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The Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas in Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe
The toast of Christmas past is back and not a moment too soon! In The Dead Celebrity Christmas Cookbook, Frank DeCaro serves up culinary delights from Edmund Gwenn's Christmas Cup to Bing Crosby's Sugar Cookies and celebrates the best of the season's movies, TV specials, and music. Recipes from such late luminaries as Natalie Wood, Judy Garland, Burl Ives, Dinah Shore, and even Boris Karloff are featured in chapters saluting fabulous amusements like Miracle on 34th Street, Meet Me in St. Louis, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Plus recipes from singers like Eartha Kitt ("Santa Baby"), Elvis Presley ("Blue Christmas"), and John Lennon ("Happy Xmas (War is Over)") celebrate the best holiday platters.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 20, 2012
What an unexpected, enjoyable book. This was so much more than a cookbook. It was filled with terrific tales of a long ago era and the stars that created those memories for me and millions of others. I enjoyed reminiscing along with them and really only glanced at the recipes!
November 24, 2012
The Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas In Tinseltown
When it comes to holiday fun, the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age knew how to make merry— on stage, on screen, and especially on the dinner table. With Christmas in Tinseltown (HCI $14.95)— the follow-up to his international sensation The Dead Celebrity Cookbook— Frank DeCaro shows how to put the kitsch into your holiday kitchen as he salutes a quirky collection of celebrities who are gone, but fondly remembered every year at Christmastime. Filled with pop culture ruminations and genuinely delicious recipes, Christmas in Tinseltown pays tribute to such movie classics as It's A Wonderful Life and White Christmas, gives three cheers for such time-honored animated gems as Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and puts such offbeat offerings as The Star Wars Holiday Special and The Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special in their rightful place— your dining room! In such chapters as "Miracle Whip on 34th Street," "Eat Meat in St. Louis," and "Munch of the Wooden Soldiers," DeCaro dishes up a virtual smorgasbord of culinary delights that will enliven any holiday gathering or celebration.
Tempt your guests with Peggy Lee's Holiday Halibut Casserole, Burl Ives's Stuffed Leg of Goat Hawaiian, Lucille Ball's Brazil Nut Stuffing, Nat "King" Cole's Baked Ham Loaf, Guy Lombardo's Lobster Lombardo, Dick Clark's Spicy Turkey Meatloaf, Rosemary Clooney's Viennese Goulash, Bing Crosby's Sugar Cookies, Shirley Booth's Pumpkin Bread, Dinah Shore's Fruitcake, and Spike Jones's Molasses Jumbles. Then wash them all down with Robert Mitchum's Eggnog, Edmund Gwenn's Christmas Cup, or John Lennon's Hot Cocoa. This star-studded cookbook promises to get even the biggest Scrooge on your list into the holiday spirit and will have you saying your "ho, ho, ho's" in true Hollywood style for many many years to come.
About the Author: Best known for his years as the movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, writer/performer Frank DeCaro is heard each weekday morning on his own live call-in program, The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. The author of the groundbreaking memoir A Boy Named Phyllis, DeCaro's writing has appeared in Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times. Follow him @frankdecaroshow on Twitter, "like" him on Facebook, and visit him at: www.deadcelebritycookbook.com.
