Helen Corbitt portrait

“Dear Miss Corbitt – Never have I had anything that I have enjoyed any more than ‘THE’ Cookbook by you – it is real fun and lots of help – I have meant to write you a ‘Fan’ letter every day – and I am a ‘Working Girl,’ too and thus don’t do all the things I intend to do.”

Recently I was granted access to the archives at University of Dallas. Helen Corbitt endowed a portion of her estate to the University, and because she lived in Dallas much of her personal property was moved to the university.

For many years the school had a Helen Corbitt suite that served as an apartment for guest lecturers and dignitaries that visited the campus. It was decorated with her furniture, artwork, china and other personal items.

The space has been reallocated and the pieces dispersed throughout campus, but the archives hold all of her card catalogs filled with recipes, scrapbooks, photos, awards, news clippings and many letters – all of which were meticulously organized by Miss Corbitt and her personal secretary, Janet Dinwiddie.

The note that starts this story was the first thing I saw when opening the first of many scrapbooks that filled numerous boxes. I found it interesting because, although it is more than 50 years old, it’s exactly what I would say in a note to her and typifies the feelings and thoughts of so many who regard “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook” as “THE” cookbook.

In the summer of 1976 there was a cover story about Helen Corbitt in an edition of the Sunday magazine of the Houston Chronicle. In the article, Mrs. Dinwiddie described Corbitt’s brand of cooking as “elegant American.” She also went on to say that Corbitt felt that Julia Child was too complicated for the average housewife and that she (Corbitt) taught more practical recipes.

Surprisingly, these two cooking icons never met.  Mrs. Child was fascinated by Corbitt and in the late 1990’s when she came to the Zodiac Room in Dallas to promote a new cookbook she was full of questions about Corbitt. She admired what Corbitt had done with her interpretation of modern American cuisine.  

Whether it is apparent, or not, as a Texan, Corbitt has a place in our culinary heritage, and, probably, on all of our plates.

She was practical and straightforward, but paved the way for new recipes, undiscovered ingredients and modern cuisine in the Lone Star State.

She hated overcooked vegetables and was proud that she never cooked or ate a chicken fried steak. She stressed using quality ingredients, which meant there was no need for frying or overcooking.

Her books are a treasure to many, especially the first one, “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, which was published in 1957. Upon its release, the late 1950’s housewives considered it the most important cookbook in their kitchen.

The revered pages of this book held the go-to recipes that adorned every party buffet, dinner table, birthday celebration and ladies luncheon.

She was the cook – “not a che,f” as Corbitt would say – for Neiman Marcus, but she made the style, beauty and elegance of high society entertaining, easy and approachable for anyone who wanted to cook and entertain in their home. Whatever the event, casual or extravagant, she had ideas, recipes and a conversational style that was helpful to many.

 

Tana Kay

Helen Corbitt did a one-day cooking class in Tyler, on April 22, 1971.  I think it was a project of Women’s Symphony League.  Can’t remember for sure.  It was held at First Christian Church. She cooked up on a little stage and then passed dishes around through the audience for us to taste.  We were each given a two-page printout of the recipes she prepared.  The only one I remember vividly was Crepes Suzette.  I found my copy of the handout this morning, yellowing and a little tattered, tucked into my Helen Corbitt cookbook.

 

Carolyn Doherty

I received her cookbook 39 years ago as a wedding gift.  The recipe I use most is for popovers.  I make her Yorkshire Pudding for Christmas dinner with prime rib.

“Pour out 6 tablespoons of beef drippings from the roast into a shallow pan and keep hot. Beat 2 eggs until light, add 1 cup milk, and beat until frothy. Stir in 1 cup of sifted flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat until smooth. Pour into the hot drippings and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees for 15 minutes more.” (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook” Page 131)

 

Dorothy Deason

I met Helen Corbitt when she came to Henderson to present the program at the Henderson Woman’s Forum in the early 1960’s.  I bought a copy of her cookbook, and she autographed it. I treasure the book, and all of the recipes that I have tried are excellent.  However, my favorites are her Poppy Seed Dressing, her Texas Corn Bread, and her Beef Stroganoff.

