Have you ever seen anyone with a fishing rod look more gorgeous than Ava Gardner?
Lest we assume Ava only donned the waders for a set of cheesecake photos, here she is with Gregory Peck “gone fishing”.
Naturally once I’d stumbled upon these pix, I wondered which other film stars might have done a spot of fishing. First glamourpuss I searched for was Sophia Loren…
YES! Here’s a shot that is slightly less glam, with somebody giving their nose a good blow beside her.
Not just a fair weather fisherwoman our Sophia!
I thought Lauren Bacall was probably the type…
and hoped my favourite glamour girl Carole Lombard would have been too…
I have never in my life rolled up my trouser legs and got in a river to try and catch myself a fish but when this pandemic is over, it’s on my to-do list.
So maybe Ava was just posing in her fishing pix, or maybe she really did enjoy casting a line for a fishy or two. Whichever way you look at it, here’s a fish dish she liked to prepare with flounder.
I couldn’t get flounder for love nor money here in the UK, so I had a lovely fillet of Dover sole instead.
In the Ava Gardner Cookbook, published by the Ava Gardner Museum, this recipe also includes tomato sauce in the ingredients list. I assumed this would just be served on the side so I made a sauce with red onions, fresh tomatoes chopped finely and some anchovy paste for an umami boost. I soaked the fish in the eggy milk while I was making the sauce and steaming some veggies and I cooked my Dover sole for about 4 minutes on each side. It was a lovely solo din-dins. Just what I needed.
This dinner marked a special day for me. It was day one of my participation in a new medical trial. I will no doubt tell all at some point, but for now let’s just say for the next three years I have to cut down on my boozing and live a healthier life. Step one was to do something I can’t remember doing for a long, long time. Sitting at the dining table to eat my lovely dinner, rather than just eating it standing up in the kitchen – haha! It’s a whole new me!
This reminds me of a fish restaurant I ate at in Deal in another lifetime ! Gorgeous piece of fish simply cooked . You’d probably have to go a fish market to get flounder and it would take Ava in thigh boots to get me to go fishing. We should have a wider selection of fresh fish available in supermarkets, but I suppose we’ll be lucky to get any at all soon ! I always sit down with my meals, I have to stand to cook them so I’m going to damn well sit down to eat them ! Good luck with the healthy lifestyle I don’t suppose it can do too much damage !!
MARK! You are my new “wellness” guru. I love this comment, “I have to stand to cook them so I’m going to damn well sit down to eat them!” Hahahahah! It is a good mantra. xx
“Wellness Guru” is definitely a new one for me ! But glad to be of help in these frying times . [ see what I did there !?]
I have an air fryer and I LOVE IT. I use it once or twice a week, and fish dipped in panko crumbs, lightly sprayed with oil, comes out just fabulous. I’ve had varying success with pan frying fish, and no deep frying at all, but I do love me some fish.
Ooooh an air fryer. That sounds like something I need to add to my “cupboard of large appliances that I use now and then”, I’m intrigued by the fact you use it once or twice a week. Oh goodness Sally! You just sent me down a google rabbit hole and now I REALLY WANT AN AIR FRYER – haha. Maybe next payday??? xx
An air fryer is a ‘one-trick pony’ and takes up a lot of space, but so many foods come out so delicious. Fish, chicken, many vegetables, potatoes, sausages…just google ‘how to cook ___ in an air fryer’… (tragically, the grilled cheese sandwich didn’t pan out). If you do get one, please let us readers know how it pans out.
Oooh, Sally, you are really tempting me now… Watch this space after my next pay packet! As a Brit, the idea of making my own fish and chips is soooooooo appealing. I will be scouring my movie star recipe spreadsheet with a highlighter in hand to see how many things there are that I can air fry!