Skillet Caramelized Pear Cake

I have friends who think I never have kitchen disasters. Hah! I'll never forget the blueberry bread that was so bad that even desperately hungry squirrels and raccoons turned their noses up at it. Nevertheless I keep trying new things. Sometimes they work, sometimes not so much.

Yesterday, Sunday dinner with Mom was looming, but I couldn't find a recipe for what I had in mind. In this case, I happened to have two pears that I was determined to use, a small oval cast iron skillet that Santa brought, and precious little time for baking.

I'll admit that I had serious doubts about how this might turn out. It exceeded our expectations. This one is a keeper and a recipe I'll be making often. Not only does it taste great, but it's very pretty, too. Apples could readily be substituted for pears, and I suspect that a mixture of apples and pears would work as well. My cast iron skillet is 9.5 inches by 7 inches for reference purposes. A small round skillet should work fine.

Skillet Caramelized Pear Cake

2 pears
lemon

1/4 cup canola or olive oil (not one with intense flavor)
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar


Preheat oven to 350.

Peel, core, and slice the pears. Toss with a squeeze or two of lemon so they don't turn brown.

Place the oil, egg, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat or whisk together. Alternate adding flour and milk until everything is blended. Set aside.

On the stove top, melt the butter with the light brown sugar in the skillet. Position the pear slices on top of the mixture, crowding them a little bit. Pour the batter over the pears and slide the skillet into the oven. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Flip over onto serving platter.



Serve warm with creme fraiche or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Enjoy!

Happy Cake

A few weeks ago, I heard about a fabulous new series with magical cats. I was eager to book the author, Sofie Kelly, as a guest blogger, but I couldn't find her! I finally gave up. In the meantime, my friend Darlene mentioned that her new book was about to come out. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Darlene was the elusive Sofie Kelly! She's not so elusive anymore, cat lovers everywhere can find her at SophieKelly.com. Welcome to Mystery Lover's Kitchen, Sofie!



On Tuesday my newest book, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat—written as Sofie Kelly—will be available. (If you like cosy mysteries, cats, and a touch of magic I think you’ll like it.)

We’ll probably celebrate book launch day with Happy Cake. We celebrate a lot of things with Happy Cake—book launches, an “A” in math, snow days, cleaning out the basement.

The original cake recipe came from a church cookbook, the kind of recipe collection lots of church groups put out in the 1960’s and 70’s to raise money for things like choir robes or a new stove for the church hall. I love these cookbooks. They feel a bit like a time capsule. In my battered old cookbook, along with recipes for Mountain Dew Pudding and Miracle Whip Cake, there are ads for local businesses like Murphy’s Esso, and Kirks Foodliner. Mr. Murphy drove my school bus. His son, Wayne, was in my class from first grade all the way through ninth. We got our groceries every week at Kirks. (And I sighed over photos of the Mod Squad’s Michael Cole in Tiger Beat.)

The cake isn’t called Happy Cake in my cookbook. It’s actually called Jiffy Devil’s Food Cake. But in my house it’s always going to be Happy Cake, named by my daughter when she was two. Birthdays were “happy, happy day,” and birthday cake was “happy, happy cake.”

If you have a book to celebrate on Tuesday, or an “A” in math, or maybe just the fact that you made it through another January day, here’s the recipe for Happy Cake.

Happy Cake

1 1/2 cups cake flour*
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix these ingredients together in an un-greased 8 by 8 cake pan. Make 3 wells in the mixture. Add the following ingredients, one in each well:

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon vinegar

Pour 1 cup of cold water over everything and mix well with a fork. **Sprinkle half a cup of chocolate chips over the batter. Do not mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool, cut, and enjoy!

*You can use all-purpose flour but the cake is better with cake flour.

**Or omit the chocolate chips and frost with your favorite frosting.

As Sofie Kelly, Darlene is the author of the new Magical Cats mysteries from Obsidian. The first book, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat will be available February 1st.

When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen’s fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there’s something more to these felines.

When murder interrupts Mayville’s Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. More stunning is her realization that Owen and Hercules are magical—and she’s relying on their skills to solve a purr-fect murder.

