Colleen Moore's Shamrock Salad

It's taken me ages to find out if Colleen actually was Irish - as her Shamrock Salad would have us believe. An excellent source on the internet - The Colleen Moore Project - says she was half Irish, half Scottish but born in the US. After my visit to Cardiff and in-depth chats to Anna I am currently VERY interested in the promotion of stars as being of a particular nationality. Colleen often played colleens if you know what I mean, but I LOVE this picture all Americanized. I would like an outfit like this to wear to the forthcoming wedding in Texas...

Today I had an email from Mickey in Athlone, Ireland which reminded me that I hadn't blogged the results of his testing Colleen's recipe. I loved his question, "what exactly is “chill in the Norge?” Ha ha - Colleen's recipe appeared in a fantastic promotional booklet for Norge fridges. All the recipes say things like, "leave overnight in the Norge", or "chill in the Norge" and there are various pictures of stars such as Ginger Rogers posing with Norge fridges. It reminds me of my lovely two years in Walthamstow with my own Ginger and Grace. We always referred to the fridge as The Norge.

Neither Mickey nor Katharine were mad about this recipe. It's a novelty one I agree. Katharine suggested using very small peppers which I think is a good idea. I also loved Mickey's point about pimentos - he left them out as he hadn't a clue what they were! A recurring problem for the Silver Screen Suppers cooks. We may have to have a little section in the book to clarify some of these ingredients.

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?

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.

Myrna Loy's Senegalaise Soup

"Some perfect wife I am. I`ve been married four times,
divorced four times, have no children, and can`t boil an egg."

Well I'm not sure that Myrna was being totally honest about the egg boiling, because her recipe for Senegalaise Soup was absolutely scrumptious.

A bunch of us from work had a fantastic evening at Nazimova's place last night. I made her put on the oven glove she burned a hole in the last time she cooked for me TWICE because it makes me laugh so much. It was great watching her cook Myrna's soup through the hatch. When I grow up I want a kitchen with a hatch!

We had no idea how a soup incorporating apples, curry powder and chicken would turn out but there is no doubt about it, this recipe is a HIT. Naz also prepared us some traditional Prebranac and Ajvar which we set upon with gusto. I resisted the toast with special "G. Butter" though, as I vividly remember what happened last time...

A screening of the legendary Rum Jam films "Milkman" and "The Proposal" followed dinner. There was much hilarity when someone we know and love from the office popped up in the back seat of a Citroen looking mightily dishevelled. How very cool to have a screen to pull down and a DVD projector in your own living room. I want to live like Nazimova! She has promised to teach me how to make Prebranac sometime which I am very much looking forward to...

Joan Bennett's Baked Salmon

"With all of Constance's juggling of dates over the years,
I started out as the youngest, then became her twin
and finally wound up as the oldest sister."

It's a Bennett sisters bonanza this weekend. My very own Sister of the Shellac Veronica is coming over tonight for baked salmon then I'll be cooking up Constance's Spanish Chicken tomorrow for Ava and Edmund. "Sisters, sisters, never were there such devoted sisters..." I am enjoying lots of sisterly stuff at the moment both from my real one (love the email system) and my surrogate ones. Lots of girl energy this week.

Isn't this picture of Joan amazing? I shall be channeling her energy this evening as I am going on what feels like my first night out as a single woman for around 15 months. Weird. After the salmon Veronica and I are going OUT. Yes, OUT. I've forgotten how to do it...

Regarding the salmon, it's a bit of an experiment. Joan's recipe includes bacon and as Veronica is a veggie I am replacing that with tempeh. Could be good, could be a disaster, we shall see.

Tallulah Bankhead's Coconut Jumbles

“Nobody can be exactly me.
Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.”

Got a fab freelance commission this week - selecting fashion films of the 1940s and writing about them. Film archiving doesn't get much better than that! In discussion over a burger and fries my commisioners concluded that although folks have a strong idea about what 1940s fashion looks like - the 1930s is a bit of a forgotten era fashion-wise. But here is Tallulah rocking the very best look of the era - a white, slinky, silky, bias cut evening gown. YUM.

I'm getting excited about my impending visit to Austin. Not least because I am going to meet some of the lovely test cooks who are doing sterling work in the Lone Star State. One such is Gene, who gave a detailed response to the challenge of Tallulah's Coconut Jumbles. Again, Tallulah's dough was too sticky for rolling and Gene offered the alternative of making dropped cookies instead of cut out cookies. Makes sense! Although her hubby liked them, Gene thought they tasted like a "heap of cooked flour more than anything else". Hmm. This one may need another attempt in the Crouch End kitchen. Food dye and dessicated coconut here I come!

Deanna Durbin's Santa Monica Dressing

Yes, I know it's too early to start thinking about Christmas but I just couldn't resist!

I can only imagine the shenanigans going on Stateside regarding the wedding of the century. I think it is all out in the open so I hope I'm not giving the game away by saying I'll be travelling to Austin, Texas in January to see my Sister of the Skillet tie the knot. Let's get Christmas out of the way QUICK, I can't wait! I have already bought a dress equally showstopping as Deanna's for the occasion...

Ruth is leaving the organisation to her mom, who if test cooking is anything to go by is amply equipped to organise absolutely anything! Here are her verdicts on the first three recipes she rustled up for us. Firstly Joel McCrea's Frojoles with Cheese - a one word verdict - Bad!

Surprisingly (especially as it is one of my favourites) Jean is the only person who volunteered to test cook Constance Bennett's Spanish Chicken. But the "disjoint two fat hens as for frying" instruction has been queried - one is quite enough she says!

