Hello Friends, today we are indulging in a sweet treat called a White Lady. Hold up, I hear you say, haven’t we already done this recipe back in March? Well, apparently recipes for White Ladies are like busses. You wait for ages for one to come along and then, all of a sudden three come at once. Because, spoiler alert, there will be another White Lady recipe appearing soon! Last time, our white lady was a very yummy ice cream with chocolate sauce, this white lady is a delicious shortbread-style cookie.
But not just any shortbread cookie because these have white chocolate and rose water icing and then a dusting of icing sugar on top of that. Delicious. But sweet.
These need to be balanced out with a nice strong coffee. The recipe for these White Ladies comes from that bastion of posh food, Australian Gourmet Traveller, the May 1993 issue to be exact. This is the same mag that brought us a lovely Warm Chestnut Salad a while back. The recipe for White Ladies recipe comes from an article on chocolate and the powerful memories it can evoke in people.
“What is it about chocolate that makes us cherish the memory of certain occasions with such ecstacy?
And if you think that quote possibly goes a little bit too over the top, what about this one?
One friend’s most potent memory is of eating dark Arabian chocolate on a sultry night while being serenaded by eunuchs
I feel that night might have been memorable even without the chocolate….
My own favourite chocolate memory is of a bright cold day in winter a few years aog. My best friend and I were in the country celebrating my birthday on a girl’s weekend. After a morning spent at the Hepburn Spa we drove to nearby Daylesford for some afternoon tea. I had an Italian hot chocolate which I’m pretty sure was pure melted chocolate. It was warm and sweet and rich and made for the perfect end to the perfect weekend!
Happily, or possibly sadly for some of you, you don’t need a hot night in Arabia or a chorus of eunuchs to enjoy these white ladies. A cup of coffee and a few moments of peace are enough!
The Recipe – White Ladies
For those of you who like to gift cookies as part of the holiday season, White Ladies could become a perfect addition to your gifting regime If they last long enough for you to give any away that is!
“That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane”…so begins the fabulous REM song, “It’s The End of The World As We Know It”. And for me, this year actually began with a 7.6 magnitude earthquake when we were holidaying in Darwin. Last month we celebrated my birthday in absolute chaos (more on that later) whilst on holiday in Port Douglas. And when I say chaos, I mean a total f*cking nightmare. So when the random number generator chose “Birthday Party, Cheesecake, Jelly Bean, Boom! I thought it might be a good chance to reset and have a little party to make up for the day that was ruined! The vehicle of choice for this month is Super Food Ideas, from September 2003 and I went in search of party food.
But first, let’s take a little wander down the memory lane to the heady days of September 2003. R Kelly’s Ignition (Remix) was #1. Less said about that the better I think. Finding Nemo was top of the box office and The Da Vinci Code was still the most popular book!
The Menu – September 2003
Margarita
Now, I can’t think of a much better way to kick of any birthday celebration than with a classic Margarita! And this one was perfection!!!!! I
The cocktail napkin you see in the above photo was one of a set of napkins I bought in Port Douglas. They are all super cute and also an inspiration to make the rest of the cocktails featured on them!
And as with the margarita, the first four days of our holiday were wonderful. Port Douglas is such an amazing place. Rainforest, reef and beach – great restaurants, perfect weather….the only downside is the crocodiles…and the murder birds!
Margarita Recipe
Seafood Pizza
As you may have noticed, I love my seafood! This nicely leads me to where our holiday turned paradise into a nightmare. Day 5 of our holiday, which was my actual birthday we had planned to move from our PD central apartment to a house around 10km out of Port Douglas. It was also the night of The Matildas v England final of the Women’s World Cup. We had been out for a lovely dinner the night before so the plan for my birthday was to grab a seafood platter from Port Douglas when we left and then enjoy the evening in our house. Dip in our private pool, , bit of football on the telly, champagne on ice, and our gourmet seafood platter…could life get any better?
Better? No. What we hadn’t figured was that it was about to get a whole lot worse!
We turned up at the house, for which we had a confirmed booking from one of the largest, if not the largest booking agencies in the world. The Fussiest Eater sends a text to the owner asking for the keypad number as the gate is locked. We are there for about 5 minutes when a woman comes out of the house. “Can I help you?” she asks. “Oh, yes, you probably just got our text. We’re here for our holiday”
Apparently we weren’t.
