Richard Arlen is trending! Well, he’s trending here at Silver Screen Suppers Towers anyhow!

I absolutely love it when blog readers get in touch, either via my Contact Page or via comments on posts.  It makes me feel as though I’m not talking into the void.

When I was a student I had a late night radio show and I was always DESPERATE for someone to phone in with a request.  Nobody ever did.  Was anyone actually listening in? Who knows?

Recently a blog reader called Dave got in touch to ask about Richard Arlen recipes and I’ve gathered all that I can find in this post for all of his fans.  Richard is the “most requested” for movie star recipes so I do hope that you will all find something here you fancy making.  Do get in touch if you try any of these, I love hearing how these vintage movie star recipes turn out in a modern kitchen!

I’ve written about Richard’s Buttered Cabbage a la Maryland recipe a few times on the blog as I love it, Dave made it and served it with some German bratwursts, doesn’t this look delicious?

Dave proclaimed that this was “excellent”, and I heartily agree.  He shared the recipe with his sister-in-law and she made it and loved it too.  This week, as I had 1/2 a savoy cabbage left over from making an Eartha Kitt dish (write-up coming soon), I was compelled to make another batch of this myself.

It’s such a simple recipe but delicious beyond all comprehension – although I’m guessing it’s the shed loads of butter I put in that does it.

I had two meals out of that beautiful cabbage, a superdooper breakfast with a fried egg on top (I like my cabbage to be a bit singed, I always think it isn’t going to happen but it always does in the end)

and the day after I added some to mashed potato to make a superior bubble and squeak.  OH YUM.

As I had it with ketchup, I am counting this as an entry into the Heinz 57 Challenge me and Mr R are doing (57 meals incorporating Heinz products in our 57th year on the planet).

Something has always intrigued me in Richard’s recipe which goes like this…

“Boil the cabbage with a quantity of onions and chop them together; season with pepper and salt and fry in butter.  This is a homely dish, but savory, and is also very tasty served with fried sausages topping it.  Top with this a light dessert and Café Royale and you really have something.”

I’ve long wondered what a Café Royale would be like and this weekend I found out!  I was co-hosting a weekend writers’ retreat in the virtual cafe space chez The London Writers’ Salon and pledged to demonstrate a couple of movie star tipples to keep folks fuelled for intense writing sessions.  On Saturday morning at 8am I kicked off proceedings with a Vincent Price Bloody Mary

and on Sunday at 5pm I demonstrated a Café Royale.

I followed this online recipe but have a couple of tips if you fancy making it.  I found that you need a pretty big spoon for 1.5 oz of brandy.  Plus, after many thwarted attempts at getting the brandy to light, I found that for me, it had to be HOT brandy.  Warmed through, but not on the heat for so long that all the alcohol burns off.  It’s a bit of a juggling act if you are trying to demonstrate it on a zoom call…

It was delicious though, especially with a big swirly whirly of squirty cream and some cocoa powder on top!

Thanks Richard, for introducing me to the wonders of Café Royale.  It took me right back to my teenage years going to the Berni Inn and begging my parents to let me have an Irish Coffee!

Right!  Enough rambling.  Here are all the recipes that I have in the collection.  The only other one I have made is the chilli and that was GOOD!

Dave has made the chilli too and wrote, Very good! It tasted a bit unusual at first, but it really grows on one. I have plenty of leftovers for later today. I made one mistake, I think: I cut the chili peppers first, and then sliced the onions. When the onion tears started, I of course wiped my eyes forgetting that I had just handled some red hot chili peppers. Not a pleasant experience.”  I’ve done that myself Dave, eek!  I love Dave’s pic of the chilli and am intrigued by the bread!

A Richard Arlen fan called Alex who got in touch in 2018 has cooked a few of the recipes that follow and emailed, “I have now tried out some more of Arlen’s recipes. I did the Spaghetti with Meat and Cheese, which was very much a classic bolognese, between you and me I preferred his recipe over my mother’s haha. I also tried out his Potted Chicken, although I did it with chicken breasts rather than a whole one, and it was very nice as well. And of course I did the Peach Cabinet Pudding which turned out very good and felt quite retro.”

Alex sent this fab photo of the Peach Cabinet Pudding – it looks delicious!

Here we go with the rest of the recipe round-up! The corn pudding comes with a warning from Dave…

Dave’s verdict on the Savory Lamb Pie is as follows, “It is a TRIUMPH! I think the secret ingredient that makes it “savory” is the cloves. I might have cheated somewhat here: I didn’t have single cloves, only the powdered stuff, and I used about a half teaspoon — my best guess at what one solitary clove would yield if crushed to dust. That was probably too much, but no matter! It smelled amazing while it was cooking and more so once it became a gravy. It needs no extra seasoning once baked. I topped it with garlic mashed. This is delicious shepherd’s pie.”

Look at this delicious pic of Dave’s pie.

Happy cooking!  Send me photos!