Joan Bennett’s Beetroot Salad
"I don`t think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much." The response to the call for test cooks has been enormous - how very, very exciting. I'm intrigued by the range of choices - are people selecting based on the...
Janet Gaynor’s Ice Box Cookies
Much excitement in the Silver Screen Silver camp as I'm off to a big dinner party at the home of Gladys tonight. There will be not one, not two but three other celeb chefs there too. EEK. I am taking some Ice Box Cookies all wrapped up in cellophane as party...
Louise Brooks’ Knickerbocker Supreme of Chicken
Louise, you rock. My beautiful friend Ava came round for dinner tonight and we discussed the perils and pleasures of letting men into our lives, the horrors of self assessment tax returns and the chances of being struck by lightning if wearing an i-pod. It was a...
Marlene Dietrich’s Lamb Chops en Casserole
"I was raised almost entirely on turnips and potatoes, but I think that the turnips had more to do with the effect than the potatoes." Marlene was not only androgynous, but asymmetrical too! I went to my lock up this morning with heavy heart as it always depresses me...
Anna May Wong’s Tea Cake
There is a mini Vesuvius erupting in my oven. I decided to make Ruth a birthday cake using Anna May Wong's Tea Cake recipe. I made twice the mixture and instead of making individual muffin type cakes, bunged it all in a cake tin. As Sidney and I waited for the spare...
Marion Martin’s Peanut and Bacon Bouchees
Those little Bouchees sure are a crowd pleaser! Had a lovely evening on the balcony with Ruthie, her new beau, Ava, Sidney and Edmund. My Sister of the Skillet has arrived during Britain's heatwave. It is amusing her greatly that the Brits are huffing and puffing...
Janet Gaynor’s Ice Box Cookies
Love that Tam O'Shanter! I made a big batch of Janet's cookies for my Cinema Museum lecture and they were wolfed down by the lovely folk who came along. The lecture was lots of fun but I had a few technical problems. When my Greta Garbo clip failed to play I had to do...
Jean Harlow’s Celery a la Shrimp
“No one ever expects a great lay to pay all the bills.” A feeling of great joy today after a lovely evening with the E17 posse. They came round armed with gallons of fizzy wine in an attempt to make a dent in the Cassis left in the number 43 cocktail cabinet via the...
Mae West’s Salada de Tuna
"Cultivate your curves..." Sure thing Mae, I will! Doesn't Salada de Tuna sound much more fun than Tuna Salad? I was rustling some up in the kitchen just now when I heard a really, really loud plane fly past. This sometimes gives me the heeby jeebies, being so close...
Ann Sheridan’s Chili Casserole
"They nicknamed me "The Oomph Girl", and I loathe that nickname! Just being known by a nickname indicates that you`re not thought of as a true actress . . . It's just crap!" Not sure if that's a matching headscarf or a hood, either way it is very desirable beach...
Jean Harlow’s Celery a la Shrimp
“Underwear makes me uncomfortable and besides my parts have to breathe.” Isn't this just the BEST picture of Jean ever? I think Ruthie and I should pose like this for our author photos, leaning on the heads of two polar bears facing each other. I'm thrilled that the...
Marion Martin’s Peanut and Bacon Bouchees
"Ducky Wucky" Well I knew as soon as I spotted the pics for Marion that she was a bit of a one. Love the fact that her nickname was The Blonde Menace. I am desperate to see her in Queen of Burlesque which has the tagline "Thrills and Tears of Backstage Queens - to the...
Jean Arthur’s Chocolate Fudge
"First I played ingenues and Western heroines; then I played Western heroines and ingenues. That diet of roles became as monotonous as a diet of spinach." I am up way past my bedtime trying to get some of Jean's fudge to set. I just can't see how the chocolate sauce...
Hattie McDaniel’s Sweet Corn Pudding
"As for those grapefruit and buttermilk diets, I'll take roast chicken and dumplings." I do have Hattie's very own recipe for chicken and dumplings, but tonight it's sweet corn pudding. It's in the oven. As per tradition, to mourn the end of a relationship I have...
Tallulah Bankhead’s French 75s
“If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." Last night saw extreme Silver Screen Supperage in action. Dinner al fresco which began with Tallulah's favourite tipple the French 75. Followed by Adolph Menjou's Spiced Venetian Cheese hors...
Adolph Menjou’s Spiced Venetian Cheese
"When I realized they had me pegged as a foreign nobleman type I began to live the part, too. I bought a pair of white spats, an ascot tie and a walking stick." I'm getting ahead of myself by preparing Adolph's cheese a couple of days before Gladys and Ava's visit on...
