Food Coincidence?

I have a stack of clippings that are ideas for blog entries. If they aren't time sensitive, I rarely use them. I guess it's my blog security blanket.
But on Tuesday, October 23, 2007, there was was an odd collision of worlds on the New York Times obituary page. Two icons of mid-century cooking died three days apart.
The first, Peg Bracken, was a copy writer turned author. Her bestseller was the "I Hate to Cook Book." I know my mother had a copy, and yours may have, too. There aren't many funny cook books that I've run across, but in her recipe for Skid Row Stew, Bracken writes: "Add the flour, salt, paprika and mushrooms, stir, and let it cook for five minutes while you light a cigarette and stare sullenly at the sink." Her Times obituary is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/arts/23bracken.html.
The second was Vincent DeDomenico, Senior, who with his two brothers Tom and Paskey invented Rice-A-Roni ("The San Francisco Treat"). Mr. DeDomenico also established the Napa Valley Wine Train, using restored Pullman cars. I have never been to northern California, but that sounds pretty cool to me. His Times obituary is at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/business/23dedomenico-backf-obt-34-07.html