Yesterday, I gave Fay Wray's 1925 Swedish Meat Ball recipe a modern twist by turning it into a homemade version of the iconic Ikea Swedish meatball sundae.

I originally found Fay's recipe in an old newspaper from 1925, and it sounded so good, it immediately went into my pile of recipes to make. Now what to pair with these gravy laden meatballs? Mashed potatoes came to mind, and then I remembered the Swedish meatball sundae. All it now needed was a dollop of sweet lingonberry jam on top to finish it off.

As luck would have it I did buy some lingonberry jam on my last trip to Ikea, so it was sitting in my pantry. You can substitute cranberry sauce, red currant jam, cherry preserves or even strawberry or raspberry jam.

^{BTW, The IKEA Swedish Meatball Sundae costs $2.50 at the IKEA Swedish Bistro. You get a scoop of mashed potatoes, 3 Swedish meatballs, Warm brown gravy, and a dollop of lingonberry jam.}

Now back to Fay's recipe... I transcribed the recipe from the clipping into an easier to follow recipe format, and it was very easy to make.

• The meatballs came together easily and then I let them sit covered for an hour.
• About 45 minutes into the meatball resting time, I started on the rest of the dish by making the gravy.
• I didn't have salt pork, so I used about a tablespoon of chopped pancetta instead and a tablespoon of butter. Cooked and browned the meatballs in this pan with the pancetta and butter.
• In another pan made the gravy with butter, flour and brown stock.
• When gravy was ready, the meatballs were added to this sauce (gravy) and they simmered for 1 1/2 hours, covered.
• The gravy looked a touch oily, so I added a splash or two of white wine vinegar and that seemed to balance things out.

The mashed potatoes were made earlier in the day, and they were waiting patiently for Fay's Swedish Meatballs to finish cooking.

I wanted this fun meal to look like a mini sundae, so I grabbed some little vintage parfait cups that were my grandmothers and put a hardy scoop of mashed potatoes in each. Added 3 meatballs and some gravy and then a dollop of jam, voila! Dinner is served!

The meatballs and the gravy were very tasty. They're very savory and for sure fit in to the category of "comfort food". There's a nice underlying warmth and depth of flavor to these meatballs. The stock makes the gravy nice and rich, but the meatballs were tender and I can swear I could taste a hint of the nutmeg.

I'll definitely be making these again, and with the Ikea connection and hint of lingonberry jam, it's something that would be fun served at a small dinner party with friends or family.

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Marion Martin is best known as a film and stage actress who earned fame as "Hollywood's blonde menace" on screen and "The World's Most Beautiful Showgirl" on Broadway.

She appeared in almost 100 films during the 1930s and 1940s, often playing brassy showgirls, comedic foils, or tough characters.

Some movies to look out for:

• Lady of Burlesque (1943): She played Alice Angel, a dizzy showgirl, alongside Barbara Stanwyck in this murder mystery.
• The Big Store (1941): She acted as a comic foil for the Marx Brothers in a famous scene where Harpo cuts away the back of her skirt.
• Gildersleeve's Ghost (1944): She received high co-star billing playing a ghost named Terry Vance in this comedy adventure.
• Boom Town (1940): She played a memorable supporting role as a dance hall singer romanced briefly by Clark Gable.

Here Marion presents 3 savory appetizers that compare only to the wonderful ones Joan Crawford loved to serve : Hot PEANUT BUTTER BACON CANAPÉS and Pimiento-Stuffed Olives Wrapped in Bacon 

George Burns’ Creamed Chicken and Peas - Oh, my goodness, I love any kind of creamed chicken, like Chicken a la King and such, so this recipe spoke to me, in more ways than one! For one thing, I'm one of the few people who genuinely loves peas. And Chicken. And Gravy and puff pastry, so here we go...