MY GRANDMOTHER'S MEATLOAF

by Sheila Connolly

I've been trying hard to stick to my New Year's resolution to organize better, and so far I've filled two boxes with useless paper.  (Yes, I recycle.)  These are articles and printouts that I thought were important when I saved them, going back as much as five years.  They've been living in boxes labeled "Miscellaneous" and this week is the first time I've looked at most of them.  Often I find myself wondering why the heck I saved them at all.

But the grand clean-up does offer some rewards.  For example, I found my mother's recipe cards, and among them were a couple of recipes from my grandmother.

No big deal, you say?  You have to bear in mind that my grandmother never learned to cook.  How she managed this I do not know, but she lived to be 94 with all her faculties and all her teeth.  Tough Yankee stock.  When she used to babysit for my sister and me, when we were young, we lived on cereal and ice cream.  She was, however, very good at restaurants, and was happy to take her granddaughters alongBas long as we promised to behave ourselves.  And we did.

There were only a few dishes she would ever attempt: fudge, gravy, and meatloaf.  Herewith I present you with My Grandmother's Meatloaf.

Frankly I was curious to see how it stood up to the test of time.  No doubt we all make meatloaf (and I'm sure several of us have posted recipes here), and this was a staple of my childhood.  I've been making meatloaf for years myself, but over time the recipe has strayed.  My husband has his own version, which includes barbecue sauce and ground bacon.  So how did the 1950s version hold up?

My Grandmother's Meatloaf

2 lbs ground beef (should be lean)

1 lb ground veal

1 lb ground pork

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tsp ground sage

1 small onion, minced

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix all the ingredients, being careful not to overwork (makes the meatloaf dense).

Shape the meatloaf and place it in a baking pan with space around it. Lay strips of bacon over the top.  Pour 1/2 cup of boiling water in the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 60-75 minutes, basting every ten minutes (you may need to add more water).

Of course, I doubt my grandmother or my mother would have used fresh sage.  I cheated and chopped the onion fine in my trusty Cuisinart (which didn't exist back then), as well as the bread crumbs (homemade, of course!).

The element that surprised me, and which I did not remember, was basting with water.  You'd be surprised how much of the water disappears during the cooking process, although whether it is absorbed into the meatloaf or vaporizes isn't clear to me.  But I think it makes a difference and helps keep the meatloaf moist.

I made the full recipe because in our household we love leftover meatloaf (with mashed potatoes and my grandmother's gravy), but it works just as well halved (use two eggs instead of three).

 

Crusted Beef Tenderloin Crisis with a Happy Ending

I talk about vegetables here fairly often, and I do love them, but when I'm in the mood for a treat, I like a good steak. Filet mignon is one of my top choices, but crusted filet medallions take perfection to a higher level. I first ordered crusted filet medallions at Wildfire (a Lettuce Entertain You restaurant... gosh I love them!) years ago. Since then, whenever I've been lucky enough to find them offered at a quality restaurant, I indulge.

Last week, my husband and I happened upon a lovely beef tenderloin at our local market. We were having a small dinner party over the weekend and as soon as we found it, we knew what we were serving!

I've made whole beef tenderloins in the past. They're good. Very good, in fact. But this time I decided to slice the tenderloin into filets. Even better, I decided to try -- my first attempt ever -- to crust them.

Success? Yes. Absolutely.

But I did a practice run first with some small pieces and I'm *so* glad I did.

I found a recipe online for a blue cheese crust. Mmm... sounded great, and I love blue cheese. So what went wrong? I'm not sure exactly. Maybe it was the brand of blue cheese I used, but when I finished broiling the medallions and brought the pieces up for my husband and eldest daughter to sample, I noticed a peculiar smell. Not blue-cheesy. Something else. A smell I recognized from a recent excursion. One that does not belong in a kitchen.

My husband (who will eat anything) claimed no issue and thought the samples were great. But my daughter and I exchanged glances. "You know what this smells like?" she asked me. I knew before she said it. "This smells like the zoo."

It did. Specifically, like the elephant house.

EEEYOOO!!!

