The authority on all things Columbo, the wonderful LC who runs the genius Columbophile website… is running a competition to win a copy of my Cooking With Columbo book – well 3 copies actually! Competition is open until 16th December – get amongst it! The Cooking With Columbo cookbook has episode guides for all 69...
On the Sunday of the John Wayne Great Bear Expedition I was lying in bed and suddenly bust out with, “Ooh, I’m excited! I can see my poncho from here!” Which made Mr R laugh. I explained that a poncho was a strange beast. Most of the time it is too hot to wear one,...
My boss Alwyn goes fishing to relax. When he talks about the pleasures to be had in the middle of the night standing in a river in the pitch black watching shooting stars it almost makes me want to do it myself. However, these days I am usually tucked up in bed by 10 pm...
I am a big fan of stroganoff as it is quick and easy to make on a weeknight and feels like a BIG TREAT. I have made two movie star versions recently – both destined for the Vincent Price Co*Star cookbook. They were both delicious (although not very photogenic) but I think in the taste...
It was double days at my nephew’s brewery recently and I had an absolutely fab time. On Saturday I had my little pop-up bread and mustard shop, I made some pumpkin fougasse to get in the Halloween mood. Then on Monday myself, Ma Baker and Battenburgbelle got amongst it being “brewers for the day”. This...
I was planning to propose Jane Asher’s Chicken in Pumpkin as the Recipe of the Month for November as it seemed super autumnal. But, if you have read the post about it, you’ll know why I’ve switched. It was Mr R who suggested I make Diana’s recipe the R.O.M. and he speaks sense. I am...
Have you heard of turducken? It’s a “dish consisting of a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, further stuffed into a deboned turkey.” Blog reader Melanie asked if Jane Asher’s Chicken in a Pumpkin should be called a pumpricken – hahahahahahahah! When I saw this photograph in Jane Asher’s Easy Entertaining cookbook with the...
The lovely folks at my local emporium of meat, Morley’s Butcher in Crouch End, have a great piece on their website about this fabulous recipe. Skip over to their blog for all the details and cook yourself up a delicious steak for your Halloween din dins! There will be another Vincent related post coming very...
Well, this was weird. I think if I had made this before my experiments with the Peter Fonda’s “Easy Rider Smoothie” and his sister Jane Fonda’s Smoothie I might have thought this was groovy. BUT, I am now used to protein drinks that effectively are the texture and volume of a huge McDonald’s milkshake. Liz’s...
You know when you spend about five hours making something, and when you come to eat it, it’s a massive disappointment? Well, this was 100% NOT the case with Michael’s pie. It was absolutely DIVINE! I’d been wanting to make this pie ever since the Michael Caine Blogathon organized by Gill at ReelWeegieMidgetReviews. The pie...
Happy birthday Diana! I am celebrating today by eating a WHOLE BOX of Black Magic. Well, actually I have eaten ONE chocolate and am sharing the rest with work colleagues. Why? Because when Diana was on Desert Island Discs she said that a box of Black Magic would be her luxury item. I only knew...
I am a big fan of coleslaw in any shape or form. I don’t mind if it is hoity-toity coleslaw or bog standard supermarket coleslaw, I love it all. Although I haven’t seen it on the shelves recently I am particularly fond of “Mexican coleslaw” which I am sure is a made-up thing. I also...
Diana’s breakfast mash-up has got lots of things in it that I like, and as I’ve reported here before, I do love me a recipe that serves one. Living alone as I do, it pleases me when recipe writers tip their hats to those of us who aren’t part of a nuclear family. I am...
I have been craving Steak Au Poivre ever since I had a conversation with my personal trainer Nige about it. Yes! I have a personal trainer, and it is bloody brilliant. The best thing about it is that after seeing Nige for a couple of months, I can actually do all the moves in Angie...
100% comfort food! What a great thing to do with a jacket potato! This takes me back to my childhood for many reasons. Neither of these girls is me, I will return later and replace with a very similar photograph that IS me. All British photos from the 1970s looked like this… Firstly, in my...
Oh my. These were divine. I couldn’t really believe how good they were, as there were only a few simple ingredients. Make these as soon as you can. Yum. It’s possible that the deliciousness of these was mostly to do with the cheese I used. Not having access to asedoros here in London, UK, I...
My mum is brilliant at making trifle and when I was home at the weekend there was a lovely individual serving of it waiting just for me. I said, “This is a really big helping, I’m not sure I can eat it all.” Her response really made me laugh, “It’s only jelly and custard!” I...
“I never worry about diets, the only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond.” Wise words Mae, wise words. I often get a craving for Mae’s salad on a Saturday, I have no idea why. I love all of the ingredients in this salad (I’m a big fan of “chicken...
