His Girl Friday

His Girl Friday– the film that crushed the 90 word per minute standard for humans with a whopping 240 word per minute average. Per Director Howard Hawks: “we wrote the dialog in a way that made the beginnings and ends of sentences unnecessary; they were there for overlapping.” And I can’t imagine anyone managing the ensuing (and insanely complex) repartee better than Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant.

Based on the play “The Front Page” by Chicago (not New York!) newspaper journalists Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, screwball comedy His Girl Friday follows the not-so-loving love story of newspaper editor Walter Burns (Grant) and his ex-wife reporter Hildy Johnson (Russell) as she tries desperately to say farewell to the newspaper game and to Walter– she’s off to become a “real woman” and wife to Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), insurance salesman from Albany. Of course, clever, manipulative, and oh so charming Walter doesn’t want Hildy to go. And what better way to lure her back into the biz than with a salacious story about the state-sanctioned execution of a mentally fragile murderer advanced by corrupt politicians?

Poor, decent Bruce and his sloooooooow talking. Never stood a chance.

Note, the movie has some big problems– set in 1928 (the Dark Ages of journalism) and released in 1940, His Girl Friday features the kind of blatant racism and sexism that makes movies of this era difficult to watch nowadays. But I do still think the film is well worth a screening or twenty. Rosalind Russell has long been a hero of mine, and despite not being Hawks’s first choice to play doll-faced badass Hildy (imagine!), watching her own the room and all the men in it brings me loads of joy. Also I could watch Cary Grant and his dimple saying “Get back in there, you Mock Turtle!” over and over and giggle for days.

So here is a menu for His Girl Friday that certainly (if not tonally) fits the phrase “production for use”– a very utilitarian and pretty portable newspaper (wo)man’s lunch that you can enjoy almost anytime, anyplace, anywhere!

Ok, maybe the cocktail isn’t so portable but you can always down those while putting on your coat, Prohibition style.

PS film nerds: as you watch His Girl Friday, keep an ear open for Cary Grant’s improv’d references to himself IRL (aka Archie Leach) and Ralph Bellamy. Good/hilarious moments both.

The Movie

The Menu

The Last Word

Yield: 2 Cocktails

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

A Prohibition-era cocktail that was just too perfect in name for His Girl Friday to pass up. At first glance I worried that the drink would be too saccharine for my tastebuds, but turns out The Last Word is more sour than sweet, and very complex-- again, apropo.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 ounce gin
• 2 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 2 ounce maraschino liqueur (this is NOT maraschino cherry juice-- you want the LIQUEUR)
• 2 ounce green Chartreuse

Instructions

Add the gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice into a shaker with ice and shake until very chilled.

Strain into coupe glasses and try your damndest to finish before your partner.

Roast Beef Sandwich, Rare, on White Bread

Yield: 2 sandwiches

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 2 hours 3 seconds

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 16 hours 3 seconds

And bring some mustard too, Gus! Because as any real newspaper (wo)man knows, it's the mustard that makes a roast beef sammie.

This is a very legit roast beef recipe btw. I daresay the Lord of the Universe would approve.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp minced rosemary
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless eye of round beef roast
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• White Boule, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (see note)
• 3/4 cup sliced onion
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 thin slices white cheddar
• Gulden's brown mustard

Instructions

Begin by prepping your roast beef. Remove from packaging and pat the meat dry with paper towels. Place into a medium baking dish and rub with olive oil, followed by the remaining spices (salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic powder, and onion powder).

Refrigerate overnight.

On the day of roasting, remove the meat from the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature (about 1 hour). Preheat the oven to 200°F and roast meat for about 2 hours until internal temperature reaches 130°F.

Tent roast and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before refrigerating or carving (if serving cold, make sure to trim the fat cap entirely first). Note, you will have more roast beef than is necessary for the sandwiches-- but it can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.

Now for your sandwich fixin's! Course, you can go old school and just have bread, beef, and mustard, but I do love some nice caramelized onions and cheddar.

Spread warm bread on both sides with mustard, and layer first the cheese, caramelized onions, and meat.

And if you're a newspaper man on the go, wrap in parchment paper before you cut.

Notes

You can certainly buy your own bread, but I have a killer bread recipe here! Just leave out the rosemary and you end up with a wonderfuly crusty white boule.

Hard Boiled Salad

Yield: 2 Servings

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A fancied up egg and potato salad worthy of all the hard boiled and cynical characters in His Girl Friday-- note, it's served atop lettuce leaves circa the 1920/30's when people use to fake eating their vegetables by putting better tasting stuff on top of them.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups baby salad potatoes
• 2 medium eggs
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp full-fat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp pickle relish
• 1 celery stick, diced
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced, white and greens separated
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
• Ground pepper
• Lettuce leaves for serving

Instructions

Begin with your hard boiling. Your eggs should take about 8.5 minutes; for the potatoes, add to a medium pot of salted water and set to boil. They should be tender after about 20 minutes. For larger potatoes, feel free to cut in half for consistent sizing.

Now for your salad-- mix ingredients 2-10 for the sauce, and add scallion whites, celery, and potatoes. Toss to coat. Peel and slice eggs into wedges, and add last. Don't stir much, as you want to keep the whites and yolks of the eggs together.

Garnish with chives, scallion greens and freshly ground pepper, and serve atop lettuce leaves ala the old days when people used to fake eat their vegetables (jello salad anyone?).

Coffee and Rum. Covered in Chocolate.

Yield: 1/2 cup

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

The last component of a lunch at Gus's-- coffee and rum (perfect for the nastiest of days) covered in chocolate. 'Cause why not add sugar to caffeine? You'll be talking 3x faster after less than a handful.

Much preferable to a wedding cake in Niagara Falls, if you ask me.

Print

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coffee beans
• 1/2 cup white rum
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

Instructions

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler along with a tsp of rum. When you get a satiny consistency, add your beans and stir to fully coat.

Place back on your parchment lined sheet, equally spaced, and refrigerate until cooled completely. IF YOU HAVE TIME, repeat this process after freezing your beans for a double chocolate coating.

Epilogue

Looking for more in the screwball comedy genre? They might not all as impressive as His Girl Friday with the fasttalkingschtick, but this list of films published by the British Film Institute is a wonderful place to start. And then add Arsenic and Old Lace. <3 Cary Grant. Even when he’s being a stinker.

For more menus, check out my movie directory here!