Joan Bennett’s Beetroot Salad
"I don`t think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much." I'm feeling rather low this weekend after Sidney & I decided to call it a day. Very sad. Very sad indeed. I feel an extended period of cooking on the way. And...
Jane Powell’s Barbecued Baked Salmon
"We need to ditch the idea that there is any value in the strong and silent man being in any way attractive. Being silent isn't being strong, it's being a victim." Well Jane sure was a cutie, both in looks and attitude. Interesting theory she has there, I'm going to...
Rudolph Valentino’s Chicken from Parma
“Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams.” It helped that he was the King of the tango... Grrrr. Rudi's Chicken was a big hit. Secret ingredient? A big mug of sherry. I made it...
Anna May Wong’s Tea Cakes
"I'm Anna May Wong. I come from old Hong Kong. But now I'm a Hollywood star." It's my first night in the new W1 abode. Night is falling over Centre Point, Big Ben and the London Eye and a batch of tea cakes are in the oven. The Marathon Man from my office requested...
Marlene Dietrich’s Lamb Chops En Casserole
"Careful grooming may take twenty years off a woman's age, but you can't fool a flight of stairs." Oh how I wish someone would invite me to a fancy dress party so I could go looking like this... It's true about the stairs too - they were very tricky to navigate after...
Talullah Bankhead’s Coconut Jumbles
“They used to photograph Shirley Temple through gauze. They should photograph me through linoleum.” So hard to choose a quote for Talullah - there are so many fabulous ones! What exactly is she doing in this picture I'd like to know? The person who comes up with the...
Alice White’s Sweet Potato Brouchettes
"Warner Brothers answer to Clara Bow" Well Alice sure was a cutie pie - there are so many fabulous photographs of her it was hard to choose. I may have to make her "Joanie Cake" or "Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast" just so I can put the picture of her in a silver...
Clara Bow’s Vanilla Marlow
"We had individuality. We did as we pleased. We stayed up late. We dressed the way we wanted. I used to whiz down Sunset Boulevard in my open Kissel, with several red Chow dogs to match my hair. Today, they`re sensible and end up with better health. But we had more...
Errol Flynn’s Baked Leg of Lamb
“Women won't let me stay single and I won't let me stay married.” Luckily Jack is nothing like Errol - he and Ginger were hitched on Saturday and that one is going to LAST. Those two were made for each other and now it's official. We knew that after the glorious and...
Carole Lombard’s Barbecued Spare Ribs
“Every cent anybody pays in tax is spent to benefit him. There’s no better place to spend it. I enjoy this country and I really think I get my money’s worth." I've had my head in my hands most of this month, worrying about my tax return. I finally completed it...
Marlene’s Lamb Chops en Casserole
"When you're dead, you're dead. That's it." I went to the funeral of a very religious friend this weekend and my crazy sister-in-law announced very loudly at the wake to nobody in particular that she didn't believe in the afterlife. A stony silence fell over the room...
Margaret Sullavan’s Peanut Butter Hermits
"Most actors are basically neurotic people. Terribly, terribly unhappy. That's one of the reasons they become actors." It's New Year's Eve and I have made Hermits for my workmates. It's like a ghost town here but we had to come in just in case somebody famous popped...
Charlton Heston’s Spaghetti With Cauliflower
“I've played three presidents, three saints and two geniuses and that's probably enough for any man” The mention of Charlton's dish was not enough to persuade the new boyfriend to come over for dinner. I do admit that it doesn't sound too appetising but I switched the...
Clara Bow’s Chicken Chartreuse
"I wanna go home, I miss my cook" I am loving Clara this week. She is keeping me sane during the insanity that is involved in preparing 9 seperate lectures for the upcoming cruise. My brain is ADDLED and I feel like doing a Clara and just sitting down and playing...
Barbara Stanwyck’s Roast Leg of Lamb
"I'm a tough old broad from Brooklyn. I intend to go on acting until I'm ninety and they won't need to paste my face with make-up." Well, Barbara didn't make it to ninety, but she was acting almost to the end of her life in 1990, appearing in Dynasty and its...
Joan Crawford’s Meatloaf
I was so excited to find the Holy Grail of Joanie's Meatloaf recipe that I invited Charley over to partake. I knew he would appreciate her secret ingredient of hard boiled eggs. My new squeeze is anti eggs and when I told him that Charley LOVED hard boiled eggs he...
Ida Lupino’s Lemon Mousse
I've been swept off my feet by a man I met at the Cafe de Paris. One minute I was jigging around on the dance floor, next minute I was having my face snogged off round the back of the VIP area. How marvelous. Last night he came round for dinner. I was going to cook...
