For years, one of her guilty pleasures has been the salacious stories of famed British author Jackie Collins, who has written almost thirty novels in the last 45 years. Never ashamed to flaunt her vices, Brandy happily boasts of her love for one of Collin's most prominent heroines, Lucky Santangelo. Featured in eight of Collin's novels, Lucky Santangelo is the definition of the modern, independent woman with her powerful presence, fierce sensibilities, and sassy attitude (it should be obvious by now why such a character would be appealing to Brandy). This is why Brandy was more than thrilled to learn that Jackie Collins was releasing a cookbook based on Lucky, aptly named The Lucky Santangelo Cookbook, which puts both Jackie's love of entertaining and Lucky's Italian-American heritage to use in a collection of cocktail, appetizer, entree, and dessert recipes perfect for everyone from the beginner cook to the well seasoned party planner.
Pulling some strings, Brandy managed to get in contact with Jackie Collins herself to have a little chat about this exciting new venture. "I was sitting at my desk one day and I thought, 'I want to do something a little different than just write another book.' It came to me that [a cookbook] could be something I could give back to the fans," Jackie said of her inspiration for creating the cookbook, "It's a different kind of cookbook. So now, instead of getting a hardback book, which turns into a paperback book that goes back on your shelf, you can have something that goes in your kitchen and have fun with it."Stylistically, the book certainly is not your average culinary instructional tome. The book opens with pictures of Jackie and some of her celebrity friends (Michael Caine, Rod Stewart, and Hugh Jackman to name a few, and of course, Jackie's sister, actress Joan Collins), and then showcases not only beautiful photos of the food and easy to follow recipes, but also vibrant illustrations of Lucky herself. "I had so much fun styling the illustrations of Lucky. I would be on the phone to the illustrator [Michelle Beilner] and say to her, 'Ok, I want her to wear this dress and I want her to have these earrings, and black nail polish," said Jackie. There are also freshly written sidebar pieces throughout, which give a glimpse into Lucky's world of indulgence and intrigue.
Brandy couldn't help but ask Jackie about her favorite kinds of brunch indulgences. Noticing a recipe for a killer Bloody Mary in the book, Brandy asked Jackie if she prefers Bloody Marys or Mimosas with brunch. "I love mimosas. I absolutely love mimosas. I even love peach mimosas," Jackie said, proving herself to truly be a woman after Brandy's own heart, "I love sangria for brunch too. I love a cool sangria filled with cucumber and cut up fruit. I love using 7-Up in sangria because it really goes well with the red wine. Tons of ice, tons of fruit, tons or cucumber and you've got yourself a fabulous afternoon. As I say, decadent and delicious." But the real question remained: what would Lucky have for brunch from the recipes in the book? "I think Lucky would like the Smoked Salmon Pizza with the Jackie Collins [cocktail] with lots of ice, of course, or maybe the Venus Bellini, which is also a fabulous drink. And then she would probably have the Cointreau and Peaches, which would be very decadent at lunchtime."
That was enough to get Brandy's stomach rumbling, so she did indeed rush off to start whipping up some of Jackie's decadent delights. The Lucky Santangelo Cookbook is available now in stores and online in both the traditional hardback and e-reader editions, but luckily for our readers, Jackie herself has let us give you all a sneak peak at two of Brandy's favorite recipes from the book!
The writers of this blog were provided with a copy of The Lucky Santangelo Cookbook for the purposed of writing this review.
The Venus Bellini Yield: about 6 Bellinis- ½ cup filtered water
- 1 cup superfine sugar
- 8 ounces frozen sliced peaches, thawed
- 1 teaspoon grated tangerine peel
- 8 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed
- 8 ounces frozen passion fruit purée, thawed
- 3 to 4 bottles good-quality champagne, or prosecco, chilled
- Fresh strawberries, for garnish
- Orange and lemon peel twists, for garnish
sugar has dissolved, 4 to 5 minutes. Set the sugar syrup aside to let cool.
In the jar of a blender, purée the peaches, tangerine peel, and ¼ cup of the sugar syrup until very
smooth. Strain into a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Clean the blender jar, add the strawberries and ¼ cup of the sugar syrup and purée until smooth.
Strain into another bowl through a fine-mesh strainer or a strainer lined with cheesecloth, and
discard the strawberry seeds. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Clean the blender jar again, add the passion fruit purée and purée with the remaining sugar syrup
until smooth. Pour into a small pitcher, and transfer the chilled strawberry and peach mixtures
into two other small pitchers.
For each Bellini, have your guests choose their preferred fruit mixture and pour about 3
tablespoons of the chosen mixture into a tall champagne flute. Slowly pour enough champagne
or prosecco into the flute until it’s filled. Garnish with the strawberries and orange and lemon
twists and serve at once.
Penne alla Vodka Martini with Tomato, Sausage, Bacon, and Cream Yield: 4 large servings, but great for 2, because the leftovers are particularly succulent
- ¼ pound slab bacon, cut into ¼-inch pieces or pancetta or ¼ pound pancetta, cut into ¼-inch
- pieces
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more if desired
- One 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano plum tomatoes
- About 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, the best you can get; fennel-free, if possible
- ¾ cup vodka
- ½ cup French dry vermouth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound good-quality dried penne rigate
- Plenty of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, some freshly grated and some shaved with a vegetable
- peeler, for garnish
- Oregano, chopped fresh or dried
rendered. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat (or as you wish), add the onion and red pepper
flakes, and cook just until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat, and
simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts of water to the boil in a large pot. Prick the sausages with a pin every
inch or so and toss them into the water. Bring them to a simmer and let them bubble away for 10
minutes. Drain the sausages and cool them in a colander.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne, which will probably need no
more than 10 to 12 minutes to cook, so don’t add it to the boiling water until the final phase.
Add the vodka, vermouth, and tomato paste to the tomato mixture. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Cut the cooled sausages into bite-size pieces and toss them into the sauce. Just when you’re
ready to add the penne to the boiling water, increase the heat under the sauce to high, add the
cream, and, using a splatter screen as needed, and stirring often, boil the sauce vigorously for
10 minutes, about the amount of time the pasta needs to cook. The sauce will, of course, thicken
considerably.
You can blend the cooked penne with the sauce, stirring in the grated cheese, oregano, and red
pepper flakes, if using. Serve garnished with the shaved curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
OR
Preheat the broiler. Drain the pasta and, without rinsing, transfer it to a 2½-quart (or larger)
gratin dish. Add the sauce and stir in grated cheese to taste, the oregano, and the red pepper
flakes, if using. Place the dish under the broiler and cook just until the penne poking out of the
top of the gratin begin to singe and crisp and the sauce sizzles, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve topped with
the shaved curls of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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