In the time that we had made our booking and our actual holiday, the house had been sold. It was no longer holiday accommodation.
It was now 3:00pm on a Saturday, we had no place to stay for the next four nights and we had a rapidly warming seafood platter on the back seat of the hire car.
Seafood Pizza Recipe
Party Pies
You know this is an Aussie Meat Pie because the secret ingredient is a spoonful of Vegemite! I made mini versions of this pie – in Australian we call these Party Pies so they were perfect for my Birthday Party Menu!
Now back to Port Douglas. The Fussiest Eater began calling the owner of the house. He confirmed that he had sold the house and had told the booking agency to cancel all future bookings. I started trying to find us accommodation. The first place I found wanted $15,000 for the four nights. The second $6000. Finally, we were able to find a studio room back in Port Douglas for the four nights for a price that we could actually afford. And that had a fridge in which we could put the seafood platter! From there we called the booking agency who offered to not only refund the cost of the house but also to pay for the emergency accommodation.
The following day we were also able to move into a one-bedroom apartment in the same complex which was a lot better than the studio but still how we had wanted to spend the last few days of our holiday.
As of today though, the booking company have yet to refund us the money for the second Port Douglas Apartment. We are idiots who did not get their OG offer in writing and they are now saying that as the second apartment was cheaper than the housetechnically we are not out of pocket.
Technically they ruined my birthday and did not deliver on the holiday we paid for and expected.
TechnicallyI could have chosen the house that cost $15000 instead of that studio apartment as our alternative accommodation and technically they would have had to refund us the difference.
I didn’t want to be an arsehole.
I’ll leave that up to them.
Meat Pie Recipe
Chewy Almond Crescents
We now turn to the sweet part of our birthday party menu. These were great! Really tasty and not overly sweet. You couldn’t really taste the apricot jam which was a shame. When I make these again, I will maybe add some chopped-up dried apricots into the mix. Or maybe add a glaze with the jam. They were delicious regardless. These would be great with a cup of tea or coffee or equally with a little glass of Baileys! This was probably my favourite thing on the menu. I also loved the butterfly cakes but they were similar to cakes I had made before. These were all new and I was so happy to discover them!
Accomodation saga continued….As of today though, the booking company have yet to refund us the money for the second Port Douglas Apartment. We are idiots who did not get their OG offer in writing and they are now saying that as the second apartment was cheaper than the housetechnically we are not out of pocket.
Technically they ruined my birthday and did not deliver on the holiday we paid for and expected.
TechnicallyI could have chosen the house that cost $15000 instead of that studio apartment as our alternative accommodation and technically they would have had to refund us the difference.
I didn’t want to be an arsehole.
I’ll leave that up to them.
Chewy Almond Crescents Recipe
Lemon Curd Butterfly Cakes
These were so pretty and also delish. I loved the tanginess of the lemon curd with the sweetness of the cupcake!
The one-bedroom apartment was great. However, on the first night, I was woken at around 2 a.m. by the sound of what sounded like a woman screaming. Channelling my inner Nancy Drew, I got out of bed and looked out the window but the side street the room looked out on was deserted. I was just getting back into bed when I heard it again. This time I went to the main room to look out of the front windows but the main street which we overlooked was also quiet. I went back to bed. I heard the same noise once again at around 5 a.m. This time I wondered if maybe someone in the neighbouring rooms was having an argument as again there was no movement on either street.
There was no mention of any attack on the news the following day so I went about my business. As we were walking back to the apartment from dinner I heard the same noise. This time though I was able to see that it was coming from a bird that we had just walked past. A quick Google Search identified these murder birds as Bush Stone Curlews. Thankfully no Nancy Drewing needed for me on the second night. Or thereafter.
Lemon Curd Butterfly Cakes Recipe
My Nigella Moment – Passionfruit Glazed Shortbread
For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious. In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in either because I made it and it was really good, or I just didn’t have time to make it but it was one of the most appetising things in the mag!
