May and June on Murder, She Cooked – Polly Bergen’s Chilli and Glynis Johns’ Chicken Paprika
Here's a little update on what's been occurring over on my Murder, She Cooked SubStack. Firstly there is a great chilli recipe to accompany your viewing of the Murder, She Wrote episode that features Polly Bergen, School for Scandal. and there is also a Glynis John's...
Pearl Bailey’s Jean’s Broccoli
I love Pearl's way of pimping up broccoli and I am trying to perfect this easy side dish as I eat A LOT of these little green trees. The version I did today was good, but I think I can double the garlic next time. I'm experimenting with black garlic paste as a little...
June Havoc’s Almond Cocktail
The June Havoc Almond Cocktail has been on the "to test" list for a while as she is in not one, but two episodes of Murder, She Wrote. The first is a truly remarkable one for film buffs. The Days Dwindle Down (1988) has a star-studded cast that includes...
Ethel Lloyd’s Chicken Livers With Curry
These were DELICIOUS! I am under Doctor's Orders to eat liver once a week so am experimenting with various recipes. This one is from the earliest collection of actors' recipes I know of from 1916. I did a bit of research on Ethel Lloyd, she appeared in 27 films...
Alan Hale Jn’s Skipper’s Dream Sandwich
Here's one for all you Gilligan's Island fans. I've never seen Gilligan's Island, I don't think it ever screened here in the UK so if anyone has a recommendation of a particular episode for me to seek out - please do let me know. I like the look of this one... When...
Stanley Tucci Spaghetti With Lentils
When I told Mr Rathbone that Stanley Tucci had written a food memoir he said, "He could write a book about his slippers and they would publish it." As documented in this blog previously, Mr Rathbone is very understanding about my celebrity crush on Yul Brynner, which...
Ron Leibman’s Hoo-Ha Chicken
I love a movie star recipe with a mad title and am generally compelled to make it. So it was with this one. I was surprised that no test cooks chose it for the Murder, She Wrote Cookalong with a name like this, but secretly I was pleased as I got to make Hoo-ha...
Diana Dors’ Flageolet Beans with Tuna
Want to sprinkle a little stardust over your working from home luncheons? This is the easiest and tastiest way to do it. I have made this salad so many times because I love EVERYTHING IN IT. Plus it contains two things that you probably stockpiled at the beginning of...
Recipe of the Month – Eddie Albert’s Butterfly Lamb
Coo, this was good! I needed to test this one for the Murder, She Cooked book, and Easter weekend seemed the perfect time for it. Eddie's recipe is as vague as they get, and I wanted to make it clearer for those who fancied cooking it and watching Eddie play Shirley...
Fay Wray’s Steamed Artichokes
About once a year I buy an artichoke on impulse, and when I get it home am immediately gripped by fear about how to cook it. They are scary things if you don't have them about your person very often. But the recipe I have now christened "Fay Wray's Way" is a winner....
March on Murder, She Cooked – Paul Burke
My Murder, She Wrote related Substack is now monthly and the March edition features Jessica visiting a television set where one of her nieces plays a character in a daytime soap. Paul Burke is in this episode too, and the companion recipe to the show is his Twelve...
Recipe of the Month – Milton Berle’s Eggs Benedict a la Me
I am scared of hollandaise. Well, I am scared of making hollandaise. When I told my food writer chum Sam Kilgour this on the day I was planning to make Milton's Eggs Benedict she gave me some excellent advice, "don’t let it know you don’t like making it." She also...
Hope Lange’s Sardine Strips
I love it when someone with eagle eyes finds some movie star recipes and sends them to me in case I don't already have them. My film archivist chum Margie is brilliant at this, and she sent over some Hope Lange recipes she'd found online. They had been transcribed...
Stanley Tucci Negronis
When I went for dinner chez my chum Cathy (aka Battenburg Belle of Kitchen Confidence) for the first time since the pandemic began, I was thrilled that she was cooking up a marinara sauce to a Stanley Tucci recipe. I am mildly obsessed with Stanley Tucci and I was...
Jane Alexander’s Bluefish and Scallions
During the pandemic, with more kitchen hours at my disposal, I began working on my fear of cooking fish. Who knew it was so easy? Well, it's easy when the recipes are good. Which this one was. So simple, and so delicious. Jane Alexander has co-written a whole fish...
Linda Gray’s Oven-Steamed Asian-Style Fish
I couldn't resist trying a recipe from the kitchen of Linda Gray. If only as an excuse to bung up a picture of one of the best evenings of my life. In Portugal. Hitting hundreds of people on the head with plastic hammers. What a night! I loved that Sue Ellen T-shirt....
Denver Pyle’s Baked Beans
The Jon Pertwee Spaghetti Flan still brings me great joy. Thinking about the fun I had cooking it with my friend Jan of Saucy Seventies Adventures several weeks ago still tickles me and there was a knock-on recipe, if there is such a phrase as a knock-on recipe? ...