Sample Recipes:
Robert Mitchum 1917 to 1997
Robert Mitchum was a cool cat and a real Hollywood he-man who became an actor only as a last recourse. He spent much of his early life being what used to be called a “delinquent.” His bad boy reputation was hard-won. He was expelled from schools, he did time on a chain gang, he had a nervous breakdown— the man did it all... and survived! He took his tough-as-nails street cred and parlayed it into a fantastic career playing prototypical antiheroes in the movies. He started as a villain in Hopalong Cassidy movies in the early 1940s, then segued into war pictures including 1944's Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Noir films came next like Jacques Tourneur's 1947 classic Out of the Past and Don Siegel's 1949 The Big Steal. Holiday Affair was a bit of a switch for Mitchum. In the 1950s, Otto Preminger cast him as an ambulance driver in 1952's Angel Face; actor-turned-director Charles Laughton gave him the chilling role of a religious fanatic in the 1955 cult favorite Night of the Hunter, and John Huston shipwrecked him with a nun (Deborah Kerr) in 1957's Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
Mitchum worked steadily in films throughout the 1960s and '70s. Among his best known works are the thriller Cape Fear in 1962 and David Lean's 1970 epic Ryan's Daughter. He played Philip Marlowe in 1975's Farewell, My Lovely and 1978's The Big Sleep, too. Focusing on television in the '80s, Mitchum made appearances in two miniseries, North and South and War and Remembrance. He also played the role of a police lieutenant in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear. How cool is that? When asked for a holiday recipe back in 1970, Mitchum offered up his eggnog for a crowd. “I make no apology for the excessive quantity,” Mitchum told the food writer who'd requested the recipe. "Only a dope would go to the trouble for less." It'll be perfect for any holiday affair you might throw...
Robert Mitchum's Eggnog
12 egg yolks
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 quart rum, brandy, or whiskey
2 quarts cream1 quart milk
12 egg whites
½ teaspoon salt
Beat egg yolks and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in the rum, brandy or whisky. Add cream and milk. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt until stiff but not dry. Fold this mixture into the liquid. Chill. Serves 20.
Rosemary Clooney, 1928 to 2002
Let's get this out of the way first: Yes, she was the aunt of a certain hunk named George. But the most important thing to know about Rosemary Clooney is not that she had a famous nephew who launched millions of carnal fantasies, but that she had one of the greatest voices of the twentieth century. Singing professionally since her teens, the Kentucky-born singer-actress found fame in the 1950s via a string of novelty hits including "Come On-a My House" and "Mambo Italiano." Audiences adored these funny little songs, but she wasn't nearly as enamored of them. Clooney wanted to be known as the woman who infused standards like "Hey There" with longing, not the gal who sang-a "Botch-a-Me." The woman wasn't even Italian!
Clooney appeared in White Christmas, which would be the pinnacle of her film career, because she knew starring alongside Bing Crosby would lift her career to new levels. (She's quite clear about that in an interview that accompanies the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Help her career it did. Not only did Clooney's star turn as girl-singer Betty Haynes in the 1954 film boost her standing in show business, it established her friendship with Crosby. The two later did a concert tour of Ireland together. And Clooney's appearance on a 1978 TV celebration of Crosby's 50th year in show business is considered instrumental in her comeback.
Sadly, Clooney was coming back from a period that hadn't been kind to her. Diagnosed as bipolar, she had a tumultuous relationship with husband José Ferrer—she married, divorced, and remarried him despite his infidelities. He cheated on her on their honeymoon, as the story goes. Their union produced five children, including the talented actor Miguel Ferrer who first made a splash on Twin Peaks. Clooney was appearing on behalf of Robert F. Kennedy when he was assassinated. She had a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter. In the late 1960s, she became addicted to pills. Then in 1976, her sister Betty, with whom she'd performed a sister act early in her career, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Worst of all, perhaps, Clooney was becoming known as the jingle-singing spokeswoman for Coronet paper towels rather than as a fabulous jazz performer. She recounts all this in two autobiographies, This for Remembrance and Girl Singer. Despite all the words, Publisher's Weekly said she “remains an enigma.”
Clooney died of lung cancer at the too-young age of 74. She'd found love, though, with an old friend later in life and she saw the respect of an audience who appreciates the depth of emotion she brought to songs... and who continues to adore (sorry, Rosie, we can't help it) those faux-Italian novelty hits she spiced up so many years ago. Here's a dish from another culture of which Clooney was not a part, Viennese Goulash. You were expecting spaghetti and meatballs? Whatsamattahyou?
