Vincent Price Cookbook, Cooking Price-Wise
As I recently announced on my Old Hollywood Twitter page, I am going to begin making and posting recipes from my vintage cookbook collection. Old cookbooks is one of my favorite collections I have. Some (like the recipe and cookbook featured here) are from old Hollywood stars, others are simply old, deliciously fun cookbooks I’ve held onto from family members or that I’ve found at antique malls, garage sales, or online.
The first recipe I decided to feature is one of my personal favorite recipes and it happens to be from one of my favorite vintage cookbooks, Cooking Price-Wise (Amazon link) by the wonderful, legendary actor Vincent Price.
He was full of talent and charisma and happened to be a wonderful cook and recipe developer. His writing comes across like you’re having a wonderful visit with him in his kitchen – sitting and basking in the warmth of his personality and the aroma of his cooking.
Wonderful Potato Recipe from Cooking Price-Wise
The recipe is printed, below, as it appears in the cookbook – with the added notation for parboiling the potatoes and the “Notes” below added by yours truly. As you can see from my photo above, this isn’t just a delicious recipe, it’s a darn handsome one too.
Lyonnaise Potatoes
Serves: 4
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
Parboil potatoes*; this takes about 3-5 minutes. Lightly fry onion rings until pale golden brown. Remove from the pan, then fry potato slices. When cooked, add onions and fry both together until crisp and brown.
Parboil* is simply a quick way to say “partially boil.” Don’t go any further than the given 3-5 minutes because you don’t want your potatoes to get smushy. (I bet to differ, spellcheck, smushy is absolutely a word!)
Notes:
- I used Russet potatoes because they’re the potatoes I had on hand. It’s also my “go to” potato for frying.
- I used Sunflower oil simply because I’ve become obsessed with it but vegetable oil or peanut oil would be great, too.
- I allowed my onions to go a little past golden brown because I’m wild about the flavor they take on at this point.
- I kept the seasonings really basic – salt, pepper – because I wanted the flavor to be as close to what Vincent, himself, would have been enjoying. I get an especially big kick out of eating food the stars ate!
- I served these with fried catfish (an obsession) and fried green tomatoes (another one).
- There was, surprisingly, a little of the potatoes leftover, so I invited them to breakfast the next day. Great idea on my part. I heated the potatoes up in a skillet with a little fresh bacon grease and OMG they were amazing.
The cookbook is filled with many other wonderful recipes, many of which I use again and again. If you’re a vintage fan, like I am, you’ll love the pictures – they’re absolutely wonderful.
I also love the fact that the recipes come from around the world – the intercontinental flavors and overall vibe make it unlike most other cookbooks.
Possibly my favorite part of the book, however, is Vincent Price, himself. He had a very warm personality and it comes shining through. Great food, great author…that’s about as good as it gets!
Other Recipes Include:
- Potatoes with Sour Cream (Poland)
- Minestrone
- Potato Yahni (Greece)
- Peruvian Peppers
- Sweet Potato Cake
- Chili-Con-Carne
- Irish Stew
- Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon Dressing
- Summer Bacon Soup
- Arabian Nights Pilaf
- Fried Chicken with Lemon Rice
- Pineapple Custard Pudding
- And a lot more….
Read more about this fascinating cookbook Cooking Price-Wise (Amazon link) on Amazon.