Agatha Christie Mystery Potatoes #recipe + book giveaway for AS GOUDA AS DEAD

From Avery aka Daryl:

By now, you all know I'm gearing up for the release of the next Cheese Shop Mystery #6: As Gouda As Dead. So yes, another giveaway!  If you leave a comment TODAY, as in weeks past, you'll be entered to win a Cheese Shop Mystery plus some fun swag. See details below!

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My son and DIL gave me a cookbook from England called The Curious Cookbook: Viper Soup, Badger Ham, Stewed Sparrows and 100 More Historic Recipes by Peter Ross. Long title! Whew! Some fun reading inside.

Now, I can't make most of the items. Some require pheasant from the 1400s and vipers. I hate vipers!  I think it's truly meant to be a history book. But, lo and behold, I found a recipe tucked away at the end of the book that I could make.  It's simple; it's tasty. It's called

Agatha Christie’s Mystery Potatoes

I couldn't pass that up!

Here's the recipe directly from the book:

  

“6 good-sized potatoes, a little margarine, 4 tablespoonsful cream, 10 anchovies. Bake the potatoes in a moderate oven. Then cut them in half, remove the insides, and mash them with the margarine and cream. Chop up the anchovies and mix them in. Add pepper and salt to taste. Return mixture to the empty skins, dap on top with margarine and brown in a hot oven.”

I have to admit I tweaked the recipe.  I mean, c'mon, it's a potato, with anchovies. Admittedly, the anchovies are a wonderful touch! Tasty, salty yum!

When you add cheese (how could I not?)...heaven.

I also tweaked by using butter, not margarine!  Sorry, Dame Agatha!  And about a half tablespoon per…

For the moderate oven, I set it at 325 degrees for 1 hour. I wrapped the potatoes in foil. I always find that cooks them through. I used a Barber's Cheddar cheese to top off the potatoes. A truly wonderful addition!  

MY AGATHA CHRISTIE POTATO RECIPE:

6 potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

4-6 tablespoons cream

1 jar (container) anchovies, chopped

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Wrap potatoes individually in foil. Bake potatoes in a preheated oven, at 325 F for 1 hour.  Remove and cut a slit down the middle. Press from the sides to open. Let out steam. Carefully scoop potato flesh out of the skin and put in a bowl with the butter, cream and anchovies. Stir and scoop it back into the potato skins, pushing together so the potato mounds out the top. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and serve.

Note: hold the skins together when scooping so they don’t fall apart!

GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away another CHEESE SHOP MYSTERY today, plus some swag.  Tell me what is the most exotic recipe you've ever tried or have the hankering to try. 

Leave your email so I can reach you if you win. If you don't feel like leaving an entire email, you can go cryptic and I'll try to figure it out. I am a mystery writer, after all. I will not use your email for any other purpose other than to contact the winner. I'll pick a name tomorrow morning. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me.

Good luck!

Savor the mystery!

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NEXT BOOK OUT: AS GOUDA AS DEAD, coming February, 2015
pre-order here

STIRRING THE PLOT is available for order: order here.

If you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list 

so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! 

Easy Peasy Olive-Anchovie Aioli Dip

Congrats to our very own Lucy Burdette who has a new book out as of yesterday, DEATH IN FOUR COURSES!  Love this new series about a restaurant reviewer in Key West. Yay, Lucy!

AND

Congrats to our very own Peg Cochran, who as Meg London, has a new book out, also as of yesterday, MURDER UNMENTIONABLE. A Sweet Nothings Mystery.  Oooh, la, la. 

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This weekend, I had guests over and wanted something easy but fun to serve with a cheese platter. We were barbecuing. You all know I love to barbecue. Well, my husband received a new cookbook because of travel miles, go figure -- Food and WineAnnual Cookbook 2012.  He flipped through it and said, “Gee, honey, there are some pretty things in here.”

Because my new series focuses on cookbooks, I’ve been spending a lot of time paying attention to cookbooks lately (standing in bookstores and watching people browse – lots of fun) and I’ve noticed that the cookbooks with good photographs seem to interest most people. They flip to the pictures. Maybe this is why Pinterest has become so popular. 

So I took the Food and Wine cookbook from my husband and browsed. Lo and behold, I found a number of things that I tagged, most with photographs!  LOL

So I’m sharing one that was super easy, perfect for Labor Day or any day, and pretty. I even mimicked the pretty multi-glass display. 

Enjoy!

AIOLI WITH ANCHOVIES andOLIVES

and CRUDITES

(from Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2012)

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, smashed

6 plump oil-packed anchovies, chopped

½ cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup finely chopped pitted green olives

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon lemon zest

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ½ pounds mixed vegetables like string beans, carrots, celery etc.

Directions:

On a cutting board, mash the garlic. Add the anchovies and mash to a paste. Scrape the paté into a bowl and stir in the mayonnaise, olives, lemon juice. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Cover the aioli with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

*** I tweaked the above a bit. I didn’t add lemon zest, and I used “jarred” garlic clove. It’s so easy and keeps for a long time. Also, I changed out the crudités they suggested. [The recipe called for all beans, many sorts and shapes and colors…I couldn’t find more than two.] The recipe also says to blanch the vegetables, but I didn’t. I served them raw. Delish.

So easy!!!

REMINDER: To save this recipe (and any that are posted on MLK,  click the Print Friendly button below 

(it looks like this but don't hit this one).  Choose PDF to print. 

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The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series: 

TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE.  

You can pre-order the book HERE. 

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

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 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!


Also, you probably know about my alter ego.
DARYL WOOD GERBER... 
Daryl's new series: A COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY series
debuts July 2013

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.

"She" doesn't say all the same things "Avery" does. Promise.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...okay, maybe least...:)

I'm pleased to announce that my short story, PALACE ON THE LAKE, 
in Fish Tales: A Guppy Anthology has been nominated for both
the Anthony Award and Macavity Award. 

Go Sisters in Crime Guppies! 

Without the Guppies, my career would not be on the right track.
The group support is invaluable!

You can read PALACE ON THE LAKE by clicking on the title above. :)

Say cheese!

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