0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to the show that serves up famous lives on a plate.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Food is one of the most evocative ways to tell the story of one's life.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32What we once ate can tell us an awful lot about who we were.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37So what better reason to take another special guest on a culinary trip back in time?
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Now, today's very familiar face first found success
0:00:41 > 0:00:44in the massively successful soap opera Brookside.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48- What's happened?- My son's gone off his head, that's what's happened.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I was told you had a gun.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I didn't believe it until I saw it. Now get rid of it!
0:00:53 > 0:00:57She's appeared in countless movies and TV dramas,
0:00:57 > 0:01:01but again hit the big-time with the cult TV hit The Royle Family.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Well, tell him if he thinks more of his remote control
0:01:04 > 0:01:06than he does of his own family,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08he needn't bother coming back!
0:01:08 > 0:01:13More recently, she's tackled the role of a criminal psychologist in Waking The Dead.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16He kicked her after she died. He posed her.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20- He's angry.- It wasn't personal. They interviewed everybody she ever knew.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21He's angry about something else.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Yes, today's guest is the much-loved actress Sue Johnston.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Coming up in today's show,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Sue Johnston remembers her musical youth in The Cavern in Liverpool
0:01:31 > 0:01:33and eating lemon meringues.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37I could see no further than the music at The Cavern. ..Oooh!
0:01:39 > 0:01:41That was absolutely heaven.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47Actress and friend Maggie Steed takes Sue back to the 1970s with a mushroom risotto.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49I forgot to put my apron on.
0:01:49 > 0:01:55And Liverpool Football Club's Jamie Carragher issues us with a culinary challenge.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04- Sue Johnston, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.- Thank you for asking me.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08- Is it right, you were born in Liverpool?- I was born in Warrington,
0:02:08 > 0:02:13- but raised in Whiston, which is a woolly-back area.- "Woolly-back"?
0:02:13 > 0:02:19Yeah, that's what Scousers call you if you're about six miles out of the city centre. Woolly-back - sheep.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22What sort of little girl were you?
0:02:22 > 0:02:24I was quite bright until I was about 15.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Then things started to go a bit wrong.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31- You suddenly discover boys, and then I...- You got distracted.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Distracted. That's a better way of putting it!
0:02:33 > 0:02:35What were family meals like?
0:02:35 > 0:02:39Breakfast, my dad used to cook. There was always a chip pan.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41- It used to set, I remember...- Yeah.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45And then they'd use that for frying bacon and eggs.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50- How am I still alive?! Scouse was a great dish.- Tell me about scouse.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Scouse is like a... It's similar to a Lancashire stew,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56but it's scouse - a Liverpool dish.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Scouse comes from the Norwegian word "lobscouse", meaning meat stew.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Traditionally, it's made with beef, lamb or mutton.
0:03:06 > 0:03:12It's just sort of cheap cuts of lamb and potato, carrots, swede or turnip.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Throw in whatever root vegetables you can lay your hands on.
0:03:17 > 0:03:24When using cheap cuts of meat, add salt towards the end of cooking to stop the meat toughening.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32And then, if they hadn't got enough meat, they would fill it out with dumplings.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37And the wonderful gravy that came off it. To me, it's just the joy
0:03:37 > 0:03:42- of potatoes, the comfort...- Exactly. It's pure comfort food.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Give me dumplings and some gravy
0:03:44 > 0:03:47- or juice from a stew and I'm the happiest man alive.- Mmm.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Making dumplings is like making scones.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56They're a good substitute for bread, rice or potatoes.
0:03:56 > 0:04:01Too much liquid or flour, though, will give a heavy result. Leave some space around them,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05as they will expand.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Your stew should be trembling
0:04:07 > 0:04:11with occasional bubbles before putting in your dumplings.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Of mum's cooking,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17were there any things that were absolute favourites?
0:04:17 > 0:04:19I think her jam fritters.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20- Jam fritters?- Mmm.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24You have to remember, this is still just after the war.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28- They would use the stale bread and make a jam sandwich...- OK.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32And then batter it like a fish and fry it.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- Sort of like eggy bread, but with jam in it.- Yeah.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37My sort of food, actually.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39It must have made an impact because I remember it so well.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Jam fritters are a product of the rationed post-war years.
