Three years ago, actress Mariel Hemingway appeared on an episode of ‘Everyday Italian,’ the Food Network cooking show hosted by Palisadian Giada DeLaurentiis. ’My youngest daughter, Langley, was obsessed with Giada,’ says Hemingway, who appeared on the show with Langley. Today, Hemingway herself is becoming known for her culinary skills, thanks to her latest book, ‘Mariel’s Kitchen: Simple Ingredients for a Delicious and Satisfying Life’ (HarperCollins). Hemingway will sign copies of her book and greet fans tomorrow night, July 3, at Palisades-Malibu YMCA’s inaugural ‘Fun Family Friday Nights,’ 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Simon Meadow in Temescal Gateway Park. ’Mariel’s Kitchen’ is the logical extension of Hemingway’s own obsession with fitness, wellness and stillness, the actress tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘It’s my first cook book,’ Hemingway, 47, says. ‘It was originally about greening your kitchen because I believe the way that you eat and set up your kitchen is the first step in becoming helping your environment.’ In ‘Mariel’s Kitchen,’ readers will discover course-by-course recipes including such delicacies as a cauliflower, celery, and green pea salad; cranberry ‘blisscuit’ mini muffins; roasted chicken with rosemary and root vegetables; and seared wild salmon with minted mango salsa. Hungry readers will also find a spinach and mushroom lasagna, buffalo meat loaf (‘one of the best meats you can get is buffalo; it’s just a healthy meat’) and such desserts as lemon zest cheesecake, pumpkin walnut balls (‘That was my new creation’) and pear sorbet with balsamic port syrup. ‘I created those for my kids,’ she says of her quite-emerald spinach pancakes. ‘I just love everything green.’ ‘Mariel’s Kitchen’ is organized by seasons, utilizing ingredients specific to winter, spring, summer and autumn. ‘It’s a gluten-free cookbook. Some are family recipes that I tweaked to make healthier. We over-process wheat grain so much in this country that I believe we have an allergic reaction to gluten. ‘Food in its simplicity is the best kind of food,’ Hemingway says. ‘Shopping at the farmers market, supporting local merchants.’ Hemingway believes her penchant for cooking is genetic. She credits her dad, John Hadley Hemingway. ‘My father grew up in Paris, and he never believed that anyone in America could really cook,’ Hemingway says. ‘When he married my mother, a native Idahoan, he was convinced she couldn’t cook so he sent her to Le Cordon Bleu. Julia Child was at their wedding.’ Hemingway has always been connected to food service. Divorced earlier this year, she had been married since 1984 to Stephen Crisman, a restaurateur who co-founded the Hard Rock Caf’. They have two daughters, Dree, 22, and the aforementioned Langley, 20. In the 1980s, Hemingway and Crisman ran seven Sam’s Caf’ restaurants nationwide (‘Sam’ was Crisman’s nickname for Hemingway). Hemingway, of course, is not the only author in her family. Today marks the anniversary of the death of her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway, who was widely considered the 20th century’s most important American writer. He died in 1961, about four months before granddaughter Mariel was born. Hemingway starred in films representing two phases of filmmaker Woody Allen’s career: his 1979 classic ‘Manhattan,’ and 1997’s well-reviewed ‘Deconstructing Harry.’ ‘It was kind of a surreal experience,’ Hemingway recalls of shooting ‘Manhattan,’ in which she played Allen’s love interest. ‘I had never kissed anyone until I kissed Woody Allen in the film. I had to practice at home. I would look in the mirror and kiss my arm for an hour. ‘I was a kid,’ she continues. ‘I came from Idaho. I didn’t understand sexuality. It was like being on another planet. It was an amazing experience to be in ‘Manhattan’ even though I had already made ‘Lipstick.” Hemingway also played in 2001’s ‘Perfume’ (not a sequel to ‘Lipstick’). ”Perfume’ was all improvised,’ Hemingway says. ‘There was no script at all. It was scary but really fun.’ Speaking of sequels, 1987’s ‘Superman IV: The Quest for Peace’ may not be a career highlight for anyone involved, but Hemingway got to work with some of Hollywood’s most talented actors. ‘It was great to work with Gene Hackman, and Christopher Reeve was a gentle sweet soul,’ Hemingway says. ‘It was a great time in my life, and I was newly married.’ Earlier this year, Hemingway appeared with the late David Carradine in ‘The Golden Boys,’ ‘a period piece, a sweet, sweet film. But currently I’m producing stuff and I only work in films when something comes along that really moves me.’ Hemingway wants to get a motion picture made based on grandpa Ernest’s ‘A Moveable Feast,’ his memoir of his insouciant, intoxicated 20-something years in Paris with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Unlike her hard-drinking, hard-living grandfather, this third-generation Hemingway prefers cleaner living and healthy food with fresh ingredients. She is currently developing ‘The Mariel Hemingway Show,’ which will address her passions”health, wellness, and food’in a talk show format. ‘Everyone I pitched it to has really liked it,’ Hemingway says. ‘Nobody’s done a holistic show; it’s not just food, it’s everything.’ Translation: Giada, watch your back! www.marielhemingway.com Contact: Palisades-Malibu YMCA, (310) 454-5591.
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