We had such an amazing afternoon at Staying Cool’s apartment hotel atop the Rotunda in Birmingham on Sunday. To celebrate Peter Falk’s birthday a group of Columbo superfans gathered together in a beautiful Staying Cool penthouse suite. We raised our glasses to toast the best television show ever and ate Johnny Cash Chilli. The chilli...
This is one of those things that I get a mad craving for every now and then. Usually when I have a hangover on a Saturday. Which I did, last Saturday. Therefore, as I was home alone and I had all the wherewithal, I rustled some up. SOOOOOOOOO GOOD! Vincent’s recipe serves 6 but I...
I’ve had a colourful week breakfast-wise. Peter’s smoothie is now a firm favourite here at Silver Screen Suppers Towers and it always looks pretty much the same slightly-odd-but-worthy colour green whenever I make it… But this week, I went a little bit off-piste on the recipe. I had some crushed pineapple leftover from my Vincent...
Oh, what a lovely Sunday it was in Totteridge and Whetstone (or as Mr R likes to call it, “Totts and Whets”). Sunny, sunny, sunny and glorious. We got some funny looks from other tube passengers as we sat on a bench on the platform and ate baked apples in the sunshine. Then we hiked...
This recipe is a winner. When you have folks round for lunch you can present them with a great big bowl of pleasing looking and super tasty potatoes. This dish is easy to prepare and lip-smackingly good. Totally recommended. I made this for my Pieathalon guests. Taryn of Retro Food For Modern Times was in...
Hello, all you lovely folks in and around the Birmingham, UK area. There’s a special event happening this Sunday to celebrate Peter Falk’s birthday. I’m giving an illustrated talk about Columbo and there will be JOHNNY CASH CHILLI made by a top chef. Oh yes! This dish is famous from the Columbo Bowl Chilli Cook-Along...
Whenever the Muswell Hill and District Horticultural Show rolls around (3 x per year) I always panic slightly about what cake to make to donate to the cake stall. Unlike Battenburgbelle, I am not a natural born cake maker. I like making bread, I like making soup, I like making all manner of savoury things,...
I’ve been on a Raquel Welch binge recently after accidentally buying a box set. I say accidentally because for some reason I thought Myra Breckenridge was in the set, and when it arrived it wasn’t. I am dying to see Myra Breckenridge… not least becaue the cookbook that accompanies that film is BONKERS and […]
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I am not quite sure how it can suddenly be September, what happened to August? I’ve been wondering what to propose for the recipe of the month and I made this zucchini dish last night and it was absolutely lovely, so this will be it! This might be a godsend for all you allotment type...
When I started 6th form college at the tender age of 17 I met some very cosmopolitan people. I lived in a tiny village in the Essex countryside and the college was in Colchester – a BIG town. I felt very grown up and started hanging out with some very rock and roll types. I...
Yay! It’s Pieathalon day – whoop whoop! One of my favourite things about having a blog is getting invited to participate in some really bonkers challenges. Once a year ACE food blogger Yinzerella over at Dinner Is Served 1972 organizes a Pieathalon – lots of people send her pie recipes, she shuffles them up like...
Battenburgbelle is writing a cookbook. It’s mostly for her daughter (my Goddaughter) who will be flying the nest soon and BB wants her to have a collection of recipes that are do-able for a beginner. She asked if I would contribute something and I can’t think of anything better than Elizabeth’s recipe for chicken. I...
I’m very glad that my work colleague James tipped me off to an obituary in yesterday’s Guardian because that led me to check on my recipe spreadsheet to see what I had for Mary Carlisle. I’d fully intended making Lee Grant’s Mozzarella Marinara for my dinner tonight as I’m going to be writing about this...
I was wondering what to do with all the Edam I had left over from the Diana Dors Cheese and Sweetcorn Pasta Salad I made the other day, and Diana herself had a suggestion in the X-Cel Diet cookbook. Caesar Salad. It’s salads all round at the moment because we are in the grip of...
Whose broccoli would win in a fight? Pearl Bailey’s or Yul Brynner’s? There’s only one way to find out! Well, looking back on my previous entry for Pearl’s broccoli I see that I’d decided Pearl’s was the best, but now I announce, I have changed my mind. They are both very good, but having had...
Is taking a Pola Negri Banana Trifle to High Barnet like taking coals to Newcastle? I’m not sure, but I do know this much, it was absolutely brilliant fun to do. I’ve been planning to embark on a project relating to the superb artwork The Great Bear by Simon Patterson for a donkey’s age. If...
I’ve been on a virtual reality writing retreat this month at Camp NaNoWriMo – it’s the 8th time I’ve participated and the 1st time I’ve hit my target early. 2 days early in fact! Yeah! I am a WINNER. I decided to pat myself on the back with some broccoli. But not just any broccoli,...