Why am I telling you this? Isn't this an absolutely horrific topic to include in a recipe blog? Sure, it is, but there's a happy ending, so bear with me.

My husband and I love horseradish, so I tried a new crust using that ingredient. Excellent, if I do say so myself. But we realized that there are a lot of folks who don't care much for horseradish, so I came up with an alternate idea. Mushroom crust.

Oh boy, these were excellent! And easy. What I loved about preparing this dinner was that I could make the side dishes ahead of time and cook the steaks right before I served. This means lots more mingle time, lots less hassle in the kitchen. And that's what dinner parties are all about, right?

What follows below is my mushroom crust (simple, simple, simple)

and directions for preparing crusted medallions (just as simple)

The only thing I'd change going forward is the size of the medallions. Next time I'll slice the whole tenderloin into thicker servings.

Mushroom Crusted Filet Medallions

Filet medallions allowed to come to room temperature (one thick filet per guest)

Olive oil

About 3 Tbsp butter

Panko crumbs

Fresh mushrooms (I used 1/2 pound for four guests) coarsely chopped

Saute mushrooms in butter until softened and brown and until they've given off their liquid. Combine with enough Panko crumbs to make a nice mealy mix that almost holds together. Not too wet, not dry. <-- See picture. Set aside.

Set oven to 500 degrees and place an oven-safe frying pan inside to heat. It's empty at this point. Don't add the steaks yet. Coat both sides of each filet with olive oil. (I added a little of our favorite rub too. But just a teeny bit.)

Once the oven has gotten to 500 degrees, and you're almost ready to serve, remove pan from oven and set it over high heat on your stovetop. Be super careful. I burned my wrist on this. Ouch!

Sear filets (don't let them touch each other) in the hot pan. My filets were thinner than they should have been (they felt thick when I was slicing, but not so much once they sat a while), so I only seared them for about 1 minute per side. Depending on the thickness, you may want to go up to 2 minutes per side.

As soon as both sides are seared, place pan back in the super hot oven until meat *almost* reaches desired doneness. We like ours medium rare and we left them in for two minutes. Yep, really. Only two.

Remove from oven and turn oven to broil. Arrange prepared crust atop each filet. If some spills, no problem. As soon as each filet is crusted, place pan back in oven, under the broiler, close enough for it to crisp those crusts.

Watch carefully. Ours broiled up nicely in about a minute and a half.

Remove from oven and let the meat sit, lightly covered with aluminum foil, for about ten minutes.

Serve.

This is a really elegant meal. And the best part is how simple it is.

Hope you have fun. I can't wait to try this again. Soon! Maybe I'll even be brave and attempt it with a different brand of blue cheese. Just not when guests are expected. I wouldn't want our visit to be "trunk"-cated.

Boo!

Julie

Author of:

Grace Interrupted (second in the Manor House Mystery series, coming in June, 2011)

Buffalo West Wing (fourth in the White House Chef Mystery series), out now!

Ahhhh, New Orleans!

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to go to New Orleans (for a college football championship bowl game). New Orleans is a charming and challenged city. It still suffers from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But I would say most people who visit come to revel.

It might be the only city that encourages walking around with an opened container. But that’s another subject. J

While in town, I visited a number of independent bookstores while in town. The owners/managers were delightful. Garden District Bookshop on Prytania and Octavia Books on Octavia. These stores all have events for their patrons. Both carried mysteries, but they also carried books about New Orleans' history and food. New Orleans is well-known for its food and its music. Both were prevalent.

I also checked out a fabulous cheese shop.

St. James Cheese Shop, on Prytania.

And I attended a women’s luncheon at K Paul’s restaurant, famous because Chef Paul Prudhomme is the owner.

We ate delicious food. A jazz trio played. What fun and spirit!

And Chef Paul was there to greet us and sign our gift copy of his cookbook.

Highlights of the restaurant included not only good music and good conversation, but the artwork on the walls. Beside my table was this charmer with a recipe scrawled all over it for Oyster Brie Champagne Soup. I had to jot it down and I'm including it below.

However, it is not what I'm making this week. The chef's recipe requires flour, and as many of you know, I am a celiac and need to eat flour-free. In addition, I'm not a big oyster fan, but I needed to know what this soup "might" taste like and whether the portions on the painting were correct.

