Neeps and tatties are a Scottish favorite I tweeked their presentation by making them into cakes to serve as a base for my red wine braised short ribs.

This stuffed pork is made earthy and succulent with a bacon, Swiss chard and sage stuffing. But the Chianti red wine sauce sauce adds a bright and elegant touch.

Serve this as a side dish or over toast, either way it's flavorful and satisfying.

This is classic French comfort food flavorfuly braised to perfection.

It seems that the famous Cobb Salad was invented at the Brown Derby by the owner as a midnight snack for a special patron. It has since been copied and adapted through the generations. It has morphed countless times and falls into the category of the chop salad that can feature pretty much any ingredient your mind can think of.

It seems back in 1937, Bob Cobb, then owner of The Brown Derby, was alerted that Sid Grauman had shown up at the restaurant looking to be seated. It was quite obvious that he was too drunk to be seated in the main dining room, but too important to be turned away. Bob pulled Sid into the kitchen to get the man fed. It was quite late and Bob knew the refrigerators were full of partially prepped ingredients from all the meals that had been served that night. Opening a huge refrigerator, he hurriedly pulled whatever his hands first touched. A head of iceberg lettuce, an avocado, some romaine, watercress, tomatoes, some cold breast of chicken, hard-boiled eggs, chives, cheese and some of the restaurants own version of an old-fashioned French dressing. He started chopping perhaps to distract Sid, or perhaps he had a plan.

Whatever the case The Cobb salad was born. The next day to repay his friend’s kindness Sid Grauman arrived at the restaurant for lunch and heartily asked to be served “The Cobb Salad”.

Cobb's midnight invention became an overnight sensation with Derby customers, people like movie mogul Jack Warner, who regularly dispatched his chauffeur to pick up a carton of this salad.

How true this story is I cannot say, but it has become part of the lore of Hollywood. Which makes this salad the perfect choice for my evening in Panama featuring legendary recipes from famed Hollywood restaurants. The version I have decided to present is very close to what Bob may have served Sid and has earned the moniker The Brown Derby Original Cobb Salad.

To understand the story of Rumaki we need to look to Don the Beachcomber where it first appeared on their menu in 1941. To understand Don the Beachcomber we need to go all the way back to a time shortly after prohibition. A small town schoolteacher (with big ambitions) from Minnesota spent her life savings to relocate herself to California. Her name was Cora Irene Sund.

Once she arrived in sunny L.A. she got herself a job as a waitress at the Tick Tock Tea Room, another classic restaurant of old Hollywood. But Cora was party girl, and Tea Rooms just did not suit her! She became a part of the cocktail circuit in Hollywood and one of her favorite bars was a tacky little Tiki Bar located by the pool of one of the more downscale hotels in Hollywood. There she met a bartender who used the fictional moniker of Don the Beachcomber to ply exotic rum drinks on tourists.

Well, Cora was a party girl– sure, but she was an astute businesswoman too. She soon left her waitress gig, changed her name to Sunny Sund and borrowed enough money to make improvements to “Don’s” little poolside bar. She and “Don” went into business together and she named herself president of the small business venture they formed. A wedding between to the two soon followed!

By 1937 Sunny Sund and Don the Beachcomber grew the Tiki Bar concept into a full-blown restaurant. The moved it across the street into a vacant building that had enough room for their over-the- top, wildly exotic vision of a “tropical paradise” themed restaurant. This restaurant became Don the Beachcomber.

From the very beginning they attracted a Hollywood crowd. From the street the place was hidden in a thicket of bamboo and difficult to find. Difficult to find soon came to mean– if you didn’t know where it was you didn’t belong. To add to the allure they enshrined the chopsticks used by notable diners such as Groucho Marx, Bing Crosby, Marlene Dietrich and Greer Garson in glass case!

They hired Chinese cooks and asked them to create imaginative hybrids of Cantonese/Tropical dishes. One of the most popular menu items was Rumaki! Rumaki was described as an appetizer made with water chestnuts and chicken livers wrapped in “sarongs” of bacon. Just the thing to accompany Don’s creative but intoxicating slew of colorful rum drinks.

Don the Beachcomber menuTheir business was a huge success; their marriage however failed miserably. They were divorced by 1940. But they remained partners in business as they opened Don the Beachcomber restaurants in Palm Springs, Chicago, Marina del Rey, Newport Beach, and at last, finally Mecca–­ Waikiki Beach. When it came time to retire J. Ronald Getty, son of J. Paul Getty bought the chain about 1968. Eventually the concept felt dated and the restaurants fell out of favor. But Rumaki lives on and remains the ultimate party food!

Sweet pea ravioli are easy to make using won ton wrappers as a starting point. Rosemary scented cream gives this dish an elegant finish.

My version of the classic Terrine de Campagne would be considered most basic I am sure. But it is easy to make and very delicious!

Reminiscent of twice baked potatoes, this take on mashed potatoes includes bacon and cheddar.