by Jenny | 16 Sep, 2023 | Dinner and a Movie, Ian Carmichael, Richard Attenborough, Sheila Sim, Terry-Thomas
Welcome to new readers who have landed here via Talking Pictures TV. I’m excited to propose a fabulous star-spangled menu for everyone to enjoy alongside a screening of I’m All Right Jack on Sunday 8th October at 6.30pm. We are having a Silver Screen...
by Jenny | 12 Sep, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Rock Hudson
I had some cooked chicken hanging around the place before I moved house, and this looked like a good way of using it up. What a nice surprise it was when this “doesn’t look much on paper” recipe turned out to be absolutely scrumptious. Bravo Rock!...
by Jenny | 3 Sep, 2023 | Claudette Colbert, Dinner and a Movie
This month’s Dinner and a Movie suggestion is It Happened One Night – skip over to Substack to read all about it, and join in! Clark Gable cooks scrambled eggs in It Happened One Night, so it seemed serendipitous that I had a recipe for same via Claudette....
by Jenny | 1 Sep, 2023 | Johnny Weissmuller, Movie Star Cocktails
Behold the first movie star cocktail made in the NEW Silver Screen Suppers kitchen. I haven’t quite worked out the best place to take food and drink photos, so for now, I am choosing a rather precarious spot on a beautiful (but decommissioned) mini-Aga-type...
by Jenny | 23 Aug, 2023 | Movie Star Cocktails, Shirley Temple
When Rich Watson read that I was on a relocation vacation he kindly offered to write a guest post for the blog. Thanks, Rich! His lovely deep dive into the beverage known as the Shirley Temple follows. Some of you may remember that me and the mister made a video...
by Jenny | 13 Aug, 2023 | David Niven, Diana Dors, Gene Tierney, Peter Fonda, Phyllis Diller, Una Stubbs, Vincent Price
Silver Screen Suppers Towers has moved to the seaside. I put my intention to do this out into the universe a few months ago, and a beautiful place to live has been handed to me on a plate with parsley around it! I have an absolutely wonderful kitchen and am planning...
by Jenny | 24 Jul, 2023 | Benny Hill
It was renaissance man Martin Green who tipped me off to this fabulous piece of TV ephemera. when I went to hear his DJ set at Spiritlands on the South Bank here in London. I say TV rather than film, as most of the stars featured on the cassette and in the recipe...
by Jenny | 21 Jul, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives
I am a stickler for sticking to recipes, so naturally, I made this on a Sunday. Just like Vincent Price’s Friday Chicken, it would have seemed wrong to make it on a day other than the one specified. This was on the test-cook list for the forthcoming Cooking the...
by Jenny | 16 Jul, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, David Suchet, When Bloggers Meet or Collaborate
Calling all Poirot fans! I have a treat for you. Every now and then, Taryn from Retro Food for Modern Times and I do a cookalong together. If you put an enormous skewer through the planet with the top of it going through London, it would probably emerge somewhere...
by Jenny | 12 Jul, 2023 | Bebe Daniels
Sometimes you don’t see a dressing for ages, and then three come along at once… On the left, we have Angela Lansbury’s Mustard Vinaigrette. On the right, we have David Soul’s Torino Dressing, and in the middle, a French Dressing. When I needed...
by Jenny | 7 Jul, 2023 | Barbara Stanwyck, Dinner and a Movie, Movie Star Cocktails
The film for this month’s Dinner and a Movie is Ball of Fire (1941), and the suggestions for accompaniments are Barbara Stanwyck’s Meatloaf, her Pimento Salad and a cinnamon-based cocktail I have named after her character in the movie, The Sugarpuss...
by Jenny | 27 Jun, 2023 | Joyce Grenfell
We are having a mini heatwave here in the UK, so thoughts turn to salads. I am becoming quite a fan of chicory (or endive, depending on where you are in the world) because it turns out to be the kind of thing that will last a while in the fridge when you have...
by Jenny | 22 Jun, 2023 | Movie Star Cocktails, William Gaxton
I have no idea who William Gaxton is, but I LOVED his cocktail invention. We toasted the much-loved Tina Turner with one of these, and if you want a few minutes of pure joy, watch Ann-Margret having the time of her life performing Nutbush City Limits with the best...
by Jenny | 20 Jun, 2023 | Cooking with Columbo, Murder, She Cooked, Rue McClanahan
I’m organising a Murder, She Wrote Watch Party on Sunday – everyone is welcome, wherever you are in the world! All the details are in this Substack post if you’d like to join in, it’s going to be loads of fun. The episode we are watching...
by Jenny | 18 Jun, 2023 | Ruta Lee
I am revving up to move house, and I have a four-drawer freezer full of things to eat up. I am also in a state of mild panic about all the people I want to see before I leave London. I am not going a million miles away, just around 70 miles as the crow flies (110...
