A Restaurant Memory, Reimagined at Home—Fennel, Pear, and Strawberry Salad with Gorgonzola by Ang Pompano—Plus a book giveaway!

Ang Pompano: Several years ago, Annette and I were at one of our favorite restaurants in Wooster Square, New Haven’s Little Italy. It’s the kind of place where the pasta is made in-house, the ingredients are chosen with care, and the food respects tradition while quietly kicking things up a notch. That night I had a fantastic fennel salad with pears, gorgonzola, and olive oil, and I’ve never forgotten it.

I thought of that salad this week while reading a WIP by our own Lucy Burdette, in which she quoted a famous chef, who said that no one should try to prepare restaurant food at home.

Lucky for me, ignorance is bliss, because not only did we prepare it, we “improved” it. Or at least doctored it to our taste. After all, isn’t that what cooking is about? Making food that pleases you, not some food critic.

So, we put together the salad as we remembered it. Good, I thought. 

Then Annette had the idea of adding a splash of orange juice, which made all the difference. Better. 

As a big fan of fennel’s licorice flavor, I suggested a drizzle of Sambuca. Great!

That is, it worked for me. Not so much for her. Now when either of us makes the salad, we hold off on the Sambuca until the end and add it if the mood strikes.

Ingredients

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 pears, cored and sliced
2–3 strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pecans cut
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon Sambuca (optional, or to taste)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

• Slice the fennel bulb into thin strips. Core the pear and cut it into bite-sized chunks. Roughly chop the pecans, slice the strawberries, and crumble the Gorgonzola.

• In a large bowl, combine the sliced fennel and pears.In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, orange juice, Dijon mustard, honey, and Sambuca (if using) until well blended.

• Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the dressing over the fennel and pears and toss gently to coat.Transfer the salad to a serving platter or bowl.
• Arrange the sliced strawberries, pecans, and crumbled Gorgonzola on top.
• Serve immediately, or chill briefly before serving for a crisper, more refreshing salad.

Wooster Street’s historic Restaurant Row, the culinary heart of New Haven’s Little Italy

So, what about you? Do you agree that we should never prepare restaurant food at home? Or are you like me, trying to duplicate a favorite dish, or maybe even improve it? Let me know in the comments below. And don't forget to leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of my book When It's Time for Leaving!

Reminder: Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen will be hosting a panel at Left Coast Crime with Leslie Budewitz (M), Kim Davis, Maddie Day, Leslie Karst, and Ang Pompano. If you’re there, we’d love it if you stopped by to say hi!

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Just Released!

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

BUY LINK

Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.

Roasted Pear Quick Bread #recipe from Molly MacRae

 

Ripe pears and autumn go together in my mind. Roasted pears and quick bread go really well together in this recipe any time of year. I wish I’d had red pears because they’re especially beautiful, but any kind of pear will do. Be patient and let the bread cool completely before cutting; it’ll slice better that way. If you can’t be patient, I won’t blame you at all.

 

Roasted Pear Quick Bread

(adapted from Erin Jeanne McDowell in the New York Times)

 

Ingredients for the roasted pears

2 ½ cups chopped pears (about 2 medium pears, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of fine sea salt (we had flakey sea salt so I ground it up with the mortar and pestle

 

Ingredients for the bread

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt (see note on salt in pear ingredients above)

½ cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

½ teaspoon almond extract

¾ cup buttermilk

 

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. On a large baking sheet, toss pears with melted butter, vanilla, and salt. Spread coated pears in an even layer. Roast until pears are tender and beginning to brown on their edges, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat oil, butter, and brown sugar until well combined, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after adding each and scraping the bowl as necessary. Stir in almond extract.

Gently mix in half the flour mixture, stirring until incorporated. Add buttermilk slowly, mixing to combine, then add remainder of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Add cooled pears, using a rubber spatula to gently fold them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread in an even layer.

Bake the bread until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.

 

Cover reveal! 

Come Shell or High Water, book one in Molly’s new Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, out next summer and available for pre-order now! 

When widowed folklorist Maureen Nash visits a legendary North Carolina barrier island shell shop, she discovers its resident ghost pirate and the mystery of a local’s untimely death . . .

Impatient for the new book? Molly has plenty of others for you to enjoy. 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.

 

Welcome guest author Gigi Pandian!

