Caddyshack's Andy Murray shares family recipes in new cookbook

Growing up with eight brothers and sisters, Andy Murray learned to appreciate the little things in life, like a great peanut butter, mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich.

Murray is the seventh of nine children in the Murray family, which includes actor brothers Bill, John, Joel and Brian and a sister, Nancy, who is a Catholic nun. With so many mouths to feed, there wasn't a lot of room for picky eaters.

Hence the PBM&L sandwiches, which Murray said were a staple in the Chicago-area household. Wonder Bread, Hellmann's mayo, crunchy Skippy and a few leaves of iceberg lettuce was all it took to keep the hunger at bay until dinnertime.

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"To some, it may sound horrible, but when you combine the crispiness of the iceberg and the crunch of the peanut butter, it really hits the spot," Murray writes in his new cookbook/memoir, "Eat, Drink and Be Murray: A Feast of Family Fun and Favorites."

Murray lives in World Golf Village near St. Augustine and is a partner in the Murray Bros. Caddyshack restaurant there. You'll find dishes from his childhood on the menu at Caddyshack — and the recipes for some of them in the new cookbook — but he's never had the nerve to offer the PBM&L sandwiches to diners.

Murray said he learned to cook at about age four when his mother entrusted him to make the bacon for the family breakfast, telling him there was just one rule: Never leave the room, or the bacon will burn. He went on to study at the New York Restaurant School and work at restaurants in Manhattan and the Hamptons.

He also became the unofficial cook at family gatherings. A few years back, while cooking Thanksgiving dinner at brother Bill's home in South Carolina, a family friend said it was the prettiest meal she'd ever seen and that he should write a cookbook. That guest was Karen Duffy, who rose to fame as MTV DJ Duff, and she wasn't kidding. She hooked him up with a publisher and the new book, written during the pandemic, was born.

It's as much a family memoir as it is a cookbook, with recipes woven between stories of growing up in the Murray clan, meeting John Belushi at the dinner table and serving Dover Sole to Frank Sinatra. That wasn't the plan going in, he said.

"It wasn’t originally supposed to be a memoir too," Murray said last week in a phone interview. "But I’m pretty proud of it, I think it’s a pretty good read."

There are more than 50 recipes in the book, from simple appetizers to main dishes, desserts and cocktails. He said most are easy enough for anyone to cook at home. He recommends the Corn Fritters with Salmon Roe. "They're really easy to make," he said.

The book also includes recipes for a few Caddyshack favorites, including the Key Lime Pie and its secret ingredient, butter-rum sauce.

"Butter-rum sauce is the real key," he said. "It keeps the crust crisp and it solidifies so well when it comes out chilled, kind of a little bit like a Heath bar."

He lives right near the Caddyshack restaurant but is not involved with the day-to-day operations. "About six years ago, a consultant told me to stop managing my managers," he said. "I can always get lunch."

He said there are no plans to relocate the restaurant, even after the World Golf Hall of Fame announced plans to move all of its exhibits to North Carolina. The area around the World Golf Village is booming, with new neighborhoods sprouting up all over. When those folks get tired of chain restaurants, Murray said, Caddyshack will be there for them.

He's also gearing up for the annual Murray Bros. Caddyshack Charity Golf Tournament, which returns to the World Golf Village courses April 27-28. His brothers are expected to play in the tournament, which has raised more than $6 million over the years, but there is no concern over which one will win.

"Brothers aren’t allowed to win," he said. "That was decided a long time ago. Everybody wins because everyone has a really good time."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Caddyshack's Andy Murray shares recipes, family tales in cookbook