Rosemary Clooney's Viennese Goulash
2 teaspoons marjoram
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon rind
1 clove garlic
¾ cup butter
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 pounds onions, sliced
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
2 pounds chuck, rump, or round beef, cut into large chunks
1½ cups water
Salt, to taste
¼ cup flour, optional
Using a mortar and pestle, or a small grinder, crush together the marjoram, caraway seeds, lemon rind and garlic. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter, add the tomato paste and crushed seasoning and stir to combine. Add the sliced onions and, stirring constantly, sauté until golden. Add the paprika and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly. Add the beef, one cup of water, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 90 minutes. Add more water during cooking, if needed. Before the goulash is done, add another half cup of water and bring the sauce to a boil. If more sauce is desired, sprinkle the meat with ¼ cup flour and add another cup of water and bring to a boil. Serve the goulash with egg noodles or boiled potatoes. Serves 6.
When it comes to holiday fun, the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age knew how to make merry— on stage, on screen, and especially on the dinner table. With Christmas in Tinseltown (HCI $14.95)— the follow-up to his international sensation The Dead Celebrity Cookbook— Frank DeCaro shows how to put the kitsch into your holiday kitchen as he salutes a quirky collection of celebrities who are gone, but fondly remembered every year at Christmastime. Filled with pop culture ruminations and genuinely delicious recipes, Christmas in Tinseltown pays tribute to such movie classics as It's A Wonderful Life and White Christmas, gives three cheers for such time-honored animated gems as Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and puts such offbeat offerings as The Star Wars Holiday Special and The Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special in their rightful place— your dining room! In such chapters as "Miracle Whip on 34th Street," "Eat Meat in St. Louis," and "Munch of the Wooden Soldiers," DeCaro dishes up a virtual smorgasbord of culinary delights that will enliven any holiday gathering or celebration.
Tempt your guests with Peggy Lee's Holiday Halibut Casserole, Burl Ives's Stuffed Leg of Goat Hawaiian, Lucille Ball's Brazil Nut Stuffing, Nat "King" Cole's Baked Ham Loaf, Guy Lombardo's Lobster Lombardo, Dick Clark's Spicy Turkey Meatloaf, Rosemary Clooney's Viennese Goulash, Bing Crosby's Sugar Cookies, Shirley Booth's Pumpkin Bread, Dinah Shore's Fruitcake, and Spike Jones's Molasses Jumbles. Then wash them all down with Robert Mitchum's Eggnog, Edmund Gwenn's Christmas Cup, or John Lennon's Hot Cocoa. This star-studded cookbook promises to get even the biggest Scrooge on your list into the holiday spirit and will have you saying your "ho, ho, ho's" in true Hollywood style for many many years to come.
About the Author: Best known for his years as the movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, writer/performer Frank DeCaro is heard each weekday morning on his own live call-in program, The Frank DeCaro Show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. The author of the groundbreaking memoir A Boy Named Phyllis, DeCaro's writing has appeared in Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, and The New York Times. Follow him @frankdecaroshow on Twitter, "like" him on Facebook, and visit him at: www.deadcelebritycookbook.com.
Sample Recipes:
Robert Mitchum 1917 to 1997
Robert Mitchum was a cool cat and a real Hollywood he-man who became an actor only as a last recourse. He spent much of his early life being what used to be called a “delinquent.” His bad boy reputation was hard-won. He was expelled from schools, he did time on a chain gang, he had a nervous breakdown— the man did it all... and survived! He took his tough-as-nails street cred and parlayed it into a fantastic career playing prototypical antiheroes in the movies. He started as a villain in Hopalong Cassidy movies in the early 1940s, then segued into war pictures including 1944's Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Noir films came next like Jacques Tourneur's 1947 classic Out of the Past and Don Siegel's 1949 The Big Steal. Holiday Affair was a bit of a switch for Mitchum. In the 1950s, Otto Preminger cast him as an ambulance driver in 1952's Angel Face; actor-turned-director Charles Laughton gave him the chilling role of a religious fanatic in the 1955 cult favorite Night of the Hunter, and John Huston shipwrecked him with a nun (Deborah Kerr) in 1957's Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
Mitchum worked steadily in films throughout the 1960s and '70s. Among his best known works are the thriller Cape Fear in 1962 and David Lean's 1970 epic Ryan's Daughter. He played Philip Marlowe in 1975's Farewell, My Lovely and 1978's The Big Sleep, too. Focusing on television in the '80s, Mitchum made appearances in two miniseries, North and South and War and Remembrance. He also played the role of a police lieutenant in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear. How cool is that? When asked for a holiday recipe back in 1970, Mitchum offered up his eggnog for a crowd. “I make no apology for the excessive quantity,” Mitchum told the food writer who'd requested the recipe. "Only a dope would go to the trouble for less." It'll be perfect for any holiday affair you might throw...
Robert Mitchum's Eggnog
12 egg yolks
1 pound confectioners' sugar
1 quart rum, brandy, or whiskey
2 quarts cream1 quart milk
12 egg whites
½ teaspoon salt
Beat egg yolks and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in the rum, brandy or whisky. Add cream and milk. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt until stiff but not dry. Fold this mixture into the liquid. Chill. Serves 20.
Rosemary Clooney, 1928 to 2002
Let's get this out of the way first: Yes, she was the aunt of a certain hunk named George. But the most important thing to know about Rosemary Clooney is not that she had a famous nephew who launched millions of carnal fantasies, but that she had one of the greatest voices of the twentieth century. Singing professionally since her teens, the Kentucky-born singer-actress found fame in the 1950s via a string of novelty hits including "Come On-a My House" and "Mambo Italiano." Audiences adored these funny little songs, but she wasn't nearly as enamored of them. Clooney wanted to be known as the woman who infused standards like "Hey There" with longing, not the gal who sang-a "Botch-a-Me." The woman wasn't even Italian!
Clooney appeared in White Christmas, which would be the pinnacle of her film career, because she knew starring alongside Bing Crosby would lift her career to new levels. (She's quite clear about that in an interview that accompanies the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Help her career it did. Not only did Clooney's star turn as girl-singer Betty Haynes in the 1954 film boost her standing in show business, it established her friendship with Crosby. The two later did a concert tour of Ireland together. And Clooney's appearance on a 1978 TV celebration of Crosby's 50th year in show business is considered instrumental in her comeback.
Sadly, Clooney was coming back from a period that hadn't been kind to her. Diagnosed as bipolar, she had a tumultuous relationship with husband José Ferrer—she married, divorced, and remarried him despite his infidelities. He cheated on her on their honeymoon, as the story goes. Their union produced five children, including the talented actor Miguel Ferrer who first made a splash on Twin Peaks. Clooney was appearing on behalf of Robert F. Kennedy when he was assassinated. She had a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter. In the late 1960s, she became addicted to pills. Then in 1976, her sister Betty, with whom she'd performed a sister act early in her career, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Worst of all, perhaps, Clooney was becoming known as the jingle-singing spokeswoman for Coronet paper towels rather than as a fabulous jazz performer. She recounts all this in two autobiographies, This for Remembrance and Girl Singer. Despite all the words, Publisher's Weekly said she “remains an enigma.”
Clooney died of lung cancer at the too-young age of 74. She'd found love, though, with an old friend later in life and she saw the respect of an audience who appreciates the depth of emotion she brought to songs... and who continues to adore (sorry, Rosie, we can't help it) those faux-Italian novelty hits she spiced up so many years ago. Here's a dish from another culture of which Clooney was not a part, Viennese Goulash. You were expecting spaghetti and meatballs? Whatsamattahyou?
Rosemary Clooney's Viennese Goulash
2 teaspoons marjoram
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon rind
1 clove garlic
¾ cup butter
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 pounds onions, sliced
1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
2 pounds chuck, rump, or round beef, cut into large chunks
1½ cups water
Salt, to taste
¼ cup flour, optional
Using a mortar and pestle, or a small grinder, crush together the marjoram, caraway seeds, lemon rind and garlic. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter, add the tomato paste and crushed seasoning and stir to combine. Add the sliced onions and, stirring constantly, sauté until golden. Add the paprika and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly. Add the beef, one cup of water, and salt to taste. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 90 minutes. Add more water during cooking, if needed. Before the goulash is done, add another half cup of water and bring the sauce to a boil. If more sauce is desired, sprinkle the meat with ¼ cup flour and add another cup of water and bring to a boil. Serve the goulash with egg noodles or boiled potatoes. Serves 6.
