Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: The Wolfe Widow

Showing posts with label The Wolfe Widow. Show all posts

Saturday, November 14, 2015

SWEET POTATO AND PEAR SOUP FOR A CROWD #recipe #Thanksgiving @AbbottMysteries

BY VICTORIA ABBOTT AKA VICTORIA AND MARY JANE MAFFINI

For Thanksgiving this year, we updated a version of one of our favorite soups, which MJ introduced to Mystery Lovers Kitchen a few years ago: sweet potato and pear, with a hint of cream and maple and extra lime for zing. This version makes a much bigger batch, has more intense flavors and gives you more options for modifications to suit allergies.

We confess that we are head over heels in love with this soup.

As you know, Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated the second Monday of October. We liked our soup so much that we’ll serve it again on November 26^th. Yes, we’ll have turkey and trimmings too. We have lots to be thankful for.

The recipe made enough for twelve people. If you have a crowd around your table, this will make an excellent first course. Anytime you have a crowd these days, there are often food intolerances. The good news is that this soup is gluten-free and if you leave out the optional cream, it could be dairy-free too. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and it will be vegetarian as well.

Even if you don’t have a crowd, this soup freezes beautifully and is terrific when you need something special in a hurry. In fact you can make it ahead, freeze it and make your life easier on the big day. Or serve half and keep the rest for surprise guests. We produced the second half of ours for an impromptu lunch last week and got raves. Or you can simply make half.

SWEET POTATO AND PEAR SOUP FOR A CROWD

ALL YOU NEED IS:

5 tbsp butter (or olive oil)

2 cups chopped onion

½ cup chopped carrot

¾ cup chopped celery

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 ripe pears, peeled and diced

1 ½ teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons paprika

10 cups of chicken broth. We used homemade but good quality low-salt purchased broth would be fine too

½ cup whipping cream, optional

1 ½ tablespoon of maple syrup (or a bit less if you don’t like sweetness)

Juice of two limes, or to taste.

Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

12 sprigs fresh thyme

ALL YOU DO IS:

· Chop pears and veggies.

Heat butter or oil on medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté for 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, pears and thyme and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add paprika and chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until sweet potato is soft.

· Purée with immersion blender right in the pot (or use a food processor or blender and then return to the pot. Blend well because the pears take a while to break down.

· Add cream, maple syrup and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes. If soup is too thick add a little extra broth, cream or lime depending on your taste test.

· Season with salt and pepper to taste.

· Serve with a sprig of fresh thyme or a dollop of whipped cream.

Have a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day.

Victoria Abbott is actually the mother-daughter collaboration between artist and photographer, Victoria Maffini and her mother, Mary Jane Maffini, award-winning author of three other series and two dozen short stories.

We wish all of you and your families a wonderful and tasty time on Thanksgiving!

If you are looking for a mystery that takes place at Thanksgiving, we think you'll enjoy

The Wolfe Widow, our third book collector mystery.

Leave a comment here by Sunday November 13th and we'll put your name in for a draw for a copy of your own. If your name is drawn and you already own a copy, we'll cook up another deal for you!

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Saturday, May 9, 2015

EVERYONE'S FAVORITE LEMON PUDDING

MJ and Victoria here-- with an treat from the past for
Retro Mother's Day Week

MJ's Mum and Victoria's Gram was not only a great cook but a very glamorous one. We're still searching for the lost photo of her in the tiny kitchen in her black sheath dress with the pearls. MJ's friends used to come by just to gawk. Alas our photos are still playing hide and seek after the big move. Some day! In the meantime, we think Mum/Gram was really rocking this feathered hat.

We both remember her fondly for fun, parties and great food. Our house was full of books and laughter. And she was famous for her hats. Here's a bit of a crumbled newspaper article from a Mother's Day event at our church. You have to love small communities: everything makes the paper. You will see who has the best hat, although MJ loved her little cloche, it wasn't in the running!

Part of the enjoyment of this retro week was scoping out old photos and looking back. As you can see, Victoria was close to Gram.


Sharing secrets at Christmas back in the day!


On vacation - no hats

This little recipe for lemon pudding cake is one that the Maffini kids loved when they were growing up. And even those two well-known fusspots, MJ and her brother, JD, liked it a generation earlier. Poor mum. Life couldn't have been easy with those two.

So, MJ's mum made this dessert fairly often back in the dim mists of time. It didn't even seem to have a name, except for lemon pudding cake. But it's a recipe that comes up in conversation quite often A year or so ago a cousin was reminiscing about the lemon pudding cake that her mom used to make. She could never manage to find the recipe.

