- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
I have three friends who have birthdays really close to Christmas and they don’t tend to celebrate. So I decided, as they are three of my very favourite people, to make them a birthday lunch. I love my Vincent Price...
- by Jenny
- Uncategorized
When I was a pre-teen I joined an organisation that fixed you up with penpals. I really wish I could remember what it was called but you had to fill out a complicated form with tick boxes to tell them all about yourself so they could match...
- by Jenny
- Constance Bennett
I’m in bed with the heated blanket on listening to Friday Night is Music Night on R2 and it is FANTASTIC because it the theme is “Bond and Beyond” so there is tonnes of John Barry stuff and now they are...
- by Jenny
- Carole Lombard
Made with one hand only! My other was in a sling after a spectacular tumble on the cobblestones of Camden Market. It was quite a drama with lots of lovely stallholders coming to the rescue and work chums fussing and looking...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan, Movie Star Cocktails
Oh auspicious day! Firstly I went to the bfi to be filmed talking about NEWTS for a television programme. Then I got my tax return filed a week early. Then I finally took the plunge and sent my book proposal to Unbound. Ooh, I am so...
- by Jenny
- Dick Powell
Corn. Mmmm. Bacon. Mmmm. Potatoes. Mmmm. This is real comfort food. I love it. Perfect for the book with no tweaking. One of my foodie bucket list items has already been accomplished – well half accomplished. My wonderful friend Cathy has...
- by Jenny
- Joan Crawford
My photo of Joan’s steak was rotten so here’s a picture of one of the things that made it so gorgeous. Joan sure knows what she is doing on the steak front. Roquefort, mustard and butter on top. Oh yes,...
- by Jenny
- Bing Crosby
Mmm. This was a perfect Sunday brunch to have in bed with The Archers. After a long discussion with Gordon about the fact that even though I’ve been listening to it for years I didn’t know what...
- by Jenny
- Cary Grant, Clark Gable
An update on yesterday’s post. On a little trawl around the internet I found this: The Clark Gable Salad, on the MGM commissary menu, consists of green chicory chopped with romaine, a deep covering of hard-boiled eggs and a circle...
- by Jenny
- Bette Davis, Betty Grable
I absolutely love getting things in the post. One day recently totally unexpectedly I got this from my old mucker Amy Sargeant. She’d mentioned ages ago that there were some film star foods mentioned in this book and I was...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
Ducke wuckie! Mmm. This was good but strangely not as good as the time I made it for me and Lolly. Why? Not sure. Maybe because I was using Japanese rice wine rather than...
- by Jenny
- Gloria Swanson
It’s taken me a while to put away the sequined jumpsuit and get back to normal life. The festive season rolled over into the first week of January with an old skool rock and roll night out to Rock of Ages...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
A lovely new year celebration with Corinna last night. We ate pretzels, cashew nuts, mini sausage rolls, Vincent’s Goulash and a divine Sachertorte made by Corinna. We watched Dinner For One as is tradition (Corinna reckons she as probably seen this every...
- by Jenny
- Ann Sheridan
I had a very vivid dream last night. It was like a fully formed documentary television programme about people who had record players in their kitchens. I saw it as a sign that I should move one of my many record...
- by Jenny
- Alan Ladd
I’m off! Serious test cooking begins. These were delicious. I made them exactly to the recipe apart from being slightly generous with the salt. Served with a big slice of gammon and a mighty dollop of the Temple Big Pan Piccalilli....
- by Jenny
- Joan Crawford
It’s been a fabulous Christmas. I was VERY pleased with my turkey. Vic and Corinna and Isaac came over and we had the traditional Xmas dinner with all the trimmings, fiery Christmas pudding, mince pies and a huge pile of cheese and biscuits. Yum yum. We...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
Mmm – this was lovely but I’m afraid there is no photographic evidence as I was too busy getting drunk with David & Katy. I was a bit worried that Vincent’s curry powder would be clove-heavy but in fact once it was all cooked...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
I absolutely love my Vincent Price “push button cookery” lessons. The Beverly Hills Cookbook tapes were recorded sometime in the 70s and are just bursting with Vincent’s humour, knowledge and joy of cooking. They are difficult to get hold of but Mike Vines has kindly bunged...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
For the pre-birthday dinner I also made a baked ham to Vincent’s specifications. Here’s a picture of it when it surfaced from the oven. Heather kept eating bits of the crust as I broke it all off. She does love her proper...
