What’s been cooking over at Murder, She Cooked? Quite a lot since I last did a round up. If you are a Murder, She Wrote fan, skip over to the Substack for episode reviews and companion recipes. Here’s what’s been going on in Cabot Cove – clicking on the recipe title will take you to...
I had two frankfurters leftover from the Richard Basehart Frankfurters and Beans extravaganza written about here and that could only mean one thing. Hotchpotch of Curly Kale. I was determined that this recipe go in the Supper with the Stars book as I love it so. It’s definitely one of those “greater than the sum...
This recipe has been right at the top of my “I wanna cook” list since it first appeared in Greg Swenson’s brilliant Recipes for Rebels book. Mostly because it is cooked in a CHICKEN BRICK and this is one of those things I bought for a specific movie star recipe and then never used again....
Thanks to my lovely chum Peter Fuller of the Vincent Price Legacy UK for making this wonderful recipe illustration. I was so sad to hear that Raquel has gone to that Hollywood in the sky. I’ve had a girl crush on her for ages. There follows a blog post I wrote in 2018. It’s a...
For a Christmas gift Mr Rathbone pledged to test 3 recipes for the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book for me. What a lovely present! This was the first one ticked off the list. A very tasty chili courtesy of Robert Wagner. The above pic was taken before the addition of Mexican Corn, it’s no longer...
I went back to an old method of selecting which star to focus on for my recipe of the month. Mr R bought me a fabulous pack of movie star playing cards for the first birthday we celebrated together. I cut the pack and Spencer Tracy was presented to me right there on the top....
Mr Rathbone and myself decided to celebrate spending 57 years on this here planet by attempting to consume 57 Heinz based meals in a year. Did we manage it? YES! It was loads of fun as we sourced lots of Heinz things that aren’t on the supermarket shelves here in the UK, and used lots...
I’m working on an exciting project to kick off 2023 – a reboot of my Joan Crawford cookbook. This has been available on Blurb since 2014 and was the first movie star recipe collection I published. I had lots of vintage JC postcards and over 30 of her recipes and I cooked up the idea...
I was sad to hear that Gina Lollobrigida has headed off to that Hollywood in the sky. As a tiny tribute to Lo Lollo, here’s her recipe for wreath cookies. These were recipe of the month way back in December 2012 and they were so cute. I guess they are designed to be a Christmassy...
What a treat this was! Such a simple recipe, but utterly delicious. I only have two recipes for Joan in the collection, the other is for marmalade. I was going to try both, to see which one would be best suited for the forthcoming Cooking the Detectives book, but this one is SO GOOD, it...
Ah, the beloved Great Bear Project! Our bid to cook our way through the 21 movie star stations as imagined by artist Simon Patterson on the two top spurs of the Northern Line is done. BUT, I still have to write up 5 of them. I am playing catch-up. What can I tell you about...
Happy New Year! I spent Christmas with my mum and watched a lot of telly. For ages I have been trying to remember the name of a game show I accidentally watched once that had me crying with laughter. I just couldn’t for the life of me remember the name. When we were watching the...
I love a pleasant surprise when I make a movie star recipe thinking, “this is going to be weird.” Because yes, this did seem weird to me, but also, it was absolutely delicious. It also felt indulgent and cheeky because I made it for myself for a weekday breakfast and it has BOOZE in it....
It is TOO COLD for salads at the moment here in London and the thought of having one makes me shiver. But it’s hot elsewhere in the world right?! Years ago, in 2013, I came upon a mention of this on the internet. The Clark Gable Salad, on the MGM commissary menu, consists of green...
Tonight’s the night my fellow Cabot Covians! Join me for a fun watch party wherever you are in the world. Fans of Murder, She Wrote will all watch the episode together in their own homes and natter about it via a private chat room hosted on my Substack – murdershecooked.substack.com. All the details about how...
When Gill of Reelweegiemidget Reviews announces a movie star blogathon, I immediately check my movie star recipe spreadsheet to see what I have for the person in question. In the case of Christopher Plummer, in my whole collection of over 8,000 star-spangled favourites, the answer was ZERO. Too busy to eat… Luckily Gill had tipped...
I think a New Year Resolution for 2023 will be to write up movie star din-dins experiences IMMEDIATELY after I have had them. Because I am sitting here racking my brains about a dinner party we threw in January and the brain is not being very forthcoming. I know that it was hilarious, because we...
The beans I used in Richard Basehart’s Frankfurter and Beans were Heinz Beanz pimped up thanks to a Sharon Gless recipe, so that dish was a kind of Columbo/Cagney & Lacey mash-up. I’ve made Sharon’s beans before and they are GOOD. A shortcut to beans cooked in the Bette Davis way – dried beans soaked...