Recipe of the Month – Donald Pleasence’s Shrimp Curry
This is probably the simplest recipe yet in 15 years of writing about movie star recipes (I'm not counting the Dean Martin Burger). I am as pleased as punch that I discovered some shortcuts for making Donald's curry that meant even though I was SMASHED on beer after...
Boris Karloff’s Guacamole v Gloria Stuart’s Guacamole
I had such a fun time hanging out on zoom with three fellow movie star recipe obsessives a few Sundays ago. Karie Bible of the lovely Hollywood Kitchen Show gathered myself, Fritzi Kramer of Movies Silently and Samantha Ellis of Musings of a Classic Film...
February on Murder, She Cooked – Cyd Charisse
My Murder, She Wrote related Substack is now monthly and the February edition neatly kicked off my episode guides for series two. I love Jessica's appearance at the beginning, all dolled up in a turban and pearls! Cyd Charisse is in this episode too, and the...
David Birney and Meredith Baxter’s Tarragon Chicken
This recipe is destined for the Murder, She Cooked book as David Birney pops up in four episodes. When interviewed by food writer Johna Blinn, David admitted that he was no great shakes in the kitchen and offered up this recipe from his wife, actress Meredith Baxter....
Jenny Agutter’s Courgette and Tomato Bake
Jenny Agutter waving her knickers on a stick at an oncoming train is one of my earliest movie memories. I think I must have been taken to the cinema to see The Railway Children when it came out (that's how old I am) and that's the scene I remember most. I am going...
Fionnula Flanagan’s Beef and Chicken Curry
It's been a tradition for me to throw a birthday dinner for my beloved Battenburg Belle for many moons but we have missed two years due to RULES so I loved, loved, loved being able to do it this year. The big hit of the night was Fionnula Flanagan's curry, which...
Happy Fourth Birthday Cooking With Columbo
Four years ago today my Columbo cookbook was put out into the world. Writing this was so much fun and it has brought me huge joy ever since. The thing that makes me most happy is knowing that people all around the world are cooking from it. For example, Missy...
Wayne Rogers’ Hunter’s Eggs
This recipe has been hanging around on the Murder, She Cooked test cooking list for a lonnnnnng time. A few people volunteered to have a go at it, and then declined once they realised that liver was involved. No problem for me though, I love liver! I approached this...
Jack Cassidy’s Quicky Green Bean Casserole
A conversation with a colleague way back in November reminded me of my pledge in 2017 that I would ALWAYS make a Jack Cassidy Quicky Green Bean Casserole for Thanksgiving. As I had a spare evening on my hands on the last Thursday in November, I decided to make one...
Dolores del Rio’s Enchiladas on Hollywood Kitchen
Oh what a fun time I had appearing as a guest on Karie Bible's lovely Hollywood Kitchen Show last Sunday. Karie had invited myself and my co-writer Peter to speak about our Vincent Price cookbook and to make Dolores Del Rio's Enchiladas and Vincent Price's Mexican...
Recipe of the Month – Betty Driver’s Lancashire Hot Pot
Those of you of a certain age will no doubt already be reminiscing about the good old days of Coronation Street when Betty Williams (played by Betty Driver) worked behind the bar of the Rover's Return. Her hotpot was always on the menu and Betty became known as "the...
Carroll Baker’s Baked Chicken
Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. This is a simple but very tasty baked chicken recipe. It doesn't look much on paper, but often these "ye olden dayes" recipes are like that. I made a small version of this as dinner-for-deux and we wolfed it down! Although Carroll's...
January on Murder, She Cooked
Here are links to all the recipes that featured on my weekly Murder, She Cooked Substack in January. I’m not going to duplicate them on the Silver Screen Suppers blog, so if you are interested in the recipes, just click on the appropriate link. Martha Raye's Chicken...
Jon Pertwee’s Spaghetti Flan
For the 3rd of the Heinz 57 extravaganzas, I had a fun cookalong with Jan Manthey - winner of the Vincent Price Cucumber Crocodile competition, cult film director extraordinaire, author and one of the frontmen of The Dylan Rabbit. Jan runs the most excellent Saucy...
Edie Adams’ Boiled Ham and Vegetables Edie
When I published Edie's ham recipe in my Murder, She Cooked Substack entry for the Capitol Offense episode, I was absolutely thrilled when someone special spotted the above pic on Instagram. Her son, Josh! He sent the following message, "Mom was NOT a good cook....
Gene Tierney’s V-8
Here's a suggestion of a beverage to accompany Gene Tierney's Leaning Tower of Tuna (aka Tuna Salad Royal). A refreshing glass of V-8. I stumbled across a V-8 ad featuring Gene whilst writing the previous post and that of course, sent me down a huge research rabbit...