SO...inspired by the recipe, I created my own cream and shrimp soup. Instead of Brie, I used Camembert.

Trivia: Camembert is a soft, luscious cow's milk cheese, first introduced in Normandy France during the 18th century. An engineer, M. Ridel, designed the wood box that helps carry the cheeses long distances.

Oyster Brie Champagne Soup – K Paul

(serves 8 - handsome portions)

1 ¼ cup unsalted butter

1 ¼ cup flour

2 quarts oyster or seafood stock

5 cups whipping cream

1 ½ teaspoons red pepper

2 cups brut champagne

3 dozen oysters, shucked

1 cup green onions (green tails only), diced

salt to taste

8 ounces Brie, rind removed, and sliced in 8 slices

Directions:

In 3 quart saucepan, melt butter. Add flour and stir for 3 minutes.

Add seafood stock and stir for 3 minutes.

Add whipping cream and red pepper and stir for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Add brut champagne, oysters, salt, and green onions

Let stand 10 minutes and pour into 8 bowls.

Adorn with one slice Brie.

Serve.

My recipe turned out satiny smooth and so delicious I couldn't stop eating. The addition of shrimp was brilliant, if I do say so myself. And adding slices of Camembert on top of the soup right before serving is luscious. A real texture treat.

SHRIMP SOUP INSPIRED BY CHEF PRUDHOMME

Ingredients:

(serves 6-8 - portions about 3/4 cup each)

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup potato starch (potato flour)

4 cups vegetable stock (gluten-free; many are nowadays)

2 ½ cups whipping cream

1 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons salt

½ cup green onions (green tails only, about 1 bunch), diced

1 cup dry champagne

1 pound bay shrimp

4 ounces Camembert, room temperature

Directions:

In 3 quart saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter.

Add potato starch and stir. Heat 3 minutes.

Add vegetable stock and stir. Heat 3 minutes.

Add whipping cream and pepper and salt and stir. Heat 5 minutes. (Stir occasionally to prevent cream from boiling).

Remove from heat.

Add champagne (will bubble), shrimp and diced green onion tips.

Let stand 10 minutes and pour into 6 to 8 bowls.

Adorn with slivers of Camembert (rind removed).

Enjoy!!!

***

Who knows? Maybe the chef will see this post and decide it’s a recipe he must include in his next presentation? LOL

*******

A SNEAK PREVIEW of LOST AND FONDUE is now up on my website. Click here. If you'd like to know more about A Cheese Shop Mystery series and want to download a few other recipes from me (on recipe cards), click on this link to my website: Avery Aames. I've posted recipes in the "morsels" section. There's lots of other fun stuff, as well. And sign up for the mailing list to get in on the next contest...coming soon.

Say cheese!

Mushroom and Rice Casserole

I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I just get in a mood to eat a particular food.

It’s not always chocolate, although chocolate frequently makes that list. :)

On this occasion (no, it wasn’t bacon! Although…) it was mushrooms. As frequently is the case, I’d eaten something with mushrooms in it that was wonderful and whetted my appetite for more.

None of the recipes that were my old standbys had enough of the mushroom ingredient to really satisfy me. So I took to the internet.

And I found this gem on Heidi Swanson’s 101 Cookbooks site. She first posted it a couple of years ago, but it was so popular that it came up nearly first in my Google web search.

I think what I liked about this most was the combination of cheeses with the brown rice and the mushrooms. Heidi had put tarragon in her recipe, but I’ll admit to leaving it out of mine. I did use low fat cottage cheese and low fat sour cream in mine to make it a smidge less fattening. And I resisted the urge to add bacon (aren’t you proud?) although I think the recipe would be wonderful with it in there. Maybe even some spinach would be fun to add, another time.

Unfortunately (and not surprisingly) Heidi’s pictures are much prettier than mine are! If you’d like, you can see a more attractive rendition of the dish on her site. :)

At any rate, it was comfort on a plate and very satisfying.

