Category: Celebrity Recipes

Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie

Hello friends and greetings of the season!  Today’s Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie comes from Singers and Swingers in the Kitchen.  I last visited that book in 2013!  The recipe comes from Eva Marie Saint, star of On The Waterfront, North by Northwest and many other films. The Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie is so called because it was a pecan pie, made every Christmas by Eva Marie’s sister Adelaide.

Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie

You’ll see from the above that a made little pies rather than one big pie.  I had some mini pie crusts in the freezer from another cooking project so I decided to use them up instead of buying a big pastry shell.  Cooking time on the small tarts was 30 minutes.   I also could not find dark corn syrup in my local supermarket. I subbed in a mix of 2/3  golden syrup and 1/3 maple syrup.  Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie3

Is pecan pie served traditionally at Christmas?  I would love for one of my American readers to tell me?  It feels like it should be  – it certainly makes sense when Christmas falls in winter and fresh fruit is in shorter supply than in the summer months.  

Chrismas Adelaide Pecan Pie Recipe

Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie

 

Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie2

If you wanted to double down on recipes from this book, the Christmas Adelaide Pecan Pie would be divine with a scoop of Barbra Streisand’s Coffee Ice Cream.  This might also come in handy if you need a snack while reading Barbra’s nearly 1000-page memoir!  

Singers and Swingers in The Kitchen The Book

Singers and Swingers

This little book is so much fun!  As well as Eva and Barbra, it also includes recipes from The Rolling Stones, Jane Fonda, Don Adams and Barbara Feldman from Get Smart, The Mamas and The Papas, The Monkees and a host more “scene makers”and “groovy gourmets”.  My records…well Amazon’s records show I bought this back in 2012 for a measly $15.  It now regularly sells for over a hundred!!!  If you don’t want to be spending that kind of money, please feel free to browse the archives here for the recipes I’ve already shared.  I’m also sure this won’t be the last time I dip into this book. 

Have a great week!  

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A Murder on The Orient Express Collab

All aboard!  Welcome friends to a cooking and murder collab between Silver Screen Suppers and Retro Food For Modern Times.   Jenny and I have been tallking about doing this literally for months!  I am breaking my usual Dining with the Dame Format to cook recipes by the stars of the 1974 version of Murder on The Orient Express and half a world away in London Jenny is doing the same.  Jenny provided the recipes and we agreed to watch the film on the same day!

Murder on the Orient Express1

Murder on The Orient Express 1974 – The Film

As with the Kenneth Brannagh 2017 film, the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express is a star-studded affair!  The rather schlocky trailer describes it as the “Who’s who in the whodunnit”.

Albert Finney stars as Poirot  Agatha Christie herself gave Albert the thumbs up in his portrayal of Poirot.  (He was excellent, and his denouement at the end is amazing – he had to learn 8 pages of script off by heart to do it – but for me, David Suchet is, and will only ever be, the true Poirot).

Others in the cast include Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Sir John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave and Michael York to name but a few!   Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar as best supporting actress for her role in this.  Albert Finney was nominated but missed out to Art Carney from Harry and Tonto.

The film follows the story of the Agatha Christie novel with the luxurious Orient Express train stuck in a snow bank with no one being able to get on or off the train.  One of the guests is stabbed to death in the night.  It is up to Hercule Poirot to discover whodunnit!.  He soon learns that the victim is connected to the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong 5 years before.  And the group of seemingly disparate strangers on the train may not be all they seem!

The stroy is based on two true events, the first being the very famous kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby i n 1932, the second was an incident when the Orient Express was trapped for 6 days in a blizzard in Turkey in 1929.

But now, we would like you to head over to the buffet car to sample today’s menu,

The Menu

Trout in Cream Saice

For your dining pleasure on today’s journey from Istanbul to Caiais, we are delighted to be serving Trout with Cream Sauce, a recipe by Ms Ingrid Bergman.

