Brandy Slush by Janet K. Hallas - from "Home Plates: Players' Favorite Dishes" (1984)

RECIPE

7 cups water

2 cups sugar

4 tea bags

12 oz orange juice concentrate (frozen)

12 oz lemon juice concentrate (frozen)

2 cups brandy

Mix water and sugar in large pan.  Bring to boil.  Remove from heat.  

Brew tea bags in water/sugar mixture for 5 minutes.  Stir in frozen concentrates and brandy.  Freeze.  

Serve with 7 Up or Mountain Dew.  

Note:One ice cream scoop of slush per 8-10 oz of 7 Up, or can also be used according to taste.  Makes over 30 drinks.

Sweet and citrusy, a drink the colour of Fort Knox Gold.  Definitely needs a straw to get going, but the slush melts quickly enough.  Nice kick from the brandy after a few sips.

Great idea to keep an ice cream bucket or large tupperware container of this slush in the freezer.

Bookshelf - "Home Plates: Players' Favorite Dishes" (1984) by the Oakland Athletics

295 pp. paperback

268 recipes from the wives of players, coaches and management

Even though I have dozens of baseball cookbooks in my collection, I manage to find something unique inside each one.

Sure, after a while you start seeing the same recipes again and again, but there's always at least one that's so unique that you know it was a family favourite.  Or there will be a personal anecdote from a player reminiscing about a dish he loves to eat.  Or a new twist on something familiar that lets you experience food in a new way.

Home Plates: Players' Favorite Dishes, is a cookbook that was compiled and produced by the wives of the 1984 Oakland Athletics.  Proceeds from sales of the book went to the National Kidney Foundation of Northern California.

As baseball cookbooks go, this one is kind of underwhelming.  It's got a lot of recipes, but most of them are uninspiring; the kinds of dishes prepared by people who are not too adventurous in the kitchen.  If you love broccoli casserole, you can try five different recipes here.

However, one section stands out.  There's an entire chapter of recipes for alcoholic punches and cocktails -- definitely not something you find in most other baseball cookbooks.

A lot of these drinks have a fern bar vibe.  Captivated by the idea of boozing it up the way grown ups did back in the 80s, I'll be cranking some Huey Lewis tapes and chilling out with the following icy drinks: 

Brandy Slush

Sangria

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri 

Chi-Chis

Yellow Rice and Chicken by Kathy Sanguillén - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

 

RECIPE

1 fryer [I used a package of chicken thighs]

2 buttons garlic

1/2 pint olive oil

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 two-oz. can small peas

6 ounces tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 lb. of rice

2 pimentos

2 tablespoons salt

1 1/2 quarts water

Cut chicken in quarters and fry with onions and garlic.  When finished add tomatoes and water.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Add bay leaf, salt, rice and green pepper.  Stir thoroughly.  Place in oven at 350 F for 20 minutes.  Garnish with peas and pimentos.

Manny Sanguillén had one of his best seasons as a member of the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Panamanian-born catcher hit .319 during the season with 7 home runs and 81 RBIs.  He was an NL All Star for the first of three times, and helped the Pirates win the NL East by 7 games over St. Louis. In the 1971 World Series, he batted .379.  

Recognized as one of the best catchers of the 70s, Sanguillén spent most of his career in Pittsburgh and was there in 1979 when they won their second World Series of the decade.  His lifetime batting average of .296 is the fourth-highest by a catcher post-1945.

In recent years, Sanguillén has remained active as the operator of Manny's BBQ, located behind centerfield at PNC Park.  He greets fans in line to buy food, signs autographs and poses for photos. 

  

photos from Cut4/MLB.com

If the Sanguillén recipe in the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates cookbook is any indication, patrons of Manny's BBQ will be well fed.

This recipe for yellow rice and chicken is massive and could feed an entire starting lineup.  The step-by-step procedure does not require any special cooking skills, since all you have to do is keep adding the ingredients to the same pot or large pan, then leaving it to cook until the rice is done.  The result is like a chicken paella.  The only substitution I made was to use a package of chicken thighs instead of an entire chicken cut in to pieces.

This is a dish that will impress a crowd.  Viva Sangy!

Asparagus Casserole by Mandy Sands - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

 

RECIPE

(4 large servings)

14 1/2 oz. can asparagus spears

1 can Campbell's Cream Mushroom Soup

4 squares Kraft Pimento Cheese

2 hard boiled eggs

1/2 stick of butter in chunks

Ritz Crackers (crushed) / or potato chips (crushed)

Put asparagus spears in a row into a medium buttered casserole dish.  Slice hard boiled eggs over spears, dice butter chunks next.  Cover with strips of pimento cheese and finish layers of ingredients with the can of cream of mushroom soup completely covering the casserole.  Top with Ritz crackers or potato chips (crushed).  Place in oven 350F for 30 to 35 minutes - crackers will be browned and soup should be boiling around edges.  It's done and ready to be served immediately.

