Hattie McDaniel's Sweetcorn Pudding

"When I was little, my mother taught me how to use a fork and knife.

The trouble is that mother forgot to teach me how to stop using them!"

I know what Hattie means, I ate almost ALL of her sweetcorn pudding this evening even though big enough for 2. It is sooooooo delicious.

I've spent the whole weekend typing up recipes and I'm realising how much work there is still to do. My mind is spinning with mathematical conundrums - translating cups to grams and quarts to milileters can result in some very odd recipe directions. Also, what does one do with the instruction: "Cut up about fifteen cents worth of salt pork."? How much salt pork would Gary Cooper have been able to buy for 15c in 1936?

I've had to sit myself down with "Hollywood Wives: The New Generation" on the True Entertainment channel featuring Farrah Fawcett (RIP), Melissa Gilbert and Robin Givens to rest my mind. Superb!

Joan Bennett's Beetroot Salad

"I don`t think much of most of the films I made,
but being a movie star was something I liked very much."

The response to the call for test cooks has been enormous - how very, very exciting. I'm intrigued by the range of choices - are people selecting based on the star or the recipe or both? Hard to say! Still plenty on the list of 100 though so if you'd like to join in, don't hesitate to get in touch.

I've moved to my cat sit spot in Crouch End and had a fun night last night with eating Jean Harlow's Celery a la Shrimp and Joan Bennett's Beetroot Salad as accompaniments to the genius fishcakes Paulette rustled up.

For the first time in my life I have coveted my neighbours goods, Paulette has the most beautiful set of 1950s plates with fishy illustrations. There is a gorgeous gravy boat to match with a scary looking lobster decorating the sides. Ebay here I come.

Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies

Much excitement in the Silver Screen Silver camp as I'm off to a big dinner party at the home of Gladys tonight. There will be not one, not two but three other celeb chefs there too. EEK. I am taking some Ice Box Cookies all wrapped up in cellophane as party favours...

Also this week we had a lovely piece on the Sassy Minx website - here is a link:

http://www.thesassyminx.com/girls-on-top/silverscreen-suppers/

and I will try and put a button on the side bar too.

RECIPE TESTERS NEEDED!

I'll be sending out the list of 100 stars and recipes that we plan to feature in the Silver Screen Suppers book at the end of the week to anyone who fancies testing one for us. Your name will appear in the acknowledgments so drop me an email at silverscreensuppers@yahoo.co.uk if you'd like to give one a whirl. A tiny taste of fame can be yours, and you'll get to sprinkle some stardust around your kitchen as you eat like the stars!

Louise Brooks' Knickerbocker Supreme of Chicken

Louise, you rock.

My beautiful friend Ava came round for dinner tonight and we discussed the perils and pleasures of letting men into our lives, the horrors of self assessment tax returns and the chances of being struck by lightning if wearing an i-pod. It was a Prosecco fueled chatathon and long overdue.

I made every single thing in Rosalind's kitchen a candidate for washing up whilst preparing Louise's dish, but it was worth it. My mum's delicious home cooked gammon tucked underneath the cream and flour encrusted chicken gave it the saltiness it needed. It was quite, quite delicious.

Ava cracked me up once again with the tale of her pyjama clad terrine pressing adventures. She managed to avoid telling the nurses at the casualty department how a grease infested terrine was the cause of her sliding across the kitchen floor and gaining a leg black and blue with a severe oblong shaped bruise.

The terrine came out of it unscathed apparently.

Marlene Dietrich's Lamb Chops en Casserole

"I was raised almost entirely on turnips and potatoes, but I think that the turnips had more to do with the effect than the potatoes."

Marlene was not only androgynous, but asymmetrical too!

I went to my lock up this morning with heavy heart as it always depresses me to see how much junk I have in storage. However, as Blessed was on the security desk and told me that I looked like I had "just arrived from Hollywood" I left there with a spring in my step. I think it was my 1950s sunglasses.

On my way to work I stopped off at a traditional butchers shop - he had such a magnificent display of meat in the window I couldn't resist buying two big lamb steaks which I'll cook for a romantic dinner a deux tonight a la Marlene.

It must be my lucky day - the man on the veg stall had turnips! And no joke about having them in his trousers either...

Anna May Wong's Tea Cake

There is a mini Vesuvius erupting in my oven. I decided to make Ruth a birthday cake using Anna Mae Wong's Tea Cake recipe. I made twice the mixture and instead of making individual muffin type cakes, bunged it all in a cake tin. As Sidney and I waited for the spare ribs to come out of the oven I noticed it was rising in the tin like a round loaf of eggy bread.

Sidney suggested placing the cake tin on a baking tray and I nearly resisted his practical advice. When I had a look just now it had exploded, flowing down the sides of the tin and collecting around the bottom like a fluffy petticoat. I have popped some foil over the top and will hope for the best.

As Della Reese puts it "It's so nice to have a man around the house", while I was making the cake, Sidney fixed four pairs of sunglasses and one brooch that have been in my mending box for a donkey's age...

Marion Martin's Peanut and Bacon Bouchees

Those little Bouchees sure are a crowd pleaser!

Had a lovely evening on the balcony with Ruthie, her new beau, Ava, Sidney and Edmund. My Sister of the Skillet has arrived during Britain's heatwave. It is amusing her greatly that the Brits are huffing and puffing about the heat when his is actually COLD here compared to Texas.

Ava entertained us with tales of working at her loom in a sequined bikini - she conjured up a lovely image. And I was very pleased that two of my guests, when trying to pick me out of a line-up of 12 naked women in last week's colour supplement chose a woman of 29! As Ruth observed, we should all try and see ourselves as others see us.