0:04:43 > 0:04:49And proved to be a quick, cheap and convenient way to keep kids happy.
0:04:49 > 0:04:55This dish is no more or less than the sum of its sticky parts.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00Though you could try replacing the jam with chocolate spread, or bananas, or both.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Looks fantastic.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13- Would you like some of that? - Yes, please. Just the one dumpling!
0:05:14 > 0:05:17- Was this the sort of thing that mum would make?- Yes, regularly.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19On a pretty regular basis.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23- Mm.- Good, isn't it?
0:05:23 > 0:05:27Did I read that you described your relationship with your mum
0:05:27 > 0:05:28as a battling relationship?
0:05:28 > 0:05:30There was always a brittleness
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and I think that was because my mum didn't feel,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35she didn't know how to slot into my world.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38She used to say, "I wish you had married someone around the corner
0:05:38 > 0:05:41"and just had your kids", like my cousin did. Locally.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Lived locally and had grandchildren.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I grew up with the impression I wasn't good enough.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Once I grew up and went away we argued and fought,
0:05:49 > 0:05:50she didn't like how I dressed.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I came home as a student in faded jeans
0:05:53 > 0:05:55when they just came in with ripped holes in.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58She was horrified. Horrified.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01It was sort of her despair -
0:06:01 > 0:06:04"You've never looked decent since I stopped dressing you".
0:06:04 > 0:06:07That was her mantra until the day she died.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12She said, the day before she died, she said, "Have you come like that?"
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- Sue, would you like a jam fritter? - Well, if I must.
0:06:20 > 0:06:21Mmm. Mm!
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- It is delicious.- It is gorgeous.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32So, Sue, tell me, were you, sort of, the rebellious teenager?
0:06:32 > 0:06:34I did stay on until the 6th form
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and then I left because I got into the Beatles,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39were happening at The Cavern.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It was sort of the end of my education.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49I could see no further than the music at The Cavern.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52My mother used to say I stank of The Cavern. I did, it was very smelly.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Sweat off the walls. There was no alcohol.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- Oh, really?- Yeah, yeah, cups of tea and Cilla behind the cloakroom.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Food, I cannot remember.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05I can't remember what I ate as a teenager, to be honest.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09I can remember, actually, because I worked in the tax office.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- You were a tax inspector? - I was a tax officer, higher grade.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15I used to go to Blacklers Department Store
0:07:15 > 0:07:17and have just lemon meringue pie.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20But that's all I would have for my lunch.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23When making the pastry base, chill your butter in the fridge.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Shortcrust is the basic pastry used in European kitchens
0:07:27 > 0:07:31and is made by simply rubbing your fingertips together.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33If you don't have pastry beans
0:07:33 > 0:07:36use lentils to bake the base blind without its filling.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38This stops it from bubbling up.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40It was so delicious, the base,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46and then you had this wonderful lemony solid consistency.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49And my mum used to make it and my gran used to make it,
0:07:49 > 0:07:50my aunties used to make it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53When I left home, I used to buy it in packets.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55- That's right, you used to... - You could get...
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- I think that was my first introduction to it.- Was it?
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It's the sharpness of the lemon filling
0:08:01 > 0:08:04that contrasts beautifully with the very sweet meringue.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The texture of this mixture is key.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11It mustn't be too stiff, nor too runny.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12You could spot a really good one.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15You could judge a restaurant by its lemon meringue pie.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17It would have that zest in the lemon.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19When making the meringue,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23ensure both the bowl and the whisk are absolutely spotless.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I had to steal the recipe from my stepmother because she wouldn't give it to me.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29So I used to walk through the kitchen when I knew she was making it
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and count how many eggshells were in the bin
0:08:32 > 0:08:34and see how much butter was missing from the packet,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and slowly put the whole thing together.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39But I've never got it as good as she did.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Life must have been quite fun at that time.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44It was funny because I did have a boyfriend who was in a band.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48- The Swinging Blue Jeans. - I know the Swinging Blue Jeans. - Hippie Hippie Shake!
