Comfort Orzo

by Guest Edith Maxell/Tace Baker

Thanks for inviting me into the kitchen!

I'm thrilled that my debut mystery, Speaking of Murder, will be published by Barking Rain Press in September of this year.  The book is being published under my alter-ego's name, Tace Baker.

In it, the murder of a talented student at a small New England college thrusts linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau into the search for the killer. Lauren is a determined Quaker with an ear for accents. Her investigation exposes small town intrigues, academic blackmail and a clandestine drug cartel that now has its sights set on her.

Convinced that that the key to the crime lies hidden in her dead student's thesis, Lauren races to solve the mystery while an escalating trail of misfortune circles ever closer. Her department chair behaves suspiciously. A century-old local boat shop is torched. Lauren's best friend goes missing and the unsettled relationship with her boyfriend threatens to implode just when she needs him the most.

Lauren doesn't cook, but her sister Jackie does, as well as her boyfriend, Zac Agnant. The following is the end of a scene.

I closed and locked the door behind me. My legs tingled with fatigue and the aftermath of fear. Wulu ran to his dish, back to me, back to the dish, and looked up with expectation on his face.

"Just a minute, Wu. Just give me a minute." I leaned against the door. I sank to the floor, knees up in front of me, groaning when my bruised and swollen knee bent too far for comfort. Wulu ran back, gave a little bark, and then licked my hand. My world was exploding. My head was, too, and I sank it into my hands.

The phone rang. I wanted to reach for it. My ebbing adrenaline fought with being too exhausted to move. I needed to call Natalia, report the incident on the house boat, have her see if Thomas was all right. Coming up with the energy to do that seemed beyond me, though. I closed my eyes for just a second. Just a minute to let the throbbing in my knee ease up.

After Lauren wakes up injured and cold in the dark, she listens to the voicemail and finds Jackie offering to bring dinner over. When Lauren asks what's on the menu, Jackie responds, "Comfort food. Orzo with sun-dried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and spicy chicken sausage."

I thought I'd share that recipe with you here. Does this sound like comfort food to you? And what about a mystery that includes linguistics, Haitian cooking, video editing, a heroin-smuggling ring, and small-town life?

Speaking of Murder Comfort Orzo

1/2 box orzo
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil
1/2 c pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 c soaked and drained sun-dried (or dehydrated) tomatoes
1/2 c fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
Handful fresh basil, sliced
4 spicy chicken sausages, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1.      Boil pot of water.

2.      Add orzo and a pinch of salt.

3.      Stir until boiling, then turn heat down but keep boiling, until al dente.

4.      Add 1 T olive oil and garlic to large skillet over medium-low heat and saute until tender.

5.      Add sliced sausages to skillet and brown on both sides.

    6.      Drain orzo, toss with olive oil, and add to other ingredients in skillet.

    7.      Add olives, both kinds of tomatoes, and basil.

8.      Salt and pepper to taste.

9.      Warm together and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese., red wine, a green salad, and a dose of mystery.

Speaking of Murder, a mystery featuring Quaker Linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau, will be published under Edith Maxwell’s pen name of Tace Baker in September, 2012, by Barking Rain Press. You can find Tace at www.tacebaker.com, http://www.facebook.com/TaceBaker, and @tacebaker.

Edith Maxwell also writes the Local Foods Mystery series, featuring organic farmer Cam Flaherty and the Locavore Club. A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die will be published by Kensington in the spring of 2013. She has also had short stories in two Level Best anthologies and elsewhere. Edith blogs at www.edithmaxwell.com, posts at www.facebook.com/EdithMaxwellAuthor, and is at @edithmaxwell.