Ruth and I are debating who Mr Goodsnog should be on the blog. "Strong face" Ruthie is saying as she's trying to put a name to the star she is thinking of... Ronald Coleman!

Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies

Love that Tam O'Shanter!

I made a big batch of Janet's cookies for my Cinema Museum lecture and they were wolfed down by the lovely folk who came along. The lecture was lots of fun but I had a few technical problems. When my Greta Garbo clip failed to play I had to do the quote myself, "Gif me whiskey, ginger ale on the side. And don't be stingy baby." Ha ha!

I met some lovely people and had a chat after the event with a potential publisher for the book over beer, fish and a "little bit of chip".

Jean Harlow's Celery a la Shrimp

“No one ever expects a great lay to pay all the bills.”

A feeling of great joy today after a lovely evening with the E17 posse. They came round armed with gallons of fizzy wine in an attempt to make a dent in the Cassis left in the number 43 cocktail cabinet via the medium of Kir Royales. Ginger, Grace, Cary, William, Jack and Grace's new beau polished off the canapes with vigour - favourite seeming to be Marion Martin's Peanut and Bacon Bouchees. We have christened the new beau Douglas Fairbanks Snr as he is full of vim. He said he wasn't sure about the combination of peanuts and meat though - to which Ginger's response was, "it's a good job you don't live in Thailand!"

I'd had a weird day in which my fortunes rose and fell to the tune of £300 over the space of an hour. I thought my battle with the storage company was won until - crazy archivist mentality not withstanding - I realised I hadn't kept a copy of a crucial email. I blame the stress of that for the amount of fizzy wine I consumed. I knew I was really, really drunk when after getting into the bath to scrub my black flip-flop encrusted feet clean I heard someone say, "Come on now, be sensible" and it dawned on me that everyone else had gone home...

Mae West's Salada de Tuna

"Cultivate your curves..."

Sure thing Mae, I will!

Doesn't Salada de Tuna sound much more fun than Tuna Salad? I was rustling some up in the kitchen just now when I heard a really, really loud plane fly past. This sometimes gives me the heeby jeebies, being so close to Centre Point - a very tall skyscraper - but then I heard them announce a fly past to celebrate the Queen's birthday on the radio. So I ran out on to the balcony and although the plane was gone, a beautiful big fluffy red, white and blue vapour trail was puffing up in the sky. Gorgeous.

It's day 1 of a 2 day writing jag. I'm working mostly on a talk I am going to give at the Cinema Museum on 28th June about the Silver Screen Suppers project. If you are London based, please come along. Free Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies! It's at 3pm and more details are here - www.cinemamuseum.org.uk - no idea why they have christened it "Eat to the Stars" - eating your way to heaven perhaps...

Ann Sheridan's Chili Casserole

"They nicknamed me "The Oomph Girl", and I loathe that nickname!
Just being known by a nickname indicates that you`re not
thought of as a true actress . . . It's just crap!"

Not sure if that's a matching headscarf or a hood, either way it is very desirable beach attire.

A batch of Ann's Chili Casserole is in the oven and Celebrity Masterchef is about to begin. I am loving the spinster life! The fact that the Chili is baked gives it an extra something I think. The flavours develop somehow. I've added a few shakes of the secret ingredient Gladys' mother adds to her potato salad to give it Oomph - Maggi Sauce.

I just cannot wait to get a big bowl in front of me and dig in...

Jean Harlow's Celery a la Shrimp

“Underwear makes me uncomfortable and besides
my parts have to breathe.”

Isn't this just the BEST picture of Jean ever? I think Ruthie and I should pose like this for our author photos, leaning on the heads of two polar bears facing each other.

I'm thrilled that the lovely Matthew over at movietone-news.com has done a fab piece about my Silver Screen Suppers blog. You can see it here http://www.movietone-news.com/2009/06/eat-like-your-idols.html - I am bashful but chuffed! Welcome new readers!

I've been in Brighton today for Joan's birthday. It was lovely except for the fact I seem to have developed an aversion to being touched by babies - and there were two there... Joan kept dandling one of them and propelling it towards me then away from me from me like Vic Reeves' and his spirit level. I seemed to be the only non-broody woman in a coven of them.

Home to safety, Casualty and Jean's Celery a la Shrimp. I've been craving it throughout my booze binge and tonight's the night. I might just go the whole hog into spinsterdom, put on my kaftan and do as Jean does - go commando.

Marion Martin's Peanut and Bacon Bouchees

"Ducky Wucky"

Well I knew as soon as I spotted the pics for Marion that she was a bit of a one. Love the fact that her nickname was The Blonde Menace. I am desperate to see her in Queen of Burlesque which has the tagline "Thrills and Tears of Backstage Queens - to the Rhythm of Gay Music!" That's either got to be really really good, or really really bad...

Her little Silver Screen Snackettes were very tasty. I used some pancetta that I had left over from a salad and Rosalind declared that she liked the combination of "crispiness and fat". We had two each before I met up with Sidney for some beers and a snooze in St James' Park.

Jean Arthur's Chocolate Fudge

"First I played ingenues and Western heroines; then I played Western heroines and ingenues. That diet of roles became as monotonous as a diet of spinach."

I am up way past my bedtime trying to get some of Jean's fudge to set. I just can't see how the chocolate sauce in my pan is going to turn into fudge. Characteristically vague 1930s recipe instructions have again put a spanner in the works.

