Two #Cocktail #Recipes! Double Book #giveaway @SusanMacNeal @HankPRyan

LUCY BURDETTE: When I realized that two of my fabulously-talented writer pals from Jungle Red Writers have books coming out in the next ten days, I decided you'd like to hear from both of them. And what could be better for celebrating new books than specialty cocktails? Hank writes nail-biting suspense featuring reporter Jane Ryland, and Detective Jake Brogan. And Susan writes a meticulously-researched historical mystery series featuring spy Maggie Hope. So please welcome Hank Ryan and Susan MacNeal to our kitchen!

First up, Hank Phillippi Ryan with THE AGATHA COCKTAIL:

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: This drink was concocted from the inside out! I had heard about something called pink grapefruit liqueur-- we found one called Giffard Creme de Pamplemousse Rose.

And that sounded delicious! But what, I wondered, should  we create from that? Pink grapefruit liqueur sounded like it should go with vodka, and fresh lime… Right? So my husband and I experimented – – someone has to do the hard work – – and came up with the pink grapefruit martini.
 
And then of course it needed a name. So what is fabulous, unique, and highly desirable? We called it the Agatha.

The Agatha

Four parts vodka
One part pink grapefruit liqueur - Giffard Creme de Pamplemousse Rose
One part fresh lime juice

Shake shake shake with lots of ice in a cocktail shaker.
Pour into a chilled martini glass… Use a clear one, because this drink is gorgeously pink.

Squeeze a segment of fresh lime to each drink, and drop the lime into it.

This is so delicious, Jonathan and I even battle over who gets to have the shaker full of ice. (We share.)
You may want to experiment – – lucky you – – to see how you prefer the sweetness of the liqueur with the tartness of the lime.

Sadly, I have no picture of this but imagine a very pale pale pink cosmopolitan.

As for what Jane Ryland drinks, my protagonist is a red wine girl. And this is her favorite wine. Surprisingly, it is one of mine too. 

And here's a little about the book, WHAT YOU SEE, on bookshelves this Tuesday!
Why would a father abduct his own child? A wedding is planned in Jane Ryland's family, but there's a calamity instead. Nine-year-old Gracie—supposed to be the flower girl—has been taken by her stepdad. Where are they? Is the girl in danger? Reporter Jane Ryland learns there's a limit to the bonds of family—and learns to her peril what happens when loved ones are pushed too far.

Meanwhile, Detective Jake Brogan's got a doozy of a case. At Boston's historic Faneuil Hall, a man is stabbed to death in front of a crowd of tourists snapping photos of the murder on their cell phones. Solving the case should be easy, but the pictures and surveillance video lead to a dark conspiracy of extortion and stolen lives. WHAT YOU SEE puts Jane and Jake face to face with deception, intrigue, and—if they make the wrong decisions—disaster.

Note from Lucy: now for Susan's recipe! The fun thing about this is that she has scenes in the White House in the new book in which President Roosevelt is actually making his cocktails!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't a huge fan of her husband's cocktails, which he mixed each night at "Children's Hour" — but every once in a while he could tempt her with an Old Fashioned, especially with lots of fruit.

Here I've created an especially fruity recipe, light on alcohol, that Mrs. Roosevelt may have found pleasing. Cheers!
 
INGREDIENTS:

2 sugar cubes
4 dashes Angostura bitters
1 slice lime
1 slice lemon
1 slice orange
1 maraschino cherry
1/2 teaspoon grenadine
2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey
Club soda

In a cocktail glass, place the sugar cubes and sprinkle with bitters. Add citrus slices, cherry, and grenadine. Muddle the citrus. Add bourbon. Fill glass with ice cubes and top with club soda. Stir to combine. 

 




About MRS. ROOSEVELT'S CONFIDANTE, on sale October 27: It’s December ’41, just days after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. England’s intrepid, code-breaking spy Maggie Hope is accompanying Winston Churchill across the pond to The White House where Churchill and President Roosevelt are in the midst of history-making discussions involving how best to join forces to defeat the Axis powers and win the war. When one of the First Lady’s aides is mysteriously murdered and Eleanor Roosevelt herself is implicated in the crime, Maggie finds herself embroiled in a scandalous conspiracy that could jeopardize America’s participation in the war—and ultimately, the world’s fate.



ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL is the Barry Award–winning and Edgar, Dilys, and Macavity Award–nominated author of the Maggie Hope mysteries, including Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, Princess Elizabeth’s Spy, His Majesty’s Hope, and The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent. She lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband and child.


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate. She's won 33 EMMYs, 13 Edward R. Murrow awards and dozens of other honors for her groundbreaking journalism. A bestselling author of eight mystery novels, Ryan has won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction: five Agathas, the Anthony, Daphne, Macavity, and for THE OTHER WOMAN, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. 
 
Hank will be giving away THE OTHER WOMAN  or THE WRONG GIRL or TRUTH BE TOLD--reader's choice! And Susan will be giving away a copy of MRS. ROOSEVELT'S CONFIDANTE. Leave a comment with your email to be entered in the contest.

