Cleo Coyle's Mystery Vegetable

For many people, the produce section of their grocery store is a guessing game.

Well, the next time you spy this veggie among the many greens on sale, here are some clues to help you solve the mystery of what it is and how to prepare it...

Clue #1 - Although not yet very common to U.S. kitchens, this baby is very popular in Italian cuisine.

Clue #2 - This veggie belongs to a family whose seeds are used to make canola oil.

Clue #3 - In Chinese cuisine, a close cousin of this vegetable is often stir-fried with ginger and garlic or steamed and served with oyster sauce. In Italian kitchens, my recipe (below) is probably the most common way that it's prepared...

Clue #4 - Known by many names, this veggie shares one name with the famous producer of these movies...

So...what is the vegetable?

If you guessed "James Bond," you would be wrong...

BUT...

If you guessed "Broccoli Rabe," you would be correct!

(BTW -- My clips of Sean Connery aren't completely gratuitous. The late Albert "Cubby" Broccoli was the producer of all the James Bond films through GoldenEye. :-)

Some say Broccoli Rabe is an acquired taste. Maybe it is...or maybe, If you've had it before and disliked it, the preparation might be to blame. Not every cook knows the tricks to getting the best flavor out of this veggie, which can be on the bitter side.

Because of its pungent edge, Broccoli Rabe is a great gastronomic complement for starchy, sweet, and cheesy main dishes like...spaghetti, ravioli, lasagna, mac 'n' cheese, casseroles, and pizzas. It's also a great source of vitamins A, C, K, and potassium.

If made fresh and blanched & shocked, Broccoli Rabe displays a nutty and sweet complexity along with its (admittedly) slightly bitter and pungent edge. Basically, if you've made kale or collard greens, then we're on the same veggie page.

Pictured below is one of my favorite vegetarian lunches:
Sesame seed-crusted Italian bread with melted cheese
and a generous portion of my Broccoli Rabe.

Cleo Coyle's

Broccoli Rabe

For a printable (PDF) version of this recipe, click here.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 bunch Broccoli Rabe (about 1 pound)
2-1/2 quarts water
1 teaspoon sea salt
24 whole cloves of garlic, peeled (about 1 and 1/2 heads)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Optional finishers:
Lemon slices
Pecorino Romano cheese (grated)
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Step 1 - Select your Broccoli Rabe: Broccoli Rabe has thick stalks like kale or collard greens and leafy green tops with tiny broccoli-like florets among its leaves. (My grocer sells it in 1 pound bunches.) Buy it as fresh as possible. Leaves should be bright green and not yellowing, wilted, or flowering. When you shop for it, note that this glorious green rose might be found by many other names: Broccoli Raab, Brocoletti di Rape, Rapini, Rappi, Rape, Broccoletti, or Cima di Rapa; and (for a Chinese version of it, look for...) Kai-lan, Gai Lan, Chinese broccoli, or Chinese kale.

Step 2 - Cut off ends: Like asparagus, you want to slice off the tough ends of the Broccoli Rabe stalks and toss them. To get the stems even more tender, I sometimes peel them, as well. (The stem is the most bitter part of the vegetable, and you can trim it even more to control this flavor aspect.)

Optional: Although some cooks like to roughly chop the Broccoli Rabe at this point (into 1-inch pieces), I prefer to cook and serve mine whole.

Step 3 - Blanch and shock: Yes, it sounds like a pair of James Bond villains, but in fact this is the step to remove much of the bitter bite. First bring a pot of water to the boil (at least 2-1/2 quarts), next toss in 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Now smash 4 of your whole, peeled garlic cloves and throw them into the boiling, salted water. Finally, add your Broccoli Rabe. Simmer for 5 full minutes. Using a colander, strain the Broccoli Rabe and shock it by running very cold tap water over it until the vegetable is no longer warm. Now drain all water and pat dry.

Step 4 - Heat oil and garlic: Place 4 tablespoons of olive oil into a large sauté pan and warm over medium-high heat. Add your remaining 20 cloves of whole, peeled garlic (do not slice or smash). (See optional flavor ideas below.*) Sauté the garlic for about 3 minutes or until you are able to smell the aroma of the garlic cooking and see the skin begin to appear translucent. (Note: you do not want the garlic to brown.)

*Optional flavor ideas: In Step 4, when you throw in the whole garlic, try adding red pepper flakes for a spicy note of heat. Or add a few anchovies for an umami flavor.

