Film noir favorite Gene Tierney will help us cool down during this scorching summer.
Gene Tierney began her career as an actress on Broadway before Hollywood came calling. She was signed to a contract at Twentieth Century Fox and went on to star in several film noir classics including "Laura", "Whirpool", "Night and the City" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends". She received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for the 1945 Technicolor noir classic "Leave Her to Heaven".
Recipe
I was originally planning to make Gene Tierney's Cheesecake recipe from the 1953 cookbook "Stars In Your Kitchen". Unfortunately it required that I use my oven. The temperature is soaring in Los Angeles right now and it was over 100 degrees this past week. Sufficed to say, I need to change my plans. Instead I decided to do Gene Tierney's Tuna Salad Royal that has been written up and covered by the great Jenny Hammerton of Silver Screen Suppers.
Ingredients
1 can Star-Kist Tuna (Solid Pack or chunk style)
2 tablespoons chopped sweet pickle
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup Kraft mayonaise
Directions
In salad bowl combine all ingredients and toss together with tuna mixture. Season to taste. For each portion place lettuce on a salad plate and cut a peeled tomato into three crosswise slices. Staring with a slice of tomato placed on the lettuce, alternate tuna salad with remaining slices. Garnish with mayonaise and watercress as shown.
In the 1950s Star-Kist Tuna published a series of movie star tuna recipes in their advertising, which included Barbara Stanwyck, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Fred MacMurray, Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne.
Special Guest
Libby Pitman has worked as a Child Advocate, photographer and tennis teacher. She has two daughters and lives with her family in Colorado. She originally grew up in Houston, Texas where her mother was a local dressmaker and designer. Her mother's work caught the eye of Gene Tierney who became a client and close family friend.
Final Result
This was very easy to make and would be perfect for a summer garden party or brunch.
There are tons of Gene Tierney films on DVD, Blu ray and on Turner Classic Movies.
If you want to read more about Gene Tierney's life, I recommend "Gene Tierney: A Biography" by Michelle Vogel. It is available on the Larry Edmunds Bookshop website. Her autobiography "Self Portrait" is excellent and also available on Amazon and possibly at other used book stores.
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