Last but not least, Deanna's Salad Dressing. A "bit of a pain" to make as it has so many ingredients says Jean, but the verdict was "good" and "similar to a Louis Dressing". Of course I had to look this up on Wikipedia and I'm pleased to see that this is the dressing used in a Crab Louis dish.

Cary Grant's Crab Louis here I come!

Lupe Velez's Orange Flower Appetizer

All is right with the world. I have an afternoon of writing ahead, there is a casserole in the slow cooker and an episode of Columbo has just started on ITV. A perfect Sunday.

My most excellent weekend began on Friday with me being hostess for the book group. As we'd been reading "Me, Cheeta" it was a jungle themed evening with Paulette and myself sporting leopard print and preparing some Tarzan related foodstuffs together. First as a starter, Lupe's Orange Flower Appetizer which was quite, quite charming. Fun and easy to make - half a greengage with a little swirl of cream cheese making the centre of the flower and orange segments forming the petals. There was a complaint that I hadn't (as Lupe prescribed) presented it on crystal plates but that just made me more inclined to buy some - ebay here I come.

The William Powell Beets Piquants which accompanied Nigella's fishcakes were very much enjoyed. Deceptively simple ingredients yet again surprising the palate. Paulette's wonderful rendition of Johnnie Weissmuller's Apricot Meringue Pie rounded off the evening and I am very pleased to report that I have some leftovers in the fridge for my tea.

More good feminine energy was provided over the weekend by Joan and Bette. I nipped down to Brighton to see them yesterday and it was great to find them both in top form getting ready for the imminent arrival of their baby. Talked long into the night with Joan about volatile relationships. Fascinating...

Lilian Gish's Lemon Pie

"The older I get, the more I believe in what I can't
explain or understand, even more than the things
that are explainable and understandable."

Yes Lilian, I understand. Or at least I think I do. Please explain.

I can't really understand or explain how I managed to get my hands on my number one heart-throb Ricky Whittle on Saturday night in Blackpool. The universe works in mysterious ways and this glorious encounter has given me enough good palpitations to last for a fair few months. Ask, believe, receive indeed. I know that some of the ladies who read this blog and know who Ricky Whittle is will want more details but alas, I'm afraid that,"What happens in Blackpool stays in Blackpool."

Anyhow, I am VERY behind on reporting on the test cooking that has been going on all over the world so am planning to get right back into that this week. We are putting out a second call for testers very soon so if you are game to assist please just drop us an email at silverscreensuppers@yahoo.co.uk

Ruthie's cousin Judy had a go at Lilian's Lemon Pie and the report back was very pleasing. "It was a hit" said Judy and elaborated: "It's a light and fluffy way to approach a lemon pie. Really refreshing and not too heavy. Good spring or summer recipe. (And this is perfect for Ms Gish, as she probably would've been watching her weight anyway...)" Very true - she was a teeny tiny little thing La Gish. And not as sweet as you'd think according to Marion Davies...

Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies

I have had a terrible few days. Disappointed in love (amazed at how low some people will go), disappointed in my handwashing skills (shrank a gorgeous vintage frock) and disappointed with Amy Winehouse's Beloved Camden Cobbles (ripped the heel off a favourite pair of shoes). Was feeling very down in the dumps until I checked my emails and found I had WON AN AWARD!

I feel like I have won an OSCAR as Matthew over at Movietone-News has awarded me a Kreativ Blogger award. Yowzer. Soooooooo chuffed. Apparently there are two conditions involved in accepting the award. First, one must list seven other blogs to receive the award, and secondly reveal 'seven things you don't know about me'. So here we go. My current favourite 7 blogs - click on the blue name to check them out for yourselves:

Silent Stanzas - wonderful poetry about stars of the silent era
Carole Lombard - my favourite single star website - just gorgeous
Allure - I'd like some please
Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog - one of the first blogs I ever read, and it still tickles me
Matilda's Delights - always something lovely to look at
Sassy Minx - my cheerleader
Kemp Folds - silly but I love it

And seven things you MAY not know about me:

1 - My hair IS longer than Anna Mae Wong's (see post from Oct 16th) - 25 inches long in fact, from centre parting to split ends.
2 - Like Marilyn Monroe in "How To Marry A Millionaire" I am far too vain to wear my glasses.
3 - I come over all peculiar if I ever see Fran Healy or Ricky Whittle on the telebox.
4 - I strongly dislike my best friend's favourite classic movie (she does not know this).
5 - The film I have watched more than any other is Gone With The Wind.
6 - I don't like to touch any tea towel unless it belongs to me.
7 - Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies are my favourite thing to cook.

I shall now bask in the glory of being an award winner - how utterly, utterly lovely!

Vincent Price's Sweetcorn Fritters

"I sometimes feel that I'm impersonating the dark unconscious
of the whole human race. I know this sounds sick, but I love it."

I am learning a lot about the dark unconscious of the human race this week Vincent, but luckily I am also doing things to balance it out.

Like running up and down the stairs every five minutes for the trick or treaters last night. What kind of INSANITY was going on in the streets of the Crouch? When I got in loads of goodies when I lived in Amersham not a single child knocked on my door. Last night there were HOARDS of them. Madness. By the time Shirley and her posse got here all I had left was ONE chocolate eyeball and 15 chocolate skeletons. I am buying 3 times as many treats next year. I had to stop answering the door.

I had Vincent's corn fritters with my steak last night. I have to say it was the most delicious steak I have ever eaten - apart from maybe the steak at the crazy Italian place I used to go to with Charley. Luckily Vincent's recipe was very generous so I only ate half of the steak last night and had the rest of it tonight. Double bubble!

Vincent Price's Peppered Steak

“It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.”

