Cecile Lamalle
i finished
Glutton For Punishment last week. it is the second book in the
series by
Cecile Lamalle starring French chef Charly (without the e) the first
book is titled Appetite for Murder. in Glutton For Punishment, Charly
Poisson once again helps solve a murder. "the winter holidays are
over, and Chef Charly Poisson and the staff of La Fermette, the finest
French restaurant in Van Buren County, New York, are settling down for
a quiet season-so they think-when a ring of antique thieves start terrorizing
their wealthy weekend patrons....."
but it's not until a local antiques dealer is found dead in the meat freezer in Charly's restaurant, that he gets involved with all the shenanigans. Glutton for Punishment is a fun read, with a likeable hero and staff. there is even a gourmand mob boss for Charly to discuss "real" food. none of this nouvealle non fattening stuff for them. i could hear my arteries clogging up as i was reading both the book and the recipes. here's a couple of recipes that arent too artery clogging....well, maybe just a little :-)
Bev
Charly's
Meat Loaf
3 lbs fatty
ground beef (see my note)
1 cup white
mushrooms, finely chopped
1 clove
garlic, finely chopped
2 shallots,
finely chopped
1/2 cup
parsley, finely chopped
pinches
of basil, marjoram, and sea salt (1/8 tsp each)
1 cup bread
crumbs
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup
strong beef stock
preheat oven to 350. combine all ingredients, mixing well with your (very clean) hands. pat into a greased loaf pan. bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. let sit for 15 minutes before unmolding. drain off liquids and serve. serves 6-8 (my note: ground chuck is a tasty, albeit fattier beef to use)
Apple Pie
with Rum Butter Cream
1 recipe
pie crust for bottom of 9 inch pie shell (see my note)
4-5 cups
peeled and finely sliced Rome or other firm cooking apples
1/2 cup
sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp
powdered cinnamon
Rum Butter
Cream
1 cup confectioner's
sugar
1/4 cup
rum
4 Tbs softenened
butter
preheat oven to 350. lay pastry on bottomw of pie pan. place apples slices in a bowl and toss with sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. when well combined, place apple slices in a pattern in the pie shell. bake at abount an hour at 350. if crust starts to brown cover pie with tinfoil. (my note:i'd use a 1 crust store bought pie shell since i don't like handling pie dough)
to make the cream: mix the confectioner's sugar, rum and butter in a small bowl. remove the pie from the oven when done, and let cool 30 minutes, then cover pie with rum butter cream by using a soup spoon or spatula, and drizzling cream over the apples. let set 1 hour before cutting.
Graham Landrum
The Famous D-A-R Murder Mystery: Searching for the resting place of a Revolutionary War hero at Brown Spring Cemetery, the ladies of the Old Orchard Fort chapter of the DAR discover a murdered body among the graves and launch a personal investigation.
The Rotary Club Murder Mystery: It's Rotary Day in Borderville (smack on the Virginia-Tennessee line), and attendance is way up. But the eagerly awaited district governor is late--literally. Shot with his own gun in his chain-locked motel room, it is arguably a suicide.
The Historical Society Murder Mystery: When a valuable heirloom portrait by Charles Willson Peale that is left to the local historical society turns out to be a fake, historical society president Helen Delaporte and octogenarian sleuth Harriet Bushrow set out to find the missing painting and bring a thief to justice.
The Sensational Music Club Mystery: When the new wife of a wealthy octogenarian is found dead of cyanide poisoning, Harriet Bushrow and her friends from the local DAR and Rotary Club find a host of suspects among the elderly gentleman's jealous heirs.
The Garden Club Mystery: People seemed to enjoy my father's four other mystery novels so much, it seemed a shame to leave his last one unfinished. Now nonagenarian sleuth Harriet Bushrow is back on the case when the garden club's efficient but tyrannical president gets knocked on the head with a concrete garden squirrel.
Janet Lawrence
Death and the Epicure: Madeline Bean, caterer to the stars, is in the middle of the biggest job of her new career: a Halloween party for notorious producer Bruno Huntley, complete with an eerie fortuneteller who is astonishingly accurate, and exotic food that's to die for. But before long, Bruno has been poisoned to death. Madeline's partner is accused of the crime, and she has to sort things out before she meets her own fadeout.
Ruthe Furie
A Deadly Pate: The third novel in this popular series follows intrepid detective Fran Kirk as she travels to France to help her former mother-in-law who's suspected of murdering her French born husband. As she investigates, Fran locks horns with some sinister family friends and obstructionist gendarmerie.
Sorry, the books by Ruthe Furie are not available through Amazon.com, but I suggest you check your local library.
Jean Hager
Blooming Murder: A terrific new series set in an Ozarks bed-and-breakfast, written by an established mystery writer with millions of copies of her books in print. A timely inheritance enables spunky Tess Darcy to transform her late aunt's estate into a charming inn. But when one of her first guests turns up dead, the harried hostess must find the killer.
Dead and Buried: A 20-year high school reunion brings five friends together, one of whom is an inquisitive novelist. There is tension among the group over the novelist's new book. Suddenly, the writer is murdered and her work has disappeared. Tess springs into action to uncover which one of the author's friends would kill to prevent publication of the book.
Death on a Drunkard's Path: Iris House Bed-and-Breakfast hostess Tess Darcy has her hands full with Victoria Springs' annual Quilt Show and Celebration. On the first afternoon of the show, Tess discovers the body of Cassie Terhune, a well-known quilting teacher and TV personality, whose throat has been cut with a quilter's rotary cutter.