October 2, 2017
Mildly interesting anecdotes followed by recipes you'll never want to try. Well, most of them, anyway.
October 10, 2012
With each passing year it gets harder and harder to publish a book combining food, Christmas/holiday season and general entertaining topics without being repetitive and rather samey. Fortunately the publishers of this book have got over that problem for the 2012 Holiday Season!
In essence author Frank De Caro of “Dead Celebrity Cookbook” fame digs into his archives to rustle up a Holiday Season menu full of Hollywood glamour, glitz and a dashing of kitsch for good measure from ‘Golden Years’ past. Surrounding the recipes is a veritable mixed bag of facts, trivia and at times disturbing commentary. Split into 15 pun-filled chapters, the recipes don’t fail to disappoint and elicit the odd groan when you hear the name – just like a Christmas cracker you cannot help but laugh at the awful puns that accompany them.
Beulah Bondi’s Baked Eggs, Joan Blondell’s Buffet Ham, Rosemary Clooney’s Viennese Goulash and Judy Garland’s Ham Casserole with Sherry all vie for mind and table space with Stan Laurel’s Ham Ring Mould, Dinah’s Shores Fruitcake and John Lennon’s Hot Cocoa. Some of the images that the recipe names begin to generate, before you even get to their page in the book, could put many mind-enhancing illegal substances to shame. You know you just have to read them to know “What The Flip” (careful…) has Norman Rockwell to do with Oatmeal Cookies!
The recipes themselves, save for the somewhat bizarre names, seem to cover a fairly broad range of delights that could find a place on your Holiday Table. Certainly there is nothing onerous or troubling about the recipes. Pictures tend to focus on the stars rather than the food. This is probably not an issue as not so many people will be buying this book just for the recipes. They tend to form a useful adjunct to the broader picture.
It is clear that the younger generations might not necessarily recognise the Hollywood stars referred to here. So no Tom Cruise Trifles or American Pie special Yuletide logs here, but this need not be off-putting either. It can help educate (or confuse) a new generation of viewers.
The book is sufficiently different, quirky and intriguing with a fairly low price to make it quite an impulse buy or gift idea. Just don’t take it too seriously, go with a smile and an open mind. At the worst case you’ll end up with many different recipes. But prepare to receive a lot of information. Some useful and some, well… read and see.
Christmas in Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe, written by Frank De Caro and published by HCI. ISBN 9780757317002, 240 pages. Typical price: USD15. YYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
In essence author Frank De Caro of “Dead Celebrity Cookbook” fame digs into his archives to rustle up a Holiday Season menu full of Hollywood glamour, glitz and a dashing of kitsch for good measure from ‘Golden Years’ past. Surrounding the recipes is a veritable mixed bag of facts, trivia and at times disturbing commentary. Split into 15 pun-filled chapters, the recipes don’t fail to disappoint and elicit the odd groan when you hear the name – just like a Christmas cracker you cannot help but laugh at the awful puns that accompany them.
Beulah Bondi’s Baked Eggs, Joan Blondell’s Buffet Ham, Rosemary Clooney’s Viennese Goulash and Judy Garland’s Ham Casserole with Sherry all vie for mind and table space with Stan Laurel’s Ham Ring Mould, Dinah’s Shores Fruitcake and John Lennon’s Hot Cocoa. Some of the images that the recipe names begin to generate, before you even get to their page in the book, could put many mind-enhancing illegal substances to shame. You know you just have to read them to know “What The Flip” (careful…) has Norman Rockwell to do with Oatmeal Cookies!