0:08:48 > 0:08:52His mum used to cook using tinned salmon.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54OK, a no-frills dish this one.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59But I find tinned salmon is a great ingredient when making fish cakes.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03It made me feel quite ill when I knew what she was doing.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08Hot tinned salmon and she made it with mashed potatoes
0:09:08 > 0:09:12and covered it in parsley sauce.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I adored it.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16I'd rather have the tinned.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Somebody's sniggering in the background.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Nobody's sniggering.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23- I like it. - Do you know what, I don't care.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27To me, it goes with memories of those, sort of, Sunday teas
0:09:27 > 0:09:29where there was always a cake.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31And there's a big thing about whether it was...
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- Pink or red.- Pink or red, exactly.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36But if you fancy the real McCoy,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38a simply dressed salmon is easy to prepare.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41I must say, I've got a lovely fishmonger by me.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47And sometimes just seeing these beautiful whole salmon on his slab.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50And it is a joy. You can see why it's called the king of fish.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Once you've selected your herbs
0:09:52 > 0:09:54and wrapped him up with a drizzle of wine,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56pop him in the oven.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00To test if the whole salmon is cooked, press behind the head.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Springy means it's uncooked, flaky means it's ready.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08It's just exactly as it was served up.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11You just get this wonderful, wonderful taste.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14- Peas go in as well?- Everything. - It's yummy.- Mm.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Really, you had quite a steady job at that point, didn't you?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20That's when I was in the tax office.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24The sort of thing mum and dad would actually have been quite happy with?
0:10:24 > 0:10:25They loved it, yeah.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29I gave up that to go and work for Brian Epstein.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32I'd never done anything to upset them before or go against them.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37This was, you know, I wanted to be part of this music scene...
0:10:37 > 0:10:39He was the manager of the Beatles.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Didn't he manage Gerry and the Pacemakers as well?
0:10:42 > 0:10:44And The Searchers, The Big Three.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47We used to - it's giving trade secrets away -
0:10:47 > 0:10:50but the list for autographs was so enormous
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and they were aware they couldn't possibly do them,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55so we had them on a roller and would just go...
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Photograph, sit there all day rollering out their autographs.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00I'll probably get sued now.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Well you can't, because it's the truth.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It must have been a very, very different world
0:11:05 > 0:11:09from the safe background that mum and dad had.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And those dirty Beatles, my mother said.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14They went away and Paul had actually been to our house.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18And by mother said, "Has that dirty Beatle been in my house?"
0:11:18 > 0:11:22She thought they were the scruffiest thing she'd ever seen in her life.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24Ooh!
0:11:27 > 0:11:29That is absolutely heaven.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Still to come on A Taste Of My life,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Liverpool striker, Jamie Carragher, throws us into the kitchen
0:11:35 > 0:11:37to make a pasta dish.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Friend and actress, Margot Lester,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44makes a no-frills fishfinger dish for Sue.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48I am now going to pour... Oh, this is really awful.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Poor Sue not being here to eat this.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55And Sue Johnston recalls coping with fame when acting in Brookside.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Because I was in a soap, I then met other actors
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and I'd be like, "Oh, there's Betty Turpin!"
0:12:03 > 0:12:07And at 21 she set off for drama school in London.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11It was the heady Seventies and mum and dad weren't keen.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14My dad and my family, nobody in the theatre.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18I think my dad associated it with prostitution if you went to London.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Were these good times?
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Fantastic, yeah. Really so amazingly different.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26My life just spun round.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31I'm going to take you on a little trip down memory lane, if I may.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Oh, my gosh. OK.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Where's my...? Where's my, erm...?
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Where's my frying pan gone?
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Well, I'm going to make Sue
0:12:45 > 0:12:47a mushroom risotto.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's an easy thing to make.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54We used to have quite a lot of things like this back in the Seventies.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57And, um, we shared a flat.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Wait a minute. Look!
