Jean Harlow's Appetizers
- Sep 25, 2022
- 2 min read
We made Harlow appetizers from a 1930s cookbook and Harlow expert Darrell Rooney gave us a sneak peek into his incredible collection!
Jean Harlow rose to fame in the early 1930s and became Hollywood's first platinum sex symbol. She starred in 36 films including "Red Headed Woman", "Bombshell", "Dinner at Eight" and "Libeled Lady". In 1935 she became the first actress to grace the cover of Life Magazine. Harlow died of kidney failure at 26 years old and for decades her life has been the subject of gossip. Fortunately her biographers have revealed the truth behind her complicated life and untimely death. What remains are the films and they are as vibrant and entertaining today as they were back in the 1930s.
Recipes
The Orange and Tomato Salad recipe is from "Milady's Style Parade and Recipe Book for 1935".
Orange and Tomato Salad
Ingredients
6 tomatoes
3 oranges
1/2 teaspoon finely minced onion
Lettuce
Mayonnaise
Directions
Wash tomatoes, remove skin and stem. Make 5 or 6 cuts in tomatoes to very nearly the base, beginning at the stem. Place tomatoes on lettuce leaves and bend back divisions formed by cutting to represent flower petals. Peel oranges and divide into sections. Place one section between each flower petal. Add onion to mayonnaise and place in center of flower.
Stuffed Celery A La Shrimp
Ingredients
1 cup of shrimp
1/4 cup minced celery
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Directions
Shred 1 cup of shrimp and mix with 1/4 cup of minced celery. Add 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and stuff stalks of celery with this mixture.
We paired our appetizers with Officially Licensed Signature Coffee Blend of Jean Harlow™
from Breakfast at Dominique's.
Special Guest
My guest for this episode was Darrell Rooney. He is a one of the foremost Harlow collectors in the world and curated a Harlow exhibit at The Hollywood Museum. He co-authored the book "Harlow in Hollywood: The Bombshell in the Glamour Capital 1928 - 1937" with Mark A. Vieira, which is now out in a new expanded edition. You can get signed copies at Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood. It you love Harlow, you will want to get your hands on a copy of this book asap. I also suggest reading "Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow" by David Stenn.
The Final Product
Both of these appetizers were easy to make, tasty and perfect for a summer brunch or garden party.
Jean Harlow remains one of the most popular stars of Hollywood's Golden Age and most of her films can easily be found on DVD, Blu-ray and on Turner Classic Movies.
Harlow's real life was breathlessly covered by newspapers and fan magazines of the day.
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Given her immense popularity, we will certainly be doing more Harlow episodes in the future!
I absolutely love exploring old Hollywood food history, especially anything involving Jean Harlow. Between my intense university literature seminars and writing massive analytical essays, finding time to cook vintage recipes is my favorite way to unwind. Last week, my reading schedule became so overwhelming that I simply could not keep up with my upcoming deadlines.
That is exactly when choosing to seek out reliable arts and humanities assignment help online truly saved my semester grades. It gave me the room I needed to focus on my final papers without feeling completely buried under my coursework.
I absolutely love this tribute to Jean Harlow, and pairing her iconic Hollywood history with vintage recipes is such a brilliant idea! As a classic film fan, exploring these retro menus is my absolute favorite way to unwind when my university workload gets completely exhausting. Just last week, I was so burnt out by back-to-back logic essays that I actually had to get some help with philosophy assignment writing just to hit my deadlines and save my sanity. Handing off that heavy writing load was a huge relief, and it finally gave me a free evening to relax, watch an old movie, and try out some of these amazing appetizer ideas. Thank you for putting together such a glamorous and fun…