One of our celebrities, Rose Marie had this funny story to share: "One day Bobby (husband) said, "Why don't you make some beef stew?" I was cooking mostly Itlaian food, which I knew to how to make. I said, "Okay, tonight we'll have beef stew." I went to the store and the butcher was very nice and understanding. I said, "I've never made beef stew, but I have a recipe I can follow." He said, "I'll give you the best meat for stew," and he did. It was beautiful to look at. I went home, got the book out and started to make beef stew. It's an old joke folks, but it happened to me, honest to God. The stew was doing beautiully, and it smelled great. As I turned my back, the page in the cookbook flipped over to the next page!! I looked at the receipe and it said, "1/2 cup parsley." So I dumped a half cup of parsley in the stew. It turned out a muddy green, but I thought, what the hell, maybe that's the way it should look. It smelled good and tasted great - it just looked muddy green. Bobby came home and we sat down to eat. By now, I had noticed what had happened with the cookbook, but I didn't say anything. I served the stew. God, it looked awful. Bobby looked at it, didn't say a word, took a bite and said, "This is delicious, but I've never seen beef stew with such a funny color." I said, "It's Irish Stew!'' Honestly, I said that -- and he bought it. At least I think he did." Late 1940s - California. |