by Jenny | 9 Jun, 2023 | Dinner and a Movie, Jane Russell
It’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes month over at Dinner and a Movie! Join us if you fancy watching the film sometime in June and then sharing your thoughts on it. There are a few recipes from the Kitchen of Jane Russell for you to rustle up in this post, and here...
by Jenny | 6 Jun, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Susan Saint James
I have had a huge jar of pearl barley on my kitchen counter for around 5 years. I look at it on a regular basis and think, “I must use that for something”, when I probably should be thinking, “I am going to throw that away.” But here comes...
by Jenny | 4 Jun, 2023 | Dinner and a Movie, Jane Russell
I’ve selected Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for June’s Dinner and a Movie, so if you fancy joining the fun, grab yourself a copy of it and watch it in your own time, on your own sofa sometime in June. There will be chit-chat about the film in our virtual...
by Jenny | 18 May, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, David Soul
I’m knuckling down to writing the Cooking the Detectives book, and next week is POIROT week. But which screen representation of Poirot? Chatting to some friends about Miss Marple, we all agreed that everyone has their favourite Marple, but I’m guessing the...
by Jenny | 16 May, 2023 | Vincent Price
Asparagus season here – yippee! The minute I spotted some, I grabbed it, with this lovely luncheon in mind. Sometimes when I’m working from home I fancy something fancy and this feels fancy. Egghead would approve! It’s so quick and easy too. I...
by Jenny | 11 May, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Telly Savalas
For the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book I’m trying to work on one sleuth per week. Last week it was KOJAK! I’m writing a guide to a “taster episode” for each show and there will be a recipe from the kitchen of the actor who plays the...
by Jenny | 7 May, 2023 | Cecil B Demille, Dinner and a Movie, Gloria Swanson, William Holden
Greetings to those dropping by from Dinner and a Movie for some extra recipes suitable for serving alongside a screening of Sunset Blvd. First up, possibly the maddest thing I have ever made William Holden’s Lime Gelatine with Carrots, Nuts and Olives. Yes, this...
by Jenny | 6 May, 2023 | Dennis King, Movie Star Cocktails
God bless the King. Dennis King. Another classic cocktail from the brilliant Bottoms Up! cocktail book, published in 1928. This copy, with the original corkscrew still attached, is available to buy for a cool £4,000. The Saratoga is a classic for a reason, the...
by Jenny | 5 May, 2023 | Fanny Brice, Movie Star Cocktails
I’ve been saving this for Coronation weekend and here it is. In case you don’t know, there’s royal stuff going on in the UK tomorrow so if you are going to be toasting the new King or any other regal person in your life, here’s the ideal...
by Jenny | 28 Apr, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Tom Selleck
Cor! This was good. But no wonder, it’s got loads of things I love in it. Plus I made it with fancy truffle mayonnaise. I think Tom would be proud of me. Here’s what you need. Under construction (I used an ice cream scoop as instructed). Voila! Easy...
by Jenny | 24 Apr, 2023 | Lauren Bacall
What has happened to this year? Are we in some kind of accelerated time warp machine? Today I thought to myself, “I must check when the The Great Muppet Show Co-Star Caper is happening so I can write about Lauren Bacall’s spinach salad recipe” (as...
by Jenny | 19 Apr, 2023 | Stanley Tucci, Tuccitime
This was a bit of a “two-recipes-in-one” job as one of the ingredients in Stanley’s recipe is a marinara sauce. Luckily, the way Stanley makes his is all over the interwebs, so I made a batch to this recipe to incorporate into the aubergine mix....
by Jenny | 17 Apr, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, David Suchet
It’s traditional to have roast lamb over Easter here in the UK, so David’s recipe was plucked from the “to test” pile for Good Friday. It’s a bit of a strange one, and I’m not sure it will make it into the Cooking the Detectives...
by Jenny | 16 Apr, 2023 | Dinner and a Movie
Hello chums – I’ve just opened the doors to the Silver Screen Suppers Club virtual reality cinema bar so join us for a chat about All About Eve – the chatroom is open 24/7 on the Substack app. It’s effectively our opening night and it’s...
by Jenny | 14 Apr, 2023 | Charlie Chaplin, Movie Star Cocktails
I am a big fan of Richard Godwin’s online cocktail emporium The Spirits. Recently I was delving around in there, reading about Apricot Brandy and I spotted this comment on the Charlie Chaplin cocktail. “The original recipe of this from the Old Waldorf...
by Jenny | 7 Apr, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
For Christmas one of my gifts from Mr Rathbone was an offer to test cook three dishes for the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book. The first one he went for was Robert Wagner’s Chili and on Friday night he rustled up the second. It was LUSH. The sauce is...