When did you last have some Edam? For me, it was probably the 1970s. It’s a funny old cheese. Who eats it these days? Kids? It’s like a big old Babybel… Mind you, I’m not knocking it. I do like a diet recipe that allows a person to eat 40g of cheese, Edam or not....
Ooh, I do love a diet plan. Where it is all laid out in black and white what you should have for your breakfast, lunch and tea. But it’s not easy to follow many days in a row when you are a girl about town and have a job to go to that takes you...
I do not have a robot device like an Alexa or Amazon Echo in my house, but Caroline Frick’s “gentleman caller”is a very modern man who “likes his toys” and he has one. An important question was asked of it… Is William Shatner a good cook? However, here at Silver Screen Suppers, we believe the...
Meatfeast! This is an absolutely DELICIOUS chili but man, oh man, it is meaty, meaty, meaty! I made this as my dish for this year’s Cowboy Day Cookalong, organized by the wonderful inspiration that is Greg Swenson over at Recipe For Rebels. This is the MOST FUN EVENT OF THE YEAR and I encourage all...
Remember I announced to the world via the blog that I was on a diet about 3 weeks ago? Well, I’m happy to report that the pounds are actually leaving the body. Thanks to Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, and Diana, I am reducing to suit fashion. Extra exercise is helping too… But I think the...
I think that one of the secrets of adulthood is that once you have found a good recipe for something, you just stick with it. If I want to make a potato salad, I always make the one in my chum Alastair Hendy’s Home Cook cookbook. If I have a yearning for cauliflower cheese it’ll...
Hot on the heels of Bethany B.’s report on Brenda Vaccaro’s T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C Italian Sausages, here’s what she thought of the George Hamilton’s Smoky Chicken recipe. As we Brit’s can’t get hold of frozen juice for love nor money, I replace it with Cointreau which works like a charm. I’m sure Grand Marnier would be good...
In the modern world, a “blender breakfast” might be better known as a smoothie. Mmmmmm – this is so good. I love it and I always feel very virtuous and slightly smug when I have one. Here’s Peter’s original recipe and here’s my version. I use spirulina which makes it a lovely colour and...
I have great affection for Vincent’s House Bread. Not because it is the greatest loaf I ever made but because it is the FIRST loaf I ever made. Way back in 2011 during the Vincentennial year – click here for my blog post about it. I was SO pleased with myself, haha! I think making...
Fluorescent green is not a colour you see very often when cooking, but the unusual spinach sauce in this dish is positively radio-active! I loved the easy method of making the saucy part of this lasagne (bunging everything into a blender and zapping it until it becomes a sauce) and did have a good laugh...
I have purchased some fancy new scales that measure body fat and all sorts. It is official. My BMI chart declares I am CHUBBY. Therefore, I diet. I wanted the postcard where the weighing machine says, “One at a time please!” but couldn’t find it… I have some chums that will help me through this...
Here are 2 test cook reports on Brenda’s T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C Italian Sausages – were they terrific? Read on to find out! Brenda appeared in the Columbo episode Murder in Malibu and it’s this recipe that appears in the Cooking With Columbo Cookbook. When I made these back in 2006 I forgot to remove the...
I always love an excuse to buy a new ingredient (currently looking for a UK supplier of mahlab for a Claudia Roden recipe) or even better, a new bit of kitchen equipment, so I loved Anthony’s recipe which involved buying a chicken brick way back in August 2016. I wrote about the excitement of this...
Being a guest on the Jonny Trunk OST show on Resonance FM was an absolute HOOT. Do have a listen sometime – here is the link. Ooh, and I’ve worked out how to embed it too. I had soooooooo much fun. We chatted about the Columbo cookbook and Jonny ran a competition to win a...
I am on holiday – yippee! But, if you are a burglar reading this, I have a big dog with sharp teeth looking after my flat. Here on Mersea Island every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon you can buy fish directly from the fishermen on the jetty. I love it! Yesterday there were lots of flatfish...
From June 1-3, 2018, Vincent Price Legacy UK and Silver Screen Suppers are taking part in a fantastic blogathon celebrating all things Amicus and Hammer, hosted by Cinematic Carthasis and Realweegiemidget Reviews, and we’ve picked Scream and Scream Again and Madhouse as our two choices to blog about. I’m serving up some devilishly ghoulish fare,...
From June 1-3, 2018, Vincent Price Legacy UK and Silver Screen Suppers are taking part in a fantastic blogathon celebrating all things Amicus and Hammer, hosted by Cinematic Carthasis and Realweegiemidget Reviews, and we’ve picked Scream and Scream Again and Madhouse as our two choices to blog about. I’m serving up some devilishly ghoulish fare,...
