November 01
Jennifer Ann McCarthy's Birthday

One of the refrains from "The Saga" of Jenny" in the Kurt Weill/Ira Gershwin 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark is

"Poor Jenny, bright as a penny
Her equal would be hard to find
Deserved a bed of roses, but history discloses
That she would make up her mind"

which perfectly describes Jenny McCarthy who graduated from being the Playboy's 1994 Playmate of the Year to author of best-selling parenting books, while enjoying a moderately successful comedy career in TV. Unfortunately, she made up her mind to appear in a string of some of the worst films ever made, In March 2006, she was given Razzie Awards for "Worst Actress", "Worst Screenplay", and "Worst Picture" for her work on the ultra-gross-out comedy Dirty Love, (2005) which featured McCarthy's character sitting in a massive pool of her own menstrual blood.

The voluptuous, and often goofy and scatological-humored blond goddess started her TV career as the host of the Playboy Channel's "Hot Rocks" music video show and was soon hired by MTV for "Singled Out" where she became an almost overnight sensation, leading MTV to put her to work on other shows including, "Beach House," "Motherhood." and "Two and a Half Men. "

In addition to her successful writing and TV careers Jenny also made up her mind to launch a popular line of infant accessories marketed under her "Too Good Pretty in Pink" label including crib bedding, hampers, mobiles, etc. However, it was when Jenny made her mind up to lobby against childhood vaccines after her son had been diagnosed with autism that brought her the most media attention. She became a spokesperson for TACA (Talking About Curing Autism), and wrote another best-selling book Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism. After years of speaking publicly about her belief that MMR shots (immunization for measles, mumps, and rubella) caused her son's autism, she admitted to Time magazine in an February 25, 2010 article titled "The Autism Debate: Who's Afraid of Jenny McCarthy?" that her son may not have had autism, but rather Landau-Kleffner syndrome, “a rare childhood neurological disorder that can also result in speech impairment and possible long-term neurological damage.”

So as Jenny makes up her mind on how best to help her son and hopefully end the scummy string of her past films, it may be appropriate to celebrate the former Playboy Playmate of the Year with a a reminder of her tasty Playboy spread with a special breakfast treat provocatively titled Naked Ladies with their Legs Crossed which is a New England name for crullers. Enjoy them while watching her in Scary Movie 3 (2003).

Naked Ladies with their Legs Crossed

Ingredients

1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1 large egg
2 TB milk
1&1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1&1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out dough

1&1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground mace
2 quarts vegetable oil or peanut oil

Instructions

1. Put mashed potato to medium bowl and beat in egg, milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla until
    combined.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and in large bowl. Make well in
    center of flour mixture and add potato mixture. Stir to form moist and sticky dough.
3. On heavily floured work surface, roll dough into 18 by 14-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch
    thick. Cut dough into strips, make slit in   each strip, and twist to shape dough to
    resemble crossed legs. Transfer crullers to floured baking sheet and refrigerate until
    ready to fry. (Crullers may be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24
    hours.)
4. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until temperature reaches 350 degrees.
    Carefully lower 6 crullers into hot oil and fry, maintaining temperature between 325
    and 350 º F. until crisp and deep brown on both sides, 4 or 5 minutes. Using
    slotted spoon, transfer crullers to paper towel-lined plate and drain for 3 minutes.
5. Toss crullers in bowl with remaining 3/4 cup sugar and transfer to serving plate. Repeat
    with remaining crullers, regulating oil temperature as necessary. Serve.

Makes 24 Naked Ladies