I may just have to pour it out, bung it in the fridge and hope for the best. Too emotionally drained to muck about with it. I've been talking to Sidney on the phone and it has affected my equilibrium...

Hattie McDaniel's Sweet Corn Pudding

"As for those grapefruit and buttermilk diets,
I'll take roast chicken and dumplings."

I do have Hattie's very own recipe for chicken and dumplings, but tonight it's sweet corn pudding. It's in the oven.

As per tradition, to mourn the end of a relationship I have scheduled in a private screening of Gone With The Wind. It seems sinful, particularly as it is a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon and most of London will be cavorting in parks, swimming pools and pub gardens. But I am selfishly drinking myself stupid and wallowing in Scarlett's misery. Ha ha! There is no better cure for heartbreak than 4 hours of frocks, furbelows and flirting.

Can't wait to see Rhett at the bottom of those stairs...

Tallulah Bankhead's French 75s

“If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."

Last night saw extreme Silver Screen Supperage in action. Dinner al fresco which began with Tallulah's favourite tipple the French 75. Followed by Adolph Menjou's Spiced Venetian Cheese hors d'oevres, Errol Flynn's Baked Fish Havanaise and Joan Blondell's Peach and Cherry Compote. The first time I've attempted such a full-on menu of all-star food. Thank goodness for Ava's firm assistance in the kitchen and the kind words of my other guests Gladys and John.

Food was devoured, the wine flowed freely and revelations about the double dealings of Delia had us all on the edge of our balcony seats. I needn't have worried about cooking for a celebrity chef, he was most gracious about my food and said it was all as it should be and "delivered without fluster" which of course, for me was the biggest compliment. I guess that proof that the evening had gone swimmingly was to be found in the fact that there was no time to do a Marion Davies and work on the jigsaw.

Adolph Menjou's Spiced Venetian Cheese

"When I realized they had me pegged as a foreign nobleman type I began to live the part, too.
I bought a pair of white spats, an ascot tie and a walking stick."

I'm getting ahead of myself by preparing Adolph's cheese a couple of days before Gladys and Ava's visit on Thursday. I have proposed a rather elaborate menu - Tallulah Bankhead's French 75s alongside canapes containing aforementioned cheese, Errol Flynn's Baked Fish Havanaise with seasonal vegetables and Joan Blondell's Cherry Compote. Blime.

It's a bit daunting, but as I've just been sassyfied by Lisa over at thesassyminx.com I'm not going to panic. I can do it! I'm also going to take on her advice on how to focus my energy and get everything working together towards getting the book published.

I am going to try and live the part of a Silver Screen Hostess on Thursday evening too - what is the feminine equivalent of white spats, an ascot tie and a walking stick?

Joan Bennett's Beetroot Salad

"I don`t think much of most of the films I made,
but being a movie star was something I liked very much."

I'm feeling rather low this weekend after Sidney & I decided to call it a day. Very sad. Very sad indeed. I feel an extended period of cooking on the way. And lots of work on the book.

I'm spending my Sunday recovering from a wild Eurovision party last night. It was just what I needed, the company of some very good, very old friends, copious amounts of booze and lots of a-whooping, a-hollering and a-warbling along. And today, I'm being very self indulgent. Drinking G&T in the afternoon, scoffing Joan's Beetroot salad and watching the Come Dine With Me omnibus. Spinsterdom. Again.

Jane Powell's Barbecued Baked Salmon

"We need to ditch the idea that there is any value
in the strong and silent man
being in any way attractive.
Being silent isn't being strong, it's being a victim."

Well Jane sure was a cutie, both in looks and attitude. Interesting theory she has there, I'm going to mull that one over.

The salmon was quite a success. Sidney said it was "very fresh on the palate" - ooh la la. But what, I wonder, makes it "barbecued"? It was baked in the oven in a tomato sauce, it never made it out of the house and on to a barbecue. No men in aprons wielding metal tools were involved. I guess barbecued meant something different in 1949 America than it does in 2009 Britain.

I'm a bit preoccupied with the result of a freak accident this morning. I broke one of my front teeth clean in two by knocking it on the corner of a cupboard door. Bizarrely my 4 hour round trip to the dentist and £615 bill has left me feeling very calm and philosophical. There wasn't even any sedatives involved, how unnerving.

Rudolph Valentino's Chicken from Parma

“Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me

on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which

women paint their dreams.”

It helped that he was the King of the tango... Grrrr.

Rudi's Chicken was a big hit. Secret ingredient? A big mug of sherry. I made it for Sidney on Sunday for our quiet night in. I am so very, very, very happy that he turns out to be a man not averse to fiddling around with a jigsaw.

Next morning in bed he kept pursing his lips with a faraway look in his eyes and I said, "what are you thinking about?" to which his response was, "last night's chicken". Ha ha – it’s a winner!

Anna Mae Wong's Tea Cakes

"I'm Anna May Wong. I come from old Hong Kong.
But now I'm a Hollywood star."

It's my first night in the new W1 abode. Night is falling over Centre Point, Big Ben and the London Eye and a batch of tea cakes are in the oven. The Marathon Man from my office requested some as a reward for his months of training. He did it in 4 hours 22 minutes so it's the least I can do.

It's fun cooking in a new kitchen. Not for the first time I've had to use a colander instead of a sieve. Not the first time either that I've been puzzled by arty symbols for grill / fan assisted grill / oven / fan assisted oven etc. I just guessed.