 

Adele Regan

I was a 1954 bride who moved to Tyler in 1958. I still use the “Helen Corbitt Cookbook” today. It is simple, wonderful and classic. The Zodiac Room and Helen Corbitt represent a wonderful time period in our lives. She really paved the way. Some of my favorite recipes are the Coffee Angel Food Cake, Chocolate Marshmallow Pie, Clear Tomato Soup, Sand Tarts, Raspberry Sauce and Cinnamon Sticks. Another favorite of mine is Muligatawny Soup. A delicious and fun soup because of the addition of apple.

 

Lou Sutton, Athens

I love all cookbooks and recipes from Helen Corbitt. Throughout the first two-thirds of my life, the ladies in our family regularly loaded up the cars in East Texas and caravanned to Dallas for a shop and lunch at the famous Zodiac Room in the downtown Neiman-Marcus store. Still today, those outings with mother and all my proper aunts seem to pop up frequently in my memory. The experiences seem welded into my memory, just as vivid today as in yesteryear. I actually remember exactly the dresses, hats and gloves we wore, always our best “bib and tucker.”

Mostly, I recall desserts called Flowerpots. The recipe is in my inherited 1957, twenty-first printing of “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook.” My young grandsons are not as thrilled with the dessert as would be a young granddaughter, but they did comment that the pots “looked real” and tasted “OK”! Take my word for it; if you are a grandmother with granddaughters who have the grand imagination I had at a young age, you will love the Flowerpots for a dessert idea. I promise your efforts will be met with squeals of excitement. Just be sure to make the occasion very formal and a special treat, not often done.

When we married, I could cook nothing interesting. Over the years, I have used the recipes in the treasured “Cookbook” in both the learning process and the passing it on process. We women seem to enjoy a brief space of time in later years when our daughters are receptive and appreciative of a great, no-fail recipe!

Particularly successful recipes are still family favorites, like Chicken Tetrazzini, Oyster Stew, Chicken Velvet Soup and Morney Sauce for Turkey (after holidays). The Morney Sauce recipe makes enough to share with a friend! Who does not like a sip of wine and some friend chatter while stirring, stirring, stirring the sauce so that it does not stick? Oh yes! Do not forget the Sand Tart recipe! Simply the best … just like Neiman-Marcus’ Zodiac Room would have it! Of course, darlings! Some things are to die for!

 

Virginia Kuykendall, Palestine

“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook” was the latest buzz in 1960 when, as a newlywed, I was learning to cook. We lived on a tight budget while Ken was a medical school student in Dallas and I was finishing my teaching degree. I sought easy to prepare meals that were truly delicious, had some distinction, and were economical. Helen Corbitt’s Chicken Japanese quickly became a favorite meal. Our friends and family raved about this wonderful dish and usually asked for the recipe. It was the first time I had used Fried Chinese Noodles in a recipe.

I always cook whole brown rice in chicken broth.  Back then, we bought either whole chickens or whole chickens cut up in a package.  I used wing, back and thigh meat for this dish with lots of salt and pepper. Today, I shred whatever chicken meat I have available for the dish. 

Also the Poppy-Seed Dressing from page 47 is rich, thick and delicious. Because one recipe makes a generous amount, I share jars of it with friends.  People always seem to be amazed that I made it myself.  I enjoy reading the old-fashioned directions. We did not have food processors when this cookbook was published.  However, I still use a blender to prepare it. This dressing was virtually unknown until Helen Corbitt made it popular. 

 

Martha Hook, Tyler

I have so many memories of Helen Corbitt and the Zodiac Room. Many happy occasions in my life were celebrated there with friends and family.

Probably my strongest memory out of Helen Corbitt’s cooking gifts to all of us is her recipe for Poppy-Seed Dressing. It became a staple of my big family get-togethers, numerous tea parties and dinner extravaganzas around Dallas.

We all learned to make Poppy-Seed Dressing and keep it handy to serve with the abundance of Texas citrus fruit, especially pink grapefruit. Because of pink grapefruit and Helen’s dressing, I had to learn how to section a grapefruit. This is really easier than it sounds, or I couldn’t have perfected it!

Once I went to a PTA meeting in Lakewood where Helen Corbitt was speaking. I had just returned from 10 years on the East Coast and in the Midwest where I had often used and relied on “sour half and half cream.” I couldn’t find it in the 70’s in Texas, so during the Q and A I asked her where to find it in the Dallas area. To my surprise, she had never heard of it! 

When I downsized my life and had to slim down my huge collections of cookbooks, one of the 10 cookbooks I kept is my well-worn “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook” that I received as a wedding shower gift in 1957. By the way, there is still a bookmark on page 47 where the Poppy Seed Dressing resides! If you find Helen”s cookbook at a garage sale … grab it before anyone else does!

