Friday, October 14, 2011

Dinner and a Movie: The Masque of the Red Death

Vincent Price, Jane Asher, Patrick Magee and Hazel Court wear rather ridiculous (and very '60s) "medieval" costumes in The Masque of the Red Death

Oh my. What to say about this one? It's pretty entertaining, in a bad-movie way. The costumes are hilarious and look like they were put together with a glue gun from bits out of the bargain bin at Jo-Ann. They remind me of nothing so much as the costumes for the production I was in of Once Upon a Mattress in high school. Don't get all excited--I only had one line.


You can watch The Masque of the Red Death on DVD, from Netflix Watch Instantly, or on TCM October 25th at 4:00 a.m. CST.

On to the food--
Yippee for more British recipes from Vincent Price! This week we have Welsh Rabbit and Mushrooms in Cream. (The salad dressing is at this post.)

Welsh Rabbit

4 slices sourdough bread*
1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon brown ale, separated, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 lb sharp cheddar, grated
1 egg yolk


Put oven on lowest heat. Add two plates. Toast sourdough bread and keep warm on plates in oven while you make cheese sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the teaspoon of ale with the paprika, mustard powder, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Set aside.

In a double boiler over lowish heat, melt the butter, then gradually stir in the cheddar. Keep stirring and add the 1/2 cup ale, a bit at a time, stirring constantly. When mixture is smooth, temper the egg yolk, then stir into cheese mixture and keep stirring. Add paprika/mustard mix and keep stirring. When cheese sauce is warm and smooth, pour over the toast and serve immediately.

Serves 2

Adapted from "Welsh Rabbit" in Mary and Vincent Price, A Treasury of Great Recipes (Ampersand Press, Inc., 1965), 165.


Mushrooms in Cream

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
salt
pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a small skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat. When the foam has just subsided, add the mushrooms and stir well for 1 minute to coat thoroughly with butter. Season well with salt and pepper, then add cream and simmer until mushrooms are softened.

Serves 2

Adapted from "Mushrooms in Cream" in ibid., 183.


Last week: House on Haunted Hill, next week: The Pit and the Pendulum

I'm not sure if I'll be able to check comments over the weekend, so I'm leaving comment moderation up to Disqus. I'll check it Monday to make sure your comments get published. Have a great weekend!!!

12 comments:

  1. Karen/Small Earth VintageOctober 14, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    Vincent Price wrote a cookbook! My friend tried to get me to watch some campy 1970s Vincent Price horror film this weekend, but all I could think about was Bill Hader's SNL impersonation of him.

    Mmmm, Welsh rabbit. My mom used to make this for me when I was little. It's the ultimate comfort food.

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  2. Oh man, how did I not know this movie existed? It looks like a great drunk night movie! I go gaga for adaptation movies, especially if they're period/costumed!

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  3. I love Welsh Rabbit! So good and comforting. And my younger son was in a middle school production of "Once Upon a Mattress"!

    Also, I have an award for you at http://www.bluekaleroad.com/2011/10/chocolate-pumpkin-cake-and-awards.html

    Happy Friday!

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  4. Oh I adore Mr Price I have seen this and I could watch him in anything really, he was so talented he could do camp, horror, film noir comedy, thanks for the post! x

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  5. Whoa, another obscure film discovery. So bad it's funny, eh?

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  6. Those pictures already are highly entertaining, such make-up… on him. (or is it the photography?)

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  7. There's nothing that can't be made better with cheese, even a hokey old chestnut of a Vincent Price movie. :)

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  8. That movies look unintentionally hilarious, the dish delicious and I also was in OUAM in high school.

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  9. mmm you inspire me to organize dinner and movie night for my bf :D ! Looks so yummy!
    I surprised myself yesterday by making super good sushi (I don't cook :P), maybe I should keep it up.

    xxx ninja (1milliondresses.blogspot.com)

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  10. Well, I'll tell Kirby about this one, too...he rushed out (well, ordered on Amazon) House on Haunted Hill. He loves those old Vincent Price B movies! Welsh Rabbit, yummy!

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  11. Vincent Price and campy old scary movies are one of my favorite things about October. Is that Jack Lemmon in one of the shots?

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  12. The Jack Lemmon-alike is actually Patrick Magee. He was also in Barry Lyndon (among other things).

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