A Berry Happy Fourth of July

One of my friends told me about a 4th of July dessert she saw somewhere. It happened to be made of all my mother's favorites (coincidentally, Lucy's favorites, too!) - fresh fruit, whipped cream, and a slice of cake. Sort of a cross between a trifle and a strawberry shortcake. A long narrow platter was lined with slices of cake. Fresh blue and red berries were heaped on top and it was served with whipped cream.

My July 3rd is going to be a busy day with appointments and errands. I suspect that most people who work in offices will be putting in a full day of work. They'll be hitting the grocery store Thursday night or Friday morning, so anything quick and easy will be appealing. This fits the bill perfectly. So easy to assemble but it's a showstopper.

I baked a simple loaf cake. If you're in a rush, pick up a Sara Lee pound cake in the frozen section of the grocery store. I won't tell. I sliced it and spread the slices out on the plate. Since there aren't any children partaking of it, I splashed a teaspoon or so of Chambord on top of each slice. Then I heaped strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries over the whole thing. Honestly, it could serve as a centerpiece. All the fruit is so pretty on top. You can spoon the whipped cream over it just before serving or pass a bowl of whipped cream, which might be easier.

For fun, I also made it in a dessert bowl. If you're having a more elegant dinner on the 4th, say in your penthouse overlooking the Iwa Jima Memorial where you'll be able to see the fireworks in the sky behind it, you might want to serve individual portions.

A couple of observations. Don't slice the fruit and don't macerate it. It will make the cake soggy. Also, be sure to dry the fruit after you wash it. I did not slice the strawberries but I did pluck out the hulls. They can be very pretty but not practical in a dish like this. In retrospect, I wish I had sliced each piece of cake just to make serving it easier.

Feel free to switch around the fruit proportions depending on what your family likes.

A Berry Forth of July Dessert

1 loaf cake
Chambord (optional)
8 ounces strawberries
12 ounces blueberries
6 ounces raspberries
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
vanilla

Simple Loaf Cake

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter softened plus extra for greasing pan
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the eggs, beating after each one. Alternate adding the flour and the milk. Bake for 1 hour and fifteen minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges before turning out of the pan.

Whipped Cream

Beat the cream until it begins to take shape. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat.

Assembly

Slice the cake and lay each slice flat (don't overlap the slices). Cut each slice in two or three pieces for easy serving. Sprinkle one teaspoon of Chambord over each slice. Beginning with the strawberries, heap the berries on the cake slices. It's okay if a few fall to the sides. Serve with whipped cream.

Bake a loaf cake.

Slice and lay flat on serving plate.

Or place a piece of a slice in individual bowls.

Wash and dry the berries.

Heap the berries on the cake.

Serve with whipped cream.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Summer Strawberry Recipe from Victoria Hamilton

Muffin But Murder, 

goes on sale July 1st!

Learn more here.

Please welcome author Victoria Hamilton as our special guest today. 

Victoria is sharing a healthy recipe that's perfect for summer strawberry season. She also has a generous prize package and one lucky commenter will win it has won it! Learn more at the end of this post. Take it away, Victoria!

~ Cleo

It’s That Time of Year
For…Strawberries!
by Victoria Hamilton

This blog post started with a friendly chat between neighbors. 

I live in a nice, working class urban neighborhood, and I have for many years. In fact, it’s the same neighborhood I grew up in, just a block away. The other day I spent a few minutes chatting with my across-the-street neighbor, just back from walking her dog. 

The next day I was coming back from shopping when my wonderful neighbor came over carrying a beautiful big container of strawberries, fresh from her garden! Well, it so happens that I am trying to eat healthier: lots of water, more fruits and vegetables, salad every day. In that attempt I have switched from toast for breakfast every morning to smoothies. 

There are lots of recipes out there, and I know this is super easy, barely a recipe at all, but I thought I’d share one of mine, and as a bonus, I can tell you how many Weight Watchers Points Plus™ it is.

This makes enough for two!

Ingredients:

2 bananas, frozen or fresh 

2/3 cup vanilla fat-free no-sugar-added yogurt (I use a probiotic yogurt.)

1 Cup Strawberries, fresh or frozen

1 Cup unsweetened almond beverage

1 Tblsp. organic honey

Almond or vanilla extract, if desired. (I forgot to add it this time and it tasted just fine!)

Directions: 

All ingredients go into a blender and voila, you have breakfast for two at 2.5 Weight Watchers Points Plus™ each!

Some of my notes:

Frozen fruit will make a thicker, milkshake like consistency. I always have bananas in my freezer that I usually use for muffins or banana bread, but they work awesome in this. I let them thaw for an hour just to make it easier on my blender. You do have to let it blend for a while to break down all the chunks of banana.

