General

Good Mousekeeping — Part II

Jim Korkis presents the second installment in this entertaining multi-part tale of “Good Housekeeping”‘s Disney Pages.

Published

20 years ago

June 10, 2003

In 1937, Whitman released a linen book which reprinted a dozen of the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING pages from 1934-1935. They were printed the same size as the magazine pages even though the overall size of the book itself is larger. The series of Disney linen books featuring Disney characters were thicker and printed on a more durable paper stock than similar books of the period. They were primarily designed for youngsters between the ages of two and six years old.

From December 3 to December 23, 1987 in conjunction with a special exhibition held at the Alexander Gallery of New York, a beautiful full color hardcover catalog of the exhibition was printed with sixty installments (and one half page of the September 1943 installment). Eva Peltz wrote a short, informative introduction. The pre-1942 installments were reprinted with no text except for the title and lettering on signs, mailboxes, and newspapers which suggests that the early episodes obviously must have had a transparent overlay with text that was placed on top of the watercolored artwork before printing. The post-1942 installments have the text (sometimes in the form of dialog balloons) incorporated directly into the artwork.

Disney announced it would publish a complete collection of all the pages in a large art book titled WALT DISNEY’S GOOD HOUSEKEEPING PAGES 1934-1944 which was to be released August 1995 at a price of $75.00. It was even assigned an ISBN number (1557094063) but the project was officially cancelled in 1997.

While the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING pages originally showcased versions of the upcoming Disney short cartoons, a shift in focus to Disney’s World War II contributions became apparent with the August 1942 installment which promoted the concept of buying saving stamps to help the war effort. Another significant change was converting the pages to merely two colors rather than full color.

A shift in style became more pronounced with the six “Good Neighbor” pages which ran from December 1942-May 1943. The installments were to help support the compilation feature, SALUDOS AMIGOS, which was designed to promote the U.S.’s “good neighbor” policy with the South American countries and was released at the same time. The pages were now no longer designed as full color images supporting a rhyming text much like a children’s book. Instead, they were designed like a comic book page with panels and dialog balloons. While these installments featured characters from SALUDOS AMIGOS, they were original stories that did not appear in the actual animated cartoon. An interesting sidenote is that the February 1943 page features Mickey, Pluto and an armadillo. Originally, the short cartoon PLUTO AND THE ARMADILLO was to be a segment of SALUDOS AMIGOS but ended up being released separately.

Another significant shift in the feature occurred in the October 1943 page when it became “New Tales From Old Mother Goose As Told by Walt Disney”. The pages remained in only two colors but were now divided into four equal sized panels with text at the bottom of each panel which was a revised version of a Mother Goose nursery rhyme. For instance, when Donald Duck as the Knave of Hearts ate all of the Queen’s tarts, he is sentenced to make some more. When Minnie as Miss Muffet is rescued from a big spider by brave Pluto, she rewards the pup with the remainder of her bowl of peaches and cream (rather than cruds and whey) that she had been eating.

While at this time, the name of “Walt Disney” was prominently displayed on everything from comic strips to coloring books to the animated cartoons themselves, it was a team of talented Disney Studio artists who toiled on these creations and more. In the case of the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING pages, it was the work of artist Tom Wood and then later his successor, Hank Porter, that produced these monthly mini-masterpieces.

Tom Wood was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania sometime around the 1870s and passed away October 4, 1940. He worked as a staff artist at Universal Pictures from 1915-1917 and then as a staff artist at the Los Angeles Herald newspaper from 1919-1932.

In 1932, he joined the Disney Studio in the Comic Strip/Publicity Art Department where among other responsibilities he lettered the Mickey Mouse comic strip during 1932-1933. On August 5, 1933, he was promoted to the head of the Disney Publicity Department which was a position he maintained until he left the Studio June 24, 1940, approximately three months before his death.

He is credited with supplying artwork for hardbacks, magazine covers, one sheets, movie posters, puzzles as well as covers and text illustrations for Mickey Mouse Magazine (1937-1940).