Gene Tierney’s Tuna Salad Royal – My Top 100 Movie Star Recipes #96
When I have a big tomato hanging around the place I am often compelled to do this to it... This dish was proposed in an advertisement for Star-Kist Tuna and I always think of it as Gene Tierney's Leaning Tower of Tuna... I love the fanciful nature of this dish and...
Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies – The Great Bear Project – Stop #15
More or less as soon as we were able to venture out into the world again after the first pandemic lockdown we got back on the trail of The Great Bear. Stop #15 was Hendon Central aka Katharine Hepburn in the world of Simon Patterson. We set off there, in masks, to...
Kate Mulgrew’s Penne with Vodka & Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce
Yum. What more can I say? So easy, so delicious. Kate, after the disaster of your meatloaf, you have redeemed yourself! Kate is in 3 episodes of Murder, She Wrote and I'm not sure which episode this recipe will be attached to in the Murder, She Cooked book but it is...
Marlene Dietrich’s Hot Dogs & Champagne
It is hard to find the source of the much bandied around factoid that Marlene Dietrich's favourite meal was hot dogs and champagne. If anyone knows for sure when or where she said it I would love to know. But it's a good foodie fact, even if I can't actually verify...
Mary Brian’s Orange Circles – Recipe of the Month
I am sailing into 2022 with optimism! It's a while since we've had a sweet treat as the recipe of the month, so I thought I would kick off the new year with one. These little biccies are so easy to make and soooooo delicious. I made a batch of these for a very special...
November & December on Murder, She Cooked
Here are links to all the recipes that featured on my weekly Murder, She Cooked Substack throughout November and December. I’m not going to duplicate them on the Silver Screen Suppers blog, so if you are interested in the recipes, just click on the appropriate link....
William Holden’s Boiled New Potatoes with Herbed Butter Sauce
When I had my friend Ben round for dinner once, I asked beforehand if there was anything he didn't eat. His answer was, "metal." He's my kind of man, as is William. There's nothing he won't eat, apparently. On the day before travelling to my mum's for a family...
Vincent Price Cucumber Crocodile Competition WINNERS!
I am pleased to announce the three winners of the Vincent Price Cucumber Crocodile competition. Victoria Price was just delighted to see all of the entries and wrote, "OH MY GOD! These are so great. . ." Haha, indeed they are, for all the entries skip over here, and...
Joe Santos’ One Hot Italian Night
I do love a recipe with a weird title, and this one was rustled up on One Cold British Night to much acclaim. I had a DINNER GUEST. This is such a rare occurrence in pandemic times that I was excited for days beforehand. There is a feeling here in the UK at the...
Recipe of the Month – Andy Clyde’s Baked Ham Casserole
I had LOTS of ham left over from the Marsha Hunt Ham - With Love recipe and whenever this happens my thoughts turn to Andy's casserole. It's not a casserole as we Brits would know it, and it doesn't look much on paper but it is absolutely delicious. There's surely a...
Marsha Hunt’s Ham – With Love
Fancy a boozy breakfast? I can recommend this bonkers recipe. I do so love a recipe with a weird title and Marsha is in Murder, She Wrote so this was a MUST for the forthcoming Murder, She Cooked book. I also love a recipe that is effectively a menu too. Everything...
Vincent Price Cucumber Crocodile Competition
I just LOVED receiving photographs of the cucumber crocodiles made for the Supper with the Stars book launch competition. It really brought me great, great joy! Here are a couple of photos by Sue Foll of my cucumber croc demo at the book launch (yes, I dyed mini...
Barry Newman’s Baked Fillet of Sole, Russian Style
To avoid making the same mistake I made with Ob's Chicken, I am writing this up very soon after making it. It was slightly weird, but good nevertheless! When I have something that needs testing for the Murder, She Cooked book and there is something ODD about the...
Greg Morris’ Ob’s Chicken
I am very lucky that my other half, Mr Rathbone, is an excellent proofreader. He's been kindly reading through all my Murder, She Cooked Substack posts before I send them out into the world and always has brilliant suggestions for tweaks that make my writing much...
Keith Michell’s Seitan and Barley Soup
Seitan has been on my radar for a couple of years but I had never eaten it before making this dish. I knew it was getting groovy in the vegan world and good marketing has given me a Pavlovian response to the word seitan. Every time I see it, I automatically think...
October on Murder, She Cooked
Here are links to all the recipes that featured on my weekly Murder, She Cooked Substack throughout October. I'm not going to duplicate them on the Silver Screen Suppers blog, so if you are interested in the recipes, just click on the appropriate link. June Allyson's...
Shelley Winters’ Caesar Salad
I am a sucker for a Caesar and have tried a few movie star versions. Grace Kelly's was so good it was Recipe of the Month way back in April 2019, Ruth Roman's method calls for coddled eggs and Jessica Walter's garlic oil required a bit of forward planning. And so it...
MY COOKING WITH COLUMBO COOKBOOK – click on pic for link
MY COOKING WITH JOAN CRAWFORD COOKBOOK – click on pic for link
