Vincent Price was one of the most terrifying actors I LOVED to watch as a child. Who can forget the sinister host of The House on Haunted Hill (1959) a movie that gave my sister and me some delicious scares!
But in addition to being a great villain in the movies, Vincent Price was a lover of art, great food, travel, wine and restaurants. He wrote several cookbooks, including A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965) and Come Into The Kitchen (1969). The beautiful “Treasury” contains anecdotes from his world travels, reminiscences of meals, menus and friends, as well as recipes, a few of which he admitted he had not prepared. Although his wife the former costume designer Mary took second billing in this production, Price gave her credit for being his muse and his collaborator. Pictures of his home, his kitchen, his pool, and his travels reveal a privileged, sophisticated and generous lifestyle. Price was undoubtedly a witty and gracious host. I can only imagine how much fun it would have been to dine with him and Mary.
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The Tingler (1959)
The Fly (1958)
LAURA (1944)
VINCENT PRICE'S SWEET AND HOT CHICKEN
This is a recipe in A Treasury of Great Recipes which according to Price was a specialty of Mary’s. I’m not quite ready to post the recipe and recommend it. It was a chicken marinated and baked in a sweet Asian inspired sauce. The recipe produced a pretty brown chicken with just a hint of sweetness in the meat, but I was not entirely bowled over by the results. I am going to try this again with skinless chicken thighs, or I might use skin-on chicken and brown it in a skillet before baking in the reserved marinade. At any rate, it made for a moist tender chicken and an entertaining Saturday night, and the recipe paired well with a screening of The House on Haunted Hill.
- The baked chicken
- Vincent and Mary
- The marinade and sauce
