Katharine Hepburn's Eggplant in Casserole

"If you always do what interests you,
at least one person is pleased."

Cheer up then Katharine, you look like you are in a right old strop! Oh alright then, please yourself....

Gadzooks, just when I think I can drop Katharine's recipe from the book I get a report from a test cook saying she loved it. Some of you may know that the eggplant / aubergine gives me the fear so I've been putting off trying this one myself. But now it looks like I'll have to do it - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrg!

Trusty test cook Nazimova tried it out for a veggie friend who came to dinner and this is, of course a very good reason for including it in the book. We are short on main course recipes for those who don't eat meat. Maybe I'll take Naz's tip about using small young aubergines as she says, "they are much quicker to fry and don't turn to rubber but melt away". Hmm. The vegetarian friend, "thought it was brilliant!" and Naz says, "This will probably be my dish for the summer, like it that much". What a bunch of crazed aubergine fanciers they all are!

I'm looking after Shirley this evening while Paulette goes for cocktails. It amused me greatly this morning when I popped round to test my door keys to see that on Paulette's shopping list it said, "Beer for Jenny". She knows me SO WELL!

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?

Katharine Hepburn's Eggplant in Casserole

"I'll be a boy... and rough and hard!"

I'd forgotten all about Katharine posing as a boy in "Sylvia Scarlett". Maybe it would be a good double bill with Louise Brooks in "Beggars of Life" or even better, Jessie Matthews in "First a Girl" my favourite of all her films...

By a weird coincidence we have had another report of a power cut caused by a Silver Screen Supper this week. Well, it was probably caused by a raging Texas storm, but I like to think it was the power of Katharine's eggplant dish that did it.

Gene reports that the recipe could do with some oomph - she added Parmesan cheese, garlic and rosemary which I think is a mighty fine idea. We shall have to fiddle with this recipe quite a bit if it is to make it into the book. As Gene observes, "I think it was her long legs and patrician accent that won Spencer's heart, and not this dish...."

Oh how I do miss the Texas thunderstorms. I have a particuarly vivid memory of driving through a humdinger with Ruth trying to obtain free watermelons from a man dressed as one by the roadside. Or did I just dream that?

Katharine Hepburn's Eggplant in Casserole

"Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other.

Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then."

I'm hoping that LOTS of people test Katharine's Eggplant recipe so I can populate the blog with her wonderful quotes.

As I am not a fan of the eggplant (aubergine to us Brits) I'm very happy that Gloria in Bristol has had a go at this one for us. It's one of the few veggie options lined up for the book - those stars sure liked their meat so it's slim pickings for the non-carnivores. Interestingly, Gloria made the eggplant dish as an accompaniment to grilled lamb steaks and prounounced it "utterly deliciously buttery".

With a flair quite befitting of someone I met on a cookery writing course, Gloria made two versions of the dish. One, as per Katherine's recipe, and a second "jooshed up" with pistachio nuts and crumbled feta. To my great joy, Gloria perferred the 'silver screen' version - hurrah!