Mushroom Casserole

8 ounces of brown, chopped mushrooms
1 chopped onion
3 finely chopped cloves of garlic
3 cups cooked brown rice, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
a bit of fresh tarragon, chopped (optional…and I didn’t use it)

Preheat oven to 350. Saute the mushrooms in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Stir until browned. Add the onions for an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another minute. Remove from heat. Add the cooked rice to the skillet and combine.

Mix together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and salt in a medium bowl.

Combine the rice mixture and cottage cheese mixture. Pour into a sprayed baking dish and sprinkle with 2/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 25 minutes, or until heated through and browning at the edges. Sprinkle with the optional tarragon, and the rest of the Parmesan.

Hope you’ll enjoy!

Riley/Elizabeth
Delicious and Suspicious (July 6 2010) Riley Adams
Pretty is as Pretty Dies –Elizabeth Spann Craig

Welcome Ghirardelli’s Mocha Challenge Winner: Jason Dominy Shares His $1500 Prize-Winning Recipe!

The devil you say! Yes, it's true. I'm about to introduce you to the man who created the Mocha Diablo, this year's $1500 prize-winning recipe for Ghirardelli's Mocha Challenge!

Jason Dominy is a highly respected professional in the coffee trade with over 14 years dedicated to coffee. He writes informative articles on the subject (like this one for Imbibe magazine, which will give you some great tips for pour-over coffee). Jason is also the incoming chair of the Barista Guild of America. I'll be blogging more about the US Barista Championships soon. Today, I'm pleased to turn things over to Jason...

(Scroll to the end of this post to read more about Jason or visit him at his blog, which features a lot of great coffee content.)

~ Cleo Coyle, author of
the Coffeehouse Mysteries 






Jason Dominy, dedicated coffee pro
and winner of this year's
Ghirardelli Mocha Challenge

I came up with the Mocha Diablo recipe 12 years ago, when I ran a coffee shop in downtown Athens, GA, called The Bean’ry. I was playing with different hot chocolates, and using pepper in them, when I decided to add espresso. It instantly hit me as a great drink.

Over the years I’ve tweaked it, and made it for hundreds of people as a special treat. It now uses chipotle, which is a smoked jalapeno, and adds a real nice depth to the drink.

When I saw the Ghirardelli contest on Barista Exchange, one of my favorite websites, I figured, “what the heck?” and entered the recipe as I’ve made it the past 5 years or so. I’ve always loved a good mocha done well, and do to this day. When the espresso is paired nicely with high quality chocolate, like the handmade chocolates from Cacao-Atlanta, a local bean-to-bar chocolate maker, the taste is amazing. (Click here to visit Cacao-Atlanta.)

B & B’s Timbales Blend coffee (sold by Batdorf and Bronson Coffee Roasters in Atlanta, Georgia, click here to learn more about or purchase this coffee) has a nice sweet chocolate taste to it, and makes a great espresso, and a great pairing with a nice chocolate.

Over the years I’ve hosted many Single Origin Chocolate and Coffee Tastings, and find that the similarities in how cacao and coffee are grown lend themselves to differences in taste that even average customers can discern from, as well as pairing nicely together.

It was an honor to win this year’s Ghirardelli’s Mocha Challenge, and to be able to share this drink with you. It’s obviously inspired by Mexican hot chocolates, and has a nice depth most mochas don’t have.

The first thing you smell when you draw the cup to your nose is the sweet cinnamon. Then, you get the sweet milk, followed by the nice espresso and chocolate. And in the back of your mouth and throat, you sense the subtle heat from the ground chipotle. It’s a very well balanced drink. I give to you, the recipe. Enjoy!

In good coffee,
~ Jason Dominy

Jason Dominy's Winning
Mocha Diablo

* .5 oz Ghirardelli Black Label Chocolate Sauce

* Chipotle Powder (I use McCormick’s)

* Steamed Milk

* 2 shots espresso (A traditional double shot)

* Ground Cinnamon


Place 1 pump (.5 oz) Ghirardelli Black Label Chocolate Sauce and a conservative pinch of Chipotle Powder in a 10oz latte cup. Pull a standard double espresso shot into the cup and stir. Lightly dust the top with cinnamon and pour steamed milk over the top. Enjoy.

