Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: 06/01/2016

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Fresh Cherry Cobbler with Whipped Cream @lucyburdette #recipe

LUCY BURDETTE: My hub and I are mad for cherries when they are in season, but we've never done anything except eat them from the bowl. I couldn't imagine pitting all those little guys. But then I got the image of a cherry cobbler in my head, and it would not be denied.

So I went in search of a cherry pitter and found this one on Amazon, which handles 6 pieces at a time. So it still takes a while (maybe half an hour) to pit enough for the cobbler, this time it's worth it. Be careful because one diner did find a pit in her portion. You don't want your guests cracking their molars on your dessert!

For the cherry filling:

Six cups pitted cherries
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Half a lemon, squeezed

Place the cherries in an 8 by 8 Pyrex pan, ungreased. Mix in the cornstarch and sugar, and squeeze the lemon over the top.

For the crust:

6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon no sodium baking powder
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cream or milk
1/2 cup sugar

Combine the dry ingredients and then cut in the chilled butter, using a pastry cutter. When the lumps are pea-sized, stir in the cream or milk. Do not over mix. With a large spoon place blobs of the crust over the prepared cherries. Do not worry about smoothing the crust or covering every square inch.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. The cherries should be bubbling and the crust a light brown. Let the cobbler cool a bit and serve with almond-scented whipped cream.

For the cream:
1 cup organic whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 tablespoon sugar

Whip the cream with the almond flavoring until thick. And the sugar and stir that in. Serve with the cobbler and swoon. (This is very rich--serves 6-8.)

The seventh Key West mystery, KILLER TAKEOUT, is on bookshelves everywhere. What about yours?

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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Cookies in a Jar Winners!

And the winners of the Cookies in a Jar are (drumroll, please):

Choca Bloc: candace knight (moonbay7399@gmail.com)
Oately Dotely: jademoss17@gmail.com
Smart Cookie: traveler (saubleb@gmail.com)

I'll contact you about where I should send your jar.

Enjoy!

Sheila

Barbecue Shrimp and Pineapple from author @DarylWoodGerber

From Daryl aka Avery:

I'm gearing up for barbecue. Why? Because Grilling the Subject is coming out and I'm stoked. I love the story. I had so much fun putting Jenna in jeopardy. I loved giving her not only a crime to solve but personal relationship challenges! I'm evil, I know.

To celebrate the upcoming release, I'm prepared to share the fun!

Do you know about my various giveaways? I have one every Friday from now until launch on my FB author page. I'v already given away barbecue spices and barbecue kitchen towels.

I have a Goodreads giveaways coming up, too, for Inherit the Word (2nd in the series) and more!

I have a COZY BLOG TOUR coming up at the end of the month with giveaways. Check out the tour schedule here.

And on a few Wednesdays during the month of July, I'll be giving away a Cookbook Nook mystery or fun swag. Don't miss out!

When I say "gearing up for barbecue," I mean it. I've been barbecuing since January, putting together recipes for GRILLING THE SUBJECT as well as for all my blogs. Today is no exception.

I'm sharing a recipe that I tweaked from a Food Network Magazine recipe. I didn't have all the ingredients, but that wasn't going to stop me. i had shrimp in the freezer (I'd remembered to pick up a bag at Costco) and I had a fresh pineapple.

Shrimp on the barbie - what could be better? When you add pineapple, it makes it a real treat, like something you'd have on vacation.

Enjoy.

Asian Shrimp Skewers

Grills up in minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

4 skewer sticks (soaked in water)

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grilling

3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used gluten-free)

2 tablespoons Rose’s lime juice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon ground pepper

12 jumbo shrimp

6 slices prosciutto (about an inch wide, three inches long)

12 -16 chunks fresh pineapple

1/2 small red onion, peeled and cut into chunks

Parsley, dried or fresh, for garnish

Directions:

Soak the skewer sticks in water so they won’t burn on the grill.

You can't see the water, but it's there!

In a large bowl, mix the oil, soy sauce (or gluten-free soy sauce), Rose’s lime juice, ginger, garlic salt, honey, and pepper. Whisk until combined.

Set aside half of the mixture so you can use it to brush on during grilling.

Toss the shrimp in the mixture and marinate for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Then wrap a piece of prosciutto around the shrimp and thread onto a skewer. Follow with pineapple and onion and repeat, three shrimp to a skewer.

Place the skewers on an oiled grill and cook until the prosciutto is crisp and shrimp are pink. About 2-3 minutes per side. Brush with the extra soy sauce mixture. Serve hot and garnish with parsley (dried or fresh).

Savor the mystery and say cheese!

Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames

Tasty ~ Zesty ~ Dangerous!

Friend Daryl and Avery on Facebook

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Plus check out my website.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, can be pre-ordered.

Coming August 2016!!

Click here to pre-order.

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE,

the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery.

Came out in February 2016

Click to order.

When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare,

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free?

To order: CLICK HERE.

$2.99 in e-books everywhere. Print is available on Amazon.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Red, White, and BLUE VELVET CUPCAKES for July Fourth from Cleo Coyle

Like red velvet cake, blue velvet cake carries a wonderful hint of cocoa. This recipe makes a beautiful cake (or cupcakes) for birthday parties, for baby and wedding showers, for school and sports teams with blue colors, or even, yes...a Doctor Who Wedding Cake!

Laine Barash, a longtime reader of our Coffeehouse Mysteries, sent me these photos after using my Blue Velvet Cupcake recipe for her daughter Johanna's big day....

