The Past on a Plate: Brunch with Vincent Price

I've cooked many recipes from A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price (links to those posts below). It's one of my save-in-case-of-fire cookbooks. It was out-of-print for a long time and I was lucky to get my hands on a copy at a library book sale. Now, it's back in print and my friend Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers is having a cookalong to celebrate.

I had just watched The Baron of Arizona (for the first time ever!) and wanted something with a southwest vibe. Fortunately, there's an entire section in A Treasury of Great Recipes on the Santa Fe Super Chief, the train that once carried passengers in luxury all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles. The blueberry muffins were a specialty of La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona, and were served in the Super Chief dining car. Continuing the Arizona theme, Ranch Eggs have a southwestern flare thanks to their yummy pepper/onion/tomato combo. They pair really well with blueberry muffins (and a great cup of coffee).

Ranch Eggs

4 1/2 ounces bacon, cut into lardons
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 cups chopped tomatoes (or two 14.5-ounce cans)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
12 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 scallions, sliced

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat. As the bacon pieces crisp up, remove them to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Sauté bell pepper and onion in bacon fat, regulating heat so vegetables soften but don't brown too much. When pepper and onion are softened, add the tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to cook off the tomatoes' liquid. Stir frequently. When most of the tomato water has evaporated and the sauce is nice and warm, turn the heat down and keep warm while you make the eggs.

Melt the butter in a clean skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and cream together in a mixing bowl. When the butter bubbles, add the eggs and cream and turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until eggs are softly set. Season with salt and pepper.

Pile the eggs in the middle of your serving dish and surround with the tomato-pepper sauce. Top with bacon and scallions. Enjoy!

Serves 4 to 6

Blueberry Muffins La Posada

1/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) soft butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
10 ounces blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease 16 regular muffin cups. (So, one pan plus four more muffins.) Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar then add in the eggs. Alternate stirring in the flour and milk, adding the baking powder and salt with the last addition of flour. Gently stir in the blueberries. (You don't want to mash them up or your muffins will be grey.)

Fill muffin cups half full and bake for 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve warm with butter.

16 muffins

Both recipes adapted from A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price (1965).

The Baron of Arizona is loosely based on the life of a real man, James Addison Peralta-Reavis (played by Vincent Price), who went to extraordinary lengths to lay claim to a huge chunk of Arizona and part of New Mexico. Some of his antics included forging documents and creating an entire noble family out of thin air. Pretty impressive. Be sure to check out the movie; it's on DVD and sometimes shows up on TCM.