The Magic of Show Biz

It was magical. I interviewed Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. The animator for Bambi and Thumper drew pictures especially for me to take home. I got to meet and interview the current Disney stars. And I got to take my own very young children to this magical place where I was actually working.

I also adored the I Love Lucy TV show. Lucille Ball made me really want a career in TV, but again, I knew that was so very unlikely. I never got to meet her but was thrilled when I got to interview her daughter, Lucy Arnaz. Lucy Jr. was not interested in talking about her mom as much as I wanted to hear about her mom. So that interview did not go particularly well, but it still has a special place in my heart because her mom entertained and inspired me for so many years. When I finished the interview, my good friend and director Chuck Maye quietly said through my earpiece, “I don’t love that Lucy.”

Debbie Reynolds was a superstar. I could watch Singin’ in the Rain every day, but the movie that had the biggest impression on me was Tammy and the Bachelor. For whatever reason, I loved that movie and played her “Tammy” 45 vinyl record over and over. Many years later, Debbie Reynolds came to Charlotte, and I was assigned to interview her. I could hardly sleep the night before. I was totally starstruck when she entered the studio. She came early, and we had time to visit. I got to tell her how much I loved her and her work.

After the live interview, I expected my idol to be whisked away in her limousine back to the Land of the Stars. As I was finishing my show with tosses, teases, interviews, and cooking segments, I looked over, and Debbie Reynolds was still there, observing from the darkened studio on the other side of the bright TV lights shining in my direction. She stayed. After the show, she asked if we could just talk. She seemed to have honed‑in on my needs. Her drivers went to lunch, but she stayed with me for hours,

Shrimp Creole

SERVES 4 | PREP 30 minutes | COOK 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons bacon drippings ½ cup white or yellow onion, chopped ½ cup green pepper, chopped ½ cup celery, sliced 3½ tablespoons all-purpose flour ⅓ cup water 2 teaspoons sugar Salt, to taste Hot pepper sauce, to taste Garlic powder, to taste Chili powder, to taste 1 (1-pound) can diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and freshly cooked 4 cups rice, polenta, or grits, cooked

Directions

Melt the butter with bacon drippings in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the onion, green pepper, and celery and sauté for 2 minutes. Whisk together the flour, water, sugar, salt, hot pepper sauce, garlic powder, and chili powder in a small bowl and set aside. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, and parsley to the sautéed mixture and stir well. Add the whisked mixture to the creole blend in the Dutch oven and stir well. Lower heat and simmer until thickened, approximately 10 minutes. Stir in freshly cooked shrimp. Adjust seasonings to taste, adding more hot pepper sauce for those who like it hot. Serve over fluffy rice, creamy polenta, or grits.

Notes

For the best results, do not use frozen packaged shrimp.

Mom’s Famous Standing Rib Roast

SERVES 8 | PREP 10 minutes | COOK 2 to 3 hours

Ingredients

1 (6-pound) standing rib roast Salt and pepper, to taste 1 cup heavy cream 3 to 4 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Directions

Place the roast fat-side up in a shallow roasting pan. Season generously with salt and pepper. Do not add water. Do not cover. Bake at 325 degrees to desired degree of doneness. Rare: 2¼ hours Medium: 2½ hours Well Done: 3¼ hours If your roast is larger, lengthen the cooking time. When the roast is done, remove from the pan and allow it to rest about 15 to 20 minutes. This makes the roast juicier and easier to cut. Serve with horseradish cream sauce by whipping one cup of heavy cream and stirring in 3 to 4 tablespoons of prepared horseradish.

Notes

This recipe was my mom’s dinner-party favorite. When she passed away, I received a phone call from a family friend who was a congressman and world traveler. We reminisced about my youth, and then he said something I will always remember: “I have been blessed to eat at some fine restaurants and extravagant events, but no one cooked a rib roast like your mom.”