Marilyn Monroe's Favorite Foods Are Classics For A Reason
Few Hollywood stars have received as much admiration and intrigue as Marilyn Monroe. She's best known for being a wildly successful Hollywood star who led a glamorous lifestyle, but what many people don't know about Norma Jean Baker (her real name) is that she had a domestic side too. She often cooked at home, preparing meals from cookbooks and even penning her own recipes. When she wasn't whipping up dishes in her kitchen, she enjoyed dining out on a wide variety of dishes, many of which were classic comfort foods.
Some of what we know about Marilyn Monroe's favorite foods comes from interviews that the iconic actor and model gave herself. We also have reports of restaurants she frequented and what she liked to eat at those spots. In addition, after she tragically passed away in 1962, a number of her cookbooks were discovered with handwritten notes, meal plans, and recipes that Monroe clipped and saved. Many of the foods she loved were and still are well-known dishes. Much like the star herself, these dishes endure as timeless classics that countless people adore.
Read more: How Restaurant Steak Tricks Your Tastebuds
Cooked Cereal
Some of the most telling insights we have into the star's eating habits come from cookbooks she owned. Among Marilyn Monroe's cookbooks was a copy of The "New Joy of Cooking" that contained a typed meal plan. For breakfast, the plan cites well-cooked cereal. The list doesn't say exactly what type of cereal that should be, but we can assume that if it was cooked, it was likely oatmeal.
Oatmeal is a sensible start to the day, as it contains fiber, complex carbs, and protein. You can have it plain or elevate your oatmeal with milk, sugar, or fresh fruit. While we don't know whether Marilyn added anything to her cooked cereal, we do know that she may have complimented it with orange juice or stewed prunes, crisp toast with butter, and a cup of milk or "weak cocoa." That may seem pretty basic, but it sounds a lot more appetizing than another unusual breakfast Marilyn Monroe ate. According to an interview the star gave to Pageant magazine in 1952, she also liked to whip raw eggs into a glass of warm milk and have that with a multivitamin pill.
Onion Gratin Soup
When Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio in January of 1954, it wasn't exactly a grand affair. The couple got married in the San Francisco City Hall, both wearing demure black outfits. However, the honeymoon was more exciting. The newlyweds jetted off to Japan where they visited Tokyo and Fukuoka. While in Fukuoka, the couple frequented a French restaurant called the Royal Nakasu Honten three days in a row. On each occasion, Marilyn ordered the onion gratin soup. The restaurant is now called Hananoki and it still has the soup on the menu, as well as the table and chairs the couple used.
Comforting and classic, onion gratin soup is the perfect dish for a chilly night. Also called French onion soup, the dish typically features silky sauteed onions, wine, beef stock, and crusty bread or croutons topped with cheese that's broiled until melted and golden. Many people use Gruyere or Swiss cheese, although some people swear French onion soup tastes heavenly with a simple swap of Comté. Either way, it's a decadent dish that's entirely fitting for Hollywood royalty.
Spaghetti
According to the typed meal plan found in Marilyn Monroe's copy of "The New Joy of Cooking," lunch was rather carb-heavy. The options included an egg or cottage cheese with spaghetti and bread. The spaghetti was to be served either with tomato or butter, but no cheese. Other noodles could be swapped out for the spaghetti, but they were to be served boiled with milk and no cheese. Dessert could include Jello or cooked fruit.
While the spaghetti on Monroe's meal plan sounds pretty spartan, we know that the star also enjoyed more decadent versions of the dish when dining out. On her first date with Joe DiMaggio, the couple had spaghetti in a booth at The Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles. She was also known to dine at Dominick's in West Hollywood, which served a hearty version of spaghetti and meatballs. We can only hope the star picked up some tips for making homemade pasta sauce to elevate that rather bland-sounding lunchtime spaghetti on her meal plan.
Steak
When it came to the foods that Marilyn Monroe ate every night for dinner, steak was at the top of the list. We know this from the interview she gave to Pageant magazine in 1952. Vogue reprinted some of the interview, including a quote where she said, "Every night I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops, or some liver, which I broil in the electric oven in my room." The star said she paired her meat simply with raw carrots, stating, "I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots."
Monroe may have been limited to using the electric oven supplied in her hotel, but cooking steak in the oven is actually an easy way to get a great, crispy texture on the meat, as it only takes a few minutes to cook each side. This works best for thinner cuts like flank or flap steak. However, other cuts can benefit from alternative methods like searing, grilling, and roasting. If you're not sure which method works best for the cut you have, check out our guide on common steak cuts and the best way to cook them.