I usually use regular 2% milk, but lately I have switched to unsweetened almond beverage for smoothies for the fat savings and health benefits. It’s great! I’m thinking of trying coconut water for a plain fruit smoothie.

So…I know a lot of you out there
 probably do the same. 

What do you use in YOUR
morning smoothie?

~::~

About Muffin but Murder

When Merry Wynter unexpectedly inherited a castle in the wilds of upstate New York, she took some time to adjust. After living in New York City it was culture shock to wind up in a castle a few miles away from small town Autumn Vale. However, far from being lonely, as she first feared, her best friends Shilo Dinnegan (a former model) and Pish Lincoln, (a retired financial advisor who now writes books on financial scams and con artists) have joined her at Wynter Castle.

It is clear that she can’t afford to keep such a huge building, even if it is her ancestral home. It must be sold! She has an upscale party to promote Wynter Castle to would-be buyers who may be able to take the place and turn it into a hotel or inn, but the post party clean-up reveals an awful discovery; one of her "guests" turns up dead in a most gruesome fashion. With Pish holding back secrets, her exasperated attraction to Virgil Grace, (the broodingly handsome sheriff of Autumn Vale) growing stronger, and a supposed cousin with a possible claim on the inheritance plaguing her daily, Merry has her hands full.

But murder comes first. Who killed the guest, and why? And how is she going to keep Virgil from arresting Pish?

*With recipes! There is one muffin recipe in Muffin but Murder for what I call "Fit For The King Muffins" and they are wonderful!

Bestselling mystery author Victoria Hamilton writes the Merry Muffin Mysteries and The Vintage Kitchen Mysteries. As Amanda Cooper, she also writes the Teapot Collector Mysteries.

Victoria's long time love of mystery novels started at age twelve when her mom handed her an Agatha Christie book and said "Read"! Thousands of novels later, Victoria is still reading. And writing.

Besides those two favorite pastimes, Victoria also enjoys collecting vintage kitchenalia, old books, teacups, teapots and other ephemera. Perfume is her secret addiction. She likes to cook, hates to clean, and enjoys time spent with friends chatting over wine or tea. She loves crafts, loathes boredom, and her guilty pleasure is "reality" TV, which she knows is largely fake, but she enjoys it anyway.

Victoria thinks that people are the most interesting study of all, and more than anything, she loves to hear from readers, not just about her books but about anything and everything.

Facebook Page

For more on Muffin But Murder and the Merry Muffin Mysteries, visit the series’ Facebook page by clicking here.

Web Home

Learn more about Victoria Hamilton, her alter ego Amanda Cooper, and all her mystery series by clicking here.

~::~

Victoria's Giveaway

This wonderful contest is now over.
Thanks to everyone who left such
kind comments.

And our winner is...

Michelle of Brockton,
Massachusetts!

Michelle won the...

* Cozy Mystery Book Tote 

* Cozy Mystery Pen

* Muffin But Murder

* Tempest in a Teapot,
written by Victoria as
 Amanda Cooper

Freezer to grill: easy summer marinated chicken

Victoria Abbott here. Don’t you love having an emergency recipe that’s ready to go for unexpected guests, busy schedules, small celebrations? Or maybe you suddenly feel festive and want something delish.

Here's our solution. We love this recipe. It’s our new go-to.  Boneless skinless chicken thighs are juicy and easy and a good price.  Plus they have lots of taste and someone else has done the work.  We are often working on marinades that make easy even easier.  This one uses stuff you have in your fridge and cupboard.  Mix it up.  Marinate the chicken for four hours. Or  freeze chicken in the marinade in a freezer bag and PRESTO! You have a super dish for a busy night. Just remove from freezer and allow enough time to thaw.  

All you need is:

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tsp paprika (sweet)

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup canola oil

8 – 10 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

We use charcoal, but if you are using a gas grill, you might want to add 1 tsp  hickory smoke flavoring

All you need to do is:

Mix all the ingredients  except chicken in a bowl. 














Place the thighs in a re-sealable freezer bag,  Add the marinade and make sure thighs are well-covered.  Marinate in fridge for 4 – to- 12 hours or freeze.  If frozen, thaw before cooking. That gives the marinade another kick at that chicken. 

Cook on pre-heated grill (medium heat).  Cook about 10-12 minutes per side.  Internal temperature should be 165 degrees.  

It’s a snap and it’s a hit too.  Everyone seems to love this recipe. 




 


 It even  passed the son-in-law test.  We plan to add it to the list of family favorites. Here we just served it with a crisp salad and chopped pears. Yum.

Have fun, friends! And you know with marinades, you can always give it your own twist. Is there anything missing you’d love to see in this recipe? Let’s hear it! 

Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between the mother and daughter team of Mary Jane and Victoria Maffini.    The Wolfe Widow, the third book in their popular book collector mystery series will be out in September. 



 You can pre-order The Wolfe Widow here HERE.

For Victoria's website click HERE 
For Mary Jane's click HERE 

Grilled Fish with Caper Vinaigrette

by Sheila Connolly

For some mysterious reason, lately I’ve been possessed by a need to sort and toss stuff. Kind of like the reverse of nesting. Unnesting? My daughter moved out over two years ago, so it’s not that. Maybe I’ve finally reached a breaking point because I’m surrounded by a WHOLE LOT OF STUFF (yes, I’m shouting).

As a small part of this I’ve been going through my recipe collection, both the inherited ones and the ones I started collecting as soon as I had my first kitchen (which was about ten feet square with two cupboards). The oldest recipes come on stained file cards and yellowed newspaper clippings, then progress through Xerox copies of others, and finally neatly typed and formatted copies (such as those from the last five years of Mystery Lovers Kitchen!).

I’ve been sorting them, thinking tabs might be nice if I ever want to find anything (I confess that the Sweet recipes acquired their very own binder years ago--and they do have tabs!). I made a number of happy discoveries: “Oh, look! I saved that!” Having completely forgotten about the recipe, of course. But it’s nice to find recipes that are both tasty and quick, especially for summer, that I tucked away years ago.  Here is one of my finds (or refinds?), an easy grilled fish recipe.

GRILLED FISH WITH VINAIGRETTE

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 Tblsp olive oil

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 Tblsp balsamic vinegar

1 Tblsp capers, drained

1 tsp fresh herbs, chopped (use whatever you like or have fresh)

1 15-oz can white beans (garbanzo, Northern, etc.), rinsed and drained

1 tsp lemon peel, finely grated

1 1/2 lbs firm-fleshed white fish filets (cod, haddock)

Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until brown, stirring often–about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. (If you want, you can strain off the milk solids, which look kind of like brown sand, but they won’t affect the flavor.)

The browned butter (sounds better in French:
beurre noir)

Mix in the oil, then the shallots, vinegar, capers and herbs (I used fresh thyme).  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Vinaigrette

Brush both sides of the fish filets with the warm vinaigrette, then season with salt and pepper. I used cod filets because (a) they were fresh and locally caught, and (b) they are sturdy enough to stand up to grilling.

Mix the beans, lemon peel and the rest of the vinaigrette in a bowl and keep warm. (You can add other vegetables of your choice.)

When your coals are ready, grill the fish quickly (cover the grill briefly to make sure the fish is cooked through, but it shouldn't take long).  Place the fish on plates and spoon the warm bean mixture alongside.

I confess that over the years I’ve had little luck with grilling fish directly on my (yes, vintage) Weber grill. However, several years ago I purchased a perforated tray with handles, that fits very neatly on the grill. I don’t get the nice grill marks on the fish, but the smoky flavor comes through and the poor fish pieces don’t self-destruct when you try to scrape them off the grill.

I served the fish with a salad of fresh New Jersey romaine and sliced locally-grown French radishes.

Razing the Dead, Museum Mystery #5, released June 3rd. 

Zac Bissonnette of Writer's Digest had this to say:  "... best book in the series. Really vivid/amazing pacing/and great incorporation of historical stuff/a view into that world ... it's so rare that series get better, but this one most definitely has."

French Onion and Olive Flatbread: Ooh la la!

LUCY BURDETTE: Every once in a while I succumb to a new cookbook, even though I honestly have more than I could ever use. My latest weakness was the new tome from David Liebovitz, called MY PARIS KITCHEN. 

And wouldn't you know, it was my turn to bring the hors d'oeuvres to supper club.(Why is it that everyone fights to make dessert?) So I turned to the new

cookbook and voila--found an onion flatbread that looked delicious.

Except for the anchovies (which I know I should like, but I don't)...and maybe the thyme...




With tweaks, here is my olive-onion flatbread, adapted from the recipe in My Paris Kitchen.


Ingredients:

For the dough:
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Prepare the dough by mixing the yeast, the water, and half a cup of flour. Stir well and let this sit until the mixture bubbles (about 15 minutes.) Then add the salt and rest of the flour, knead this until it forms a smooth ball. (If you poke your finger in the dough, the print should pop right out.) Pour the olive oil into a clean bowl, add the dough, and turn it so all sides are oiled. Let this rest, covered by a clean tea towel, until doubled in size. 

While the dough is rising, prepare the topping.