Constance Bennett’s Spanish Chicken
Version 3 of Constance's chicken was the best so far, by far. The secret being having a whole fresh chicken hacked into bits by the crazy Wood Street butcher I think. As Connie put it, "Take 2 fat hens jointed as for frying..." Rosalind came over to borrow a 1930s...
Carole Lombard’s Cherry Pie
Just coming up for air after the madness of the past couple of weeks. Entering into a new period of calm. Watching Judge Judy during the day and looking for a job. The folks came for lunch last week and I had another bash at Carole Lombard's Cherry Pie. My ma was very...
Janet Gaynor’s Ice Box Cookies
I have to say thankyou to Larry Hodges for this pic of Janet Gaynor playing table tennis. He has a whole website dedicated to celebrities playing ping pong. How fab. Just a little report on the meeting with our possible publisher ES. I rustled up some Janet Gaynor...
Loretta Young’s Chiffonade Salad
"I found out you can learn a lot about yourself as a person... while you're learning how to use fashion in your life.” I too am learning how to use fashion in my life at the moment. I am ploughing through the mountain of clothes in my room trying to make some rational...
Dolores Del Rio’s Enchiladas
Seemed only fitting to try a Mexican recipe whilst here in the Lone Star State. I only have three more days here and want to cry because I am loving it so much. Last night was a real film-fest night in the old school style as Ruth's chum William Haines came over for...
Jean Harlow’s Hot Rolls
"Jean Harlow is in the back room, where Sylvia is giving her a spanking she’ll remember – to judge by the howls." So begins Sylvia of Hollywood's 1931 expose "Hollywood Undressed", I knew I was in for a big treat as soon as I opened the cover and saw the original...
Carole Lombard’s Cherry Pie
“I live by a man's code, designed to fit a man's world, yet at the same time I never forget that a woman's first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.” It was the night of the Carol(e)s last night as Ruth had a dinner party for 7 in tribute to Carol Channing...
Carol Channing’s Sauerbraten
RASPBERRIES! I knew we had a Carol Channing recipe somewhere and we intend to make this for our dinner on Sunday night. It involves a big lump of meat and some gingersnaps. Can't wait. Happy to report that the Sylvia of Hollywood diet is going well. Despite the fact...
Sylvia of Hollywood’s Diet
I am in Austin and it is the evening before I attempt a diet I found in a 1932 edition of Photoplay. The proponent of this diet is "Sylvia" - she doesn't give her surname but we are told, "She made motion picture stars beautiful and kept them trim. She can do the same...
Fred MacMurray’s Egg Burger
I am in Ameriki! How fabulous. I am here with my sister of the skillet in La La Land after a riotous time at the Madonna Inn. The biggest jaw dropping moment was when we were having a Hollywood Martini in the bar and an elderly lady in a bright red pant suit was...
A Bulgarian Shirley Temple
I am in BULGARIA having a whole heap of fun. I've been meeting Laurel's neighbours (mostly very cheery toothless ladies who want to hug and kiss me) and eating cauldrons of "four kinds of meat". I've had one "Joan Crawford Day" which consisted of me re-reading...
Bette Davis’ Marmalade
"Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it's because I'm not a bitch. Maybe that's why Miss Crawford always plays ladies." Bette or Joan? Bette or Joan? I am increasingly obsessed with both of them and just can't decide who I like best. At the moment Bette has a...
Sonja Henie’s Scandinavian Cookies
Ginger very kindly bought me some posh cherry jam to go in the indentations of the little treats that are Sonja's Scandinavian Cookies. Fresh out of the oven they were enjoyed by Jack (he liked the nuts) and Grace (she liked the dough-y centre). I managed to get six...
Marlene Dietrich’s Banana Nut Bread
Laurel said that he was instantly transported to the banana zone upon eating a piece of Marlene's cake. It was consumed in large slices in bed in Southend with a nice mug of tea. I am still recovering from the weekend as we barely made it out of the bedroom - apart...
Mary Philbin’s Brown Betty
Just back from a long weekend in Avebury. Sharing a fabulous little cottage in the churchyard with Ginger, Grace, William, Cary and Jack. Much alcohol consumed and great feasts cooked up. On Saturday night I spent a very calm couple of hours in the kitchen with Cary....
Fred MacMurray’s Holland Brioche Cakes
"A cowboy actor needs two changes of expression - hat on and hat off." Funnily enough I was just in the process of buying myself a self-tipping cowboy hat on Second Life when Max arrived on Sunday morning bearing a gift of two Brioche. They were a joy to behold on the...
Constance Bennett’s Spanish Chicken
"I'm a lot more sartorial than thespian. They come to see me and go out humming the costumes.” It was lovely to be rustling up Constance's chicken for 3 whilst Grace and Jack were rehearsing their country songs in the dining room. They were on fine warbling form....
