Readers Write to Paddleford

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Reader-Spotted Places From 4th St. to Maine," New York Herald Tribune, January 2, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:

Mrs. D. Burstein, Bronxville
Helen Seitz, worked at the New York Herald Tribune
William A. Johns, Upper Montclair, NJ
Mrs. Harold Rapp, Whitestone--won the Mrs. New York City Eats Out title
Mrs. A. P. Boleman, Virginia Ave., NYC
Mrs. Robert Noir
Sally Winfrey, Englewood, NJ
Norman Wilner
Ruth Steu, State College, PA
Ron Valline
Don Strong


Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Squeri's Is Family-Run, Prices Are Moderate," New York Herald Tribune, January 9, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:

Enrico Squeri
John Squeri
Mrs. H. Stuart McEcken, Brooklyn
Michael Wayne, Old Homestead Restaurant

Tomaldo's

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Tomaldo's Soon to Start 15th Year on Third Av.," New York Herald Tribune, February 6, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:

Thomas Luciani
Frank Agarini, chef
Guido Labati
Bruno Signorini, bartender
Richard Rattazzi

Jellies Are Mealtime Magicians

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Jellies Are Mealtime Magicians," New York Herald Tribune, February 4, 1960

"Jewels in crystal jars shine on supermarket shelves.  Here is the ruby glow of currants' bright juice turned into a clear, translucent jelly.  Note the amber of peach in a rich preserve, the coral pink of apple, the sapphire blue of the grape.  There are as many jelly jam gems as there are fruits, and in every glass a promise of mealtime magic.

"Bring jelly, jam or preserves to the table for a sparkle of color, for flavor contrast, to provide added energy.  Captured sunbeams in every jar reminding one of the drone of bees and lazy summer hours.  Buy sunshine to brighten appetite when the winter skies are gray and the meal looks dreary."

Names in Paddleford's Articles

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Ex-Waitress a Partner And Le Gourmet Thrives," New York Herald Tribune, January 23, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:

Annie Hankala
Adrian Cezanne
Mathew Jam
Hank Hankala


Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Authentic Indian Food Is the Karachi's Pride," New York Herald Tribune, January 16, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:
Ahamad Meah



Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Little Herring Big Business," New York Herald Tribune, January 27, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:
George Heller
Victor Heller


Source: Clementine Paddleford, "The New Weston Turns Tea Time Into an Event," New York Herald Tribune, January 30, 1960

Names mentioned in this article:
Olga Goodman, W. 96th Street, NYC
Ann Stratford, Pompton, NJ
Arthur T. Knowles, NYC

Scottish Cream Scones & Oat Cake

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Dishing Up a Bit o' Scotland," New York Herald Tribune, January 21, 1960

Scottish Cream Scones

2 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 eggs. beaten
1/2 cup light cream, about

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.  Cut in 5 tablespoons of the butter.  Combine eggs and cream; stir into dry ingredients until mixed.  Shape in to a round; divide in half.  Roll each half into a round 6 1/2 inches in diameter.  Cut in quarters.  Place on greased baking sheets.  Melt remaining butter; brush tops of scones.  Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Yield: 8 large scones.


Scotch Oat Cake

1 cup sifted flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup milk, about

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.  Mix in rolled oats.  Cut in butter thoroughly.  Add milk gradually, stirring until a dough is formed.  Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut into 4 inch rounds; cut into 4 triangular shaped pieces.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Yield: about 2 dozen cakes.

Bacon

Source: Clementine Paddleford, "Flatter the Plate with Bacon," New York Herald Tribune, January 14, 1960

"Among the famous duos of history, Adam and Eve, Paris and Helen, Anthony and Cleopatra, Tristan and Isolde is bacon and eggs meeting daily in sunny harmony at the breakfast table."


Bacon Chowder

8 strips bacon
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 can (1 pound) cream-style corn
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Pan fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon onto paper towels to absorb the grease.  Pour most of the bacon grease out of the pan and dispose of properly.  Cook onion in remaining drippings.  Stir in corn, milk, and seasonings.  Simmer 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve chowder topped with crisp bacon pieces.  Yield 4 servings.

Carol For Clementine Or, A Paean To Paddleford

Clementine Paddleford often inspired people to write poems about her.  Here is a poem written by Tom Weatherly.

Oh, Clementine, Oh, Clementine,
You're gastronomically divine;
Each morning on the dot of eight,
I place your column by my plate.