Murder on the Orient Express2

This was delicious!  Trout is such a delicate fish and the lemony cream sauce was a perfect accompaniment to it.  I served mine with chips (very un Orient Express), beans, broccolini and some cherry tomatoes.  It was also incredibly easy to make!!! Without the chips, it is an elegant and light dish which would be worthy of the Orient Express!

The whole time I was making the trout I was singing the Billy Bragg  / Wilco song :

Ingrid Bergman, Ingrid Bergman
Let’s go make a picture
On the island of Stromboli
Ingrid Bergman
And I deft anyone who knows this song to do otherwise!

Ingrid Bergman Trout (1)

Ingrid Bergman plays Greta Ohlsson in the film and she won the Academy Award for best-supporting actress for her role. I would give her an Oscar for that trout recipe because it was chef’s kiss mwah!!!

Prune Fool Syllabub

To end your meal, we are serving  Prune Fool by Ms. Wendy Hiller.   Wendy plays Princess Dragomiroff  in Murder. I feel that the Prune Fool, despite its name has the hint of gravitas equal to such a grand dame!

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I LOVED the Prune Fool!  The prunes and currants (I didn’t have sultanas in the red wine combined beautifully with the cream and shortbread.  Eating this made me feel like a grownup.  for something that is so simple to make, the end result is sophisticated.

I feel both of these dishes would meet Poirot’s approval!

Just as an aside, it appears as if, whilst on the Orient Express, Poirot has eschewed his normal tisanes and sirops for a little glass of…creme de menthe? Drunk via a straw no less.

Murder on the Orient Express4

But, I digress, back to the Prune Fool.  Murder on the Orient Express5
I know I am biased but how pretty is it?

Here’s the recipe:

Wendy Hiller Prune Fool (2)

 

Cooking for this was so fun!  I loved the film as well!  And it is always fun to have a shared project.  Thank you Jenny for the recipes and for joining in particularly on one of the big hitters like Murder on The Orient Express.  (Let’s not wait 6 months before we do another!!!)  And if anyone else would like to Dine with the Dame and me, please let me know!!!

If you would like to see what Jenny cooked and how she celebrated Murder Sunday, head over to Silver Screen Suppers for a look!

I’ll be back next week with a more traditional version of Dining with the Dame – Murder on the Orient Express 2 (Electric Boogaloo).

Have a great week and happy watching!

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A Rosemary’s Baby Collab – Satan and Silver Screens

Mr. Castevet came in, holding in both hands a small tray on which four cocktail glasses ran over with clear pink liquid. “Mr. Woodhouse? A Vodka Blush. Have you ever tasted one? They’re very popular in Australia,” Mr. Castevet said. He took the final glass and raised it to Rosemary and Guy. “To our guests,” he said. “Welcome to our home.”

The Vodka Blushes were tart and very good.

The above quote comes from the novel of Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin.  Roman Polanski turned the novel into a classic horror film of the same name in 1968.  Here’s me joining in the toast with Rosemary, Guy and their neighbours, The Castavets. Unfortunately,  due to lockdown rules, I can’t welcome anyone into my home at the moment.  But I can toast absent friends.  So when I raised my glass, not only was it to join in the fun of the movie, but also to Jenny of Silver Screen Suppers because, despite being many miles apart we are doing a recipe collab around Rosemary’s Baby!

Vodka Blush

Rosemary's Baby Collab

 

Opening Credits – The Vodka Blush

The film opens with an unseen woman singing what sounds like a creepy lullaby over city street noise and these gorgeous hot pink credits!  Believe me when I say that there is barely a second of this film that has not been poured over by film critic and fan alike – even the credits have been their own article!

I chose to begin my Collab with the paler pink of a vodka blush and utterly agree with the phrase that they were tart and very good!  Sweet / sour is one of my favourite flavour profiles so the Vodka Blush suited my tastes perfectly!  And it was so pretty as well.  I added a little sprig of Rosemary to mine for obvious reasons!