Lucky the supermarket isn't too far away either. I had to make an emergency trip after trying to break one of the eggs in the fridge door only to find it was hard boiled! No fancy frenchified ball point pen writing on the shell to say "boiled" like there was in Dan's fridge...

Marlene Dietrich's Lamb Chops En Casserole

"Careful grooming may take twenty years off a woman's age,
but you can't fool a flight of stairs."

Oh how I wish someone would invite me to a fancy dress party so I could go looking like this...

It's true about the stairs too - they were very tricky to navigate after the vast amount of red wine consumed with the lamb chops. I was entertaining my new agent Mitzi and although the plan was to brainstorm about the book, we ended up talking all kinds of nonsense instead. I don't remember much due to aforementioned wine but there was definitely a bonding moment when Mitzi was presented with a swede and a turnip and incorrectly eye-matched the turnip. It’s not just me that gets them confused.

Turnips, turnips, turnips – they are an endless source of amusement during this project. After scouring every supermarket in Camden for one to no avail, I eventually went the old fashioned route of going to the market. "Do you have any turnips?" I asked the friendly stall holder, "only in my trousers" he replied.

Oh, and I do also remember a conversation about the intricacies of writing recipes. After approximately one bottle of wine it was basically impossible for me to get the following sentence out: "one cup of coriander, chopped is not the same as one cup of chopped coriander". Actually, just typing it is making me feel a bit weird. I think I am still drunk.

Talullah Bankhead's Coconut Jumbles

“They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze.
They should photograph me through linoleum.”

So hard to choose a quote for Talullah - there are so many fabulous ones! What exactly is she doing in this picture I'd like to know? The person who comes up with the best guess will win a batch of her Coconut Jumbles. I'm going to have to have a few more goes as the mixture was far too runny to do as Talu suggested and: "Cut into fancy shapes with a jumble cutter."

I actually BOUGHT some jumble cutters after much internet research and trawling of ebay. In the thirties jumbles were apparently doughnut shaped biscuits and they made special cookie cutters that cut a ring shape. I never owned a biscuit cutter before and now I have six original 1930s ones. 2 jumbles ring cutters, 2 heart shapes and 2 star shapes, courtesy of someone who stole them from her sorority house. What kind of bizarre world am I beginning to inhabit? Spending an evening dyeing little piles of coconut pink, yellow and green doesn't seem in the least bit strange these days...

Alice White's Sweet Potato Brouchettes

"Warner Brothers answer to Clara Bow"

Well Alice sure was a cutie pie - there are so many fabulous photographs of her it was hard to choose. I may have to make her "Joanie Cake" or "Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast" just so I can put the picture of her in a silver ice-skating outfit up!

Her little sweet potato cakes were as cute as she was, little orange round puffy things with bacon crumbled on top. Gorgeous with baked trout for a romantic dinner a deux on Saturday night. Sidney liked them a lot.

I'm going to have to do some research on Alice as her IMDB entry contains several intriguing mentions of "sex scandals". She's not currently one of the 100 stars selected for the book but if she's got juicy stories I might petition for a swap!

Clara Bow's Vanilla Marlow

"We had individuality. We did as we pleased. We stayed up late. We dressed the way we wanted. I used to whiz down Sunset Boulevard in my open Kissel, with several red Chow dogs to match my hair. Today, they`re sensible and end up with better health. But we had more fun. "

I am so thankful to all the people who populate the internet with marvelous things. I have just stumbled upon the above quote which has saved me from making the grave error of suggesting in a magazine article that Clara Bow zipped around Hollywood with Red Setters in her convertible. Oh lord. Can you imagine?

Mis-remembering is a strange, strange thing. So many facts get mixed up in the brain and I can't shake myself of the feeling that it was something to do with Laura Mulvey and her post-it note infested copy of "Runnin' Wild" that made me get this key fact wrong. What a weird situation that was, waiting to go on Women's Hour with me staring into space with mind completely blank and Laura swotting up on Clara.

I'm so excited that BUST magazine is going to publish a little article I have written about Clara's Vanilla Marlow. How fab. I thought I'd better give the recipe a little test before it goes in so I made some this evening in preparation for the girls coming round tomorrow night. I now know how much the specified 20 marshmallows weigh...

By the way, is Clara wearing an APRON in this picture? Surely not. She almost always admitted that her "favourite recipes" were courtesy of her cook rather than made by her own fair hand. Clara, you poseur!

Errol Flynn's Baked Leg of Lamb

“Women won't let me stay single and I won't let me stay married.”

Luckily Jack is nothing like Errol - he and Ginger were hitched on Saturday and that one is going to LAST. Those two were made for each other and now it's official.

We knew that after the glorious and loved up wedding our household would be in mourning over the loss of our little girl, so I invited Cary and William over to partake of Errol's Leg of Lamb. The butcher gave me the biggest leg he could find (£17 quids worth) and I baked it, throwing a cup of coffee with cream and sugar over it towards the end. Delicious.

Errol obviously knew what to do in the kitchen as well as in the bedroom...

Carole Lombard's Barbecued Spare Ribs

“Every cent anybody pays in tax is spent to benefit him.
There’s no better place to spend it.

I enjoy this country and I really think I get my money’s worth."

I've had my head in my hands most of this month, worrying about my tax return. I finally completed it yesterday. How refreshing - and timely therefore - to find this quote on the most excellent www.carolelombard.org website this morning. Gives me a new perspective on things and very Alvin Hall. Sort of.

I'm having a Lombard weekend as I attempt to write a blurb to go with her spareribs recipe for the book. I'm applying myself with renewed vigour to the project now that we are entering 2009. I am trying not to be distracted by the DVD of My Man Godfrey which is hovering beside me, as I must actually write the stuff rather than just thinking about it.