MJ knew she had it, but couldn’t track it down either. Was this going to be one of those delicious secrets that are lost forever? There are lots of recipes that a kind of like this, but she wanted this one. Once again, Victoria to the rescue! It turned up in her little book of Treasured Recipes under Favorite Lemon Pudding.

By the way, one of the reasons we love lemon pudding so much, is that it uses the egg separator MJ got in 1971 at a Tupperware party. How retro is that?

Since fate was kind to us, we'll share it with you.

It makes a soft and foamy pudding with luscious lemon sauce. If there is any sauce leftover, it is delicious on vanilla ice cream or yogurt.

Another good thing about this recipe is that we each always have eggs, lemon, milk and sugar in our houses. No special planning needed.

So, TA DA! from our kitchen to yours, we give you:

Everyone’s Favorite Retro Lemon Dessert

It's all about the eggs and the lemon.

Preheat oven to 350.

Makes 6 servings (four in our house)

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

7/8 cup sugar

1 -2 tablespoons lemon zest

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

3 egg yolks (room temperature)

3 egg whites (room temperature)

1 ½ cup milk

Beat butter and sugar until well combined. Add lemon, zest, lemon juice, egg yolks, salt and flour. Beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add milk and blend well.

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Fold into lemon mixture.

Pour into GREASED 6-cup baking dish or casserole.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until nicely brown.

Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

Speaking of mothers and daughters, that shadowy figure Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between artist and photographer, Victoria Maffini, and her mother, Mary Jane Maffini, author of three mystery series. Their book collector series blends contemporary mystery, humor and classics from the Golden Age of Detection. Of course, there are also dogs and cats. The Christie Curse, The Sayers Swindle and The Wolfe Widow will be followed by The Marsh Madness in September. But you can PREORDER IT NOW!

We hang out on Mystery Lovers Kitchen on the second and fourth Saturdays every month, although sometimes we get tricky.

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Saturday, December 13, 2014

Make Ahead Christmas Morning Coffee Cake

A Christmas treat from Victoria Abbott aka Victoria and Mary Jane Maffini

Around here, we're all in the mood for Christmas.

We’ve wanted to make this recipe since last year when we first came across a version of a coffee cake that goes from freezer to table on Christmas morning when the cook relaxes in new slippers, possibly sipping eggnog and enjoying the aroma of fresh baking with cinnamon and other goodies.

This year we’re going for it. But of course we had to try it out before putting all our Christmas eggs in one basket. This version is a combination of a number of recipes we’ve found and tinkered with. We liked that this one used coconut oil (and we had almost the exact quantity already). We think it would have been excellent with orange zest and juice instead of lemon but there are some allergies here.

We’re happy to announce that our first try was amazing. The coconut oil makes a terrific taste, but you could use the same amount of butter.

This cake is a keeper for us. So here it is from our home to yours for Christmas:

Make Ahead and Take It Easy Christmas Morning Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake

Makes: One 9-inch cake

For the topping

2/3 cup brown sugar
¾ cup slivered almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
Pinch of salt

For the cake

1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped – we used a Fuji
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
2 tsps lemon zest
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp almond flavouring
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together brown sugar, almonds, cinnamon, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp lemon zest and salt in a small bowl and set aside for topping.

Mix chopped apple, dried cranberries, lemon zest and juice in a bowl and reserve.

Beat coconut oil with brown and white sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla and almond flavoring until blended.

Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and beat at low speed until blended.
Mix in apple, lemon, cranberry mixture.
Pour into greased 9-inch springform pan and sprinkle on the brown sugar and almond topping.

Wrap tightly with foil or plastic and refrigerate or freeze. Or bake right away, like we did! Lots of options.

Preheat oven to 350 F (we used 335 F with convection). Unwrap your cake and bake: 35- 40 minutes if put in oven at room temperature, right after making; or about 40 to 45 minutes if refrigerated overnight; 60 to 90 minutes or more if you are baking from frozen.
It's done when brown on top and tester comes out clean.

If you want to take some of the pressure off Christmas Eve and Christmas morning prep, this could be your answer.

Victoria Abbott is the mysterious collaboration between the artist and photographer Victoria Maffini and her mother, the mystery writer, Mary Jane Maffini. Strangely enough, their three book collector mysteries, The Christie Curse, The Sayers Swindle and The Wolfe Widow all contain Siamese cats. Coming in September 2015 The Marsh Madness.