Old Hollywood Kitchen: Joan Blondell

The last installment of Old Hollywood Kitchen featured my beloved Glenda Farrell, so it only makes sense to follow with one of her closest friends, the equally wisecracking Joan Blondell.

Joan Blondell's Sunday Night Special
4 cans tomato sauce
4 lbs. ground beef
1 1/2 cups green peppers, chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 cans corn (easier to use 1 15.25 oz. can and 1 8.75 oz. can)
1 cup onion, chopped
1 lb. shredded cheese (not specified, I used cheddar)
3 boxes pasta (again, not specified, I used macaroni)

A caveat right up front: this makes SO MUCH FOOD. I quartered the recipe and still had way too much pasta, then had to use two cans of tomato sauce as one wasn't enough to cover the dish.

Brought to you by Hideous Formica.

The "finished" product:

The concept is good and the flavors are almost there, but this is going to take some serious reworking of proportions. My biggest failure of these recipe tests thus far, but not a total loss; I'm definitely going to give this another try and will share my version here once I get it right.

It's fitting to wrap up 2018 with Joan Blondell as I spent Christmas morning watching her team up with Katharine Hepburn in Desk Set. Dated in (mostly) entertaining ways, it's a fun film for the holidays; if you're not keen, I can always recommend peak Blondell in any of her Busby Berkeley outings, particularly Gold Diggers of 1933 ("Remember My Forgotten Man" has me in tears every time). There's also her numerous pairings with Farrell, natch, my favorite of them being Havana Widows. Here's to more great food, films and fun in 2019!

Speaking of Katharine Hepburn, here's a little bonus! Her brownie recipe has been floating around the internet and I finally decided to give it a try:

Very easy to make for a relative novice like me, and with a satisfying fudgy chewiness to boot. They're too rich and dense for me to want to make on a regular basis, but will be a great recipe for future use if I need to whip up a quick dessert.