To Havarti and to Hold

What a great week. We have three authors on our blog with new releases.  What fun reading for the summer! 

Congratulations to:

Julie Hyzy on the release of Grace Interrupted, the second in her Manor House Mystery series.

Click here to read a review from
the Chicago Sun-Times

Click here to order the book.

Click here to visit Julie's blog and
learn how you can attend her book launch party!

Wendy Lyn Watson on the release of A Parfait Murder, the third in her Mystery A La Mode series.

Click here to read a review
from A Criminal Element.

Click here to purchase the book.

Click here to visit Wendy's Web site and
Scroll down to the end of this post
to learn how to enter her contest!

Riley Adams (aka Elizabeth Spann Craig)
on the release of Finger Lickin' Dead,
the 2nd book in her Memphis BBQ Mystery series.

Click here to read a review of Finger Lickin' Dead from Mason Canyon's Thoughts in Progress. Click here to read Diane's review at the Book Resort.

Click here to purchase the book.

Click here to enter Riley's contest!

And now to food.

I like easy. I'm pretty sure you all know that by now.  I shared today's recipe in LOST AND FONDUE and I absolutely love it.  People are getting ready for graduations, vacations, father's day, summer. Little morsels can be a perfect snack or enhance a meal or a party.

As you also know, I'm always trying to find a way to use cheese creatively. Havarti (a semi-soft Danish cow's milk cheese) has the texture of a Monterey Jack, so it skewers well. It tastes wonderful with meat. It tastes delicious drizzled with honey. So I put all three together (substituting the honey with honeydew). Delish.

Tidbit: Havarti has a buttery aroma and has teensy little holes -- not quite Swiss but airy. When left at room temperature, it softens quickly. It melts like a dream. It was named after the farm where it was created, north of Copenhagen: Havarthigaard.

HAVARTI MELON APPETIZER

½ honeydew melon

4 ounces Havarti cheese

4 slices prosciutto ham

  toothpicks

Slice the honeydew into bite-sized pieces, about one inch squares.

Cut the Havarti into thin strips about a half-inch thick and one inch square.

Cut the prosciutto into strips about three inches long and one inch wide.

Wrap a piece of prosciutto around a piece of honeydew and a piece of Havarti.  Using a toothpick, spear the three items together.

Easy and tasty!

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BTW, just in case you want to order the second in A Cheese Shop Mystery series (which had its debut a month ago), click here: LOST AND FONDUE

If you'd like to read the first chapter, click here: SNEAK PEEK

If you'd like to see the book trailer, click here: BOOK TRAILER

And always smile and...say cheese.

Veal Delicious

For years, one of my favorite comfort foods was pasta with cheese. That was it. Pasta, cheese, melt-in-my-mouth, let me die a happy woman.

And then I found out I needed to eat gluten-free, and

I thought, oh, no, what will I do? No more pasta. No more comfort.

Oh, poor me.

Well, for pity sake, that's not the case. I have found some fabulous gluten-free pastas over the last ten years that taste great. And with cheese and other goodies on top, you can't tell the difference. Really! {I've fooled many a guest.}

Recently, I discovered another yummy food. A cheese that I'd never tasted.

Havarti.

I have to admit, the name had always put me off. I thought of sour cheeses that I'd had in Greek food and my mouth puckered. I don't know what it was that I'd tasted way back when (maybe Haloume, sort of a ricotta-style cheese that is actually deliciously tart!), but I risked having Havarti cheese (big risk), and am I ever happy I did.

First rumor dispelled -- it's not from Greece. It's from Denmark.

Second -- oh, yum! It has a buttery texture and aroma, and it can be sliced, grilled, or melted. Perfect for cooking.

I made a Veal Parmesan substituting Havarti for half of the Parmesan and, wow, if I do say so myself. This is a meal that even my celiac friends can enjoy.

VEAL PARMESAN & HAVARTI

Ingredients:

1 pound veal cutlets

1 egg

¾ cup crushed rice chex cereal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

2 tablespoons oil

½ lemon, squeezed juice

¼ cup chicken broth (gluten-free)

2 mushrooms, sliced

2 cups cooked spaghetti (gluten-free)

1 ½ cups mixed cheese, half Parmesan and half Havarti

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the package. While the water comes to a boil, do the following:

Meanwhile, whip egg in a pie tin. Drench the veal cutlets in the egg.

Crush the rice chex cereal. Add salt and pepper, and set in another pie tin. Dredge the veal cutlets in the rice cereal.

Heat the garlic in the oil on medium high. When the garlic is brown, set the veal into the oil and turn the heat down to medium. While the veal browns, squeeze in the lemon juice. Cook two minutes. Turn the veal, cook two more minutes and add the chicken broth. Cover and cook ten more minutes on medium low.

Now add the sliced mushrooms and cook two more minutes. When that is done, remove the veal cutlets from the pan and set into a broiler pan.

Mound the grated cheese on each of the slices. Set the pan under the broiler and broil four minutes.

To serve: set drained spaghetti onto a plate. Set one to two cutlets on each portion of spaghetti. Decorate with mushrooms and cereal “roux” from the saute pan. Sprinkle with parlsey flakes.

* * *

If you'd like to know more about The Long Quiche Goodbye and want to download a few other recipes from me (on recipe cards), click on this link to my website: Avery Aames. I've posted recipes in the "morsels" section. There's lots of other fun stuff, as well. And sign up for the fan club to get in on the next contest...coming soon. October's newsletter just came out! You'll find it at this link: NEWSLETTER

Fan Request

CONGRATULATIONS TO CLEO.

Her new book: ROAST MORTEM is due out August 3! You can go to Cleo's website and order the book there. She's having a contest and all sorts of fun!

On to other news.

This has been an interesting few weeks for me. Having my first book come out is an eye-opener. Fans write to me to tell me how much they like the book. {Thank you, one and all.} Others have written to tell me that they tried a recipe (or the idea of a recipe when the recipe wasn't provided) [Year on the Grill]. While others have requested a recipe not included in the recipes provided at the end of the book.

That brings me to today's blog. In Chapter 22 of The Long Quiche Goodbye, neighbors bring a potluck dinner to Charlotte's grandmother's house. I wrote that Gretel (the pastor's wife) brought Five-Cheese Mac and Cheese. A fan wrote and said she must have that recipe.

Our very own Krista Davis warned me that fans did this. She advised me to make sure I didn't include a recipe in The Long Quiche Goodbye that I hadn't made myself. But of course, not all recipes made it into the recipe section at the end. My editor chose four.

These are my five (as shared through Gretel).

So, here it is. Gretel's Five-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese. The five cheeses can be anything you want them to be. I wrote on Facebook about this and received replies including Cheddar x 5!

Enjoy!

GRETEL'S FIVE-CHEESE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Ingredients:

2 cups dried macaroni, cooked to tender (about 4-5 cups cooked)

3 cloves garlic chopped

8 tablespoons butter [a cube]

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup white wine

3 Tbs. rice flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

2 cups grated cheese (equal parts Cheddars, Smoked Gouda, Parmessan, Monterey Jack, Havarti)

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside. May be made a day ahead. Note: Do not forget to drain and set aside. You do not want the pasta to be “wet.”

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and cook about 2 minutes. Add rice flour and stir. Cook 1 minute, let boil and thicken, stirring constantly.

Add milk and wine, stir and let boil to thicken.

Remove from heat and add cheeses and seasonings.

Pour sauce over drained macaroni.

Serve with a crisp salad.

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Say Cheese!