During these pandemic years I’ve done a lot of reading – and a lot of cooking. A dear friend who also likes to read, and cook and eat gave me a marvelous book – an early Christmas gift. O frabjous day! I have already begun planning to make Louise Penny’s Madame Benoit’s Tourtiere, Harlan Coben’s Myron’s Crabmeat Dip, James Patterson’s Grandma’s Killer Chocolate Cake and Lisa Scottoline’s A Tomato Sauce for All Seasons. Cooking and baking is a great way to get through these pandemic days. We have just received the order to put our masks back on.
I have been reading Nero Wolfe‘s adventures, aided by the witty Archie Goodwin whose streetwise knowledge is a big part of the books – as is Fritz Brenner, their cook over many years. They are all gourmands! These are wonderful books for these trying days.
Needless to say there are many Mystery Writers, male and female, and they all seem to know their way around the kitchen. The book takes the reader/cook from Breakfast through Appetizers, Soups and Salads, Entrees, Side Dishes, Desserts, and finally Cocktails. You are sure to find treats you will enjoy.
Kate White, a best selling author, edited this book, and slipped an appetizer into its pages. She said that the recipe is from her mother, Anne White who also writes mysteries. Kate wrote for Cosmopolitan some years ago, but since she left she has cooked up Six Bailey Weggins mysteries and well as four stand-alone novels of suspense.
What do you like cooking for breakfast/appetizers/entrees/desserts/ cocktails and MORE! Don’t forget – gift-giving season is here!
What a fun idea for a book! I’ll look into it. I’ve been busy baking lately. I don’t enjoy cooking a whole lot, but I do love to bake–a favorite thing to do during the holidays. Happy Holidays!
Beth – It is a fun book – but with some interesting recipes. Of course I look first to see what Louise Penny is making and it is a meat recipe for les Quebecquois. Not my usual thing – but that is the point. New treats. We have wonderful Quebec friends so it will be a salute there too. Merry Christmas!
A friend of mine has used the recipe for tourtiere from Madame Benoit’s book for years. It is a great recipe! And no wonder that it comes from fellow Quebecker Louise Penny.
Pat – I am about to make the Tourtiere today. We have some wonderful friends in Quebec and I will be thinking of them.