Two for One! Recipes from Guest Author Gigi Pandian (Green Smoothie) and Her Character Jaya Jones (Jazzing Up Steamed Greens)

Gigi Pandian writes the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series. The first book in the series, ARTIFACT, was awarded a Malice Domestic Grant and is now available from Henery Press [http://gigipandian.com/books-stories/]. Gigi is thrilled to announce that just this month she sold a new mystery series to Midnight Ink in a three-book deal -- and she’s especially excited that in the new series she gets to share her passion for cooking delectable vegan food!  THE ACCIDENTAL ALCHEMIST is the first in a new mystery series about a vegan alchemist and her French chef sidekick -- who happens to be a gargoyle accidentally brought to life by a stage magician.

One of the funny things about being a writer is that readers frequently confuse us with our characters. I’m six feet tall in heels, and my character Jaya Jones is five feet tall in socks, so readers who’ve seen me in person have been known to comment: “but you’re not short!” Jaya and I do share some things in common. We both have one parent from India and we both love savoring delicious food. However, we have different favorite tasty foods we like to eat. So today I’m sharing one of my favorite snacks and one of Jaya’s.

Jaya Jones is a history professor in San Francisco. She’s often on a treasure hunt in an exotic destination, so she eats whatever tasty treats she can grab on the go. As for me, I’ve been a health nut ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 36. I was never a big cook before, but after learning I had food restrictions, I gave it a shot. Oh my goodness, cooking at home is so much fun! Why wasn’t I told??? And even better than the fun of cooking, I’ve learned that the food you cook for yourself is more delicious than anything you can get at a restaurant, because you can prepare it exactly as you like it.  In the past two years, I’ve gone from eating out 75 percent of the time to cooking from scratch 99 percent of the time. And I feel amazing.

Here’s my recipe for my favorite green smoothie that I have for a light breakfast or a snack. If you’re not into the idea of smoothies with vegetables in them, you might be rolling your eyes around now. But stick with me for a minute! I’ve got some tricks to create a healthy smoothie that’s just as mouthwatering as it is good for you.

Gigi’s Favorite Green Smoothie Recipe (makes 2 servings)

Blend the following ingredients together in a blender:

Half an Avocado

1 Pear

Kale – 4 leaves or to taste

1 Cucumber

Knob of fresh ginger, to taste

Unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao nibs – 2 Tbsp or to taste

Optional added protein, such as hemp seeds

Filtered water – 1 cup or more, depending on how thick you want your smoothie

Tricks to sweeten this up, if you’re new to green smoothies:

*Use coconut water instead of regular water.

*Add a little bit of a natural sweetener, such as honey.

*Use frozen broccoli instead of kale – frozen broccoli has a natural sweetness!

The natural sweetness of the pear, the spicy kick of the ginger, and the chocolaty goodness of the unsweetened cocoa make for a delicious treat that’s like a healthy chocolate milkshake! OK, it’ll probably take a while before it tastes like a milkshake to you... But it’s still a delicious treat!

NOTE: if you use cocoa powder rather than cacao nibs, your “green” smoothie will turn brown, looking a bit like a chocolate milkshake. It’s just as tasty, and even tastier if you prefer a creamy consistency.

Next up, here’s how Jaya Jones jazzes up boring foods. Since Jaya doesn’t cook, this is a “trick” rather than a full recipe. She never has very much in her kitchen, but always has good coffee in the cupboard and lots of this Indian condiment in the fridge.

The Jaya Jones Secret to Jazzing Up Your Greens

Have a boiled or steamed vegetable that you were planning on dousing with butter and salt? Try adding Indian pickle instead.

Indian pickle is a spicy condiment that comes in a range of flavors from mango to lime to garlic. The fruits or vegetables are packed in oil with chili peppers and other spices like turmeric. The combo of a little bit of oil and a lot of flavor make simple steamed greens taste more like a flavorful Indian curry than a throw-away side dish.

In the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series I describe the foods in the different parts of the world where the books take place, but in my new series I’m happy I get to feature food even more, including some of the vegan recipes I’ve come up with since throwing myself into learning how to cook from scratch.

Learn more about Gigi at www.gigipandian.com.

Connect with her on Facebook [http://www.facebook.com/GigiPandian], Twitter [https://twitter.com/GigiPandian

], Pinterest [http://pinterest.com/GigiPandian/], and her blog [http://gigipandian.blogspot.com/]

Sign up for Gigi’s newsletter [http://gigipandian.com/newsletter/

] and you’ll also receive an exclusive Halloween-themed Jaya Jones short story this October!