In her introduction from the Alexander Gallery catalog, Eva Peltz describes Wood as “a quiet, hardworking individualist. He was well liked and highly regarded by those who knew him both personally and professionally. He worked at the Studio until his untimely death in 1940 and, as publicity artist, assumed primary responsibility for the monthly Good Housekeeping page as well as the creation of publicity stills for the theater. Wood typically worked on each of these pages for a full week. Beginning with sketchy, penciled drawings which he would then ink himself, he also created the final watercolors which represented a seven minute Disney film short. Assisted by an ‘idea man’ and a third person who wrote the story or dialogue, the publicity artist had the final approval on the finished version.”

Hank Porter was born around the turn of the century and passed away in 1951. He joined the Disney Studio in 1935 and worked there until October 2, 1950. Standing an impressive six foot, six inches tall, the bespectacled Porter took over the monthly installments but his GOOD HOUSEKEEPING pages were but a small footnote in his work for the Disney Studio.

Like his predecessor, he was assigned to the Disney Publicity Art Department where he provided artwork for movie posters, advertisements, magazine covers, text and cover illustrations for Mickey Mouse Magazine and later the early issues of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories.

He also drew the syndicated Sunday installments of the Disney comic strips that adapted SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937-1938) and PINOCCHIO (1939-1940). In fact, it has been remarked that his style on the SNOW WHITE strip captured the spirit of the original Gustaf Tengreen illustrations surprisingly well.

Beginning with the U.S. Declaration of War in December 1941, the Disney Studio was flooded with requests for insignias for military units by every branch of the service.

In early 1942, Walt Disney summoned Hank Porter to his office and according to an article in FLYING AND POPULAR AVIATION (April 1942) said: “Mister, you have yourself a job. Just settle down to it. Make as many insignia as you can. If you get overloaded with work, let me know.”

Porter assembled a staff of talented artists including Van Kaufman, Ed Parks and George Goepper to design and create insignia for the military. However, Hank was the most prolific and his experience from the Disney Character Merchandise Department helped keep the characters on model.

In a special employee newsletter, DISPATCH FROM DISNEY’S (1943), Walt referred to Porter as a “one man art department”.

Disney animator Bill Justice who worked on the DONALD DUCK and CHIP’N’DALE animated series and later became an Imagineer remembered that “Hank Porter did hundreds of beautiful insignias in full color. Hank took great pride and care in his work.”

Roy Williams and Hank Porter are credited with creating the insignia for General Chennault’s famous “Flying Tigers” squadron. Chennault even sent Porter a gold clasp of the insignia in appreciation of the design.

Porter often had to draw upon his own imagination to create new characters in the Disney style like fighting fish for submarines, which at that time were christened after the names of fish.

While Walt Disney continued signing autographs until his death, the requests for special signed artwork, books and gifts for VIPs, charity auctions, special anniversaries and similar requests became so overwhelming that a group of artists including Hank Porter, Floyd Gottfredson and Bob Moore were authorized to sign the famous “Walt Disney” signature on these items when Walt was too busy, out of town or otherwise occupied. So, some of those cherished family treasures of a Walt Disney autographed cel or storybook is actually an example of the craftsmanship of Hank Porter.

However, while the names of the primary artists on the series have been discovered, uncovering the names of the writers is a mystery that may be lost to the ages.

Dave Smith, Director of the Disney Archives since its creation in 1970, remarked in a personal letter that the Archives has never known who wrote the Good Housekeeping pages, but it was evidently many different people.

Roy O. Disney wrote even as early as 1935 that: “We have one very capable man who has been steadily preparing the art work for the pages, but with respect to the verses, I haven’t been quite so fortunate. Instead I have had to rely on getting it done here and there around the studio, and sometimes I feel that not enough thought has been devoted to the verse to work it out as well as it should be. I always felt that it was more important to have the verse read with good feeling and understanding for the younger child, than to have it, necessarily, very correct in meter and rhythm.”

So over half a century later, like so many other Disney projects, mystery still shrouds this memorable and beautiful example of Disney’s classic Golden Era which still delights collectors today. In fact, the original art for “On Ice,” the Disney Feature for Good Housekeeping Magazine (Nov., 1935) sold for $40,747 at the 2003 MastroNet Americana auction.

