Silver Screen Sunday Extravaganza

What a FANTASTIC afternoon we had in Cardiff at the Silver Screen Suppers event. There was a lot of love in the house and a LOT of cream cheese too! Chefs Ruth C, Katharine and Anita rustled up tonnes of Silver Screen Supper foodstuffs and the guests wolfed the lot washed down with champagne cocktails and lashings of wine! It was a stardust sprinkled buffet table groaning under the weight of Greer Garson's Gucamole, Lana Turner's Simple and Easy Salsa, Anna Sten's Russian Sandwiches, Katharine Hepburn's Brownies, Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies, Colleen Moore's Shamrock Salad and - my fave - Mae West's Pumpkin Pies. YUM YUM YUM.

Lots of guests came done up as their favourite film stars (Warren Beatty, Shirley MacLaine, a singing cowboy (not sure which one!), Cary Grant and Lauren Bacall to name but a few), Anna ran a fabulous film quiz and I gave a little 10 minute introduction to the project. Several people volunteered to test cook (email me at silverscreensuppers@yahoo.co.uk for a list of recipes) and there may be a chance for me to visit St Donat's - former holiday home of MARION DAVIES in Wales sometime soon.

The event was all in a very good cause - raising money for Theatre Versus Oppression - see http://www.theatreversusoppression.com/ and photos of the splendid food can be seen here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzyritz/ or by clicking on the picture of the heaving buffet table in the side bar. I put on 3 and a half pounds - that's how GOOD it all was.

Oh and if you are wondering, I have put ROMY SCHNEIDER at the head of my post to welcome Joan and Bette's brand new bundle of joy into the world. She goes by the name of Romy so how can she fail to be fabulous?

Greer Garson's Guacamole

“I do wish I could tell you my age but it's impossible.
It keeps changing all the time.”

Dorothy's feedback on Greer's Guac did make me laugh. Several times.

Firstly there was the response to "Was the recipe easy to follow?" which was, "Yes, but avocados are difficult to peel." which in my sleep deprived state just sounds like some kind of 1930s musical theatre joke, the meaning of which is lost in time.

Then, she posed the rhetorical question, "Er, by any chance did Greer die of a heart attack? This recipe has a LOT of salt!" Well yes, apparently it was "heart problems" that caused her death, but not until she was 92 so pshaw to that!

Finally I loved the fact that because Greer had said not to mash the avocados the Guac turned out very lumpy. As Dorothy likes her Guac more creamy she decided to pop it in the blender to smooth it out a bit. Her blender threw a wobbly, blew a fuse, and knocked out the power in her whole house. Ha ha! Oh the misadventures of the Silver Screen Suppers test cooks. I love it.