Modern Screen (Dec 1931 - Nov 1932 (assorted issues))

IF you have just yourself and somebody else to cook for, you may have wondered why most cook books offer only recipes which turn out sufficient food to serve "a standard family of six." (Just what is a "standard family" anyway?) If you try to break these recipes down into thirds you are constantly finding yourself up against the problem of taking a third of two eggs or a third of one-half cup of milk. But just the same, cooking for two is the most exciting and fascinating kind of cooking in the world. That's the way we felt after our expedition to the Powells' home, where Carole and Bill live, one of screenland's most fascinating families of two, and had a long talk with the head of the house about the kind of food they liked served when they were dining just alone. When we went out to talk with Mr. Powell about this diner a deux business we found that while he was enjoying a well earned vacation, Carole was hard at work, MODERN SCREEN STAR RECIPES HOME SERVICE DEPARTMENT MODERN SCREEN Magazine 100 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. j ■ Kindly send me the recipes for July— at abso j lutely no cost to me. | Name ■ (Print in pencil) I Address " (Street and Number) • ■ (City) (State) ; THE MOST TASTY, EASIEST TO FIX j AND MOST ECONOMICAL FOODS j FOR DINNERS-FOR-TWO-ACCORDING TO THE PREFERENCES OF WILLIAM POWELL AS TOLD TO THE MODERN HOSTESS and so she had not been able to get home in time to give us a few hints. We were sorry, too, that we couldn't have gotten a picture of Bill and Carole together at their own dinner table. But he was so very informative and so altogether charming that our disappointment faded. "Of course," Mr. Powell began, "it is really Carole to whom you should talk about food." "Perhaps," we replied, "but we are certain that in your home, as in practically every home in the land, it is your food preferences which are of paramount importance, and it is you for whom the meals are planned. Isn't that so?" "Well, really now," he answered with a smile, "do you think it would" be quite wise for me to admit that?'' "Of course it is," we retorted, "for we are willing to bet that your wife's answer to that question would be no different from any other wife's. And we'll bet, too, that your cook knows that there will be no complaining about a meal which von enjoyed." "T thought "the United States was supposed to be a country dominated by its women" said Bill, looking as /^dominated as a man could possibly look. WAIT a minute," we hurriedly interjected, "this is getting us miles away from the object of our conversation. We have come out here to find out what you like to eat. and we will not be deflected from our purpose. Now suppose you tell us about a typical Lombard-Powell dinner, the sort which you like to sit down to when you are dining alone." "Well, suppose I tell you what we had for dinner last night?" he suggested. "Fine !" Picture our joy when we discovered that the meal sounded neither elaborate nor expensive, and imagine our complete delight when we procured the recipes for the dishes which they had relished so much, and found that they were so simple that any bride could easily follow them. It is a problem, cooking for a family of a mere two. But William Powell and Carole Lombard have solved the problem riicely. Carole has learnt how to buy in advance, how to make a roast over into other appetizing dishes and how to use recipes which make just enough for two people. You can learn a lot from her knowledge 12