The Last Noel: When an out-of-town drama professor is hired to direct the annual church Christmas pageant, the peace and goodwill of the congregation is not with him. But no one expected that his coming would cause someone to bring the curtain down on him permanently. With plenty of suspects among the parishioners, and the man's own wife a possibility, it's up to Tess to figure out who among them would be willing to commit a deadly sin on sacred grounds.
Ellen Hart
This Little Piggy Went to Murder: The acclaimed author of the sleuthing restaurateur Jane Lawless series now serves up more first-rate fare for food-themed mystery fans. Introducing Sophie Greenway--a food critic with an appetite for cracking crimes . . . with help from her radio-star husband. They're a Nick and Nora for the '90s!
For Every Evil: If you've read an Ellen Hart mystery, aside from a murder or two, you know to expect descriptions of mouth-watering food. I can't read one of her books without frequently feeling hungry (note: dieters beware!). FOR EVERY EVIL is the second of a new series starring Sophie Greenway, amateur sleuth and food critic for the Minneapolis Times-Register, and her husband Bram Baldric, local radio talk show host and Cary Grant lookalike. Prepare to be charmed.
The Oldest Sin: Between two gatherings at the elegant Maxfield Plaza Hotel, five old college roommates are reunited--food critic Sophie Greenway, now owner of the hotel, Adelle, who married into the founding family of the Firstborns, Lavinia, mastermind of the Daughters, and Bunny and Cindy, Lavinia's top aides. But when a murderer terminates one of the gang, Sophie senses that not everyone is devastated by the loss.
Tim Heald
Just Desserts: No review available at present time.
Cathie John
Add One Dead Critic: Kate Cavanaugh, Cincinnati's "Queen of Theme" party caterer, knew her murdered friend and local restaurant Critic from Hell Preston Schneider to be an obnoxious control freak. But even Kate is surprised when Preston tries to finger his killer from beyond the grave.
Beat a Rotten Egg to the Punch: Are dreams messages from angels or warnings from our subconscious minds? Whatever the truth, Kate Cavanaugh, Cincinnati's "Queen of Theme" party consultant and heir to the Crown Chili fortune, listens to hers. Kate finds herself falsely accused of one murder and drawn into an investigation that delves into the spiritual beliefs of The Circle of Light, a cult whose followers read auras, listen to angels, and believe they are protected from violence by a cosmic energy field. The Circle of Light is having their national leadership retreat at the Golden Valley Spiritual Center in Clairmont, and one of the attendees is Kate's middle-aged hippie friend and old traveling companion Jaz Woods. As usual, it's a busy time for 'Round the World Catering. Kate's schedule includes an Iranian wedding reception, an Italian stag party, Mother's Memorial Day Barbecue, and supervising a booth at Taste of Cincinnati. More than one dead body shows up and suspects are everywhere. Is the killer the Persian rug importer? The cult recruiter? The doddering old fool muttering nonsensical predictions of the future? In the end, Kate learns that devils sometimes wear white.
Peter King
The Gourmet Detective: A Cordon Bleu chef incorporates his real-life culinary expertise into a mystery novel in which the Gourmet Detective, a chef specializing in ancient recipes and obscure ingredients, is asked by Scotland Yard to aid in the investigation into a murdered TV journalist.
Spiced to Death: The Gourmet Detective is on his way from London to New York to authenticate Ko-Feng--an expensive spice, lost for centuries, and lauded for its taste and purported qualities as an aphrodisiac. But when the Ko-Feng disappears under his nose--and a culinary colleague turns up dead--the Gourmet Detective becomes the prime suspect in a case more slippery than Oysters Rockefeller.
Dying on the Vine: Even The Gourmet Detective doubts that he's the best man to find out why the owners of the tiny Peregrine Vineyard has made a series of ever richer cash offers for the surrounding Willesford Vineyard. But Sir Charles Willesford insists that he's tried everything else without result. Edouard Morel, the French detective he hired to uncover the motive, has disappeared himselfþso The Gourmet jets off to Provence just in time to discover the corpse of a Willesford worker apparently gored by a wild boar. It's only the first of four deaths (there'll be three fruitless attempts on The Gourmet's life as well) that The Gourmet will learn about en route to finding out what's so valuable about the Willesford property.
Kate Kingsbury
Death with Reservations: The winds of social change are in the air, sweeping across Edwardian England in 1908, even reaching isolated villages such as Badger’s End location of the famous Pennyfoot Hotel. Two London suffragettes have come to the hotel in order to make one of the guests miserable. Lord Bertram is the judge who sent the pair to prison and insured that they suffered during their incarceration. The duo never has a chance to put their plan into operation as their intended victim is poisoned.
The hotel’s owner, Cecily Sinclair and her new partner (business and personal) Baxter cannot help but be concerned with the Lord’s death. Food poisoning has been identified as the cause and the hotel is the only place he ate. Cecily begins to investigate, but before she gets very far her gardener dies in a suspicious accident. Cecily soon realizes that there is a plethora of suspects, both staff and guests, who had ample motive to want the judge dead.
The latest installment in the “Pennyfoot Hotel” saga is as delightful and charming as the previous book in the series. Readers are treated to an intriguing who-done-it and a glimpse into a society that is on the verge of enormous change that blurs the line between the gentry and the middle class. The developing relationship between Cecily and Baxter adds spice to a delicious meal. Harriet Klausner
Leilani's
Note: This is the 10th in the series by Kate Kingsbury. Check them all
out while you are visiting Amazon.com.
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