BOOK/A TABLE - Dressing for Dinner

Behold the battered, taped-up copy of Valley of the Dolls I bought at the Paperback Bazaar when I was about fifteen years old and desperate to escape New Hampshire. Although I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into, I ended up tearing through it, enthralled by the depiction of New York (and Broadway!) set in the 40s and 50s. And I told anybody who’d listen to read it. I wasn’t alone of course in my discovery—Jacqueline Susann’s debut has remained one of the all-time bestsellers for over fifty years.

The other night I went to a showing of the infamous 1967 movie version with my friend (he’d never seen it) and I explained afterward how the book has a special place in my heart and differs greatly from the camp spectacle he’d just witnessed. Also there is no bad acting in books.

Gore Vidal (or Truman Capote, depending who you ask) once said Susann’s prose wasn’t writing, it was typing—and although it might not be Wuthering Heights, the book has a brilliant structure founded upon the friendships of three young women struggling to make something of themselves. Susann was also a marketing visionary, a brand-name novelist who brought Peyton Place to Manhattan and paved the way for many romance writers to come.

Valley of the Dolls made me fall in love with New York and confirmed my decision to make it my home. Visions of the old El Morocco and the Stork Club danced in my head and after I moved to Manhattan, ‘21’ certainly became one of my favorite places to eat—no, to experience! 

Before ‘21’ closed a few years ago, I had the privilege to chat with its former executive chef Michael Lomonaco at a press event. I gushed over the shallot and champagne vinaigrette in his cookbook, which feature recipes from the fabled venue. So, when Anne Welles, the heroine of Valley of the Dolls arrives at ‘21’ dressed to the nines, I can’t help but imagine her salad was dressed with Lomonaco’s perfect vinaigrette—and my go-to favorite.

“Anne rushed into ‘21’ and joined Henry at his usual front table. Henry noticed that every man in the room had turned to look at her. She wore eye makeup and her hair was fuller, like a lion’s mane...she was exciting now. Anne laughed and ordered a salad.”

                              

Shallot and Champagne Vinaigrette
Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 large, peeled shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the vinegar, mustard, sugar, shallots, salt, and pepper until the shallots are finely chopped. With the processor running, add the oil very slowly in a small stream until all the oil has been incorporated and the dressing has achieved a silky, smooth texture. The dressing may be stored, covered, up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator but should be brought to room temperature before using.