It's Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen. How exciting. The pumpkin is carved and on the doorstep, there are treats to be dished out to any children of the night that come round to call and I have a very, very, very large spider in my hair.

I know for sure that Shirley and five of her chums will be rocking up later. It's her first time trick or treating and she is very excited. I have chocolate eyeballs and chocolate skeletons for them. And when all the little critters are tucked up in bed I shall have Vincent's Steak which is marinating in the fridge right now. It's garlic a-go-go which will keep the vampires away.

It was great seeing Charley on Thursday. He really is a lovely man and it was good to get his perspective on everything that's been going on in my love life. I am following his advice and slamming the iron door. I'm very pleased that he is giving it another go with A.M. Good for them. Gives me faith in the modern man...

Oh my LORD! I've just had 3 visitations from 3 different bunches of kids in 15 minutes. Hope I am going to have enough treats!

Marlene Dietrich's Lamb Chops En Casserole

"Without tenderness, a man is uninteresting."

That is so true Marlene - but the question is, how to tell the real tenderness from the fake...

Well, sometimes you know for sure and tonight I shall be having Charley to dinner, a man for whom I have always felt great tenderness, and I hope and I'm pretty sure, he has for me. As I know he is a fan of a lamb chop, there was not too much agonising over what to cook. I shall report on what he thought of it tomorrow, but I wanted to do a quick post today as I am very excited about this:

www.queensofvintage.com/eat-like-the-stars-%E2%80%93-silver-screen-sandwiches

My little article about film star sandwiches in the Queens of Vintage online magazine. If you've never visited their site I whole heartedly recommend it - gorgeous!

I don't know how to make the above a "hyperlink" but to go straight to the article you can click on the picture of Tallulah Bankhead eating a sandwich in the sidebar!

Margaret Sullavan's Peanut Butter Hermits

"This little box makes you candy conscious!"

So said Margaret (in The Shop Around the Corner) to a rather hefty customer who didn't like the song a particular music box played when the lid was open. Margaret's sales patter was to suggest that every time the lady opened the box to get another chocolate, she'd be reminded of the sin she was about to commit!

As discussed here before, Margaret's Hermits are pretty sinful. Not for those on a diet... My lovely (and very knowleagable) work colleage Renee made some of these despite not having baked for about 20 years since Home Economics at school. As we are not in the vacinity of Graham Crackers, Ms Adoree used crushed up digestive biscuits. This will be suggested in the book. As I am planning a trip to Austin soon (top secret) I will bring back some Graham Crackers and try both versions side by side and have a taste test.

I do love it when test cooks send a photo of their finished items and when I get around to jazzing up the website I'll have a page for these. Renee's pic of her Hermits was utterly charming and she was very pleased with the results saying, "I may even attempt the recipe again and perhaps feel confident enough to let others try my cooking!'

I say YES my dear, and bring them into the office!

Jimmy Stewart's Chicken Pie

"I lasted one night.
They said my playing spoiled people's appetites.”

Well Gene's appetite certainly wasn't affected last night. He ate TWO pieces of the pie and took one home with him this morning. We christened the splendid beast the "Piewacket" after Kim Novak's cat in "Bell, Book and Candle". OK, so I fell asleep on the sofa while we were watching it, but it wasn't because of Jimmy's acting.

Jimmy's Pie takes a LONG time to make but I consider it worth it as it is so scrumptious. In another kitchen elsewhere in London, Basil was having a bash at it too. He made his half the size of mine, using chicken thighs and proclaimed it to be "absolutely delicious!" adding, "If you commit to making it, the rewards WILL justify the efforts!" He admitted that he and his lovely wife Bettina ended up eating the whole pie between them (even though it should have served 4). I don't blame them, it's virtually impossible to resist.

Also virtually impossible to resist is Gene, but resist each other we did! He was charm itself and took himself off to the spare room to get his beauty sleep after pie and a movie. I did enjoy the business with the apron strings though...

What a lovely day today. It began with a text from the very top of the house to me down in the kitchen asking if there would be crumpet for breakfast. For comedy factor I got two out of the freezer. Later on I had lunch with my mentor Hugh. How lovely to spend quality time with two people I am VERY fond of in the same day. Lucky me.

Bing Crosby's Turkey & Eggs A La Crosby

“Where the blue of the night
Meets the gold of the day,
Someone waits for me.”

Bing’s Turkey and Eggs sure pokes a snook at Harold Lloyd’s Eggs Dolores for a Saturday brunch. Delicious! I’ve just scoffed an enormous helping of it in front of the TV and I am so full I think I may have to have a snooze.

Day 1 of a whole weekend set aside for Silver Screen Suppers business and so far so good. I nipped into the Crouch for some bits and pieces and got a great haul of classic movies on DVD in the second hand record shop. There are 2 Jimmy Stewart films amongst them, which is great as tomorrow The Artist Formerly Known as Gene Kelly is coming to dinner and I’m making Jimmy Stewart’s Chicken Pie.

Unlike when I lived in Beaconsfield, there are 3 places within walking distance of my house where a friendly butcher will chop up a “fricassee chicken” in front of your very eyes, and give you all the yucky bits in a separate bag in case you want to do something with them.

And now Joy of Joys “The Shop Around The Corner” has just started on TCM. If only I had some Margaret Sullavan’s Peanut Butter Hermits to munch on...

Anna Mae Wong's Tea Cakes

"It's a pretty sad situation, to be rejected by the Chinese
because I am too American."

Jennifer has not only posted some fabulous pictures of home movie day here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onedollyshoe/sets/72157622488364579/

but she has also made some Anna Mae Wong's Tea Cakes. These are proving to be a hit with most testers but they are not really what we in the UK would expect from tea cakes - no sultanas in these babies. Jennifer proclaimed them to be like vanilla fairy cakes - not sure if that would translate for our USA based chums - but she is right about possibly jooshing them up with some lemon flavoured icing. Nice.

