Cold Leek & Potato Soup aka Vichyssoise

by Peg Cochran

Summer is waning, but as warm days linger into September, there's no reason not to enjoy cold soup a few more times.  Vichyssoise is a classic French soup made from leeks and potatoes.  Enjoy as an appetizer or make it a meal with a salad and some bread.


Chop off the dark green part of the leeks and discard.  Be sure to clean the leeks thoroughly--they are gritty and full of dirt.  I like to cut them in half lengthwise and rinse carefully under cold running water.

4 medium leeks (or two large), washed and sliced
4 potatoes peeled and sliced or cut into medium dice
1 onion or 3 shallots, sliced
Water
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup heavy cream or milk
Chopped fresh chives


Put the leeks, potatoes and onion into a large pot.  Add water to cover along with the salt and pepper.  Cover, bring to a boil and then simmer until very tender.  Puree (I used my Cuisinart) and place in bowl. (You can strain the mixture if you want to be very refined or if you're having company and don't want the odd lump of potato).  Add the cream as needed to thin the mixture.  Chill thoroughly.  (To speed it along, put the bowl inside of another bowl filled with ice and tuck into the refrigerator.)

Taste before serving. Cold dishes often need more salt than warm ones.  Sprinkle with chives and serve in chilled bowls.

  

Cut off most of the green part of the leek

Slice in half and run under cold water to clean thoroughly

Place in large pot and add water to cover

Out now!

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Coming March 2014!

As Reg would probably say, "Bone Appetit!"

Potato Apple Cake

by Sheila Connolly

Tá brón orm (I'm sorry)—I completely missed National Potato Day last week.  Where was my head? (Deep in trying to figure out which of six or eight possible endings I want to use for my next book.) And me a good Irishwoman!

So I'm making up for it today.  Actually, this recipe manages to combine not only potatoes but also apples, to celebrate the new harvest.  It's based on a recipe by Margaret Johnson (I have two of her lovely Irish cookbooks) that was posted online. Given the ingredients, I couldn't not try it, so here it is.

One note before we jump in:  I'm including a picture of a lovely antique apple peeler that I haven't had the nerve to use (the blade needs sharpening).  It comes from Leominster, home of Johnny Appleseed, whose family orchard still flourishes there.  But I used the modern version, which is quick and easy—and works just as well for potatoes as for apples.

Peelers, old and new

  

Potato Apple Cake

(given the structure, it's really more of a pie, sort of)

4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces (not specified, but I used the waxy kind, not the floury kind)

2 Tblsp butter

1 Tblsp sugar

¼ tsp ground ginger

¾ cup all-purpose flour, sifted (plus more for rolling out your dough)

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 Tblsp butter

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Lightly grease an 8" pie plate.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender 12-15 minutes.  Drain and mash (I riced mine, with a vintage ricer that was my mother's).  Add the butter, sugar and ginger and mix well.  Stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Let it sit for a while to cool and to pull itself together (it's sticky!).

On a lightly floured board, form the dough into a ball and divide in half.  Roll one half into an 8" circle and lay in the greased pie plate (you can stretch it).  Note:  keep flouring both the board and the rolling pin to prevent sticking. Adding extra flour won't hurt. (You may notice I did not include a picture of this stage.  It wasn't pretty, but I won the battle.)

Arrange the apple slices over the layer of dough, overlapping them in two circles.  Moisten the edges of the dough.

Roll out the other half into an 8" circle and place it over the apples.  Press the edges together and flute them to make a standing edge.  With a sharp knife, make a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape. 

Bake until the crust is browned, 25-30 minutes.

Now here's the fun part:  Remove the cake/pie from the oven and cut a 2" circle in the top crust.  Carefully remove the circle, add the butter and the brown sugar (just stuff it in without breaking up the crust), and replace the circle you cut out.  Return the cake to the oven and bake until the butter and sugar have melted, about 5 minutes. It's intriguing how quickly they disperse inside the pie.

Slice and serve immediately (this is not a good keeper, but it's a small pie so there shouldn't be leftovers anyway), with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar if you like.

It tasted pretty good—not very potato-ey.  That bit of ginger makes a difference.

GOLDEN MALICIOUS(Orchard Mystery #7)Coming October 1!

Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans for a Summer Party

 LUCY BURDETTE:  A couple of weeks ago we had some wonderful Key West pals visiting. We wanted to invite some local friends to meet them and to celebrate summer--what better excuse to throw a party? 

I had the urge to cook, but it had to be dishes that could be mostly made ahead so I would stay calm and enjoy the party. I chose a few that I knew well and a couple new dishes.

 Here's the menu I came up with:

Hummus with crackers and crudites
Curried Chicken Salad
Asian Cucumber Salad
Tossed Salad (made by my friend Jane)
Assorted grilled sausages
Leek biscuits (courtesy of the amazing Guilford, CT bakery 4 and 20 Blackbirds)
Sesame noodle salad
Scarlet O'Hara cupcakes
Orange-glazed angel food cake (4 and 20 Blackbirds)
Italian cookies (made by my friend Annette)


 


The house guests were wonderful choppers and helped me keep the dishes washed. 

