Chocolate Espresso Almond Shortbread Cookies -- #recipe @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ; One of the delights of

traveling to meet readers and talk about my books is eating the food. It’s research. After my signing at Seattle Mystery Bookshop in June, my BFF Lita and I dashed through the rain to the Grand Central building in Pioneer Square. In the Grand Central Arcade, we shared a delicious sandwich and salad from the Grand Central Bakery, but restrained ourselves from the Chocolate Almond Shortbread.

The regret kicked in almost immediately.

So like any good cookie monster, I went searching online. This recipe comes from The Kitchen Paper, and I haven’t varied it much – just clarified what chocolate to use and revised the instructions – although my yield was about double what the posted recipe predicted. Go figure that. I don’t think the version we spotted in the bakery included espresso, but darn, that was a yummy addition. Mr. Right thought it made these breakfast cookies, and I’m certainly not going to disagree.

These froze well, even with the chocolate drizzle. There is no substitute for picking up each cookie and using a teaspoon to spread chocolate on one corner of the cookie – trying to drizzle the chocolate on a plate of cookies just creates a mess and wastes chocolate. Avoid that sin!

Think of them as a little trip to a city well known for its love of coffee and its chocolate makers.

When we gathered Around the Kitchen Table last month, Krista said she combats kitchen messes by setting out a clean plate, knife, and spoon when she bakes. I tried it. You see what happened.

Genius.

Chocolate Almond Espresso Cookies

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
4 ounces semi sweet chocolate

Pour the coffee powder into a small bowl or measuring cup, add the hot water, and stir until dissolved. Set aside.

Add the flour, sugar, and salt to the food processor. Pulse until fully combined.

Add the butter, cubed, the roughly chopped almonds, and the espresso mixture, and pulse until the dough comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (I use a bamboo cutting board) and shape it with your hands. Cut the ball in half. Place one half on a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap, and form into a log about 2" in diameter. Roll, twist the ends to seal, and repeat with the other log. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the log ¼” thick, and bake 16-18 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies begin to turn golden, but not the tops.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

When cooled, melt the chocolate and drizzle over the cookies with a teaspoon.

Makes about 4 dozen. The cookies freeze well, drizzled or naked. 

From the cover of TREBLE AT THE JAM FEST, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #4 (Midnight Ink, June 8, 2017):  

Erin Murphy, manager of Murphy’s Mercantile (aka the Merc), is tuning up for Jewel Bay’s annual Jazz Festival. Between keeping the Merc’s shelves stocked with Montana’s tastiest local fare and hosting the festival’s kick-off concert, Erin has her hands full.

Discord erupts when jazz guitarist Gerry Martin is found dead on the rocks above the Jewel River. The one-time international sensation had fallen out of sync with festival organizers, students, and performers. Was his death an accident?or did someone even the score?

Despite the warning signs to not get involved, Erin investigates. And when the killer attacks, she orchestrates her efforts into one last crescendo, hoping to avoid a deadly finale.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The past president of Sisters in Crime, 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.

Fresca's Tortellini Salad, from Treble at the Jam Fest

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: This pasta salad is one of the first dishes I deconstructed and made on my own, based on a salad from a long-gone deli called Pasta & Company. It had several locations in Seattle, including one on the 4th Avenue side of the building often called “the box the Space Needle came in,” where my law firm had offices. (It’s actual name was the Seattle First National Bank Building, and it was too short for the Needle, but I suspect Sea-First financed the construction, and the name stuck.)

I felt like such a city girl eating there, especially if my suit allowed me to sit on a stool in the window and watch the people!

I’ve given that space to Laurel, who runs the deli and catering company Ripe in my Seattle Spice Shop books, but I kept the recipe for Erin and Fresca in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries. Fresca makes piles of it to sell at the Merc, and in TREBLE AT THE JAM FEST, they take it on a picnic for the outdoor concert at the annual Jewel Bay Jazz Festival.

Imagine my surprise when I bought a different brand of tortellini recently and found a very similar salad on the package!

