Skillet Inge

When the rain stops the backyard BBQ, make this entire meal in one skillet! We present it in honor of LGBT playwright William Inge. Read a quick story about him after the recipe for some interesting dinner conversation.

In this plain Midwestern dish, the beans take the place of chips or fries, For the purest, try a side of green vegetable. Here we opted for roasted asparagus. 

 

 Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

• 2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can white beans, rinsed and drained

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, undrained

• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Do your cutting: chop the celery, onions, and garlic.

In a large skillet cook ground beef, (or ground turkey) celery, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is brown, stirring to break up meat as it cooks. 8 – 10 minutes Drain off fat.

Add the drained beans, un-drained stewed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, oregano, and black pepper.

Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until desired consistency.

If you wish a thicker dish, whisk in some cornstarch. Slave opted for a touch of orange zest on top to brighten the dish. Served with a side of roasted asparagus.

For our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYueUekxZNU

So honored to be serving my Master Indy.

socialslave

To satisfy and restore.

To nourish, support and maintain.

To gratify, spoil, comfort and please,

to nurture, assist, and sustain

…..I cook!

Please buy slave's cookbook:

The Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White

 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTMvia @amazon

 

 

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"Playwright of the Midwest"

May 3, 1913 - 108 years-ago, William Inge was born in Independence, Kansas.

Teaching at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri from 1938-1943, he was offered a position at the St. Louis Star-times when their drama critic was drafted in 1943. Inge, who had a deferment, reviewed 417 plays, movies, books, & works of music & art until Hynds returned in 1946.

In November 1944, Inge had the opportunity to interview Tennessee Williams, who was in town visiting his parents. His article for the Star-Times, entitled, "Home Town Boy Makes Good", mentioned that Williams would be heading to New York for pre-production rehearsals for his new play, "The Glass Menagerie".

When Inge expressed his desire to become a playwright, Williams encouraged him. The two had a brief, but intense relationship, & remained occasional lovers the remainder of their lives.

In should come as no surprise then a play was written about the these two playwrights: ‘The Gentleman Caller’. In the play Tennessee Williams recalls revealing encounters with William “Bill” Inge.

It is said that his struggles with homophobia and self doubts fueled a long standing battle with alcoholism.

Taking a job as English Professor at Washington University in 1946, Inge wrote his first two plays.

During this time, Inge's struggles with alcoholism became more acute; in 1947, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). It was through AA that Inge met the wife of a member whose name was Lola. He based one of the lead characters in Come Back, Little Sheba, on her.

Williams introduced Inge to Margo Jones, who would produce his first play, & Audrey Wood, who would become his agent. Inge's play, "Come Back, Little Sheba" ran on Broadway for 190 performances in 1950, winning Tony Awards for Shirley Booth and Sidney Blackmer. In 1952, the film adaptation won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Shirley Booth.

Inge would win the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1953 with his play, "Picnic", & an Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1961 for "Splendor in the Grass". Another of his hits was "Bus Stop", later made into a movie, starring Marilyn Monroe.

Even as Come Back, Little Sheba was in a pre-Broadway run in early 1950, Inge was filled with some doubt as to its success. He expressed in a letter to his sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous,

"If Sheba makes it in Hartford I guess it will go on to Broadway and if it doesn't I suppose I'll be back in St. Louis. If it does make it to Broadway, I don't know when I'll be back." Inge never had to return to St. Louis.

In 1957 he wrote The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, an expansion of his earlier one-act Farther Off from Heaven. The play was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Play, and was adapted as a film in 1960.

During the early 1970s Inge lived in Los Angeles, where he taught playwriting at the University of California, Irvine. His last several plays attracted little notice or critical acclaim, and he fell into a deep depression, convinced he would never be able to write well again.

Inge committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning on June 10, 1973. William Inge has a star on the St Louis "Walk of Fame" at 6624 Delmar.