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I forgot to put my apron on.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10I mainly remember that we used to spend afternoons out in the back garden.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Which was a very big back garden.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16We just used to lie on the grass.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18The grass used to just get flattened
0:13:18 > 0:13:21as more and more people lay on it in the afternoons,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24and indeed the evenings, you know. And drinking retsina.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27And also we had very similar political ideas
0:13:27 > 0:13:29about the world and what's going on.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33It was during the three-day week
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and we used to have these meetings by candlelight.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41We got completely taken up in this and very very afraid of it, really.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43It was a very strange time.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47These are dried mushrooms that I have put in hot water.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I don't know if she'll want me to say all this,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55but then we started stockpiling in case of the revolution,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58in case of the end of the world. People really...
0:13:59 > 0:14:03She and her partner at the time stockpiled...
0:14:03 > 0:14:07They had a room full of tinned food.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11That word 'supportive' is so overused now you just want to go...
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It really, really is.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17In terribly, kind of, funny and ridiculous ways, you know.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19We laugh and laugh and laugh. It's true.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Coriander and some mint.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27And then your pour yourself a nice glass of white wine.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Great adventures this year, great adventures, great changes.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33And all my love.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- So, you're not stockpiling food in the back room?- No.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40It was mostly dog food that we stockpiled as we had two dogs.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Oh, my God!
0:14:42 > 0:14:45This is Maggie's risotto.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Maggie!
0:14:49 > 0:14:50Mm! Thank you, Maggie.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Maggie, thank you, dear Maggie.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Having been a jobbing actor for twenty years,
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Sue was finally discovered appearing
0:14:59 > 0:15:01in a couple of episodes of Coronation Street.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05She broke through to a wider audience as Sheila in Brookside.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08So, I went from obscurity,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10of 20 years working as an actor,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13into suddenly being known on the street.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17And I can remember Amanda Burton and I when we started at Brookside
0:15:17 > 0:15:19and it hadn't gone out and we kept thinking,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21"Do you think we'll be that famous
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"we won't be able to go in changing rooms any more?"
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Of course it does become impossible to go into a changing room
0:15:27 > 0:15:29unless you want to be talked about.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32"Look at the cellulite on that!" and all that.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Come on, let's get going before we change our minds.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- All right.- See ya, love.- Ta ra.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41- See you, She.- Bye, love.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Some people still call me Sheila.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46But kids who could never have watched it call me Sheila.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50I go to the match and I think they think that was my name.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51And I went off to be an actor.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54When they say, "Hey, Sheila, loved you in that Royle Family"
0:15:54 > 0:15:56that they think that I am Shiela.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Because I was in a soap I then met other actors
0:15:59 > 0:16:02at dos, and charity dos, and I've been like,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06"Oh, God, there's Betty Turpin!"
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Did you find that your tastes changed at all?
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I remember being taken to The Ivy for the first time. You know, The Ivy!
0:16:11 > 0:16:14And this friend of mine could get us a table.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18This restaurant which sort of - "I'm a success, I'm in The Ivy"...
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- Right table.- And I order shepherd's pie!
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- What's that about? - I think it's enormous fun.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26I also think it's quite reassuring as well.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Shepherd's pie is made with lamb,
0:16:29 > 0:16:33whilst cottage pie is made with beef.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38Traditionally leftover meat is used, but I'm using high grade lamb mince.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40For a healthier option,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44reduce the amount of meat and pile in carrots, or mushrooms.
0:16:44 > 0:16:51And to fancify this dish, throw in some red wine and Worcester sauce.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Every time I go, I have it. It's pathetic.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56If you've been busy,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58if you've been sat in front of a camera all day,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00you want a plate of shepherd's pie.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02You don't want some posh nosh.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10The real trick is not to move the mince around too much
0:17:10 > 0:17:12when it first goes in the pan.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Let it brown for a better flavour.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Other ingredients that make this a rather special shepherd's pie
0:17:20 > 0:17:24include tomato puree, garlic and thyme.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31When making your mash topping,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34you can use olive oil rather than butter or milk,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37and a good accompaniment to shepherd's pie
0:17:37 > 0:17:42is peas, buttery cabbage, baked beans or mashed neeps.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52When that script came or even when the idea came of the Royle Family,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54I can imagine your agent phoning up and saying,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57"It's going to see people watching television,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59"watching people who are watching television,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01"who actually don't do anything."