 

Suzanne McCarty

I worked in downtown Dallas for several years and was privileged to eat lunch at the Zodiac Room for special occasions with co-workers.  I received a copy of “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook” in 1977 from a friend as a housewarming gift.  I enjoy several of her recipes, but use the Fruit Glace from page 346 the most.

 

Ruth Stankewitz

I received the Helen Corbitt Cookbook as a birthday present in 1968. My fave, French Onion Soup, on page 38, is well-worn.  The other three places where it automatically opens and has a good share of stains – Banana Bread on page 222, Texas Corn Bread on page 237, Fudge Brownie Fingers on page 306.

 

Carol Thompson, Tyler

My mother, Doris Paar, now 94, brought me up on Helen Corbitt books and Helen’s recipes. When our family moved to Dallas from Waco in the mid 60s, one of the first things she did was treat me and my younger brother, Steven, to a lunch at Neiman-Marcus’ Zodiac Room.  I remember my meal involved a small cheese soufflé – the first I ever tasted – covered with chicken in a sauce. Dessert was a pudding cake with a wonderful caramel sauce, very rich.  Mother loved, and still loves, everything about Helen Corbitt and wanted us to appreciate her story and cooking talent as well.  Today I still pull out a Helen Corbitt recipe book for relaxing reading, recipes and great ideas. 

Mother and I made many of Helen’s recipes over the years and learned many cooking lessons from her books.  One of our favorites, which we make each year, is not listed in the index.  It’s on page 304 of “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook.” The recipe does not even have a name, but here is Helen’s story and recipe in her own words:

 “Everyone who has lived in Texas a long time has heard of Miss Fanny Andrews, and if they haven’t they should.  This is her recipe for a Christmas cooky that is ‘most delicious’ in her language and ‘divine’ in mine.

Empty a pound box of brown sugar into a bowl.  Drop in 3 eggs and beat well.  Add 2 cups of flour, 1 cup chopped unpeeled orange slices slightly dredged with flour, and 1 cup of chopped pecans.  Bake in shallow pans lined with wax paper slightly buttered, at 350 degrees until done.  Ice while hot with a very thin icing of orange juice, powdered sugar, and grated orange peel.  When dry, cut into small squares.”

 

Recipes:

 

CHICKEN JAPANESE  

Chicken Japanese has a subtle Oriental flavor that is most pleasing.

 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup butter

1/2 clove garlic, chopped fine

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cups diced chicken

Salt and pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Melt the butter and add the garlic; sauté a minute and add flour and cook until bubbly.  Add stock and soy sauce, mix thoroughly, then add chicken and seasoning.  Serve, as soon as the chicken is added, over Fried Chinese Noodles and rice. Serves 8. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 82)

 

Poppy-Seed Dressing

 

INGREDiENTS

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup vinegar

3 tablespoons onion juice (grated onion)

2 cups salad oil – but never olive oil

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

 

DIRECTIONS

Mix sugar, mustard, salt and vinegar. Add onion juice and stir it in thoroughly. Add oil slowly, beating constantly, and continue to beat until thick. Add poppy seeds and beat for a few minutes. Store in a cool dry place or the refrigerator. It’s best to use a blender to mix. If the dressing separates start all over. It is delicious on fruit salads, but has a special affinity for grapefruit. One of my most popular buffet salad bowls at the Houston Country Club, where I was manager, was finely shredded red cabbage, thinly sliced avocado, and halves of fresh grapes with poppy-seed dressing. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 47)

 

Sand Tarts

 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound of butter

1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar

2 cups sifted cake flour

1 cup pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

DIRECTIONS

Cream butter; add sugar. Stir well and add flour, nuts and vanilla. Shape into balls or crescents and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until a light brown. Roll in powdered sugar while warm. Makes 4 dozen. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 310)

 

Fruit Glacé

 

INGREDIENTS

Fresh fruit such as pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, kiwi, grapes, bananas, cut in bite size pieces

1 1/2 cups of fruit juice (I use orange juice)

1 cup of sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

 

DIRECTIONS

Combine ingredients and cook until thick, cool and pour over fruit just before serving. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 346)

 

Rum Balls

 

INGREDIENTS

3 cups rolled vanilla wafers

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups finely chopped nuts

1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons white Karo

1/2 cup rum

 

