Recipes from Dead Celebrities with Frank DeCaro

This Week's Podcast: Celebrities die, but their recipes live on.

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Halloween might be a time to reflect and recall some celebrities that have passed, and to remember them for their – recipes? Living Celebrity, Frank DeCaro, visits and we talk about such ghoulishly glamorous stars like Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones), and Lily Munster (Yvonne DeCarlo) for their edible treats. Frank’s new book is The Dead Celebrity Cookbook: A Resurrection of Recipes from More than 145 Stars of Stage and Screen.
Frank is probably best known for his years as the movie critic on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, newspaper columns and now, his weekday Sirius XM radio show. Frank grew up watching celebrities, and then began to collect their favorite recipes, like Bette Davis’s Red Flannel Hash.
We’re a garden show, so we like to concentrate on things from the veggie patch, so there are recipes from vegetarians (two of the four stars of The Golden Girls), and some of the best: Miss Peggy Lee’s Jade Salad, Bill Bixby’s Zucchini bread (a winner, according to DeCaro ), or Michael Jackson’s sweet potato pie.
One famous, and long sought after recipe was Katherine Hepburn’s Connecticut brownies.
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Baker’s)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Heat oven to 325°. Grease an 8" x 8" baking pan with butter.
2. Melt the butter and the chocolate together in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Add walnuts, flour, and salt; stir until incorporated. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–45 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.