Tarragon Vinaigrette - #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  As I’ve written before, we truly discovered the glorious taste of tarragon on our first trip to France in 2009, where it particularly shone when served with chicken. When we returned home and began working our way through Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom by Julia Child, we knew we had to grow it ourselves. 

Kitchen Wisdom is the source of the recipe we call "Chicken Julia," great by itself and as the basis of other recipes, which is the guiding principle of the book. 

Now we keep a pot of tarragon on the deck and often keep the potted plant going through the winter, in the house. I’m finally brave enough to try planting it in the garden and seeing if I can turn it into a perennial; I’ll let you know how it goes.

This year’s plant is quite abundant but even so, as I cut stems and stripped leaves into a sieve for rinsing, I wondered if I really wanted to make a full recipe. Turns out, a cup of leaves adds up fast, and it wasn’t too much dressing at all. 

In addition to a lovely salad dressing, this vinaigrette—which isn’t terribly vinegar-y—went nicely on seared scallops, grilled white fish, and of course, chicken. It’s also a terrific dressing for a simple combo of halved cherry or grape tomatoes and white cannellini beans, and Lebovitz recommends it on grilled vegetables and mozzarella. 

Consider it the taste of a French summer, no matter where you live. 

Tarragon Vinaigrette 

adapted from David Lebovitz

scant 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves, rinsed

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon water

1 small shallot, peeled and sliced (about half the shallot pictured)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon of sea or kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon honey (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a mini-chopper or blender. Pulse until well-mixed, with small flecks of green. Adjust seasonings—you may want a splash more vinegar or a dash more salt. Add the honey if you find the flavor of the tarragon slightly sharp. 

Makes a little over half a cup. 

Keeps in the refrigerator up to 5 days; bring to room temperature before serving.

Oops! Here's where the picture of the jar of vinaigrette would be if I'd remembered to take it! Just imagine, from the lovely green dressing poured over the scallops and the cucumber-watermelon-mozzarella salad pictured!

And as Julia would say, Bon Appetit!

PEPPERMINT BARKED: A Spice Shop Mystery (July 2022, Seventh St. Books)

From the cover: 

A Dickens of a Christmas turns deadly…

As the holiday season lights up Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market, Pepper Reece’s beloved Spice Shop is brimming with cinnamon, nutmeg, and shoppers eager to stuff their stockings. Add to the mix a tasty staff competition—a peppermint bark-off—along with Victorian costumes for this year’s Dickensian Christmas theme, and Pepper almost forgets to be nervous about meeting her fisherman boyfriend’s brother for the first time.

But when a young woman working in her friend Vinny’s wine shop is brutally assaulted, costumed revelers and holiday cheer are the last things on Pepper’s mind. Who would want to hurt Beth? Or were they looking for Vinny instead?

The vicious attack upsets everyone at Pike Place, but none more than Pepper’s own employee, Matt Kemp. At first, Pepper is baffled by his reaction, but his clandestine connection to Beth could hold the key to the assailant’s motive. Or perhaps it’s Vinny’s ex-wife who knows more than she’s letting on . . . and what about the mysterious top-hatted man with whom Pepper saw Beth arguing that morning?

As the secrets of the market come to light, long-held grudges, family ties, and hidden plans only further obscure the truth. Is it a ghost of the past rattling its chains, or a contemporary Scrooge with more earthly motives? As Pepper chases down a killer, someone is chasing her, and in the end, the storied market itself may hold the final, deadly clue.

A cozy holiday mystery full of culinary delights and a rich cast of characters, the sixth installment in the Spice Shop Mystery series will keep you turning the page . . . and reaching for another piece of peppermint bark. 

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Peppermint Barked, her 6th Spice Shop mystery, will appear in July 2022, and Blind Faith, her second standalone suspense novel (written as Alicia Beckman), will release in October 2022. 

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries -- #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: You’ve all heard me say it before: I am People of the Pie, not Clan of the Cake. It goes back to childhood, when my beloved father said if I wanted to make a great cake, learn from Aunt Peggy. But if I wanted to make a great pie, learn from my mother. Aunt Peggy lived a long ways away. So, pie it was!

In our house, cake was for birthdays. Pie was for 

fun.

For her last birthday, three years ago yesterday, my mother asked for an Angel Food Cake with strawberries and whipped cream. I knew it wouldn’t last the three-hour drive from our house to the retirement community where she lived, so I called the Safeway in her town and told a woman in the bakery what I wanted. “Oh, sure, hon. We can do that for you.”

And they did.

When Mr. Right and I walked in, they had a bag ready for us with a cake, a can of whipped cream, and strawberry glaze, and sent me to the produce department for the berries. Kitchen staff provided a knife and serving plate, and even let me slice up the berries in their prep room.

This cake comes from David Lebovitz, an American baker living and writing in Paris. His blog, newsletter, and cookbooks are all excellent. It’s classic and perfect and Mom would have loved it. Cake flour is finer than all-purpose flour, and lower in gluten, which makes it rise nicely. Cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites. Lebovitz uses the yolks in ice cream. We added a couple to our Sunday omelet, saved a few for a Hollandaise experiment, and froze the rest. That’s an experiment, too, but Google tells Mr. Right it works, and would Google ever lie? We’ll let you know.

A note on the pan: My mother’s tube pan disappeared ages ago so I bought a new one. Don’t use a nonstick Bundt-style pan. Angel Food cakes are typically cooled upside down; some pans have “feet” that allow them to hover above the cooling rack; mine has a tube that’s higher than the sides of the pan, which balances on the tube to cool. Lacking both of those, invert the pan on a heavy bottle or a metal funnel. 

Yesterday would have been my mother’s 95th birthday. 

Whatever the occasion, make it sweeter with a little cake. Or pie. :)

Angel Food Cake with Fresh Strawberries

adapted from David Lebovitz

For the cake: 

1 cup cake flour, not self-rising
1 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups egg whites (from about 12 large eggs), at room temperature
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the berry topping:
3 cups strawberries (or other fruit), sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
whipped cream (optional)

Heat the oven to 350ºF.

In a small bowl, whisk sift together the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed. When they become foamy, after about two minutes, add the cream of tartar and lemon juice.

Increase speed to high and continue to whip the egg whites until they just begin to hold their shape in soft, droopy peaks. Gradually whip the remaining 1 cup of sugar into the whites, 1/4 cup at a time. Do not overwhip; the egg whites should not be overly dry or stiff, but soft and cloud-like. (About 3-5 minutes total.) At the last moment, add the vanilla and mix.

Use a flexible spatula to fold the flour and sugar mixture into the whites gradually, a small amount at a time.

Pour the batter into a 9- or 10-inch tube pan smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately invert the tube pan over a cooling rack until cool, about an hour. (See note above about pans.) Slide a knife around the edges of the pan and tube, and tap the pan on the sides and bottom to release the cake. If it doesn’t come out right away, invert the pan again and let it cool a little longer.

Meanwhile, slice the strawberries and toss with the sugar and optional Grand Marnier. Let sit at least an hour, on the counter or in the refrigerator, so the sugar and berry juices can mingle.

To serve, slice and plate. Top with a spoonful of berries and juice, and optional whipped cream.

Serves 8.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

From the cover of THE SOLACE OF BAY LEAVES, Spice Shop Mystery #5, out now in e-book and audio, in paperback October 20, 2020 (Seventh St. Books and Tantor Audio) : 

Pepper Reece never expected to find solace in bay leaves. 

But when her life fell apart at forty and she bought the venerable-but-rundown Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, her days took a tasty turn. Now she’s savoring the prospect of a flavorful fall and a busy holiday cooking season, until danger bubbles to the surface ... 

Between managing her shop, worrying about her staff, and navigating a delicious new relationship, Pepper’s firing on all burners. But when her childhood friend Maddie is shot and gravely wounded, the incident is quickly tied to an unsolved murder that left another close friend a widow. 

Convinced that the secret to both crimes lies in the history of a once-beloved building, Pepper uses her local-girl contacts and her talent for asking questions to unearth startling links between the past and present—links that suggest her childhood friend may not have been the Golden Girl she appeared to be. Pepper is forced to face her own regrets and unsavory emotions, if she wants to save Maddie’s life—and her own. 

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories.  Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Salted Olive Crisps -- a taste of Paris! #recipe

LESLIE: As I write this, we’re getting ready for a trip to Paris, primarily to visit the Leonardo exhibit at the Louvre, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the maestro’s death, with more than 160 of his drawings, sculptures, and paintings, many borrowed from museums around the world. As you read this, we’re just back, no doubt our minds filled with sights, sounds, and tastes of the City of Lights.

Lucy and I share an admiration for the blog and books of David Lebovitz, an American chef and writer living in Paris. Sadly, he no longer conducts food tours—she actually got to go on one of his bread tours, and I’ll be eternally envious! Next best thing, reading his books and cooking from them. (You’ve cooked from his blog with me a few times, without knowing it—one adaptation I can think of at the moment is my Spiced Glazed Nuts and Pretzels mix from Assault & Pepper, a holiday favorite chez nous, based on a recipe from his blog.)

So I knew when I saw his Salted Olive Crisps, in My Paris Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2014), that I wanted to make them and share them with you. Sadly, I can’t pass a basket of them through the computer screen—wrong kind of windows—so the recipe will have to be the next best thing.

I used almonds and herbes de Provence---find my recipe in Assault & Pepper, and in my first Mystery Lovers' Kitchen post as a regular!  Walnuts would be good, and an Italian herb blend would be a nice substitute. I used Kalamata olives, dabbing them dry-ish with a paper towel, but other dark, cured olives would work nicely. I’ve suggested more salt—that’s up to you---added cooling times, and rewritten the instructions slightly, but it remains very much Monsieur Lebovitz’s recipe. Note that while the active cooking time is short, only about 15 minutes, there are two half-hour bakes and some cooling time, so give yourself plenty of time—maybe make these the day before you plan to serve them to let them fully crisp.

They would be great with a chilled white wine and a soft creamy cheese, but we’d been cleaning out the fridge, so we had neither. C’est la vie!

Salted Olive Crisps 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or dried thyme
1-2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup almonds, not toasted, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup packed, coarsely chopped, pitted olives

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray or oil it lightly, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a bowl, stir together the all-purpose and wheat flours, sugar, dried herbes, salt, baking soda, and black pepper. Add the buttermilk and mix with a spatula. Stir in the almonds and olives. Pour batter into the pan and spread to the corners with your spatula. Bake 30 minutes, until it feels set in the center.

Remove pan from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Remove loaf from pan, running a knife around the edges to loosen it if necessary. Cool on a wire rack about 15 minutes.

Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

Place the loaf on your cutting board. Hold the outside edges firmly to keep it from crumbling as you slice the loaf crosswise as thinly as you can, no more than 1/4" thick. (If the loaf is too warm, it won’t slice cleanly.) Lay slices flat on the baking sheets and bake 30-35 minutes, flipping the slices and rotating the baking sheets on your oven racks after about 15 minutes, to brown the slices evenly. Watch carefully in the last 5-10 minutes so they don’t overbrown.

Remove from oven and cool completely before serving. Crisps will keep about 1 week, stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Makes about 40 crackers.

Bon appetit!

From the cover of CHAI ANOTHER DAY, Spice Shop Mystery #4 (Seventh St. Books): 

 Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper Reece probes murder while juggling a troubled employee, her mother's house hunt, and a fisherman who's set his hook for her.

As owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's famed Pike Place Market, Pepper Reece is always on the go. Between conjuring up new spice blends and serving iced spice tea to customers looking to beat the summer heat, she finally takes a break for a massage. But the Zen moment is shattered when she overhears an argument in her friend Aimee's vintage home decor shop that ends in murder. 

Wracked by guilt over her failure to intervene, Pepper investigates, only to discover a web of deadly connections that could ensnare a friend - and Pepper herself.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story, and is now nominated for a Macavity award; read it on her website. A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Escarole, Bean, and Meatball Soup #recipe @lucyburdette

LUCY BURDETTE:  I realize the middle of summer is not exactly hot soup weather. That said, I’ve been waiting to make escarole, bean, and meatball soup ever since David Lebowitz posted his recipe in the early spring. It was not until last week that I found a giant gorgeous head of escarole at the farmers market. Onward!

 The meatballs are optional in this soup if you prefer no red meat. However, David’s recipe is delicious and it makes a ton of meatballs that can be spread out over a series of meals. Don't leave out the fennel seeds--those make the recipe!

Ingredients

One large head of escarole
1/2 cup chopped leeks or onions
One garlic clove, chopped
One box good quality chicken broth
2 cups cooked white beans
8 to 10 meatballs

If you have made the meatballs ahead of time and frozen some of them, this recipe will be a snap. If not, you can follow the recipe here. I used all beef, and I skipped the added salt as I found it unnecessary. I baked the meatballs at 350 for just under 20 minutes.

 Soak the dried white beans overnight. Rinse them, cover with fresh water and simmer until soft. The time will vary according to the variety of being you’ve chosen. These white beans were cassoulet beans from Rancho Gordo and they took about two hours.

Sauté the garlic, onions, and leeks in a bit of olive oil until soft. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. And the escarole and simmer until almost soft. Add the beans and the meatballs and simmer this all together until everything is piping hot. Serve with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy the soup!

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib) has published 17 mysteries, including the latest in the Key West food critic series, A Deadly Feast (Crooked Lane Books, May 2019.)  Read more at https://lucyburdette.com 

You can also find Lucy on Facebook and Instagram.