Vodka Blush2

You can find the recipe for a vodka blush here.  It is really easy to make – just three ingredients!

Act Two – Rosemary’s Baby Plot And Mia Farrow’s Yoghurt Gazpacho

Rosemary’s Baby centres around a young couple, Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse (played by John Cassavetes and Mia Farrow) who we initially meet searching for a new apartment in New York.  They decide to rent an apartment in the Bramford building despite it having a dark past.  They move in and Rosemary sets about decorating the apartment. (For an in-depth description of the inside of the apartment, click here). 

Guy and Rosemary meet their neighbours, an older couple, The Castevet’s who invite them round for dinner and vodka blushes.  Despite being initially reluctant to go, Guy hits it off with Roman Castevets and starts spending more time with him.   Rosemary has no such feelings about Minnie Castevets and even though you can tell she is too polite to say so, is annoyed when Minnie and friend pop over unannounced.  Minnie gives Rosemary Terry’s pendant, a supposed good luck charm containing a stinky substance called “tannis root”. 

Guy who had been up until then a bit part actor lands a leading role when the man who was going have the lead goes blind.  Buoyed by his good fortune Guy and Rosemary go full steam ahead with their plans to start a family.  On the night Rosemary is ovulating, the couple are having a romantic dinner when Minnie brings over some “Chocolate mouse”.  Rosemary eats very little of it but almost immediately starts to feel very ill and passes out. 

During this time she has a “dream” in which she is a raped by a demon while Guy, the Castevets and their friends watch on.  She wakes up covered in scratches.  Guy laughs off her concern saying he didn’t want to miss out on baby-making night (this scene is so gross and really cements out view of Guy as a self-centred narcissist not to mention rapist!).  

Shortly thereafter Rosemary discovers she is pregnant and here her nightmare begins.  Her pregnancy is not easy – she is losing weight and in constant pain.  Rosemary then comes to believe that the building is the home to a coven of witches lead by Roman Castevets. She becomes increasingly suspicious of Guy wondering if he is also in league with them. 

Rosemary tries to run away but Guy and Doctor Sappirstein track her down.  They return to the apartment and she goes into labour.  When she awakes she is told that the baby was stillborn.  However, over the following days she starts to hear a baby crying in the Casavet’s apartment.  She picks up a knife and sneaks into the apartment to find Guy, the Castevets and other members of the coven gathered around a bassinet over which hangs an inverted cross.  Guy confesses that in return for fame he gave the child to Satan who is, in fact, the baby’s father.  

Through all of this Mia Farrow as Rosemary is luminous.  She is so beautiful (even when she is meant to be looking gaunt and ill) and her clothing throughout is pitch-perfect!  More on the clothes can be found here.  

Also pitch-perfect is the recipe Jenny sent me for Mia Farrow’s yoghurt gazpacho!  I adore Gazpacho but had never tried one with yoghurt before.  It was delicious.  So refreshing and would be perfect for a hot summer’s day.  The gazpacho is so tasty and the yoghurt so soothing that I made it again a few days later when I had a stomach ache!  Confession – I ate so much of the gazpacho I could barely eat the second course!  But that just meant more leftovers.  Also, the recipe calls for parsley which I added for the OG version.  The second time I made it, I only had basil so I added that instead.  It changed the flavour but was also delicious!  

Yoghurt Gazpacho

 

The Final Act – John Cassavetes Minted Meatballs and Spooky Tales about Rosemary Baby

Jenny also sent me the recipe for John Cassavetes Minted Meatballs.  Before we get to them, you cannot believe the problems I have had writing Cassavetes and Castevets in the same post.  I don’t think I have written it correctly ONCE.  

