I had a friend inside my flat last week. Is that allowed in London at the moment? I have absolutely no idea, I have totally lost track. Well arrest me if you want, Cathy of Kitchen Confidence came round for a cocktail and as I was planning to test the Vodka Blush from Rosemary’s Baby that’s exactly what we had.

As my freezer is STUFFED FULL due to impending armageddon, I asked her to bring ice. No room for anything else in there at the moment. After she had gone and I looked at the photos I had taken, I realised that her tiny ice men looked like little babies floating in the cocktail. PERFECT!

Lovely Taryn from Retrofood For Modern Times is in Melbourne, where things are currently very bad indeed. We had a little email exchange and decided to do a cookalong for our own amusement. We chose Rosemary’s Baby and it really made me laugh when these Vodka Blushes were served up in the film with the comment, “these are very popular in Australia.” I also cracked up when I saw this picture in her blog post, us having Vodka Blushes with Minnie…

Here’s the Vodka Blush recipe that Taryn found over at food.com

I had intended making John Cassavetes’ Cherry Torte for this culinary shindig but as I’m probably never going into the archive ever again and therefore can’t take cake in, I decided not to make it. Just me myself and I knocking around the flat here with a large cherry cake staring at me from the sidelines is not going to do anything good for the waistline. So, in the end, I just made Mia’s fish dish, which I remembered from Mersea Island was DELICIOUS

and so it was the second time around too. Mr R was here on a weekend visit when I made Mia’s fish and he loved it. We had quite a lot of booze as we watched Rosemary’s Baby and afterwards when we were in the kitchen washing-up the following conversation took place…

Mr R: You looked like Ruth Gordon a bit just then.

Me: Well, thanks very much indeed!

Mr R: No, not Ruth Gordon, who’s that actress in Rear Window?

Me: Grace Kelly?

Mr R: No, Thelma Ritter.

Unfortunately for Mr R, I had a pair of pincers in my hand and without really thinking about it, I clamped them straight on his nose. Haha!

Luckily, he’s such a good sport that without me taking them of for a SECOND, he sang a rendition of “Aint She Sweet” in a 1920s gramophone style with them on his conk.

We have to make our own entertainment during this ongoing shitstorm right?!

I put a big portion of Mia’s fish in the freezer, complete with a bit dollop of the sauce and it froze great. I had it for my tea tonight as I tried to relax after spending all day listening to England’s attempt to win the first test against Pakistan on my new (but old) Robert’s radio.

I watched Rosemary’s Baby again tonight and I have so much to say about the food in the film but that will have to wait for another day because I am exhausted by the drama of the cricket. Suffice to say, if you don’t fancy Mia’s fish, have a bit of raw steak, but do not, on any account accept a gift of chocolate mousse from a neighbour.

There was a bit of serendipity today. Usually during lunchtime on a Saturday during the test match they have a celebrity guest come in and chit chat about cricket while the players are stocking up on carbs. Because of Covid restrictions, they are plucking things from the archives. Peter O’Toole was fabulous a couple of weeks ago and today it was Christopher Lee.

What a JOY to him talk about cricket in ye olden days of Hollywood when David Niven, Boris Karloff, C. Aubrey Smith and others donned the whites and created the sound of leather on willow.

and would you believe it, Christopher told an anecdote about Rosemary’s Baby! If I can find the interview on BBC Sounds I will post a link. Meanwhile, here is the recipe…

Mia Farrow’s Fried Fish with Ginger Sauce

1.5 lbs flounder fillets

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 pint water

oil for frying

Halve the fish fillets.  Mix flour, salt and olive oil, add water to form a thick, smooth batter.  Heat frying oil, dip fillets in batter and fry until golden brown.  Drain on absorbent paper and serve with Ginger Sauce.

GINGER SAUCE

4oz mushrooms, chopped finely

4 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons sugar 

2/3 cup water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 oz minced root ginger

1 tablespoon cornflour, blended with a little water

Place all ingredients except cornflour in a saucepan, boil 5 minutes.  Stir in blended cornflour and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly.

I like to imagine that Mia is having a Cornetto in this photo, so why not have those for pudding?

John Cassavetes’ recipe for Minted Beef is here

Ruth Gordon’s recipe for Zucchini Omelet is here

Ralph Bellamy’s Scotch Sour is here and his chili is here

Do skip over to Taryn’s blog and read her account of our collaboration, let’s do another one soon Taryn!

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