Recipe: Brown Derby Hollywood Grapefruit Cake and Brown Derby Cobb Salad with French Dressing for John

The original Hollywood Brown Derby had its heyday in the forties, the height of Tinseltown glamour. "You'd have Clark Gable in one corner, Lucille Ball in another," says Williams.

"The people might have come to gawk, but the stars came because the food was good." The two signature dishes from that era, Cobb salad (named after the restaurant's owner, Robert Cobb) and grapefruit cake, are still big sellers.

Here are the recipes:

HOLLYWOOD GRAPEFRUIT CAKE

1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs (separated)
3 tbsp. grapefruit juice
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add water, oil, egg yolks, grapefruit juice and lemon rind. Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar separately until whites are stiff but not dry. Gradually fold the whites into the cake batter, folding gently with a rubber spatula until just blended. Do not stir the mixture. Pour into an ungreased 10-inch cake pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake springs back in the center when touched lightly. Place the pan on cake rack until cool. Run spatula around edge of cake. Carefully remove from pan. With a serrated knife, gently cut into two layers. After cutting the cake in two, slide a flat cookie sheet between the layers to lift the top one off; after frosting the bottom layer, simply slide the top back on.

GRAPEFRUIT CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING

2 6-oz. pkgs. cream cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
3/4 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
6 to 8 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
1 1-lb. can grapefruit sections, well-drained, reserving 2 tbsp. of juice; or 3 fresh grapefruits, peeled, sectioned, and drained, reserving 2 tbsp. of fresh juice.

Let cream cheese soften at room temperature, then beat until fluffy. Add lemon juice and rind. Gradually blend in sugar and beat until well-blended. Add food coloring, if desired. Add reserved 2 tablespoons of grapefruit juice and blend. Divide the frosting evenly into two bowls. Roughly chop 2/3 of the grapefruit sections and add them to half the frosting. Spread this mixture on the bottom layer of the cake. Top with the second layer of cake, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Garnish each portion with a grapefruit slice. Serves six.

Originally published in Disney Magazine.

COBB SALAD WITH FRENCH DRESSING

1/2 head iceberg lettuce
1/2 bunch watercress
1 small bunch chicory
1/2 head romaine lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, blanched
and peeled
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey breast, diced
1 avocado
3 eggs, hard-cooked
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
6 strips crisp bacon, crumbled
2 tbsp. chopped chives
Chop all greens very fine (reserve some watercress for presentation) and arrange in salad bowl. Cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds and dice une. Also dice the turkey, avocado and eggs. Arrange the above ingredients, as well as the blue cheese and bacon crumbles, in straight lines across the greens. Arrange the chives diagonally across the above lines. Present the salad at the table, then toss with the dressing (below) and place on chilled plates with a watercress garnish. Serves six.

BROWN DERBY OLD-FASHIONED FRENCH DRESSING

1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 tbsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tbsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. English mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups salad oil

Blend together all ingredients, except oils, then add olive and salad oils and mix well. Blend well again before mixing with salad.

Originally published in Disney Magazine.