Musso & Frank-Style Stuffed Celery
A retro bar snack from a venerable LA institution.
Hello, lovely snacking fans! It’s been a hard week here in California. I don’t think anyone who has lived here for any length of time has been untouched by the tragedy that is still unfolding in Los Angeles. I’ve been thinking a lot about the places in LA that have had major impacts on my life—from the house I was born in to all the places my family has celebrated milestones—and I’ve added a short list of places you can donate funds (or even clothes) to the bottom of this email.
I also thought it might be a nice time to share a recipe that originated in one of my family’s favorite LA haunts: the stuffed celery from Musso & Frank (technically The Musso and Frank Grill) in Hollywood. When the world is back to something closer to normal, I’m looking forward to heading there, and to many LA restaurants and businesses, to do my small part to help them recover from the economic losses that come with these kinds of tragedies.
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For more quick-and-easy (and delicious!) meals, pre-order a copy of my upcoming book SNACKING DINNERS! As a bonus, I’ll happily send you a free signed bookplate and enter you up for fun prize drawings. (Pre-orders are a huge boost for sales rankings and encourage indie bookstores to stock the book.)
Ask my dad to tell you a story about his days in LA, in the ‘70s (when he was an up-and-coming tv writer and director), and there’s a very good chance it will take place at Musso & Frank. The bar in the front room is where he met some of his closest friends, including my brother’s late godfather, the acclaimed cinematographer Allen Daviau—who used to eat his way through a multi-course meal of appetizers, oysters, steak with all the sides, and dessert (all paired, of course, with a nearly endless stream of martinis).
When I was a baby, my parents would bring me with them to dinner and set my basket-like bassinet on the sleek wood ridge on the top of the booth. The first time I ate there, in my late 20s, my dad couldn’t wait to show the bartender working that day how much I’d grown.
I have also had a number of memorable meals at Musso & Frank. Despite the restaurant’s fame, the timelessness of the atmosphere makes it the perfect place to have a leisurely meal (or to play hooky from a work conference at a nearby hotel). Friends in F&B have even worked there from time to time over the years.
A big part of the restaurant’s charm is that the food has changed very little over the years. The old-school steakhouse menu is full of steaks, chops, homemade potpie (if you’re there on a Thursday), and seafood cocktails. This snack of celery stuffed with Roquefort cheese “mousse” is one of their classic appetizers, and I doubt it’s changed at all in the last 50 years, if ever. (The only change I’ve noted is in the placement and style of the garnishes.) With half a black olive on each piece, and a good shake of paprika, it’s as good a throwback dish as you’ll get, the kind of thing your grandparents might have served at cocktail parties—but in the best way possible.
For the version I’ve made below, I’ve tweaked the recipe just a tiny bit, changing the ratio of Roquefort to cream cheese to make the flavor slightly less overwhelming, so that you can eat more of it on your own, as a whimsical meal. Even with this adjustment, it’s still very dairy forward, so to lighten up your dinner (and give it some different flavors and textures) you might want to pair these with a handful of cherry tomatoes and a little bowl of potato chips. Add a martini if you want the full old Hollywood bar experience!
Do you have a Musso & Frank story to share? I’d love to hear it!
Musso & Frank-Style Stuffed Celery
Serves 1 as a snacking dinner or 2–3 as a starter
3 large celery ribs (from the outside of the stalk)
2 ounces cream cheese
1 ounce (1½ tablespoons) Roquefort
1 tablespoon sour cream
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
2-4 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco or Tapatío
3 pitted black California olives (halved lengthwise)
Flat-leaf parsley
Paprika
Trim the ends off of the celery, use a vegetable peeler to remove the stringy outer skin (if you like), and cut each rib in half crosswise (for shorter pieces).
In a small mixing bowl, smash the cream cheese, roquefort, and sour cream together to form a fairly uniform paste. Add the granulated garlic and some of the hot sauce and mix to combine; taste and add more hot sauce if needed.
Fill the celery ribs with the cheese mixture (the bar uses a pastry bag with a star piping tip; a knife works just as well). Top the filled celery with the olive halves and some parsley leaves and sprinkle on some paprika.
Organizations Helping Angelenos Affected by the Fires
If you’re looking for ways to help the residents affected by the fires in Los Angeles, here are some places to donate:
California Fire Foundation: This non-profit provides support to those affected by fires (and to firefighters’ families).
World Central Kitchen: World Central Kitchen has mobilized to feed those displaced by the fires as well as area firefighters.
Seconds Market Match Program: This marketplace is usually a way for people to buy, sell, and swap used clothes, but they’ve set up a page where you can specify your size and gender and they will pair you with someone in need who can make use of your gently used clothing.
GoFundMe: While it would be great if insurance and the government would make people whole after their tremendous losses, we know that’s not how things work in this country. GoFundMe has a page dedicated to all the verified fundraisers set up to help those affected by the fires.
Rel’s Recs Fundraiser: Substacker Ariel of Rel’s Recs has gathered a variety of prizes from other generous food Substackers and put together a raffle to benefit the LA Food Bank and World Central Kitchen’s work in the city. Raffle closes January 15th.
Photos: Georgia Freedman, Musso & Frank website