Christopher Bundy -- Died On Sunday

Murder, She Wrote - S2:E19

A couple of words from the continuity announcer before the next episode.

Firstly, if you are in the UK and a Strictly Come Dancing fan you would have seen Angela Rippon channelling Jessica on Saturday night.

She and her dance partner did a Charleston to the Murder She Wrote theme. What joy! Here it is for those outside these shores and anyone who missed it.

Secondly, I’m doing an in-person Murder, She Wrote event in Birmingham in the penthouse suite of the Rotunda on Sunday 3rd December. There will be slices of Angela Lansbury’s date and walnut cake and lots of chat about the show. A copy of the Murder, She Cooked book is included in the ticket price - here’s a link to more information.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who has signed up to test a recipe for Volume 2. It’s not too late to grab a recipe, those that need a second pair of eyes are listed here…

If you volunteered, you should have received your recipe - except SONJA who volunteered for Pumpkin Bread, JEN who volunteered for the Baked Salmon and AMY who volunteered for Greek Salad and Albongidas Soup - please get in touch so I have your email addresses - I can’t work out how to do it via Substack!

PYWACKET - my emails to you keep bouncing back - do you have an alternative email?

If I have missed you somehow, please do email me in reply to this email or via the Contact page on the Silver Screen Suppers website.

Here’s where I have got to with the fish jumper - I’m really enjoying knitting with this lovely thick wool and now I am working on my first fishy, it’s getting exciting.

If you are knitting along, send me pix! Not too late to join in, all the info and a link to the pattern can be found by clicking on this link.

Right, back to the regular programme, tonight on Murder, She Wrote…

Jessica’s nephew Grady has had a checkered career. He’s an accountant and gets himself involved in all kinds of shenanigans amongst the balance sheets

This time around, he’s working for a publishing house with a very dubious reputation. After a buy-out, a short story that J.B. has written for a reputable magazine is now destined for another less salubrious one. She says to Grady, slightly incredulous at the prospect, “My first short story in a girlie magazine?!”

Jessica visits her new publisher, and when offered a drink at a country pile that has the feel of the Playboy Mansion,

she asks, “Do you have any ginger ale?” A previously wayward young woman, now on the wagon, says, “Enough to take a bath in!” So why not have gallons of ginger ale on hand to enjoy with this one?

Finding himself in a sticky situation, the Robert Stack character asks J.B. the rhetorical question, “What would Hemingway do?” which I love.

Of course, like most fans of Murder, She Wrote, whenever I am in a quandary, I ask myself a similar question. “What would Jessica Fletcher do?”

I love Robert’s very first line in this show, delivered in magnificent style, “You bastard!” Swearing in Murder, She Wrote? Oh my!

Robert Stack's Duck a L'Orange

Wild ducks*

3 cups brown gravy

½ cup currant jelly

4 tablespoons sugar

1 bay leaf

1 black pepper, whole

Juice of 2 oranges

1 orange rind, coarsely grated

½ rind of 1 lemon, coarsely grated

Rice and mushrooms to serve

After roasting the ducks, make a brown gravy from the drippings in the pan. Melt the currant jelly and sugar in a saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for ten minutes. Bring to a boil, then strain.

Serve the ducks with the sauce and a wild rice ring filled with mushrooms.

Serves 2-4

* Robert’s recipe specified wild ducks; these are generally smaller than domestic ducks, so will serve fewer people. If you are using more than one duck, you might want to increase the amount of sauce.

Do let me know if you try Robert’s duck!

Next time on Murder, She Cooked a recipe from the kitchen of Van Johnson.

If you have nabbed yourself a copy of the Murder, She Cooked book

and you are enjoying it

a positive review on Amazon means the world to us self-published writers. I’ll love you forever!

Here come all the linky-links!

My books are available worldwide via Amazon, and all except Cooking With Joan Crawford can also be ordered via your local bookshop. Here’s a link to my UK author page

switch to your own country for the correct prices if you are based elsewhere.

Monthly movie star menus and video demos of star-spangled dishes can be found here.

18 years of posts about movie star recipes can be found here

My friend Tim’s live Murder, She Wrote shows are an absolute HOOT. Why not spend an evening with lots of other Fangelas in real life?!

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Cheerio, for now, tune in for another fabulous episode next month.