Lucy Burdette's Memorial Day Stuffed Mushrooms

Before I get into the food and party aspect of Memorial Day weekend, we should pause to think about what it really honors, right? The day was originally set aside to honor the men and women who died while at war defending our country. Here's a little poem that says it all:

We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.    Moina Michael, inspired by In Flanders Fields

This day makes me think of my father, who didn't perish at war, though he considered his service as an engineer in the army during WWII to be one of the most meaningful times of his life. (And he had a long one, dying this past January at the age of 89--and we miss him dearly.) Here he was (top right), getting ready with the 1057 Corps of Engineers to head into France, just before D-Day.

So, our heartfelt thanks to all those who lost their lives...or had them changed by the experience of war.

Okay so, the other reason we celebrate on Memorial Day is that it launches the summer season--hooray! Chances are you might be hosting a party. Or at least going to one...and you've probably politely offered to bring something, hoping of course that hostess will just as politely demur or suggest a bottle of wine. Instead she says, "How about an hors d'oeuvres?"

If you're like me, you can't think of one creamy dip with veggies that hasn't been done to death. Cheese and crackers? Deadly boring. But I do have a delicious and easy recipe for stuffed mushrooms that will make folks think you really put yourself out:).

Ingredients:

1 box white mushrooms (although no reason the brown baby bellas shouldn't work too)

1 package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/3 to 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Mix the cheeses and the garlic together until well combined. Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms, remove the stems, and set them aside for some other use. I know purists suggest brushing mushrooms, rather than washing, but I go ahead and clean them under running water and then pat them dry.

Stuff the cavities with the cheese mixture and bake at 400 until the mushrooms soften and the stuffing begins to brown. Serve warm. That's it!

Have a wonderful weekend!













Lucy Burdette is the author of AN APPETITE FOR MURDER, the first Key West food critic mystery. DEATH IN FOUR COURSES will be released on September 4.

Please "like" her on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter, and above all, enjoy her mysteries!

Fiddlehead Ferns

by Sheila Connolly

We seem to be on a vegetable streak here at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Whatever I was going to write about this week went flying out of my head when I spotted a package of fiddlehead ferns at my local market.

I bet a lot of you are now scratching your heads and saying, she's gone flipping crazy and is chewing on the foliage.  Not so, I assure you.

Fiddlehead ferns unfurl themselves in spring in New England, and they have an exceedingly short life (they keep unrolling until they become ferns, and then they aren't as edible unless you really are into foliage).  You have a window of about two weeks to find and enjoy them.

I first encountered them during an indulgent luncheon with my husband at the famed French restaurant Lutèce in New York, alas now closed (since 2004).  Then there was a long spell with no sightings, until they appeared as if by magic in our market one year and I seized upon them, and have kept my eye open for them ever since.

Since they are available for such a short time, there is a dearth of recipes available for them.  What is more peculiar is that among many of the online recipes, the authors drown their fiddleheads in overwhelming flavors, like horseradish or mustard.  Fiddleheads are shy and retiring little creatures, similar in flavor to asparagus, so what's the point?

A pound of fiddleheads, cleaned

The best solution is to prepare them simply.  First cut off any brown parts of the stem and remove any brown bits of leaf, then cook. There are a couple of options:

1.  Steaming:  In a steamer set over boiling water, steam a pound of fiddleheads for about five minutes, until they are just tender.  Drain off the water, add butter and salt, and enjoy, unadorned, as a side dish.

After steaming (don't overcook!)

2. Sauteing:  Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the fiddleheads, toss to coat with butter, then cover and cook gently until they are just tender. 

An alternative is to sauté finely chopped shallots in the butter first, then add the fern heads, or if you want something slightly stronger, minced garlic. You may also want to try a mild-flavored olive oil.

No matter how you prepare them, enjoy this fleeting flavor of spring!  Now, if I could just find someone who sells garlic scapes (the curly ends of hardneck garlic, which are usually cut off and thrown away) again…or ramps (another early spring vegetable, also called a wild leek, that has a mild onion-garlic flavor)…

Garlic scapes

Roasted Broccoli

Need more fiber in your diet?  Looking for an easy, nutrient-rich side to go with anything from fancy steak to burgers?Try roasted broccoli.

