Book of Days Tales

Today is the birthday (1911) of Gypsy Rose Lee, a burlesque entertainer, actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy. Gypsy Rose Lee was born in Seattle, Washington, as Rose Louise Hovick, but known within family and close circles as Louise. Her mother forged various birth certificates for each of her daughters — older when needed to evade varying state child labor laws, and younger for reduced or free train fares. The girls were unsure until later in life what their years of birth were, and Rose usually gave 9 January as her birthday even though it was 8 January.

Rose put together a cookbook that was never published, and also contributed celebrity recipes to magazines. None of them is especially out of the ordinary. They are mostly for standard dishes given to her by friends. She reports that her mother was especially fond of chow mein, which I presume was nothing more than standard Chinese-American fare from faceless joints, and nothing like 炒面 (chǎomiàn – fried noodles) which the humblest roadside cook in China can make ten times better. I did, however, come across this greeting card with Rose’s photo and her recipe for torrijas, a Spanish festive form of French toast:

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/gypsy_rose_lee_torrijas_spanish_recipe_greeting_card-137292476592739714

Torrijas are customarily made for Christmas or Easter. The only real difference between torrijas and French toast is that torrijas are deep fried in olive oil. Basically you cut stale bread in thick slices then soak it in sweetened milk, followed by a second soaking in sweetened beaten egg. Generally, each step should take about 30 minutes – don’t rush. Then shake off the excess fluid and deep fry the bread in olive oil at 350° F until golden. Drain on wire racks and dust with sugar.