“Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends…” I wholeheartedly agree William as I pursue my weekend of self-imposed solitude. There has been much cooking and much writing already and tomorrow I will speak to no-one. I’ve done enough talking this week, now for some peace and quiet! I kicked off my Silver Screen...
Apologies for my ranting and raving yesterday. I felt so bad about leaving the blog open on a downer like that I got up early to make some of Shirley’s Pecan Squares before work. I believe that my sister of the skillet refers to these as “Shirley Temple’s Goddamn Pecan Squares” as her two attempts...
Oh what a night! As is my custom I rushed home tonight in order to be stationed by the stove in time to listen to Desmond Carrington’s amazing Tuesday night radio show on R2. It’s a weird and wonderful thing that this show links me to my ex flatmates Ginger and Grace every single week....
This month I have decided to run a competition. This dress – designed by Gloria Swanson for her “Forever Young” label is the prize. It still has the original tag and so presumably has never been worn. Very stylish with a lovely bow detail on the shoulder. I think it is about a size 14...
My lovely ex Charley is on his way over for a birthday dinner so I gotta be quick. I’ve made Clark’s Stuffed Tenderloins which look pretty darn impressive I have to say – and a Carole Lombard Cherry Pie to follow – a nice little combo to reflect their great and enduring love for each...
“They took the idols and smashed them, the Fairbankses, the Gilberts, the Valentinos! And who’ve we got now? Some nobodies!” Oh Lord, I have an almighty hangover. The ladies of the book group came round last night and I think I drank 5 times as much as the rest put together. Maybe I was nervous...
Last night I took some of Rudy’s Spaghetti Sauce over to Hackney where Ava is convalescing after a double foot operation. YIKES. Her account of the ordeal they put her through has almost put me off wearing high heels, absolutely horrific! We had two bowls of Rudy’s special each whilst watching Sunset Boulevard. Ava hadn’t...
FROCK! And big powder puffs to lean on. And a gasper on the go… Loverleeeeeeeeee. Ida’s Mousse is setting in the freezer for Friday – the ladies are coming over for dinner and I’ve been slaving away to get things pre-prepared. That Lemon Mousse is every dieter’s downfall. I’ve had to curb my enthusiasm for...
Early morning in the Russell-Stewart household after a late night watching the Grey Gardens double bill. Rosalind and I amused ourselves by sitting on the sofa in headscarves enjoying the antics of Big Edie and Little Edie. My favourite quote was, “I’m pulverised by this latest thing!” and will attempt to use it in some...
“Let’s have a martini… I’m going to feel terribly guilty if you have tea.” Very pleased to hear that like me, Garbo was partial to a vodka martini. I’ve been doing lots of research on her this week as my goal was to do her mini-biography this weekend and it is DONE. Next, Sonja Henie....
“Jewelry takes people’s minds off your wrinkles.” Top tip thanks Sonja. I’ve been a bit tearful this week – and not just because we won a Gold in the Winter Olympics. Although that DID make me cry – what a sap I am. I’ve not been enjoying the dating business at all these last few...
“My golf is woeful but I will never surrender.” Golf was on my mind yesterday as Tiger Woods’ apology was beamed around the world via the satellite dishes outside my office. Loved the bit where he said he had felt like normal rules did not apply to him, especially as I have been reading about...
“The only reason they come to see me is that I know that life is great and they know I know it.” It IS a great life Clark, I know that too… Although I am NOT going to the Brits, it seems as though I AM going to two of the after parties. Which, I...
“I never go outside unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star.” I know EXACTLY what you mean Joan and I am not enjoying waiting for the phone to ring so I can find out if I am going to the Brit Awards tomorrow night or not! I need to look like Joan Crawford...
“Come on in. It’s a bit fresh out there. We may be getting ourselves a bit of a soak.” Fresh? It’s freezing Bing! I’m going to rustle up some turkey and eggs soon to try and warm myself up in a minute. I’m just back from a fantastic night at Azimova’s place where we had...
Jean looks a bit like how I feel at the moment – a bit haggared… I’ve had a shocking cold all week and will be going on date 4 with the New Yorker sporting a cold sore as big as Texas. Shame. I will try and orchestrate it so that he sits on my left...
No wonder Buster looks so sad, he’s probably just heard that he’s been dropped from the book! One of my very favourite test cooks has reported back that Buster’s chop suey recipe was DREADFUL. Her overall assessment in one word? “Blah.” Cooking this was a whole lot of effort for a whole lot of bland,...
“Creation is a drug I can’t do without.” I am feeling the same myself this week Cecil – I am ON FIRE! Had a fabulous, fabulous day today pottering around in the kitchen making the Sunset Boulevard Luncheon. There is definitely a new calm descending on these kind of events as much hilarity was to...
