for the love of the Thin Man

 and 4 recipes too! 

  

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to explore the love my husband and I have for the Thin Man Movies. This charming series always grabs our attention and is instantly put on our playlist any time it’s featured on TCM (Turner Classic Movies channel.)

 

So today, in honor the day of love, I’m sharing some fun pictures, facts and even several vintage recipes from our two charismatic stars, Myrna Loy and William Powell.  

 

The Thin Man is a 1934 American comedy/detective film based on the 1934 novel by Dashiell Hammett.

 

The film stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a leisure-class couple who enjoy copious drinking and flirtatious banter.

 

Nick is a retired private detective who left his very successful career when he married Nora, a wealthy heiress accustomed to high society.

 

In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"

 

Their wire-haired fox terrier Asta was played by the canine actor Skippy.

 

A film series followed, featuring the main characters Nick and Nora Charles.

 

The story is set in New York City during the Christmas season of 1932, in the last days of Prohibition in the United States.

 

The main characters are Nick Charles, a former private detective, and Nora, his socialite wife.

 

William Powell appeared as Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934. This movie provided Powell with his first Academy Award nomination, in 1935.

 

In 1931, Powell married actress Carole Lombard. They divorced in 1933 but starred in My Man Godfrey three years later. He was later romantically involved with Jean Harlow.

My Man Godfrey is another one of our all-time favorite movies. The chemistry between Powell and Lombard is sooooo good! 

 

By the late 1930s, Myrna Loy was highly regarded for her performances in romantic comedies, and she was anxious to demonstrate her dramatic ability. 

 

Loy was cast as Nora Charles in the 1934 film The Thin Man. Director W. S. Van Dyke chose Loy after he detected a wit and sense of humor that her previous films had not revealed.

 

At a Hollywood party, he pushed her into a swimming pool to test her reaction and felt that her aplomb in handling the situation was exactly what he envisioned for Nora.

 

The Thin Man became one of the year's biggest hits and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Loy received excellent reviews and was acclaimed for her comedic skills.

 

Myrna Loy and William Powell proved to be a popular on-screen couple and appeared in 14 films together, one of the most prolific pairings in Hollywood history.

 

Loy later referred to The Thin Man as the film "that finally made me... after more than 80 films."

 

(Info for this post has been gathered from Wikipedia.)

Now for the fun part...

THE RECIPES!

Here are 4 unusual recipes from my collection of vintage celebrity recipes. The first three dishes are from Myrna, and Mr. Powell provides us with the Vatrushka or Vatrouski recipe.

 

Vatrushka is an eastern European round pastry filled with white cheese. Sounds interesting and tasty!

 

I love how cooking styles change over the decades, and this is proof that tastes may change, but good food is good food and there’s no disputing that!

 

I have yet to try making these 4 recipes, but I do have some free time next week, so I’ll let you know which ones I try!!

Myrna Loy’s Twice Baked Potatoes 

Myrna’s twice baked potatoes are so easy to make and still stand the test of time with today’s cravings. You start with baking large potatoes. Then remove from the oven, slice through the top and middle and remove all the potato flesh from the skin and place it in a large bowl. 

To this mixture, add crisp bacon that has been minced. (I would do one slice of bacon per potato.) Then to this mixture add chopped chives, cream (or milk), butter and nutmeg. Mix well. Refill the potato skins with this mixture and top with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Bake again until golden brown.

 

And now a quick and easy Chicken and Pimetno soup, directly from the kitchen of Myrna Loy. Click on the recipe to enlarge and print.

 

Here’s a more international version of an easy soup from the kitchen of Myrna Loy. It’s her take on a flavorful Senegalese Soup. Once again. Click on this recipe to enlarge and print.

 

William Powell’s Vatrouskis

Yield: 12 cheese tarts

1 cup cottage cheese

¼ cup sour cream

1 tbsp butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

14 oz flat pie crust pastry (the frozen variety is perfect)

 

Preheat oven to 450°F

 

Drain cottage cheese with a cheese cloth to remove most of the liquid.  Mix the cottage cheese, sour cream and butter until well blended.  Add beaten egg, salt and sugar, and incorporate well until blended.  Butter the insides of a 12-cup muffin tin. 

 

Roll out pastry and cut into 3-inch rounds.  Press these gently into each muffin tin.  Fill each one almost to the top with the cheese mixture (about 2 teaspoons each). Bake for approximately 20 minutes until nicely browned.

Vatrouski or Vatrushka is an eastern European cheese tart filled with white cheese. Must be very good and tasty!

ciao fabiana

 

 For lots of fun extras, follow me on Instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

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double chocolate pecan pie

You’re in for a real treat today! A double chocolate pecan pie that is so delicious and easy to make, you’ll be saying, “It’s easy as this pie!”

I originally found this recipe in an old newspaper clipping from 1974. I was intrigued by the simplicity of its ingredients and the fact that it has no corn syrup like most pecan pies do.

Old-fashioned recipes are one of my favorite things to make and collect. They just are so homey and comforting. Check out some of my favorites here. 

The original newspaper clipping suggests eating hot or cold with ice cream or whipped cream, and I couldn’t agree more! It’s delicious any way you slice it!

I created this lux dessert for Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine for their Summer 2024 issue and it’s filed under “Blue Ribbon winning Recipes”, and this one sure is!! 

It's very tasty any  time of year, but here I have it styled for a Fourth of July party with lots of vintage accessories and table linens. 

Although the blue check tablecloth is a vintage find, the napkins are from Ikea, and offer that pretty calico country look. In fact, I've spotted these same napkins on the Great British Baking Show! 

A few pretty blooms and ivy from the garden brighten up the whole table! 

I do hope you’ll give it a try!