Step 5 - Sauté the Broccoli Rabe: Add your Broccoli Rabe to the pan. You should hear a slight sizzling (if you do not, turn up the heat a bit). Sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring continually to coat the vegetable with the garlic oil. When is it done? Test by biting. The stalks should be cooked al dente (slightly crunchy as you bite down but giving easily as you bite). Continue cooking until texture is to your liking.

Step 6 - Serve: To finish, salt to taste. Or try a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of freshly grated Pecorino Romano, and a bit of ground black pepper. Now you're ready to...

Eat with joy!

~ 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.

Welcome Guest Blogger Alan Orloff

Today I'd like to welcome Alan Orloff to Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. Alan has a new release--Diamonds for the Dead, which is getting great reviews. He's also writing a new series for Midnight Ink--The Last Laff series. Thanks so much for coming by today, Alan!
Thanks for inviting me to guest blog today. And what a great blog you have—combining mysteries and food? Genius!
I’m a cake kind-of-guy.
Some people prefer ice cream; others dig pie or candy or cookies. I even know one misguided soul who claims to be a flan lover. But when it comes to dessert, I’ll choose cake every time.
Such variety. Such wonderful flavors. And don’t even get me started on icing. (Hey, what other dessert can you write on? If they can have cell phone and Twitter novels, what about a novel written in icing on birthday cakes? I’ll volunteer to beta read that baby!)
So when Elizabeth/Riley asked me to guest blog here today, my thoughts immediately went to cake (although, I must admit, I also considered pulling out my Tofu-Cornapalooza recipe, but decided the public might not be quite ready for that. Maybe another time.).
Anyway, enough rambling. Let’s get our cake on!
This recipe is for chocolate babka, a traditional eastern European cake (maybe Russian, I don’t know). This cake used to show up at my grandmother’s apartment from time to time. It didn’t last long. This cake also makes an appearance in my just-released novel, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD, in a scene where the main character sits shiva for his deceased father. This babka is not real cake-y, but more of a cross between a rich egg-bread and cake. Most importantly, there’s chocolate!
Because I’m basically lazy, this recipe uses a bread machine for the dough.
Chocolate Babka
Directions:
Put the following ingredients into the bread machine pan in order listed. Run on the dough setting.
1/3 cup milk
1/3 water
2 large eggs (no shell)
1/4 cup oil (cooking, not motor)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp yeast
Combine the following for the filling/topping.
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Melt 1/4 margarine in a bowl.
Grease a ten-inch fluted tube or bundt pan. Spoon some of the filling into bottom of pan.
When dough cycle is complete, divide dough into 16 equal segments. Roll each ball into melted margarine, then roll through the filling. Place into pan. Use eight balls for the first layer, then top with the remaining eight balls. Toss in any remaining filling (or eat it--hey, you deserve a treat!).
Cover and let rise for an hour to an hour and a half.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
After dough has risen, bake for about forty minutes, or until golden brown.
If you happen to be at the Malice Domestic convention tomorrow, look for me and say hello. I’ll be the one with babka crumbs on my chin. Actually, if you sit at my table at the New Authors Breakfast on Saturday morning, you can get your very own slice of chocolate babka to snack on later in the day!


Alan Orloff is the author of the just-released mystery, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD (Midnight Ink). The first book in his new series is KILLER ROUTINE - A Last Laff Mystery, featuring Channing Hayes, a stand-up comic with a tragic past (Spring 2011, also from Midnight Ink). A former engineer, marketing manager, and newsletter editor, he lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two children. When he's not writing or reading, he's cooking and eating. For more info, visit www.alanorloff.com

Arizona Sunshine Pie

One of the many wonderful things about

living in Arizona is the plentiful citrus trees.

Just about everyone has either a grapefruit,

lemon, lime or orange tree in their yard.

I have peach, pomegranate and plum (but
that's because I like a challenge). I am
planning to put both a lemon and a lime

in my yard, but until then, I have plenty

of friends with overloaded citrus trees,

looking to off load their abundance onto

me. I say, "Bring it!" There is nothing

as wonderful as home grown fruit fresh

off the tree!

Here is one of my favorite recipes

(my neighbor made it for us and shared

the recipe) Thanks, Linda!

I just love it, because not only is it tasty but it

uses the WHOLE lemon. Yup, rind and all!

Talk about not letting your fruit

go to waste. And even better than

that, it's EASY!

Arizona Sunshine Pie

Ingredients:
1 large lemon
4 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 tspn vanilla
1 ½ cups sugar
1 unbaked piecrust

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut lemon into chunks leaving rind on.

