Elizabeth Taylor's love of food truly ran the gamut, from beluga caviar and champagne to chili from the Los Angeles restaurant Chasen's, which she allegedly loved him very much she sent him to Rome during the filming of Cleopatra.
But this did not always mean a high price.
“She was one of the most elegant and, of course, beautiful people in the world in her time, but she was also a very practical and down-to-earth person,” Taylor's former personal chef Neil Zevnick tells TODAY.com.
He was her personal chef for almost ten years in the 90s and regularly prepared several dishes that became her favorites, including Thanksgiving Holidays with deep-fried turkey legs, a delicacy called Taffy Fudgewhich are described as “halfway between brownie and fudge”.
Taylor also loved a dish from Yawn's childhood, his mother Rosalie's signature stew. He shares the recipe exclusively with TODAY.com (Click here to jump straight to the recipe).
“There was something called Rosalie Stew, my mother’s recipe,” Zevnik says. “It was one of her favorite dishes. We cooked it often. So she'd just say, “You know, could we make Rosalie's stew tomorrow?” so that I know I have what it takes to do this.”
Yawner says his mother made the one-pot dish to use up leftover Sunday roasts, but people can use a piece of roast beef from their market's deli counter.
Combined with spices, chopped onions, yellow potatoes, vegetables and Campbell's Condensed Vegetable Soup, this quick stew tastes deliciously savory with sour cream and horseradish on top.
“I told Elizabeth what it was, that it was my mom's dish, and that I remembered it from childhood, and it resonated with me in all sorts of ways, and she loved that it had so much history,” says Zevnik, adding that Taylor loved the dish not only for its history, but also for its deep, rich flavor.
“She literally told me to tell my mother, who was alive at the time, how much she liked it,” he says. “Of course, my mom was thrilled to death.”
Stew Rosalie
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds cooked roast beef, cut into 1-inch cubes (if you don't have leftover roast, a piece of roast beef from your market deli will work fine)
- 1 small brown onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 pound small yellow potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold), cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.
- 24 ounces frozen mixed vegetables (I like carrots, peas, green beans and corn)
- 2 cans condensed vegetable soup
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) low-sodium beef broth
- 1 glass of water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Combine all ingredients in a Dutch oven or large heavy ovenproof saucepan and stir to combine.
- On the stove, heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly simmering. Transfer to the oven and cook for 55 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender and the potatoes are tender.
- Serve with sour cream and horseradish.