The cake is made but there is much more to do before everyone arrives at 1 o’clock for the Sunset Boulevard extravaganza. I should be getting on with it but I MUST report on my date last night with the New Yorker. He took me to dinner at Nobu. A place I didn’t think someone...
Excitement is mounting about Sunday’s Sunset Boulevard Luncheon Party. The menu will be as follows: SPOILER ALERT – if you are an invited guest, look away now! Gloria Swanson’s Cocktail Canapes Gloria Swanson’s Champagne Cocktails William Holden’s Lime Gelatine with Carrots, Olives and Nuts Cecil B DeMille’s Cajun Chicken Gloria Swanson’s Devils Food Cake Rosalind...
It was “cherry roulette” in the office today as I experimented with glace cherries on the top of my AMW tea cakes last night. They sank to the bottom so I didn’t put any on the second batch. The cakes all disappeared in double quick time so they were definitely a hit. I received several...
“The older you become, the more you know; your bank account of knowledge is much richer.” I agree William. And for once in my working life my bank account of DOUGH is richer after filing my tax return rather than much, much poorer as it usually is… Yippee. I’ve had a fabulous weekend in the...
“As long as my pictures go into theaters and we ask people to pay to see what I do on the screen, I should not object if customers want to know what kind of man I am.” You seem like a nice guy Alan, but how can a girl be sure? It’s been quite a...
“To get folks to like you, as a screen player I mean, I figured you had to sort of be their ideal. I don’t mean a handsome knight riding a white horse, but a fella who answered the description of a right guy.” Fortified by the last of Constance’s Spanish Chicken I went to a...
“Gandhi had eaten the whole welsh rarebit.” I wonder if this is the very same doggie that ate the Welsh Rarebit Marion was so looking forward to at San Simeon. I laughed so much when I read her story about it in “The Times We Had” and it’s a perfect anecdote to accompany her recipe...
“I think that carrying on a life that is meant to be private in public is a breach of taste, common sense, and mental hygiene.” You could be right there Myrna. I had to take a post down this week as it upset someone dear to me so I guess I have to be a...
I was very down in the dumps yesterday. Uncharacteristically well and truly fed up and when I got home I was feeling very sorry for myself indeed. But there on my doormat was a small parcel, addressed to me. This was a surprise as only my mother and my sister know my postal address and...
“To generalize on women is dangerous. To specialize on them is infinitely worse.” I have given up trying to fathom it out myself Rudolph. It’s just a ZOO PARK! I’m back from the wedding of the century. My sister of the skillet is hitched. It was such a lovely affair and a whistle-stop tour of...
“As for those grapefruit and buttermilk diets, I’ll take roast chicken and dumplings.” Hell yeah Hattie! In the first of my monthly Silver Screen Suppers extravaganzas today we had a FEAST proposed by Hattie McDaniel in a 1941 edition of Modern Screen Magazine. Plantation Chicken with Dumplings Corn Bread Sweet Corn Pudding String Beans Cranberry...
“I like to wake up each morning feeling a new man.” Ha ha, me too Jean, me too! For the first time in living memory however, I have woken up on the first day of a New Year totally on my lonesome. Not too hungover to make myself laugh by saying out loud immediately upon...
“Life, is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.” I’m going to ponder that over the next few days Myrna, what with the end of the decade fast approaching and resolutions to be made… I had a go at Myrna’s soup for the first time, simplicity itself and yummy too....
I’m as surprised as Roland is that the rissoles are not an annual tradition as I first thought. The last time I made them was the year before last and they didn’t make an appearance in 2008. I am shocked! I hereby pronounce them an annual tradition. The best, best, best way of making the...
“It’s loud, it’s cheap, it’s gaudy. It’s like everything I’ve ever done – I LOVE IT!” Well, Betty’s pickles were sampled on Boxing Day with a large amount of cheese and cold meats. My mum, as always, was very polite and said, “I would class these as an acquired taste” and they were certainly...
I am seeing my Shellac Sister Jean this evening and I’d forgotten that she had quite a success with the Rita Hayworth cake. We are DJing at Kokos in Camden (formerly the Camden Palace) and I’m going to ask her about her egg white whisking between discs. It’s the first time I have really felt...
“A sex symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt and bewildered” I’ve been feeling a bit like that myself lately Clara but it’s getting better… London is FROZEN. It took me two hours to get home from work as trains were on go-slow, buses were cancelled or turned back from...
“I feel sure that unborn babies pick their parents.” Well if that is true Gloria, I have very good taste! Today I went up to Suffolk for a surprise 80th birthday party for my lovely mum. Miraculously all 5 of us kids made it – despite the snow, plus assorted partners and a smattering of...
