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...