General

Jens Dahlmann of LongHorn Steakhouse has lots of great tips when it comes to grilling

Published

6 years ago

July 4, 2017

Jim Hill

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Sure, for some folks, the Fourth of July is all about fireworks. But for the 75% of all Americans who own a grill or a smoker, the Fourth is our Nation’s No. 1 holiday when it comes to grilling. Which is why 3 out of 4 of those folks will spend some time outside today working over a fire.

But here’s the thing: Though 14 million Americans can cook a steak with confidence because they actually grill something every week, the rest of us – because we use our grill or smoker so infrequently … Well, let’s just say that we have no chops when it comes to dealing with chops (pork, veal or otherwise).

So what’s a backyard chef supposed to in a situation like this when there’s so much at steak … er … stake? Turn to someone who really knows their way around a grill for advice. People like Jens Dahlmann, the Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef for Darden Restaurant’s LongHorn Steakhouse brand.

Given that Jens’ father & grandfather were chefs, this is a guy who literally grew up in a kitchen. In his teens & twenties, Dahlmann worked in hotels & restaurants all over Switzerland & Germany. Once he was classically trained in the culinary arts, Jens then jumped ship. Well, started working on cruise ships, I mean.

Anyway … While working on Cunard’s Sea Goddess, Dahlmann met Sirio Maccioni, the founder of Le Cirque 2000. Sirio was so impressed with Jens’ skills in the kitchen that he offered him the opportunity to become sous-chef at this New York landmark. After four years of working in Manhattan, Dahlmann then headed south to become executive chef at Palm Beach’s prestigious Café L’Europe.

Jens Dahlmann back during his Disney World days

And once Jens began wowing foodies in Florida, it wasn’t all that long ’til the Mouse came a-calling. Mickey wanted Dahlmann to shake things up in the kitchen over at WDW’s Flying Fish Café. And he did such a good job with that Disney’s Boardwalk eatery the next thing Jens knew, he was then being asked to work his magic with the menu at the Contemporary Resort’s California Grill.

From there, Dahlmann had a relatively meteoric rise at the Mouse House. Once he became Epcot’s Food & Beverage general manager, it was only a matter of time before he wound up as the executive chef in charge of this theme park’s annual International Food & Wine Festival. Which – under Jens’ guidance – experienced some truly explosive growth.

“When I took on Food & Wine, that festival was only 35 days long and had gross revenues of just $5.5 million. When I left Disney in 2016, Food & Wine was now over 50 days long and that festival had gross revenues of $22 million,” Dahlmann admitted during a recent sit-down. “I honestly loved those 13 years I spent at Disney. When I was working there, I learned so much because I was really cooking for America.”

And it was exactly that sort of experience & expertise that Darden wanted to tap into when they lured Jens away from Mickey last year to become LongHorn Steakhouse’s new Vice President and Corporate Executive Chef. But today … Well, Dahlmann is offering tips to those of us who are thinking about cooking steak tips for the Fourth.

Photo by Jim Hill

“When you’re planning on grilling this holiday, if you’re looking for a successful result, the obvious place to start is with the quality of the meat you plan on cooking for your friends & family. If you want the best results here, don’t be cheap when you go shopping. Spend the money necessary for a fresh filet or a New York strip. Better yet a Ribeye, a nice thick one with good marbling. Because when you look at the marbling on a steak, that’s where all the flavor happens,” Jens explained. “That said, you always have to remember that — the higher you go with the quality of your meat — the less time you’re going to want that piece of meat to spend on the grill.”

And speaking of cooking … Before you even get started here, Jens suggests that you first take the time to check over all of your grilling equipment. Making sure that the grill itself is first scraped clean & then properly oiled before you then turn up the heat.

“If you’re working with a dirty grill, when you go to turn your meat, it may wind up sticking to the grill. Or maybe those spices that you’ve just so carefully coated your steak with will wind up sticking to the grill, rather than your meat,” Dahlmann continued. “Which is why it’s always worth it to spend a few minutes prior to firing up your grill properly cleaning & oiling it.”

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of heat … Again, before you officially get started grilling here, Jens says that it’s crucial to check your temperature gauges. Make sure that your char grill is set at 550 (so that it can then properly handle the thicker cuts of meat) and your flattop is set at 425 (so it can properly sear thinner pieces of meat).

