Marilyn Monroe's ???

"I don't want to make money.
I just want to be wonderful."

Same here Marilyn.

It's rare that I write a post without it relating to a star's actual recipe but this week has been Marilyn week and there is still NO RECIPE. I guess Marilyn was outside the key era for film star recipes being published (1920s and 1930s) but there MUST be one out there somewhere. The call is out. If anyone knows of one, please let us know. We know from Katharine in Cardiff that Marilyn DID cook but it would be just ELEGANT if we could find one of her actual recipes.

I am off to Cardiff this weekend - very exciting. There will be a Silver Screen Suppers extravaganza on Sunday with many, many film star dishes on offer. I'm going to give a little talk about the project and hopefully score some more test cooks. The call for second round of testing should be going out this week so if you fancy having a go at one of the recipes that hopefully will make it into the book drop me a line.

Last Sunday I was invited to Paulette & Ivor's place for a screening of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. It was the first time Shirley (aged 9) had seen it and it was great to see her reaction to the whole shebang. The funniest moment was when Ivor said something about how his wife was just as beautiful as Marilyn and Jane. Their little angel Shirley (sitting between myself and another female guest) said, "What about these two?" pointing to us. She followed this up with the statement, "Just because you are old and withered, doesn't mean you're not pretty".

I THINK that it was meant as a compliment....

I'm watching "The Seven Year Itch" and Marilyn has just gone upstairs and changed into a fabulous frock as she thinks that, "it just isn't right to drink champagne in Matador Pants." Ha ha! Billy Wilder was so right when he said of Monroe, "There has never been a woman with such voltage on the screen, with the exception of Garbo." Voltage. Hm. Interesting. I think I may have to replace my fuse. I've been operating at low voltage lately. But birthday / Christmas season is coming up. I am going to crank it up.

Groucho Marx's Matzo Balls

"From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down,
I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it."

My meeting on Thursday was fabulous. I am inspired, enthused and excited about the nebulous entity that will be the book AFTER Silver Screen Suppers. Better get on with this one first though I guess. As Groucho says, "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."

I am loving the surreal banter that I am having with test cooks all over the world via the medium of the email. Katharine in Cardiff is now my official advisor on all things Matzo related. She has cleared up my confusion as to the exact definition of a "Tea Matzo". She also tipped me off to the fact that Matzos with butter, apricot jam and little morsels of cheese dotted on top are utterly divine.

When making Matzo Ball Soup you could of course buy some "kneidlach" (Matzo ball mix) but where's the fun in that?! Ms H. said that it was the first time she had made Matzo balls that weren't out of a packet and they turned out "a million times better". Although alarmed at the amount of chicken fat in the recipe, she later came to the conclusion tht this may be the secret of their success. After popping up to the top of the chicken broth and bobbing around for 15 minutes or so they emerge, "very soft and light and fluffy and tasty".

Katharine also let me know some delicious nuggets of information about Marilyn Monroe. Apparently when she was married to Arhur Miller she once helped her mother-in-law prepare chicken soup and matzo balls. For a while Marilyn embraced domesticity and learned to make pasta. She draped sheets of it over the back of chairs and dried it with a hairdryer. Superb! But where are Marilyn's favourite recipes. In our collection of over 3500 we don't have a single one. The call is out!