- by Jenny
- Claudette Colbert
I made this for my pre-birthday dinner and it was pastry-heavy but good. Really easy, just bung in the blackberries with some sugar, cornflour and salt then dot with butter. Sainsbury’s had run out of shortcrust pastry so I used puff – which looked pretty but...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
It was my birthday on Monday and I decided that I’d invite some friends for a Vincent Price related experience. As part of my self-made-challenge to visit every single one of the restaurants Vincent mentions in his awesome Treasury of Great...
- by Jenny
- Gina Lollobrigida
These little cuties are recipe of the month. They would probably have looked more festive if I had used strawberry jam rather than blackberry but I’m going to make some more next week with red jam and green dyed walnuts rather...
- by Jenny
- Bette Davis
Last night I was eating grade 11 wagyu beef and tonight it was corned beef hash. That is just the way I roll! there has been no jiggery pokery Instagram style with this picture – that is exactly the colour it was – it’s got...
- by Jenny
- Elizabeth Taylor
I do so wish I lived in America and/or Canada. Tonight on TV is the premiere of “Liz and Dick” starring Lindsay Lohan as Liz. Through my day job I know a lot more about La Lohan than is really necessary and I’d love...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
Because I got smashed on cocktails on Thursday at the Kinolibrary launch I was a bit under-prepared for my dinner party on Friday but Cathy came to the rescue with a pastry case for my apple tart. There wasn’t enough pastry for a...
- by Jenny
- Richard O'Sullivan
If I remember rightly, Richard O’Sullivan gets to live with two hot single chicks in “Man About the House” because he sleeps overnight in their bath after a raucous party and in the morning cooks them a rather fabulous hangover curing breakfast. He did...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
This is what the Lasserre looked like in 1965 when Vincent and Mary’s Treasury of Great Recipes was published. It looked exactly the same last week in 2012. Except the hydrangeas have been replaced with orchids and there...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
In the best cookbook ever written (IMHO) Vincent writes eloquently about the wonderful food available in Paris. As the lovely people at Eurostar offered me a cheap ticket to Paree recently I decided I would go on...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
Any guest who arrives with a Fanny Cradock cookbook as a gift is tops in my book and if my weekend house-guest visits again I will definitely cook him something from “Fanny Cradock Invites…” Maybe “Winged Victory” as I have always wanted to make something...
- by Jenny
- Fred MacMurray
Ooh what a rotten photo! The Recipe of the Month is UP – and it is easy, peasy, goooooooeeeeey and yummy. You make the cake mixture and then pour boiling water over the top and when you take...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
It’s Halloween, one of my favourite nights of the year, and there is a vast amount of Vincent Price Goulish Goulash in the slow cooker. My CHARGE is coming for dinner tomorrow evening, and like some Aunt in a PG Wodehouse novel I want to make sure...
- by Jenny
- Godfrey Winn
Dr Lawrence Napper has been obsessed with Godfrey Winn ever since Charles Barr bought his Godfrey Winn Tea Towel into a seminar at UEA and proudly presented it to us. I’ve been promising him Godfrey’s Kedgeree for a long time and so it came to pass yesterday...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmuffins! Muffinsmmmm. That’s all I have to say about them really. Vincent’s recipe was perfect – natch. So there is not much more to say about it. They were gorgeous – me and Lawrence and Nathalie just about ate them all. So instead of...
- by Jenny
- Cary Grant
I had a gentleman caller last night. It was date 3 with a fellow from OK Cupid known around these parts as “Mr Shoulder” and I did enjoy seeing him smoking a fag whilst hula hooping at about 1 in the morning....
- by Jenny
- William Powell
Being a guest on Hatty and Marc’s Silly Radio Show was SO MUCH FUN. I really enjoyed our chinwag about all the stars and the food they liked to eat. My favourite bit was when listeners could challenge me to see if I had a recipe for...
- by Jenny
- Richard Dix
When I am faced with shop full of 78rpms I always buy ones with funny titles like, “My Wife is on a Diet” or “Washing Dishes With My Sweetie” both of which turned out to be winners. So it is with recipes. Sometimes...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
I will be on the radio on Saturday talking about Silver Screen Suppers. Tune in to www.croydronradio.com 1-3pm and tweet in on hattyashdown or on the shout box ! (I don’t know what a shout box is – Hatty told me to say that!) I...
- by Jenny
- Uncategorized
Look out for my lounge on Saturday night on BBC’s Arena about the Beatles’ film Magical Mystery Tour – it was used as a location to represent a 1967 front room on Boxing Day. Now to business! This will probably be my longest post...
- by Jenny
- Uncategorized
Eek – I’m featured on Food Blogger Connect today. I’m going to be attending this three day event in London and am beyond excited. Can’t wait to meet food bloggers from around the world, exchange ideas, eat loads of delicious food and...