I particularly liked the fact that she took some of these into a work meeting! Love the idea of archivist types over there at the Wellcome Trust sampling some film star fodder!

Lupe Velez Tamale Pie

“I have flirt with the whole film colony. Why not?
I am not serious. What harm is a little flirting?
No I do not kiss many mens. But when I kiss them, they stay kissed!”

Ha ha, Lupe is my inspiration today. Partly the quote, but also the coat. I wish I had one of those on today, it is FREEZING in my office.

Well, encouraged by Moya in New York I finally made the Tamale Pie last night. As expected, I failed. I don't think cornmeal in the UK is the same entity as cornmeal in Mexico - or possibly my mistake was to buy "fine" cornmeal. Jeesh. It was, as anticipated, rather semolina like in consistency. Reminded me of cremola - which was something I hated as a kid - a custardy kind of semolina thing. YEUCH! I think I need to get me over to Texas though, to see what a real Tamale looks like.

Luckily I can use up some of the enormous bag of cornmeal I have for some Gary Cooper Buttermilk Pancakes. Now HE is one hot tamale! (Or can that only be applied to women?)

Claudette Colbert's Claudette Colbert Cake

"I know what's best for me, after all
I have been in the Claudette Colbert business longer than anybody.”

Oh what a lovely day it was yesterday! I was DJing with my wind-up gramophone at the Home Movie Day at the Cinema Museum and it was so gorgeous to see everyone dressed up in cinema uniforms from the 1950s. Looking utterly charming in her usherette's outfit, Dorothy was not only mistress of ceremonies, she had also taken the time to make a Claudette Colbert Cake! Superb it was too. I had a great big slice with a cup of tea while I wondered if I'd ever get the sound system to work.

Another of our lovely test cooks, Jennifer, had asked her boyfriend's flatmate to lend us his valve amp and such a splendid thing it was too. Like something from a Frankenstein movie we had to wait for the valves to heat up, jiggle around with various wires and hope for the best. It worked! I fell in love with the way the element in the four glass tubes glew red as the sound of movie related 78s filled the room. I want my own valve amp! My favourite part of the day was playing tunes to fit a screening of Phyllis Calvert's home movies which her grandson had brought along.

Magic!

Anna Mae Wong's Tea Cakes

"I've come to the conclusion that everybody should marry,
including me."

Well, I'll see if anyone ever asks me Anna...

I love this picture, and I am going to measure my own hair when I get home to see if it is as long as Anna's. Could be...

Had a lovely time with little Shirley last night working on her papier mache project. She seemed most peturbed that one of the legs on her trouser bowl was wonky - having one wonky leg myself I couldn't really see the problem. Tonight we shall paint it.

Paulette had made some AMW Tea Cakes and totally delicious they were too. MUCH nicer than the ones I made, I think she adds some secret ingredient when she is baking things to make them taste so good. Or maybe it is the magic of the heart shaped baking cases. I bought Paulette some of these as a "thank you" gift for looking after me during my post-break-up-trauma-period and they are such lovely things.

I was extremely happy to be back in the fold there, especially when Paulette had to search for something in the food cupboard near the back door. Pleased to see that the lightbulb has STILL not been replaced, making it necessary for Paulette to do the thing which always makes me laugh: don the head torch.

Vincent Price's Pepper Steak

“A man who limits his interests,
limits his life.”

It warms the cockles of my heart (and believe me at the moment they need warming) to hear from test cooks who don't know myself or Ruth, but just like the idea of being involved in our cooking project. I've been having a lovely email correspondence with Mickey in Athlone, Ireland who has tested three recipes for us with great vigour!

I loved his report on Vincent's Steak: "A mighty lump of meat as they say in Ireland. Goes well with chips and onions." That makes me STARVING for a good hairy steak! I guess the amount of garlic in Vincent's recipe would keep the vampires away for sure. I may rustle this one up for myself on Halloween night then watch a scary Vincent Price movie. Rosalind and Jimmy are currently residing just under the Hollywood sign and a neighbouring (and by all accounts spooky looking) house was once owned by Bela Lugosi. Alas we have no recipes for him but they might try out Boris Karloff's Steak and Kidney Pie on the 31st whilst hiding somewhere in the garden. Ha ha!

I've got some brilliant CDs of Vincent Price's radio cookery show which I heartily recommend. Sometimes I listen to them while I am cooking for inspiration. He sure knew how to throw a dinner party. If you are clever enough to work out how to do it, you can listen to them here...

http://calliopyranch.com/this-n-that/cooking-with-vincent-price - happy listening!

Lupe Velez's Tamale Pie

“The first time you buy a house you think how pretty it is
and sign the check. The second time you look to see
if the basement has termites.
It's the same with men.”

I am loving that hat Lupe!

Well, I failed in my attempt to make the Velez Pie last night, the filling was all done and in the fridge and I was going to cook up the cornmeal for the base and top but copious amount of booze waylaid me. My new landlord insisted on pouring me two very large glasses of wine and singing me several songs (he is Welsh).

Luckily, I have a report of this recipe being made Stateside by Ruthie's brother's wife's mum. What relation therefore she is to Ruth I am not quite sure, but it was very kind of her to test the recipe for us. The verdict? Sis-in-law proclaimed it DELICIOUS and we received a hilarious photo of little Spanky in his high chair chowing down on some. The youngest participant in the project since Baby Peggy! Hoorah!

I may get around to making the pie on Sunday but I have to admit, cornmeal gives me the fear - especially now I have found out that it is the same entity as Polenta...

