Jane Austen’s Christmas Pie from Jane Austen’s Lost Letters by Jane K. Cleland

LUCY BURDETTE: Today we welcome Jane Cleland to the kitchen, with her rendition of Jane Austen's Christmas Pie, imagined in her new book, Jane Austen's Lost Letters. She will be offering a signed copy of Jane Austen’s Lost Letters (U.S. only) to one person who leaves a comment, so make sure to read all the way to the end of the post!

JANE CLELAND: Jane Austen’s Christmas Pie contains some of my favorite foods—tomatoes, basil, spinach, and bread. Especially tomatoes. Yum! Add in a light dressing, bake, and watch the Christmas colors glow in this delicious and economical dish! 

In researching Jane Austen’s life for my latest Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery,  Jane Austen’s Lost Letters, I discovered that Jane Austen didn’t come from an affluent family. In her many letters to her beloved sister, Cassandra, Jane often recounted the details of her daily life, including what she ate, most of which were quite simple dishes. My rendition of Jane Austen’s Christmas Pie follows this tradition, using only vegetables and day-old bread. The seasonings are humble, too, yet the flavors are as festive as the colors—happy holidays to you all!  

From Jane Austen’s Lost Letters 

Josie says:

“I read the 1811 letter.

“The tone was chatty and witty, filled with amusing descriptions of the minutia of home life, written while Cassandra, Jane Austen’s sister, was off visiting relatives. Jane mentioned the cabbage pudding and vegetable pie she’d eaten for lunch.” 

Jane Austen’s Christmas Pie

The Ingredients:

• 6 cups or more, fresh spinach

• 2 slices old bread

• 2 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced

• ½ c. or more of chopped fresh basil

• 1 tab olive oil, more to drizzle

• Balsamic vinegar to drizzle

• Salt and pepper to taste

The Recipe:

1. Preheat over to 350.

2. Pour 1 tab olive oil into a pie pan and brush to cover the bottom and sides.

3. Tear the bread into pieces to cover the bottom of the pan.

4. Arrange two layers of spinach and tomatoes. Sprinkle each layer with chopped basil, add salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

5. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting.

Jane K. Cleland writes both fiction and nonfiction, including the long-running and multiple award-winning  Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries [St. Martin’s & Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine] and the Agatha Award-winning bestsellers Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists [Writer’s Digest Books]. Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine, and the chair of the Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA), in partnership with AHMM. She is a frequent workshop leader and guest author at writing conferences and MFA Residencies. Jane offers FREE monthly workshops on the craft of writing. Details can be found at www.janecleland.com. An excerpt of Jane Austen’s Lost Letters is available here. Please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

It is my pleasure to offer a signed copy of Jane Austen’s Lost Letters (U.S. only) to one person who offers a comment based on this question: What’s your favorite holiday side dish? I look forward to reading your stories!

Jane Cleland's Dijon Chicken -- #giveaway

LESLIE B: When my first mystery came out in 2013, the book launch party was held at a fabulous art gallery in my town, the basis for my fictional town. A local woman was sure she didn't care for mysteries, but she loves the arts and local artists, so she came to the party and bought a copy of Death al Dente. Surprise -- she loves cozy mysteries and just never knew it! She became an avid fan and we became friends. 

A couple of years ago, I ran into her outside the library where she'd just picked up the latest of Jane Cleland's Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries. Seems that at one of my book parties, I had mentioned my cousin, who writes as Laura Childs, so my reader started reading her, and one day, found a library receipt tucked in a Childs book listing the books a previous reader had checked out. She marched up to the library clerk, handed it to her, and asked what she knew about these Jane Cleland books and would she like them? Turns out she LOVES Jane's books almost as much as Laura's and mine. She didn't know much about New England and enjoys making the trip on the page, while learning about antiques. I got to tell Jane that story at Malice Domestic, and she sweetly sent me home with a signed bookmark for our lovely reader! 

Now it's your turn to meet Jane Cleland!

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of Hidden Treasure, the newest Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery.  

JANE CLELAND: This recipe is one of my favorites. The marinade adds a layer of flavor and helps keep the chicken moist. The sauce is sweet and tangy and velvety and rich.  

From Hidden Treasure: “I made a tarragon Dijon sauce for the chicken, a familiar recipe I’d mastered years ago by following my mother’s careful directions. In the weeks before she’d died when I was only thirteen and utterly unprepared for the loss, even though I knew it was coming, she’d written a cookbook by hand, complete with side notes and little drawings. It was one of my most cherished possessions.” 

I hope you enjoy it!

CHICKEN DIJON, from Hidden Treasure by Jane Cleland

For the marinade:

Whisk together:

1/3 cup olive oil

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp ground pepper

 

·       Clean the chicken. I use bone-in breasts, and I remove the skin.

·       Place the chicken in a plastic bag. Pour in the marinade. Squeeze out excess air and seal the bag.

·       Marinate one hour to overnight, turning periodically to ensure both sides sit in the marinade.

While the chicken marinated, 

Josie took this photo of her beautiful platinum Maine Coon cat, named Hank!  

For the sauce:

3 tabs white wine vinegar

½ tsp dried tarragon

6 tabs butter

3 tabs Dijon mustard

1 ½ tab honey

Egg noodles, for serving. 

 

·       Preheat the oven to 350°

·       Heat the vinegar and tarragon in a small saucepan until very hot, but not boiling. Turn down the heat to simmer. 

      Add the butter, one tab at a time, stirring to mix.

·       Stir in the mustard and honey.

·       Remove from heat.

Place the chicken, skin-side up, in a roasting pan. Discard the marinade.

·       Pour about ¼ cup of the sauce over the chicken.      

B Bake for 45 minutes for bone-in chicken; 20 minutes for boneless chicken.