And even though it’s a summer favorite at our house, I also like to make a batch during Christmas week when it’s great to have something easy and different to pull out of the fridge—and because the colors make me happy.

I hope this salad makes you happy, too.

Tortellini Salad

2- 8 ounce boxes tortellini (tri-color is prettiest)
1 to 1-1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, lightly drained and chopped
2 cups chopped tomatoes (we like grape or cherry tomatoes, because they hold their shape and stay firm)
½ cup green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons capers
1 cup Parmesan, shredded
1 cup hard or Genoa salami, stacked and cut in strips (optional)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil
1/4 cup olive oil OR oil from the artichoke marinade
salt and fresh ground pepper

Optional: 1/2 bell pepper, chopped (I like to mix red and green, but any color will be lovely.)

Cook pasta as directed; rinse with cold water, and drain, stirring to release steam and stop pasta cooking.

In a large bowl, combine the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, green onions, capers, Parmesan, salami, fresh herbs, and the bell pepper if you're using it. Add the pasta and mix. Stir in the oil and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8. Keeps well.

From the cover of TREBLE AT THE JAM FEST, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #4 (Midnight Ink, June 8, 2017):  

Erin Murphy, manager of Murphy’s Mercantile (aka the Merc), is tuning up for Jewel Bay’s annual Jazz Festival. Between keeping the Merc’s shelves stocked with Montana’s tastiest local fare and hosting the festival’s kick-off concert, Erin has her hands full.

Discord erupts when jazz guitarist Gerry Martin is found dead on the rocks above the Jewel River. The one-time international sensation had fallen out of sync with festival organizers, students, and performers. Was his death an accident?or did someone even the score?

Despite the warning signs to not get involved, Erin investigates. And when the killer attacks, she orchestrates her efforts into one last crescendo, hoping to avoid a deadly finale.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The past president of Sisters in Crime, 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.

A Real-life Spice Merchant talks about The Secret Ingredient

Ras el hanout

A note from Leslie: Many of you know  I've been haunting Seattle's Pike Place Market for years, first as a college student and young lawyer living in Seattle, and now as an occasional visitor from Montana. A few years ago, I discovered World Spice Merchants on Western Avenue, just below the Market, a shop as full of discovery as the Spice Islands and other distant lands were to the European sailors in the Age of Exploration. 

So when ASSAULT & PEPPER, the first book in my Seattle Spice Shop Mysteries, came out last March, I sent a signed copy to Amanda Bevill, owner of World Spice Merchants.

Imagine the stunned look on my face when a lovely woman I didn't know came to my book launch party---in an art gallery in Montana---and introduced herself as Amanda. Turns out she and her husband divide their time between Seattle and NW Montana. I inscribed her copy of my book, and she gave me a signed copy of her cookbook, WORLD SPICE AT HOME.  

And thus began a friendship built on spice. Amanda joins us today with a tasty recipe that shows off the blends that make her shop such a magical place.  

The Secret Ingredient

By Amanda Bevill

We all love a good mystery, and it's doubly true in the case of the secret ingredient: plainly there for us to taste but elusively masked within the dish. Spice merchants know this, and are always sniffing out new flavors to dazzle the palate. A deft hand with spices will always leave your guests delighted, and wondering, "What is that???"

Chinese Five Spice

But you don’t have to be a spice merchant, or a master chef, to add these legendary flavors to your everyday cooking- it can be quick and easy. Often you don’t even have to learn a new recipe. This family favorite was one of the first that I adapted to experiment with the amazing world of spices.

This simple apple cake was created by my great-grandmother and cooked on a wood stove over 100 years ago, and I’m happy to still be cooking it today. The original recipe called for cinnamon, and now I make it with either Chinese Five Spice or Ras el Hanout. Both of these blends contain classic baking spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, but combined with other spices the flavors are enhanced. The result is a pleasing flavor that is more than you would get with cinnamon alone, and your guests will never guess the secret ingredient. This recipe is timeless, rustic and highlights the flavors of both the apples and the spice.

Great Grandmother Carter’s Apple Cake

1 cup vegetable oil or melted coconut oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground Chinese Five Spice or Ras el Hanout
3 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9”x13” pan.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix together.

Fold in apples and nuts.

Bake 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

So, the next time you want to try something new, or add a twist to a classic, open up your spice cabinet and follow your nose. If you like the way it smells, you’ll love the way it tastes!

Amanda Bevill is the owner of World Spice Merchants, an artisan spice shop in Seattle, Washington, and the co-author of World Spice at Home, New Flavors for 75 Different Dishes. Visit the shop on Western Avenue below Pike Place Market, or online.  

SUSAN MALLERY IS DREAMING OF SUNNY WEATHER

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery has entertained millions of readers with her witty and emotional stories about women and the relationships that move them. Publisher’s Weekly calls Susan’s prose “luscious and provocative,” and Booklist says, “Novels don’t get much better than Mallery’s expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.” Visit Susan online at www.susanmallery.com.

I live in Seattle. According to a local news website, Seattle averages 226 cloudy days per year, plus 81 partly cloudy days. That’s a total of 307 days – 84% of the time – when the sun is either absent or playing coy. Something about the cool air gathering over the ocean, then pushing inland, hitting the Cascade Mountains… it’s all very complicated and, frankly, not very interesting. Suffice it to say that we go so long without seeing the sun during the winter that I rely on a happy lamp to keep my hormones endorphinated. (Yes, I made up that word. I’m a writer. I’m allowed to do that.)

Some of the local newscasters should seek endorphination, too, I think. As the short, dark days accumulate, their smiles get a little less perky, a little wobbly at the edges.

“Top headline tonight: It’s been 41 days since we’ve seen the sun here in the Seattle area.”

I swear I can hear a tremor in her voice.

I grew up in L.A., where they’re perky year-round. (A little double-entendre there for male readers.)

Books provide a great escape from dreary weather and dreary real-life. For a few hours, we’re transported to the world the author created. When I create a series, I want to ensure that it’s set somewhere that readers will love visiting over and over again. And, frankly, a place that I’ll love to visit, since I spend several months living in that world while writing each book.

BAREFOOT SEASON is the first book of my brand new Blackberry Island series. Although Blackberry Island is 

within commuting distance to Seattle, it’s a world away.

BAREFOOT SEASON takes place during the lovely, long summer days, when there’s nowhere as beautiful as the Pacific Northwest. The sun, when it shines, has a different quality here. The light is pure, and the colors are deeply saturated, vibrant. The sky is bluer, the flowers are brighter.

Wounded veteran Michelle Sanderson is eager to return to Blackberry Island, where she grew up. When she discovers that Carly, her former best friend, has been running her family’s inn – and badly, it seems, since the inn is on the verge of foreclosure – Blackberry Island is no longer a haven from her problems. It’s the source of them. Will Michelle run away again, or will she finally make peace with Carly and with the pain she caused so many years ago?

Visit Blackberry Island online at www.blackberryisland.com to read Chapter 1 of BAREFOOT SEASON, see a map and Visitors Guide, get some fabulous blackberry recipes, including a printable version of the recipe I’ve shared below. There’s also a fabulous recipe for Helen’s Chicken Salad within the pages of BAREFOOT SEASON.

OVEN-BAKED PORK CHOPS WITH BLACKBERRY CHIPOTLE SAUCE

¼ C olive oil

2 pork chops, 1-1 ¼” thick

Salt and pepper

 ¼ C Blackberry Chipotle Sauce (recipe at www.blackberryisland.com)

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in heavy, oven-safe pan with a lid. Salt and pepper the chops, then brown for five minutes on one side. Flip the chops, cover the pan, and transfer it to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Add 2 T Blackberry Chipotle Sauce on top of each chop. Cover again and bake until the internal temp reaches 

165, about 10-20 minutes more.

What’s your favorite time of year? Why? What does the phrase “Barefoot Season” bring to mind for you?

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Thank you, Susan, for being such a wonderful guest!  ~Avery