Bette Davis Hollywood Salad

"That's me: an old kazoo with some sparklers."

Ooh! A lucky shamrock charm bracelet. I want one!

I'm feeling a bit like an old kazoo myself today so have cheered myself up by re-reading Rita's verdict on the Bette salad recipe. I haven't seen Rita in a LONG time which is something I must rectify as she is one of the funniest people I know. Always a tonic.

The salad was rustled up in Cape Town (isn't this project getting cosmopolitan?!) and Rita shared it with her cleaner Busisiwe - they both loved it. Although Orson professed to not liking three of the main ingredients (figs, dates and sultanas) once he'd had a bite he ate whatever was left on the plate. Rita said she wouldn't bother with the figs next time as she "didn't give a fig" about figs and they were hard to get hold of in Cape Town.

The thing that made me really laugh was in reference to a conversation we'd had ages ago about Bette Davis. She said that she might add olives the next time she'd made the salad as they would, "add a twist of acid which is precisely what I would have expected from Bette - having seen her at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, you know: 1973". Ha ha! Perfect.

Maurice Chevalier's French Onion Soup

"Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim
he would not have chosen a suit by it."

Ha ha, how true. It's true for women too, I'm only going to brightly lit nightspots from now on. And I shall get my failing eyesight checked.

I didn't get around the Lupe's Pie last night, the household chores and the making of Rum Jam took over, so instead I shall blog the results of Joan C's testing of the soupe a l'oignon. Joan thought the soup delicious and shared it with Bette saying, "Ma petite cherie scoffed deux helpings (as did I)". The croutons were much savoured and she suggested adding a note not to skimp on these. As she points out Monseiur Maurice did amiably warble, "Thank heavens for little (cheesy) grills." Groan...

She also made one comment about husbands and soup on the feedback from that is not suitable for a family forum. Her sense of humour is so blue sometimes it takes me about half an hour to work out what she is actually referring to! Naughty girl, I do miss them both now they are living down there in Brighton.

Harold Lloyd's Eggs Dolores

"The pain was considerable,
but trivial compared with my mental state."

Hmm, yes, well my mental state has been somewhat rocked by your Eggs Mr Lloyd!

Revolting they were, almost inedible! It's a long time since we had a failure in the Silver Screen Suppers kitchen but Harold's eggs were it. He might as well have called them Eggs Dolorous (meaning sorrowful) as the pile of them all pink and scrambled was not a pretty sight to see. Sigh. Luckily I had some nice crispy bacon on the side to allieviate the pain of wasting 3 perfectly good eggs by adding cheese and TOMATOES. Bleaugh! Bring back Dorothy Dandridge's Emotional Omelet.

I am hoping for better things from Lupe Velez's Tamale Pie which I'll be attempting later today. I have never had Tamale Pie, I do not even quite know what it is, but I'm going to find out...

Ida Lupino's Lemon Mousse

"Keeping a feminine approach is vital -
men hate bossy females."

I'm taking a break from the unpackathon to watch Strictly and report on the gorgeous Jessica's experience of Ida's mousse. I've spent more or less all day doing the lock-up rock-up and scrabbling around in bags and boxes. Unrolling newspaper wrapped mystery items has brought exclamations of great joy when things I have totally forgotten about (my Japanese owl mugs for example) emerge like rubies in the dust.

Jessica's verdict on the mousse? "It was awesome and all my housies loved it". Fabulous. Love the idea of these dishes being shared with loved ones - the way it should be. I have taken on board Jessica's comment about maybe specifying a shorter freezing time. A perfect excuse for me to rustle up another batch and scoff it spinster style straight out of the tupperware with a soup spoon. Just testing you understand...

Diana Dors Bhuma Ghosht

"I was the first home-grown sex symbol,
rather like Britain`s naughty seaside postcards."

Oh my stars, Diana was so LUSCIOUS. Just gorgeous. And our viewing of "Yield to the Night" proved that she could act too, given half the chance. What a humdinger of a movie.

It was a long awaited Silver Screen Supper in West One last night. Edmund rocked up with the Diana Dors boxset, Rosalind cooked up a curry and our surprise handsome guest sprawled on the sofa wolf-whistling and making comments such as "She's a STUNNER" regarding the lovely Ms Dors. Rosalind made two versions of the dish, one to Diana's specifications and one a bit spiced up for the modern palate. Being a purist, I liked the authentic one.

Rosalind made me laugh by saying that when she told her mum she was making a curry her mum said, "An INDIAN curry?" as she legendarily prefers curry that comes from a Chinese takeaway. Rosalind also commented on Diana's pneumatic physique, "She must have eaten a lot of Bhuma to get those Bhumas..." Indeed!

Ann Harding's Hollywood Salad Dressing

Just a quick post today as I'm off to get my fringe cut - I'll not be taking this picture of Ann to the hairdresser though.

Another feedback report from Dale's Star Spangled Rhythm party. As she is off this weekend to turkey wrangle at the annual Turkeyfest in Cuero, Texas I thought I would wish her luck. Apparently she gets to wear an umpire's outfit and blow a whistle, I am so jealous.

Ann's Salad Dressing turned out to be a bit like Thousand Island - with caviar. I am loving Dale's detailed information about pimento though! A recurring theme throughout this project is how to define the pimento. Dale used a "jarred whole fire roaster pimento" in this dish. Where on earth would I get one of those outside the Lone Star State? Pimento, Pimiento, shimiento...

Maurice Chevalier's French Onion Soup

"It is always the same: women bedeck themselves with jewels and furs,
and men with wit and quotations."