Charlie Sands' baseball career was short.  He appeared as a pinch hitter and backup catcher for four different teams, and played in 93 major league games spread over six seasons.

He did however have the good fortune to be traded as a prospect from the New York Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates in October 1970.  

In his rookie season at 23 years of age, he got into 28 games with the 1971 Pirates, batting .200 and hitting one home run.  He was able to come along for the Buccos' post-season ride, and made one plate appearance in the World Series (he struck out).

Despite his unimpressive record, he got himself a World Series ring, so who cares!

As for Charlie's culinary entry in the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates cookbook, I'm going to declare this is probably the low point of my year-long effort.  Yes, it's only April, but no, I don't think I'm going to prepare anything as unappealing as this asparagus casserole.

This is vintage mid-century fare.  Canned ingredients slopped together, topped with crumbled junk food, and baked until any nutrients are but a memory.  Also, I was unable to locate any authentic Kraft Pimiento Cheese, so I shredded a small block of Monterey Jack with red chili peppers in its place.

I'd like to think that no one makes recipes like this any longer.  If so, you have my sympathies.  I know canned vegetables are essential in some places, but fresh asparagus should be available to most people these days, and breadcrumbs would work better than crumbled chips or crackers.

Anyway, I made this dish so you will never have to, to honour a player you have probably never heard of.  I think we're done here.

The Return of Tony La Russa and an Eight-Year-Old Slice of Cake

British people have lots of wild traditions.

One of those traditions is to preserve slices of cakes that were served at royal weddings.  Not as in, "Let's wrap this up to take home and enjoy tomorrow."  More like, "Let's put this in a sealed container so that someday far into the future, people not even born yet will be able to look upon this cake and consider the wonders of our empire."

The article in this link takes a deep dive into the tradition of preserving royal wedding cakes, a tradition that goes back to 1840.  People with gentle constitutions may find some of the cake images upsetting.

Pivot to 2013, the year I launched this website.  It was originally built around the 1983 Chicago White Sox cookbook, and I set out to make every recipe and post the results here.

"La Russa Gastronomique" was the perfect mashup name for this blog, and the perfect recipe to start off with was the one from Tony La Russa.  

The recipe that he submitted for the cookbook was for Tropical Delight Cake, a fruitcake with a decadent cream frosting.  Here's the photo of the finished cake in 2013.

After posting the write-up and photo, I remembered British tradition and on a whim, stowed a slice of this cake in the freezer.  That was in April, 2013.  I never imagined that eight years later, La Russa would return to manage the White Sox once again.  I also never imagined that after eight years, the cake would still be sitting in my freezer, but it was.

To mark the stunning return of this blog's namesake, what more appropriate time to thaw that slice and see what eight years in a cryochamber had done to it.

Would it have held up in stasis?  Would it immediately break down and liquefy like Poe's Valdemar?  Would I dare put some eight-year-old cake in my mouth?  The photographic recap follows.

Commence the thawing!  A skeptical Tony La Russa looks on.

Released from its frozen tomb and plated, the cake maintained its structural integrity.

Tony noted that the golden raisins, once plump and soft, now resembled dried walnut pieces.

The moment of truth.  Even a grizzled veteran like Tony La Russa couldn't bring himself to watch.

The cake tasted old.  Just old.  No life to it, no freshness at all.  It was still light and chewable, and the frosting was sweet, but that first mouthful was punctuated by overwhelming staleness and agedness.

No second mouthful was necessary.  The remainder of the cake went into the trash.

But the memories will last as long as this website does!

Final verdict: don't expect much from an eight-year-old cake that's been sitting in a freezer.  Go out and get yourself something fresh and nice, or better still make your own.

"LUBY" (Favorite Lebanese Dish) by Connie Lamb - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

RECIPE

1-1/2 to 2 lbs. ground lamb or ground beef

2 onions

2 cans tomatoes (regular size)

1 small can tomato puree

2 cans tomato paste

2 lbs. fresh green beans or fresh yellow beans

1.tsp. cinnamon

garlic salt, salt, pepper

Add onions to meat and brown.

Add garlic salt and drain off and drain off meat juices.

Add tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, pepper, cinnamon, tomato paste and water (fill tomato paste can twice) to mixture.

