Her Way of Life

Actually, there is something that screams gay even more than gathering a bunch of Joan Fontaine fans together and sampling her recipes -- and that would be gathering a bunch of Joan Crawford fans together to sample the meat loaf from La JC's seminal 1971 memoirs, My Way of Life, aka in our household as The Sacred Testaments.

So says Joan Crawford:

Meat Loaf: I use two pounds of ground sirloin, a pound of ground veal, and a pound of sausage meat...thoroughly mixed with three eggs, a bottle of A-1, a good lacing of Worcestershire, a lot of seasoned salt, and finely chopped purple onion and green peppers. I hide four hard-boiled eggs inside the loaf and before it goes into the oven I dribble over more A-1 and Worcestershire and seasoned salt so that a crust will form.

Wilted Spinach Salad: I pour hot bacon grease and vinegar over the spinach leaves until they sag, and then sprinkle crisp bacon on top. You can do this with lettuce or dandelion greens, too.

Salad (best served with fried chicken or baked ham): ...made with kidney beans, purple onions, green peppers, celery, and hot red peppers--all chopped very fine and tossed with vinegar, Tabasco, kosher salt, and black pepper. It should be refrigerated overnight to marinade...

Coleslaw: I must brag...that I'm famous among a small group of regulars for my coleslaw. The basic ingredients are shaved cabbage, green peppers, finely chopped pimiento, and pineapple. Over this goes a dressing of mayonnaise, a liberal amount of both dry mustard and prepared mustard, the juice of six lemons, olive oil, cider vinegar, hot peppers, and a magic mixture of spices and herbs that I buy from a restaurant in Hollywood, the Cock 'n Bull.