Rosalind came to dinner last night, my first supper guest in my new home and Maurice's crouton bedecked soup went down a storm. I had forgotten to ask Rosalind if she liked onions but we both agreed that EVERYONE liked onions, didn't they? Rosalind's parting comment on the subject being, "if you don't like onions, I don't like you!"

My new pad meets with Rosalind's full approval and as we toasted each other with multiple cans of beer she announced that for the first time in a long time I was, "sitting pretty". She also asked the rhetorical question, "Who am I? Angela Lansbury?" at some point. And in respect of housing, and children, "why buy when you can rent?"

Side by side in bed next morning, she dispelled my doubt that I would ever succeed at buying a place of my very own with the exclamation, "you got the Kaiser Chiefs tickets didn't you?" Which I have to admit, made me have to examine my negative thinking pattern on that one...

Ronald Reagan's Corned Beef Hash in Bell Peppers

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

And possibly all over the world too. I suggest that we all work towards world peace by eating like the stars!

I'm always intrigued when test cooks choose a persona of a different gender. So it is with Oliver. He / she sent feedback with an apology that it had taken so long as, "the corned beef sat ominously on my shelf for a while before I was brave enough to try it." I'm the same with the Tea Matzos! Maybe next weekend for the Matzo Ball Soup. I dreamed about it last night.

Oliver - like others who have tried this dish - suggested roasting the peppers rather than boiling them. And s/he loved the popping of an egg on top at the end, "providing protein so the post-war generation grew up big and strong..." Ronnie's dish was proclaimed as being definitely worth trying as a quick journey into the past and Oliver summed it up thus, "It really felt like retro gastronomy - the techniques and the result were so incredibly different from our Nigel Slater dominated, balsamic vinegar and olive oil idea of cooking nowadays."

Absolutely!

Joan Bennett's Beetroot Salad

I have found the cigarette pen that Ruthie and I had so much fun posing with in her jeep, pretending to be smokers, and also the fabulous cowboy hat ashtray she gave me. So now I really feel my dressing table is complete. When I was walking through the park that is a stone's throw from my new place this morning I felt a sudden surge of happiness. I am truly in the right place for me, right now.

Tonight I will have an evening of self-indulgence. I shall make Joan's Beetroot Salad and watch her and James Mason in The Reckless Moment. I haven't seen this for over 20 years and am intrigued to see if the scene that has stuck in my mind ever since is just as I remembered it.

Joan Bennett is dragging a body along a beach wearing the most divine sunglasses ever. The thing I remember about the scene (apart from the accessories) is the absence of music. It was such a dramatic moment and it seemed all the more ghoulish because all that was on the soundtrack was the sound of Joan's efforts to get rid of some evidence... We shall see.

Ann Sheridan's Chilli Casserole

Work colleagues were joking about my potential author's photo for the book on Friday so it is an ideal opportunity to post this fab pic of Ann again. I really think Ruthie and I should have twin pics like this side by side. Who wouldn't given half the chance? We'll need someone ace on the photoshop though to make us look this good.

First night in my new flat and it is so exciting. Ann’s casserole is in my new oven in my new casserole dish. I spent over £100 in Budgens to stock up my new kitchen cupboards. Foxgloves and Baby’s Breath decorate my new room and I plan to spend the rest of the weekend right here, in my new home relaxing and writing. New room, new life.

I’ve settled in for the evening in front of Strictly Come Dancing. Missed the first couple due to preparing the dinner and am REALLY hoping it wasn’t Ricky Whittle from Hollyoaks. It is very rare that I fancy someone on the telebox, but for him I will make an exception!

Bruno himself has personally approved myself and Rosalind being on the guest list for the big event at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool mid November. It will be this year’s romantic mini-break for myself and Rosalind – an annual tradition. Thank you Groucho! He’s not working on the programme any more, but he’s obviously still got the influence. I owe you some Matzo Ball Soup Mr Marx. This year Rosalind and I won’t make the same mistake as last time. Who knew you needed a passport to fly from Stansted to Blackpool? We missed our hairdresser’s appointment and everything! After an interminably long coach journey we made it to the show though. And sat on the same table as Brucie’s charming wife. And chatted to Len at the after-show party.

Major excitement is that Rosalind has booked us a room at the Helmshore Hotel. The location of our first trip as groupies for the Penge Latin American Formation Team in 1991. Ah, memories... I seem to remember VERY high beehives were in evidence.

Ingrid Bergman's Trout in Cream Sauce

"Success is getting what you want;
happiness is wanting what you get."

On a day when the subject of cosmic ordering is foremost in my mind, Ingrid's quote is rather apt. As the first cosmic order I placed (a lovely flat - nice and cheap) came in a month before I requested delivery, I am planning to place another. Not sure what to wish for though...

Paulette and I wondered how long it would be before Ivor made a joke about "old trouts" when he found out what was for dinner - answer, approximately 30 seconds. Alas, I forgot to buy the cream (dolt!) so in the end it was a modified toasted almond scattered version and tasty it was too. I made my first batch of Alan Ladd's Potato Pancakes and they were a good accompaniment. Shortening is now on my list - Paulette says I am to look for TREX.

Tomorrow I leave my lovely friends and trundle round the corner to the new place where I shall leave my hat... It's been utterly fabulous living at number 3 and I feel very lucky to have such gorgeous and generous benefactors. Another suitcase in another hall...

Alan Ladd's German Potato Pancakes

"I just want to make pictures that are entertaining.
I'll leave the scenery chewing to someone else."

I wonder if Alan was thinking of someone in particular...

Further to yesterday's post I'm wondering if some of Alan's Potato Pancakes would be a suitable accompaniment to Veronica's Spiced Beef. I'm going to try it. In fact, this may be my first Silver Screen Suppers dinner party when I move into my new abode (this weekend I hope) alongside a screening of "This Gun For Hire" - tagline "Lover without a heart...killer without a conscience!"