Meanwhile, these guys were keeping a close eye on the chicken salad. You all know Tonka by now, my Aussie.... If you think the red dog looks a little chagrined, this photo was taken after he snatched a stick of butter off the counter and devoured it while Tonka watched.:) His name is Henry, as in Henri Stentzel of AN APPETITE FOR MURDER fame.


CURRIED CHICKEN SALAD WITH GRAPES AND PECANS

One roasted chicken, skinned, boned
One bunch red grapes, washed and halved
3 Sprigs of dill, washed and chopped
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise, to taste
1 tsp curry powder
2-3 ribs celery, washed and chopped

I used purchased roast chicken from the supermarket, but you could also use leftovers from your own roast chicken. Debone the chicken, strip off skin and any chewy bits, break into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Wash and chop 2-3 sticks of celery. Wash the red grapes, halve them and add to the bowl. Wash dill and snip into the bowl. Toast 1/2 cup pecan pieces and add them. 


 




Mix the mayonnaise with the curry powder and adjust seasoning. Fold this into the chicken mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Dessert! The Scarlet O'Hara cupcakes for the chocolate people and the angel food cake for the rest...or some of each, which is what most chose:)

It was a wonderful night!















Here's a bit of happy book news: AN APPETITE FOR MURDER has gone back for a third printing--thanks to every one of you readers! And the edits on MURDER WITH GANACHE have been turned in to the publisher. Phew and yay!

Don't forget to Follow Lucy on Pinterest, or Facebook, or Twitter. The Key West food critic mysteries can be found wherever books are sold! MURDER WITH GANACHE, will be out in February--though you can pre-order it now!

Grilled Zucchini - Such an easy recipe for yum!

From Daryl aka Avery:

Don’t you love summer? I adore the way the days can be hot and the evenings cool (at least in Los Angeles they are). This kind of weather inspires me to get out of the kitchen and cook outside. To grill. There are tons of grill cookbooks filled with fabulous sauces, but there’s one thing I really love to cook. Grilled vegetables. They’re so simple. 

I love zucchini year-round. I’ll stir fry it or make it into zucchini zircles, LINK BELOW... (dipped in flour and dredged in egg and Parmesan), or I’ll chop it and top it with Parmesan and a dollop of sour cream. 

ZUCCHINI ZIRCLES

 ZUCCHINI ZIRCLE RECIPE 

But during the summer, I cut zucchini lengthwise, brush it with olive oil, and set it on the grill while cooking my main course. Grilling vegetables takes minutes.

GRILLED ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:

1 zucchini per person

3-4 tablespoons grated Parmesan per person

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

fresh herbs

Directions:

Rinse zucchini. Slice off ends and then slice lengthwise (about 4-5 thick slices). Brush both sides with olive oil.

When your main meal is about 4 minutes from being done, set the zucchini on a medium-hot part of the grill. Cook 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip the zucchini. Cook another 2 minutes.

Serve immediately, dusted with Parmesan cheese.

If you’d like, sprinkle with salt and pepper and fresh crushed herbs. I particularly like basil on zucchini.

* * * * * * *

The first book in A Cookbook Nook Mystery series is out!!

FINAL SENTENCE

You can order the book HERE.

It's set in the fictional coastal town of Crystal Cove, California and features Jenna Hart, a former advertising exec who returns home to help her aunt open a culinary bookshop and café.

The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series is out, too! 

TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE
You can order the book HERE.

Next up: 
Cheese Shop Mysteries: DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT preorder here.
Cookbook Nook Mysteries: INHERIT THE WORD, available soon!

You can learn more about Daryl by clicking this LINK. "Like" my page on Facebook and "follow" me on Twitter. And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! You can also follow and "like" Avery Aames the same way:  Facebook and Twitter. 

Make Your Own Refrigerator Log Peanut Butter Cookies and a Quiz Contest from Cleo Coyle

To enter my Brew to a Quiz Contest,
scroll all the way down this post...

These days, when busy families have a hankering for home-baked cookies, they often reach for store-bought logs wrapped in plastic. While those pre-made logs are convenient, you can't beat the taste of fresh ingredients in homemade.

Cleo Coyle, whose husband
is also her partner in
crime writing, is author of
The Coffeehouse
Mysteries

So click here (for the PDF) or scroll down to get my version of Pillsbury's refrigerator log cookies. After all...

Nothing says Lovin' from the Oven like a pan of home-baked peanut butter cookies, slightly crispy on the outside, warm and tender on the inside. May you bake these with love and eat them with joy.

~ Cleo

Cleo Coyle's
Make Your Own
Refrigerator Log
Peanut Butter Cookies

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

In traditional peanut butter cookie recipes, you're instructed to roll the dough into little balls and smush each down with a crisscrossing of fork prongs. If you want to stick to that standard method, no worries, this recipe can be made that way, too. On the other hand, there are several advantages to the refrigerator log method...