Unlike our former president, I love broccoli.  It was one of my favorite sides as a child:  a box of frozen broccoli, boiled and tossed with a little butter or vinegar (yep, you heard me right ... vinegar).

You know the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?  Well, my boiled broccoli wasn't broken.  But Mr. Wendy encourages me to try something new now and then, and so one day I decided to try roasting the broccoli (I'd just discovered the wonder of roasted cauliflower, so it was a natural progression). 

Result?  Yum.

I still like my boiled broccoli dressed with vinegar, but this roasted broccoli has joined our rotation.  It's easy, fast, delicious, and elegant enough to serve to company.

Lovely Broccoli

And you should really work as much broccoli into your diet as you can.  According to a variety of Internet sources, a single cup of broccoli has 3 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber, more than a full day's supply of vitamin C, and a mere 31 calories.  Come on ... you can't beat those stats.  So break out your roasting pan and enjoy!

Broccoli tossed with oil and seasoning

Roasted Broccoli a la Wendy

1 head broccoli, trimmed and stalks cut lengthwise into spears

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. (or a pinch) crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425.

Toss all ingredients together, spread on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan, and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.

Yep, it's that simple.

Broccoli soup ala Avery Aames

Still cold? No. Me, either, but I love soup. I can drink it even on the warmest of days. There's something so comforting about it. Wrapping my hands around the bowl. Letting the steam waft over my face. Savoring the first bite as my mouth and tongue get used to the temperature and flavors.  I like soup all by itself or maybe with a hunk of bread. Most people like to add a salad or half a sandwich. Whatever your preference, enjoy!


I found a wonderful, light recipe for soup that included Gorgonzola cheese.  Because I'm in the middle of writing the 5th in the Cheese Shop Mystery series called THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT, I've got Roquefort on the brain. Gorgonzola is the Italian version of Roquefort.


HISTORY OF GORGONZOLA:

Gorgonzola is an area in the northern part of Italy, in the Milan area which is part of Lombardy. The residents of the area claim that farmers from their area created Gorgonzola cheese around 879.   This is under dispute by a couple of other towns that have the same geographic makeup. Do I care? Not really. It tastes good. Gorgonzola is a veined blue cheese with quite a bite to it. It's made from raw milk (cow or goat, by the way).


Now, back to soup. Can a soup made with Gorgonzola cheese be light? Yes! I kid you not.


The trick to making soups with veggies  is to use a blender or food processor. But remember--and this is key to the way I like soup--reserve some big chunks of the veggies or starches so the soup isn't all pureed.


EASY BROCCOLI AND GORGONZOLA SOUP

Ingredients:

Serves 4

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ large yellow onion, chopped

2 cups broccoli florets

2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (gluten free if needed)

½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (divide in half)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

¾ cup half-and-half

Directions:

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onion, chopped, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. 

Add the broccoli florets and broth and cook, covered, about 5 minutes. Remove about 1 cup of the florets and reserve.  

Add half of the cheese, the salt and pepper, and half-and-half to the pot. Stir. Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. 

Divide the mixture among 4 bowls. Garnish each with reserved florets and some of the cheese.

Like I said, I like my soup with a hunk of bread. I made biscuits for this meal. Gluten-free, using a Pamela's mix. So easy. All it takes is some of the mix, butter, and milk. Twelve minutes later, light fluffy biscuits. They're perfect with soup.

* * * * *

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

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 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

Also, do you know about my alter ego?
DARYL WOOD GERBER...
That is my "second" name on the left.
Daryl is what my husband actually calls me.

Daryl--I--will have a new series out in 2013:
THE COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERIES
featuring a cookbook store owner
who is an avid reader and admitted foodie!

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.
She doesn't say all the same things "I" do. Promise.

Say cheese!

***********

Brownies and Cream – My Lite Frozen Treats for Summertime Snacking from Cleo Coyle

The first time I heard the word Brookie, I thought it was slang for a resident of Brooklyn, New York. In fact, it’s a cross between a brownie and a cookie, and this Brookie is my favorite recipe for the summer. (I adapted it from another recipe--Cuppa Joe Mocha Drops--which I originally created to make use of my leftover coffee.)

This is a lighter version of that cookie. I replaced much of the butter with low-fat yogurt and canola oil. The chocolate flavor is delicious and the texture soft and brownie-like. They're wonderful eaten warm, just out of the oven, and remain one of my favorite coffee break snacks.

Thus...

You can drop this batter into a bigger and thicker cookie, which will give you a "Brookie" that tastes like a brownie. 

OR...

You can drop the batter into smaller, thinner cookies, which are absolutely perfect for making tasty, little ice cream sandwiches. (As Sue mentioned in the comments, they're kind of a lighter, summertime version of a whoopie pie.)

On the ice cream sandwich making: I’ve used frozen yogurt, sorbet, and sherbet. Below, I’ll show you how I make "cheater" ice cream, which is even lower in fat and calories. It’s also economical. To wit... 

The price of low-fat frozen desserts has been going through the roof--unlike shares of Facebook stock, lol. Actually, I'm not kidding here. In NYC these days, a box of Weight Watchers ice cream sandwiches goes for around seven dollars (for six sandwiches, yikes!). So while my homemade frozen treats are low in fat and fun to make, they’re also much easier on ye olde budget. Another very good reason to…

Cleo Coyle, Brookie baker,
is author of The Coffeehouse
Mysteries

Eat with joy! 

~ Cleo

Cleo Coyle’s

"Brookies" & Cream

Lite Frozen Sandwich Treats

To download a PDF of this recipe that you can print, save, or share, click here.

Makes about 24 large Brookies or 48 small

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter, melted 
1/3 cup oil (I use canola) 
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or coarse sea salt 
3/4 cup light brown sugar 
1/2 cup white, granulated sugar 
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt (do not use nonfat) 
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with fork 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


*To make this recipe even healthier, replace half of the all-purpose flour with "white whole wheat" flour.

Directions:



Step 1 – First preheat your oven to 350° F. Next melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir the oil into this and set aside to cool. 


Step 2 – One bowl mixing method: Sift together flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Now add in your two sugars, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla. Finally add the cooled melted butter and oil mixture. With a spoon or rubber spatula, mix by hand until flour is completely incorporated into a thick batter. Now stir about 50 strokes to blend well. Do not over-mix, however, or you’ll develop the gluten in the flour and your Brookies will be tough instead of tender.

Step 3 – Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Batter will be thicker than cake batter but thinner than cookie dough. Drop in small mounds with a few inches of space between. Use a tablespoon for large Brookies, a teaspoon for smaller ones. Using the back of the spoon, lightly swirl the mounds into even, level, flattish circles. Bake smaller Brookies for about 8 minutes, larger ones for about 10. Remove from oven. I like to slide the entire strip of parchment paper onto the wire rack--this saves time and avoids disturbing the shape of the Brookies by moving one at a time with a spatula. Serve warm or chill and sandwich together with ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, or sherbet.


CHEATER ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: For a tasty, very low calorie and low fat alternative to ice cream, use whipped cream or Cool Whip (low-fat, vanilla, or chocolate). See my photos below, which will show you how I use Reddi-wip whipped cream to make my chilly cheater treats.

4 QUICK
TROUBLESHOOTER NOTES:

(A) Line the plate: When making Brookies into ice cream sandwiches, be sure to cover your plate with wax paper or plastic wrap before placing in the freezer or the bottom half may stick to the plate. I place small pieces of plastic wrap down on the plate, fill each sandwich, wrap each one up separately, and store them in the freezer to be eaten over the course of the week, during my coffee breaks. 


(B) Cover lightly: When using whipped cream, be sure place the top Brookie on very gently. (C) Allow time to freeze: The whipped cream will freeze after two to three hours.

Prefer a richer buttercream
or whoopie pie marshmallow filling? For a richer dessert, put two Brookies together with a vanilla buttercream or chocolate frosting filling. For an easy, delicious Mocha Frosting Filling recipe, download my Cuppa Joe Mocha Drops recipe, which includes directions for this tasty chocolate-coffee frosting. Get the PDF by clicking here.

For a classic Whoopie Pie filling recipe, check out my reply to Sue in the comments after this post, where I posted a traditional filling recipe that uses marshmallow creme. Enjoy!

 

F O O D I E 

P H O T O S

Troubleshooting:

When making my "cheater" ice cream sandwiches
with either whipped cream or Cool Whip,
be sure to place the tops on very gently!

If using whipped cream in a can, you'll need to double dose
the cream after about an hour in the freezer. Here's why:
After the initial hit, the air in the cream deflates.
But no worries. The double dosing really does the trick.

See the results in the last photo below.

Enjoy Your
Memorial Day Weekend,
Everyone!

~ Cleo Coyle, author of 

The Coffeehouse Mysteries 

To get more of my recipes, enter to win

free coffee, or learn about my books, including
my bestselling Haunted Bookshop series, visit my online coffeehouse: CoffeehouseMystery.com

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are national bestselling

culinary mysteries set in a landmark Greenwich Village 

coffeehouse, and each of the ten titles includes the 

added bonus of recipes. 

 

The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure

Book #1 of 
The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries, which Cleo writes
under the name Alice Kimberly
To learn more, click here.

Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Cream Sauce

What's in your freezer? Seriously, what's in there that needs to be used? In my case, it's fruit! Fruit that we froze last summer that will be back in season soon. So I'm using up cherries and raspberries like crazy. Not that I mind!

Reduce raspberries

Like my protagonist, Sophie Winston, I like to keep a few goodies in the freezer in case company is coming. I live 45 minutes from my favorite grocery store, so a quick drive there and back eats up an entire morning. To be on the safe side, I keep a few things at the ready and one of them is usually pork tenderloin. It defrosts very nicely overnight, and it's always so tender.

Brown the meat

Since I have all these raspberries that need to be eaten, I made a raspberry reduction and added cream. I used 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, which gives it a serious kick. It's also sweet, thanks to sugar and honey, so it's a

De-glaze pan

nice combination of sweet and tart. *If you're sensitive to vinegar, you might want to cut back on the amount and use only one or two tablespoons.

Straining the sauce isn't necessary, although it's probably more attractive strained. I would take the extra step for company.

The sweet and tart combination would be great on venison, too. Or beef, or, well, I'm seriously thinking it might even be good on ice cream!  Either I've been watching too many cooking shows or I've been taken over by Natasha.

Pork Tenderloin with Raspberry Cream Sauce

15-16 ounces frozen raspberries
1/2 cup cognac
1/3 cup sugar
1-2 tablespoons or 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar*
2 tablespoons honey
pinch of thyme

2-4 tablespoons olive oil
2 pork tenderloins
salt & pepper
water

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons heavy cream

fresh raspberries to garnish (optional)

Place the raspberries in a large pot. (If they have ice crystals on them, wash them off.) Add the cognac, sugar, balsamic vinegar, honey, and thyme. Bring to a boil, stir to combine, and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about twenty minutes until it has thickened and the liquid is reduced by about half. (This can be done in advance and refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 400. Pour the olive oil into an oven proof pan large enough to hold the pork tenderloins and heat at just under medium. Brown the tenderloins on all sides, approximately 10 minutes total. Place the pan in the oven and roast 12 - 15 minutes. A meat thermometer should read about 140 degrees. Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Meanwhile, de-glaze the pan with a splash or two of water. Add the raspberry mixture to the pan, stir, and heat. Remove from heat, whisk in the butter and the heavy cream. If you wish, you may strain the sauce. Serve over the meat and garnish with fresh raspberries.

Unstrained

Strained