 

ciao fabiana

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on Instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.

 

farmhouse style magazine winter 2024

4 of my projects featured this season

December is off to an inspiring start with the brand-new Winter issue of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style in stores stores now. And I have a little preview for you!

 

Here's a behind the scenes look of how new cover of Farmhouse Style came together with just a few simple ideas. I was truly caught by surprise when my picture was selected to be on the cover of this Winter 2024 issue!

 

Just a few festive touches and vintage finds help to create this simple but unique look that is featured on the cover. You can try this at home! It's as easy as it looks!! See the video here.

 

Lisa Sloan is the new editor of Farmhouse Style now taking over from Susan Wagner, and I love reading the Lisa’s notes from each and every issue. 

It’s the most helpful companion to this magazine and helps me to make sure I don’t miss a thing in this jam-packed holiday issue.

 

Cover photo

Here's the photo I submitted for an article called “Homes for the Holidays.” It’s a playful and pretty look at small-scale houses that can create imaginative and festive scenes in miniature. You can check out all the projects starting on page 6.

 

You can see some of the examples of tiny Christmas houses here.

Check out this video HERE as I explain and recreate the cover shot in my new “dish room”.

For this winter 2024 issue, I have 6 projects and 2 recipes featured and I can’t wait to show them to you! As a contributor to this magazine for the last 6 years or so, my projects and recipes are usually featured in the “Do-It-Yourself Farmhouse” section.

 

Isn’t this a fun project?! It’s so easy to make these Santa Sacks with a pretty but slightly damaged vintage tablecloth. Tablecloths are such a great source of fabric for so many projects!

 

A collection of festive vintage cans and tins are the perfect vessels for planting herbs during the holidays. 

They certainly do brighten up a sunny window and come in handy for using in all sorts of holiday recipes.  

 

Here are the two vintage inspired ornaments I made for Farmhouse Style magazine. The first are a set of real walnut shells filled with a bit of moss and festive little red toadstool, or mushroom. 

I finished them off with a little bakers twine in a fun red and white twisted pattern for easy an display from a Christmas tree branch. 

 

Secondly, I sewed little burlap hearts with a velvet needlepoint thread and then embellished them with a tiny jingle bell.

 

I think they add the old-fashioned farmhouse charm to any tree. Don't you just love handmade Christmas ornaments? They add something so special to the tree.

An advent calendar made from a set of mismatched (but very coordinated) handmade felt stockings is another one of my projects that’s featured in this winter issue. 

I chose a select color palette of felt pieces and stuck to those colors for every little stocking. I also used vintage rickrack, in dark red and white on a few of these guys!

 

Wouldn’t they also look cute as ornaments on the tree?

 

Two showstopping desserts I made are also featured in this issue starting on page 108. I had never made a Kransekake or a Pavlova before, but I’m always up for any challenge, and they proved to be worth every drop of sugar and egg whites to make these 2 beauties!

 

A Krasekake is a traditional Norwegian dessert translating to “wreath cake” and features 18 stacking rings of different sizes. It truly is breathtaking and soooo very delicious!

 

 

This Pavlova is a light meringue and fruit dessert that’s out of this world, and is even topped off with a yogurt and cream mixture for an even greater contrast in flavors and textures.

 

A variety of fresh berries and mint sprigs give this luscious dessert all its character and good looks… it’s a Christmas showstopper, for sure!!  

 

In case you haven’t heard, I started a new Instagram page in October and named it Claudia Fabiana Home. My former page is still up, but after getting a new phone, I was no longer able to log into this account, so the new profile was born!

 

I hope you’ll follow along with me on Instagram for all the latest projects and décor I will be sharing in 2025.

 

 

 

ciao fabiana

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on Instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.

 

 

my favorite country collectables & more!

Antique and vintage collectables have always had a dear place in my heart, especially kitchen collectables.

As a part of a series that showcases some of my exclusive projects that I created especially for Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine, I’m starting off with this fun collection of green wooden handled kitchen utensils.

 

Once you start off with a piece or two, the collecting process can be quite fun! It’s always a hoot finding one of these pieces, and they can turn up in some of the most unexpected places.

 

Garage sales are my favorite place to find these goodies, and in addition to the green handled kitchen tools, I’m also partial to the blue ones. The red ones seem to be the most popular, though. 

  

Along with kitchen tools, I’m also drawn to old canning jars. Not only are they pretty, but they are also quite useful! Here I used one of my favorite Mason jars to store my homemade pancake mix.

 

Pretty little teacups are also another fun collectable. I love this light blue one!

 

You can’t go wrong with any kind of vintage pitcher. There’s something homey about their form. That lovely handle place directly across from a cute little spout. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s just feels cozy!

 

They’re quite useful in so many ways and even so pretty on their own or as a part of a larger collection. Blue and white or just plain blue ones are among the ones I like best.

Above, you can see some of my most treasured ones on my family room mantel. Some have flowers, while others don't. All the flowers shown here are cut directly from my garden. I just love the hydrangeas... they keep going and going all summer long! 

 

English, French and American stoneware crocks are also fun to collect. I like the ones with the blue, black or brown lettering the most. Do you have any of these? 

They also make great vases because they’re so heavy and flowers that are top-heavy are well supported. They also make great utensil holders, pencil or brush holders or a just-about-anything holder!

 

Old kitchen graters can be used in so many fun ways. Here I’ve used them to hold a couple of posies of cottage garden flowers from my yard.

 

Here’s one last little recipe that makes the best of day-old bread and your favorite Italian seasoning mix. This homemade breadcrumb mixture will then keep in the pantry or fridge for a long time. 

It's so easy to make and come in quite handy when making our favorite chicken Milanese.

 

ciao fabiana

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.