2/9/01 2/9/01
Cooking with
Hannibal
Dr. Hannibal Lecter, psychiatrist,
philosopher, culinary artist and gentleman extraordinare. A man
misunderstood and ridiculed by many, Hannibal or "Hanny"
as he is known to those closest to him, has asked me to design
this web page. And of course I said "OKIE DOKIE!"
Dining with Hannibal
is such a treat. Not only does he offer sound advice, his Veal
Milanese is to die for.
That's me and Hannibal in 1980. I was performing "Vanities"
at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Oddly that night our stage
manager disappeared and was never seen again. Dr. Lecter felt so
bad that the next night he had everyone over for dinner. This guy
loves to cook!
That's me and Dr. Lecter in 1982. Noticed how
much he aged. He was still a practicing psychiatrist. I was his
favorite patient. We used to spend afternoons laughing and
laughing at the television. Of course Dr. Lecter was having a
hard time paying his bills and the electricity had been shut off,
but I played along. In this picture he thinks we are watching
"Charlies Angels". Of course that Edison Technician
wasn't so lucky. That electricity shut off incident was actually
what set him off into a cannibalistic state. He lives in
California now.
Me and "Hanny" (Feb 2001) check out
the new California Adventureland at Disneyland. The power went
out for about an hour and I was a bit nervous. But
Dr. Lecter said "Okie Dokie", took some valium with a hotdog chaser. Tah Dah!
Dr.
Lecter loves to cook! Here he is flambaying something that smells
very buttery. I brought my friend Frankie The Stand-in along (He
looks like Ray Liotta huh?) I kept telling him to take off his
hat. Frankie kept insisting that Hannibal bore a striking
resemblance to Joe Pesci. You remember Frankie from Marty
Scorsese's set? 
Dr. Lecter trying to scare Frankie. What
a ham!
Dr. Lecter or Joe Pesci?
The resemblance is incredible!
Dr.
Lecter and I attend "Equus". Would you believe their
stage manager was also missing the next day?
Dr. Hannibal loves to give interviews. But only if you let him
serve lunch. The liver and onions he made was to die for. And
what a gentleman! He gave me a bottle of skin cream from "Bed,
Bath and Beyond Bea Arthur". Can you believe it? What Class!
Dr. Lecter came up with the idea for the
cookbook.
Dr. Lecter and
myself confer with his publisher Jonathan Demme. Mr. Demme
insisted on more continental recipes. Dr. Lecter wanted to make
the recipes simple. But Mr. Demme insisted the book have an
international culinary flare. The argued and argued. Mr. Demme
left in a huff but not before Dr. Lecter gave him a parting gift...you
guessed it......Apricot Skin Cream from the "Bed Bath and
Beyond Bea Arthur". What a classy guy!
Dr. Lecter "Hanny" tasting my
skin cream. I love the guy but sometimes...............he can
really gross me out.
Dr. Lecter was very upset when his
literary agent began to choke so the good doctor, trained in CPR,
came to his rescue. I always thought the Heimlich manuever was
performed from behind, but I suppose I could be wrong.
Dr. Hannibal lecturing at the Harvard
Cooking School. Boy talk about a no-brainer. You could say he was
Pudding his money where his mouth is. Yummy!
A nice CHIANTI!
RECIPE for FAVA
BEANS 
Ordering Out for some Chinese food
"I think the man is a psycho! but he makes a
mean souffle." - Julia Child
"BAM! Dr. Lecter is the
best." - Emeril Lagasse 
"He
has good taste in skin cream." - Martha Stewart
"Holy Crepe Suzette! He is
shorter than I am!" - Wolfgang Puck 
Available now in local bookstores
Fava Bean Indigestion
Here he is reading my script for "Who Whacked Uncle Vito".
He loved it. He wants to ACT in it. I don't know if he is
experienced enough. I told him I would think about it. I said "Hey pal, I studied in Stratford at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the National Theatre. I performed a special performance for Samuel Beckett's 70th Birthday pal. I know what I am doing."
Hannibal shook his head and replied
"Is that right? Here Nanci, have some more skin cream." I think he was a little perturbed.
