A New Year’s Feast to Remember

New Year’s Eve offers a great opportunity to relax and have fun.

You’ve finished with the rigors of the holidays. The presents have been opened and put away. And it’s time to wrap up one year and pin our aspirations on the next.

It’s also a fun time to get together with friends to celebrate. But, following Christmas, I’m usually not excited about hosting a complicated meal.

My friends, Bob and Stephanie, hosted a wonderful meal recently that involved some preparation but no real cooking. I thought it sounded like an ideal dinner to plan for New Year’s Eve. It was all cold cuts, cheeses, breads, olives…and, of course, wine! (Hard to imagine a New Year’s Eve celebration without wine.)

Bob and Stephanie set up the meal in three courses: cooked meats like mortadella and salami cotto; cured meats like soppressata, picante and Milano salami, chorizo, and coppa; and bacons like ham, knuckle bacon, and lamb bacon.

It would be even simpler if you wanted to have the food set up as a buffet.

As you can see in the pictures, they also served cheeses like aged Provolone, Gruyère, and Parmesan-Reggiano; different types of olives; and breads…Italian, French, and pork-buttered biscuits. They perfectly complemented the meats.

It’s the simplest of meals to prepare—and it allows you to enjoy the celebration along with your guests after a busy holiday season!

Happy 2010 to all our Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen friends!

Riley/Elizabeth
Pretty is as Pretty Dies –Elizabeth Spann Craig
Delicious and Suspicious (May 2010)—Riley Adams

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com

Don’t forget to keep entering ingredient ideas for our Iron Chef week and hunt for Julie’s Eggsecutive Orders to be entered
in her contest, too!

Checkerboard Cake: The dessert that almost wasn't!

Everything was going so well,
the Christmas carols were
playing, the Hub and
the dudes were out from
under foot and off with
their new toys. My cake
batter was perfect. All
was right in my kitchen,
and then it wasn't.





For the uninitiated, a checkerboard cake is a three layer cake
that alternates vanilla and chocolate cake so that when you
cut into it, it looks like a checkerboard. There is a special pan
created to make this cake, which my mother gave me several
years ago that I had been wanting to try. Well, what better
day than Christmas day?

The recipe requires that you make all of the cake batter and
then separate a third to which you add the melted chocolate.
As I mentioned, my batter was perfect. I poured the third
into a separate bowl and turned around to add the chocolate
when the blue glass bowl in my hands slipped. For a nanosecond
I thought it might bounce. It did not.

A crash like gunshot sounded, causing my husband who had
just walked into the room to jump and shout while I stared at
the pile of blue glass and batter in a catatonic stupor. As my
husband swept up the mess and tried to talk me back from
the ledge, I was incapable of speech and reduced to making
strange animal noises. This was supposed to be dessert at
my in-laws for thirteen people! The Hub offered to run to
the store to buy whatever I needed. I debated making a
subdued two layer cake. I did some pranayama breathing.
I checked my ingredients. I had just enough, with a tablespoon
of flour to spare, to make a third more of the cake batter.



And this is how it turned out:


PERFECT!

Now for anyone interested in
making this cake on their own,
I am including the link to the
Wilton cake site. The picture
of their cake is prettier than mine.
My one piece of advice (other than
don't drop a third of your batter on
the floor) is to have some wine chilled
for when you get done. This cake is
an accomplishment worthy of a
beverage. Fo Sho!



Happy New Year!!!
Jenn

www.jennmckinlay.com

SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
by Jenn McKinlay
March 2010 (Available for pre-order now)

STUCK ON MURDER
by Lucy Lawrence (aka Jenn McKinlay)
Sept 2009 (Available Now)

CUT TO THE CORPSE
by Lucy Lawrence
April 2010 (Available for pre-order now)

Keep entering ingredient ideas for our Iron Chef week and don't
forget to hunt for Eggsecutive Orders by Julie to be entered
in her contest, too! See? There's always something fun to do
at the Mystery Lover's Kitchen!!!

Eggstra Contest!

Instead of a recipe today, I'm announcing Two Contests! Not only do we have our Secret Ingredient contest still running (see below), but I am pleased to announce a brand new one as well.

Next Tuesday, January 5th, my third White House Chef mystery - Eggsecutive Orders will be released. As this story opens, Ollie and her team are banished from the White House after a guest dies at dinner with the president.

Did I mention that this happens a mere week before the annual Egg Roll? And that Ollie's mom and grandmother are about to arrive for a visit? Ollie had been looking forward to showing her family the White House and to taking them on a private tour. But now her plans, her career, and her relationship with Tom are all in hot water.

So do you think that makes this cozy "hard-boiled"? ;-)

Sorry, sorry, can't help myself....

But all this brings me to news of a special and eggciting contest.

Starting today, right now

"Spot the Book"

Rules are simple... just spot Eggsecutive Orders at your local bookstore and let me know what date and where, and you are entered.

Booksellers often put new titles out the week before their official release (unless it's Harry Potter, of course), but I'll be running this contest for 2 weeks through January 11th. On January 12th, I'll announce the name of one lucky spotter who will win a $25 bookstore gift certificate.

So, if you're shopping, take a moment to check out your local indie bookstore, or your nearest chain. One entry per location per person. So, that means if you spot Eggsecutive Orders at three different bookstores, you can enter three times. (If you also tell me how many copies are in stock, I'll put your name in for an extra chance!) Send your updates to me at JulieHyzy@gmail.com.

Yes, this is a new e-mail address. Had a little problem with a hacker... long story.

And because I don't want anyone to be left out, you can also enter by finding Eggsecutive Orders available on Internet sites. In that case, just forward the link to me.

Doesn't that sound easy? It is.

Knowing when the books hit the shelves (and where) will help me a lot.

Just e-mail me with bookstore and date (and number of copies, if you like) and I'll announce the winner on January 12th. Got all that?

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me ;-)

Now, back to our regularly scheduled Secret Ingredient contest....

We will be having another Iron Chef-like event here in a few weeks, and Janel won a Junior's Cheesecake for her secret ingredient (which will be announced soon)!

But while we Mystery Lovers' Kitchen chefs are dreaming up ideas for Janel's ingredient, we're eager for more. Keep sending your ideas and you could win.... CHOCOLATE.

Yum.

Some of the best chocolate on the planet is produced by Fannie May Candies. The NEXT secret ingredient winner will have his or her choice of several Fannie May assortments up to a value of $25 (plus I'll pay shipping). I'll be in touch once a winner is announced. Check out the Fannie May website for an idea of what you could win!

Well, I've probably over-talked here today ... I promise a really cool recipe next Tuesday ... a dessert I served on Christmas Eve that was a huge hit.

Hope you participate in Spot the Book and let me know where the EGGS are hiding ;-)

Can you tell I'm eggstatic about this new release?

Have a great week!

Julie

Author of the White House Chef Mysteries.

www.JulieHyzy.com

Avery Aames Apple Pie with Cheese Crust

Happy post holidays!!!!

Are you gearing up for New Year’s? Want something special to serve as dessert? I experimented over Christmas with a traditional favorite: apple pie. I didn’t include a top crust. Instead I used a fabulous cheese (surprise, surprise) that I’d diced into bits. It melted perfectly and the pie became the hit of the evening.

And to top it all off, it was a gluten-free pie but NO ONE KNEW IT until someone asked how I could be eating a bite of pie.

My secret: I use a great pre-made gluten-free crust from Whole Foods, but there are plenty others out there and there are mixes for gluten-free pie crusts by Bob’s Red Mill and Pamela’s. I was going for expediency and ease on Christmas.

No matter, it tasted like a normal pie and all my guests were contented!

Avery’s Apple Pie with Edam Cheese
Ingredients:

7-8 Pippin apples, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup sweet rice flour (or regular rice flour)
Pinch of ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 lemon, juiced and seeds removed
1 gluten-free pie shell (Whole Foods* or other)
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, diced
4 ounces Edam cheese, diced or grated

Directions:

Peel and slice apples. This will give you loosely 8 cups of apple slices (figure 1 cup per apple). Add sugars, rice flour, spices. Stir.
Squeeze the lemon juice over all and toss again.
Layer into the pie shell, making sure you get apples to the edges.

Dot with butter.
Sprinkle evenly with the diced/grated cheese.

Set in 450 degree oven on a tray that will catch any of the juice spilling over. Bake 35 minutes until cheese nicely browned.

Let sit 20 minutes before slicing.

May be served with another wedge of cheese or vanilla ice cream.




Warning: This is not diet. The diet starts AFTER the New Year, right? ENJOY!!

Don't forget to check back for Julie's special contest in January, and we're still open for suggestions for our February Iron Chef ingredient! Rumor has it the prize involves chocolate!

And a little tidbit about the CHEESE I used. Friends from Mississippi State University send us a sizeable piece of Edam every year. It's absolutely creamy, has a sharp yet smooth taste, and melts beautifully. A little history: in 1938, Edam cheese was introduced at Mississippi State University by the professor who served as head of the Dairy Science Department. It is a three-pound cannon ball and delicious. Here's a link to the MSU store.

and lastly, if you’d like, sign up for my next newsletter, where I share lots of tidbits about my new book as well as a history about particular cheeses, click on this link: Avery Aames Newsletter. I’ll be having my first contest via the newsletter in January. All who are signed up are eligible to win.

Welcome Guest Blogger Keith Raffel

Writer and Cook? Not Really.

by Keith Raffel

 

I’m not sure what I’m doing here, but I can claim to be a mystery lover and, if aspiration counts, I can try to pass myself off as a cook, too.

Within 20 minutes of telling my wife back in 2007 that I wanted to quit my day job and write crime fiction full-time, she was looking for a job for herself. After 18 years of devoted duty as household CEO and our children’s CRO (Chief Raising Officer), Teri took on an additional position in the admissions office of a local private school.

When Hanukkah started this month, she was still working, the kids were still in school, and I was still book-touring. We did go to friends’ houses to light candles, eat latkes, and celebrate, but Teri observed we weren’t doing much at home ourselves beyond exchanging presents. She sighed and told me she missed the get-togethers of her childhood.

I recklessly sprang into action. I sent out emails to three family friends and my brother after Hanukkah had already begun. I was hoping that at least one could join us on Friday, the last night of the holiday,. Uh-oh. They all said yes. Two dozen then for dinner. Teri was busy at work, #1 wasn’t coming home from college till Thursday, #2 was busy with her college apps, #3 had soccer and homework, and #4, well, I didn’t have high hopes for help from my 11-year old son. I was on my own.

At one time in my youth, when I was single, I was known for entertaining. The old Washington Star once wrote up a dinner party I threw for fellow Senate staffers, and I used to have a Kentucky Derby party every year with mint juleps and all. Those party-giving muscles though had not been really used for more than two decades.

Thursday, the day before, I picked up #1 from the airport and then dashed over to Costco to pick up 20 pounds of potatoes, 10 of onions, and a quart of olive oil. I spent the evening frying latkes, the traditional potato pancakes of the holiday.

#1 inherited the cooking and baking genes from her great-grandmothers and grandmother. “Dad, I cooked a dinner for 70 at school this semester,” she told me with a certain disdain. I assigned her responsibility for desserts, and she effortlessly whipped up an apple brown butter cake, Mexican wedding cookies, and pecan shortbread. Guests were assigned responsibility for salad, vegetables, and wine.

That left the entrée with me (in addition to the aforementioned latkes). Teri was even more frightened of the potential results than I was. Embarrassment in front of her peer group was a real possibility. She told me I had to make a roasted salmon dish I’d adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe with some success once before. Voila.

 

Salmon with Almonds

Ingredients:

2½ pound side of salmon (either with or without skin)

1 cup blanched, slivered almonds (no skin)

1½ tbsp butter

2½ tbsp olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parsley (optional)

Directions:

Melt 1½ tablespoons of butter in a saucepan at low medium heat. Once melted, add 1½ tablespoons of oil. Stir in the almonds and cook just till they begin to brown.

Spread 1 tablespoon of oil on the bottom of roasting pan, put pan in the oven, and preheat to 450F.

Place the fish in the pan, skin side down (or the side where the skin was). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon the almonds on top.

Cook for 8-12 minutes. (Check doneness with fork.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. (Throw some parsley on as a garnish if you’re in the mood; I wasn’t.)

So how did things go on Friday night? Of course, lighting the menorahs put everyone in a holiday mood. The meal? The reheated latkes were only so-so, but the salmon saved the day and Teri from embarrassment. My sister-in-law couldn’t believe I’d cooked the salmon myself. She kept exclaiming all through dinner how good it was. She was right. Remember what Dr. Johnson said about a dog walking on his hind legs: “It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”

May your new year be filled with delicious food and scrumptious reading!

Keith

In addition to cooking potato pancakes and salmon, Keith Raffel writes mysteries and thrillers. His latest book, the bestselling Smasher: A Silicon Valley Thriller, was called “compelling” by Publishers Weekly and a “taut roller coaster ride” by Cara Black, author of the Aimée Leduc series. Check the latest news at www.keithraffel.com.

Keith, thanks for the delicious recipe and for joining us at the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen today!

German Potato Dumplings

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! May your festivities be full of good food, good friends and family. Around here a few of us are worn out from playing with new toys . . .


Don't forget to check back for Julie's special contest in January, and we're still open for suggestions for our February Iron Chef ingredient! Rumor has it the prize involves chocolate!

In the meantime, I'm switching over to potatoes. There are certain foods that are staples in every culture. In Germany, those foods include strudel, semmeln (the rolls Heidi wanted to bring back to the mountains), and potato dumplings, also known as kartoffelknoedel. These dumplings are served with roast goose and pork and they're simply expected in German cooking. My mother remembers making them as a child by grating raw potatoes and squeezing out the liquid in cheesecloth -- a lot of messy work. So I've been looking around for a recipe that isn't a pain to make. After all, we have all sorts of gadgets now that make life easier, right? So I started studying recipes. It stands to reason that there are a lot of ways to make just about anything, and that there will always be regional differences, but I didn't expect to find so many variations! Raw potatoes, potatoes cooked with the peel, cooked without the peel, made with cornstarch, or flour, or potato starch, or nutmeg.

Then, as it happened, my mom watched a popular TV cook make potato cakes. I found the recipe and it seemed very close to potato dumplings, except fried. What a nightmare! I laughed all the way through that recipe. Oof! There had to be an easier way to deal with potatoes. So here's a recipe that I like. The great news is that while there are quite a few steps, some of them can be done in advance! Yay! I'm all for anything I can do ahead of time.

German Potato Dumplings

1 1/2 pound russet potatoes
salt
1/2 cup flour, plus extra for hands
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 egg

1. Cook the potatoes in salted water with the peel on. Cool. At this point you can refrigerate them overnight if you feel like it.

2. Peel and mash the cold potatoes. Don't add anything like milk or butter. I tried ricing them and I tried mashing them with my KitchenAid mixer. Frankly, while the mixer left some lumps, they weren't noticeable when cooked, and I liked the texture better than when I riced the potatoes. Besides, it's a lot less work than ricing.

3. This is crucial. The potatoes must be refrigerated after they are mashed. Leave them in the fridge at least an hour, or go off to lunch with a friend and deal with the potatoes later.

4. Add the flour, cornstarch and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to the potatoes and work in by hand. Add the egg and work that in by hand, too.

5. Another crucial step. After all that hand blending, you'll notice that the mixture sticks to your hands and there's no way you could shape them into anything resembling balls. This is where the TV guru went wrong with those patties! Wash your hands and set out a baking sheet with flour on it. Dip your hands into the flour before handling the potato mixture. It's like magic. Just keep dipping your hands into the flour when they feel sticky, and roll the mixture into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Set each finished ball aside. If you want, you can cook them immediately, or you can refrigerate them until you're ready to cook them.

6. To cook, fill a large pot with water and add a couple teaspoons of salt. Bring to a very slow simmer. If the water is boiling too fast, the potato balls will fall apart. Ladle the dumplings into the water slowly. Don't crowd them. It's far better to cook them in batches. Cook about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove with a ladle and serve hot.

All lovers of German Potato Dumplings can tell you that while they're great fresh, they're even better the next day when sliced and fried. Especially if you have leftover rendered fat from the Christmas goose in which to cook them!

Mahlzeit!

~ Krista

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Dear Editor:

I am 8 years old...tell me the truth;
is there a Santa Claus?

—­Virginia O’Hanlon,
115 West Ninety-Fifth Street,
New York City

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.

Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus...There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence...No Santa Claus! Thank God, he lives, and he lives forever....

—­Francis P. Church,
New York Sun,
Sept. 21, 1897

Excerpted from one of the most reprinted
newspaper editorials in history.

To hear a 1963 radio interview
with the real "Virginia"
66 years after she wrote
the above letter,
CLICK HERE

Even Norad
Tracks Santa!
Click here

Merry Christmas,
Everyone!

~ Cleo Coyle

author of The Coffeehouse Mysteries
http://www.coffeehousemystery.com/

A Merry Little Frittata

I’m not sure how it happened, but it appears that Christmas is…tomorrow! I hope y’all have all been good because I think Santa is likely already making his rounds and it’s a little too late to repent.

I know my Christmas morning routine perfectly. Either my son or daughter will wake my husband and me up at 6:30 a.m. That’s the earliest we’ll allow ourselves to be awakened! My husband will go downstairs to start the coffee and I’ll get the camera ready while the kids dance around; ready to rush down the stairs.

It’ll rapidly look like a nuclear bomb has hit our den.

After a while, we’ll all suddenly realize we’re starving. And this is what we’ll be sinking our teeth into: a frittata with an avocado pinwheel on the top. The green makes a nice, holiday look, doesn’t it?

A Merry Little Frittata

• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• 5 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or part skim)
• 1 avocado (I used 1 Chilean Hass) peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 4 slices crumbled, cooked bacon
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Sauté the onion and garlic in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes, then set aside. In a large bowl, combine other ingredients. Stir in tomatoes and onion.
2. Put sliced avocados in a pinwheel design at the bottom of the greased pie pan.
3. Pour mixture into an greased 9-in. pie pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 minutes . Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.
4. Flip the frittata onto a separate plate. The avocado pinwheel will make it festive!

Riley/Elizabeth
Pretty is as Pretty Dies –Elizabeth Spann Craig
Delicious and Suspicious (May 2010)—Riley Adams

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com

Please don't forget to send us a Secret Ingredient for our January contest. You might win a great prize... and I'll give you a hint about that... it involves Chocolate!! But we need your secret ingredients, so please send them to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com

Grammy's Apple Kuchen

As I've mentioned before, I love going through
my grandmother's old recipe box. Especially
during the holidays. Seeing her handwriting or
the notes she made on recipe cards now yellowed
with age brings her back to me more than a
photograph in an album ever could.




I have no idea if it is accurate or not, but I tend to pick
the recipe cards that have the most stains on them. My
guess is that they were used quite a bit so they must be good,
right?

So here is my grandmother's Apple Kuchen:



3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour
2 tspns baking powder
2 apples (peeled and sliced)
pinch of salt
1 egg
4 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons shortening (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
sugar and cinnamon to taste



Sift flour-baking powder-salt-sugar. Put melted shortening
in a bowl - add milk - vanilla - beaten egg - then sifted ingredients.
Mix thoroughly. Spread into 8 " pan. Arrange apples slices on top.
Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake 15 minutes in 350
degree oven.

This is a light fluffy biscuit like cake with a crunchy outside and
warm cinnamon apples on top. I plan to make this instead of
coffee cake for breakfast Christmas morning. It'll be like having
Gram with me.

*I believe this was a war time recipe when rationing factored into
ingredient selection. Although, it came out fine the way it was written,
I am a butter lover so the next time I make it, I am going to
substitute a 1/2 cup of softened butter in place of the melted
shortening and milk. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Happy Holidays! Jenn

Jenn McKinlay
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
March 2010
(Available for Pre-Order Now)

aka Lucy Lawrence
STUCK ON MURDER
Sept 2009 (Available Now)

CUT TO THE CORPSE
April 2010
(Available for Pre-Order Now)

www.jennmckinlay.com

Keep those suggestions for our Iron Chef inspired cooking week coming. I love a challenge! And I heard a rumor you can win something with chocolate.
Seriously, chocolate!!!

Gingerbread!

Gingerbread and Christmas. One of the best combinations, ever.

For years, my Auntie Lilly -- who lives in northern Wisconsin -- sent us a tin of homemade gingerbread just before Christmas. She made individual gingerbread men and labeled them so that each of my daughters knew which one was hers. One memorable year when the girls were young, and the much-anticipated package from Auntie Lill came late in the day (too late to eat without spoiling dinner), I set the collection of decorated trees, and the personalized men out on a platter to be enjoyed after dinner. The kids couldn't wait.

My husband came home from work right on time, but I had my back to him. Hungry, and spying the platter, he reached for one of the men and bit off its head. My middle daughter, Sara, whose gingerbread man this was and who had been waiting very patiently all day, started to cry. "Dad's eating my gingerbread man!"

He stopped before consuming the entire cookie, but the head was long gone. Poor Sara. I called my aunt and she got a huge chuckle out of knowing how much we love her gingerbread. She whipped up a new batch and sent it to Sara. And after Sara claimed her new man, she shared with us all.

We laugh about it now, but my poor husband will never live down his "Dad ate my gingerbread man head!" reputation.

My aunt is 88 now. Although she's active and chatty and still just as fun to talk with as ever, she's not able to make her gingerbread anymore. But she gave me her recipe! I make it every year. I prefer to make the trees rather than gingerbread men. Way more icing goes on trees!

I have no idea where she got this recipe originally, but she's tweaked it over the years and I have too. By the way, this makes a lot of gingerbread. You can halve it if you prefer.

Gingerbread!

2/3 cup Crisco shortening

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I prefer dark)

1 1/3 cup molasses. I like Grandma's brand, robust

2 eggs

Mix together.

In a separate bowl, mix:

5 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

Add the dry ingredients to the shortening/sugar/molasses bowl and mix thoroughly. I generally use

my dough hook.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface and cut into desired shapes. I prefer thick gingerbread, so I roll it to about 1/4 inch thick or better. Place shapes on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 7-9 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

They look good, and taste great plain, but I prefer them iced...

The icing is the simplest one I ever used and I'm sure you have all used this one before, too...

Icing

Powdered sugar

Water

Food coloring

Depending on how many cookies you intend to frost, you can decide how much icing to make. For this recipe I start with 3 cups powdered sugar. I add just enough water to make a loose paste... and then I add my food coloring. The simplest thing ever, and it's delicious!

Simple things are often the best... and that's the sentiment our family will be celebrating this Christmas as we spend time together.

I hope you have been enjoying the entire holiday season... whether you celebrate Hannukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or no specific date at all... I hope you have been taking in the joys of the season and all the goodness of 2009.

Enjoy!

Julie

Now - before I sign off - please don't forget to send us a Secret Ingredient for our January contest. You might win a great prize... and I'll give you a hint about that... it involves Chocolate!! But we need your secret ingredients, so please send them to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com

I'll also give you another hint... I'm running another, special contest in January, to celebrate the release of Eggsecutive Orders. I'll be asking you to tell me where you've spotted Eggsecutive Orders - in bookstores, online, etc. And I'll be asking you to e-mail me personally with your answers... So keep your eyes open now, and on January 5th, tune in here and I'll tell you how to enter! It'll be super easy. And that prize? A $25 bookstore gift certificate ;-)

Christmas Winter Salad with Cheese!

Brrrrrrr! And yummmmmmmmmmmmm!

It's almost Christmas. The aromas of sweets and pines and candles. The laughter of children. The delight in their eyes. It's all worth it, isn't it?

But food is a major part of this holiday, and, after all the sweets I consume, I hunger for a good crisp salad filled with nutritious "fun" goodies.

According to Bernadette Bessette, the colorful grandmother of my protagonist in The Long Quiche Goodbye, texture, flavor and presentation matter.

So this week, keeping that adage in mind, I put together a winter salad using the tastiest items in my refrigerator. Adorn with strawberries and apples and you've got a truly beautiful plate.

CHRISTMAS WINTER SALAD

(for two)

Ingredients:

10 strings beans

2 strawberries, halved

6 sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 green apple, sliced thin

6 mushrooms

1 Tbs. safflower oil (to grill mushrooms)

6 mixed olives

6 slices favorite salami, halved

2 slices Scharfe Maxx cheese, diced

1 cup mixed greens

2-4 Tbs. oil and vinegar salad dressing (recipe below)

Directions:

Cook the string beans in boiling water laced with 1 tsp. salt for 3 minutes. Rinse and cool.

Grill the mushrooms in 1 Tbs. of oil, flipping once, until lightly browned.

Place greens on a salad plate. Top with salami, mushrooms, and cheese. Outline the greens with the green beans, strawberries, apple slices and olives.

Drizzle with salad dressing.

When you're eating the salad, mix it all together. That's how it tastes best to me!

SIMPLE SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. safflower (or olive) oil

4 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Shake and serve.

Enjoy!!!

Note: I found Scharf Maxx Cheese at Murray's Cheese Shop in New York. It's a raw swiss cheese made by the Studer Dairy in Hatswil and is a very piquant cheese. Yum!

By the way, would you like to suggest a new secret ingredient for our February Iron Chef? If we choose yours, you'll win a great prize. Just send your suggestios to our mail box: MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com. One entry per person per day for our followers. The winner will be chosen among our followers only, so join us! Just scroll down our right column and hit the "follow" button! Watch our posts next week to find out what prize you might win for your suggestion!

Merry, merry Christmas to all. May your new year be filled with love, laughter and good health!

Avery

Welcome guest blogger Cindi Myers!

I'd like to welcome my friend
Cindi Myers. Not only is she a
fabulous writer but she's a
fascinating person as well!






Cindi worked as a newspaper reporter, travel agent and medical
clinic manager before turning to writing full time. She's written both
historical and contemporary romance, as well as dozens of short stories
and nonfiction articles. Cindi thinks writers have the best job in the world.

Former president of San Antonio Romance Authors, Cindi is a member
of Romance Writers of America, Novelists Inc., and Rocky Mountain
Fiction Writers.


She and her husband and their two dogs live in the mountains
Southwest of Denver. When she's not caught up in creating new
characters and stories, Cindi enjoys reading, quilting, gardening,
skiing and hiking. She's also in demand as a speaker, teaching
workshops and making presentations to both local and national
writing groups.

Here's Cindi:

I have a split personality when it comes to holiday baking. On one
hand, I love making all kinds of fancy cookies, breads and candy
and handing them out to neighbors and friends. On the other, I really
don't have time most years to do a lot of baking. And who really
needs all those extra calories and sugar, anyway?
But I do like to indulge a little for the holidays. So as a compromise,
this year I ditched the elaborate, fancy cookies and went straight
for the one thing I never indulge in any other time of year. It's super
fast, super easy and super delicious. Fudge. Specifically, the kind
made with marshmallow cream and chocolate chips. I like mine with
nuts, but it's also awesome with crushed peppermint or peanut butter
chips mixed in. You can whip up a big batch in about 15 minutes.
Everyone will love it, I promise.


3 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. (340 g) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. (198 g) jar Kraft Marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan;
bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes
over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till
melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended.
Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into
1-inch squares.

Cindi's latest release is HER CHRISTMAS WISH from Harlequin
American Romance (Available Now).
You can visit Cindi at: http://www.cindimyers.com/

Not Your Grandmother's Jello Mold

Since we're mere days from Christmas, I thought I'd share one more cranberry recipe since it's a family favorite. I have to admit that the mere phrase "jello mold" brings to mind the jello that Aunt Bethany brought to dinner in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. But this recipe is so good that my mother calls it a cranberry salad instead of a cranberry jello mold. It's crunchy and refreshing, and makes a great light dessert on those days when you've eaten a little bit more than you should. We serve it with dinner (because we have to have a Yule Log for the real dessert), but it works well either way.

I wish I could credit the person who came up with this recipe. We've had it for years, and there's just no clue anymore about the origin. It's a snap to make with a food processor (my preference), but you can also chop the ingredients by hand. I've used a mold, but it looks just as pretty when it sets up in a simple bowl. It has wonderful flavor and a surprising texture, and it must be made in advance, which means it's one less thing to worry about if you're preparing a big meal.

Cranberry Salad

2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 envelope gelatin, unflavored or lemon
1 cup boiling water
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup chopped walnuts


1. Pulse the cranberries in a food processor.

2. Pour them into a bowl, add the sugar, stir, and let stand for one hour.

3. At this point, I cheat a little. The food processor is already out, so I pop the celery and walnuts in and pulse them, too. I set them aside to use when the cranberries are ready.

4. About 50 minutes later, empty the gelatin envelope into a large bowl and add the boiling water. Stir to dissolve and let stand a few minutes.

5. Add the cranberries, celery, and walnuts to the gelatin. Stir to mix. Pour into mold or bowl.

6. Refrigerate until firm.

7. When ready to serve, loosen the edges with a knife and dip the bottom into a bowl of warm water briefly. Turn over onto serving platter. Curly lettuce makes a particularly nice garnish.