Maybe I will reward myself with a viewing of the film once the work is done. In fact, I may indeed do that after having a My Man Godfrey Martini in the 5th Floor Bar of Waterstones Piccadilly when the month of sobriety comes to an end. Perfect.

Marlene's Lamb Chops en Casserole

"When you're dead, you're dead. That's it."

I went to the funeral of a very religious friend this weekend and my crazy sister-in-law announced very loudly at the wake to nobody in particular that she didn't believe in the afterlife. A stony silence fell over the room as everyone momentarily stopped tucking into the delicious spread prepared by the local Women's Institute.

The funeral was a very sad affair with a few moments of brilliance. John had appeared in many guises in various episodes of Dr Who and the ham fisted organist gave a pretty valiant effort at playing the theme tune as the coffin was carried down the aisle. My brother-in-law wore a tie with a dalek on.

Last week in a rare night in for two at number 43 I made Marlene's Lamb Chops for Ginger. She's soon to leave us to embark upon married life so every moment is being savoured. She announced that Marlene "sure knew how to throw together a dish" and I agree. A notoriously good cook.

I can't help feeling very sad at the thought of our happy home breaking up soon but we sure have had some good times and it is great to have the blog to be reminded of some of them.

Margaret Sullavan's Peanut Butter Hermits

"Most actors are basically neurotic people. Terribly, terribly unhappy.
That's one of the reasons they become actors."

It's New Year's Eve and I have made Hermits for my workmates. It's like a ghost town here but we had to come in just in case somebody famous popped their clogs overnight and there was a clamour for footage. That hasn't happened. We should have brought in some board games, instead we've been finding pictures of fish in aspic on the internet to use as screensavers and - in my case - doing some research on Margaret Sullavan.

Oh, and reading cook books cover to cover is my new technique. It paid off yesterday when I discovered that the chefs at Pret a Manger feel that graham crackers (as found in the Hermits) are interchangable with digestive biscuits! I shall try that when I run out of GCs.

My French colleague Franchot was asking me just now why Margaret's biscuits were called Hermits. "Is it because they don't go out?" he asked. In turn I wonder if Peter Noone published a biscuit recipe it would be for Herman's Hermits...

Charlton Heston's Spaghetti With Cauliflower

“I've played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses
and that's probably enough for any man”

The mention of Charlton's dish was not enough to persuade the new boyfriend to come over for dinner. I do admit that it doesn't sound too appetising but I switched the cauliflower for brocolli and it wasn't too bad for a mid week tv dinner. Grace and Ginger enjoyed it with Ginger wondering if we would all get "Hest Chests" if we ate enough of it.

I am back in cooking mode after a month of crazy adventures on the high seas cruising the Caribbean giving lectures on Hollywood stars. The bit I liked best was watching the water in the swimming pools being chucked all over the deck when we were in a 5 metre swell. I also liked the captain reading out the "naughty list" of passengers who were late reboarding the ship after a shore day. Luckily, although we cut it fine once in New Orleans, I never heard my name over the tannoy.

Clara Bow's Chicken Chartreuse

"I wanna go home, I miss my cook"

I am loving Clara this week. She is keeping me sane during the insanity that is involved in preparing 9 seperate lectures for the upcoming cruise. My brain is ADDLED and I feel like doing a Clara and just sitting down and playing poker with my cook.

I made Clara's chicken dish for the new beau as a note under the recipe in the Photoplay book said, "try it on the boyfriend". I made little individual portions in ramekins as I couldn't find a circular ring mould (!) He seemed to like it and said in a broad Jamaican accent "Rass, that's good" so I guess that's the seal of approval.

Barbara Stanwyck's Roast Leg of Lamb

"I'm a tough old broad from Brooklyn.
I intend to go on acting until I'm ninety
and they won't need to paste my face with make-up."

Well, Barbara didn't make it to ninety, but she was acting almost to the end of her life in 1990, appearing in Dynasty and its spin off The Colbys. We got it slightly wrong in discussion around the dinner table, we thought it was Dallas - Ginger told us that she wasn't allowed to watch the mighty Dallas as in her house it was considered "too racy." I was allowed though and loved "the poison dwarf". Her hair was almost as long as her body.

There has been rather a lull in the cooking of the suppers. This is partly to do with much writing going on - working on the book proposal for Frankfurt and working on the cruise lectures. But also due to the sudden appearance of a new man in my life. Too much to tell, but suffice to say that this one is a keeper.

Barbara's lamb was very good - but not, in my opinion as good as Errol's. The soaking of the leg in a pint of red wine and a pint of white wine got full approval of the household. I think Barbara probably liked a drink or two. As the wine was glugging out of the bottles and on to the lamb Ginger was heard to exclaim, "Go Babs!"

Joan Crawford's Meatloaf

I was so excited to find the Holy Grail of Joanie's Meatloaf recipe that I invited Charley over to partake. I knew he would appreciate her secret ingredient of hard boiled eggs. My new squeeze is anti eggs and when I told him that Charley LOVED hard boiled eggs he said, "well bully for Charley" which made me laugh.

Alas, when I went to the butcher and priced up the meatloaf I had to change my plan. I was making HALF the meatloaf Joan would have made and the sirloin and veal alone would have come to £30! Unlike Joan, I am not earning a gazillion pounds a week. Actually I am not earning any money at all and haven't done for quite some time so had to change the plan. I bought 4 lamb chops instead which were quite, quite delicious. Viva the butcher. The meat is definitely more tasty.

