Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: pineapple

Showing posts with label pineapple. Show all posts

Saturday, July 12, 2025

Spicy Watermelon Salad #recipe from Molly MacRae

Summertime = watermelon time! This salad is light, bright, and zesty with lime, jalapeño, a bit of red onion, cilantro, and fresh mint. Tajín, a chili lime seasoning we were able to find in the grocery store, is a great addition to the salad. I think a couple of mangos would be, too, and plan to add those next time. I made za'atar feta scones to go with the salad and will post the recipe for those sometime this summer.

Spicy Watermelon Salad

Adapted from Alexa Weible in the The New York Times

Ingredients

3 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil if you haven’t unexpectedly run out)

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Zest of 1 lime, plus juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (I used half a large jalapeño)

Kosher salt and black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 1/4 pounds fresh watermelon (seedless is a great option)

1 1/4 pounds fresh pineapple

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 2/3 cup)

1 packed cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 packed cup torn fresh mint

Tajín, for sprinkling (optional but so good!)

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, lime zest and juice, honey, and jalapeño. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the onion and toss to coat. Let marinate while you prepare the fruit.

Cut the watermelon (discarding seeds) and pineapple into 1-inch cubes. Add fruit to the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

Just before serving, add feta and herbs to the salad and toss to coat. Sprinkle with Tajín if using.

🍉🍍🍉

Are you ready for summer reading? Visit Ocracoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries.

Or travel to the Scottish Highlands in the Highland Bookshop Mysteries.

Spend time in northeast Tennessee in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, two stand-alone mysteries, and a collection of short stories.

Or travel from Cape Cod on the east coast to Monterey on the west coast, with a stop in Ohio along the way in my very gentle mysteries written as Margaret Welch.

Happy reading!

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 Instagram or Bluesky.

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Hummingbird Cake With Caramelized Pineapple Coconut Rum Filling #Recipe by @LibbyKlein

Libby Klein So I got it in my head that I wanted to make this Hummingbird Cake I saw in Southern Living. Only I had to make it gluten-free. And I can't use vegetable oil so I substituted liquid coconut oil. This was supposed to be a fancy dessert, but once the cake was finished, it tasted so much like a banana muffin that I wanted to zhush it up a bit. I'd read that Hummingbird Cake was also sometimes called Tropical Cake so I had this idea to make a pineapple coconut rum filling that was a cross between the pineapple layer on a pineapple upside-down cake and the coconut pecan frosting you'd find in a German Chocolate Cake. I think the filling I ended up with really turns up the tropical vibe of this incredibly moist cake. The next time I make the filling, I might roast the pineapple in butter and brown sugar in the oven. Once again, I'd recommend cutting the powdered sugar by at least a fourth so you don't get sugar overload - but do it to your own taste. Have you ever zhushed up a recipe by combining elements of two different recipes together? Tell me about what you came up with in the comments.

Disclaimer - Read all your labels to make sure your ingredients are gluten-free. Gluten can be sneaky.

Gluten-Free Hummingbird Cake with Caramelized Pineapple Coconut Rum Filling

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Cake Layers

3 cups one-to-one Gluten-Free blend (or all-purpose flour)
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups coconut oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (20-oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained, divided
2 cups over-ripe bananas (about 4 medium bananas)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Caramelized Pineapple, Coconut, Rum Filling

3 Tablespoons Butter

12 oz crushed pineapple in juice, drained

¼ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Dark Rum

7 oz sweetened coconut

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
6-8 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or rum)

Additional Ingredient For the top of the cake

1 cup pecans, halves or pieces, toasted

Directions

Prepare the Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl; add eggs and coconut oil, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, 1 cup crushed pineapple (reserve the rest for the filling), 4 whole over-ripe bananas, and toasted pecans. *The original recipe calls for chopped bananas. My bananas were so ripe there was no chopping. I just threw them in the mixer whole and they beat down to cake batter.

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - Kirkus Reviews

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .

While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .

Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

King's Hawaiian Mini Hot Dogs with Pineapple (or Bourbon) Glaze from author @CleoCoyle

From Cleo Coyle: With the Westminster Kennel Club's famous Dog Show underway here in New York and our new Haunted Bookshop Mystery The Ghost Goes to the Dogs just released, it's no wonder we have dogs on our minds!

Before we get to our doggone tasty recipe, we would like to thank our readers for making The Ghost Goes to the Dogs a #1 Amazon Category Bestseller in audio for an entire week. Thanks also to Fresh Fiction for honoring it with a Fresh Pick Readers Selection this past Monday.

Our new Haunted Bookshop Mystery is so much fun, full of heart, good humor, and high spirits. If you're an animal lover, it's definitely for you, and we hope you all enjoy it!

Click here or on the image below to learn more about

our new (and now!) nationally bestselling mystery.

Click here or on the image above
to learn more about our new mystery,
a "Fresh Pick" Readers Selection.

Now let's get our mini dogs on!

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

☕ A RECIPE NOTE FROM CLEO

These cute mini hot dogs will bring whimsy to your table or summer cookout. You can pair them with hamburger sliders for a main course or serve them as fun little appetizers on their own. They’re also the perfect size for children’s parties.

Dead to the Last Drop:
A Coffeehouse Mystery -
Click here to learn more.

To create the delicious pineapple-based glaze for this recipe, we adapted one of our favorite recipes from our 15th Coffeehouse Mystery Dead to the Last Drop. That version is spiked with bourbon and cuts the hot dogs into bites small enough to spear with a pretzel stick. To get that recipe, click here.

Whether you try our happy-hour bourbon version or this fantastic (virgin) “Hawaiian” mini dog, we certainly hope you will eat with doggone joy!

~ Cleo

🍴

To download this recipe in a
free PDF document that you
can print, save, or share,
click here.

Click for Free Recipe PDF.

HOW SWEET IT IS!

While any dinner roll can be used for this recipe, we especially love the sweet, soft rolls that King’s Hawaiian makes. Simply slice the top of the roll to mimic a mini hot dog bun. Cut your hot dogs into thirds and sauté in our pineapple-based (or bourbon) glaze. See the recipe below...

King's Hawaiian
Mini Hot Dogs
by Cleo Coyle

Makes 24 mini hot dogs

Ingredients:

24 dinner rolls (We use King’s Hawaiian, 2 packs of 12 each)
1 package of hot dogs (8 count, regular “bun size”)
1 cup ketchup (we use Simply Heinz)
1 cup pineapple juice (use 100%, no sugar added or purée your own)
1 teaspoon dry mustard (do not skip, this balances the sweetness)
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

*For the Bourbon Glaze version, click here.

Note: Regular “bun size” hot dogs should be about 6-inches in length. Packages range in weight. Look for 14 to 16 ounce packages. Either weight will work with this recipe, as long as you have 8 hot dogs.

Directions:

Step 1 – Cut your 6-inch hot dogs into thirds. You should end up with 24 mini dogs of roughly 2-inches each. Set these aside.

Step 2 – The ideal pan for this recipe is a 10-inch, non-stick skillet or sauté pan. Over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, pineapple juice, and dry mustard. Bring to a boil and stir in the dark brown sugar.

Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then…

Step 3 - Add your 24 hot dog pieces. Slowly stir and turn the dogs to coat them completely in the liquid.

Continue simmering and occasionally stirring to prevent scorching of the sugar in the glaze. After about 12 to 15 minutes, the mini dogs will plump up and the liquid will thicken into a shiny, sweet-and-tangy glaze. If the mixture is still loose after 15 minutes, simply turn up the heat and continue cooking it down and stirring until it does thicken and coat the mini dogs (as you see in my photo below). The final glaze should be the consistency of a thick barbecue sauce...

Step 4 – When ready to serve, prepare the dinner rolls. Place a slice in the top half of each roll. (Quick tip: rolls are often slightly more rectangular than square. Put the slice down the long half of the rectangle to better mimic a hot dog bun.)

Then nestle each Hawaiian-glazed mini dog into its own little dinner roll bun and spoon on extra glaze if you like. We use the King’s Hawaiian “original” rolls for this recipe, but you can use any roll. Serve warm...