DIRECTIONS

Mix thoroughly and form into small balls. Roll in powdered sugar and wrap in wax paper. These freeze well. Makes 4 dozen. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 310)

Oysters Rockefeller

 

INGREDIENTS

36 large oysters in shell

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, or raw fresh spinach

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1/2 cup butter

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup white bread crumbs (no crust) ground as fine as you can get them

A few drops of Tabasco sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

A few drops of absinthe (if you have it – or skip it)

 

DIRECTIONS

Have the fish market man open the oysters for you. Pack ice cream salt in 6 pie or cake pans and arrange 6 oysters in a circle on each pan. Put parsley and onion through the meat grinder, using a fine blade, or else chop it by hand into very fine pieces; mix with the butter, garlic and bread crumbs and spread this mixture lightly over the oysters. Add seasonings. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then put the pans on the dinner plates and serve. Just garnish with a wedge of lemon. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 117)

 

Spicy Brisket of Beef

 

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds fresh beef brisket

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 sliced onion

1 whole piece celery

1/2 cup chili sauce

1 can beer

1/4 cup chopped parsley

 

DIRECTIONS

Place beef in casserole. Season and cover with the onion, celery and chili sauce. Add 1/4 cup water, and roast uncovered in a 325 degree oven until brown. Pour beer over, cover and bake at the same temperature for about 3 hours, or until tender. Remove meat and strain off all the fat. Add chopped parsley. Cut in thin slices and serve with the juices. This is no dish for a weakling, so serve hashed brown potatoes and sugar buttered carrots and onions with it. (From Helen Corbitt’s Pot Luck, Page 73)

 

Chocolate Marshmallow Pie

 

INGREDIENTS

1 baked pie shell (for an 8-inch pie)

20 marshmallows

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons cocoa

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon rum

1 cup cream, whipped

 

DIRECTIONS

Cook the marshmallows, milk, cocoa and salt in a double boiler until the marshmallows dissolve. Let cool and then add the vanilla and rum. Fold in the whipped cream. Pour in baked shell and chill. Cover with whipped cream and pecans. It is an amazingly light dessert and easy enough for a child to make. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 285)

 

Beef Stroganoff

 

With a leftover roast of beef or veal there is no better dish than stroganoff.

 

INGREDIENTS

4 cups cooked beef or veal

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup thinly sliced and coarsely chopped onion

1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 cup beef stock or consommé

1 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon whole caraway seeds

A dash of nutmeg

2 cups sour cream

 

DIRECTIONS

Trim all fat from the meat and cut in strips, abut 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide. Heat oil and butter in skillet, add onions and mushrooms and sauté at low heat until soft. Add meat and continue cooking for 10 minutes; add consommé and cook for 30 minutes. Mix flour and seasonings with the sour cream and add to first mixture. Cook slowly until thick, but do not boil. Remove from direct heat and keep over hot water. I like to serve Stroganoff with fine noodles, well buttered and seasoned with chopped parsley and combined with peas; or add potato balls, cooked in consommé, to the Stroganoff just before serving. (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 124)

 

Popovers

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, room temperature

7/8 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

 

DIRECTIONS

Mix the flour and salt. Beat eggs until light and foamy, add milk and butter and add slowly to the flour. Stir until well blended. Beat 2 minutes with rotary beater if by hand or 1 minute with an electric beater. Heavily butter muffin tins or custard cups and put in the oven to get hot. Fill the cups one third. Bake 20 minutes at 450 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 and bake 15 minutes more. Don’t peek! (“Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 241)

 

Bisque of Corn & Crabmeat

 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

4 cups fresh or frozen corn (uncooked)

4 cups milk

1 cup cream

Salt & pepper

1 pound crabmeat

 

DIRECTIONS

Sauté the onion in the butter until soft. Add the flour and curry and cook 1 minute. Add corn chopped or put in an electric blender. Cook for five minutes. Add milk and cream, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir in the crabmeat and serve at once from the pot. 

(Helen Corbitt’s Pot Luck, Page 3)

 

Chicken Salad Supreme

 

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups diced cold chicken

1 cup celery chopped fine

1 cup sliced white grapes

1/2 cup shredded browned almonds

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

 

DIRECTIONS

Combine and serve in lettuce cups with thin slices of chicken on top, garnished with stuffed olives, sliced thin, or chopped ripe olives. Garnish with sliced stuffed olives. Serves 8. (From “Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook”, Page 60)