I shall start a savings plan for the meatloaf.

Ida Lupino's Lemon Mousse

I've been swept off my feet by a man I met at the Cafe de Paris. One minute I was jigging around on the dance floor, next minute I was having my face snogged off round the back of the VIP area. How marvelous.

Last night he came round for dinner. I was going to cook Errol Flynn's Roast Lamb but I'm cat sitting and didn't have the recipe with me. So I made a coffee free version. Pudding was Ida's Mousse. Always a winner. As he licked his spoon in an lascivious manner he said, "I've got a plan for the rest of that, and it doesn't involve a plate."

Constance Bennett's Spanish Chicken

Version 3 of Constance's chicken was the best so far, by far. The secret being having a whole fresh chicken hacked into bits by the crazy Wood Street butcher I think. As Connie put it, "Take 2 fat hens jointed as for frying..."

Rosalind came over to borrow a 1930s frock for her Wind in the Willows party. She selected the Fritzi of California number, an excellent choice. Both the ladies were home too so we had a lovely al fresco dinner in the garden. We discussed how delicious the chicken was and how women of our generation have got into the habit of buying bland cuts of chicken vacuum packed by the supermarket. As Rosalind observed, when we hear a piece of plastic being pierced by a knife we think, "Ooh, someone is cooking..." But the difference between that kind of chicken and this was definitely noticable. From now on I'll try and frequent the butcher for my chooks, even though he thinks I am a figure of fun with my absurd questions about how to cook meat.

Ha ha! I am watching a great Lana Turner film on TCM and faded fashion model Ann Dvorak was just escorted out of a restaurant as she was smashed. A man offered to get her a cab and she said, "What a gentleman. My mother told me that if I stuck around for long enough I'd eventually meet one." Fabulous line, I may memorise that!

Ooh, Lana just called Barry Sullivan a "small time chisler". Ha ha!

Carole Lombard's Cherry Pie

Just coming up for air after the madness of the past couple of weeks. Entering into a new period of calm. Watching Judge Judy during the day and looking for a job.

The folks came for lunch last week and I had another bash at Carole Lombard's Cherry Pie. My ma was very impressed that I had stoned all the cherries AND made the pastry. I was genuinely shocked when she said that she never made pastry any more, just bought the roll out stuff. Role reversal / roll reversal! I used crumbled macaroons instead of breadcrumbs and although the texture was good, I think the pie was too sweet as a result. I think I need to look for sour cherries.

Not anticipating that I would make a pie, my mum had made a raspberry pie and brought it with her. When Grace got home from work she set upon my cherry pie with gusto. She planned to eat a big piece right there and then and take another big piece to work next day. She was ranting about how much she loved my pie and when I told her that my mum had also brought a pie which I was planning to put in the freezer she asked with much excitement: "What kind of pie?" which made me laugh and launch into a round of "Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies?" What a pie-monster!

Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies

I have to say thankyou to Larry Hodges for this pic of Janet Gaynor playing table tennis. He has a whole website dedicated to celebrities playing ping pong. How fab.

Just a little report on the meeting with our possible publisher ES. I rustled up some Janet Gaynor cookies on the fly as I only had a day or so notice of our meeting. Luckily I still had two nice boxes from the cake supplies shop on Hoe Street. Imagine my horror when I passed it on the bus yesterday to see that it has not only closed down but has effectively been razed to the ground! Is there no need for elaborately iced cakes any more?

It is all systems go on the proposal. I have a LOT of work to do in the next week or so - writing. It is all very well cooking the dishes but it all has to be translated into words which isn't so easy. Plus I have the Joan Crawford and Hollywood Glamour lectures to work on, AND the cruise lectures. AND a job application. It's a good job I don't have a boyfriend any more! No time!

Loretta Young's Chiffonade Salad

"I found out you can learn a lot about yourself as a person...
while you're learning how to use fashion in your life.”

I too am learning how to use fashion in my life at the moment. I am ploughing through the mountain of clothes in my room trying to make some rational decisions.

Had a lovely night with Ginger, the newlyweds and Dick - who I am surprised to see doesn't have a blogname yet. Surely he has been involved in a supper before now? I made Loretta's salad again and the secret is obviously to chop all the non-leaf items quite small. Dick asked all and sundry if they were happy to eat a salad containing egg, onion, beetroot and gherkins and Ginger's response was, "it's heavy on the pickle, and that's always good in my book."

I am missing all the cowboys and my sister of the skillet like mad but the skies are sunny, the Rosé is flowing and all is well in the Stowe.

Dolores Del Rio's Enchiladas

Seemed only fitting to try a Mexican recipe whilst here in the Lone Star State. I only have three more days here and want to cry because I am loving it so much. Last night was a real film-fest night in the old school style as Ruth's chum William Haines came over for Enchiladas and the conversation was mostly about Joan and her Daughter Dearest. Love the fact that Joan fans are so polarised over who they believe on the issue of Joan's childrearing methods.

Saturday was just the best day here. Involved driving through an electrical storm, just missing the chance to get a free watermelon, jumping the queue at the Salt Lick, sitting on a blanket at the LBJ ranch watching True Grit under the stars, having my photo taken with the joint winners of the John Wayne Lookalike Contest and being swung around the dance floor at the legendary Broken Spoke. It just does not get any better than that in my opinion. Yeehah!

Jean Harlow's Hot Rolls

"Jean Harlow is in the back room, where Sylvia is giving her a spanking she’ll remember – to judge by the howls."