Okay. Once you’ve bought the right cuts of quality meat, properly cleaned & oiled your grill, and then made sure that everything’s set at the right temperature (“If you can only stand to hold your hand directly over the grill for two or three seconds, that’s the right amount of heat,” Dahlmann said), it’s now time to season your steaks.

“Don’t be afraid to be bold here. You can’t be shy when it comes to seasoning your meat. You want to give it a nice coating. Largely because — if you’re using a char grill — a lot of that seasoning is just going to fall off anyway,” Jens stated. “It’s up to you to decide what sort of seasoning you want to use here. Even just some salt & pepper will enhance a steak’s flavor.”

Then – according to Dahlmann – comes the really tough part. Which is placing your meat on the grill and then fighting the urge to flip it too early or too often.

“The biggest mistake that a lot of amateur cooks make is that they flip the steak too many times. The real key to a well-cooked piece of meat is just let it be, “Jens insisted. “Of course, if you’re serving different cuts of meat at your Fourth of July feast, you always want to put your biggest thickest steak on the grill first. If you’re also cooking a New York Strip, you want to put that one on a few minutes later. But after that, just let the grill do its job and flip your meat a total of three or four times, once every three minutes or so.”

Of course, the last thing you want to do is overcook a quality piece of meat. Which is why Dahlmann suggests that – when it comes to grilling steaks – if you’re going to err, err on the side of undercooking.

“You can always put a piece of meat back on the grill if it’s slightly undercooked. When you over-cook something, all you can do then is start over with a brand-new piece of meat,” Jens said. “Just be sure that you’re using the correct cut of meat for the cooking result you’re aiming for. If someone wants a rare or medium rare steak, you should go with a thicker cut of steak. If one of your guests wants their steak cooked medium or well, it’s best to start with a thinner cut of meat.”

Photo by Jim Hill

As you can see, the folks at Longhorn take grilling steaks seriously. How seriously? Just last week at Darden Corporate Headquarters in Orlando, seven of these brand’s top grill masters (who – after weeks of regional competitions – had been culled from the 491 restaurants that make up this chain) competed for a $10,000 prize in the Company’s second annual Steak Master Series. And Dahlmann was one of the people who stood in Darden’s test kitchens, watching like a hawk as each of the contestants struggled to prepare six different dishes in just 20 minutes according to Longhorn Steakhouse’s exacting standards.

“I love that Darden does this. Recognizing the best of the best who work this restaurant,” Jens concluded. “We have a lot of people here who are incredibly knowledgeable & passionate when it comes to grilling.”

Speaking of which … If today’s story doesn’t include the exact piece of info that you need to properly grill that T-bone, just whip out your iPhone & text GRILL to 55702. Or – better yet – visit ExpertGriller.com prior to firing up your grill or smoker later today.

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Tuesday, July 4, 2017

General

Brattleboro’s Strolling of the Heifers is a sincere if somewhat surreal way to spend a summer’s day in Vermont

Published

6 years ago

June 4, 2017

Jim Hill

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Some people travel halfway ‘around the planet so that they can then experience the excitement of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. If you’re more of a Slow Living enthusiast (as I am), then perhaps you should amble to Brattleboro, VT. Where – over the first weekend in June – you can then join a herd of cow enthusiasts at the annual Strolling of the Heifers.

Now in its 16^th year, this three-day long event typically gets underway on Friday night in June with a combination block party / gallery walk. But then – come Saturday morning – Main Street in Brattleboro is lined with thousands of bovine fans.

Photo by Jim Hill

They’ve staked out primo viewing spots and set up camp chairs hours ahead of time. Just so these folks can then have a front row seat as this year’s crop of calves (which all come from local farms & 4-H clubs) are paraded through the streets.

Photo by Jim Hill

Viewed from curbside, Strolling of the Heifers is kind of this weird melding of a sincere small town celebration and Pasadena’s Doo Dah Parade. Meaning that – for every entry that actually acknowledged this year’s theme (i.e. “Dance to the Moosic”) — …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there was something completely random, like this parade’s synchronized shopping cart unit.