And, as I munch my Shredded Wheat,
I read your tips on things to eat.
Fie, what a mundane thing to say,
I mean I'm carried quite away.

I love your lurid, limpid prose,
Writ to the way a parsnip grows;
But, better still I like the zing
You give to every chewy thing.

On bread and cheese and cakes and ale
You always make a gaudy sale;
So here's to you, sweet Clementine,
The girl with whom I yearn to dine.

R. W. "Johnny" Apple, Jr.

When I read the article "Legacy of a 'Dionysian' figure: Legendary reporter's widow to auction his valuable collection of vino," I thought back to the time I met Johnny Apple.  I met him in person once-in October 2005, and visited with him via e-mail several times before his death in 2006.

Besty Wade, a mutual friend of Apple's and mine, arranged for Johnny to visit Kansas State University to do research on Clementine Paddleford.

"How will I recognize him," I asked Betsy.

"Oh, you will know," she said.  "He will come into town like a L. Frank Baum tornado."

The day he arrived, Johnny was late.  I waited and waited.

Finally, a telephone call, "I'll be there in a few minutes," he touted.  "I just passed the airport."

Why was he passing the airport?  One does not pass the Manhattan, Kansas airport driving from Kansas City.  Not unless, that is, you happened to miss the first interstate exit and had to take the second one.

I met Johnny in the parking lot and showed him where to park.  He had a reserved parking space for the day.

While walking into the building via the staff entrance, I asked, "Why did you take the second exit and not the first from the interstate?"

"I know now why Clem loved this area.  I was so captivated by the scenery of the gentle rolling Flint Hills that I bypassed the exit.  The GPS in the vehicle told me I could take the next one, so I enjoyed the view."

I kept wondering when the 'tornado' portion was going to show.  Another question for Johnny, "Why haven't you tried?"

"I don't play golf," he said. "And besides, where else could I work that would let me go where I wanted to go, do what I wanted to do, write about what I want to, and get paid for it."

Exactly like Clementine Paddleford.  Johnny was doing in the last years of his life what Clementine did for 30 years of hers.  Clem worked for the New York Herald Tribune (1936-1966) and This Week Magazine (1936-1967).  Her work with This Week allowed her to call the shots.  She could go where she wanted to, write about what she wanted, submit the expenses and get paid.

Clementine Paddleford and R. W. "Johnny" Apple, Jr. were two peas in a pod during different eras.

Johnny sat for a few hours browsing through Clem's papers then decided enough was enough and it was lunch time.  We went to what was then The Gold Fork restaurant and the lunch crowd had already disappeared.
Being interviewed by Johnny Apple was not as scary as I thought it would be.  Instead, it was fun.

Yet, that 'tornado' never reared its head and I knew then that Johnny Apple was ill.  How ill, I would not know for another couple of months.

Ironically, Johnny was ill with throat cancer.  Clementine had surgery for throat cancer in 1931 and lived for additional 36 years.  Johnny found out he had throat cancer and died the next year.

These two people, Clementine Paddleford and Johnny Apple, were bigger than life.  They blazed trails in journalism that only few can ever hope to follow.

I have no 1945 Chateau Lafite or a rare Bordeaux to lift in your honor Johnny.  Yet, I believe I know you and Clem well enough to know that you are sitting at some table, comparing tales of travel...."Did you get to see the Queen," Johnny might ask Clem.  "No, did you?" Clem would reply.  "Oh yes," Johnny would smile, "she asked me to instruct her butler on how to make the proper martini."

To Clem and Johnny, may you both rest in peace.

Co-Author Cynthia Harris

Hop aboard the Hometown Appetites Express with Cynthia Harris as the guide to the adventures of "Clementine Paddleford, pioneer food writer who chronicled how America ate."  We'll travel back to the homefront during WWII; see what's cooking for Churchill as he gives his Iron Curtain speech; then skip across the water to see the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in France before heading to Buckingham Palace for the Coronation of the Queen.  Afterward we venture back to the States to peek through kitchen doors of restaurants, ordinary people, and other doors in between.  The free Express, sponsored by the Friends of the K-State Libraries and the Manhattan, Kansas Public Library, leaves the Manhattan, Kansas Public Library Auditorium on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 2 p.m.  The armchair travelers will return from the adventure to partake in a reception of food and drink.  So don your aprons, grab pencil and pad, and come learn about a woman was was 20th Century rad!