Classic Hollywood Recipes: Lucille Ball’s Apple Crumble, Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies and More

Some classic Hollywood stars were pro’s in the kitchen and loved to whip up everything from brownies to meat loaf. Fortunately for fans, they also loved to share their recipes so try one today.

Lucille Ball’s Apple Crumble

8 cups cooking apples, thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup, plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1⁄2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. grated lemon peel
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1⁄4 cup water
2 cups packaged biscuit mix
2 to 3 tbsp. butter, melted
1⁄2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Toss together apples, ½ cup sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon peel, lemon juice and water. Place in a greased 2-quart casserole dish.
2. Cover and bake at 375°F. degrees for 1 hour or until apples are tender. Remove from oven and raise temperature to 450°F.
3. Combine biscuit mix and remaining 2 tbsp. sugar, and then quickly stir in melted butter and
milk. Drop by rounded tablespoons around the top edge of casserole and one in the center.
4. Bake uncovered about 12-15 minutes or until crumble is golden and done. Cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Cary Grant’s Oven-Barbecued Chicken

1 large chicken, cut in pieces (about 4 lbs.)
Olive or vegetable oil for frying
1 cup ketchup
1⁄2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 cup A-1 steak sauce
1⁄4 cup sugar 1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown chicken pieces in batches. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place browned chicken in a 9 x 13″ baking dish. In a saucepan, combine ketchup, Worcestershire, water, A-1, sugar, vinegar, onion and garlic. Whisk till sugar dissolves and sauce is warm.
3. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch with 2 tbsp. cold water until smooth. Slowly add cornstarch to sauce. Whisk as it heats until the sauce is hot and thickened. Pour sauce over chicken and cover pan with foil.
4. Bake chicken 60-75 minutes or until meat is done. Serve with pan sauce.

Katherine Hepburn’s Brownies

1⁄2 cup cocoa
1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1⁄4 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. degrees.
2. Melt butter in saucepan with cocoa and stir. Remove from heat, cool, and transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in vanilla.
3. In another bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt. Add to wet mixture. Stir until just combined.
4. Pour into a greased 8 x 8″ square pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Brownies should be gooey. Let cool and cut into bars

Joan Crawford’s Meat Loaf

2 lbs. ground sirloin
1 lb. bulk pork sausage
3 raw eggs
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 green bell peppers, finely chopped
3 tbsp. seasoned salt
3 tbsp. A-1 steak sauce
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 hard-boiled eggs (whole)
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Combine meats, unbeaten eggs, onion, peppers, 1 tbsp. seasoned salt, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp. A-1. Mix thoroughly.
2. Shape mixture into oval loaf in large, shallow baking pan. Gently press hard- boiled eggs into the loaf.
3. Sprinkle remaining seasoned salt, Worcestershire and steak sauce on top of loaf, as a crust. Pour 1 cup water in the base of the roasting pan. Do not pour over the meat loaf after you have put the sauces on.
4. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F. for 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 300°F. and bake for another 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 250°F. and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juice.