Photo by Jim Hill

And for every piece of authentic Americana (EX: That collection of antique John Deere tractors that came chugging through the city) …

Photo by Jim Hill

… there was something silly. Like – say – a woman dressed as a Holstein pushing a baby stroller through the streets. And riding in that stroller was a pig dressed in a tutu.

Photo by Jim Hill

And given that this event was being staged in the Green Mountain State & all … Well, does it really surprise you to learn that — among the groups that marched in this year’s Strolling of the Heifers – was a group of eco-friendly folks who, with their chants of “We’re Number One !,” tried to persuade people along the parade route not to flush the toilet after they pee. Because – as it turns out – urine can be turned into fertilizer.

Photo by Jim Hill

And speaking of fertilizer … At the tail end of the parade, there was a group of dedicated volunteers who were dealing with what came out of the tail end of all those cows.

Photo by Jim Hill

This year’s Strolling of the Heifers concluded at the Brattleboro town common. Where event attendees could then get a closer look at some of the featured units in this year’s parade…

Photo by Jim Hill

… or perhaps even pet a few of the participants.

Photo by Jim Hill

But as for the 90+ calves who took part in the 2017 edition of Strolling of the Heifers, once they reached the town common, it was now time for a nosh or a nap.

Photo by Jim Hill

Elsewhere on the common, keeping with this year’s “Dance to the Moosic” theme, various musical groups performed in & around the gazebo throughout the afternoon.

Photo by Jim Hill

While just across the way – keeping with Brattleboro’s tradition of showcasing the various artisans who live & work in the local community – some pretty funky pieces were on display at the Slow Living Exposition.

Photo by Jim Hill

All in all, attending Strolling of the Heifers is a somewhat surreal but still very pleasant way to spend a summer’s day in Vermont. And that’s no bull.

Photo by Jim Hill

Well, that could be a bull. To be honest, what with the wig & all, it’s kind of hard to tell.

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Sunday, June 4, 2017

General

Looking to make an authentic Irish meal for Saint Patrick’s Day? If so, then chef Kevin Dundon says not to cook corned beef & cabbage

Published

6 years ago

March 17, 2017

Jim Hill

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Let’s at least start on a positive note: Celebrated chef, author & TV personality Kevin Dundon – the man that Tourism Ireland has repeatedly chosen as the Face of Irish Food – loves a lot of what happens in the United States on March 17th.

“I mean, look at what they do in Chicago on Saint Patrick’s Day. They toss all of this vegetable-based dye into the Chicago River and then paint it green for a day. That’s terrific,” Kevin said.

But then when it comes to what many Americans eat & drink on St. Paddy’s Day (i.e., a big plate of corned beef and cabbage. Which is then washed down with a mug of green beer) … Well, that’s where Dundon has to draw the line.

Irish celebrity chef Kevin Dundon displays a traditional Irish loin of bacon with Colcannon potatoes and a Dunbrody Kiss chocolate dessert. Photo by Tom Burton. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

“Green beer? No real Irishman would be caught dead drinking that stuff,” Kevin insists. “And as for eating corned beef & cabbage … That’s not actually authentic Irish fare either. Bacon and cabbage? Sure. But corned beef & cabbage was something that the Irish only began eating after they’d come to the States to escape the Famine. And even then these Irish-Americans only began serving corned beef & cabbage to their friends & family because they had to make do with the ingredients that were available to them at that time.”

And thus begins the strange tale of how corned beef & cabbage came to be associated with the North American celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Because – according to Dundon – beef just wasn’t all that big a part of the Irish diet back in the 19th century.

To explain: Back in the Old Country, cattle – while they were obviously highly prized for the milk & cheese that they produced – were also beasts of burden. Meaning that they were often used for ploughing the fields or for hauling heavy loads. Which is why – back then — these animals were rarely slaughtered when they were still young & healthy. If anything, land owners liked to put a herd of cattle on display out in one of their pastures because that was then a sign to their neighbors that this farm was prosperous.

“Whereas pork … Well, everybody raised pigs back then. Which is why pork was a staple of the Irish diet rather than beef,” Dundon continued.

So if that’s what people actually ate back in the Old Country, how then did corned beef & cabbage come to be so strongly associated with Saint Patrick’s Day in the States.? That largely had to do with where the Irish wound up living after they arrived in the New World.