Welcome New York Times Bestselling Guest Susan Elia MacNeal

LUCY BURDETTE: Honestly, I'm a little surprised that Susan could scrape herself off the ceiling and get a post written this week after her big news: She hit the New York Times bestseller list for her new book, THE PRIME MINISTER'S SECRET AGENT! But she did, and we're thrilled to welcome her to Mystery Lovers' Kitchen to share one of her favorite summer dishes. Take it away Susan!

SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: "Eat fruit!" That seems to be my rallying cry in the summer, especially with my nine-year-old son, who (not all the time, but, you know, often) would rather have candy or cookies as a snack.

However, there's one dessert I make in the summer that everyone loves — Fruit Crisp. Not the best or most evocative name for a dessert maybe, but as spring turns to summer, and the variety of fresh fruits change it goes from Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp, to Cherry Crisp, to Blueberry Crisp, to Peach Crisp, to Pear Crisp, to Apple Crisp. I know exactly what part of summer we're in by what sort of fruit is best. 

And what is a crisp? Well, in our house it's a baked fruit dessert with a Scottish shortbread topping. (No oatmeal. No thanks. I could be wrong, but I think that's what makes a cobbler instead of a crisp.) Basically, a fruit crisp is eating caramelized fruits with crumbled buttery shortbread cookies — heaven.

I don't really have a recipe, as I've been making Fruit Crisp for years. But here we go. 

For the topping, you'll need one stick of butter, one cup of sugar, and one cup of flour. That's it. Mix (I just use well-washed hands or put my son to work) thoroughly, so you get a buttery sort of dough. (One, one, and one — so easy to remember.)

Then take whatever fruit you have on hand (I just mix and match depending what's in season and what's in the fridge), wash it, peel it (if, you know, it needs peeling), and cut into chunks. (To taste — my family prefers bigger pieces of fruit, which is great because it means less chopping for me!)

I just put the fruit in without adding any sugar because i think the topping is rich and sweet enough. But if you'd like, add from 1 to 3 teaspoons of sugar and mix through. Likewise, I love the messy, juicy fruit juices that bake down, but if you'd like a filling more like pie filling, add a tablespoon of flour or corn starch and mix through.)

Put the fruit in a baking dish. Top with the buttery dough — no need to roll it out, just sprinkle it on.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. (I like the crust quite brown and fruit caramelized.) Enjoy solo or with ice cream!

Happy summer!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally found a moment of rest on the pastoral coast of western Scotland. Home from an undercover mission in Berlin, she settles down to teach at her old spy training camp, and to heal from scars on both her body and heart. Yet instead of enjoying the quieter pace of life, Maggie is quickly drawn into another web of danger and intrigue. When three ballerinas fall strangely ill in Glasgow—including one of Maggie’s dearest friends—Maggie partners with MI-5 to uncover the truth behind their unusual symptoms. What she finds points to a series of poisonings that may expose shocking government secrets and put countless British lives at stake. But it’s the fight brewing in the Pacific that will forever change the course of the war—and indelibly shape Maggie’s fate.

“You’ll be [Maggie Hope’s] loyal subject, ready to follow her wherever she goes.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

THE PRIME MINISTER'S SECRET AGENT is available at your local independent bookstore, library, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

The "Lucy Burdette" Daiquiri, Courtesy of @SusanMacNeal

Hemingway Polydactyl Looking Over Murder with Ganache

LUCY BURDETTE: As you've already heard, four of us writers here on MLK have books coming out next week--Avery Aames with DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT, Meg London with A FATAL SLIP, Sheila Connolly with SCANDAL IN SKIBBEREEN, and me, Lucy, with MURDER WITH GANACHE. You have some fun reading ahead during the cold, gray February days!

The weeks right before a book launch are exciting but exhausting. We're furiously writing blogs, and planning for book parties, and doing interviews, and sending out press releases--not to mention working on the next book so we don't fall too far behind! (And in my case, taking pictures of cats with books:)

I have to admit I haven't cooked much for the last few weeks, so I was worried about a new recipe for today's post.

 

 But luckily for me, a girlfriend over on Jungle Red Writers, Susan Elia MacNeal, came through with a fabulous idea--a cocktail called the "Lucy Burdette." And so today I'm sharing that with you!

"The Lucy Burdette"

(A Key Lime Daiquiri to toast the new Key West-based book! Surely Papa Hemingway would approve...)

2 parts white rum

1 part freshly sqeezed key lime juice

1/2 part simple sugar syrup (or to taste)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of key lime.

Come--pour yourself a glass and join me to toast the new books. Put your feet up, tip your face toward the sun, and we'll read a couple pages aloud....

"Faster than a speeding Kitchenaid mixer, I scraped the freshly-squeezed lime juice and zested lime peel into the bowl and beat the batter to a creamy pale green. Inside the oven, the first set of cupcakes rose gracefully, releasing their sweet and sour citrus fragrance into the tiny galley of our houseboat."

From MURDER WITH GANACHE by Lucy Burdette, available for pre-order wherever books are  sold!

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