Doggie Diner founder Al Ross dies at 93

Al Ross, the founder of a San Francisco Bay Area hot dog chain as famous for its giant fiberglass dachshund heads as for its food, died in Palm Springs of natural causes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He was 93.

A former amateur boxer who moved to Alameda, Calif., from the Bronx, Ross opened 30 Doggie Diners in the Bay Area, starting with one in Oakland in 1948.

In 1979, Ross sold the diners and eventually retired. The diners closed for good in 1986.

In 2000, fans of the doggie heads that rotated above the restaurants led a campaign to save the last surviving one. It received a $25,000 face-lift and was moved near San Francisco’s Ocean Beach.

-- Associated Press

Photo: A dachshund doggie, left over from the Doggie Diner chain, towers over the Carousel Diner in San Francisco in 1999. Credit: Associated Press

Donald Goerke, the man behind SpaghettiOs, dies at 83

Donald Goerke, the Campbell Soup Co. executive who was behind the enduring brands SpaghettiOs and Chunky Soup, has died. He was 83.

A Campbell spokesman confirmed that Goerke (GUHR’-kee) died of heart failure Sunday at his home in Delran in southern New Jersey.

Goerke was marketing research director of Campbell’s Franco-American line in the early 1960s when his group started dreaming up pasta in shapes that would appeal to kids. He chose the o’s. They were marketed with the unforgettable line, "Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs."

Later, he helped introduce Chunky Soup, a hearty, ready-to-serve soup that stood out from the company’s traditional line of condensed soups.

The Waukesha, Wis., native worked for Camden-based Campbell for 35 years, retiring in 1990.

-- Associated Press

Marian Gore, cookery bookseller and cook. Persimmon pudding, anyone?

The daughter of Marian L. Gore, a bookseller who specialized in tomes about food and wine and died at age 95, said her mother had been a “wonderful cook.”

Her mother’s “piece de resistance,” said Meredith Savery, was persimmon pudding. We couldn’t help but ask for the recipe.

Marian L. Gore’s Persimmon Pudding

There are many persimmon pudding recipes floating around, but they are all too fancy.  This is the simplest recipe I've seen and the best.

Beat one egg well in a bowl

Sift together and add 1 1/4 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add mashed pulp of three large ripe persimmons, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir until mixed.

Bake 1 hour or a little more at 300 degrees

Serve warm or cold with cream.

—Valerie J. Nelson

Photo: Marian L. Gore in 1974 with early California cookbooks.
Credit: Los Angeles Times