Alfred cooked up a batch of these and suggested fancifying them in several ways. He added some grated cheddar cheese and chives to his second batch and suggested other possible tweaks such as wholegrain mustard or chopped anchovies, or even chopped crispy bacon - oh YUM. He also proposed using circular moulds to make the pancakes more celeb-chef style looking, even topping with a poached egg or kipper for a special breakfast. Mmmmmmmm - I want some right now.

He also flagged up something we'll need to address in the book, Alfred wasn't sure what shortening was. He isn't the first either - this is now top of the list of test cook queries, overtaking the confusion over pimientos. In fact, the very first person to volunteer to test cook (our David Niven lookalike) sent me a text after receiving his Errol Flynn's Baked Fish Havanaise recipe which simply said, "What is pimiento?" That was on the 3rd of August and he hasn't been heard of since!

Veronica Lake's Spiced Beef & Peas

"You could put all the talent I had into your left eye
and still not suffer from impaired vision."

Said by the woman with the best assymetrical fringe since Phil Oakey of the Human League! Well, she was first of course but you know what I mean...

The Daricraft booklet mentioned in the previous post also supplied Veronica's signature dish. My lovely artist friend King ("The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon") volunteered for this one and I'm certainly glad he did. We were all pretty puzzled by what exactly Veronica meant by her ingredient of "spiced beef" and it took 3 generations of Americans to figure it out. By the process of lateral thinking King decided to try it with pepper-crusted pastrami and it was an enormous hit with him and his friends who had gathered together to watch Mildred Pierce. They also managed to put away Joan Crawford's Creamed White Onions in a Red Pepper Cup AND Rudolph Valentino's Chicken from Parma - what a FEAST!

King said of the Spiced Beef, "this is SO delicious I might make it often. It makes a bit of a mess out of the frying pan though. But you can always lick it if no one is looking, or if you don't care."

Oh those ARTISTS!

Paulette Goddard's Creamed Sprouts

"You don't have to be a Freud to know that the most fascinating
person in the world- actors or anybody - is yourself."

'ave a banana!

Paulette is one of those stars that we REALLY want to feature in the book but hasn't furnished us with a very inspiring recipe. In fact, the Creamed Sprouts is only recipe we have for Paulette, originally featured in an advertising booklet for Daricraft - a brand of evaporated milk.

Even for someone who counts sprouts as one of her three favourite vegetables (me), this recipe doesn't really tickle my tastebuds. However, Dale out in Austin made these as part of the Star Spangled Rhythm party and reported that her guests did enjoy them. She's a natty cook though and added a few items to joosh up the recipe including breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and thyme. Actually, now I fancy some!

I mentioned recently that my book group is reading "Me Cheeta" the spoof Hollywood biography. I am NOT recommending this to my blog readers because it is far too rude. I particularly objected to his salacious description of Paulette's behaviour at a Hollywood party. The author is denigrating my idols! Nasty man!

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!

Janet Gaynor's Ice Box Cookies

I love this picture of Janet - she is looking so perky! Very much not how I am feeling but I may try and channel this kind of attitude tomorrow. It's going to be a big day.

The cookie dough is in the fridge doing whatever it does overnight in readiness for my important meeting tomorrow. It's going to be a scramble to get there in time as in the early afternoon I'm going to look at what may well be the answer to my cosmic order - a sunny studio flat in a leafy North London suburb.

Apologies to all the test cooks who have sent in feedback but haven't seen their verdicts on the blog yet. I've been a bit preoccupied with moving. Planets are realigning though and soon I will have the time and the head space to forge ahead with the feedback. Onwards mighty Silver Screen Suppers!

Carole Lombard's Cherry Tart

“Don’t kiss and talk about it - men don’t.”

OK then Carole, I will keep schtumm. Carole looks so MODERN in this photo, so much so I am going to double check with the lovely Carla over at www.carolelombard.org just to make sure it is really her...

Back from a wonderful weekend camping in Epping Forest with my Crouch End family. On the way there, Paulette cracked me up by doing her “Cleopatra” line-dance routine in the car and losing the instructions to the campsite through the car window. We found it though, and fabulous it was too.

Those who weren’t born and bred Essex like Paulette and myself were astonished at the lawlessness of the campsite. Nothing new to us though, we Essex folk don’t like living by the rules. We two Essex girls weren’t surprised at all at the amount of axes lying around the place next to the fire pits and the number of fireworks going off at all hours.

I didn’t mention the delicious cherry pie that Paulette made for the book group in the previous post. As the original 1950s housewife she is queen of baking and I loved her variation on the theme – using cherries soaked in kirsch. She was a little alarmed at the amount of sugar in the recipe and yes, it was very sweet but as Jane said, “Sweet, schmeet”, we all loved it.

Today Shirley told me that I was her favourite grown up in the whole wide world, which after the week I’ve had has done my self-esteem the world of good. I even forgave her for attempting to curl my hair and getting it in such a tangle that Paulette had to use scissors to remove the hairbrush.

Alan Ladd's German Style Potato Pancakes

"Time scoots along pretty fast when you grow up."

Another suitcase in another hall... I am back in the Crouch and hopefully for a while this time around. This moving around business is getting a little tiresome. At least nobody here minds me wearing a tiara while I am blogging though...

On Friday Louise made Alan's Potato Pancakes for the book group and they were enjoyed by one and all. Quite, quite delicious - especially with Moroccan spiced salmon. Yum. There was much to talk about around the table and we eventually got on to the book at around 10.40pm. Paulette's husband Ivor keeps saying we can't really call it a book group as we never talk about the book. But I say phooey to that, we have too many other things to discuss.