Champagne
It's no secret that Marilyn Monroe loved champagne. She could often be seen sipping glasses of bubbly while out on the town and entertaining friends. The celebrity was a fan of Dom Pérignon, which she ordered by the case. She also took a particular liking to Piper-Heidsieck. Taste of France reported that she once said, "I start each day with a glass of Piper-Heidsieck because it warms my body." Images from one of Monroe's last photo shoots with Bert Stern also show the star with a glass of champagne in hand.
There are many reasons champagne is a favorite among celebrities and a top choice for celebrations. True champagne can only come from the Champagne region of northern France, and it must be made with particular techniques. The grapes are hand-picked, then crushed, and the juice is placed in stainless steel vats for the first fermentation. Months later, the wine is blended and a "liqueur de triage" of sugar and yeast is added to it before the concoction is sealed in bottles. The champagne is then aged at least 15 months to give it that yeasty flavor and the bubbles that so many of us know and love.
Hot Dogs
While Marilyn Monroe didn't mind splashing out on indulgent food and drinks like champagne and steaks, she also wasn't opposed to eating less extravagant dishes like the humble hot dog. A famous photo shoot from 1957 shows Monroe and her then-husband Arthur Miller enjoying hot dogs from a street stand in New York City. Patricia Kelly, the widow of legendary actor Gene Kelly, also told Metro about a party that took place at her late husband's home where Monroe helped Gene Kelly boil hot dogs for some of the inebriated guests.
Hot dogs are about as all-American as you can get, so it's fitting that America's sweetheart was a fan of this particular food. Interestingly though, hot dogs didn't originate in America. Frankfurters were born in Germany, where they were also called dachshund sausages after their likeness to dachshund dogs. The "little dog" sausages were brought to the United States by German immigrants in the 19th century. It's easy to see why people quickly took to the combination of a snappy sausage in a soft bun. It's easy to eat, affordable, and downright delicious.
Beef Bourguignon
You might be surprised to hear that not only did Marilyn Monroe cook at home, but she also planned dinner parties with multi-course menus. In her copy of "The New Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" there was a handwritten note outlining a menu with beef bourguignon as the main star. Apparently, Monroe planned to serve the dish with bone marrow soup and corned beef and cabbage. There was even a shopping list alongside the menu listing marrow bones and bouillon cubes.
Rich and hearty, beef bourguignon is a rustic French stew that would have taken Monroe considerable time and effort to make. A traditional recipe typically calls for beef browned in butter and rendered bacon fat. The beef is then simmered for hours in a broth of red wine and beef stock with ingredients like carrots, onions, thyme, and mushrooms. It's not the easiest dish to prepare, which is a testament to how confident and passionate Monroe was about cooking. We don't know whether the dinner party took place, but we can bet that if it did, this classic dish would have been much appreciated.
Lamb Chops
Protein was an important part of Marilyn Monroe's diet. And as we learned from the Pageant magazine interview, lamb chops were one of her top choices for dinner. Lamb chops are also listed as one of the dinner options on the meal plan found in one of Monroe's cookbooks. The meal plan suggests sides of carrots (which Monroe stated she loved in the Pageant interview), tomatoes, beets, spinach, string beans, and peas either pureed or strained.
While Monroe said that she cooked her meat simply by broiling it in her electric oven, lamb chops are incredibly versatile. You can also pan-fry them, bake them in the oven, or grill them. The bold flavors of lamb pair well with a wide variety of herbs and spices like rosemary, cumin, thyme, and even stronger flavors like cayenne pepper and chili powder. In addition, you can complement your lamb chops with diverse sauces like chimichurri, tzatziki, and red wine sauce. With that in mind, it's easy to see why lamb chops are so popular at dinner tables around the world.
Stuffing
One shining example we have of Marilyn Monroe's cooking prowess is a recipe written in her own hand for Thanksgiving stuffing. The recipe was written on paper from an insurance company and published in a book called "Fragments," which features notes and letters that Monroe left behind. The stuffing recipe is incredibly detailed with a wide array of ingredients and specific notes for how to prepare them. It's also very innovative with unique additions you wouldn't expect from a typical turkey stuffing.
Monroe's stuffing recipe starts with sourdough bread soaked in water, wrung out, and shredded. It also calls for heart and liver giblets boiled and chopped, ground beef, celery, onion, parsley, rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, raisins, walnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, boiled eggs, poultry seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. She specifically states, "no garlic" and adds that the stuffing should be seasoned with salt and pepper in the turkey or chicken. If cooked outside the bird, she suggests adding butter. It's an interesting and unusual combination, but one that the New York Times called "handsome, balanced and delicious."