by Jenny | 5 Apr, 2023 | Arthur Brest
Apparently yesterday was International Carrot Day – have you got any around the place? Now is the time to cook ’em up! It’s been a while since there’s been a FAIL in the Silver Screen Suppers kitchen and this wasn’t a total write-off but...
by Jenny | 2 Apr, 2023 | Bette Davis, Dinner and a Movie
I’ve launched a new THING over on Substack today. A virtual reality star-spangled dinner and a movie club. It is something I’ve wanted to do for ages, and now it exists. So exciting. Come and join us! Everyone is welcome, wherever you are in the world,...
by Jenny | 26 Mar, 2023 | David Niven
How I love a homemade fishcake, and how I love David’s recipe for making them. Because basically, it’s a fishcake template. I am sure David wouldn’t mind you putting in whatever you have around the place. Here’s his recipe, in his very own...
by Jenny | 16 Mar, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Julia McKenzie
Well this one was a pleasant surprise! I thought this would be a soufflé affair, but actually it turned out to be a much more veggiecentric dish which was surprisingly delicious. This was on the “to test” list because Julia McKenzie is one of the Miss...
by Jenny | 12 Mar, 2023 | Dinner and a Movie
I’m excited to announce that I’m launching an online dinner and a movie club. I’ll be proposing a classic movie each month and suggesting appropriate movie star recipes for you to try alongside. Watch and cook in your own time, indulging yourself in...
by Jenny | 11 Mar, 2023 | Audrey Hepburn, The Great Bear Project
On our tour around the stations of the Northern Line, carrying film star foodstuff, I am always on the lookout for something appropriate to scoff on the platform. Hampstead is renamed Audrey Hepburn in Simon Patterson’s genius reimagining of the map and the...
by Jenny | 9 Mar, 2023 | Bette Davis, Movie Star Cocktails
During the first UK lockdown of the pandemic, me and Mr R made Friday night videos of the movie star cocktails we made when all the pubs were closed. It was loads of fun and we stuck all the videos on YouTube if you fancy having a look. Lots of cocktails were named...
by Jenny | 7 Mar, 2023 | Ann Blyth, Jack Carter, Jayne Meadows Allen, Lee Merriweather, Marsha Hunt, Murder, She Cooked, Robert Vaughn, Yvonne de Carlo
What’s been cooking over at Murder, She Cooked? Quite a lot since I last did a round up. If you are a Murder, She Wrote fan, skip over to the Substack for episode reviews and companion recipes. Here’s what’s been going on in Cabot Cove –...
by Jenny | 26 Feb, 2023 | Supper with the Stars, Vincent Price
I had two frankfurters leftover from the Richard Basehart Frankfurters and Beans extravaganza written about here and that could only mean one thing. Hotchpotch of Curly Kale. I was determined that this recipe go in the Supper with the Stars book as I love it so....
by Jenny | 23 Feb, 2023 | Eartha Kitt
This recipe has been right at the top of my “I wanna cook” list since it first appeared in Greg Swenson’s brilliant Recipes for Rebels book. Mostly because it is cooked in a CHICKEN BRICK and this is one of those things I bought for a specific movie...
by Jenny | 17 Feb, 2023 | Raquel Welch
Thanks to my lovely chum Peter Fuller of the Vincent Price Legacy UK for making this wonderful recipe illustration. I was so sad to hear that Raquel has gone to that Hollywood in the sky. I’ve had a girl crush on her for ages. There follows a blog post I wrote...
by Jenny | 15 Feb, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Robert Wagner
For a Christmas gift Mr Rathbone pledged to test 3 recipes for the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book for me. What a lovely present! This was the first one ticked off the list. A very tasty chili courtesy of Robert Wagner. The above pic was taken before the...
by Jenny | 9 Feb, 2023 | Spencer Tracy
I went back to an old method of selecting which star to focus on for my recipe of the month. Mr R bought me a fabulous pack of movie star playing cards for the first birthday we celebrated together. I cut the pack and Spencer Tracy was presented to me right there on...
by Jenny | 6 Feb, 2023 | Betty Driver, Charlie Drake, Denver Pyle, Diana Dors, Edie Adams, Farrah Fawcett, Heinz 57 Challenge, Jane Asher, Jenny Agutter, Joanna Lumley, Jon Pertwee, Linda Gray, Marlene Dietrich, Phyllis Diller, Richard Arlen, Richard Basehart, Robert Quarry, Sharon Gless
Mr Rathbone and myself decided to celebrate spending 57 years on this here planet by attempting to consume 57 Heinz based meals in a year. Did we manage it? YES! It was loads of fun as we sourced lots of Heinz things that aren’t on the supermarket shelves...