I love my local butcher, he really makes me laugh. When I went into The Hampstead Butcher in Muswell Hill to buy the pork for this recipe he was on top form. I told him I was working with Gene Tierney’s recipe from the 1940s. When I described her instructions for oven temperature and timings...
This event has been a long time coming. Ever since Angus tipped me off to the existence of the Crossroads Cookbook I’ve been promising a night of delights from its pages. For those not familiar with this iconic British soap, I did a bit of a summing up when I made the excellent Crossroads Motel...
I am never going to use dried beans again (unless a movie star specifically tells me to). They never, ever go soft for me, no matter how long I cook the little beggers. I cooked the beans for this chilli as Raymond directed me to, with salt pork (in my case pancetta) after soaking them...
Ever since we embarked upon the Heinz 57 Project I’ve been thinking that I must make this again. It’s in the Columbo Cookbook as Richard Basehart is in the Dagger of the Mind episode, and I had a feeling Mr R would love this one. If you are a carnivore, you probably will too. Obviously...
I’m hosting a free Christmas watch party event on Sunday 18th November at 7pm GMT – everyone welcome, wherever you are in the world. All the details are in this Substack post – tell every single Murder, She Wrote fan you know (there are a lot of us about) it’s going to be a HOOT!...
I had to bite the bullet and get over my horror of the mushroom for the next of our Great Bear adventures. One of the requisites of creating a movie star dish appropriate to the station stop on Simon Patterson’s reimagined Northern Line is that it can be eaten on a station platform. It doesn’t...
The breakfast smoothie season is over. I have transitioned to overnight oats and it will soon be porridge a go-go. I live in a very drafty 1930s flat and it gets so cold here in the winter I need HOT FODDER for breakfast for most of November through to March as I shiver and shake...
Every year the lovely Columbophile mentions my Cooking With Columbo book as a nice thing to buy for a Columbo fan as a gift. This year I get to return the favour by recommending HIS brilliant book, which is brand new and fabulous. The Columbo Companion – any Columbo fan would be cock-a-hoop to receive...
STOP PRESS – just stumbled upon a new Richard Arlen recipe (July 2024) – Shrimp a la Maryland! I sent this over to Dave (see below) and by return post, he sent me this! Fabulous! Here’s my post from 2022… Richard Arlen is trending! Well, he’s trending here at Silver Screen Suppers Towers anyhow! I...
When I was a pre-teen, everyone at my school went bonkers for Starsky & Hutch. We begged our parents to let us stay up and watch it and all girls of my age either fancied Starsky or Hutch. Same with Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, you had to state your allegiance and stick to it....
I was in the same room as Stanley Tucci recently. OK, I was in the same room with him at The Barbican with 1153 other people, but I BREATHED THE SAME AIR. Myself and my kitchen companion Battenburgbelle were in heaven listening to Stanley talk about all sorts of things but mostly food. Some titbits....
So much has been written about beloved Dame Angela in the last few weeks. An enormous amount of love for her was expressed by so many people in the media. The internet was a better place for a few days. She will live on through her movies and TV shows of course, and here at...
When this much anticipated book written by the Grand Poobah of Columbo, arrived on my doorstep on Donald Pleasence’s birthday, it seemed PORTENTOUS! I use the term Grand Poobah very much in a respectful way as per the first definition below, not the second definition at all, because Columbophile is anything but pompous. He’s hilarious....
My lovely friend Sasa reminded me at the Murder, She Cooked launch party that I had vowed to write a book gathering together all the movie star cocktails I know of. It’s on the list, Sasa! Our conversation also reminded me that I hadn’t yet dipped in to a fabulous book he gave me called...
I was so sad to hear that Ron Masak had travelled to that Hollywood in the sky this week. He was my favourite of all the Murder, She Wrote co-stars, playing the wonderful character of Sheriff Mort Metzger. I am picturing Ron and Angela chatting over a cup of tea and homemade cookies at an...
Hello my darlings! Those of you who know Charlie Drake will hear his voice ringing through your head saying that line, I’m sure. When researching Heinz recipes for the Heinz 57 Challenge, I stumbled upon something BRILLIANT. A promotional film split into two parts that is viewable on t’internet. This is really worth casting your...
Now that the Murder, She Cooked book is out in the world I have a bit of breathing space and I’m rummaging around in the blog drafts archive for things I hadn’t quite finished. Here’s a LONG one about our Covid postponed honeymoon for those who would like a sneaky peek at some photos. I...
After the very sad news this week that our much loved Angela Lansbury has gone to that Hollywood in the sky, I thought I would share some joyful photographs of my book launch. I truly hope that anyone who owns a copy of my Murder, She Cooked book can see it was written with pure...
Just a quick post to let you all know I have a little spot on the Hollywood Kitchen Show today. I’ll be demonstrating how to make Agnes Moorehead’s Macaroon Delight as featured in Supper with the Stars. Here’s the lowdown from Karie who hosts the show on her Facebook page and here’s the link –...