You can follow Jason on Twitter
by clicking here.

Visit Jason at his blog,
Musings of a Coffee Raggamuffin,
by clicking here. 

To see the other winners of this challenge
and get their delicious recipes,
click here and scroll down.

More on Jason...

Jason Dominy has been working in the coffee trade for 14 years, starting with opening his first coffeehouse in Augusta, Georgia, on the campus of Augusta State University. He is the incoming chair of the Barista Guild of America, and sits on the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s Professional Development Committee, training baristas and coffee professionals all over the country. Jason also judges at regional barista competitions. 

Jason’s current pro position is Customer Support and Outreach Coordinator for Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters (B&B) in Atlanta, a 24 year old company, roasting Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified and Bird-Friendly, Shade Grown coffees, using 100% renewable energy.

Jason not only uses social media to connect with the public, but also conducts events and labs at his company’s Roastery, at their Dancing Goats Coffee Bar, college campuses, and grocery stores like Whole Foods. (Dang, does this not sound like a fun job?!) Jason is quite passionate about his work, including his commitment to creating a better community for baristas and independent coffee shops.

Thank you, Jason, for sharing your passion,
talent, and winning recipe with us today!
~ Cleo

You are welcome to leave a comment or question for Jason or me
by clicking the "comments" link at the end of this post.

******************

A final, quick note for our mystery reading fans.
This week marks the release of the latest Mystery Readers Journal with the theme Hobbies, Crafts, and Special Interests.

The issue, edited by Mystery Fanfare's Janet Rudolph, includes many mystery authors who have guest posted for us over the past year. You can check out the contents by clicking here, which will also give you info on how to purchase a copy (hard or electronic) for yourself.

******************

Rigatoni with Chicken Thighs and Sausage

Baby, it's cold outside! Brrr. The temps are headed for 18 degrees! Time for hot chocolate with whipped cream and hearty meals that stick to your ribs. I don't cook pasta very often, but the frigid weather had me longing for a nice dish of al dente pasta with a hearty sauce. The only problem is that I'm often at a loss for a good sauce. Yes, I know about the stuff in jars, but homemade is always better.


So, I did what I often do when it comes to pasta sauces. Checked out recipes. Too light, too summery, too exotic, too spicy -- in the end, I made up my own and it's a nice week night dinner that doesn't take long to prepare. The most time consuming part is cutting up the chicken thighs -- but they don't take long to cook, so I figure it balances out. It's a very easy sauce to make, so don't shy away.

Rigatoni with Chicken Thighs and Sausage

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
6 boneless chicken thighs
1/4 cup flour
salt
pepper
2 pork sausages, sliced (I used Bratwurst!)
1/2 cup white wine
1 leek, sliced (1/3 cup chopped onion would be fine)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon oregano
28 ounces diced tomatoes (2 small cans or 1 large one)
salt to taste
heavy cream
8-10 ounces rigatoni or penne

Cut the chicken thighs into 3/4 inch squares, trimming any fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn, then add the flour and turn several times to coat.

Heat the olive oil and brown the chicken thighs. Add the sliced sausage. Scoop the meat out and set it aside.

Pour the white wine into the pan to deglaze it and add the leek, garlic and oregano. When the leek and garlic have softened, add the diced tomatoes and return the meat to the sauce.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

Simmer the sauce gently until the chicken is cooked through. This doesn't take long! Don't overcook the chicken. In fact if you're waiting for everyone to arrive, bring it to a simmer and turn it off. Reheat when everyone is ready to sit down to eat, making sure the chicken has cooked through.

Salt to taste. Remove from heat and pour cream into the sauce -- Rachel Ray style -- by pouring it in a circle twice (eyeball it!).

Ladle sauce over pasta and enjoy!

Welcome, Guest Hannah Dennison

Welcome one of my favorite people, Hannah Dennison.

Hannah is the author of the Vicky Hill Mysteries. Her fourth book, Thieves! (Berkley Prime Crime) is out in stores now!

