A Delicious Purchase

In the runup to Halloween, I like to post about the outré, macabre even, pop culture that I enjoy. I am on the record saying that I am a big fan of Vincent Price, so I was happy as a clam when, on a visit to Washington Irving's home, Sunnyside, before work, I found a copy of Mary and Vincent Price's Come into the Kitchen Cook Book, which features pictures of the kitchens of notable historic houses, including Washington Irving's remarkable kitchen... which explains why the book was on sale in the gift shop.

The book itself is arranged in chronological order, starting with recipes from the colonial era, then exploring the addition of different foodways as the country expanded westward and new immigrant groups arrived, and ending with 'modern' recipes of the post WW2 era. This historic 'tour' of America's foodscape is followed with an extensive section about wine- purchasing, tasting, and matching the precious liquid with different foods, and even touching on home winemaking.

The friendly lady working in the gift shop told me that she had purchased the book, and that Vincent Price's recipe for popovers has become a regular part of her family's culinary repertoire. Even better, she referred me to a Tonight Show segment in which Vincent Price teaches Johnny Carson to cook in a surprising, and hilarious, manner:





Now, that was a twist ending worthy of M. Night Shabba Doo. For a man who was best known for starring in horror movies, Vincent was a brilliant comedic talent. I can't wait to put his popover recipe to the test.