Recipes for Life (17 page)

In a bowl, combine the cream, garlic, salt, and pepper.

When ready to bake, pour the cream mixture over the potatoes and bake 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Serve warm.

U
NFORTUNATELY
,
T
OM
H
ORN
wasn’t the box-office success that I had hoped. Steve had shared with me early on that he was making this picture for himself, not the studio. He’d done the big films they’d wanted; this time he was doing a story he felt passionate about.

So I was back to trying to figure out how I was going to make a living acting. A few months passed without any work, not even a guest spot on TV. Things weren’t looking too good. Even Greeny was getting nervous and wondering why I had to wait until I was thirty-seven to finally decide to have a career.

No matter how bad it looked, I kept telling myself it was going to work out, even if everyone else thought I was crazy. And then it happened. Greeny called, all excited: “They are doing a movie at Disney,
The Black Hole.
It’s nine months work, right here, no location. You’ve worked for the studio, the director, and two of the leading men. This could be the big break we’ve been waiting for.”

I was already thanking God for this blessing as I drove to the studio to meet with everyone. It could not have gone better. Well, except that I didn’t get the part.

Greeny was crushed. I was shaken, but still holding to my belief that life had something wonderful in store for me. So when, a couple of months later, we learned that the actress they had cast for
The Black Hole
was being replaced and they wanted to see me again, I thought, Yes, I knew it had been a test of my faith, and I hadn’t given up.

I went back to meet with everyone, had another great meeting, and then they gave the part to Yvette Mimieux.

This time I was stunned, but I didn’t have the luxury of getting depressed, because I knew I would lose my house if I didn’t succeed. I still believed that I didn’t deserve to fail. The God that I loved didn’t punish that way. I realize now that I was doing “the law of attraction” before I knew what it meant. I had absolute faith in my future in spite of “my age.”

Even Greeny became a believer when I was rewarded beyond anything I could imagine. Not a nine-month movie, but a nine-year hit series called
Dynasty
that would change my life forever.

By the way, if I’d gotten the part in
The Black Hole
, I would not have been available to shoot the pilot for
Dynasty
.

I’ll never forget my first meeting with Aaron Spelling. I was excited and hopeful, but I never dreamed that within a few days, Aaron would tell me I’d be playing Krystle Carrington. What was also surprising was that Aaron asked if I would wear the little diamond cross I had on during filming, because he felt it suited Krystle’s character. I gladly wore it for the first year of the show and continued wearing it for many years after, until Yanni’s mother, Felitsa, admired it and I put it around her neck.

Aaron had a very dry wit, which I experienced shortly after he and the show’s creators, Esther and Richard Shapiro, gave me the part. He said that we wouldn’t start filming right away, which was great for me because I was leaving in a week for Aspen to take skiing lessons. I had a condo and an instructor all lined up. Aaron just smiled and said, “Have a great trip. We’ll be happy to replace you if you break your leg.”

Needless to say, I canceled my ski trip. I didn’t reschedule it until last year, when I spent many, many joyous hours on the bunny slopes learning to ski. I’m happy to report no broken bones.

As it turns out, I could have broken both legs and healed them by the time we shot the two pilots and endured a lengthy Screen Actors Guild strike.

I
HAD JUST
begun
Dynasty
and Bunky had just divorced her umpteenth husband, so she was free to begin a new career as my personal assistant. However, neither of us were too sure how long the show would run, so Bunky moved into one of my guest rooms for the first season. Ursula came from Europe to visit and took the other bedroom, and from that point on the laughs just kept coming. My home was constantly filled with joy and madness, which drew a stream of friends and family like magnets.

Bunky was in heaven when one of Ursula’s regular visitors turned out to be her
second
fantasy man, Sean Connery.

Needless to say that when Sean came over to sunbathe by the pool with Ursula, neither Bunky nor Nena got any work done. Who could blame them?

There’s been a lot of media about the unusual friendships between John Derek’s four wives, but even John thought it was funny when I invited Ursula to stay at my house during the last month of her pregnancy. It was a little unusual for sure, but there was a good reason. Ursula had made a movie with Harry Hamlin called
Clash of the Titans
and they had fallen in love. Ursula was living with Harry in his house in LA, which had some steep steps. The doctor decided it would be safer for Ursula to live somewhere else, so I invited her to stay with me.

On May 19, 1980, the big day arrived. Bunky and I prayed we didn’t end up behaving like everyone in the classic
I Love Lucy
episode: can’t find the suitcase, the car won’t start, total mayhem. I ended up driving Ursula to the hospital while Bunky located Harry, who was shooting a film at the time. It all came together beautifully. Harry, Bunky, and I waited together
for the blessed event. A beautiful boy, Dimitri Alexander Hamlin, was born. How many ex-wives could share something so magical?

When Dimitri came into the world, we made these wonderful fresh fruit desserts. With a new baby in the house, who has time to make anything complicated? The following are two simple, easy-to-make recipes.

This elegant combination is so much more than the sum of its parts. Everyone loves it.

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups buttermilk

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 pints strawberries, stemmed and sliced

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

In a mixing bowl, blend the cream, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla together until incorporated. Pour into an 8 x 8-inch Pyrex dish and chill in the freezer until firm on the edges but not frozen (the center will jiggle), about 1½ hours.

Put the strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar. Turn with a spoon gently until all the sugar is evenly distributed. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes (no more or it will pull the juice out of the strawberries and make them soupy).

Divide berries among six dessert bowls.

Use a mixer or an emulsion blender to beat the almost frozen cream until smooth. Spoon a ¼ to ½ cup of the sauce over the chilled strawberries, and serve immediately.

This dessert is easy to make yet classic. Typically you make this with just strawberries or raspberries but I’ve added blueberries or peaches. Just be sure that the berries or fruit are cut or sliced small enough that you get a good combination of berry and custard flavor with every spoonful. You can assemble the fruit in the dishes several hours in advance and then add the custard just before serving.

4 cups berries or fruit, room temperature, cut or sliced

1 cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

½ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus a few tablespoons extra for dusting

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ tablespoons Chambord (or raspberry-flavored) liqueur

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Divide the berries among eight (4-ounce) ovenproof ramekins or six (6-ounce) ramekins.

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add the egg yolks, ½ cup confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla and continue whipping for another minute.

Sprinkle a little liqueur over each ramekin. Pour the custard mixture over the fruit in each dish and place the dishes on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake 3 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the oven.

Preheat the broiler.

Transfer the ramekins to the broiler and broil until light golden brown, watching carefully.

Put a few tablespoons of confectioners’ sugar in a sieve and lightly dust each ramekin. Serve immediately.

T
HE YEAR
J
OHN
Derek turned fifty-two we decided to celebrate him by giving him a birthday party. Ursula, Bo, and I started planning the event. Sean got some of the photos that John had taken of each of us and we had custom T-shirts made.

We brainstormed a menu and Ursula reminded us that chili was one of John’s favorites.

The loves of John’s life.

The night before his birthday, Ursula, Bunky, and I met in the kitchen. It was great fun. We all chopped and participated in the creation. Hours later, and a few glasses of wine, Ursula suggested we add bourbon to the chili. Bourbon? Bunky and I had never heard of that trick. It tasted delicious.