“We are all tied to our destiny and there is no way we can liberate ourselves.“ Hmm, but what does destiny have in store for me Rita, Rita Peanut Eater? I have a Rita Hayworth’s Angel’s Food Cake in the oven, to be followed by a Gloria Swanson’s Devil’s Food Cake. These are for a...
“They nicknamed me “The Oomph Girl”, and I loathe that nickname!” Ann’s casserole is in the oven. The first in my new batch of test cooking. I’m really doing it properly, making copious notes and working my way through the whole list of sixty something – even Katharine’s Eggplant dish – yeach! Everyone is welcome...
“I felt like a wonderful sandwich, a slice of white bread between two slices of ham.” So said Dorothy of working with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby – ha ha!It’s been my birthday week and chock full of fabulousness. My feet have barely touched the ground and it isn’t over yet! I’ve seen many friends...
“After all, a girl is – well, a girl.It’s nice to be told you’re successful at it.” I should say you were Rita! Extremely successful at it! I’m going to be channeling Rita’s spirit during my birthday week. I have bought myself a birthday gift – heated rollers – and will be attempting to...
“Because I take care of my body, it doesn’t look like the body of a woman of my years.” Same here Gloria, honestly! Wow, I have had such a great reaction from work colleagues to Gloria’s cake. Admittedly it did contain over a bar of Green & Black’s Expresso Chocolate but yes, to paraphrase Mr...
“Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment, noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances.” I am trying to William, but it is DECEMBER and therefore I have the double whammy of Christmas and my birthday which, I’m afraid, always results in mob merriment. I guess I’ll just have to relax...
It’s taken me ages to find out if Colleen actually was Irish – as her Shamrock Salad would have us believe. An excellent source on the internet – The Colleen Moore Project – says she was half Irish, half Scottish but born in the US. After my visit to Cardiff and in-depth chats to Anna...
What a FANTASTIC afternoon we had in Cardiff at the Silver Screen Suppers event. There was a lot of love in the house and a LOT of cream cheese too! Chefs Ruth C, Katharine and Anita rustled up tonnes of Silver Screen Supper foodstuffs and the guests wolfed the lot washed down with champagne cocktails...
“I don’t want to make money. I just want to be wonderful.” Same here Marilyn. It’s rare that I write a post without it relating to a star’s actual recipe but this week has been Marilyn week and there is still NO RECIPE. I guess Marilyn was outside the key era for film star recipes...
“Some perfect wife I am. I`ve been married four times, divorced four times, have no children, and can`t boil an egg.” Well I’m not sure that Myrna was being totally honest about the egg boiling, because her recipe for Senegalaise Soup was absolutely scrumptious. A bunch of us from work had a fantastic evening at...
“With all of Constance’s juggling of dates over the years, I started out as the youngest, then became her twin and finally wound up as the oldest sister.” It’s a Bennett sisters bonanza this weekend. My very own Sister of the Shellac Veronica is coming over tonight for baked salmon then I’ll be cooking up...
“Nobody can be exactly me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.” Got a fab freelance commission this week – selecting fashion films of the 1940s and writing about them. Film archiving doesn’t get much better than that! In discussion over a burger and fries my commisioners concluded that although folks have a strong idea...
Yes, I know it’s too early to start thinking about Christmas but I just couldn’t resist! I can only imagine the shenanigans going on Stateside regarding the wedding of the century. I think it is all out in the open so I hope I’m not giving the game away by saying I’ll be travelling to...
All is right with the world. I have an afternoon of writing ahead, there is a casserole in the slow cooker and an episode of Columbo has just started on ITV. A perfect Sunday. My most excellent weekend began on Friday with me being hostess for the book group. As we’d been reading “Me, Cheeta”...
“The older I get, the more I believe in what I can’t explain or understand, even more than the things that are explainable and understandable.” Yes Lilian, I understand. Or at least I think I do. Please explain. I can’t really understand or explain how I managed to get my hands on my number one...
I have had a terrible few days. Disappointed in love (amazed at how low some people will go), disappointed in my handwashing skills (shrank a gorgeous vintage frock) and disappointed with Amy Winehouse’s Beloved Camden Cobbles (ripped the heel off a favourite pair of shoes). Was feeling very down in the dumps until I checked...
“I sometimes feel that I’m impersonating the dark unconscious of the whole human race. I know this sounds sick, but I love it.” I am learning a lot about the dark unconscious of the human race this week Vincent, but luckily I am also doing things to balance it out. Like running up and down...
“It’s as much fun to scare as to be scared.” It’s Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen. How exciting. The pumpkin is carved and on the doorstep, there are treats to be dished out to any children of the night that come round to call and I have a very, very, very large spider in my hair. I know for...
