"Do you cast any spells in the kitchen?" I asked Agnes Moorehead, the actress of a thousand voices who many television watchers knew as the witty, sophisticated Endora, the mother witch on "Bewitched." We talked in Salem, Massachusetts, the historic setting of the famed witches' trials during "on location" shooting just prior to her death.

"I hope I cast a spell on other people in the kitchen. I like to experiment," replied Aggie, who did most of her cooking on the family farm near Zanesville, Ohio. "My mother's mother came from Dublin and was an extremely fine cook, but we didn't learn; we just admired what she did. My mother taught me how to make Boston baked beans. She always said they're filling and when you can't get anything else this will last for quite a while and she was right."

Aggie described her farm's kitchen as having "beautifil
storage space, everything you can possibly think of: all the cooking accessories, blenders, broilers, self cleaning
stoves that make cooking easier." However, most of her entertaing was done in her 14 room Mediterranean villa in Beverly Hills (formely owned by Sugmuund Romberg), "I give big brunches with great cheese souffles or a lobster or shellfish mousse, with a light sweet or fruit and cheese for desert. And although I don't drink very much, some people like a very light wine with their lunch."

The actress nostalgically recalled the old fashioned taffy
pulls and toboggan parties of her youth, then added that
"children today don't know the fun of a great sleigh ride with three or four progressive dinners where you stopped off at one house for soup, then you went to another house.
And you'd be laughing and singing and get out of the sleigh and have the entree or desert at the last house."

Agnes Moorehead's Lobster Mousse

What you need:

1 lb. fresh lobster meat

3/4 cup heavy cream

few drops fresh lemon juice

2 tbsps. dry sherry

salt to taste

3 egg whites

white pepper to taste

parsley sprigs

pinch of nutmeg

lemon wedges

shrimp or truffles to garnish (optional)


Steps:

1. Chop lobster meat finely. Put through fine blade of chopper; then pound in a mortar until smooth.

2. Sprinkle lightly with few drops of lemon juice, then place in sieve to strain off lemon juice.

3. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

4. Gradually beat in cream and sherry with wire whisk.

5. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; gently fold in egg whites.

6. Butter a large deep mold. Turn lobster mixture into mold and place in pan filled with hot water.

7. Garnish with whole shrimp or bits of truffles.

8. Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 20 minutes or until firm. Or poach over hot water 35 minutes.

9. Wait a few minutes before turning out on a large heated platter.

10. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.

NOTE: Agnes Moorehead's elegant mousse can be served with a variety of sauces: lobster, Hollandaise or sherry flavored Bechamel sauce. If desired, use finely minced lemon rind in lieu of lemon juice.