Tacos
What do Marilyn Monroe and Mexico have in common? More than you might think. Her mother, Gladys Pearl Monroe, was born in Piedras Negras in the Mexican state of Coahuila just across the border from Texas. According to Biography, Gladys' father, Otis Monroe, worked for a railroad there. In 1903, the family moved to Los Angeles where Norma Jeane Mortenson (later baptized Norma Jean Baker) was born. Throughout her life, Marilyn Monroe made frequent trips to Mexico and indulged in the country's most famous dish -- tacos.
Visit El Taquito in Mexico City and you'll find photos of Marilyn Monroe sipping margaritas and eating tacos on the wall. The shots were taken in 1962 when Monroe visited the restaurant. The taco she holds in the image is authentically Mexican with a soft tortilla as opposed to the hard shell tacos you find in the States. Typical taco fillings in Mexico include meats like al pastor (pork roasted on a spit) and arrachera (skirt steak). However, owner Rafael Guillén told El Pais that his father (who had the same name) served Monroe maguey worm tacos.
Hot Fudge Sundae
Just like the rest of us, movie stars and models have their guilty food pleasures, and for Marilyn Monroe that was hot fudge sundaes. In her 1952 interview with Pageant magazine, she revealed that while her daily diet was rather regimented, she often stopped into Wil Wright's in Hollywood for an ice cream sundae after her drama classes. She said, "I'm sure that I couldn't allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods."
Have you ever wondered how this widely beloved dessert came to be? The answer might surprise you. Legend has it that ice cream sundaes were invented to bypass a bizarre law. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, several states had blue laws that banned the sale of soda on Sundays. This meant that soda fountains couldn't sell their popular ice cream sodas (aka floats). Although the true creator of the sundae is debated, many believe it was an enterprising soda fountain owner who removed the soda and just served the ice cream with syrup. Whoever created it, many -- including Marilyn Monroe herself -- would agree that person deserves a medal.
Chili
Barney's Beanery in West Hollywood is no stranger to the stars. Countless celebrities have passed through the doors since the spot opened in West Hollywood in 1927. Many fell in love with the restaurant's famous chili, including Marilyn Monroe. The star often stopped in for a bowl of the flavorful Tex-Mex dish while she was filming "Some Like It Hot." There's even a canceled check for the chili from Monroe framed on one of the restaurant's walls.
Considering that many of Marilyn Monroe's favorite foods were ultra-comforting, it's not surprising that she enjoyed a hearty bowl of chili. It would be the perfect fuel for a long day of filming with its protein-rich meat and beans. If you want to sample the chili that won the screen star over, the restaurant still serves the original recipe today. It comes with mixed cheese, onions, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Barney's Beanery also serves a three-bean chili, a spicy Fireman's chili, and a lighter turkey chili. The menu also features other comfort food dishes like pizzas, burgers, burritos, and hot dogs.
Eggnog
For many people, eggnog is a special treat enjoyed around the holiday season. For Marilyn Monroe, it was a nightcap to finish off the day. That is if we're to believe that she followed the meal plan that was found tucked into one of her cookbooks. The plan outlines what to eat at various times throughout the day, with breakfast starting at 8 a.m. followed by a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner, and finally eggnog at 11 p.m. It doesn't state how much eggnog or whether it contained booze.
Eggnog may seem like a pretty decadent drink to end the day with, but it's also rich, creamy, and soothing, so it may have been the perfect way to unwind after a long day. A classic eggnog recipe includes milk, cream, sugar, and eggs. Some people add cinnamon or nutmeg, and more than a few throw in a shot of rum or brandy to make it extra festive. Considering that Monroe liked to drink raw eggs whipped with milk for breakfast and she was a fan of ice cream sundaes, it's not surprising that she also loved this delicious dessert-like drink.
Lasagna
Marilyn Monroe's cookbooks are treasure troves of information about what she loved to eat. Even more important than the cookbooks themselves is what was left inside. Wedged into one of the books was a newspaper clipping of a recipe for cheese lasagna with doodles scrawled on it. Obviously, the recipe caught Monroe's eye, so much so that she decided to cut it out and hold onto it. While we don't know if she actually made the lasagna, it's a pretty good sign that she was a fan of the dish.
The cheese lasagna that Monroe clipped out includes ingredients like tomato sauce, onions, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, Parmesan, basil, and Worcestershire sauce. It also includes a topping of buttered bread crumbs. No doubt the dish would have been flavorful, creamy, and lighter than a typical meat lasagna. It's also a step up from the plain spaghetti with tomato sauce and no cheese that was listed on the daily meal plan also found in one of her cookbooks. Many people would agree that if you're going to have a cheat dish, lasagna is a pretty good way to go.
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