“Without tenderness, a man is uninteresting.” That is so true Marlene – but the question is, how to tell the real tenderness from the fake… Well, sometimes you know for sure and tonight I shall be having Charley to dinner, a man for whom I have always felt great tenderness, and I hope and I’m...
“This little box makes you candy conscious!” So said Margaret (in The Shop Around the Corner) to a rather hefty customer who didn’t like the song a particular music box played when the lid was open. Margaret’s sales patter was to suggest that every time the lady opened the box to get another chocolate, she’d...
“I lasted one night. They said my playing spoiled people’s appetites.” Well Gene’s appetite certainly wasn’t affected last night. He ate TWO pieces of the pie and took one home with him this morning. We christened the splendid beast the “Piewacket” after Kim Novak’s cat in “Bell, Book and Candle”. OK, so I fell asleep...
“Where the blue of the night Meets the gold of the day, Someone waits for me.” Bing’s Turkey and Eggs sure pokes a snook at Harold Lloyd’s Eggs Dolores for a Saturday brunch. Delicious! I’ve just scoffed an enormous helping of it in front of the TV and I am so full I think I...
“It’s a pretty sad situation, to be rejected by the Chinese because I am too American.” Jennifer has not only posted some fabulous pictures of home movie day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onedollyshoe/sets/72157622488364579/ but she has also made some Anna May Wong’s Tea Cakes. These are proving to be a hit with most testers but they are not...
“I have flirt with the whole film colony. Why not? I am not serious. What harm is a little flirting? No I do not kiss many mens. But when I kiss them, they stay kissed!” Ha ha, Lupe is my inspiration today. Partly the quote, but also the coat. I wish I had one of...
“I know what’s best for me, after all I have been in the Claudette Colbert business longer than anybody.” Oh what a lovely day it was yesterday! I was DJing with my wind-up gramophone at the Home Movie Day at the Cinema Museum and it was so gorgeous to see everyone dressed up in cinema...
“I’ve come to the conclusion that everybody should marry, including me.” Well, I’ll see if anyone ever asks me Anna…I love this picture, and I am going to measure my own hair when I get home to see if it is as long as Anna’s. Could be… Had a lovely time with little Shirley last...
“A man who limits his interests, limits his life.” It warms the cockles of my heart (and believe me at the moment they need warming) to hear from test cooks who don’t know myself or Ruth, but just like the idea of being involved in our cooking project. I’ve been having a lovely email correspondence...
“The first time you buy a house you think how pretty it is and sign the check. The second time you look to see if the basement has termites. It’s the same with men.” I am loving that hat Lupe! Well, I failed in my attempt to make the Velez Pie last night, the filling...
“That’s me: an old kazoo with some sparklers.“ Ooh! A lucky shamrock charm bracelet. I want one! I’m feeling a bit like an old kazoo myself today so have cheered myself up by re-reading Rita’s verdict on the Bette salad recipe. I haven’t seen Rita in a LONG time which is something I must rectify...
“Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it.” Ha ha, how true. It’s true for women too, I’m only going to brightly lit nightspots from now on. And I shall get my failing eyesight checked. I didn’t get around...
“The pain was considerable, but trivial compared with my mental state.” Hmm, yes, well my mental state has been somewhat rocked by your Eggs Mr Lloyd! Revolting they were, almost inedible! It’s a long time since we had a failure in the Silver Screen Suppers kitchen but Harold’s eggs were it. He might as well...
“Keeping a feminine approach is vital – men hate bossy females.” I’m taking a break from the unpackathon to watch Strictly and report on the gorgeous Jessica’s experience of Ida’s mousse. I’ve spent more or less all day doing the lock-up rock-up and scrabbling around in bags and boxes. Unrolling newspaper wrapped mystery items has...
“I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain`s naughty seaside postcards.” Oh my stars, Diana was so LUSCIOUS. Just gorgeous. And our viewing of “Yield to the Night” proved that she could act too, given half the chance. What a humdinger of a movie. It was a long awaited Silver Screen Supper in...
Just a quick post today as I’m off to get my fringe cut – I’ll not be taking this picture of Ann to the hairdresser though. Another feedback report from Dale’s Star Spangled Rhythm party. As she is off this weekend to turkey wrangle at the annual Turkeyfest in Cuero, Texas I thought I would...
“It is always the same: women bedeck themselves with jewels and furs, and men with wit and quotations.” Rosalind came to dinner last night, my first supper guest in my new home and Maurice’s crouton bedecked soup went down a storm. I had forgotten to ask Rosalind if she liked onions but we both agreed...
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” And possibly all over the world too. I suggest that we all work towards world peace by eating like the stars! I’m always intrigued when test cooks choose a persona of a different gender. So it is with Oliver. He / she sent feedback with...
