July 02

 Polly Dean Holliday's Birthday
 

Polly began her acting career as a member of the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida, where she stayed for ten years. In 1973, she moved to New York and in a year was she was cast in the Broadway hit All Over Town. While working on All Over Town, she met  actor Dustin Hoffman, who would later work with her on the 1976 movie All the President's Men .Her other notable film roles include the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap , Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), and her role as Mrs. Ruby Deagle in Gremlins (1984).

Polly has appeared in several Broadway stage productions, including revivals of Arsenic and Old Lace (1986).,  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1990) for which she was nominated for a Tony; and Picnic (1994).

Polly became internationally known for her sitcom role of the gum-cracking, red-wigged waitress Florence Jean Castleberry ("Flo") on the CBS television series Alice (1976 to 1985) for which she twice received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.Flo coined the popular catch phrase "Kiss mah grits!"  which immediately became part of the American vocabulary.  As Polly relates in an interview, "If you remember the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Flo was pretty blue in that. But she couldn't use the same kind of language on TV and they were looking for something that would sound naughty but not be naughty." When presented with the "grits" phrase, Polly was initially skeptical and complained that it sounded odd. But, she goes on, "I did it and it turned out to be very funny. Then, of course, they wanted to use it in every show." Polly was immensely popular among waitresses.  Says Polly, "there are a lot of people who relate to waitresses, because, well, they're just regular people, working away every day at making a living and dreaming of one day getting ahead. Anybody can relate to that." According to media reports, Linda Lavin, who was the titular star of Alice  had several clashes with Holliday for her increasing popularity and claim that Holliday was stealing the show from her.

To celebrate Polly's birthday, we suggest some tasty Andouille Grits which should be paired with her delightful appearance as Midge
in Gremlins.
 

Andouille Grits

 
Ingredients
 
1/2 large Vidalia onion, chopped
1 TB  chopped garlic
1 cup chopped andouillie sausage
2 TBvegetable oil
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
 		 1 TB Creole seasoning
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup uncooked quick white grits
1/2 tsp salt
2 TB  margarine, melted
 
Instructions
 
  1. Sauté onion , garlic and sausage in hot oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until tender. Add chicken broth, Cajun seasoning,  and whipping cream bring to a boil. Gradually stir in grits and salt. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until thickened.
  2. Pour grits onto a lightly greased baking sheet into a 10 1/2-inch circle (should be about 1/3-inch thick); cover and chill 8 hours.
  3. Invert grits circle onto a flat surface; cut into 8 wedges. Brush top and bottom of each wedge with melted butter.
  4. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat (about 300° F to 350°F) 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove and keep warm.
     

Yield: 6 servings

© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes