Mystery Lovers' Kitchen

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Fried Bananas with Brown Sugar, Miso, and Butter #recipe by @LeslieKarst

This dessert came about because I had a plethora of bananas on hand, and also needed a dessert to serve our pals, fellow MLKer Leslie Budewtitz and her husband Don (aka “Mr. Right”), who were visiting Hilo from Montana. It’s similar to other fried banana desserts, but I decided to add some miso as a way to give it a boost of umami, which I haven’t seen in any other recipes.

You have to prepare the dish à la minute—i.e., right before service—but if you have all your ingredients ready, it comes together in about five minutes. I also had on hand some Japanese egg cake a friend had given us, but something like pound cake (or even vanilla ice cream!) would work fine as the accompaniment to the bananas.

Fried Bananas with Brown Sugar, Miso, and Butter

(serves 4)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

4 smallish or 3 large bananas

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons red miso

1 tablespoon lemon juice (not pictured)

2 tablespoons brandy (not pictured)

4 slices pound cake (or something similar)

candied/praline pecans (or something similar), for garnish

Directions

Peel and cut the bananas into slices, longways. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet, then add the bananas.

Fry until they start to brown, then add the brown sugar, miso, lemon juice, and brandy.

Continue to cook, stirring until the miso is melted into the sauce and everything thickens up. (Add water if it’s too thick.)

Serve the bananas over the cake, sprinkled with the pecans. (See photo at top.)

🌿 🍌 🌱

Coming April 1

Orchid Isle Mystery #2

WATERS OF DESTRUCTION

Now available for pre-order!

Buy link here.

And now available

in paperback!

MOLTEN DEATH

Orchid Isle Mystery #1

Buy link here

“Karst’s first Orchid Isle novel is part murder mystery, part vividly evocative, colorful sketch of Hawaii and its history, geography, tradition, culture, food, language, and people. Armchair travelers and mystery aficionados alike will find it entertaining.”

Booklist

This first book in my brand-new Orchid Isle mystery series features retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen who, on a trip to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions when a hike to an active lava flow turns deadly.

Praise for MOLTEN DEATH:

“a compelling read that will enlighten, engage, and entertain, leaving readers longing for their next trip to the Orchid Isle.”

--New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay

“a terrific debut to a series that will go on my must read list!”

--USA Today bestselling author Deborah Crombie

A SENSE FOR MURDER

2024 Lefty Award Nominee

for Best Humorous Mystery!

This newest Sally Solari mystery

is available for purchase here !

Praise for A SENSE FOR MURDER:

“[Sally is] sassy, irresistible company... Culinary cozy fans will be in heaven.”

--Publishers Weekly

“An enjoyable read for mystery mavens and foodies alike.”

--Kirkus Reviews

Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops,

the Law, and Cooking for RBG

is the 2024 Silver Medal Winner for both the

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

and the IPPY Award!

Buy link here

Praise for Justice is Served:

"a suspenseful, exhilarating memoir; Karst relays her determination to serve the 'perfect' meal to RBG alongside an uplifting, enlightening portrayal of one of the most admired justices in the history of the Supreme Court."

-Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"[This] book is a romp from cover to cover—and, just like a great meal, left me ready for more."

-Karen Shimizu, executive editor, Food & Wine-

All of the Sally Solari Mysteries (as well as my other books) are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

COFFEE SHOP DOUGHNUT MUFFINS & New Release Countdown from @CleoCoyle

From Cleo Coyle: Tender and sweet, these muffins are dusted with cinnamon sugar and one bite will remind you of an old-fashioned cake doughnut, the kind you might order at a coffee shop counter with a hot cuppa joe.

These babies are always on the menu at our fictional Village Blend, the century-old Greenwich Village coffee shop that serves as the setting for our Coffeehouse Mysteries with a brand-new title, No Roast for the Weary, coming April 1st!

Pre-order at:

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

A Special Note from Cleo...

Marc and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary today! Time has flown, and we can hardly believe that 25 years ago today we vowed to stand by each other for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. (And so we have.) While we have never been conventionally rich, we are exceedingly rich in love and a shared creative spirit, which has given us profound joy. For that we are deeply grateful, and we thank God every day for the time we have together.

Today we are also counting down the final week to the release of our newest Coffeehouse Mystery, No Roast for the Weary. This one's a page-turner and a great deal of fun for many reasons, primarily because this murder mystery involves our own profession of writing, and we had a grand time playing with that theme.

You see, our amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager and master roaster Clare Cosi) solves the problem of post-pandemic depressed foot traffic with a literary solution. Years ago, the second floor lounge of her landmark Greenwich Village shop was used by a group of writers. They called their caffeinated workshop the "Writer's Block Lounge," and when Clare resurrects it, a brand-new collection of coffee-craving creative types is soon packing the place.

Unfortunately, many of these poets, playwrights, and novelists wrestle with the same demons of self-doubt, envy, and free-floating anxiety that many of us writers do, and as the pages turn, this stressful soup leads to murder. There is a cold case conundrum from the past, a present-day mystery to be solved, and a duck. Yes, an adorable duck named Wacker, a borrowed moniker from Marc's childhood. We both had pet ducks as kids, which is why we had fun adding a feathered friend to our current caffeinated caper.

We hope you all enjoy No Roast for the Weary, as well as today's Coffee Shop Doughnut Muffins. May you read (and eat) with joy!

~ Cleo

For those of you who are new to us, The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the 21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.

Because our amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager and master roaster) Clare bakes these delicious cinnamon-sugar doughnut muffins for her customers, they would make a fantastic treat for a book club meeting. Served with coffee or tea, these melt-in-your-mouth treats will make your discussion of Clare Cosi's latest case even more cozy.

ORDER UP!

🍩 ☕

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

Click here or on the image above
for Cleo's free recipe PDF.

☕ Cleo's Coffee Shop
Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12 standard-size muffins

For the batter:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white, granulated sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten with fork

1 cup milk (whole or 2%, not skim)

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon into cup and level off)

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:

1/2 cup white, granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Step 1—Prep your oven and pan: First preheat your oven to 350° F. This recipe should be made in a standard muffin or cupcake pan. Because it bakes up nice-sized muffins with generous tops, lightly spray the tops of your standard muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. This will prevent the tops from sticking to the pan. Line the muffin cups with paper holders.

Step 2—Make the batter: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs and milk and continue mixing. Stop the mixer. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and mix only enough to combine ingredients. Batter will be thick. Do not over mix at this stage or you will develop the gluten in the flour and toughen the muffins.

Step 3—Bake: Using two tablespoons (one to scoop, the other to scrape in the thick batter), fill each cup to the top, dividing any remaining batter among the 12 cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffin tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. After a few minutes out of the oven, remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack. (Muffins that remain long in a hot pan may end up steaming, and the bottoms may become tough.)

Step 4—Finish with cinnamon-sugar topping: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter, brush it lightly over the muffin tops...