My old school friend Rodney is 70 today.
We met in pre-prep school at the age of eight and both feature (butter wouldn’t melt in our mouths) in a photo of the cast of the first play I acted in– “Colonel Blood’s Plot to Steal the Crown Jewels” –an action packed melodrama that ended badly–for the Colonel!
Our Salad Days–(seems appropriate, given what’s to follow!)
I played the Colonel’s demure-looking wife (mob cap, centre back) and Rodney (mob cap, far right, back row)–his mistress?!
We try to see each other at least once a year and catch up by phone on our birthdays–it’s a fine tradition.
Rodney and I share a life span with another 70-year-old–Old Bay Seasoning.
“Same great taste for over 70 years,” it says on the tin.
This Maryland spice mix originates from the Chesapeake Bay area and was kindly given me at the pop-up book signing in New York City by Ann de Saram who brought it up from Baltimore by bus!
It’s widely used to zip up the taste of seafood and chicken–the perfect answer for a jet-lagged cook!
I marinaded two chicken breasts in the mix recommended on the box for an hour this morning:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon of OLD BAY seasoning
Several twists of the pepper mill
I heated a griddle on the stove, cut the breasts in thin strips and grilled them a minute and a half each side.
Served over a green salad, they made for a lazy lunch.
Not sure how far it makes its way out beyond America’s east coast–but here’s a recipe (found on the internet and untried by me!) for mixing your own:
Makes about 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon ground dried bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground mace
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Robin Ellis 
Terrific! As fate would have it I took some nice chicken breasts from the freezer just a short time ago….and I just happen to have some OLD BAY! It was gifted to us from friends in New Orleans. So it’s Old Bay marinated chicken for us tonight!
I certainly enjoyed the photo of you and Rodney in your caps! Great memories for you both! Isn’t it wonderful to have a friendship that spans many years? It keeps us young!
I have never used Old Bay before but I always see it at the store. Your dish looks delicious!
It is funny that I have never used Old Bay seasoning before. I know that it has to be used by a lot of restaurants so I must have experienced the taste and not known it. Your recipe sounds like a good place to start.
Love that someone gave you Old Bay — I grew up in Maryland and it was always in our kitchen — it’s what everyone uses for seasoning crabs and shrimp. Can say I never thought about marinating chicken with it, but will try this ASAP. Thanks for sharing!
btw, I can get in the the stores in Michigan.
Robin, as soon as I saw that thoughtful gift
I imagined Old Bay as a further enhancement for your potato-less fish cakes.
Good idea–I’ll try it, thanks.
oh it looks so yummy both in word and photo. you’re grilling already. the winter that never was is making it seems like March, raw and wet here on long island. your picture makes spring seem imminent.
even more lovely, the fact that you have a friend and experiences for your lifetime. how blessed and lucky and rare.
enjoy it all.
sandy
Thanks for the recipe! We used this spice mix with crab in Maryland.–but don’t see it in Alaska stores. Besides, when I’m in NZ we have to mix a lot of our own stuff. Looks yum.
Mixing your own is good–garam masala for instance.
Thanks for the Old Bay recipe. I’ll have to try it when I can’t buy it in Alaska and NZ. The salad looks wonderful, as well. Guess I’ll have to stock up on Old Bay when I’m in Maryland in June.
What about those handsome 70 year olds!? Keep on rockin’ , Gents!
I am glad you like Old Bay Seasoning. It tastes good on sweet potato fries baked in the oven.
Ann
Thanks again, Ann.
I have always wondered about Old Bay. Perhaps I shall try based on your recommendation! Thanks Robin!
I have always wondered about Old Bay. I will try it based on your recommendation Robin! Thanks!
Life is like that OLD BAY. Many ingrediants are needed to make it great! Sorry…I can’t help it…and I restrained myself from commenting on lasting great tastes.
How wonderful to have kept a childhood frienship during a lifetime! That’s very rare indeed. Rare as hen’s teeth… Many Happy Returns of The Day, Rodney from someone totally unknown to you… Dear Robin, I would have had Buckley’s chance to find that Bay Seasoning here. Thanks a million for sharing the necessary ingredients. Thank you very much indeed…
What a funny photo of you as the colonel’s wife, I was more looking for a small Poldark but it is such a good photo which will always make you smile! Very nice to have such an “old” friend. I have got an” old “schoolfriend too and it brings back memories of your childhood and you remember the parents and everything….very nice!
I love Old Bay. It’s wonderful on so many things. I get my Father to send it to me in Canada, from Florida. It’s excellent on fish before poaching, adds a lot of depth to what can otherwise be “delicate” (read bland) fish.
Thanks for the great tip on another way to use it.
I love Old Bay too – there’s the romance of the name and a rather nice tin to boot. Goes very well with seafood too.
Love Old Bay too – something quite romantic about the name and it comes in a great retro tin to boot. First had it in the US at some kind of crab boil thingie – now i eat it with fish. Delicious.
For those who love and or want to try Old Bay, I’m sure it’s available on-line. I also use “Bell’s Seasoning” for turkey. Lots of herbs mixed together for a lovely taste.
Robin, I made your chicken dish (which I call Chicken Charlotte) last weekend. It turned out beautifully. It was the first time I used preserved lemons and now I’m addicted. It was a struggle finding this middle eastern condiment in New Jersey (!) but I did.
Well done! You can “preserve” them yourself–I’ll search out the recipe.
I remember that my husband always used Old Bay when he made flounder or any kind of fish cake. I’ll have to try it on chicken! Great idea!
I live a 1/2 hour from the Chesapeake Bay so Old Bay is the local seasoning around here. It’s in everyone’s spice cupboard. I use it in soups of all kinds but it is pretty special with a Maryland Crab Soup.
Like Maire, I love Old Bay Seasoning and Bell’s Seasoning. Old Bay, as I’m sure Meredith knows, is used to flavor crabs, often smeared on the outside of hardshell blue crabs before they are steamed. The heat turns the blue color to red and adds to their brightness. These are wonderful eaten in quantity, and often served al fresco, dumped on a table set with nothing more than brown paper to protect the table. Add some nutcrackers and picks to get at the crabmeat and lots of cold beer and you have a feast. Very popular at restaurants on the Chesapeake Bay, especially around Baltimore and Annapolis (a city that dates back to the 1600s). Bell’s is what we always used to season stuffing for Thanksgiving turkeys – a different taste from other poultry seasoning. Both traditional East Coast seasonings. Old Bay used to have lots of MSG but they eliminated that a number of years ago.
These are wonderful eaten in quantity, and often served al fresco, dumped on a table set with nothing more than brown paper to protect the table.
Count me in!