·       Serve with egg noodles tossed with a generous helping of sauce.

What recipe do you cherish as much for the person who gave it you as for the food  itself? I look forward to reading your stories! One reader will win a signed copy of Hidden Treasure. (Be sure to include your email address. US addresses only. Winner will be announced Wednesday, December 2.) 

Hidden Treasure tells the story of dreams, desperation, and second chances—and an ancient Egyptian cat.


The discovery of a mysterious antique trunk leads to a disappearance―and murder―in the latest in this beloved cozy series set on the rugged New Hampshire coast, Jane K. Cleland's Hidden Treasure.

Jane K. Cleland writes both fiction and nonfiction, including the long-running and multiple award-winning  Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries [St. Martin’s & Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine] and the Agatha Award-winning bestsellers Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists [Writer’s Digest Books]. Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine, and the chair of the Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA), in partnership with AHMM. She is a frequent workshop leader and guest author at writing conferences and MFA Residencies. Jane offers free monthly workshops and free podcasts on the craft of writing in the “We’re All in It Together,” series. Details can be found at www.janecleland.com 

An excerpt of Hidden Treasure is available here. Join Jane on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Jane Cleland - guest author

Today, let's welcome mystery author Jane K. Cleland.

Her multiple award-nominated and IMBA best selling Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur] has been reviewed as an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans. “Josie” stories have also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane chairs the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards, which include the Nero Award and the Black Orchid Novella Award, granted in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is a past chapter president and current board member of the Mystery Writers of America/New York Chapter.

Jane's latest: SILENT AUCTION, St. Martin’s Minotaur.

Reviewers say: The Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries. "Ingenious ... engaging!" Publishers Weekly. www.janecleland.net Jane does Business Communications training work, too! www.janecleland.com

And now let's hear from Jane!

Josie’s Mom’s Cookbook:

A Legacy of Love

by Jane K. Cleland

My protagonist, antiques appraiser Josie Prescott, loves to cook. Often she uses the cookbook her mother made for her in the days before she died. Josie was only thirteen then, but she’s come to understand that the cookbook was an important part of her mother’s legacy.

In the days before she died, Josie’s mom wrote out her favorite recipes, complete with little illustrations and cooking tips like serving something sweet with something savory.

Isn’t hand-writing a cookbook a lovely idea? What a thoughtful and enduring legacy. Now, decades later, the mere act of touching the leather-bound cookbook sooths Josie’s soul, enabling her to feel connected to her long-deceased, much loved, and much missed mother.

Not all mothers are like that. My mother, for instance, took a different approach to sharing recipes. My mother kept her recipes on index cards filled with lies. She didn’t want anyone to be able to cook her specialties so she changed ingredients, quantities, and/or instructions.

Isn’t that amazing? She lied even to me, her only daughter! My mother was a crackerjack cook, but darn, I wish she hadn’t had that odd kick in her gallop when it came to sharing recipes. I can laugh about it, but I also think it’s sort of sad.

Some of my favorite dishes are gone forever because my mother didn’t write them down. I no longer have her luscious cinnamon roll-ups or her red wine pot roast or her quirky Hawaiian chicken.

I include many mentions of food in my Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries, and I’ve posted many of the recipes on my website, www.janecleland.net. Here are two that are among my favorite dishes, Josie’s Mom’s Scrambled Eggs and Orange Chicken. Preparing and sharing delicious food is one of the ways we humans show our love for one another. I hope you try them, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

And if anyone has a good recipe for cinnamon roll-ups, I’d love it if you’d e-mail it to me at jane@janecleland.net.

Josie’s Mom’s Scrambled Eggs

[from Consigned to Death]

In advance, prepare the egg mixture:

Figure on 2 eggs per person.

1. Crack the eggs one at a time in a small bowl to ensure no shell pieces fall in. 


2. Transfer the eggs to a bowl large enough so when you whisk the eggs briskly, there will be no spillage.


3. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.


4. Add 1/8 tsp. vanilla per 2 eggs.


5. Add a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg.


6. Whisk the egg mixture briskly. Set aside.

In advance, prepare the

vegetables:

One medium-sized tomato per 2 eggs, chopped coarsely. Salt the tomato generously, and stir gently. ½ medium-sized white or yellow onion, chopped finely. Add salt and pepper to the onion to taste

To prepare the eggs:

1. In a frying pan (choose the size of the pan based on the quantity of eggs you’re cooking), melt 
 butter over low heat. Plan on using 1 tab of butter per 2 eggs.


2. Add onions and sauté gently until golden brown.


3. Add tomatoes and sauté gently for a minute or two, until the tomatoes are soft, but not mushy.


4. While the tomatoes are cooking, whisk the egg mixture again until it’s frothy.


5. As soon as the tomatoes are ready, add the egg mixture.


6 .Stir occasionally, not allowing any area to be still for more than several seconds. 


7. When almost cooked, remove pan from heat and immediately scrape eggs onto plates.

Josie’s mom recommends serving the eggs with a fruit salad, toast (buttered and sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar), bacon, and broiled tomatoes.

Orange Chicken
[from Deadly Appraisal]

To prepare the marinade, mix together:

1 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice, with pulp


3 oz. soy sauce


1 tsp. ground ginger 


3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Directions:

1. Remove skin from 2 chicken breasts, split.

2. Marinate, breast down, in orange juice mixture for at least four hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Place chicken pieces breast up in a small baking pan. Make sure the marinade almost covers the chicken.

5. Spread peach jam liberally over the exposed parts of the chicken.

6. Bake for forty minutes to an hour, basting as needed, until the jam is golden, and the chicken is cooked through, but not dry.

Serve with Wild Rice

And if anyone has a good recipe for cinnamon roll-ups, I’d love it if you’d e-mail it to me at jane@janecleland.net.