For the topping:
30 black olives (I used Kalamata but I think Nicoise would be better if you can find them and are willing to pit them)
3 Tbsp good olive oil
4 large Vidalia or other sweet onions
3 inch-long sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Peel and thinly slice the onions and put them in a large frying pan with the olive oil, over low-medium heat. Add the garlic, salt and sugar, and cook the onions until they are golden but not burnt. WARNING: this can take a looooong time. I let mine cook for almost two hours. They still weren't golden but I had to move on!

To put the flatbread together, roll out the dough on a piece of parchment paper and move to a large cookie sheet. You want the dough flat, not risen like a Chicago-style pizza! Let the dough rest 15 minutes, then apply the onion topping all the way to edges. Sprinkle with olives and rosemary.












Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is lightly browned. 

Cut into squares using a pizza cutter and serve room temperature or warm. Alongside some icy French rose??

MURDER WITH GANACHE, the fourth Key West mystery, is in stores now. DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS will be out in December.

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Will Travel for Food

The timbale, as served in Taormina

From Daryl aka Avery:


My husband and I took a trip that we'd planned for 30 years. Okay, perhaps not planned. But we'd been planning to take...you get the idea. We went on a cruise that took us to Italy, Greece, and Croatia. Including Venice, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Taormina, Amalfi/Positano, and the island of Sardinia (great to visit if you're rich and own yacht!).

The beauty, the history, the food. It was all wonderful. [The jet lag...not so much fun!]

Venice, canal

We had a fabulous time exploring the back streets of Venice with a tour guide who loved to give us the inside scoop. Tidbit: Did you know "stua" which I would have assumed meant street actually means "sauna or spa" and was the name designated for the red light district streets. During the Middle Ages, there were 11,600 prostitutes in Venice, all encouraged to show their wares to keep men from choosing an alternative lifestyle, considered a venal sin.

Another tidbit: the city is sinking. We knew that, right? But to see where the original steps are, beneath the water level, is amazing.

Positano, built into the hill in terraces

On this trip, we got our fill of walking up steps and the insides of churches! Loved Positano! It is often depicted in paintings.

St. Mark's, built 9th century; floors very uneven

The churches in each port of call were amazing. Even the ceilings of arcades were gorgeous.

The markets were beautiful, too.

From the overlook in Dubrovnik.

And the streets of Dubrovnik, a walled city, are marble. Slippery when wet, we were told. No cars. So much fun! They had a throne for Game of Thrones at the end of the plaza where people could sit and take pictures of themselves in power. LOL

View from Greek odeon on Taormina

While in Taormina, Sicily (not far from Mt. Etna, which was active, although we couldn't see the activity) we were directed to a hole in the wall restaurant, off the beaten track. I was assured the place would know how to deal with my gluten-free issue. In Italy, everyone by the age of two is tested for celiac disease. How's that!  This place was fabulous. They had gluten-free pasta, which they did with a delicious pesto sauce. I ate fresh Amberjack fish, caught by the owner's boyfriend that morning, and made Sicilian style with olives, tomatoes, and garlic. Oh, boy, was it good!!! And they made a delicious zucchini appetizer that melted in my mouth, which I'm trying to recreate for you today. The flavor is right, but I sure can't make it as pretty as they made it. I'm guessing they used a tart pan or even a hamburger press to make the little "timbale" shape, as shown above. If you have ideas, let me know! This is going to be a regular on our menu.

By the way, there is a fabulous old Greek odeon/outdoor theater with an overlook of the island in Taormina. Not to be missed.

Buon appetito!!

Sicilian Zucchini

Per person:

1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise in thin slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons red pasta sauce
Basil leaves, if desired (I didn't have any on hand)

Directions:

Slice the zucchini.

Heat the oil on medium high in a large frying pan. Lay the zucchini in and cook 1-2 minutes a side, until lightly browned.

Remove from the pan and lay/fold the zucchini on a preparation plate, dusting with Parmesan before each fold.

Place stacks of zucchini side by side and trim to a circle shape, if desired. Top with more Parmesan, pasta sauce, and basil leaves, if you have on hand.

That's it.

Here are photos of other items I ate on the trip. I didn't starve, that's for sure.

Pasta, cheese platter, at Barbabao ristorante in Venice

Gluten-free pasta with pesto in Taormina

Amberjack Sicilian style in Taormina

Gelato, gussied up! In St. Mark's Square

You can find more pictures on my Facebook page.

As for my writing...

For STIRRING THE PLOT, which comes out September 30th, I'm going to be doing a number of giveaways. Books, mugs, stuffed kittens!  Make sure you're signed up for my newsletter and "like" me on Facebook, where information about the giveaways will appear.  Look for pictures of Tigger, the ginger cat in the series, celebrating ala Halloween!

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

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