The recipes themselves, save for the somewhat bizarre names, seem to cover a fairly broad range of delights that could find a place on your Holiday Table. Certainly there is nothing onerous or troubling about the recipes. Pictures tend to focus on the stars rather than the food. This is probably not an issue as not so many people will be buying this book just for the recipes. They tend to form a useful adjunct to the broader picture.
It is clear that the younger generations might not necessarily recognise the Hollywood stars referred to here. So no Tom Cruise Trifles or American Pie special Yuletide logs here, but this need not be off-putting either. It can help educate (or confuse) a new generation of viewers.
The book is sufficiently different, quirky and intriguing with a fairly low price to make it quite an impulse buy or gift idea. Just don’t take it too seriously, go with a smile and an open mind. At the worst case you’ll end up with many different recipes. But prepare to receive a lot of information. Some useful and some, well… read and see.
Christmas in Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe, written by Frank De Caro and published by HCI. ISBN 9780757317002, 240 pages. Typical price: USD15. YYYY.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
April 2, 2013
Author: Frank DeCaro
Published by: Health Communications
Age Recommended: ALL
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Book Blog For: GMTA
Rating: 5
Review:
"The Dead Celebrity Cookbook Presents Christmas in Tinseltown: Celebrity Recipes and Hollywood Memories from Six Feet Under the Mistletoe" by Frank DeCaro is really a great book for the holidays. If you are a movie lover or cook this book is for you being filled with the bygone era of the true stars that really are good. You will also find "terrific tales of long ago era and the stars that created those memories for many people." Not only is the book a great gift idea, for it is a wonderful book full of antidotes. You will find Frank DeCaro is 'hilarious and full of pop culture and Hollywood ennui.'
"Christmas in Tinseltown" features recipes for the holiday season and all year around. All of the celebrities who are featured have a special connection to the holidays. Frank DeCaro's funny, friendly narrative writing style adds a warmly witty tone to the book, and the recipes run the gamut from simple to superb. The chapters are divided into courses, and the titles are quite punny: "It's a Wonderful Lunch"; "Miracle Whip on 34th Street", "Munch of the Wooden Soldiers", and "What a Fruitcake", just to name a few. Here are some recipes that really caught my eye: "James Stewart's Spareribs with Barbeque Sauce"; "Jimmy Durante's German Cole Slaw"; "Red Skelton's Ham Hock and Lima Beans"; "Natalie Wood's Beef Stroganoff"; "Dinah Shore's Fruitcake";"William Frawley's Mulligan Stew"; and "Oliver Hardy's Baked Apples with Honey and Almonds". Just like the original "The Dead Celebrity Cookbook","Christmas in Tinseltown" is delicious from appetizer through to after-dinner drink." That just about says it all. These are great recipes all rolled up into this great collection.
I am a cookbook collector and indeed these are some of the best recipes of the bygone era and would make a wonderful gift for any movie buff. So, if you are looking for a special recipe book for the holiday, I would recommend: "Christmas in Tinseltown."
September 6, 2014
Author Frank DeCaro has another winner with "The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: Christmas in Tinseltown"! This book is a fantastic follow-up to the fabulous original "The Dead Celebrity Cookbook". Hollywood holiday traditions and recipes are served up in sensational style and given extra luster with the addition of great photos of favorite stars. The sweet and snappy "Christmas Tidbits" that accompany the celebrity bios and recipes are perfect appetizers for the feast to follow. I am a true foodie and film fan--a devoted aficionado of the entertainment world. I learned to cook from my wonderful Gran, who also loved movies and movie stars. Frank DeCaro brings back many wonderful memories and offers new insights to the lives of stars and star-makers of the screen and stage. "Christmas in Tinseltown" features recipes for the holiday season and all year around. All of the celebrities who are featured have a special connection to the holidays. Frank DeCaro's funny, friendly narrative writing style adds a warmly witty tone to the book, and the recipes run the gamut from simple to superb. The chapters are divided into courses, and the titles are quite punny: "It's a Wonderful Lunch"; "Miracle Whip on 34th Street", "Munch of the Wooden Soldiers", and "What a Fruitcake", just to name a few. Here are some recipes that really caught my eye: "James Stewart's Spareribs with Barbeque Sauce"; "Jimmy Durante's German Cole Slaw"; "Red Skelton's Ham Hock and Lima Beans"; "Natalie Wood's Beef Stroganoff"; "Dinah Shore's Fruitcake"; "William Frawley's Mulligan Stew"; and "Oliver Hardy's Baked Apples with Honey and Almonds". Just like the original "The Dead Celebrity Cookbook", "Christmas in Tinseltown" is delicious from appetizer through to after-dinner drink. If you are a "food and film fan", and so are your friends and family, then you will want to collect these books and also gift them to others.