by Jenny | 22 Jan, 2023 | Cooking With Joan Crawford, Joan Crawford
I’m working on an exciting project to kick off 2023 – a reboot of my Joan Crawford cookbook. This has been available on Blurb since 2014 and was the first movie star recipe collection I published. I had lots of vintage JC postcards and over 30 of her...
by Jenny | 17 Jan, 2023 | Gina Lollobrigida
I was sad to hear that Gina Lollobrigida has headed off to that Hollywood in the sky. As a tiny tribute to Lo Lollo, here’s her recipe for wreath cookies. These were recipe of the month way back in December 2012 and they were so cute. I guess they are designed...
by Jenny | 15 Jan, 2023 | Cooking The Detectives, Joan Hickson
What a treat this was! Such a simple recipe, but utterly delicious. I only have two recipes for Joan in the collection, the other is for marmalade. I was going to try both, to see which one would be best suited for the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book, but...
by Jenny | 7 Jan, 2023 | Grace Kelly, The Great Bear Project
Ah, the beloved Great Bear Project! Our bid to cook our way through the 21 movie star stations as imagined by artist Simon Patterson on the two top spurs of the Northern Line is done. BUT, I still have to write up 5 of them. I am playing catch-up. What can I tell...
by Jenny | 6 Jan, 2023 | Shelley Winters
Happy New Year! I spent Christmas with my mum and watched a lot of telly. For ages I have been trying to remember the name of a game show I accidentally watched once that had me crying with laughter. I just couldn’t for the life of me remember the name. When...
by Jenny | 24 Dec, 2022 | Lynda Day George, Murder, She Cooked
I love a pleasant surprise when I make a movie star recipe thinking, “this is going to be weird.” Because yes, this did seem weird to me, but also, it was absolutely delicious. It also felt indulgent and cheeky because I made it for myself for a weekday...
by Jenny | 19 Dec, 2022 | Clark Gable
It is TOO COLD for salads at the moment here in London and the thought of having one makes me shiver. But it’s hot elsewhere in the world right?! Years ago, in 2013, I came upon a mention of this on the internet. The Clark Gable Salad, on the MGM commissary...
by Jenny | 18 Dec, 2022 | Murder, She Cooked, Ron Masak
Tonight’s the night my fellow Cabot Covians! Join me for a fun watch party wherever you are in the world. Fans of Murder, She Wrote will all watch the episode together in their own homes and natter about it via a private chat room hosted on my Substack –...
by Jenny | 12 Dec, 2022 | Christopher Plummer, Nanette Newman, Tatum O'Neal
When Gill of Reelweegiemidget Reviews announces a movie star blogathon, I immediately check my movie star recipe spreadsheet to see what I have for the person in question. In the case of Christopher Plummer, in my whole collection of over 8,000 star-spangled...
by Jenny | 10 Dec, 2022 | Heinz 57 Challenge, Jane Asher, Joanna Lumley
I think a New Year Resolution for 2023 will be to write up movie star din-dins experiences IMMEDIATELY after I have had them. Because I am sitting here racking my brains about a dinner party we threw in January and the brain is not being very forthcoming. I know that...
by Jenny | 7 Dec, 2022 | Cooking The Detectives, Diana Dors, Heinz 57 Challenge, Richard Basehart, Sharon Gless
The beans I used in Richard Basehart’s Frankfurter and Beans were Heinz Beanz pimped up thanks to a Sharon Gless recipe, so that dish was a kind of Columbo/Cagney & Lacey mash-up. I’ve made Sharon’s beans before and they are GOOD. A shortcut to...
by Jenny | 5 Dec, 2022 | Gene Tierney
I love my local butcher, he really makes me laugh. When I went into The Hampstead Butcher in Muswell Hill to buy the pork for this recipe he was on top form. I told him I was working with Gene Tierney’s recipe from the 1940s. When I described her instructions...
by Jenny | 2 Dec, 2022 | Bay White, David Lawton, Noele Gordon, Peggy Aitchison
This event has been a long time coming. Ever since Angus tipped me off to the existence of the Crossroads Cookbook I’ve been promising a night of delights from its pages. For those not familiar with this iconic British soap, I did a bit of a summing up when I...
by Jenny | 30 Nov, 2022 | Cooking The Detectives, Raymond Burr
I am never going to use dried beans again (unless a movie star specifically tells me to). They never, ever go soft for me, no matter how long I cook the little beggers. I cooked the beans for this chilli as Raymond directed me to, with salt pork (in my case...
by Jenny | 27 Nov, 2022 | Cooking with Columbo, Heinz 57 Challenge, Richard Basehart
Ever since we embarked upon the Heinz 57 Project I’ve been thinking that I must make this again. It’s in the Columbo Cookbook as Richard Basehart is in the Dagger of the Mind episode, and I had a feeling Mr R would love this one. If you are a carnivore,...