0:18:01 > 0:18:04I thought it was all right but didn't quite get it.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08- It was a big step to do something that, one...- Extraordinary.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10..The audience weren't told when to laugh,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12and also the silences.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- I know.- There had never been a programme on television
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- where there had been these great gaps.- No.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Oh, thanks, Cheryl.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23It's a messy job, isn't it?
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Ooh, have you washed your hands, love?
0:18:27 > 0:18:31No, you're all right, sit down. You're amongst friends.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34What a load of nothing... But it just worked brilliantly.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36When you were filming Jam and Jerusalem,
0:18:36 > 0:18:38your mum died, didn't she?
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Yes, just before.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42How difficult was that?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44I used to think, "When my mother dies, I'll be in therapy,"
0:18:44 > 0:18:46through guilt and everything else,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50but because of the last couple of years, I haven't got the guilt.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I don't have it. I feel sad that we didn't have...
0:18:53 > 0:18:57I think some people have these wonderful friendships with their mothers, but it wasn't to be.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We were never going to have that.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06What sort of friend is Sue Johnston?
0:19:06 > 0:19:11I've got lots of friends that have left me messages and messages.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16Every one of them is a conversation, and there's no time, so who am I going to ring first?
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I like it best when I can go home and cook and ask everyone over.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21Such great hangovers!
0:19:21 > 0:19:28Well, I have actually managed to track down one of your special friends. Got a message for you.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29Oh, my goodness!
0:19:35 > 0:19:40Sparkling white wine, sparkling white wine. Yes, sparkling Chardonnay.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Thick-sliced or thin?
0:19:42 > 0:19:47- My favourite words are takeaway or room service, this is a big, big, effort.- I don't believe it!
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Cod fillet.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Organic British salted-butter.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Sparkling white wine.
0:19:58 > 0:20:04Had to be two so we can have the all-important debate - "Oh, no, I only want one glass.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07"You have one if you want one."
0:20:07 > 0:20:11I think what I will do now, despite the fact that I don't even
0:20:11 > 0:20:16have a grill pan is put fishfingers under the grill bit of the stove.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22I think it was in her Brookside phase, and it was a comfort dish, fishfinger sandwiches.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Oh, God!
0:20:25 > 0:20:31So the butter's liquified. What is interesting about Sue is that she isn't a confident, pushy person.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Like lots of great actors, they aren't, they are often quite shy.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38I'm now going to pour...
0:20:38 > 0:20:41This is really awful.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Poor Sue, not being here to eat this. That'll sop up the butter.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50She's also been there for me at crucial times in my life,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54really been there as a force to be relied on.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Just really the dearest friend ever.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01- As you can see, it's proper fish. - Love her.
0:21:01 > 0:21:07This is the healthy bit. OK? We're going to squirt it all with lemon.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's done with total love.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Because she is the dearest person in the world and I would happily
0:21:15 > 0:21:18cook her fishfinger sandwiches every day.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23This should have been opened a lot earlier, if it wasn't at the crack of dawn.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27What she's brilliant at is opening these things as well.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I've had a lot of practice!
0:21:29 > 0:21:33I'm really missing her at the moment. She's so good at this.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Can't believe it, it's going to work.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41- Here's to you!- Thank you, darling.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Fishfinger sandwiches.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49- Cheers.- Thank you so much. - Your lovely friend.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51It's all lies!
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Thank you, Margot. It's quite oozy.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Yes, with this lovely oozy...
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- Are you up for a challenge? - Yeah. I think so.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Well, watch very closely, because blink and you might miss it.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14Hi, Sue. We know you're a massive Liverpool supporter.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18After the game we like some pasta, so if you could make that for us.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Oh!
0:22:23 > 0:22:26I've gone to pieces.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Gone trembly throughout!
0:22:32 > 0:22:37So, your little challenge from Jamie Carragher -
0:22:37 > 0:22:43chicken cooked with a little bit of white wine or vermouth, then whatever herb you've got around.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45And...