Fresh Tomato Tart #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I was thinking of making a southern tomato pie, a la Paula Dean, as our tomatoes are coming in thick and fast. But reading the recipe, a cup of mayonnaise? And all that cheese and butter and salt? Fortunately, an email came into my inbox from David Lebovitz, and he had a link to a rustic tomato tart. And then I remembered a high calorie version I'd prepared with puff pastry. I decided I could combine the three and hopefully come up with something delicious. I used David Lebovitz's tart dough (though with less salt,) which is easier than a piecrust. And the whole thing is less overwhelming than a Southern mayonnaise pie!

Ingredients

Two large ripe tomatoes, sliced thinly
Fresh basil, as much as you please (8-12 leaves), sliced
One shallot or a bunch of green onions, chopped
About 3/4 of a cup grated cheese (I used the end of a fresh mozzarella ball and some Swiss)
Grated fresh Parmesan for the top
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or even less)
2 teaspoons mustard of your choice (I used my favorite Kozlic's Amazing maple)
Several drops or more Tabasco

For the crust

One and a half cups flour
4 1/2 ounces unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
One large egg
2 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Cut the butter into the flour. I did this using my food processor. Mix the egg with 2 tablespoons of water and beat together. Add this to the food processor and pulse until the batter holds together. Here's where you can add more water if you need, I did not. Roll this out between a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom and a piece of waxed paper on top. And transfer it to a baking sheet on the parchment paper and peel off the waxed paper.

Mix mayo with mustard. Spread the mayonnaise mustard mixture onto the bottom of the tart, leaving the outside edges bare. Arrange the chopped shallots over the mayo, followed by tomato slices and basil. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and fold in the edges. Bake at 385 until brown and bubbly, 30-35 minutes.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries--find them wherever books are sold! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest--Instagram too...

French Vegetable Soup with Pistou #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: This recipe is based on one from the fabulous David Lebovitz's newsletter. If you like reading about Paris and French food, I recommend you subscribe. He was a chef at Alice Water's restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, but many years ago moved to Paris and is excellent at translating French ways to Americans.

Lucy with Notre Dame Gargoyles

I remember eating a soup like this when I was a student in the 1970s in France and terribly homesick. A French family used to invite my roommate and me to Sunday dinner every week because they knew we were lonely for home--wasn't that sweet? The mom would sometimes serve this soup so making it brought back some fun memories. John says I'd choose France for every vacation if I could--he's not far off! Anyway, back to soup...

I veered quite a bit from David's recipe and you can move back to his or further away from both of ours – the recipe is very flexible. It's good for someone on a low sodium diet, because the pistou (essentially pesto without the nuts) packs a big flavor punch. I used the vegetables that I either had in the garden or saw at the weekly farmers market. But you could also add potatoes, tomatoes, celery...

Ingredients for the soup

Two medium zucchini
2 to 3 leeks, well washed
Carrots, either three large or five or six smaller
Green beans
3 to 4 cloves garlic
1 cup dried white beans (I used Navy)
1 32 ounce box low sodium chicken broth

Handful of small pasta, if you like
Chopped tomatoes if you like

2 sprigs thyme (which I forgot, darn it!

The day before you plan to make the soup, soak the white beans overnight in water. Rinse them, and then cover them with water in a large pot and simmer until soft with two bay leaves. (This could take an hour or so.) When the beans are soft, add the chicken broth to the pot and keep simmering.

 

Chop the leeks. Chop the green beans into bite-size pieces. Chop the zucchini likewise. Chop the garlic cloves. I used my food processor to chop the carrots, and didn't even rinse it before starting the pistou. And that explains the little flecks of orange you will see later.

In a large frying pan, heat some good olive oil and sauté the leeks, the garlic, carrots, onion, zucchini and saute until soft. Add the green beans and sautéed them a bit too. Scrape this mixture into the bean pot and simmer everything until soft, about 20-30 minutes. You may if you wish add a handful of pasta at the end, but you may have to add more liquid too.

For the pistou

One clove garlic
One small bunch basil, cleaned and leaves removed (my favorite veggie guy at the market had Thai basil so that's what I tried)
1/4 cup good olive oil
About an ounce Parmesan cheese

 

Chop the garlic in the food processor, then add the olive oil. Add the Parmesan cheese in smaller pieces and chop that in. Finally add the basil and pulse until everything is combined.

 

 

Serve the bowls of soup with a heaping tablespoon of the basil mixture dropped in the center. Then each diner can stir his or her pistou/pesto into the soup. Or pass the pistou in a separate bowl if you have concerned eaters...

Lucy writes the Key West food critic mysteries.  Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!