The Celluloid Pantry: Rice Under Pressure and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Pot holders don't make the cook. In Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), girl-about-town Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is seized with an uncharacteristic spurt of domesticity, changing her hair, her wardrobe, and her kitchen. Faced with the prospect of marriage to a wealthy Brazilian, Holly takes the kitchen she formerly used for little more than cocktails and cigarettes, and outfits it with new pot holders, curtains, a spice rack, and an assortment of gleaming utensils.

But the change is only skin deep. When her old neighbor Paul 'Fred' Varjak (George Peppard, right) stops by, Holly invites him to dinner, "I thought I'd show off and cook for you," she says.

She slices tomatoes for the salad and uncorks a bottle of rosé. The table is set with fine china and roses. But over on the stove, the pressure cooker whistles ominously.

"Do you think it's trying to tell us something?" asks Paul.

"I hope you like chicken and saffron rice served with chocolate sauce.* It's an East Indian classic, my dear," Holly says. "Three months ago, I couldn't scramble eggs…" ("Chocolate sauce, we're guessing, is a 60s American version of mole poblano.)

She brings the salad to the table, but over on the stove, the pressure cooker gasps, exploding Blake Edwards style. "Ahhh! Ahhhh!" Holly cries out. Paul smiles.

"Oh, oh, golly, darling, I did so want to impress you," she says, picking rice from her hair.

Saffron Rice
(makes 4 servings, pressure cooker optional)

2 cups basmati rice
1 tsp. saffron threads
3 Tbsp. plus 4 cups boiling water (a little less if using a pressure cooker)
6 Tbsp. ghee or butter
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 cup onion, finely minced
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

Place the saffron in a small bowl and cover with 3 tablespoons of boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes.

Heat the butter in a heavy 3 or 4 qt. pot with a tight-fitting lid (or pressure cooker). Add the cinnamon and cloves and stir well. Add the onions.

Add the rice and stir for about 5 min. Pour in the 4 cups of boiling water, salt, and the cardamom. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the saffron and its soaking water. Stir gently. Cover, reduce heat, and cook for 25 minutes (4 minutes at 15psi if using a pressure cooker, then remove from heat for approx. 10 minutes, or until steam dissipates). Fluff and serve hot.

- Nora

Great post! Whenever I contemplate picking up a pressure cooker, I think of this scene. On one hand, the exploding appliance would be consistant with some of my past disastrous kitchen experiences, but on the other hand, it seems kind of fabulous to cook up an "East Indian Classic", only to end up laughing with my handsome writer beau and picking rice out of my highlighted hair. Speaking of Audrey, the book that her son wrote has some of her signature recipes, and they are perfect for spring. Viva Audrey!

posted by Holly on 2006-04-25 13:31:48

I inherited a pressure cooker, yet have never used it because I saw this scene as a child and assumed it happens all the time. But I am an adult and must conquer my fear. Any suggestions for a good pressure cooker cook book? Do people still use them?

posted by Lori on 2006-04-25 17:57:54

Lori, I did a bit of research for this piece, and it seems that the newer models of pressure cookers have safety features like lids that lock better and "fuses" that open to release extra pressure if the main valve gets clogged. So if it's a newish one, I wouldn't worry.

posted by nora on 2006-04-25 18:07:32

yes, i can second that. i got a swedish pressure cooker ten years ago for $119 and it was the best investment i ever made. i use to to make stews, soups, cook potatoes, and grains and beans. j'love love love (to get all audrey about it).

posted by lisa on 2006-04-25 20:01:15

Chocolate? On CHICKEN? Now I've heard everything! I sort of love watching old movies and noting the kind of food they are eating, especially when what they considered exotic back then is more commonplace now. There's a runnning gag in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Frenzy" where a policeman's wife is constantly trying out these crazy exotic dishes for her put-upon husband. Usually the meals are met with an eye roll. One of the more peculiar things I recall her making was...get ready...a MARGARITA. When she presnts it to her husband she even makes sure to carefully pronounce every syllable. mar-gar-EEEEE-tah.

posted by Grant on 2006-04-26 13:47:31

i was in the house when my grandmother's pressure cooker exploded...spewing forth cooked beets and steaming beet juice.... it may be my imagination, but i think i can still see the remnants of the purple stain on her ceiling....

posted by david on 2006-04-26 15:58:00

I had a pressure cooker blow up on me and now I more information on case studies of the things. I'm sueing Econ,Rubbermaid and H&H for selling me a 10 year old pot/. Could you please help me out with this? Thank you all for your time. I had boiling water trapped in my bra. I got burnt from neck to stomach and both wrist, plus hands. I ended up in surgery and they don't want to pay me now.
Markita

posted by Markita on 2006-05-24 14:48:07

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