An American Modern Evening

"As a pioneer of midcentury modern design and lifestyle marketing, Russel Wright created some the best-selling lines of china, flatware, glassware, and furniture. Half a century later, they are highly collectible.

As a single father in the 1950s with a young daughter to raise, and faced with a parade of housekeepers who had little or no skill in organizing daily menus, Wright became tired of having meatloaf and spaghetti with meatballs for dinner several nights a week. So, he developed a repertoire of favorite recipes that were easy to execute in the kitchen."

"Tapping into his love of all kinds of food, recipes gathered in his travels and from friends, and his verging-on-obsessive organizational skills, Russel created a menu cookbook that anyone could use to create interesting, balanced, fuss-free meals. Bound together in a loose-leaf notebook, Russel's type written menus included instructions about which china, linens, and flatware to use for each menu, whether it was to be served in the Wrights' Manhattan apartment or at Dragon Rock, their country home.

Ann Wright, Russel's daughter, began cooking with these family recipes when she was a child, and today, as a caterer and mother, she finds them as exciting and fresh as ever..."

Russel Wright's Menu Cookbook: A Guide to Easier Entertaining, 2003
by Ann Wright and Mindy Heiferling


We celebrated the professor's birthday last week with a deliciously festive meal inspired by Russel Wright. For the birthday dinner, that we shared with a few family members and close friends, I looked to the "American Casual Dinner" menu from Russel Wright's Menu Cookbook: A Guide to Easier Entertaining for inspiration. I called it an "American Modern Evening" -- quite appropriate for my American modern man.

What was served:
Shrimp Creole
White Rice
Grilled Angus Ribeye Steaks
Sugar Snap Peas and Yellow Summer Squash
Tossed Green Salad
Heavenly Yeast Rolls
Key Lime Pie

The hearty shrimp creole was enough to feed six, but I was feeding a hungry crowd of nine so I added the steaks to round out the menu. Wright's recipe for sugar snap peas and squash called for yellow pattypan squash but I used the much easier to find yellow summer squash. My mother-in-law makes delicious homemade rolls so we served those instead of the called for buttermilk biscuits. Wright recommended Black Walnut Cake for dessert but we enjoyed Key Lime Pie instead, the professor's favorite summer treat. It was fun to use several pieces of our American Modern pottery as serving dishes.

Just as Wright advised, it was a very casual, American dinner; a fun evening full of good food and laugher.