So begins Sylvia of Hollywood's 1931 expose "Hollywood Undressed", I knew I was in for a big treat as soon as I opened the cover and saw the original owner's stamp. "The Circulating Library of the Bungalow Dress Shop in Alhambra, California" - NATCH. Despite the fact the book purported to be written by Sylvia's secretary it was surely Sylvia herself attempting to avoid ANOTHER law suit by adopting an alter-ego. Mind you, would Sylvia refer to herself as "a midget viking"? Probably.

She spilled the beans on all of her clients. Marie Dressler (addicted to "near beer"), Jack Holt (wore bright purple silk underpants) Constance Bennett (bony backed), Ramon Novarro (sleeps in a coffin), Mae Murray (non-payer) etc. Fabulosa!

I was most pleased to hear that Sylvia advocates a high heel, she does not approve of flats. "A patient wearing low heels will not be admitted twice to Sylvia’s work-room. The boss prescribes the so-called Louis XV heel as the one best suited to the build and locomotive idiosyncrasies of the average female."

I must seek out some Louis XV heels.

Carole Lombard's Cherry Pie

“I live by a man's code, designed to fit a man's world, yet at the same time I never forget that
a woman's first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.”

It was the night of the Carol(e)s last night as Ruth had a dinner party for 7 in tribute to Carol Channing with a little Lombard thrown in. We spent the day mucking about with the Sauerbraten and making a cherry pie and some salad. It was only after the pie was on the table we realised that we had commited a minor faux pas. I had made Loretta Young's Chiffonade Salad to accompany the main course. Someone brought up Clark Gable's affair and subsequent love child and Ruth and I felt bizarrely ashamed to have Loretta and Carole at the same table. Weird.

The dinner was a great success with much hilarity and tonnes of film related stories. The ginger-y beef was absolutely delicious - all hail the Texas Longhorn. The cherry pie was delightful and even the salad (containing beetroot, hard boiled eggs and gherkins) was appreciated. Although not by Ruth who on top of feeling that a banana taints everything, is not a fan of the beet.

Carol Channing's Sauerbraten

RASPBERRIES!

I knew we had a Carol Channing recipe somewhere and we intend to make this for our dinner on Sunday night. It involves a big lump of meat and some gingersnaps. Can't wait.

Happy to report that the Sylvia of Hollywood diet is going well. Despite the fact that Wholefoods only had GARLIC melba toasts I am so far sticking to the breakfast of these with honey on top and lunch of soup. Only one misdemeanor so far, I have ignored Sylvia's strict, "Liquor is out! Absolutely!" comment and had one Margarita. Well I AM in Texas after all. Oh, and although I have done the 20 minutes of arm swinging she prescribes each morning I have so far not done the one hour of evening two stepping. Perhaps I should seek myself out some kind of hoe-down to do some partner dancing rather than just jigging around in Ruth's "recreation room".

I am pleased with myself so far (my dinner host last night had a Margarita AND two glasses of wine) but I sure am hungry...

Sylvia of Hollywood's Diet

I am in Austin and it is the evening before I attempt a diet I found in a 1932 edition of Photoplay. The proponent of this diet is "Sylvia" - she doesn't give her surname but we are told, "She made motion picture stars beautiful and kept them trim. She can do the same for you." She tells it like it is, "The reason you're fat is because you eat your head off and don't take exercise". She uses encouraging phrases like, "Come on, darlings, be beautiful and lovely and attractive! You can if you will." and gives some exercises to do after tuning the radio "to a peppy band".

So I've decided to stop expanding and start reducing. I shall attempt to follow Sylvia's advice for two weeks and see how I get on. I shall report back on how it goes with nothing but melba toast and honey for breakfast...

Oh, the picture is not Sylvia by the way. It's Ruth Etting - the namesake of my sister of the skillet. Bizarrely enough Sylvia was married to Edward Leiter, an actor who only appeared in one film - his co-star was Ruth...

Fred MacMurray's Egg Burger

I am in Ameriki! How fabulous. I am here with my sister of the skillet in La La Land after a riotous time at the Madonna Inn. The biggest jaw dropping moment was when we were having a Hollywood Martini in the bar and an elderly lady in a bright red pant suit was getting ready to give a show. Rosalind said, "That looks like Carol Channing" and what do you know, it was. She was giving a private show for Phyllis Madonna and we got to watch! Lots of fantastic moments including a superb impersonation of Sophie Tucker ("I not only lost the dice, I lost the stick man who went in after them") and some rather raunchy dancing for a lady who is 87 years of age. Ruthie and I went up for a chat when the show was over and had our photo taken with Carol. When we told her we were Film Archivists she told us a very bawdy story about Tallulah Bankhead. RASPBERRIES.

Today we are recovering from a night drinking Blood & Sand cocktails at the Dresden Rooms and a karaoke session at a crazy Thai bar called "Smog Cutter". Don't ask me what that means because I don't know. I gave a rendition of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" with gusto. Our handsome host did some fast moves with the valet parking and before we knew it we were high in the Hollywood Hills with the most amazing view of the Hollywood sign. Ruthie's new beau (ha ha) recommended a diner called Fred 62 and lo and behold, on the menu was a Fred MacMurray Egg Burger. I had it - natch. I will have to find the entry that relates to the version Ruth made way back when in Delaware...

A Bulgarian Shirley Temple

I am in BULGARIA having a whole heap of fun. I've been meeting Laurel's neighbours (mostly very cheery toothless ladies who want to hug and kiss me) and eating cauldrons of "four kinds of meat".