“When the Irish first arrived in America following the Great Famine, a lot of them wound up living in the inner city right alongside the Germans & the Jews, who were also recent immigrants to the States. And while that farm-fresh pork that the Irish loved wasn’t readily available, there was brisket. Which the Irish could then cure by first covering this piece of meat with corn kernel-sized pieces of rock salt – that’s how it came to be called corned beef. Because of the sizes of the pieces of rock salt that were used in the curing process – and then placing all that in a pot of water with other spices to soak for a few days.”

And as for the cabbage portion of corned beef & cabbage … Well, according to Kevin, in addition to buying their meat from the kosher delis in their neighborhood, the Irish would also frequent the stores that the German community shopped in. Where – thanks to their love of sauerkraut (i.e., pickled cabbage) – there was always a ready supply of cabbage to be had.

“So when you get right down to it, it was the American melting pot that led to corned beef & cabbage being found in the Irish-American cooking pot,” Dundon continued. “Since they couldn’t find or didn’t have easy access to the exact same ingredients that they had back in Ireland, Irish-Americans made do with what they could find in the immediate vicinity. And what they made was admittedly tasty. But it’s not actually authentic Irish fare.”

Mind you, what Kevin serves at Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant at Disney Springs (which – FYI – Orlando Magazine voted as the area’s best restaurant back in 2014) is nothing if not authentic. Dundon and his team at this acclaimed gastropub pride themselves on making traditional Irish fare and then contemporized it.

“Take – for example – what we serve here instead of corned beef & cabbage. Again, because it was pork – rather than beef – that was the true staple of the Irish diet back then, what we offer instead is a loin of bacon that has been glazed with Irish Mist. That then comes with colcannon potatoes. Which is this traditional Irish dish that’s made up of mashed potato that have had some cabbage & bacon mixed through it,” Kevin enthused. “This heavenly ham – that’s what we actually call this traditional Irish dish at Raglan Road, Kevin’s Heavenly Ham – also includes some savory cabbage with a parsley cream sauce as well as a raisin cider jus. It’s simple food. But because of the basic ingredients – and that’s the real secret of Irish cuisine. That our ingredients are so strong – the flavors just pop off the plate.”

Which brings us to the real challenge that Dundon and the Raglan Road team face every day. Making sure that they actually have all of the ingredients necessary to make this traditional-yet-contemporized Irish fare to those folks who frequent this Walt Disney World favorite.

“Take – for example – the fish we serve here. We only used cold water fish. Salmon, mussels and haddock that have been hauled out of the Atlantic, the ocean that America and Ireland share,” Kevin stated. “Not that there’s anything wrong with warm water fish. It’s just that … Well, it doesn’t have the same structure. It’s a softer fish, which doesn’t really fit the parameters of Irish cuisine. And if you’re going to serve authentic food, you have to be this dedicated when it comes to sourcing your ingredients.

And if you’re thinking of perhaps trying to serve an authentic Irish meal this year, rather than once again serving corned beef & cabbage at your Saint Patrick’s Day Feast … Well, back in September of last year, Mitchell Beazley published “The Raglan Road Cookbook: Inside America’s Favorite Irish Pub.” This 296-page hardcover not only includes the recipe for Kevin’s Heavenly Ham but also it tells the tale of how this now-world-renown restaurant wound up being built in Orlando.

On the other hand, if you happen to have to the luck of the Irish and are actually down at The Walt Disney World Resort right now, it’s worth noting that Raglan Road is right in the middle of its Mighty St. Patrick’s Day Festival. This four day-long event – which includes Irish bands and professional dancers – stretches through Sunday night. And in addition to all that authentic Irish fare that Dundon and his team are cooking up, you also sample the fine selection of beers & cocktails that this establishment’s four distinct antique bars (each of which are more than 130 years old and were imported directly from Ireland) will be serving. Just – As ucht Dé (That’s “For God’s Sake” in Gaelic) – don’t make the mistake of asking the bartender there for a mug of green beer.

“Why would anyone willingly drink something like that?,” Dundon laughed. “I mean, just imagine what their washroom will look like the morning after.”

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Friday, March 17, 2017