For All You Bobby Short Fans in the House

I was doing a little research in the March 1970 issue of House Beautiful and found a fun article on entertaining chez Bobby Short. (Very apropos as yesterday's post was about entertaining.) That man had style for days and made everything look effortless. So for lunch for friends, Short served Texas Chili, Corn Meal Muffins, Salsify with Mayonnaise Mousseline, and Boysenberry Sherbet with Crème de Cassis. How easy is that? Chili, or any stew for that matter, is a perfect entertaining dish. All you have to do is make it ahead of time and let it simmer on the stove. In fact, this entire menu could be prepared ahead of time.

My favorite part of the article is Short's quote likening cooking to making music:

When you make a stew, you finish it to taste with a few grinds of the peppermill, maybe a dash more salt, thyme, too, and you know-you just know- when the flavor is right. Making music is much the same thing. You start with a little bass, add a soupçon of treble, throw in a bit of the drum, 'growl out' the lyrics, and suddenly it's okay. You're in there swinging.

I love the shot of Short tasting the chili with his ladle. Unfortunately, the images are all in black and white so you can't really get a good idea as to just how chic his apartment was. I'm including a few images of his apartment as it appeared in the Christie's auction catalogue.