Vincent Price’s Bounty of Paradise Party

When Vincent Price expert Peter Fuller comes round for lunch, it has GOT to be a menu from the Master of Menace himself.  We had a brilliant afternoon sampling delights from Vincent’s International Cooking Course LP…

Bounty of Paradise – Polynesian food!  We got into the Polynesian mood…

First up was Steak Teriyaki with Peanut Sauce – very tasty indeed, although I think I overcooked it a bit…

Followed by Pineapple Glazed Double Pork Chops with Shrimp Fried Rice:

which was delicious.  The massivo pork chops were purchased from my lovely local butcher – Midhurst Butchers in Muswell Hill:

For pudding, the classic Pineapple Nut Bread from A Treasury of Great Recipes – recipe for which is here:

It was SUCH a fun afternoon.  The prosecco and wine flowed freely, plus a few beers too.  We scared Olivier with a Vincent Price mug:

It was such a wonderful day.  I have so much to thank Vincent Price for, not least for bringing Peter and Olivier into my life!  We had SO MUCH FUN on the Vincent Price London Legacy Tour last year and I’m excited to announce that Peter has given me a Vincent Price cooking page to host on his new website.  Details coming soon…

Until then, here are the recipes from the International Cooking Course LP, do get hold of it if you can, it’s brilliant.  There are lots of steps to this but you make the sweet and sour sauce the day before your dinner party so that you can marinade the steak overnight.  You could also make the peanut sauce the day before so that you are ahead of the game.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Bring to a boil the half cup of pineapple juice.  Stir in the brown sugar, ketchup and soy sauce.  Simmer.  Stir in cornstarch mixed with 1 or 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice.  Boil and stir well.

Steak Teriyaki

1-2 lbs round steak, cut in 1/4 inch slices*

1/4 cup sweet and sour sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sherry or bourbon whiskey

2 tablespoons honey

bamboo skewers

Thread steak slices onto skewers.  Place carefully into plastic bag.  Combine other ingredients and pour over steak.  Force out air in bag and seal.  Marinate in refrigerator overnight. Broil 5 minutes.

Peanut Sauce

1 onion

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1 dash tabasco

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Saute onion in butter until golden brown.  Stir in peanut butter.  When melted, add the tabasco, salt and pepper.  Stir well.

Pineapple Glazed Double Pork Chops

6-8 pork chops, 1 and 1/2 inches thick

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 large pinch ground cloves

4 bananas, peeled and cut in half

Lemon juice

Brown chops in a skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Then place in a shallow baking dish.  Mix brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, dry mustard and the pinch of cloves, stir well, spoon 3 tablespoons over each chop.  Cover loosely with foil and bake at 325 degrees F, (160 degrees C, gas mark 3) for 1 and 1/2 hours, basting occasionally.  About 45 minutes before chops are done, add bananas, dipped in lemon juice, and baste with the glaze.

Shrimp Fried Rice

1 and 1/2 cups rice, uncooked

3/4 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 pound tiny bay shrimp [I used brown shrimp, the little tiny ones]

6 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 eggs

2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

The day before, cook enough rice for 4 cups and refrigerate.  Remove rice from refrigerator and let it reach room temperature.  Add onions to shrimp.  Heat oil in large skillet.  Add rice and brown, then add the onions, shrimp, salt and pepper.  With a spoon make a hole in the centre of the rice and pour in the beaten eggs.  Stir throughout the rice until the eggs begin to set.  Then blend in the soy sauce, parsley and pineapple.  Keep warm until serving time.

* In A Treasury of Great Recipes, Vincent specifies sirloin tip for a similar version of this recipe.  I used rump steak, next time I’ll use sirloin.

You’ll have quite a lot of sweet and sour sauce left over, I’ve popped mine in the freezer for another day…

I forgot about the bananas!