- by Jenny
- Cesare Danova
For the first time in my entire life Cup-O-Soup was on my shopping list. I slightly blame Brian over at my new blog-stalker-obsession-spot Caker Cooking who I virtually met (if you know what I mean) yesterday morning in bed on a blog tour. If...
- by Jenny
- Phil Baker
My fridge is almost entirely stocked with salad dressings and cheese after last Sunday. I overdid it. So I was very pleased to find this recipe to use up what’s left of the Roquefort. Nice and easy and very, very tasty. Phil says:...
- by Jenny
- Ralph Herz
I always imagined Thousand Island Dressing to be seventies thing. But who would have thought that in 1916 Ralph would offer us his recipe in, ” Celebrated Actor Folks’ Cookeries: A Collection of the Favorite Foods of Famous Players”. I’ve never made Thousand Island...
- by Jenny
- Edna May Oliver
I made half the quantity Edna May suggested for the Lucille Ball Sunday Supper as her recipe would have been enough for an army of salad eaters. We were a party of 5 and I’m going to be having this on salad until...
- by Jenny
- Lucille Ball
Had a lovely Sunday with Heather, Glen, Nick and Brad watching The Long Long Trailer and having a whole menu suggested by Lucille Ball. Lucy’s Sunday Night Supper for Two or Twenty – Salad – Goulash – Dessert I made Lucille’s goulash almost exactly to...
- by Jenny
- Alfred Hitchcock
The winner of the Hitchcock competition is Jane Tracy. Congratulations Jane! Usually my prizes are won by chums as lots of them enter, but this time the prizes go to someone I do not know, an unknown reader of the blog, and that is just lovely! I...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
I’ve gone Quiche crazy. Preparing for the Highgate Horticultural Society competition on Saturday. I couln’t decide between Alfred Hitchcock’s and Vincent’s but my work colleague Obi just clinched it. He said of today’s quiche, “I’d rather buy your quiche than Waitrose’s finest”. What a compliment. I...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
What a few days! I cannot begin to express what an amazing day I had at the Paralympics on Thrilling Thursday. I thought my eardrums would burst when David Weir won his race the sound in that stadium was unbelievable. It was a day full of love...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
I am sun-kissed and happy after a day at the seaside with the Ladies of the 43 – my ex-flatmates Gaby and Lucy. Oh it was glorious! I love those women. I gave a talk to the lovely ladies of the Southend Women’s Institute last...
- by Jenny
- Alfred Hitchcock
I am celebrating all things Hitchcockian this month with a BIG COMPETITION. Super-dooper prizes on offer and everyone can enter. Here’s the scoop on Hitchcockian action a go-go. 1 – recipe of the month this month is Alfred Hitchcock’s Quiche Lorraine – skip over to the Recipe...
- by Jenny
- Gene Kelly
Life is full of surprises and my American pen-pal Margie was right, Gene’s crazy sandwich is GOOD. It is made from mashed potato and French bread and onions and mayonnaise and it tastes mighty fine. Mmmm. Surprise number 2 tonight was The...
- by Jenny
- Tessie O'Shea
It was a special night at the Palace of Solitude tonight – I had two lovely dinner guests. Two of my very favourite people and what is more, two people who live within spitting distance of my flat. How lovely to have such friends on...
- by Jenny
- Lana Turner
Whenever I make salsa I can’t help reminiscing about a gorgeous hunk of a man who made some for me one night wearing a very sexy blue and white striped T-shirt. Ooh, he was a sight to see chopping those tomatoes. Yum yum. When...
- by Jenny
- Sheila Sim
Vic came round for his tea last night. There was a great article in one of the Sunday supplements last week about the different nuances of the words tea, dinner and supper. Last night was a tea verging on a supper. To me supper...
- by Jenny
- Ivor Novello
The esteemed Dr Lawrence Napper has given me a tip off that on Saturday night there will be a tribute to Novello at the Proms and it will be shown on tele. He suggests that fans of the divine Ivor might like to rustle up...
- by Jenny
- Celia Johnson
I have just had a long night of the soul where all my worries gathered at the foot of my bed to torment me. Instead of tossing and turning and hurrumphing I decided to get up. So I started making a birthday cake for my...
- by Jenny
- Uncategorized
Wow, what a week! On Thursday I got up at 5am to go and see the Olympic Torch in Camden. I love the fact that my local tube station in Highgate was all flagged up for the Olympics when I got there at 5.30: The...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
I passed the Amstel Hotel a couple of times on my way to and from business meetings in Amsterdam but I saved up my visit for Saturday morning when I could appreciate it to the full. I...