Remove seeds. In a blender or food

processor, blend together lemon,

eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar until

mixture is smooth (should be

very watery). Pour into unbaked

pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for

about 45 minutes. If crust becomes

too brown, cover edges with

foil and finish baking. Serve with

whipped cream!

Now, how often do you get to taste sunshine?

ENJOY!

http://www.jennmckinlay.com/

Jenn McKinlay

SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
Available NOW!

aka Lucy Lawrence

CUT TO THE CORPSE
Available NOW!

LAST CHANCE -- THIS WEEK IS IT -- TO WIN RILEY'S BBQ CONTEST!!

The first book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Delicious and Suspicious, will be released July 6. To celebrate its upcoming release, I’m throwing a giveaway! :)Are you interested in winning Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection? It’s easy to enter! Just send an email to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com with
“Contest” in the subject line.

Really, really want to up your chances?You’ll get one extra entry if you follow us on Twitter, one extra if you subscribe to our posts (in the right hand sidebar under “Subscribe”), and one extra for becoming a follower (by clicking the “follow” button in the right hand column under our book covers and blog roll.) Just send us an extra email at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com and let us know what you’ve signed up for. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, let us know that, too!

Oh no, not them again!

Good morning (or evening, or whenever it is you're reading)!

No, my title doesn't have anything to do with uninvited guests showing up at my door. Nope, today's blog is about something far more dreadful (not!).

But first, I want to remind you of a couple of cool things:

First, this is the perfect time to sign up for Avery Aames' newsletter and to get "in the know" about her first Cheese Shop Mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye (I *adore* that title!) which Lorna Barrett called "A lovely tour de fromage..."

Avery's book debuts July 6, 2010. Follow the link below to keep updated:

If you want to know more about A Cheese Shop Mystery series and even become a "fan", check out my website by clicking this link: Avery Aames.

And we can't forget Elizabeth's April Contest. If you haven't entered yet, don't delay. The contest ends this week and you won't want to miss your chance to win that great grilling rub collection from Williams-Sonoma!

The first book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Delicious and Suspicious, will be released July 6. To celebrate its upcoming release, I’m throwing a giveaway! :)Are you interested in winning Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection? It’s easy to enter! Just send an emailto MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com with

“Contest” in the subject line.

Really, really want to up your chances?You’ll get one extra entry if you follow us on Twitter, one extra if you subscribe to our posts (in the right hand sidebar under “Subscribe”), and one extra for becoming a follower (by clicking the “follow” button in the right hand column under our book covers and blog roll.) Just send us an extra email at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com and let us know what you’ve signed up for. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, let us know that, too!

Now, onto today's recipe.

I titled this "Oh no, not them again!" for good reason. Whenever we at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen blog about Brussels Sprouts, we get fewer comments and fewer hits. But the poor maligned vegetable deserves better treatment (I'm talking to you, Dave!)

I'm including a super easy recipe that makes those itty bitty cabbages taste great! Trust me. I blogged once about a Brussels Sprouts appetizer. This one is a side dish. One that's gotten rave reviews from family members who claim to hate the little green sprouts.

So, with a little trepidation and hoping I haven't lost all our readers for the day, here goes:

(adapted from Vegetarian Cooking)

2/3 cup whipping cream

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 lbs Brussels Sprouts, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a shallow baking dish (I used a 10 x 14 Pyrex glass dish). Blend cream, milk, cheese, and seasonings in a bowl.

Place a single layer of Brussels Sprouts slices in the dish. Add half the garlic. Pour about a quarter of the liquid over the sprouts. Then add another layer of sprouts and pour more of the cream over them. Continue until all sprouts are layered and all liquid has been used.

Cover and bake for about an hour. Check on them and push any uncovered sprouts back into the mixture. Bake until bubbling and until the edges of exposed sprouts begin to brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Mmm!! Delicious!

I hope you give this recipe a try. Next week I have something completely different to talk about. Please tune in. No Brussels Sprouts. I promise!

Have fun!

Julie

Please sign up for my newsletter at my blog here. A new version will be going out very soon! Lots of updates. Contest coming too!

Grilled Cheese Heaven

Congratulations to our pal Julie Hyzy

on her starred review

for Grace Under Pressure. Kudos, Julie!

And major congrats to our pal, Riley Adams

(er...Elizabeth S. Craig) whose

Mystery Writing is Murder blog was just named

Writers Digest top 101 blogs for writers. Way to go!!!

