Sunday, October 24, 2010

Western Union

I had a humorous experience with Western Union back in the '60's
A friend of mine entered the Pilsbury Bake Off Contest. Her recipe was for "Batter-Up Beef Pie" made with canned Dinty Moore Beef Stew and Pilsbury flour and so on.

She had my husband and I over to taste test it and it was not bad but we did not think she had a chance of winning.

Lo and behold Caroline did win the regional bake off and won a trip to Los angeles for the nation wide "Bake-Off. We were frankly surprised. One reason being Caroline looked like Eva Gabor and was very glamorous. Not your typical picture of a bake off winner.

The day of the Bake Off, we sent Caroline a dozen roses and a telegram saying:"Everything's coming up roses. Good luck.

"The next day, after losing the Bake Off, Caroline called Western Union to reply and said:"Roses dead. So is Stew"

The shocked Western Union Operator interrupted and said:"Oh I am so sorry. How did they die?"

(Easier to communicate in writing than over the telephone :))

Caroline did win a new stove and the trip to LA.....


Addendum:

Cassie B asked about the recipe. It was called "Batterup Beef Pie". I searched and this must be it or similar.


BATTERUP BEEF PIE

1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. grated cheese
1 tbsp. instant onion
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 lb. can beef stew (Dinty Moore)

Melt butter in 8 inch square baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients except stew in mixing bowl. Stir until blended. Pour over melted butter. Pour stew over batter. Do not stir. Bake for 60-65 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes a serving for 6.

9 comments:

joared said...

I love it! Gave me a good laugh for the day. Too bad for Rose and Stew!

kenju said...

So funny!!

Tabor said...

Nice to see you posting again. Funny story.

cassie-b said...

Excellent story. And how is Stew? I wonder if you have the winning recipe.

Joy Des Jardins said...

That's a very funny story Chancy.

Chancy said...

Cassie B Good question. No I don't have the winning recipe but as I remember it was simply Dinty Moore Beef stew, canned, with a Pilbury flour dough mixture that rose to the top as it baked.

marciamayo said...

Hey Chancy, how have I missed you. I live in Atlanta too. I found you on Friko's blog. Your post about the Pillsbury Bake-off was really funny.

Anonymous said...

That's a great story Chancy. :-)

Anonymous said...

An entertaining tale, Chancy; but, I must admit I'm hard pressed to imagine any recipe that is based upon canned stew to be a winner of anything. Of course, I'm not sure I've tasted canned stew since about 1956 or so. May Roses & Stew RIP.
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