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celebrity food, celebrity recipes, french dressing, judy garland, judy garland dressing, judy garland french dressing, judy garland salad
Publicity photo from “Love Finds Andy Hardy”, released in 1938.
I will never buy salad dressing again.
I saw a post on the PBS Food Facebook page recently about a book called “What Actors Eat When They Eat” (hilarious title!) by Rex Lease and Kenneth Harlan. Published in 1939, the book contains the favorite recipes of more than 100 of the biggest actors and actresses at the time. It also features publicity photos (including a now-shocking shot of Al Jolson in black face), bios listing the actors birth date (no year for most of the women), height, weight (!), and the studio they were contracted with, and funny notes about the food. It is really interesting and I’ve highlighted two more recipes I hope to create and share with you before I have to return the book to the library.
Love that 1930s typeset!
I decided to try this French Dressing recipe submitted for the book by Judy Garland. It looked really easy, I had a hankering for salad, and I loved the page dedicated to her. Wizard of Oz was released in 1939, but it’s clear this book was compiled the year before, as her bio lists her latest movie as Listen Darlin’.
Judy’s page from “What Actors Eat When They Eat.”
Judy instructs the cook to mix the dressing into the salad using your hands, to ensure that all the lettuce is coated evenly! She ends by saying, “Then you eat it and you’ll say it tastes swell. And mother says it’s very healthy too.”
I used smoked paprika and it was beyond swell… like I said, I don’t think I’ll ever buy dressing again.
It’s got a beautiful color.
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 close garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
Put all the ingredients into a salad bottle and shake! Enjoy!
Judy Garland’s French Dressing is good on any salad!
Bite From the Past 
Isn’t it fun reading her words! I love being reminded that at one time, tossed salad had to be clarified as being cold vegetable salad. It reminds me of my grandma. I wonder how this dressing would be on hot potato salad…
What Kind of Vinegar, do you use
White vinegar!
Since it’s an old recipe I would say regular white vinegar was used. I don’t think there were that many, if any, variations back then. I’m going to try it with a few different types and see what my family prefers. Can’t go wrong either way I’m sure.