Review Copy Gratis HCI Books
Review Copy Gratis HCI Books
October 10, 2012
I have a confession to make: I never read the original Dead Celebrity Cookbook. But I saw this one available on Netgalley and it looked like just the sort of thing that was right up my alley as a reader. Granted, Christmas is not my favorite holiday (AT ALL), but I figured maybe I could get a couple of recipes to use year-round from this thing and some fun anecdotes to read about in regards to famous actors/actresses since gone. A lot of this cookbook was genuinely fun to read and I could tell that Mr. DeCaro was very passionate about what he was doing. That said, I sometimes felt like the background info of the specific films (versus the specific stars) overshadowed the actual recipes and only served as filler to create more pages. Plus, it never even touched on the fact that not EVERY dead celebrity was a Christian that celebrated Christmas. Some of them had to have been Jewish right? So where was the Hanukkah section? I wouldn't have minded that, especially as a reader who isn't Jewish and is always looking to try new things. But it didn't exist in this particular book. The chapter names and the puns they created made me smile while I was reading, but overall I felt like this wasn't the cookbook for me or the actor trivia book for me either. It split too much between trying to be both and didn't really succeed at being one or the other. A fun book, but not one I would read again.
VERDICT: 3/5 Stars
*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published October 1st, 2012.*
VERDICT: 3/5 Stars
*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published October 1st, 2012.*
November 29, 2012
THE DEAD CELEBRITY COOKBOOK PRESENTS CHRISTMAS IN TINSELTOWN by Frank DeCaro is an interesting cookbook. If you enjoy Christmas cookbooks,memories and celebrity recipes with a bit of information on the actor/actress you will adore this title. From James Stewart's Spareribs with Barbecue sauce to Robert Mitchum's Eggnog,Lucille Ball's Nut stuffing,Joan Crawford's Angel Food Cake and Norman Rockwell's Oatmeat Cookies and many,many more than you are sure to delight in the rest of the list. Filled with not only recipes but with Hollywood memories. What a great holiday gift to any one who enjoys cooking or collecting recipe books. A must! Received for an honest review from the publisher. Details can be found at the author's website,Health Communications,Inc. and My Book Addiction and More.
RATING: 5
HEAT RATING: NONE(COOKBOOK)
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews
RATING: 5
HEAT RATING: NONE(COOKBOOK)
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, My Book Addiction and More/My Book Addiction Reviews
February 27, 2015
Such a great book. This is the Xmas version of the Dead Celebrity cook book series. These are great fun--if you cook, even more fun! Each recipe has a little anecdote, ranging from the innocent to the decadent and lots of good humor. Amazingly the recipes are actually often do-able and yummy ( you know you want to try Robert Mitchum's egg nog!)and for big film fans like me, it's fun to do recipes of favorite film stars (Barbara Stanwyck's Kipfels?. It totally screams for a theme night where everyone brings a pot luck from the book and gets legless on Mitchum's egg nog. Great fun!
February 20, 2016
A must for lovers of the Golden Age of Hollywood! Packed with facts and tidbits about all your favourite Christmas movies and the actors who brought them to life. Some of the recipes are more "mixing" than cooking but that doesn't detract at all.
May 1, 2015
nice christmas celebrity cookbook!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews