. It became a common event that I am sure occurs at many family reunions. The first time, I was touched they remembered, so I said nothing. The next time I hinted it was OK to feed me squash like everyone else. The third time, it would have been rude to mention it as I had not mentioned it before, so for years, I ate boiled, unseasoned squash.

Squash Purée

2 pounds summer squash
1 large onion
2 ounces butter
salt, pepper
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

FIRST Cut young summer squash into quarters. Boil with 1 large onion, also cut in quarters. Salt to taste.

SECOND When the squash is tender, remove and discard the onion. Place the squash in a sieve and drain thoroughly. Press it lightly to remove any excess water. (Squash has a tendency to sponge up water). Rub through the sieve into a bowl. Mash with a potato-masher and stir in 2 ounces of butter. Season to taste.

NOTE Parmesan cheese may be sprinkled on top if desired.

For me, simply drain the squash and onion, add the butter and mash it up with a fork. And remember, if you develop a quirky eating habit or bizarre practice as a child, you may be eating it till kingdom come, so speak up!

Mrs. Seely’s Cook-Book

Mrs. Lida Seely was more than a cook-book author. She ran an employment agency that provided staff for most of the wealthy families of New York. She trained not only young men and women to work in large homes but she later imparted her rules and regulations to the public at large. If you were unclear of the actual duties of a "Fourth -Man" Mrs. Seely would be able to explain exactly what you would need him to do.

After years of training and placing staff, she compiled a cook-book that also provided info on all those domestic servants you would need. Frankly, these "jobs" were slightly above indenture servitude. You couldn't find people to work these long hours for such little pay even in these drastic economic times.

Mrs. Seely provided general instructions for roasting meats;

Rules For Roasting Meats

In roasting beef it is necessary to have a brisk fire. Baste often. Twelve minutes are required for every pound of beef. Season when nearly done. Clean meat by wiping them with a cloth kept for that purpose. Do not put meat in water.

showed how a table cover should appear;



and provided specific recipes on particular cuts of meat.

Calf’s Heart Roasted

Make a forcemeat of fine bread crumbs, a quarter of a pound of beef suet chopped small, a little parsley, sweet marjoram, pepper, salt, and if your taste finds them agreeable, lemon peel and nutmeg. Mix these ingredients with the yolk of an egg and place them in the heart. Tie the heart and roast, turning it frequently. Serve with slices of lemon and melted butter poured over it.

It's so hard to get good calves heart these days! After a big dinner someone has to do the laundry and here is where all those servants come into play. According to Mrs. Seely, this is well laid out laundry room.


I am pretty sure you could drive a big old truck full of laundry into that room. The average apartment could easily be dropped right into the above laundry room. If you want to keep up with the Jones (or the Rockefeller's or the Whitney's) you will need a laundry stove, preferably with a boiler attached.


And of course you will need properly dress laundress'. I am sure that today, you would have to pay more to get your laundress to dress this way. But I think it's worth the extra expense!

La Mia Cucina Toscana

Pino Luongo’s first cookbook, Fish Talking has been a hard one to find. I once ordered a copy that was delivered to the wrong address. The people who got the package never gave it back! Right now they are making Couscous with Seafood and thinking how great it is to have careless FedEx drivers.

La Mia Cucina Toscana: A Tuscan Cooks in America is much easier to find. I find it to be a bit exaggerated and over-blown, but if you have ever seen Luongo, the book seems to mesh with his style. Luongo is always looking at traditional Tuscan cuisine and finding ways to make it new. I give his style points for going out on a limb. Sometimes it works beautifully! Several years ago, he made a pizza in his restaurant, Le Madri. The pizza was a thin round of focaccia, split up the center. The focaccia was separated and spread with Robiola cheese, and finished in a white truffle oil. It was a sensation, not only at Le Mardi but in many other restaurants! The recipe has been copied repeatedly.

In La Mia Cucina Toscana he transforms a Tuscan lasagna. This lasagna takes thick Tuscan bread instead of pasta. The bread is layered with cauliflower and cheese and baked. It makes a wonderful dish on its own and it is a different side with a roasted chicken.

Lasagne of Bread and Cauliflower

Fine sea salt
2 pounds cauliflower, thick stalks discarded, separated into florets
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One 3/4 pound loaf Tuscan country bread, ends trimmed and discarded, sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick and toasted
10 ounces 3- to 6- month old Pecorino Toscano, grated
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325 F

2. Fill a medium pot with water and add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add cauliflower and cook until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Strain the cauliflower liquid through a fine mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Set aside the florets and the cooking liquid.

3. Pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil into a baking pan measuring about 11 inches X 8 inches, tipping the pan from side to side and using your fingers to coat the bottom and sides evenly.

4. Lightly soak half the toasted bread slices a few at a time in the cauliflower cooking liquid and arrange in a single layer on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle half the cauliflower evenly over the bread, top with half the Pecorino, season generously with black pepper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil. Add another layer of bread, top with the remaining cauliflower and cheese, again season generously with black pepper, drizzle on the remaining olive oil.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Cut into portions and serve at once.

Why on earth Luongo strains the cauliflower water is beyond me. I never strain the liquid. It is totally unnecessary. Just lift out the cauliflower and then dip the bread in water in the pan.



You want to give it a good soak. The recipe says "lightly soak" but if you use a traditional thick Tuscan bread, you need a good bit of liquid in the bread, otherwise you end up with a baked brushetta.

I also lay a piece of parchment over the dish BEFORE the aluminum foil.

Derby Entertaining

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby, and though not officially recognized on the calendar, a virtual Southern holiday. Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a Southerner, the Derby is a good illustration of the commitment and stamina one must have. Here are the statistics:

The actual running of the Kentucky Derby--

2 minutes

The actual partying for the Kentucky Derby --

10 days

This gives you an average of 5 days of parties for every minute of activity. Using this equation, add up SEC Football, Mardi Gras, Decoration Day, Derby Day, Mother's Day, All-Saints Day, All-Souls Day, Bear Bryant's Birthday, and... oh, yeah, Thanksgiving and Christmas; multiply by 5 and you will find that being a Southerner requires partying every single day of the year! This may explain why I have so many cookbooks and so little time!

This being said, I feel you should have a recipe for derby pie!. Actually, the term "derby-pie" is trade marked and registered, so the recipe I am giving you is for a traditional, Kentucky-bourbon-chocolate-chip-nut-pie-which you may name as you please. If you are wondering, according to the DERBY-PIE® website:

"DERBY-PIE® was born nearly a half century ago as the specialty pastry of the Melrose Inn, at Prospect, Kentucky. Once developed, a proper name had to be given. Because each family member had a favorite, the name DERBY-PIE® was actually pulled from a hat. And what a winner! By 1968 DERBY-PIE® had become so successful that the name was registered with the U.S. Patent Office and the Commonwealth of Kentucky (that's the reason for the ®!). Since then it has been baked and distributed solely by Kern's Kitchen, a small family operation."

Rather than face legal action, the pie that dare not speak it's name is known as: Kentucky Derby Pie, Thoroughbred pie, and of course...

Run for The Roses Pie

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup chopped pecans
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
9-inch unbaked pie crust

Combine the sugar and flour in a large bowl; mix in the butter. Add the eggs, pecans, chocolate chips, vanilla extract and bourbon; mix well. Pour into the pie crust. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

This is from Derby Entertaining. Not to be confused with the famous, Decoration Day Entertaining.