Next up is "Me Cheeta" and it will be my turn to host. Where? Who knows. I do know one thing though, it will be a Tarzan and Jane themed night which will feature Johnny's Weismuller's Rhubarb Pie and Maureen O'Sullivan's Bridge Cakes.

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?

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.

Merle Oberon's Chicken Creole

“Without security it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful.”

There has been a rather subdued atmosphere this Sunday in the shadow of the power station. Partly due to a late night and partly due to a big blue over some slippery gramophones. The dinner will probably be a bit subdued too, as the ingredients of Merle's Chicken dish are somewhat low-key. Still, you never know with these 1930s recipes, sometimes they surprise the palate.

There was no cinnamon to be had for love nor money in this stretch of Battersea. It's the last weekend for the Somerfield store and shopping there is quite hilarious. People stroll around like it is a post Armageddon experience, shaking their heads with bemusement at the empty shelves. "It's like being in a pre-capitalist Russian supermarket," a complete stranger said to me yesterday. And today half the shelves were completely bare - naked. In the spice section all there seemed to be were a few mixes to add to sausages to make a casserole and some jars of Tahini. Only 60p off those so still awaiting the final price drop. What a canny shopper I am!

Gary Cooper's Buttermilk Griddle Cakes

"Dad was a true Westerner, and I take after him."

Dang the Montana Mule sure looks good in a cowboy hat!

I am craving some of Coop's Buttermilk Griddle Cakes this Sunday morning. I was DJing last night wearing long silk gloves and every time the canape waitress came past I had to take one off to grab a nibble, hence I am ravenous, I gave up in the end...

I will have to live vicariously through Una's report on her bash at the Griddle Cakes as there is no time this morning to cook up a batch here. Una declared them "quite wonderful" both with, and without syrup. She also observed that they "went amazingly well with bacon" - can you hear my stomach rumbling from where you are?

She writes, "pancakes are almost always great with bacon, but something about this recipe made that relationship extra special. And the cakes seemed to get a little more cornbread-like as they sat in the oven, which just made them get yummier and yummier." She admits though, these are not for everyday munching, signing off her email saying, "they're just sitting like rocks in my stomach now though!" Ha ha!

Gene Kelly's Greatest Man Sandwich in the World

“I got started dancing because I knew it was one way to meet girls”

It's a double whammy today with a tester Stateside (Jeanne) and a tester Thameside (Hedy) both trying out the "Greatest Man Sandwich in the World". It's quite a claim isn't it? And particularly surprising in that it doesn't contain the one thing that most men seem to deem necessary in a sandwich - a great big slab of meat.

And did these ladies make these sandwiches for their men? No they did not! They wolfed them down themselves both announcing the mashed potato stuffed french bread adorned with mayo and red onions to be a great combo. Hedy proclaimed it "The ultimate carbfest for real men!" and Jeanne said, "This is a total YUM! recipe and I give it 5 stars out of 5!" Who knew a potato sandwich would be such a winner?

I may have to include a "photos" page when I fancify the website a bit as Jeanne sent a hilarious photo of her sandwich "before and after a bite". It is making me hungry just looking at it! Gene would have been proud of our testers, for in his recipe he acknowledges that the sandwich is not just for the boys, saying "be sure your wife has at least one bite"!

Ann Sheridan's Chili Casserole

"I used to go to Grauman`s Chinese or Pantages and sit there
waiting to see my faceless body on the screen.
Texas began to look awfully near and awfully good,
and "Clara Lou" had a sweet sound to my ears."

I am thinking a lot about Texas today and sending many positive vibes to Ruthie out there. I am also thinking a lot about fringes ("bangs" to our American readers) and I hereby pose a rhetorical question could ANYBODY rock a fringe better than Ann Sheridan?

She was born Clara Lou, hence the quote...

I am quite the 1930s housewife tonight. The casserole is in the oven, the washing up is done, my man is on his way home from the film set, all we need now is the pipe and slippers. I am enjoying the experience of cooking in the umpteenth abode of this project. Am loving the big wooden chopping board and Le Crueset saucepans in Sidney's kitchen. But most of all am enjoying the view from the massive 10th floor kitchen window. The Millennium Wheel, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Battersea Power Station and - when the sun goes down and the bedroom lights go on - everything that goes on in the block of flats opposite.

I have my favourite window to spy upon already. Tonight, my favourite couple are turning their mattress....

Claudette Colbert's Claudette Colbert Cake

“It took me years to figure out that you don't fall into a tub of butter,
you jump for it.”

I'm going to the hairdresser tomorrow - I may well take this picture in and get my fringe done like Claudette's. She is the star I am supposed to look most like - according to the special face measuring wheel in my "Westmore Beauty Book" of 1939. I don't have that moody face on much though...

Marion, our super cake tester from Texas, reported back that Claudette's eponymous cake was rather good. In fact, so good that she has decided to tinker with the recipe and add it to her collection. I have not attempted this one myself, mostly because the first ingredient is "1 Angel Food Cake" so I think I need to master that first!

Marion suggested, "I bet this is the cake Claudette served John Wayne when he brought her "wings" back in Without Reservations" and continued, "I find it amazing that she did so well with her career because she wasn't that dazzling good looks movie star variety...just cute and clever." Hm, bearing in mind that I am supposed to look like Claudette, perhaps that applies to me too?!

A big thanks to Marion for mentioning Silver Screen Suppers in her blog - http://texasjot.blogspot.com/2009/09/across-pond.html - and a heads up that her "Chocolate Crimes" book will be out very soon...