Broadway Malady

Murder, She Wrote S1:E11

Aha! A stage comeback episode, how fabulous!

Veteran actress Vivian Blaine plays the highly-strung Rita Bristol.

Her son has raised the finance for a musical comedy that will not only be a comeback for her but will also give her daughter Patti (played by Lorna Luft) a shot at stardom.

It has all the elements of a spectacular family Broadway hit!  

Jessica is visiting her nephew Grady in New York. He's working on the show, and she rubs shoulders with the stars and financial backers at a fancy dinner.

When some jiggery-pokery occurs, J.B. has plenty of suspects, but of course, she will pinpoint the perpetrator with her usual panache.

Jessica enjoys some street food with a witness to a crime in this episode. Card sharp Taki treats her to "genuine ethnic" empanadas with hot sauce and jalapeños.

They are a bit spicy for J.B., though, so she politely asks for some water, saying, "We don't have anything like that in Cabot Cove!"

Taki laughs as he knows a good sport when he sees one! You could rustle up some tasty empanadas for this episode if you don't fancy the goulash I am proposing.

I do wish that I had a Lorna Luft or Vivian Blaine recipe in my collection. But, alas, they are both conspicuous by their absence. Luckily the fabulous Milton Berle pops up in this episode playing an actors' agent.

I love it when he announces, "The Bristol's are a class act!" He meets Jessica in The Showbiz Cafe, as he never goes into his office because he hates his secretary. If I lived close enough to The Showbiz Cafe, I'd be hanging out there too, star spotting like crazy!

Milton Berle's Goulash

2 lbs brisket of beef

1 medium onion, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chilli powder

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 potatoes, diced

1 tablespoon flour

Cut the beef into small pieces. Brown the onion lightly in butter. Add the meat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the seasoning and potatoes and enough boiling water to cover. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Thicken with the flour. Cook for 5 minutes longer then serve at once.

Serves 6

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Next week on Murder, She Cooked, the first of our recipes from the kitchen of Angela Lansbury!

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Cheerio for now, tune in for another episode next week!