My chum Peter Fuller, curator of the Vincent Price Legacy UK site tipped me off to the fact that Frankie Avalon had written a cookbook, and what an excellent cookbook it is! I really like it. Packed with lots of super appealing recipes, this is the one that really appealed to me big time. Why?...
It’s pouring with rain here in London as I write this, but in theory, it is SPRING. Out with the soups, in with the salads. I rustled up Frankie’s salad on Wednesday night because I had all the fixings for it knocking around my fridge and countertop. Easy, trad and delicious. It’s something that...
Recently I had a lovely day trip to Nottinghamshire. I was up for an award for my mustard. The first ever Small Food Award for savoury fermented food. I made two fermented mustards but one of them was a weird colour so in the end I only entered one. This one… I won...
My chum film-maker Sarah Akrobettoe challenged me to make a cooking demo video over Easter and I did it! It was so much fun to make and edit. I did it all in one day, as my mum would say “all by my own self” on Easter Monday – and I am stupidly proud of...
I can’t believe that I’ve been writing this blog for 12 years – goodness me. So much has changed in that time. When I began I was a broken-hearted singleton living on a houseboat on the Thames. My tabletop cooker had to be turned on with a pair of pliers… Now I am a landlubber...
You need teeny tiny brown shrimp for this dish. I think that potted shrimp is a very, very British thing, and I’m not sure where else in the world you can get these little fellas. I’ve been doing some trawling around the net for info but I can’t work it out. It doesn’t help that...
Just over five years ago my neighbour Chloë sent a text asking if I was single. She knew someone she thought I would hit it off with. She set us up on a blind date and we are still together. She’s a genius matchmaker! My blind date, now my soul mate, Mr Rathbone made a vegan...
“He loved to make spaghetti and meatballs. He had his own special sauce. I never tired of it, and I will never share with anyone else the secret of his meat sauce.” So said Pola Negri! Pola definitely looks like a woman who can keep a secret… But luckily Hedda Hopper had no morals, so...
Mr. R recently bought a Mel Brooks box set and we watched Silent Movie on Sunday night after drinking a vast amount of beer. I laughed like a drain throughout and kept saying, “This is the funniest film I’ve ever seen!” over and over and over again. Next morning I couldn’t remember a single thing...
Every couple of weeks I look at all the bits and pieces of vegetable and salad stuff knocking around in my fridge and decide to make a Phyllis Diller Garbage Soup. I feel very virtuous using up all my odds and ends, chucking in a tin of beans and some kind of random spices...
This is what you should absolutely cook if you have friends coming round for dinner on a work night and you don’t want to be huffing and puffing in the kitchen while they are enjoying themselves in the lounge. You can get this prepared and cooking in an hour, so you can relax and enjoy...
I cannot remember when I have had more fun cooking and eating my dinner. This was quite the loveliest thing I have made in a donkey’s age. Greg of Recipes for Rebels and I had a lot of fun way back in February when we both made Anne Jackson’s English Muffins on the same day. ...
Another winner from Yul Brynner! I had some asparagus going rubbery in my fridge and, determined to use it up, I had it for my tea last night with not much else apart from a little salad. It was lovely. I was going to put a fried egg on top but forgot. No matter, this...
I am in a book group and it is the only time I ever read fiction. I’ve usually got about 35 books on the go, mostly food related. When I saw the size of Bonfire of the Vanities, the pick for our next meet-up, I was a bit daunted. It’s a big’un. Luckily, I wasn’t...
I promised myself that one of the things I would do once the Columbo book was finished was this. Treat myself to two celebrity related dishes from my chum’s Tonight at 7.30 cookbook and watch an appropriate movie while I ate them. I know Kristen Frederickson through the Guild of Food Writers. We have never...
I really love it when blog readers email out of the blue for a chit-chat so was thrilled to get a LONG email from Ellie from Devon about Pearl Bailey a couple of days ago. It was Ellie who reminded me way back in 2016 that I had the Pearl Bailey cookbook, but had never...
Just back from a wonderful four day holiday in Whitstable. In a huge break with tradition, I left my laptop at home. I am having a month without writing to rest my brain after all the Cooking With Columbo excitement. Writing a blog post is writing of sorts of course, but I have a kind...
When I heard that Gill of the Realweegiemidget Reviews blog was organizing a Michael Caine blogathon I really wanted to participate. I was dying to make his Chicken and Bacon Pie but I couldn’t work out WHEN. Life is so busy at the moment, I despaired of finding a free timeslot. Then last Wednesday, wandering...
When my mum opened my Cooking With Columbo cookbook on Saturday, the first thing she said was, “Ooh, there’s a lot in it!” and I’ve had similar reactions from other friends and family. I thought I would publish an extract from the book to give folks an idea of what lurks within these pages. There is...