Wash and snap beans, and add to mixture.  Stir, cover pan and let simmer until the beans are tender.

Serve over portions of minute rice.

Especially delicious if served with a tossed salad and Syrian bread.

Among all the entries in the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates cookbook, the one from John Lamb stands out for several reasons.

First off, John who?  Lamb spent parts of only three seasons on the Pirates' major league roster as a relief pitcher.  His career numbers are 66.1 innings pitched over 47 games, all in relief.  Zero wins, two losses, and a 4.07 ERA with five saves.  Sadly, he didn't stick around long enough for Topps to deem him worthy of a baseball card in 1971.

Much more amusing is the fact that Lamb's recipe is for lamb.  

Best of all, he dishes out an exotic middle eastern stew that stands out from most of the mid-century dinner table fare that can be found in the surrounding pages.

Luby is an Anglicized take on Lubiyeh, which is Arabic for green beans.  In this recipe, the beans are added to a thick, tomatoey lamb stew.

This is an easy one-pot recipe that basically asks you to keep adding ingredients until you run out of ingredients, then cover and simmer everything until it is thick and delicious.  As recommended, it went well with rice.  It freezes well, giving you something to look forward to when you need a break from the kitchen.  Simply thaw, reheat and enjoy.

John Lamb!  They may have left you off the '71 World Series roster, but you just might have served up the best dish in this cookbook.  Let this expiate!

Nut Bread by Paula Ellis - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

RECIPE

1 cup sugar

shortening the size of a walnut

1 well-beaten egg

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

3 cups flour

1 cup sweet milk

1 cup chopped nut meats

Pour into buttered pan.  Let stand 20 minutes before baking.

Bake slowly 40-60 minutes, at 350F.

Baking is not my thing. 

A lurking fear always grips me that one tiny error in measurements will destroy everything. The mismeasured ingredients will collapse upon themselves, destroying the cake or tart.  The overburdened baking dish will break the rack and slam to the bottom of the oven with a thud, destroying the oven.  The tiles under the oven will crack and open a hole in the floor, destroying the floor. The floor will crumble and implode the entire building, destroying the building. Who knows where the destruction might end.

Haunted by fantasy cataclysms, I approach recipes like this one with some trepidation.

Prepping to make Paula Ellis' Nut Bread recipe, my nerves were set on edge almost immediately by the inclusion of "sweet milk" in the list of ingredients. Gripping my phone and staggering to the fainting couch, I flopped down and did some Googling. Turns out, sweet milk is just plain whole milk. Back in the day, it was sometimes referred to as sweet milk to differentiate it from buttermilk or skim milk. Confusion sorted, I forged ahead.

It appears that Paula Ellis expected people to know exactly what to do once the ingredients were assembled. I made the effort to set everything out in advance, within arms reach. I also creamed the first two ingredients because that seems like a thing one does. The rest of the items fell into the bowl without problem, and soon enough the loaf of sweet dough went into the oven.

I may have overmixed everything. After almost an hour of baking, the bread that emerged was more like a bread-shaped cake. Dense and weighty but also sweet and nutty. 

Kept in a bag in the fridge, it lasted days and each morning I sawed off a slab for breakfast. As bread-shaped cakes go, it turned out great so I'll take the W thank you.

As for the man on the card, Dock Ellis is usually remembered as the man who pitched a no-hitter during an acid trip. It's a wild story and has been retold in a variety of media, but after his career ended, Dock acknowledged that he had a substance abuse problem. He cleaned up his life and spent his final years as a substance abuse counselor. He died, way too soon, in 2008.

Beef Stew by Dolores Stargell - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

RECIPE

1 lb. beef stew chunks or 1 lb. ground steak 

1/2 cup flour

salt, pepper, garlic salt

1 small onion

2 green onions

1 envelope Lipton's Beef Flavor Gravy Soup

1/2 cup cooking oil

1/2 small bell pepper

1 1/2 cups water

*rice or noodles, as suggested below

Flour and season meat with spices, then brown meat with cooking oil at medium high heat in skillet.

Pour off almost all oil and add dry soup and water.  Add chopped onions and bell pepper.  Simmer until meat is tender about 1-1/2 hours.

Serve over rice or noodles.

Wilver Stargell, aka Willie, aka Pops, a Pittsburgh Pirates legend.

In 1971, Stargell was approaching the midpoint of his 21-year career, all of it played in the Burgh. He led the NL in home runs with 48, and was named NL Player-of-the-Month twice as he led his club to the division title and World Series.