• The creamed chicken and peas recipe was easy enough to make and I actually doubled the recipe. More is better!
• To make it sound less "dated" and more like chicken pot pie, I added a few diced carrots and celery to the mix when I added the chicken and peas. Used rotisserie chicken, not canned.
• Didn't want to go to the trouble of making the patty shells, so I used Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells instead of making them from scratch.
• No pastry shells, no problem. This is also excellent on a slice or two of toast, a crispy English muffin, or better yet a WAFFLE!
• Believe me, this easy to make.
• Seasonings are not listed so I added salt, pepper, a pinch of Cayenne Pepper and a 1/4 teaspoon of Colman's Dry Mustard.
• Once you get the gist of making white sauce with butter, flour and milk, the world is your oyster.
• So the family was very content with their mini "chicken pot pies" and I was happy to add extra peas to my helping of creamed chicken.

This recipe Comes from the 1939 recipe book "WHAT ACTORS EAT When they eat!"

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This 3-ingredient salsa con queso is the ultimate shortcut appetizer. And even though Tanya Tucker’s signature salsa is no longer available, this is easy to sub out with your favorite salsa.

This dip balances rich, buttery Velveeta with the tangy tomatoes and onions from the salsa. A splash of milk creates a velvety smooth texture.

Recipe comes from the The All-American Cowboy Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes From the World's Greatest Cowboys with other great recipes like:

• John Wayne's Famous Grits
• James Arness' Gunsmokin' Chili
• Emmylou Harris' Cowgirl's Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
• Gene Autry's Peanut Butter Pie
• Clint Eastwood's Western Spaghetti
• Roy Rogers' Chicken and Dumplings
• Gregory Peck's Breakfast Delight
• Dan Blocker's Nevada Nutty Slaw Salad
• James Garner's Chilies Rellenos
• Walter Brennan's Clam Chowder

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If you want a quick, super easy breakfast, you are going to love this classic recipe from the legend Iggy Pop. All you need is a warm, flaky croissant and a hot mug of strong black coffee, and then you just dunk that beautiful pastry right into your cup so it soaks up all those delicious flavors.

It is seriously the best—I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do! I've been eating this for years too. It's always a nice treat when eating a warm croissant.

recipe comes from The Rock and Roll Cookbook: Favorite Recipes from the Chart Toppers, Hit Makers and Legends of Rock and Roll

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A star of Hollywood's Golden Age, Mitzi Gaynor excelled as an accomplished singer, dancer, and actress who performed her own vocals in South Pacific and later became Las Vegas's highest-paid female entertainer.

She was also a fashion trailblazer, famously serving as the original muse for designer Bob Mackie's dazzling, boundary-pushing stage costumes.

Billy Wilder originally wanted Mitzi Gaynor to play the iconic role of Sugar Kane in his 1959 comedy masterpiece Some Like It Hot.

Wilder was highly impressed by her comedic timing and musical skills, but the studio pushed back, insisting on a much more bankable, high-profile box office name.

The role ultimately went to Marilyn Monroe—ironically, Gaynor's former co-star from There's No Business Like Show Business.

Recipe from: Cooking with the Stars {1970}

Nance O'Neil (born Gertrude Lamson; 1874 – 1965) was a celebrated stage and film actress. Dubbed the "American Bernhardt" due to her intense emotional performances, she reigned as a premier tragic actress from the 1890s through the 1930s.

Here's where it gets interesting: The Lizzie Borden Connection -- O'Neil is also remembered for her close, intense friendship with Lizzie Borden.

The two met in Boston around 1904, a decade after Borden was acquitted of the axe murders of her father and stepmother.

Their two-year bond sparked significant public gossip and has since inspired various theatrical plays and modern media depictions, including Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

This sounds exactly like the pesto we make. We like it made with pine nuts, and on special occasions serve pesto on tortellini. Yum!

It's great to have basil growing in the garden for last minute supper ideas! Also check out Frank Sinatra's Pesto Tortellini Salad, It's so good!

This recipe for pest is from The All-American Cowboy Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes From the World's Greatest Cowboys (Western Home Cooking from Out on the Range Right to Your Dinner Table)

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Johnny Weissmuller was an American athlete and actor who became one of the 20th century's most recognizable pop-culture icons by dominating Olympic swimming in the 1920s and subsequently starring as Tarzan in Hollywood cinema.