And now to my weekend fun.

I went to a grilled cheese invitational this weekend in Los Angeles. Do you want to talk about incredible smells and tastes? As well as colorful people?

In addition to the competition, there was cheese poetry, music, a number of people wearing crowns, a beer and wine pavilion.

Doesn't this sound like the perfect setting for a murder mystery?Who's Killing the Great Grilled Cheese Chefs? [Okay, the title's been taken...]

Did anybody see that movie, Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Drop-dead funny.

I digress. In honor of the grilled cheese weekend, I decided to create one of my own. And what goes better with grilled cheese than bacon? But not just any bacon. Bacon that's really really flat.

Why flat? Because that way, the cheese melts evenly in the sandwich.

So here's what I did. I figured out that at diners, they use a flat iron to press down the bacon on the grill. I didn't have one of those, but I did have a pan that fit inside a pan. I put the bacon in the fry pan, covered it with foil, then set the smaller pan on top.

It presses the bacon flat and all the fat comes out of it, leaving good crispy meat to put in my sandwich. Yum!

And I used Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese for the sandwich. That's right. Cheddar bought at your local store. It's got a snappy taste that marries well with bacon and it melts like a dream.

Oh, and did I mention that I used raisin bread? The salt with the sugar is to die for.

Do you get the idea that I like grilled cheese almost as much as writing murder mysteries?

Hope you enjoy.

GRILLED CHEESE

WITH BACON ON RAISIN BREAD

Ingredients:

2 slices raisin bread

2 tablespoons butter

2 slices crisp bacon

2 oz. Tillamook Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Grill bacon on medium. Note: As mentioned above: I slip the pieces into a sauté pan, cover with foil, and set a smaller sauté pan on top. Grill for 5 minutes. Remove sauté pan and foil. Flip the bacon. Replace the foil and smaller sauté pan and grill for 5 more minutes.

In the meantime, butter two slices of raisin bread on one side only.

Remove bacon from saute pan and drain on paper towels.

Place one slice of raisin bread, butter side down, on grilling surface. Layer cheese, bacon and cheese. Top with raisin bread, butter side up.

Grill on low to medium for 5 minutes. The raisins might look dark but they are not burnt. Flip the sandwich and grill for another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

If you want to know more about A Cheese Shop Mystery series and even become a "fan", check out my website by clicking this link: Avery Aames.

* * * * * *

New April MLK Contest!!!!

The first book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Delicious and Suspicious, will be released July 6. To celebrate its upcoming release, I’m throwing a giveaway! :)Are you interested in winning Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection? It’s easy to enter! Just send an email to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com with

“Contest” in the subject line.

Really, really want to up your chances?You’ll get one extra entry if you follow us on Twitter, one extra if you subscribe to our posts (in the right hand sidebar under “Subscribe”), and one extra for becoming a follower (by clicking the “follow” button in the right hand column under our book covers and blog roll.) Just send us an extra email at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com and let us know what you’ve signed up for. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, let us know that, too!

Guest Blogger: Maddy Hunter!

Greetings, everyone!

I’m Maddy Hunter, and to my great delight,
I’ve just had the dust blown off my
Passport to Peril travel mysteries.
The series was cancelled in 2007 after book
six (NORWAY TO HIDE) was published,
but last January, Midnight Ink Books offered
me a two book contract (yeah!!!) to continue
the adventures of tour escort Emily and her
zany band of globetrotting seniors from Iowa,
so look for DEAD DUTCH in the winter of 2012.




My characters have already packed their bags and are presently in
Amsterdam, where they’re about to wander into the red light district
after feasting on some strange tasting brownies in a local coffee house.
Unfortunately, they’ve forgotten Emily’s warning that a Dutch brownie
is not the same as your garden variety Duncan Hines brownie.
But hey, they were hungry!


As a child, I never seemed to get hungry, but when I was,
I liked to eat cream cheese and olive sandwiches, wagon wheel
macaroni with tomatoes, and fish sticks drenched with lemon juice.
Since I was small and scrawny, my mom was always trying to fatten
me up with sweets, but much to her dismay, I preferred my
grandfather’s Italian salad to chocolate cake and hated ice cream
because it felt too cold in my mouth.