It’s book launch day tomorrow and I am stupidly excited. Just to let you all know that I’ll be doing some Instagram Lives throughout the day as I’ll be Living My Life Like Angela Lansbury for the third time! Come and hang out in the Silver Screen Suppers kitchen or join me for an Angela...
Yippeee it is the favourite day of all food bloggers everywhere. Pieathalon Day! It’s the 9th year of this bonkers escapade where a bunch of us send weird and wonderful pie recipes to Yinzerella of Dinner is Served 1972 and she dishes them out for each of us to make. Naturally, I always send out...
Excitement is mounting about the movie Blonde. I haven’t had a chance to see it at the cinema so I’ll be tuning in on Wednesday when it premieres on Netflix. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a bit of event TV in the diary and I’m going to hook my computer up to...
One night I said to Mr Rathbone over, and over and over again, “This is the funniest film I ever saw” about The Independent starring Jerry Stiller. The next day I could remember nothing about it. Zilch. Nada. So we resolved to watch it again on “Stiller Saturday”, to celebrate the completion of test cooking...
Greetings lovely readers! My Murder, She Cooked cookalong party on Sunday the 2nd of October is now live on Eventbrite. Everyone is welcome to come along and cook with me, or just be there for the chat about all things Murder, She Wrote while the cakes are in the oven. I am not sure […]
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In the run up to my Murder, She Cooked publication day I am sharing some of the wonderful feedback I’ve received from test cooks. Here’s the verdict on Robert Stack’s duck recipe from Matthew Lenton an old friend who somehow found me on social media a few years ago. Many moons ago, I did a...
Sunday was International Angela Lansbury Appreciation Day and I wanted to show my appreciation not only for the wonderful Dame Angela this week, but also for all the fabulous people who tested recipes for the forthcoming Murder, She Cooked book. There is no way I could have done it without you all. I’m sure if...
Happy International Angela Lansbury Appreciation Day! It’s a momentous day for me as I am celebrating completion of the Murder, She Cooked book. I am on tenterhooks awaiting my final proof copy but I THINK it is finished. Here’s Jessica reading an advance copy looking for typos, rogue apostrophes and squinting modifiers. I don’t know...
Greetings friends! The Murder, She Cooked book will be released into the world TWO WEEKS TODAY. Oh my! I am sooooooo excited. I’ve just realised I haven’t shared the cover yet with my lovely blog readers so here you go… Fun eh? A big thank-you to Joan Ransley who took the photo (it did make...
The Murder, She Cooked book is almost finished! Publication date is Friday 30th September and I’m hosting a zoom cookalong on Sunday 2nd October at 7pm GMT – everyone is welcome, spread the word! You can check what time this will be wherever you are in the world here – World Time Buddy I brainstormed...
I was really sad when I heard that ONJ had headed off to that Hollywood in the sky. A thing that brought me extreme joy in the first pandemic lockdown was dancing with over a hundred other writers to Xanadu at the end of one of the London Writers’ Salon’s 24 hour writing marathon hours...
This is another recipe destined for the Murder, She Cooked book. Naturally, I was tempted to add some paper-thin slices of garlic, created with the aid of a razor blade, as we see Paul Sorvino’s character Paulie do in Goodfellas. But I resisted! No garlic in Paul’s recipe, so no garlic was added. This was...
It was such fun to have a zoom party celebrating the launch of the paperback and Kindle versions of the Supper with the Stars book last week. Peter always makes his events so much fun. Folks brought along dishes they had made from those featured in the book including Vincent Price’s Chili and Judith Evelyn”s...
My co-writer on the Vincent Price extravaganza Supper with the Stars organised a fabulously fun party last night to celebrate the launch of the paperback and Kindle versions. It was so lovely to see so many of our fabulous test cooks in the zoom room including Gill, Kelli, Phoenix, Britt, Sarah, VT, Mr Rathbone and...
For the second battle of the guacs, it was the M.G.M. star bracket – Greer vs Debbie. Collage artwork by Cherie Savoie Tintary. Karie over at Hollywood Kitchen had two guest stars discussing their relative merits: Samantha Ellis writes the column “Cooking with the Stars” for the Classic Movie Hub. She blogs at Musings of...
What a lovely, lovely, lovely present to receive in the post. THE HAIR! This gift came from my dear friend Mark Brisenden, from the estate of Mr Pointon. It is glorious. Firstly, because there are so many appealing recipes within, and secondly because Annie Ross is a funny writer. Her style reminds me a bit...
We are having a heatwave. It was 35 degrees C (95 degrees F) when I wrote this last night at 7.30pm! Flats in London are NOT EQUIPPED FOR THIS! For the first time EVER the temperature is due to hit 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) here today. It’s bonkers, but I have a cookbook...