I was quite prepared to hate these meatballs based solely on the fact that John Cassavetes character in Rosemary Baby’s is such a tremendous arsehole.  I’ll hand it to him though.  The meatballs were good.  I ate mine on cheesy bread.  I had filled myself up on three glasses of the gazpacho by the time I got to the meatballs so I only ate two on the night but they heated up really well for lunch during the week. John Cassavetes Minted Meatballs

The mint was really tasty in these.  I am thinking that the next time I make these, I will use lamb instead of beef because mint and lamb go so well together.  What I liked best about these meatballs though was, as they cooked, the grains of rice started to poke out, making them look like little spiky sea urchins in a sea of to tomato sauce!

Minted Meatballs 2

And now here are some weird facts about Rosemary’s Baby – which has been called ” the most cursed hit movie ever made”.

  • Krzysztof Komeda, the composer fell off a cliff at a party and suffered terrible head injuries.  He was in a coma for four months before passing away (incidentally the same fate that befalls Rosemary’s friend Hutch in the film).
  • The year after the release of Rosemary’s Baby, Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson family. 
  • The Manson Family wrote “Helter Skelter”‘ in blood on the walls of the Tate crime scene.
  • Helter Skelter is a song off The Beatles The White Album.  Mia Farrow was in attendance for at least part of the recording of the White Album.  The Beatles song Dear Prudence is about her sister. 
  • The Bramford Building is, in reality, the Dakota Building.  MArk Chapman shot John Lennon to death outside this same building on 8 December 1980.

Little bit spooky no?

Huge thanks to Jenny for the recipes and for joining in !!! It is always nice to collab on something and this one was well and truly a breath of fresh air during lockdown!  You can read about her experiences with Rosemary’s Baby here!  Oh, and I hope she won’t mind me sharing this photo which was of Jenny doing her Vincent Price impersonation.  I will always think of it as the Rosemary’s Baby picture now! 

 

Have a great week and stay safe!

 

 

 

John Hillerman’s Paella

Does anyone know / remember The Libertines song “Music When The Lights Go Out”?  The hook line in this piece of indie-pop boy love runs “All the highs and the lows and the to’s and fro’s, they left me dizzy”.   That is exactly how I felt when making John Hillerman’s Paella.  No doubt about it, this was a tough cook.  But oh boy did it pay off!

John Hillerman Paella 1

The Lows

  • Converted rice?  Not available for love or money.
  • Clams in clam juice ?  Nada.
  • Bottled clam juice?  No, nay, never.
  • Polish Sausage…probably could have bought some but I had chorizo in the freezer which seemed more paella-ish anyway

I made this during the height of the ‘rona lockdown. But I honestly feel that my inability to get hold of these ingredients were not limited to that insane time of food shortages. 

So, had this been one of my recipes?  I would have ripped it up and we would have never more heard of it.  But this was was not my recipe, this was John Hillerman’s Paella recipe that I was testing for Jenny for her Murder She Wrote Cookbook so onward and upward it was.

Paella2

The To’s and And The Fro’s

I didn’t have converted rice.  I didn’t have clam juice.  Which meant I could not follow the first step of the recipe.  

I had:

  • Bomba paella rice. 
  • Fresh clams. 
  • Frozen fish stock. 

This meant that if I found another recipe that got me through that first step of cooking the rice, then the rest should fall into place like one of those Rube Goldberg machines I have become obsessed with during lockdown. 

The recipe I used was this one.  I followed all the directions for cooking the rice per that recipe. But then switched back to John Hillerman’s Paella recipe from the step where he says to “saute the chicken in olive oil”.

Here is John’s recipe:

I was literally toing and froing between the two recipes and the pan and the ingredients, making sure everything cooked properly!

Paella3

The Highs

Have you seen the photos?  This dish was lush!!!  It was so pretty, so colourful, so full of joy!

It looked gorgeous, smelled like heaven and tasted even better.

John Hillerman’s Paella brought the smell and taste of Spain into a very grey wintery Melbourne day.  It was seriously like a ray of sunshine!