I've had one "Joan Crawford Day" which consisted of me re-reading Charlotte Chandler's fantastic biography in preparation for my lecture in July. I found myself a very swanky bar that served Shirley Temples with neon plastic stirrers with stars on the end. I shall try and work out how to type using cyrillic alphabet so I can record how the words "Shirley Temple" look in Bulgarian. Cool.

Am being constantly amused by English translations of Bulgarian food and drink names. On one menu we were offered Spinach Stumps, Beer Balls and Happy Bits... Cocktails to tempt included Wind In Your Face and Man's Secrets. No thanks, I'll stick with the Shirley Temples and maybe a Roy Rogers if I can find one...

Bette Davis Marmalade

"Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies."

Bette or Joan? Bette or Joan? I am increasingly obsessed with both of them and just can't decide who I like best. At the moment Bette has a slight edge because of her bad behaviour, but I'm increasingly loving Joan's obsessive compulsiveness...

Just back from a whirlwind tour of Buckinghamshire and Essex with the National Rail system in Britain charging me the equivalent of a Eurostar fare to Paris just to nip in and out of London a bit. Grrr. Still, it was lovely seeing my parents, spending time with Laurel and seeing the fabulous Rita.

It's been a while since we sat and guzzled four bottles of wine between us. Orson was there for the spaghetti then at some point Rita yelled, "Piss off to bed Orson, I have important things to discuss with my friend", and he duly did. The conversation did take a very serious turn - which is unlike us - but the next morning we were back on form despite Rita's rotten hangover. I had taken her some Bette Davis Marmalade which we had on toast as a restorative. "Like honey," she observed, it is indeed rather runny...

She told me all about Mike Leigh rummaging through her kitchen cupboards, how she once saw Bette Davis in Croyden and that she went to the cinema to see "Mommie Dearest" with her mother. All things which made me laugh out loud. The post arrived as she was taking some Nurofen for her hangover and in a bizarre co-incidence it was a cheque for £180 from my nemesis ex-boss for the use of some of Rita's home movies.

Later when she kissed me goodbye at the door I said I hoped her hangover wouldn't last all day and she said, "Oh I'm fine. I feel a lot better since that cheque arrived."

Sonja Henie's Scandinavian Cookies

Ginger very kindly bought me some posh cherry jam to go in the indentations of the little treats that are Sonja's Scandinavian Cookies. Fresh out of the oven they were enjoyed by Jack (he liked the nuts) and Grace (she liked the dough-y centre).

I managed to get six of them to Southend in one piece for Laurel and he liked them too. When he bought me breakfast in bed on Sunday morning he had made a characteristically cute arrangement of four semi-circular halves of bagels with a jam centred cookie in the middle. Adorable. I ate the bagels then I said that I was too full to eat the cookie. "I didn't think you'd be able to eat the biscuit too," he said, "I was just using it as a garnish".

In a major development at the pub on Saturday night I was sitting right under a strong light and was worried that it was making me look haggered. Laurel removed the lightbulb for me in an act of kindness. When the barman later picked it up from the table and asked if it was a "dead one" Laurel said that it was still live but he had removed it as, "My girlfriend was being blinded by the light".... Firstly I loved the high drama of the statement and of course I like being called the girlfriend.

Marlene Dietrich's Banana Nut Bread

Laurel said that he was instantly transported to the banana zone upon eating a piece of Marlene's cake. It was consumed in large slices in bed in Southend with a nice mug of tea. I am still recovering from the weekend as we barely made it out of the bedroom - apart from to walk up to the rockabilly night at the Castle. Southend is most defnitely the epicentre of the British rockabilly type. It made my heart glad to see so many old rockers and their molls.

Barney has a very sweet tooth so next weekend I might see how he likes Sonja Henie's Scandinavian Cookies...

Mary Philbin's Brown Betty

Just back from a long weekend in Avebury. Sharing a fabulous little cottage in the churchyard with Ginger, Grace, William, Cary and Jack. Much alcohol consumed and great feasts cooked up.

On Saturday night I spent a very calm couple of hours in the kitchen with Cary. He prepared a banquet of roast pork with sweet & sour onions and more vegetables than you would expect possible in a small cottage kitchen. I happily peeled and sliced many apples then layered them all up with breadcrumbs and cinammon sugar. William made the custard.

Cary is a very concentrated cook. Not much banter in the kitchen which I found very meditative. I liked the fact that Jack kept referring to the pudding as "Big Betty" after which each time we sung a few chorus lines , "Oh, Big Betty Bamalam, Oh, Big Betty Bamalam, Big Betty had a child, Bamalam etc..."

Tomorrow - Paris!

Fred MacMurray's Holland Brioche Cakes

"A cowboy actor needs two changes of expression - hat on and hat off."

Funnily enough I was just in the process of buying myself a self-tipping cowboy hat on Second Life when Max arrived on Sunday morning bearing a gift of two Brioche. They were a joy to behold on the breakfast table - beautiful plump little Birthday Brunch Brioche for Grace.

The spirit of bartering is alive and well in Walthamstow. When I bumped into Max at the Turkish supermarket a while back and loaned him the money for some basil I remembered he'd been given Brioche pans for Christmas. I asked if he would be a test chef for Fred's recipe and lo and behold they appeared. They were absolutely delicious. Another winner from Fred. Hmm, wonder if I could ask Max to rustle up some other numbers - I seem to have stalled somewhat.

I blame Mr Sombrero Delay who is turning out to be rather a pot sticker...