Doctor Who Wedding Cake Slice
Design and Photo by Laine Barash

Doctor Who Wedding Cake
Design and Photo by Laine Barash

With July Fourth almost here, I'm sharing this recipe again as a fun dessert idea for Independence Day celebrations.

There are many ways to add the "red" and "white" to the Blue Velvet bakery concept. You can ice half of the blue cupcakes with blue icing, for instance; half with red icing; and use white star sprinkles to decorate the tops of all of them.

Or, if you're really ambitious, you can make a batch of red velvet cupcakes, a batch of white cupcakes, and a batch of these blue babies. Then you can line them all up on a tray or dessert table to resemble an American Flag.

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

I confess I didn't bake and photograph those ideas for this post because I'm working hard with my husband (and partner in crime-writing) to complete our next Coffeehouse Mystery. BUT...

If I did have the time, I can tell you it would have been a fun project. So however you use this recipe, I sincerely hope you have a Happy Fourth...

May you eat with red-white-and-blue velvet joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

👇

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

Click Here for the
Free Recipe PDF.

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For more July Fourth party ideas,

check out my Coffeehouse
Mystery Newsletters...

(We have fun giveaways, too!)

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email to CoffeehouseMystery@gmail(dot)com

A reply will be sent automatically
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Cleo Coyle's Blue Velvet Cupcakes
with Blue Buttercream Frosting

Makes about 16 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 box of white or vanilla cake mix (with pudding in the mix)

4 teaspoons natural, unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)

3 eggs (lightly beaten with a fork)

1 cup whole milk + ¼ cup whole milk (add separately)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1-2 teaspoons Royal Blue food coloring gel or paste
(also called Icing Color)

*Important Note on the food coloring: Because of the brown cocoa powder in this recipe, your cupcakes will end up turquoise in color (or even greenish) instead of blue if you use the wrong kind of food coloring or the wrong amount. To get the beautiful shade of blue in my photos, be sure you do two things: (1) Do not use water-based food coloring such as McCormick’s brand. Use a gel paste coloring. I used Wilton Royal Blue Icing Color gel paste. Michael’s stores carry it in their baking supplies section, but you can also buy it online; click here to see. (2) My other piece of advice is to use enough of the food coloring. Don’t skimp. Start with 1 full teaspoon, at least. You may need up to another full teaspoon to see your batter turn the shade of blue you like best. (Some bakers add a very small amount of violet gel paste to help achieve a deep, royal blue. Give that a try, if you like, but I did achieve a pretty blue color using only blue gel paste.)

For the Cupcakes

Step 1: First preheat your oven to 325° F. Place the vinegar in a measuring cup and fill to the 1 cup line with whole milk. Set aside for five minutes.

Step 2: Into a large mixing bowl, combine the box of cake mix, cocoa powder, vegetable or canola oil, and eggs. Add the sour milk from Step 1 and an additional ¼ cup whole milk. Beat with an electric mixer for about a minute until a smooth batter forms. (Be sure to scrape down the bowl as you mix.)

Step 3: Measure out 1 teaspoon of the royal blue gel paste and add it to the batter. Mix well and observe the color. You may need to add up to 1 more teaspoon of gel paste to achieve the depth of blue you want.

Step 4: Line cupcake tins with paper liners. Take out the ¼ cup container in your measuring set. Use it to measure out the batter for each cupcake. This will keep the size consistent.

Bake in your preheated 325° F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes (exact time depends on your oven). Cupcakes are done when the top is set and a toothpick inserted into the center of a test cupcake comes out free of wet batter. Transfer pans to a cooling rack and allow the cupcakes to cool in their pans at least five minutes before removing.

Buttercream Icing

10 tablespoons butter, softened

3 cups confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered or icing sugar)

3 tablespoons whole milk (+ maybe a little extra)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Royal Blue food coloring gel paste (also called Icing Color)

Notes for success: Canned icing doesn’t come close to comparing to the wonderful taste of homemade buttercream. It’s easy to make. Just be sure to: (A) Start with softened butter. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to cream it. (B) When adding milk start with the lowest amount possible and add it in very slowly until you achieve a smooth, spreadable icing. If you throw in a large amount of milk, you will end up with watery frosting—at that point, even if you whip more butter into it, the frosting may remain grainy. (Ask me how I know.)

Step 1: Into a mixing bowl, cut the softened butter into pieces. Measure in the vanilla. Using an electric mixer, cream these ingredients until light and fluffy. Stop the mixer.

Step 2: Add in the confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk. (No more!) Beat until the sugar is completely incorporated. If the frosting is still too thick, add in a very small splash of milk and beat again. Add in more milk this way, a little at a time, until you get a smooth consistency that’s easy to spread on your cupcake tops. (Try a test frosting of one cupcake to be sure.)

Step 3: Finally, add a small amount of gel paste coloring to the frosting and beat it again. Add more gel paste to achieve the exact shade of blue that you’d like. My method of adding the gel paste is pretty basic—I dip the tines of a fork into the bottle to scoop out the gel and roughly mix it into the frosting before beating again. Frost your cupcakes and eat with blue velvet joy.

Happy July Fourth, Everyone!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Friend me on facebook here. * Follow me on twitter here.

Learn about my books here.

* * *

Eat (and read) with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author
of The Coffeehouse Mysteries and
Haunted Bookshop Mysteries

Cleo (Alice) with her husband Marc

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