Gilmore's Departing Dinner

On this day in 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore was shot by a firing squad in Utah, becoming the first person executed in the U.S. after a Supreme Court ruling that upheld death penalty statutes. Gilmore gained notoriety by insisting that his death sentence be carried out with no delay.  The night before he was executed, Gilmore was served his final meal: a steak, potatoes, milk, coffee and a six-pack of beer.  He reportedly consumed only the milk and coffee.

The Charm of Charcoal

In the wake of news that Tony Curtis has died, we pay tribute to the actor by sharing this story from our book.

The first time Curtis used a charcoal grill to cook dinner was also memorable for another reason. "I bought a couple of steaks from the market," the movie star remembered, and he picked up his date from her hotel.  Curtis was pleasantly surprised that he succeeded in igniting the charcoal — "and that it stayed lit." He cooked the steaks and served them with string beans, tomatoes, and a bottle of wine.

"I knew something was going to happen that night, and so did she," Curtis said. At about two o'clock in the morning, he and Marilyn Monroe retreated into the bedroom and made love.

Reggie Likes Mexican, Candice Likes Lebanese

In the final installment of our three-part series celebrating the start of the NFL season, we list the favorite foods of football luminaries, based on reliable websites and media reports:

* Colts quarterback Peyton Manning – steak

* Saints quarterback Drew Brees – chicken-fried steak

* Patriots quarterback Tom Brady – onion rings

* Cowboys running back Marion Barber – collard greens

* Saints running back Reggie Bush – Mexican food

* Seahawks coach Pete Carroll – “Waffles & pancakes because of the syrup.”

While researching this blog post, we ran across the web profile of Candice Estfan, one of the Rhythm & Blue dancers for the Dallas Cowboys. In addition to disclosing that her strangest talent was that “I can fold my tongue into a 3 leaf clover,” she offered two food-related tidbits: Her favorite meal is “Lebanese food! Yummy!” and her most embarrassing moment is “seriously asking a friend ... ‘Are they going to have food at the rehearsal dinner?’”

An Executive Order

Former Texas Governor Allan Shivers had this recipe for chili:

Put a pot of chili on the stove to simmer.

Let it simmer. Meanwhile, broil a good steak.

Eat the steak. Let the chili simmer. Ignore it.

Mr. Meat

During the 1960s, the area underneath the goal in professional basketball was often called “the butcher shop,” a term that acknowledged the rough, physical play that occurred on that part of the court.  Yet hardly any basketball player did more to keep butchers in business than Wilt Chamberlain.  It wasn’t unusual for the superstar to eat up to six hot dogs at a time.  For Chamberlain’s largest meal of the day, he sometimes ate a two-pound T-bone steak, which was accompanied by a salad, soft-boiled eggs and other foods.