By decade's end, Stargell would be one of the faces of the franchise.  He was the clubhouse leader who introduced the "Stargell Stars" that were awarded after a good game or key play.  These stars can be seen on most Pirate players' caps in the late 70s.

Here we have one of the dishes that gave Pops his pop.  

This beef stew is warm and comforting, and I served it over some wide egg noodles as suggested by Dolores Stargell.  Coating the meat with flour before browning elevates the comfort level.  As you can see, the recipe is flat-out simple and the only thing that takes time is the simmering.

I wasn't able to find an exact envelope of "Lipton's Beef Flavor Gravy Soup" but any powdered gravy mix will do.  The end result was delicious.  

Hang a Stargell Star on this one!

Mystery Pie by Shirley Virdon - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

 

RECIPE

Mix together:

20 Ritz Crackers (rolled very fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

Then:

beat 3 egg whites very stiff

add 1/2 cup sugar and

3/4 tsp. vanilla

Fold in other ingredients.

Place in buttered 9" pie pan.  Bake in 350F oven for 35 minutes.  Cool.

Topping:

whip 1/2 pint whipping cream

add 3 tsp. powdered sugar

Spread on cooled pie shell.  Top with slivered chocolate (optional).  Chill for 2 hours before serving.

NOTE: Pie shell may be made 24 hours before serving.

It's a mystery! / C'est un mystère!

Crumbly on the outside, gooey on the inside.

This recipe was provided by Shirley Virdon, whose husband Bill was a longtime Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder and one of the coaches of the 1971 team. (The following season, he would succeed Danny Murtaugh as manager.)

This is one of those vintage recipes that probably appeared in magazines and community cookbooks for decades.  The ingredients are all items that would have been found in most households, and the preparation is simple.

Funny enough, the finished pie did not have any of that buttery Ritz flavour to it.  Like I said, it was very crumbly on the outside -- the photo above shows my desperate effort to get a clean slice onto a plate.  Inside however, it's all sweet and gooey with a bit of texture provided by the nuts.

Would I serve this to guests today?  Oh gosh no.  This is one of those desserts that should be trapped in time like an artifact, something to be appreciated but not really something for the present day.  There are better things to do with Ritz crackers anyway.

Lobster Vinaigrette by Delia Pagán - from "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971)

 

RECIPE

1 lb. lobster tail

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 small onion - chopped

4 hard boiled eggs - diced

1 green cayenne pepper - diced

Boil 2 cups of water and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.  Add lobster.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Remove and cut into chunks.

Mix olive oil, vinegar, salt, onion, pepper and eggs.  Pour over lobster chunks.

Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Puerto Rican infielder José Pagán played 15 seasons in the majors, starting with the San Francisco Giants in 1959, then moving to Pittsburgh in a trade in 1965.

Pagán was the hero of the 1971 World Series against Baltimore.  In the eighth inning of Game 7, he doubled to drive in the game-winning RBI and secure a place in Pirates lore.

After one more season in the Burgh, he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies for one season, and retired in 1973.

There are two approaches you could take to preparing this appetizer. Either get ahold of genuine lobster tails as directed in the recipe, or find some packages of lobster meat already scooped from the tail (it's cheaper and the meat is ready to use). Another substitution I made was to use a shallot instead of a small onion, just because I had shallots in the fridge.

The hot green pepper definitely adds some zip to this dish. If you don't have or don't want to use something that fiery, you can leave it out and splash the prepared dish with a few drops your favourite hot sauce instead. Delia Pagán's recipe definitely calls for something to balance out the mellowness of the lobster and eggs.

José Pagán came through for the Pirates at the end of the World Series, but here he leads off with a hit.

Bookshelf - "A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes" (1971) by the Pittsburgh Pirates

32 pp. paperback

33 recipes from the wives of players, coaches and management

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Pirates' fourth World Series championship. 

Those Pirates have been referred to as the team that changed baseball, because they were the first championship team to be fully integrated. Half of the players on the roster were either African American or Latin American.

In 1971 the club also published A Treasure Chest of Pirate Recipes, the slim volume pictured above. This cookbook has quickly become one of my favourites. Even though it contains fewer than three dozen recipes, they definitely reflect the multicultural makeup of the ballclub.

There are fancy appetizers and desserts, lots of soulful comfort food from popular American and Latin American cuisine, and some scary Jello-based salads too.

Over the course of the next 12 months I'll be preparing a bunch of these recipes and posting the results here. The lineup includes dishes from the kitchens of the Stargell, Ellis, Clemente, Blass, Oliver, Sanguillen and Grant families, and many more. Check out the food that fuelled the Pirates fifty years ago.