* Letting the dough rest in the refrigerator allows the flavors to develop, which produces a better tasting cookie.

* The log gives you the convenience of only slicing off and baking as many cookies as you need at the time, which means you can serve up a warm pan of them, freshly baked, every afternoon or evening until the dough is gone, instead of being stuck baking all the dough at once.

Yields: About 4 dozen cookies 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs, lightly beaten with fork
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
(optional) about 1/4 cup more granulated, white sugar (for topping)

Directions: Using an electric mixer, cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in remaining ingredients until soft dough forms. Using hands, shape dough into 2 or 3 logs of about 2-inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in plastic or wax paper and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours or overnight. The flavors will develop and the log will firm up. You can now slice as many or as few cookies as you like before re-wrapping the log and returning to the fridge for storage. 

Note: The most popular brand of store-bought log cookies says their brand will last 1 week after opening. That's about the same amount of time I'd give these homemade logs in your refrigerator. To freeze, slice up the cookies first, place them flat on a plate (lined with plastic or wax paper so they don't stick). After about 90 minutes, take the firmed-up cookie slices and drop them into a freezer-safe plastic bag, seal and store (up to 3 months).

To Bake: While you certainly don’t need to use fork prongs to make a crisscross design on each slice, I find the traditional look of a peanut butter cookie isn't quite complete without those cute little X’s. I dip my fork tines into a bit of water and then granulated sugar before dragging them lightly across each slice. 

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 to 17 minutes. The exact time depends on your oven and the thickness of your cookie slices. Do not over-bake. Peanut butter cookies with scorched bottoms are pretty much inedible, so be careful. The cookies should be lightly golden brown and not dark brown. Remove from pan promptly, cool on a rack, and…

Eat (and read) 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.

To view the
Coffeehouse Mystery
book trailer, click here.

 

A Brew to a Kill

Quiz Contest!

Take the new Coffeehouse Mystery
Quiz at Goodreads.com 
by clicking here and you will
be entered to win some fun prizes

(You must sign in to be entered)... 

To take the quiz now,
click here... 

For more information on the prizes and deadline, see the new Coffeehouse Mystery Newsletter. Didn't receive it? No worries, here's what you do...

Write an e-mail that says
"Sign me up" and send it to...

 CoffeehouseMystery@gmail.com 

You will receive an auto-reply with a link
to my recent newsletters. 

Our bestseller in hardcover (2 printings) 

is now a bestseller in paperback!

"A foodie's delight . . . and a 
satisfyingly rich mystery."

~ Kirkus Reviews

Free Title Checklist!

The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling

works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark

Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the

13 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.
To download a free checklist of titles (in order)

with mini plot summaries, 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.

Grilled Cheese Kicked up for Adults

It seems like I'm hearing a lot of people say "Summer? What summer?" With rain every other day and a lot of deadlines, we've missed out on much of the normal summer fun. Now that summer is coming to a screeching halt, friends have been stopping by to visit and relax a little bit.


One of those friends is a self-confessed cheese addict. (Yes, she has met Avery and loves her books!) So when she emailed me a picture of Grown-Up Grilled Cheese in Cook's latest magazine, I took the hint.


As usual in Cook's, the author examined the issues with grilled cheese sandwiches, focusing on what my friend referred to as the typical greasiness of grilled cheese. The author found the solution was to use a cheddar that is aged less than one year and mix it with a tiny bit of a softer cheese like a Brie. Add shallots and vermouth and the flavor kicks up to a truly delicious adult version of the standard grilled cheese sandwich.



Interestingly, he zapped the ingredients together with a food processor, which made for a nice, even distribution of the flavors. Our favorite part was the mustard butter that he used. It was so good that I'll be making that for other dishes as well. And it couldn't have been easier.


The only place that I departed from the Cook's recipe was in using my panini maker. While the Cook's recipe uses a nonstick skillet, I was thrilled to use my panini machine, which turned out beautiful sandwiches in minutes.


We made extras and discovered that they warmed nicely in the oven the next day at 400. Next time, Asiago and Brie!

Cook's Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

(from Cook's Illustrated, September and October 2013)

7 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into cubes
2 ounces Brie
2 tablespooons dry white wine or vermouth
4 teaspoons minced shallots
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
8 slices hearty white sandwich bread


Place the cheddar and Brie on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 30 seconds. Place the cheeses and wine in a food processor and pulse into a smooth paste. Add the shallots and pulse again 3 to 5 times.

In a small bowl, use a fork to mix together the butter and mustard until thoroughly combined.

Tear off a sheet of parchment paper long enough to hold four slices of bread. Line up the bread in sets of two.

Dividing the butter mixture equally, spread it over one side of each of the eight slices. Flip over the slices on the bottom row. Spread the cheese mixture over those slices. Top with the slices from the upper row, butter side out.

Grill in a panini machine. Or -- preheat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until drops of water sizzle in it. Place the sandwiches in it two at a time, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook until golden brown, flipping once (about 6-9 minutes per side). Let stand for 2 minutes before serving.