Behold the Greatest Man Sandwich in the World. When I made this recently (pre-Covid) and popped this pic up on Instagram it caused such excitement that I decided it HAD to be the recipe of the month. It’s one of those “sounds weird, tastes good” movie star recipes. Plus of course, it has a brilliant...
This was very much a Friday evening dinner for Stanley, as described in Taste, this was something his dad made to give his wife a break from cooking. I fancied it as a breakfast dish though, and persuaded Cathy to come round early one morning with the hound I used some posh tomatoes and about...
STOP PRESS! All of the writing and tweaking and editing for the Murder, She Cooked book is done – yippeee. I was wandering around with a feeling of great satisfaction and smugness and then FIVE MINUTES AGO I found an Angela Lansbury recipe on the internet I have never seen before. OH MY! as Jessica...
So it is day 12 of Covid and it is the first day my appetite is truly back. This is the perfect breakfast for a Covid convalescent I reckon because you cannot deny that this is a HEALTH DRINK. It was this recipe that prompted me to start a top 100 as I wrote a...
There isn’t any cooking going on at Silver Screen Suppers Towers as I have finally succumbed to Covid. I’m mostly sleeping and knitting with the occasional wobble to the kitchen for a Lemsip. So perhaps now is a good time for me to tell you about something I’ve been meaning to mention for ages. This...
Here’s a little update on what’s been occurring over on my Murder, She Cooked SubStack. Firstly there is a great chilli recipe to accompany your viewing of the Murder, She Wrote episode that features Polly Bergen, School for Scandal. and there is also a Glynis John’s Chicken Paprika recipe to accompany Sing a Song of...
I love Pearl’s way of pimping up broccoli and I am trying to perfect this easy side dish as I eat A LOT of these little green trees. The version I did today was good, but I think I can double the garlic next time. I’m experimenting with black garlic paste as a little time...
The June Havoc Almond Cocktail has been on the “to test” list for a while as she is in not one, but two episodes of Murder, She Wrote. The first is a truly remarkable one for film buffs. The Days Dwindle Down (1988) has a star-studded cast that includes Harry Morgan, Martha […]
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These were DELICIOUS! I am under Doctor’s Orders to eat liver once a week so am experimenting with various recipes. This one is from the earliest collection of actors’ recipes I know of from 1916. I did a bit of research on Ethel Lloyd, she appeared in 27 films between 1913 and 1916. Bread-crumbing the...
Here’s one for all you Gilligan’s Island fans. I’ve never seen Gilligan’s Island, I don’t think it ever screened here in the UK so if anyone has a recommendation of a particular episode for me to seek out – please do let me know. I like the look of this one… When I found out...
When I told Mr Rathbone that Stanley Tucci had written a food memoir he said, “He could write a book about his slippers and they would publish it.” As documented in this blog previously, Mr Rathbone is very understanding about my celebrity crush on Yul Brynner, which in recent years has kind of transmogrified into...
I love a movie star recipe with a mad title and am generally compelled to make it. So it was with this one. I was surprised that no test cooks chose it for the Murder, She Wrote Cookalong with a name like this, but secretly I was pleased as I got to make Hoo-ha Chicken...
Want to sprinkle a little stardust over your working from home luncheons? This is the easiest and tastiest way to do it. I have made this salad so many times because I love EVERYTHING IN IT. Plus it contains two things that you probably stockpiled at the beginning of the pandemic. Tinned tuna and beans....
Coo, this was good! I needed to test this one for the Murder, She Cooked book, and Easter weekend seemed the perfect time for it. Eddie’s recipe is as vague as they get, and I wanted to make it clearer for those who fancied cooking it and watching Eddie play Shirley Jones’ hubby in the...
About once a year I buy an artichoke on impulse, and when I get it home am immediately gripped by fear about how to cook it. They are scary things if you don’t have them about your person very often. But the recipe I have now christened “Fay Wray’s Way” is a winner. I have...
My Murder, She Wrote related Substack is now monthly and the March edition features Jessica visiting a television set where one of her nieces plays a character in a daytime soap. Paul Burke is in this episode too, and the companion recipe to the show is his Twelve O’Clock Creole Rice. Skip over there for...
I am scared of hollandaise. Well, I am scared of making hollandaise. When I told my food writer chum Sam Kilgour this on the day I was planning to make Milton’s Eggs Benedict she gave me some excellent advice, “don’t let it know you don’t like making it.” She also offered up two magic words,...
I love it when someone with eagle eyes finds some movie star recipes and sends them to me in case I don’t already have them. My film archivist chum Margie is brilliant at this, and she sent over some Hope Lange recipes she’d found online. They had been transcribed via robot (I think the correct...