- by Jenny
- Rhonda Fleming
Summer has arrived at last in London and I had a really lovely cocktail hour in the garden on Sunday with Vic and Corinna drinking beer and talking nonsense. Vic said he had vowed never to sit on a rug in a garden but we made...
- by Jenny
- Joan Crawford
I ate quite a lot of rich food in Amsterdam including this: in honour of Vincent Price’s Hotchpotch of Curly Kale… so on Saturday I was craving a Joanie salad. There has been a tin of pineapple slices in my cupboard for ages so I...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
When I first clapped eyes on the best cookbook in the world – Vincent and Mary Price’s Treasury of Great Recipes – I knew many great culinary experiences lay ahead. The mighty tome arrived in a...
- by Jenny
- Tony Curtis
Tony says: “When I was a kid in New York, my closest friends were Irish and Italian and we shared everything, even holidays. So I figured I might as well get into the act and always asked Mom to whip up her stuffed cabbage, my favourite...
- by Jenny
- Gracie Fields
I found the little brown shrimp I’d been looking for. Even though I have never had potted shrimp I knew the big pink ones that are more available wouldn’t be right and these teeny brown ones were perfect. This was recipe of the month last month...
- by Jenny
- Corinne Griffith
Quote from Black Narcissus: Q: What do nuns eat? A: Sausages. Quote from Silver Screen Suppers Towers: Q: What do spinsters eat? A: Eggs It did make me laugh when a gentleman caller asked me recently what I was reading and picked up my bedside book,...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
It is day one in my new academic diary and it is time for this old kazoo to go back to school. My intensive 6 month writing boot camp with Lisa Clark begins today. I took the day off work and have...
- by Jenny
- Hattie McDaniel
Ah, the soothing power of Gone With the Wind. Always a tonic. I made Hattie’s Sweetcorn Pudding from Modern Screen magazine and as always it was darn good. Usually I make it in a shallow dish but this time I baked it in a soufflé dish...
- by Jenny
- Viola Dana
I was a bit worried that this would turn out like Harold Lloyd’s Eggs Dolores which were, quite frankly, disgusting. But happily Viola’s tomatoey eggs were delicious. The esteemed Dr Lawrence Napper sent me this recipe, transcribed from Picture Show magazine. It’s given me a powerful...
- by Jenny
- Anna May Wong
Ah, these turned out perfectly! I decided to make some of these as well as the Ice Box Cookies for the “Women in Early Hollywood” event and good job I did – they were all scoffed! This one is definitely going in the Silver Screen...
- by Jenny
- Janet Gaynor
The JG Ice Box Cookies are wrapped in foil and in the fridge. I am going to bake them tomorrow and give them out at the event I am speaking at in a desperate attempt to get everyone to like me so much they won’t...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
And then the mice came… I think my romance is well and truly over. What a shame. I was having a conversation with my 12 year old chum Jessie about it on the bus the other day and when I said it wasn’t going well she said,...
- by Jenny
- Barton MacLane
Ooh, this was a weird one. Mixing an egg in with the mince then baking it before covering it with the chilli mixture and baking it again. This resulted in a kind of thin brick of meat with tomatoey stuff on top. Not a great success....
- by Jenny
- Jack La Rue
I am trying to introduce a shuffle system for my two freezers. This makes it sound like I am living in some kind of enormous farmhouse with two chest freezers and an Aga. This could not be further from the truth. ...
- by Jenny
- Dorothy Dandridge
This week has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride so I’ve been planning an emotional omelet for five days. And you know what they say, “you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs”. I have no idea why Dorothy christened her omelet so, but it’s...
- by Jenny
- Bette Davis
I’ve been thinking about having another go at the Bette Davis Orange Marmalade recipe. This is mostly because my kitchen cupboards are overflowing with washed-up empty jam/gherkin/pickled onion/caper/whatever jars and I’ve heard a rumour that Corinna has more for me too. They...
- by Jenny
- Gloria Swanson
Oh goodness, I am on a panel – I am bricking it. 3 July 2012 – 6.30pm – tickets are £10 Looking In, Looking Out Festival, Conway Hall London Bidisha leads a high-kicking whirl through Hollywood history and a celebration of the...
- by Jenny
- Vincent Price
It’s time to start eating things from the freezer. First up, some of Vincent’s Tortellini. It was good. Real comfort food as yet again, someone has bust my balloons… I’m Tired I’m not exactly sure what happened but I have a pretty good idea. Oh well,...