0:22:46 > 0:22:52- You do love your football, don't you?- I'm a bit of a child about it.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57- Have you been to the Emirates stadium? - It's magnificent. I went there.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02I can stand in my shower in the mornings
0:23:02 > 0:23:06and I can see the top of the stadium and when they were working on it,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and all the cranes were up there, sort of waving at them.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13You want some pasta, so I've got lots of salt.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15In fact it should almost taste like seawater.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29- Do you have good food when you go to matches?- Fantastic - when I was a young girl, with my dad.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35We'd have pies and chips on the way home, but now, I put my money
0:23:35 > 0:23:40to good use - I have a season ticket, and it is such a treat.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42It's my old-age treat for myself.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51He can have some wine, can't he?
0:23:51 > 0:23:55- Course he can.- You wanted to squeeze some lemon juice in there.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01I'm putting dill in, because...
0:24:01 > 0:24:03I think it just smells so fabulous.
0:24:06 > 0:24:13And what you can do if you're in a hurry is use chicken that isn't on the bone.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15The whole thing cooks much quicker.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Cut into small pieces.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28- Very pretty.- It's beautiful.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44- The smell is fantastic. I couldn't wait...- No, exactly.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Jamie Carragher's pasta. Ta-da!
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Jamie Carragher's pasta!
0:24:56 > 0:24:57Mmmm!
0:24:57 > 0:24:59It's so lovely.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Time for Sue Johnston's final feast.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08- Sue Johnston, your final feast. - I'm so greedy, I can't bear it.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12There's quite a lot of food here. So you'd start with...
0:25:12 > 0:25:17This is one of my Italian things that I've picked up from Italy,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Parma ham and melon.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I first had a risotto that I really loved in Assisi.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25And it had truffle in it.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29And I mean, the taste is just amazing.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33A good risotto depends on a number of key elements.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Use a short grain rice like Arborio.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40The creaminess of the risotto comes from the starch of the rice.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Add ladles of stock whilst constantly stirring.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50This dish is all about absorption and not being in a hurry.
0:25:52 > 0:25:58Arborio should not be rinsed before cooking as you will wash away some of the essential starch.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02That is a beautiful rib of beef.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07Look at those. I could live on roast potatoes, cabbage and gravy,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11if I came down to what I had to remove from this table...
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- At a crunch, that's what I'd come down to.- Green pea soup?
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Like me mother used to make.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Pea soup is lovely hot or cold.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27Traditionally you would add ham to make this.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31And in northern England mushy peas are preferred to frozen ones.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36Or you could do as the Dutch do, by making a pea and pig trotter soup.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43This is a meal in itself.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47And it is so moreish and full of flavour.
0:26:47 > 0:26:53You have done so many things, you have done stage work and lots of TV.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- Is there anything you'd like to have a go at?- A big movie.
0:26:57 > 0:27:05I would love the experience of working with those huge stars, the size of the trailers.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- You just want a big trailer. - I just want a bigger trailer!
0:27:08 > 0:27:11You said you'd have liked a bigger family.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Yes, those things sweep by you.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I'd have loved a lot of children but it didn't fall out that way.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21But I've got the most fantastic son. Some people don't get that.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24You look back and think, "Why did I cry so much?
0:27:24 > 0:27:29"Why was I so heartbroken?" If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be doing this.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30As well as your final feast...
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- Rather large feast. - Yes, rather large feast.
0:27:33 > 0:27:38Go on...go on. Carry on! Hurry up!
0:27:38 > 0:27:42You've got a wish. Is there anything that you would wish for?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45That my son would hurry up and have a grandchild.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47So I can go through that experience!
0:27:47 > 0:27:52- You want to be a granny. You like living on your own.- I love it.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56- You wouldn't want to change that? - Not for anything less than I have now.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00If you could emulate the love that you feel when you're in love,
0:28:00 > 0:28:04when you're young, or middle-aged - I felt it, once...
0:28:04 > 0:28:09If it could be like that and you wanted to be with someone,
0:28:09 > 0:28:14and lived a life you wanted to share, that would be fantastic.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18But I'm pretty realistic - it's not going to happen.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20But it doesn't matter.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Sue Johnston, thank you so much for being a guest on Taste of My Life.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28A very greedy Taste Of My Life.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Thank you so much, I've loved it.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- Are we finishing this off now?- Hmmm.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Pass us the beef then!
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd