Welcome Guest Blogger—Laura Childs

Our guest blogger today is Laura Childs, author of the recent New York Times Bestseller,Eggs Benedict Arnold. Welcome, Laura!

Happy New Year, Mystery Lovers! I hope everyone is staying warm and taking time to curl up with a good cozy mystery. If you’re looking for a new series, you might even enjoy my Cackleberry Club Mysteries.

In Eggs Benedict Arnold, the second in the series, café owners Suzanne, Toni, and Petra have lost their husbands and found independence in each other – as well as a life raft of support and inspiration. But when the local mortician is found dead on his own slab, who would have guessed these three women would be working a double shift as amateur sleuths?

Halfway between a cozy and a thriller (a thrillzy?), Eggs Benedict Arnold delivers a double dose of smart, slightly crazy women, pulse-pounding action, recipes, knitting, and a dash of spirituality. The book is also affordably priced at $7.99 and just spent two weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List!

Eggs Benedict Arnold is definitely a fun, fast-paced culinary read. Plus you’ll love Cackleberry Club recipes such as Brown Sugar Meatloaf, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits, and Upside Down French Toast. And that special recipe for Eggs Benedict Arnold? Here it is!

Eggs Benedict Arnold

4 strips thick-cut bacon

2 eggs, poached

English muffin, toasted

English Cheddar, ¼ cup shredded

Hollandaise sauce (jar or made from scratch)

Parsley, chopped

Using an oven-safe plate or shallow bowl, place strips of fried, crispy bacon on top of open-face toasted English muffin. Add poached eggs and top with Hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle on English cheddar cheese and toast under broiler for about 45 seconds. Top with fresh, chopped parsley for garnish. Note: To make your Eggs Benedict Arnold even more British, substitute bangers (British sausages) for the bacon.

Laura Childs is the author of the Cackleberry Club Mysteries,

Tea Shop Mysteries, and Scrapbooking Mysteries.

Find out more at www.laurachilds.com

BBQ: the evolution of Ginger's sauce

This is the Hub's recipe, or more
accurately his mother's, or even
more accurately it is the creation
of a woman named Ginger who
was their neighbor many years
and several addresses ago.




This is one of those recipes that has been in the family for
so long that to my husband it is still the taste of his childhood.
He and I are both barbeque lovers (needless to say we're looking
forward to Mystery Lovers Kitchen's own Riley Adam's BBQ
series) and when we were dating we tried out every BBQ joint
in the Phoenix metro area. Although there are several famous
ones -- Honey Bear's comes to mind -- the taste of BBQ for the
Hub is still Ginger's Sauce. And so we share it with you!

1 cup very strong coffee (Yep, we're even working in Cleo's first love)!
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup catsup
1 -- 5 oz bottle of soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cloves of garlic choped
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper

Mix it all up, put it in a jar and refrigerate. As my mother-in-law
said, "It'll keep for months -- if it lasts that long."



Um, not with the Hub around!
Thanks Hub and Mom and the
unknown (to me) Ginger for a
wonderful recipe. Hub slow
baked some pork ribs and
coated them with this sauce
and I have to say they were
FANTASTIC!




Keep entering ingredient ideas for our next Iron Chef week, and
don't forget to "Egg"secutive Order hunt to be entered in Julie's contest
as well.

It's a great week here at the Mystery Lover's Kitchen. Julie's latest is out
and my March release SPRINKLE WITH MURDER just received a
starred review in Publisher's Weekly!!! Wa hoo!

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)

Brownie Bites and Contest Update

"Eggstra" Contest update...

I've received quite a few emails from readers who have spotted Eggsecutive Orders at bookstores. These, of course, are the early appearances.

Today is the book's official release date (woo-hoo!!) and your last week to enter the "Spot the Book" contest! I'm hoping to hear that it's everywhere -- please let me know! If you email me with where and when you spotted the book, you could be entered to win a $25 bookstore gift certificate. Details on this contest (and more about our Secret Ingredient contest) by clicking here.

And, while you're reading Eggsecutive Orders (how's that for a segue? Almost as good as Avery's yesterday) you may want to have a sweet snack.

Today's recipe is Brownie Bites featured in the second White House Chef mystery - Hail to the Chef.

Here's one issue I have with that recipe - in the book, it appears on pages 323 and 324. I don't like having the ingredient list split up like that. I much prefer having a recipe per page. Hoping to ensure that going forward...

These are *delicious* and very easy to make. One of my readers and friends (Hi, Cathy!!) told me she served them at her book discussion group with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center. Chocolate or fudge drizzled on top and you have a dessert fit for fancy!

I made these twice over the holidays - once for Christmas, once for New Year's. I didn't serve them with ice cream, but used Hershey Hugs to top them. I also tried crushed peppermint sticks on top - these originally looked fabulous, but I probably should have waited until the bites were completely cooled. The peppermint pieces melted, just a little bit. Not so fabulous looking. Word to the wise - wait ;-)

Brownie Bites

(all on one page!)

3/4 cup good quality cocoa (I used Hershey's)

3/4 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Garnish

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup cocoa

1-1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup milk (don't add all at once)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the cocoa, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla into a large mixing bowl stir until the cocoa is fully incorporated, and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Add dry ingredients all at once and gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together. Stir only until the ingredients are mixed. Too much stirring makes the brownies tough.

Place foil (paper cups will shred, so using foil is important) baking cups into 2 12 cup muffin tins. Spray with cooking spray or grease with shortening. Fill the cups 2/3 full with the brownie mixture.

Place in oven and bake until the mixture is just set and lovely cracks appear on the surface of the brownie bites—about 15-20 minutes. Remove cups from tins and let brownie bites cool.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl. Add the cocoa, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla, and blend until the mixture is fully mixed. Add the milk, a tablespoonful at a time, and continue beating the frosting. When the frosting looks glossy and forms soft peaks, it’s ready to use.

Frost the brownies in their foil cups.

Garnish with pecan halves, or the garnish of your choice.

(Other options for garnishes include everything from mini-chocolate chips to a sprinkle of coconut to a fan of candy corn –cute in the fall—to white chocolate curls to chocolate covered coffee beans to peanut butter cups to peppermint patties to other chocolates. Tailor your garnish to your anticipated diners. If you’re feeding mostly adults, go for sophistication. If you’re feeding lots of kids, raid the candy store. The pecan halves are a compromise—both adults and kids like them, and the people who don’t like nuts can easily remove them. But the sky’s the limit as far as garnishing these goes.)

I love these... so pretty, so delicious.

Hope you enjoy!

Julie

Hey, by the way, did anyone watch IRON CHEF on Sunday? Was that fun, or what? To me it felt like I was watching my character, Ollie, up there competing with all the "big names" in the culinary world. First female White House Executive Chef. You go, Cristeta!!

www.juliehyzy.com

Say Cheese for Risotto!

This is Julie Hyzy's week. Her new book Eggsecutive Orders comes out tomorrow, and the White House Chef was on Iron Chef Sunday Night...and she won! Whooppeeee!

Talk about perfect timing!

I hope you will all buy her book and participate in her contest.

And now for other news concerning wine and cheese.

I love side dishes!!! [Good segue, huh?]

But I do. I love side dishes. You know the ones--like mom used to make. Hearty, rib-sticking side dishes. The kinds you’d use your index finger to swoop up the very last flavor off the plate.

Finger-licking good.

Risotto is one of my favorite all-time side dishes. And it doesn’t have to be difficult.
I can hear a lot of you now...

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

But I'm not. I made risotto last week, and it only t

ook 30 minutes. My guests devoured it. And yes, many used their index fingers before I could remove the plates from the table.

The secret: Wine...

And cheese.

And herbs.

And adding things that you think taste yummy.

Try it! You'll like it!

HERB RISOTTO WITH WINE AND PARMESAN CHEESE
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil2 Tbs. butter
1 cup Arborio rice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt

Directions:

Put olive oil and butter in shallow sauce pan. Heat to melting. Add onions, garlic and shallots. Stir on medium until tender. Add Arborio rice. Stir constantly. Rice will get slightly brown. Add spices, crushing in your fingers before adding.

Add 1 cup white wine and 1 cup of the chicken broth. Stir until all the liquid is incorporated into the rice. Add 1 more cup chicken broth, a half cup at a time. Each should get incorporated into the dish. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (reserving the rest for garnish).

HERE'S THE EASY PART. Add the last 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Stir and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes. [I know traditional recipes will say you need to continue stirring, but as long as you stirred the first half of the cooking process, this second half is good to go.]

Remove from heat. May be made ahead 45 minutes. It will keep warm in the saucepan.

Garnish each portion generously with Parmesan cheese!

[Silly Side Note: When you're plating, and if you're photographing, you might consider a brighter plate than I did. ]

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


And last but not least, if you'd like to know more about my new book coming out in July, The Long Quiche Goodbye, click here. If you'd like to sign up for my next newsletter, in which 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 just a few weeks. All who are signed up are eligible to win.

Enjoy the new year. And Say Cheese!

Guest Blogger: Jessica Conant-Park on "Leftover Failure"

Please welcome our guest blogger for today, mystery author Jessica Conant-Park. (That's Jessica in the photo below with her adorable son, Nicholas.)

Jessica is not just a great cook and foodie, she's married to a professional chef and co-authors the fantastic series of culinary-themed Gourmet Girl mysteries.

Lucky for us, the paperback edition of her latest Gourmet Girl adventure, FED UP, hits stores shelves this week! Huzzah! And her new hardcover, COOK THE BOOKS, is coming in March. And now, here's the Goumet Girl herself,
Jessica Conant-Park!

~ Cleo Coyle


The Leftovers. Blech, right? Visions of overcooked pasta, dried out casseroles, soggy salad, and congealed fish dancing in your head? Yeah, me, too. Usually. Unless it’s a hearty soup that has doubled its flavor overnight (as many good soups do!), then I usually dread leftovers. But, aside from soup, I have two exceptions to this attitude: Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Both days we go to my parents’ house and my mother puts together a fantastic meal with the things I’ve demanded be served. (I’m a brat.) My favorites are the main meat dish (usually a crown roast of pork or a decadent prime rib), a cheese and cream laden scalloped potato dish, her absolutely perfect green salad, a cheese course, and finally her ultra-rich chocolate sauce on vanilla ice cream. And each holiday I gorge myself silly. But even before the actual meal I am already anticipating what leftovers I’ll be bringing home. Look, there’s only so much even I can eat in one sitting, but give me a few days and I can really pack it in.

So the meat dish, the potatoes, and the expensive sampling of cheeses are all perfectly delicious treats for the few days after the holiday. I just don’t run around paying a small fortune for delicacies throughout the year and so, believe me, I take advantage of free food when I can get it. The joys of being an only (gluttonous) child.

I will admit in the privacy of this blog that I had a particularly selfish moment this season when it was unclear if three of our guests would be joining us at Christmas dinner… and my first thought was, More leftovers! That’s awful. I know that. I’m a terrible person and I’ll work on being less vile in 2010.

But as apparent punishment for my greedy thoughts, my anxiety about remembering to take my fair share of leftovers seemed to have depleted some of my brain cells, because I screwed up at Thanksgiving. And at Christmas. Big time.

I spent the day after Thanksgiving salivating at the thought of reheating the pork roast and the gooey potatoes for dinner. The way the cheesy potatoes’ sauce would run across the plate and coat the meat…. Ahhhh, it would be bliss! But as I began rooting through the fridge, I could not find the meat. I found side dishes, and chocolate sauce, and the potatoes…. But no meat. I swear that I had heart palpitations as I called my husband at work, hoping beyond hope that he’d stashed the leftovers in some secure part of the fridge. I must be blind with hunger and not seeing what was surely right in front of me, right? No luck. I called my mother who located MY pork in HER fridge. Seriously, people, my emotional upset at this error was no laughing matter. What the heck was I supposed to have with my potatoes now? I could practically taste what I was missing, but even my hallucinating skills were not vaguely satisfying.

Okay, I resolved, this hideous leftover failure on my part will NOT happen at Christmas. But, yeah. It did. Mom had assembled a particularly noteworthy cheese selection this year. Epoisse (which is one of the smelliest, gooiest, richest cheeses out there), St. Andre (to die for!), Explorateur (another triple-cream delight), a smooth, spreadable blue, a firm goat’s milk, and a few others that I’ve blocked out because the memory is too painful. But by the time we got to the cheese course at the end of the meal, I was stuffed and didn’t eat nearly my share. No worries: there would be plenty of leftovers. I never pay that kind of money for a multitude of cheeses just to keep around my house, so this would be a treat. God, the next few days were sure to be lovely.

And you know what I did? I helped clean up the table, divided up all the goods, wrapped up little packages, and promptly forgot the cheese! All of it. Not one little hint of Epoisse for me. Again, the emotional trauma that ensued the next day was not pretty. There were the usual frantic calls to my husband and mother. And the usual tragic result.



I’ve been craving cheese since December 27th and so used New Year’s Eve as an excuse to spend an ungodly sum of money at the supermarket and throw together a meat and cheese plate. I was in a huge rush on the 31st and basically ran through the supermarket at top speed, haphazardly throwing things into my basket. I won’t tell you what I spent, but I’m not proud of myself. And the kicker is that the supermarket selection pales in comparison to what one could find at a specialty shop. Again, a rather ordinary selection was probably appropriate punishment for my selfish approach to leftovers. But our gourmet-ish plate of munchies was still lovely, although not viable competition for my mother’s.

So my New Year’s resolution for 2010 is to never again forget valuable leftovers. Never!

**********

As I mentioned before, I’m not a fan of leftover salad. My mother, God love her, will eat a soggy nightmare the next day. But I won’t. I want fresh, crisp, perfect. I have one beautiful hand-carved salad bowl but really wanted more, so for I asked for a few for Christmas. I got two gorgeous ones: A medium sized dark one from Crate and Barrel, and a very large one from the Vermont Bowl Company.

I guarantee both are already being put to good use. (Side note: My mother-in-law wrapped the bowl she gave me just in wrapping paper, revealing it’s shape and obviously not disguising the gift. My son Nicholas thought it was very un-Christmas like of me when, on Christmas morning, I kept shouting, “I wanna open my salad bowl!”)

Here is the salad that my mother makes on a regular basis. It’s very simple but sometimes a light, uncluttered bowl is heaven. You won’t need all the dressing here, but it will keep for ages. Feel free to play around with ingredient amounts… I happen to like a really spicy dressing so I sometimes add more mustard, and I’m a mint fanatic so I also use a ton of that. But adjust as you like!

Dressing:
1 cup olive oil (a light/medium blend)
1 Tablespoon good quality Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 good squeeze fresh lemon juice (don’t you dare try and use that junk that comes out of a plastic lemon!)
Salt and pepper, to taste (Be generous. An under-seasoned salad is a waste.)

Mix all together and let stand at least ½ hour before using. Refrigerate leftovers.

Salad:
1-2 heads Boston/Baby Bibb lettuce, thoroughly washed (unless you enjoy grit.)
¼ thinly sliced red onion
½ cup fresh tomatoes (in the winter I like grape tomatoes, cut in half)
1/3 cup good feta (Trader Joe’s carries a delicious kind that comes in a white and blue container… I forget the name, but it is wonderful.)
1 small handful chopped fresh mint
1 small handful Calamata olives

That’s it! Toss with the dressing and you’re set!

**********

In book news, the fourth Gourmet Girl mystery, FED UP, is out in paperback on January 4th. I love this book because there is both a baby shower and wedding in it, and who doesn’t love those scenes, right? I also throw out a juicy cliffhanger at the end… But don’t worry, COOK THE BOOKS comes out in March and I promise I take care of it then.

I’m also blogging with my pal Michele Scott at Adventuresnwriting. Or rather, I occasionally blog there when I think of it. Mostly I write about stupid things like Levi Johnston’s photo shoot, Lady Gaga’s outfits, or inform the public about very insightful things my kid has said. (BTW, his most recent eye-rolling statement was that the parents from Cheaper By the Dozen “must have had a lot of sex!”) So I suppose I should resolve to blog more. I’ll work on it. And Michele is generally better behaved than I am, so we balance each other out. She and I also have a Food Fiction newsletter that we send out every few months with recipes, book news, contests, and wonderful guests. We’d love to have you sign up, so stop by our site and enter your email address in the form!

Fun Fondue!

New Year's Eve presents its own set of problems for a smallish gathering since the main event takes place at midnight. Serving a late dinner helps, of course. Serving several courses would be fun for the guests but a lot of work for the hostess. I've solved that dilemma by serving fondue. There's something about fondue that livens up a gathering. Maybe it's because everyone is involved in cooking their own dinners -- I'm not really sure, but there always seems to be a lot of laughter when fondue is served. Which means, of course, that fondue is a great choice anytime.



Fondue made a comeback in popularity when I was a child and I still remember the fun family nights we had when my mom made fondue. There are all sorts of rules about what happens if your food falls off the fork in the fondue pot -- for instance kissing the person to your left. But you can make up your own rules to suit your family.


I make cheese fondue and beef fondue, and serve them with a simple salad. Beef fondue is easiest by far, because all you really have to do is heat canola oil and pour it into a fondue pot. Any cook can cut a steak into cubes! And people love to cook their own meat. I like to add some mushrooms and sliced red or orange peppers, which are also great cooked in the fondue oil. If you have guest who like broccoli or cauliflower, those are good choices as well.

