Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things. So it was with the honouring of this voucher which was a raffle prize at the book launch of Cooking With Columbo which was in 2018. Even though the winners of this voucher, Lady Jane and Trix, live just around the corner from me,...
There isn’t any cooking going on at Silver Screen Suppers Towers as I have finally succumbed to Covid. I’m mostly sleeping and knitting with the occasional wobble to the kitchen for a Lemsip. So perhaps now is a good time for me to tell you about something I’ve been meaning to mention for ages. This...
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 Tassels in Sheffield had a...
For all you Peter Falk fans, I thought I would gather together photos of all of his favourite recipes in one post. All these recipes are featured in the Cooking With Columbo book. Signed copies are available via my Etsy shop Otherwise you can order the book from your local bookshop or get it directly...
I have been meaning to blog about this for ages but just to let all Columbo fans know that the fabulous Columbophile is doing this mega-countdown RIGHT NOW and I heartily recommend you check it out. If you are quick, you’ll catch the last two posts where he’ll be counting down from 20 to 1....
It’s a whole year since I published the Cooking With Columbo cookbook, I can hardly believe it. Ages ago I wrote a blog post all about the exciting day I had when the book came out, but I haven’t published it until now. I think this will be a fun read for anyone who is...
There’s a chance to win a copy of the Cooking With Columbo cookbook on the airwaves at the moment – closing date for entries is 20th January 2019. If you skip over to this link you’ll be able to listen to the most excellent Just One More Thing podcast. The Usual. Somebody Killed Somebody. I...
The authority on all things Columbo, the wonderful LC who runs the genius Columbophile website… is running a competition to win a copy of my Cooking With Columbo book – well 3 copies actually! Competition is open until 16th December – get amongst it! The Cooking With Columbo cookbook has episode guides for all 69...
We had such an amazing afternoon at Staying Cool’s apartment hotel atop the Rotunda in Birmingham on Sunday. To celebrate Peter Falk’s birthday a group of Columbo superfans gathered together in a beautiful Staying Cool penthouse suite. We raised our glasses to toast the best television show ever and ate Johnny Cash Chilli. The chilli...
Hello, all you lovely folks in and around the Birmingham, UK area. There’s a special event happening this Sunday to celebrate Peter Falk’s birthday. I’m giving an illustrated talk about Columbo and there will be JOHNNY CASH CHILLI made by a top chef. Oh yes! This dish is famous from the Columbo Bowl Chilli Cook-Along...
My chum film-maker Sarah Akrobettoe challenged me to make a cooking demo video over Easter and I did it! It was so much fun to make and edit. I did it all in one day, as my mum would say “all by my own self” on Easter Monday – and I am stupidly proud of...
It was so lovely to have a get together with my friends and test cooks and have a little party to celebrate the launch of my Columbo book. Yes! It really exists! I can’t quite believe the book is out in the world, but it is! It’s available on Amazon, via Smashwords, and soon you’ll...
Greg of Recipes for Rebels has created ANOTHER wonderful graphic for the cook-along, feel free to include it in your blog posts, print it out and frame it (which is what I’m going to do) or just appreciate the splendor of it! Just wanted to remind y’all that it’s happening, everyone is invited, and all...
I love it when test cooks send photos of their dishes and ingredients they used, especially when they are not based in the UK. I am always intrigued by how different things look in different places. Plus, there are certain things that are nigh on impossible to get here, which are easy to get elsewhere....
I had SUCH a lovely surprise in the post this week. Lovely food illustrator Miriam Figueras sent me this AMAZING illustration of Columbo in his chef’s hat! Isn’t it wonderful? He will forever be in my kitchen, keeping an eye on my cooking. Thank you so much, Miriam. Such a sweet and thoughtful...
This report comes from a blog reader based in Berlin. Thank you so much Vera Roth! First, here’s Peter’s recipe, then Vera’s notes on how she made the dish, then her fabulous photos. All of this makes me want to cook these ribs again RIGHT NOW, they look so delicious! Peter Falk’s Barbecued Spare Ribs,...
It’s that time again… It’s the #ColumboTV tweetalong tomorrow night and the episode is… In this episode, the Lieutenant rustles himself up a Black and White Soda. I had no idea what this was, but the power of the internet has revealed it contains vanilla ice-cream, chocolate syrup, club soda, whipped cream and a cherry. So...
If I met someone who had never seen an episode of Columbo, I think I would recommend Murder By The Book as the one to start with. It’s superb in so many ways… Not least… but also… Credit is due for the screengrabs to the amazing Colombophile But the best thing about it, for my purposes,...
I’m on the home stretch with the cookbook and I’m beginning to get those long nights of the soul – waking up and panicking about how much there is still to do – eek! I have about 3 months before publication date. Can I do it? I hope so… This is just a quick post...
My fellow Shellac Sister Lady Jane is well known for being averse to cooking. But she stepped right up to the plate to test this recipe for the Columbo cookbook. Admittedly, there isn’t really any cooking involved, but when you are a LADY, this is all to the good. Mind you, even though she is...
Murder Under Glass is the BEST Columbo episode for foodies. There is so much brilliant stuff going on with Cioppino, “Bon Snacks” biscuits and Japanese blowfish I cannot even begin to explain… If you have never seen it, seek it out on DVD and get yourself a bottle of Margaux and a Spong Corkette and...
In the first non-pilot episode of Columbo, Murder By The Book, our favourite TV detective makes an omelet. Well, he starts to make an omelet but we don’t get to see anyone eat it, as events interrupt his cooking session… Work continues apace on the Columbo Cookbook test cooking, and yesterday morning I made myself...
I have been celebrating the completion of the second draft of the Columbo cookbook with the Lieutenant’s favourite snack. Hard boiled eggs. Behold my new guilty pleasure. Yes, I realise it’s the laziest thing in the world to buy pre-boiled, hard boiled eggs. But look, they are BLUE! These just tickle me, and I will...
I have been celebrating the completion of the first draft of the Cooking with Columbo cookbook, with champagne and a special Columbo sandwich. YES! I am soooo excited. Myrna Loy, Janet Leigh, Celeste Holm, Vincent Price, William Shatner and many other stars who have appeared on this blog, had guest star roles in Columbo. Their...
This is a very special recipe for me as it graces the cover of my Cooking With Columbo cookbook. Plus I made a demo video… So here is the recipe and there follows some notes on how I tackled it. I thought I would have a problem finding jumbo pasta shells here in Londinium (remember...
Ooh, Spare Ribs – yes! I didn’t have hooks from which to suspend the ribs in my oven, as the legendary Mr Falk suggested. I simply plonked them on the oven rack with the grill pan lower down in the oven underneath them to catch any drips. Result was perfectly cooked, and lip-smackingly...
Folks, this is my 999th blog post. I am not kidding. The next post you will see from me is my 1,000th so expect something special! I’ll be cooking something very, very strange indeed. Until then, here’s something simple. The way Peter liked his avocados. Sprinkled with lime or lemon juice (I used lime), with...
I’ve been a bit quiet in April because of Camp NaNoWriMo. I’ve been doing less cooking, less boozing and more writing…. This time around, I’ve been working on my new project, the Cooking With Columbo cookbook. Yep, you heard it here first! Well, unless you subscribe to my newsletter, as those folks will have heard...
When you buy meat from the butcher, it’s only when you get it home that you see how HUGE it is compared to what’s on offer at the supermarkets. My tenderloin pork chops from Midhurst Butchers in Muswell Hill were mahoooooooooooooooosive! Hence, I only did half of Peter’s recipe as it was for a spinster’s...