When I began traveling to other countries in search of unusual places
to whack fictional characters, I vowed to expand my palate. So while
Emily’s seniors sightsee, fall over dead bodies, and run each other down
in their quest to be first into the dining room, *I* have been discovering
new taste sensations. Though the seniors’ idea of the perfect meal is an
Iowa chop, they have sampled more exotic fare vicariously through me:
kangaroo in Australia (tasted like beef), reindeer in Lapland (tasted like
beef), black pudding in Ireland (tasted like… I don’t want to talk about it),
cornflakes in Switzerland (tasted like cornflakes), boar in Italy (tasted like
kangaroo), Hawaiian pizza in Norway (?????), and cinnamon ice cream in
Holland (ice cream is still too cold for my mouth), but the cinnamon part
allows me segue into my recipe.


My husband is the real cook in our family. I prepare meals; he actually
cooks. On Easter morning this year he surprised me with warm cinnamon
rolls that were to die for. The only thing that could have made them better
is if he’d been able to suck out all the calories.



So I give you Ring Pan Sweet Rolls. Enjoy!
Warning: These rolls are extremely dangerous. If they’re in your
house, you will eat them. So if you want to avoid a killer carbohydrate
high, give half of them to your next door neighbor. Your waistline will
love you for it, and your neighbor might offer to cut your grass while
you’re traipsing around Scotland this summer, searching for the
Loch Ness monster, and sampling haggis.


Yup, haggis. The pudding that’s boiled in the stomach of a sheep.
I suspect I may soon be altering my opinion of ice cream.


Please check out my “in desperate need of updating” website at http://www.maddyhunter.com/, and come join me on Facebook for
the latest scoop on the new book.

RING PAN SWEET ROLLS


Rhodes Frozen Dinner Rolls (36/pkg)
Thaw 18 rolls on a cookie sheet and cut into
thirds or quarters before they start to rise.
Make *Syrup* (See Below). Place small
amount in bottom of well-greased bundt pan.
Layer rolls and drizzle with syrup.
Sit covered overnight for rolls to rise.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes
on lower rack.
Stand for 10 minutes.
Invert on cookie sheet and remove from
bundt pan.

*SYRUP*
½ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon milk
Heat syrup and blend together




"A debut with more than a few chuckles... Sit back in your
comfy chair and enjoy the madcap adventures of Emily Andrew
who joins her grandmother and other senior citizens on a
tour of Switzerland replete with cuckoo clocks, lost luggage,
and a few stiffs... One to cheer the gloomy winter days."
Mystery Lovers Bookshop (Alpine For You)




Thanks for joining us today, Maddy! I can't wait to read DEAD DUTCH.
It sounds hilarious!!! And I love this roll recipe -- I'm going to try it today!

New April Contest!!!!

The first book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Delicious and Suspicious, will be released July 6. To celebrate its upcoming release, I’m throwing a giveaway! :)Are you interested in winning Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection? It’s easy to enter! Just send an email to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com with
“Contest” in the subject line.
Really, really want to up your chances?You’ll get one extra entry if you follow us on Twitter, one extra if you subscribe to our posts (in the right hand sidebar under “Subscribe”), and one extra for becoming a follower (by clicking the “follow” button in the right hand column under our book covers and blog roll.) Just send us an extra email at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com and let us know what you’ve signed up for. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, let us know that, too!

Fun with Spaetzle!

Congratulations to Julie Hyzy for a starred review for her new book Grace Under Pressure! Yay, Julie!

Yesterday, Mystery Lovers' Kitchen was the proud recipient of the One Lovely Blog Award -- twice!

Thanks to Lorna Barret and Laura Hinds for this honor. We're thrilled that you like us!






And now --

Fun With Spaetzle!

I can almost guarantee children will love Spaetzle. First of all, there's the name. Shpeh -- tslee. Then there are the funky shapes. It's made by dropping dough into boiling water, so the pieces come out kid-size and in all sorts of wiggly-looking shapes.

The taste is never overwhelming. In fact, I realized recently that spaetzle is a major comfort food for me. It has that reassuring warm tummy-filling thing going on. No weird ingredients, either. You probably always have the basics on hand -- flour, milk, and eggs.

It's a common food in Germany. If you've never had it, I'd have to say it's closer to egg pasta than anything else, but it's not really pasta, either. It is yummy, though. Those odd little shapes do a nice job of capturing sauces, so it's a natural with goulash, or stroganoff, or even osso buco. Like pasta, it can also be served as a side dish with just a little bit of browned butter.

