I love, love, love this photo of “Alfonse” at my folks place in Suffolk announcing the menu for their Joan Crawford Dinner Party.  My mum’s verdict on the steak: “Delish” seemed to be the universal reaction from around the world.  If you like blue cheese, mustard and butter you just can’t go wrong with this recipe, and that is a FACT!  So here is a little round up from folks who made Joan’s steak for their din dins.

First photo received was from my cyber chum Lauren in Wichita over at the Lovely blog – just check this out this photo…

aaarg!  I want that for my lunch!  Lauren is a friend I met through a shared love of Vincent and Mary Price’s Treasury of Great Recipes.  You can read Lauren’s account of her dismay at finding that you cannot buy Roquefort in the States any more here.  It’s health and safety gone mad my lovelies!  You’ll also see a mouth-watering photo of the steak sandwich Lauren made with her leftovers.  Oh yum.  Lauren is working on a cookbook. She is the ultimate fan of “British Food that Doesn’t Suck” ha ha, and although based in the States knows far more about the traditional foods of the British Isles than I ever will…

The lovely Peter Fuller has kindly written about my Joan Crawford cookbook on the What’s On TV website this week.  I am loving the fact he called my book “divine”.  Peter made steaks to Joan’s recipe and they look sooooooooooooo good!  Phor!  I think this is the way to do it, pop the Roquefort, mustard, butter mix on top of the steaks and let it melt under the grill…

Davie McGirr’s steaks (seen below) look like they might have been barbecued, which I know Joan would have approved of.  The recipe is actually called “Charcoal Broiled Steaks” but most of us here in the UK don’t have a clue what a broiled steak is, and don’t generally muck about with charcoal unless it’s a 100% guaranteed sunny Saturday or Sunday sometime briefly in August…  David’s steaks look delicious and I do like his accompaniment of the soon to be gone, seasonal Tenderstem Broccoli (TM).  Regular readers may remember that I once got so excited about meeting Yotam Ottolenghi that I accidentally took home 20 packs of Tenderstem Broccoli (TM) home from a party once…

Here’s the lovely Rob (who I haven’t seen for far too long) whisking up the butter / mustard / Roquefort topping for 2 x steaks to devour with his lovely wife Theo…  Please note the Hello Kitty whisk.  Love it.

My Shellac Sister Theo wrote a brilliant account of their dinner on her fabulous blog Theodora Goes Wild where there is also a photo of the only CAT I know of who was a guest at a Joan Crawford Dinner Party…

and for those of you who knit, what better to wear when enjoying some of Joan’s favourite recipes than a jumper designed (and modeled) by Theo called…

The Joan Crawford!  Isn’t it divine?!  Theo has also designed jumpers named after three other classic Hollywood stars – Bebe Daniels, Joan Fontaine and Norma Shearer.  Once I finish the 4-ply socks that have been on the needles for about 3 years I might make myself a Norma Shearer cardi!  Here’s the link…

I encourage you to visit Theo’s blog even if you don’t knit.  You’ll see what happens to a super glamorous Shellac Sister when she has had THREE Joan Crawford Cosmo Cocktails…  Disgraceful behaviour Theo!

Here are my folks, partaking of Joan’s finest…  My dad, ever the host with the most, is pouring some of his delicious wine.  Can you imagine how happy it makes all of his kids that his hobby is going to France, buying wine and then letting us all drink loads of it?!

Here’s one of the steaks they made for themselves and their lovely chums Stuart and Tensia.

Phor!  Look at THAT dinner!  I think I even see roast parsnips in there.  I may request a break in tradition next time I go to my folks on a Friday, and ask if I can have a Joanie steak rather than our (much loved) fish supper from their local fish ‘n’ chips shop The Codfather…

Next up, here’s  a photo of one of the steaks fashioned over at Battenburg Belle’s.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Regular readers will know that me and BB are partners in arms when it comes to being obsessed with cooking, plus we live a hop, skip and a jump away from each other, so I’m often hanging out at BB’s place partaking of her gorgeous food. BB bought her steaks from our new, local, groovy MEAT emporium Muddy Boots in Crouch End.  I’ve yet to visit, but I fully intend to.  I find it absolutely amazing that new places selling good old fashioned meat are springing up all around where I live, including Tufnell Park.  Every night on the bus home from work I look left just before the tube station and think, I MUST get off the bus one night and check out Meat London – the stuff in their window is drool-worthy.  They seem to be open fairly late too…

In the 1980s when I lived in Tufnell Park there were only corner shops with tinned products – no fresh product to speak of.   Now there is a butcher, AND a fishmonger, AND Ruby Violet the independent ice-cream emporium.  It’s like the East Village or something there now. 

I actually have no idea where or what the East Village is, but all I’m saying is that it is bloody swanky in Tufnell Park these days and I quite fancy living there again… (is the East Village swanky?  Perhaps my chums across the Atlantic will enlighten me).

But, let us not forget that I was a vegetarian for 12 years.  So when I get requests for veggie recipes I am always happy to oblige.  Pamela over at the always fabulous Silent London website requested Joan’s legendary (if you are Alex James from Blur) or me, because I like them – Creamed White Onions in a Red Pepper Cup.  Here is a photo of Pamela’s.  I fancy one of these right now…

Mmmm – delicious.  To be honest, if someone offered to cook me Joan’s steak or Joan’s stuffed peppers I would probably have to toss a coin to decide which I’d prefer, as I love them both…

Last but not least, I have to say I have a huge amount of AWE for the vegetarian steaks that Greg in Greece created for his Joan Crawford dinner party.  The bone is made from feta cheese – have you ever seen the like?!

Ah the joy of all of these photos and emails!  My readers’ reports have made me soooooooooooooooooooooooo happy.  Next up a report on those who made Joan Crawford’s Crepes Suzette.  Probably due to the amount of Joan Crawford Cosmo Cocktails being drunk around the world, only TWO folks made it to the stage 4 of the Joan Crawford menu.  Can you guess who?