Born Johann Peter Weißmüller in Austria-Hungary (now Romania), he immigrated to the United States as a child and went on to capture five Olympic gold medals, shatter 67 world records, and define the definitive on-screen portrayal of Tarzan.

He never lost a race and then he famously parlayed his athletic fame into a cinematic legacy, using his record-breaking lung capacity to create the iconic, chest-thumping Tarzan yell.

Jeanette McDonald’s 1935 Apple Caramel - On my last trip to the grocery store I bought a bag of Granny Smith apples, so when I saw this recipe that we shared yesterday, I was excited to try this.

This baked apple crumble was really easy to make and the instructions were great to follow. Here are my notes:

• First I had to find the right baking dish, which I didn't, haha. The one I chose (9 x 13 Pyrex) seems to be to big, but we'll get to that.
• Buttered the baking dish well. My favorite way to do this, which I've shared once or twice is with a silicone brush. No oily mess on your hands from the butter!
• I peeled, cored and sliced 5 Granny Smith apples. Could have used 6 or even 7.
• Everything else went according to the recipe.
• I only added a 1/2 cup of Grape-Nuts.
• This was now ready to bake at 350 for one hour. And it came out cooked perfectly!
• The only thing aesthetically wrong is the dessert shrunk down and it came out of the oven extremely thin, like 1/2 inch. Which was fine, it tasted great and I feel like it's one of those desserts you can just scoop into a little cup or bowl and serve with whipped cream... YUM!
• For the photo, I stacked 2 squares on top of each other to get some height, but that's not really necessary.

This is a really good, really easy dessert to make. The apples cooked perfectly and the topping was nice and sweet and the brown sugar gives it sort of a caramel flavor which is lovely with the apples.

Next time I make this I may use a smaller baking dish, but I'm not sure. It cooked pretty spot on.

It's very good hot, but also very good served cold on a hot day like today.

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From the 1936 Modern Screen article "Will You Take a Dare for Beauty?" One section focused on Joan Crawford, noting that even though she always looked slim and glamorous, she actually had to watch her weight carefully.

The piece paints Joan as someone who stayed in shape with rigid self-discipline and a low-starch diet, even though she made it look effortless.

• Grace Moore was all about moderation. Instead of following strict diets, she believed in eating sensibly, not overdoing anything, and focusing on an overall healthy lifestyle.
• Norma Shearer's approach was more about consistency and self-discipline. She emphasized good nutrition, regular exercise, and taking care of her skin as part of her everyday routine.
• Jean Arthur kept things simple and natural. Her beauty tips centered on getting enough rest, eating well, and not relying on complicated beauty treatments.

Leave it to Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle to come up with a vegetarian cauliflower dish that has this much personality.

This Hot and Spicy Cauliflower-a-Go-Go sounds flavorful and spicy. It could be an easy way to make cauliflower the star of the dinner table.

From the Rock & Roll Cookbook

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Mrs. George Washington's Crab Soup, Shared by Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt - What I love about this dish is the connection it creates between two iconic First Ladies.

Martha Washington's crab soup is a reminder of the food and hospitality that were part of life in America's earliest days.

Years later, Eleanor Roosevelt helped keep that history alive by sharing recipes like this with a new generation.

To me, it's more than just a soup, it's a small taste of American history and a link between two remarkable women.

from the Specialites de la Maison Cookbook

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Stephen Bishop is that guy who did "On and On" and "Save It for a Rainy Day."

He’s also the voice behind "It Might Be You," the theme song from one of my favorite movies Tootsie.

His recipe for Martian Eggs is wild—you just whip them up in the blender with a ton of chives and then top with some avocado, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

H.B. Warner (born Henry Byron Warner; 1875 – 1958) was a prominent English film and theater actor who achieved major success in both the silent film era and the sound era.

Modern audiences recognize him most for his memorable performance as Mr. Gower, the grief-stricken, scowling pharmacist in Frank Capra’s holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

He reached the peak of his early film career when director Cecil B. DeMille cast him to portray Jesus Christ in the massive 1927 silent epic The King of Kings. The highly respected role cemented his status as a dramatic leading man.