Cheese fondue is a little more work but it's really easy, too. There are loads of recipes, but it's quite forgiving, so don't worry about it too much.

Simple Cheese Fondue

16 ounces Gruyere cut into tiny (easy to melt) cubes
8 ounces Emmental cheese (cut into small cubes)
1/3 to 1/2 bottle of white wine (I use Our Dog Blue, a mild white table wine)
a couple of pinches of nutmeg
2 teaspoons corn starch

1. Place the cheese and wine in a saucepan and let cheese melt. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
2. Steal a little bit of the warm wine from the pot, add to the cornstarch and stir until blended.
3. Add the cornstarch the the melted cheese and stir another minute or so.
4. Pour into fondue or chafing dish and serve with bread.

Eggnog with a swirl of Khalua

Here's to a Happy 2010 to all!

Cleo Coyle's Leftover Champagne Vinaigrette

This post was named
a Foodbuzz Top 9 Pick.
Thank you, Foodbuzz!

~Cleo Coyle

Got Leftover Champagne?Waste not, I say…

So the countdown is toast, the ball has dropped, and the last of the champagne has gone flat. You know the stuff I’m talking about, the dregs in that bottle sitting in your fridge.

Well, for heaven’s sake, don’t pour that sad, fizzless liquid down the drain. Do what I do every New Year’s week. Use it to make champagne vinaigrette.


Yes, I know, champagne vinaigrette is typically made with champagne vinegar, but my version is a nice alternative for frugality and fun. My vinaigrette is light, bright, refreshing, and the delicate flavor of champagne comes through very nicely, too.


A fresh salad is also an especially intelligent way to start off the New Year. Why? Lettuce is mostly water and hydrating will help set your body right after an evening imbimbing to excess (aka attempting to pickle yourself).

My amateur sleuth, Clare Cosi, actually received this same advice from her
ex-husband, Matt, a guy highly skilled
in the art of party survival.

To learn more about my mysteries,
click here or on the book cover.

Got a hangover? My in-house editor Mr. Fellows says:
"Drink lots of water. Hydrate with salad. Even better, dress those crisp,
healthy, greens with a hair of the cat that bit you..."

Cleo Coyle’s Leftover
Champagne Vinaigrette

Servings: This recipe makes about 3 tablespoons of dressing, enough to dress an average salad for two people.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons champagne (fresh or leftover)1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)1/4 teaspoon white rice vinegar (or white or cider vinegar or lemon juice)1 clove garlic sliced into big pieces (optional)

Combine all ingredients (but the garlic) in a small bowl and whisk well with a fork. Add the garlic and let stand 15 minutes (this optional step will impart a light garlic flavor). Remove all of the raw garlic. Whisk again with fork and pour dressing over your favorite salad. The salad you see pictured is one I often make: romaine lettuce and mixed greens, grape tomatoes sliced in two, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries.

*CLEO'S FINAL TIPS: Oil: the oil flavor really shines through in this vinaigrette so choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Salt: sea salt and Kosher salt are much better choices than table salt for flavor. Pepper: I often use black pepper or a pepper mix for this dressing, but if you want a really nice presentation, use white pepper. Grinding it fresh always gives you better flavor. Vinegar: I like white rice vinegar for this dressing, but any white vinegar will impart that needed note of astringent brightness, which will balance the sweetness of the champagne. If you don’t have any white vinegars on hand, use lemon juice to taste. I would not recommend red or balsamic vinegar for this vinairgrette. Not only will those darker, heavier vinegars overpower the delicate champagne flavor, they will change the dressing’s color and defeat the culinary concept. (Then again, if you’re hung over, snow is piling up outside, and it’s all you’ve got on hand, go for it!)

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle
author of the Coffeehouse Mysteries

You can get more of my recipes
at my virtual home...

Coffeehouse Mystery.com
"Where coffee and crime are always brewing..."

HOLIDAY GRIND
National Hardcover
Mystery Bestseller

ESPRESSO SHOT
National Bestseller
Now in paperback.

Click here
or on book covers to learn more about Cleo's culinary mysteries.

"Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle, a new addition to the coffeehouse mystery series…adds in jolts of souped-up coffee, sweet cooking…and super sleuthing to deliver a fun and gripping fa-la-la-la latte surprise."

~ The Huffington Post

2010
HAPPY NEW
DECADE!

Text and photos in this post are copyright (c) 2010 by Alice Alfonsi
who writes The Coffeehouse Mysteries as Cleo Coyle
with her husband, Marc Cerasini