I LOVED this!!!!  So, so, so good!!!!!  The end result made it all worthwhile!!!

Paella4

Thank you Jenny for the recipe!  This is the best paella I have ever made and I will be sure to make it again!  When travel opens up and we can spend time together again, this definitely needs to be on our menu!  In my imagination, we are sitting in your garden with Mr R and Battenberg Belle and having a lovely long lunch of paella, great conversation, lots of vino, and some great tunes courtesy of Mr Rathbone. Some ’60’s bossa nova maybe?

Oh, also for those of you like me who do not know who John Hillerman was?  His best-known role was as the incredibly suave Higgins In Magnum PI but he also appeared in Blazing Saddles, Chinatown (high on my must-see list), Murder She Wrote (obvs), and A Very Brady Sequal among many, many other films and tv shows!  

Have a fabulous week friends! 

Stay safe, eat paella, watch John Hillerman on the tv and listen to The Libertines!

Sounds like a pretty good way to spend the weekend to me!

Meredith Baxter’s Tarragon Chicken

I had the shock of my life while doing research for this post.  Seriously.  More about that later!   This was DELICIOUS!!!!  The recipe for  Tarragon Chicken recipe was sent to me by the lovely Jenny over at Silver Screen Suppers.  It will form part of her Murder She Wrote Cookbook and, on taste alone, should be one of the standout recipes of the book!

Tarragon Chicken 1

This is the most delicious comfort food!!!  So warm and hearty and tasty and…OMG….I would make this dish every week if I could.  Unfortunately, I used the last of our fresh tarragon to make it so, until I can either find some fresh tarragon in the greengrocer or plant some more I will not have it again.  It almost makes me want to cry.

I have some dried tarragon in the cupboard but it is really no substitute for fresh!

This is what my tarragon plant looked like before I took all of the good leaves to make this!  Poor little thing!

Tarragon Chicken 3

I served my tarragon chicken with garlic bread instead of the suggested rice and it was so good.  The combination of the lovely juices from the chicken with mopped up with the crusty, garlicky, buttery bread was perfection!!!  I heartily recommend this as an alternative!!!

Tarragon Chicken 2

But now let me tell you what happened when I went to research David Birney!!!!!

Spelling is important!

My main reference for  Meredith Baxter is as Elyse Keaton from the very popular tv sitcom Family Ties.  The show featured two hippie parents, Baxter and Steven Gross, trying to deal with their ultra-conservative Regan-supporting son Alex, played brilliantly by Michael J. Fox.  The show was pitch-perfect.  Funny, poignant, clever, sharp…just look at these reviews!!!!!

 

I also knew that Meredith Baxter came out at some time in the 2000’s.  I remember thinking at the time both “You go girl, finally you get to be your true self in public and let the homophobes go fuck themselves” and also “I’m so sad that you didn’t feel that you could do this earlier in your life”.

David Birney 1

So, whilst I was aware of Meredith Baxter, David Birney, I knew not at all.  So much so that when I first googled him I incorrectly spelled his name as David Birnie and spent a while there thinking that MB had been married to an Australian serial killer!

Turns out he is allegedly a wife-beater so you know, maybe my initial thoughts that he was a dick were not totally unfounded.  Let’s not waste any more time on him.

Tarragon Chicken 4

The Recipe

It’s so good.

Meredith Baxter 2

I did not have to remove my chicken and thicken the sauce, it was thick enough just from cooking.  Apart from that, I followed the recipe to the letter and it was fabulous!

Leftovers are also amazing in a jaffle the following day!  Sorry for the terrible photo but if you don’t eat that jaffle piping hot, it’s not really a jaffle!  I would also LOVE to see that tarragon chicken in a pie.

Look at me…I’m already getting ideas for the next time I make it!

 

Thanks, Jenny for the recipe! It was truly a winner winner chicken dinner!

Have a great week everyone.  Take care and stay safe!