In addition to being an excellent author, Hannah has done a variety of jobs. She wrote obituaries, worked in an antique shop, was secretary to a Formula One World Champion, a hostess in a nightclub, a flight attendant, and an assistant at New Line Cinema. To read more about the adventures of “Hannah,” check out her darling biography on her website.

Take it away, Hannah!

* * *

It’s such an honor to be invited to be today’s guest on Mystery Lovers Kitchen. Thank you! Alas, unlike many of my fellow authors’ protagonists, my amateur sleuth, aspiring investigative reporter Vicky Hill, has no prowess in the kitchen.

As the reluctant obituary reporter for the Gipping Gazette, Vicky has more experience in eating traditional English fare like Dundee fruitcake and Victoria Sponge at post-funeral shindigs. And when she’s not solving murders in the English market town of Gipping-on-Plym, you’ll find her at various Women’s Institute meetings helping judge the Bottled Jam Boil-Off or sampling the Best British Pudding.

Speaking of puddings (yes, the Brits call dessert “pudding”), I want to share my absolute favorite. In fact it was on the menu at my wedding. It’s super easy to make and very fast, especially if you don’t have time to make your own meringues.

Eton Mess has been around since the 19^th century. It’s traditionally served at Eton College’s annual prize-giving celebration picnic on the “Fourth of June” (actually celebrated on the last Wednesday in May). There is a rumor that the dish was created by an over-excited Labrador who sat on a picnic basket. No doubt this anecdote will join the annals of the great-unsolved mysteries of the world.

Ingredients to Serve 8

1 basic meringue recipe or 8 meringue, store bought shells

1 vanilla pod, scored lengthways and seeds removed

2 heaped tablespoons of superfine sugar (caster sugar in UK)

9 oz strawberries hulled and sliced

9 oz raspberries

1 pint of double cream

1 teaspoon good quality balsamic vinegar

Handful of toasted flaked almonds

Directions

Whip the double cream with the vanilla seeds and 1 tablespoon of sugar until you have soft peaks. Don’t over-whip or the cream will go thick and cloddy.

Take half the strawberries and half the raspberries and put them into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and balsamic vinegar.

Mash up with fork.

Put flavored cream and mashed up fruit (not together yet) into the fridge until meringues —if you are bravely making your own—have cooled down.

To assemble:

Break up your meringues into a bowl.

Fold the vanilla cream and mashed-up fruit together till well mixed.

Layer into serving dish or glasses and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

*Put this together right at the last minute so the meringue doesn’t go soft.

Meringues:

6 large egg whites

10 ½ oz superfine sugar (not granulated)

A pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300 F. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Whisk egg whites in the bowl on medium speed until they form firm peaks.

With mixer still turning, gradually add the sugar.

Turn whisk on high for about 7 minutes until the meringue mixture is white and glossy. If it’s grainy to the touch, then whisk a little longer.

Dollop blobs of the mixture onto the baking tray and pop in the oven for about an hour.

The meringues should be crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle.

Enjoy!!!

***

Thank you, Hannah. What a fun recipe. And what a delight to have yet another Vicky Hill mystery to enjoy. I adore Vicky and I'm sure our readers will, too.

Visit Hannah at her website.

Cream Scones: A Theme and Variations

In my world, there's a bright line between "cooking" and "baking." Cooking is art, baking is science. I use my right brain when I cook, but when I bake ...

Like my sleuth, Tally Jones, I've always been a color-inside-the-lines kind of gal. In short, I'm an expert rule-follower. That translates well into baking. The recipe says "pulse six seconds," and I'm counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi . . ." The recipe says "sift flour before measuring," and I'll dirty four bowls to properly measure that flour. I'm patient, if not always inspired, so my biscuits come out flaky and light every time. But I rarely let myself go nuts playing with flavors.

The one exception to the "follow the rules" rule of baking is, oddly, with scones. I love, love, love scones. I have two recipes that I adore. One is butter-based (it involves freezing the butter and then grating it on a box grater before mixing with the flour, so you get these wonderful pockets of air when the butter melts during baking -- oy). It's incredible, and produces heavenly scones, but it's labor (and butter) intensive. I've made this butter scone with blueberries and raspberries, but I haven't been brave enough to play with it much . . . if I tried a variation and it came out nasty, I would feel like I'd wasted a lot of effort for no reward.