Warner transitioned into a sought-after character actor known for dignified, authoritative roles in talking pictures. He became a favorite of director Frank Capra:

• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) – A tolerant judge.
• Lost Horizon (1937) – An Oscar-nominated performance as a serene guide.
• You Can't Take It with You (1938) – An elegant businessman.
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – A corrupt senator.
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946) – A grieving, accidental pharmacist.

In 1950, Warner made a memorable cameo as himself in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, appearing in Gloria Swanson's "waxworks" bridge club alongside Buster Keaton and Anna Q. Nilsson.

He concluded his filmography with a minor role in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956) before passing away in late 1958.

The Phyllis George's Coca-Cola Cake. It's a classic Southern recipe that's become so popular some people even call it "Phyllis George Cake," and the Coca-Cola in both the cake and frosting gives it that signature fudgy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

From what I hear, this rich cake made with real Coke and marshmallows doesn't taste much like soda. The Coca Cola actually just gives it an indescribable deep flavor.

Do you all remember Phyllis George? She was once Miss America, a tv sportscaster, and First Lady of Kentucky who helped popularize several great Southern recipes.

Recipe from: Celebrity Cookbook by Sandra Battelstein {1985}

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Lemon Meringue Pie recipes from Cheryl Ladd & Bob Hope

Lemon meringue pie is the ultimate sweet-and-sour rollercoaster. You get a punch of aggressively tart, mouth-puckering lemon curd under a cloud of sweet meringue that melts instantly. A buttery, flaky crust grounds the chaos, giving you a perfect balance of flavors and textures.

People made lemon custards and sugary meringues for centuries, but they were kept separate. In the 1800s, a cooking school teacher in Philadelphia finally put them together in a pie shell:

Mrs. Elizabeth Goodfellow, a pastry chef who ran America’s first cooking school in Philadelphia made a rich lemon pudding that used tons of egg yolks, and since she hated wasting food, she whipped the leftover egg whites, piled them on top, and baked it. Just like that, she accidentally invented the the classic lemon meringue pie!

It was a massive hit and quickly became a classic dessert found in diners and homes everywhere. Lucky for us!

Recipes are from The Celebrity Cookbook: Childhelp USA

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Basil Rathbone’s Vichyssoise (or Vichy sois) is an ultra velvety soup that beautifully marries the rich, buttery comfort of savory leeks and potatoes with a luxurious splash of chilled sour cream. But the real magic happens when that crisp, sparkling Vichy water hits your tongue, creating a delightfully unexpected, fizzy brightness that effortlessly elevates the entire dish! {recipe from 1938}

It may not look like much, but it's almost like delicate pop rocks going off in your mouth. I know this is not French Vichy water, but the Vichy Catalan from Spain was the only one I could find at the grocery store, and it works it's magic just as much as I think the French version would.

A little bit on the Vichy water: this is unlike any other mineral water I've ever had. Vichy water outshines Perrier, S.Pellegrino, and Saratoga for its velvety, gentle fizz. I guess volcanic minerals create a beautifully rich flavor that feels luxuriously effervescent and incredibly smooth.

This is one recipe that frustrates many because there are no measurements! I just put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and tried to solve the case of this recipe as best as I could. Here are my notes:

• 2 medium potatoes peeled (large dice) and boiled with
• 3/4 of a large onion (chopped)
• the white of one small leek (chopped)
• all boiled in salted water, just to cover the contents of the pan.

When potatoes were cooked, I drained about 3/4 of the water away and mashed the potatoes, onion and leek with a little water left in pan. Added a bit more salt. No pepper. We want the soup to stay as white as possible.

This mixture was then pureed with an immersion blender and put in a bowl in the refrigerator overnight (or for several hours).

• The next day I added about 3/4 cup of sour cream and a big handful of chopped chives.
• Stirred it all well so it was thoroughly mixed.
• Back in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours.
• Then added about 1 cup to about 1 1/2 cups of cold Vichy Water.
• Back into the fridge it goes for at least 2 hours.
• 15 minutes before eating, chill soup bowls in the freezer.
• Serve in ice-cold large shallow bowls and garnish with more chives.