Spaetzle

3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

large pot of salted water

Measure the milk in a 2 or 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Add the eggs and whisk together. Mix the salt and nutmeg in a bowl with the flour. Gradually add the liquid to the flour, stirring (I use a whisk) until well-mixed. It gets thick, and sort of like pancake batter, there may be some smallish lumps that disappear when you cook it.


Bring the water to a boil. I had this handy-dandy spaetzle maker available, so I placed the batter in the container on top. It drips through the holes and you run the little container back and forth. Kind of fun, actually. Note that the little bits of spaetzle are dropping into the boiling water below. They cook almost instantly.

If you don't have a handy-dandy spaetzle maker, you can accomplish the same thing by letting the batter drip through the holes in a colander or the top part of a double boiler. Don't worry about the shapes. The funkier, the better!




Pour into a colander to get rid of the water --

and, voila! Spaetzle!

Enjoy!

I Can't Wait to Barbecue!

And wouldn't it be wonderful to have a selection of rubs from Williams-Sonoma? I can't enter (boohoo) to win them -- but you can!

The first book in the Memphis Barbeque series, Delicious and Suspicious, will be released July 6. To celebrate its upcoming release, Riley is throwing a giveaway! :)Are you interested in winning Williams-Sonoma’s Ultimate Grilling Rub Collection? It’s easy to enter! Just send an email to MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com with

“Contest” in the subject line.

Really, really want to up your chances? You’ll get one extra entry if you follow us on Twitter, one extra if you subscribe to our posts (in the right hand sidebar under “Subscribe”), and one extra for becoming a follower (by clicking the “follow” button in the right hand column under our book covers and blog roll.) Just send us an extra email at MysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com and let us know what you’ve signed up for. If you’re already a follower or subscriber, let us know that, too!

Is Your Oven Lying to You? by Cleo Coyle

So I'm packing for a trip to Colorado, where I'll be visiting (and cooking) for family members and guess what I'm putting in my luggage? The photo to the right should help you with this head scratcher...

Yes, that's right.

I'm packing an oven thermometer!

More on this below...

But first I want to raise a virtual champagne glass to my fellow mystery writing cook Elizabeth S. Craig. Writer's Digest has just named Elizabeth's Mystery Writing is Murder blog as one of the Top 101 Websites for Writers in 2010! Congratulations, Elizabeth! And now...

OVENLY TRUST

My Colorado realtives are wonderful people. The mom of the family has a demanding full-time job and the dad runs his own business. Without a lot of time to cook, they rely heavily on their gas grill, stovetop, and microwave.

For some time now, their oven has been less than reliable. My dinner menu for them takes this into account. I'm cooking up Italian-fried shrimp as the main dish with two dipping sauces on the side and a mixed green salad with gorgonzola dressing. The problem? I have to bake a birthday cake, too, and as much as I love Colorado cowboys, there is no way I'm attempting to bake a double-chocolate layer cake over an open fire.

Frankly, their oven shares the same problem as many older ovens out there. The heating element works just fine, but the temperature gauge has gone haywire. Consequently, the digital read-out on their stovetop may *claim* the oven is 350 degrees F, but when I put an independent thermometer inside, it reads 280 F.

This crazy variance in temperature will wreack havoc with cooking times on everything from my spicy, succulent Puerto Rican-style roasted pork shoulder (aka Pernil) to my Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons. BTW - if you missed those previous recipe posts, just click on the photos below and a PDF recipe will appear for you to print out, save, or share...

Click the photo to get a printable version of Cleo Coyle's recipe
for Puerto Rican-style Roasted Pork Shoulder (aka "Pernil")

Click the photo to get a printable version of
Cleo Coyle's recipe for Mocha-Dipped Rum Macaroons

To be totally honest, my own ten-year-old oven is not as accurate as I'd like. The main problem I have (and your oven may have it, too) is pre-heating times. They take quite a bit longer than what my trickster oven claims. For higher temperatures especially, I must pre-heat my oven up to 30 extra minutes to get the *real* oven temperature to match the temperature on the stovetop display.

A sad but true fact of life, folks. (Or maybe it's just the mystery writer in me.) Even your oven needs a background check! So the next time you're out shopping, pick up an oven thermometer. You don't need anything fancy or costly. I bought mine for a mere 5 dollars.

C'mon. Be brave. Don't you think it's time you found out whether your oven is a trustworthy appliance--or has been lying to you for years? 

Eat with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries 

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

Friend me on facebook here.

Follow me on twitter here. 

Visit my online coffeehouse here.

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
12 titles includes the added bonus of recipes. 

To learn more, click here.  

 

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.