The other base recipe, though, is a cream scone ... and it's so easy, I can't even tell you. Five ingredients. One bowl. Thirty minutes, tops ... and you have light, moist, delicious scones.

Once I found this recipe and made it, oh, six or seven times, I started playing with flavor combinations. Because the base recipe is so simple, the investment in experimentation is small. And, boy, have the results been wonderful. So here is the basic cream scone recipe, along with three of my favorite tweaks. Don't be afraid to try your own ... and be sure to share if you come up with a winner!

Basic Cream Scone Recipe

2 c. flour (all purpose)

1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add whipping cream and fold gently until dough forms. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead ever-so-gently until the doug holds together. Form dough into a 1/2 inch thick square. Quarter the square, and then slice each square diagonally, to make a total of 8 triangles.

Place triangles on baking sheet (lined with parchment paper or sil-pat, if you have it). Bake 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool before serving.

Lemon Scones: Add 1 large lemon to your shopping list. Add 1 Tbs. finely grated lemon zest to the dry ingredients before adding the cream. After the scones have cooled, mix enough fresh, strained lemon juice to 3/4 c. powdered sugar to create a fairly thin glaze. Using the tines of a fork, drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.

Cherry - Chocolate Chip Scones: Add 3/4 c. chopped dried cherries and 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the dry ingredients. Add 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the cream. Proceed as directed.

Raspberry Scones: Add one cup frozen raspberries (do not thaw, but chop relatively small) to the flour mixture. Add 1 tsp. vanilla to the cream. Proceed as directed, sprinkling a single Tbs. of sugar over the scones before baking and increase baking time to 20 minutes. Note, that the dough will be cold and wet and will turn a little pink ... that's o.k. They're delicious.

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Guess what? I got the cover for the third Mystery a la Mode, "A Parfait Murder," which is due out in June. Isn't it yummy?

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Vegetarian Split Pea soup

Sometime back I posted my go-to recipe for split pea soup and lamented the fact that it wasn't vegetarian because I start with a chicken broth base and add ham. Now, we love this soup, but our youngest is vegetarian and she misses it.

Several Mystery Lovers' Kitchen readers contacted me and pointed to a recipe online for a vegan split pea soup at The Perfect Pantry. You can find that recipe here.

Game for finding a vegetarian option, I tried it. Verdict: not bad, but not great. There was a flavor in there I didn't like. Same for our daughter. We think the thyme was misplaced, so in my version, I skip that entirely and make up for it with bay leaves and garlic powder. My husband loved it, but I thought it needed a tweak. Here's my version:

Vegetarian Split Pea soup

1 lb green split peas

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

2 Tbsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 - 3 Tbsp Hickory flavored barbecue sauce

Handful of baby carrots, added about 1-1/2 hour before serving

6 cups water

The Perfect Pantry recipe tells you to put all this in a large slow cooker set on high, then after 4 hours, transfer to a food processor to smooth it out.

Here's a photo of my attempt to do this.

It took forever for the peas to break down, and then the soup got way too thick.

Not cool.

Me, I much prefer to simmer this on my stove. This way the peas break down completely, and there's no messy transfer-to-a-food-processor-and-back to deal with. You'll need to keep an eye on this so that it doesn't get too thick too quickly. I found myself adding a bit more water, until the peas broke down completely.

What I found odd about the Perfect Pantry site, was their note "if you're adding smoked turkey or cooked sausage..." Umm... isn't their version supposed to be vegan? Made me a bit suspicious and so I double-checked my barbecue sauce to make sure it didn't include any meat by-products. Safe.

If you love pea soup, and you're not vegetarian, I suggest you check out either Krista's wonderful split pea soup for a rainy day Krista's split pea soup, or my favorite recipe Split pea soup.

This picture is actually of my original soup. For some reason, I can't find the photos we took of the vegetarian version. And now the entire pot is gone and I can't take a new one.

Ooops!!

In any case, soup seems like the best answer to the cold, the snow, and the general yickiness outside these days.

Enjoy!

Julie