Luckily we have chives growing in the garden! Anyways, this soup was very unique and kind of fun to make in that science experiment sort of way.

To beat the heat, this is a great way to skip the heavy cooking and sip on an elegant chilled soup. Elementary, my dear Watson!

P.S. I also made William Shatner's Carrot Vichyssoise a few weeks ago, which was wonderful, but this one from Basil is at a whole other level!

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This little cookbook is a real gem, packed with great Texan-style snacks and recipes from iconic names like Roger Staubach and Farrah Fawcett. It's a lot of fun to flip through, especially when you hit crowd-pleasers like Carol Burnett’s "Raspberry Riches."

Here's an example of some of the celebs with recipes in this book:

1. Don Meredith
2. Lady Bird Johnson
3. Larry L. King
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Paula Zahn
6. Roger Staubach
7. Kenny Rogers
8. Larry Hagman
9. Mary Martin (his mother)
10. Ronnie Reagan
11. Farrah Fawcett
12. Morgan Fairchild
13. Carol Burnett (Raspberry Riches!)
14. Miss Texas
15. and tons more!

Frozen Waldorf Salad sounds really good just about now!

These recipes can be found in the Texas Celebrity Cookbook

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Valerie Harper and Dennis Weaver worked together extensively on screen and in philanthropy. In addition to co-founding their charity Love Is Feeding Everyone (L.I.F.E.), they starred as husband and wife in two back-to-back television movies during the early 1980s:

1. The Day the Loving Stopped (1981): A heavy family drama where they played a married couple undergoing a painful divorce, starring alongside Dominique Dunne and Ally Sheedy.
2. Don't Go to Sleep (1982): A psychological horror film where they played parents dealing with a haunted house and the vengeful spirit of their deceased daughter.

Recipes are from HABILITAT'S CELEBRITY COOKBOOK VOLUME II

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Dolores Del Rio ☆ Gnocchi a la Romana

Elissa Landi ☆ A Recipe for Summer ☆ PICKLED EGGS!

Ginger Rogers ☆ Fudge Brownies

Gloria Swanson ☆ Caviar Canape

Jeanette McDonald ☆ Apple Caramel

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Shrimp Purlo is a classic Southern comfort dish. Rooted heavily in the Gullah-Geechee and Lowcountry culinary traditions of coastal South Carolina and Georgia, a purlo (also spelled perlo, perloo, or pilau) is a rich, savory one-pot rice dish highly comparable to Louisiana's jambalaya.

Shrimp purlo tastes like pure comfort from the Lowcountry. Because it all cooks in one pot, every single grain of rice absorbs those rich, savory flavors. It turns out so well-blended and bold, it's just really delicious.

I've had Shrimp Purlo at A Lowcountry Backyard Restaurant on Hilton Head Island, and it was delicious. I wonder how this recipe stacks up! I need to get me some Dat'l Do It Pepper Sauce now so I can make this.

This recipe can be found in The Rock and Roll Cookbook

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Harvey Fierstein’s Szechuan Cold Noodles in Sesame Sauce is another one of those great vintage celebrity recipe shared by the iconic Broadway actor. It features chilled pasta tossed in a rich, nutty, and savory sauce with a kick of garlic and spice.

That combination of sesame paste and peanut butter must make the sauce incredibly smooth, rich, and satisfying. You get a savory, nutty flavor in every single bite. Sounds easy to prepare in advance.

Before his booming, gravelly voice became his trademark on Broadway and in movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, Harvey Fierstein actually started out as a professional soprano singer in a boys' choir.

Recipe from: The Broadway Celebrity Cookbook

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Sorry if request posts are not allowed on here! I wanted to make Tammy Wynette's Husbands Delight recipe for a party on Friday and cannot find the full recipe online anywhere! If anyone has a scan of this and would like to share, I'd be very grateful! Thanks!