I love shortbread and passionfruit so these were high on my list of things to make. They would have also fit in nicely with my birthday party theme but I ran out of time and had to choose between the Almond Crescents and these. In the end, I have eaten Passionfruit Shortbreads before whilst the Almond Crescents were something new to me so I chose them. These though? High on my list of things to make! And believe me, when I do…I will definitely be popping back to the biscuit tin, Nigella Style, for just one more!
Super Food Ideas really came through for my birthday-themed menu! As did Port Douglas for my birthday holiday. Despite the…ahem…hiccup with the accomodation, PD remains one of my favourite holiday destinations!!!!
Hello food lovers and crime readers! Today on Dining with The Dame, we are taking a look into the Hercule Poirot novel One Two Buckle My Shoe. And to snack on while we read, we have a lovely fruit filled cake called a Summer Berry Buckle. Yes, not much food in this one so again, I had to use some creative thinking for the food component. And the Summer Berry Buckle is a delight! I loved that you got a different berry in each bite!
One Two Buckle My Shoe -The Plot
Leaving his dentist’s office, Hercule Poirot bumps into the delightfully named, Mabelle Sainsbury Seale, a former actress. He picks up a buckle that has fallen off her shiny new shoe and gives it to her.
Before you can even start to get any creepy dentist vibes aka Norman Gale in Death In The Clouds, we find out via Inspector Japp that sometime after Poirot’s visit, the dentist Hector Morley apparently killed himself. Morley’s clients between Poirot and his death included Ms Sainsbury Seale, a banker called Alistair Blunt and a rather shady Greek gentleman called Mr Amberiotis. Another man, an American activist called Raikes leaves the office without a visit to Morley’s Partner (who is a bit of a drunk).
We have
Mr Amberiotis dying not too shortly after Dr Morley from an overdose of adrenaline and novocaine – both commonly used by dentists. Are the death’s connected?
A secretary called away from work on false pretenses. Was it so she did not recognise the killer?
A fiance annoyed with Morley’s interference in his love life – did he kill Morley?
Mabelle going missing
A body in a trunk with her face bashed in.
Two murder attempts on Alistair Blunt, one supposedly by the aggrieved fiancé. Has he moved from killing dentists to bankers?
And what of the left-wing activist? The one who left before seeing the drunk dentist?He has no love of bankers or members of the bourgeoisie. Might he be the murderer?
And what of that drunk dentist? Did he bear a grudge against his more successful partner?
We also have Poirot revealing himself to be a leg man! How else would he know that a ten-inch stocking equates to a size six shoe?
Good thing we have Poirot around to sort out who did the deed! We also have Inspector Japp in his last appearance in a novel. 😔
There is a lot going on in this book and the plot seems quite convoluted at times. The nursery rhyme felt far more wedged in than in “And Then There Were None” too. While this was not my favourite novel it did give an insightful look into power and privilege and the importance of one life versus another.
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe – The Covers
I was able to find a lot of covers for this one, primarily I think because it has three names. It was originally called The Patriotic Murders in the US but they changed this to An Overdose of Death in 1953.
So many great covers here. I think my favourite is the shoes second row second from the right which also is our very first Finnish cover!
The Recipe – Summer Berry Buckle
I used the recipe from the New York Tmes as my recipe and I can highly recommend it.
I served my Buckle with some labne that I had made for something else and wanted to use up and some fresh raspberries.
Whipped cream or yoghurt could easily sub in for the labne.
Poirot shrugged his shoulders. He said:
I t would seem that death selected, most inartistically, the wrong man. The Mysterious Greek, the Rich Banker, the Famous Detective – how natural that one of them should be shot! For mysterious foreigners may be mixed up with espionage and rich bankers have connections who will benefit by their deaths and famous detectives may be dangerous to criminals”.
Whereas poor old Morley wasn’t dangerous to anybody, ” observed Japp gloomily.
“I wonder.”
Agatha Christie – One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Links to The Christieverse
Poirot speaks of Countess Vera Rosakoff who we last saw in The Big Four and is the closest thing we come to Poirot having a love interest
The Case of The Augean Stables is mentioned. We haven’t got there yet but it is one of the stories in The Labours of Hercules
Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Also, apologies for this post being nearly a week late! I dropped my laptop, and thankfully whilst nothing major was damaged, the pin on the charger bent making it impossible to charge so I had to wait for the replacement charger to arrive. I’m going to try really hard to get the post that is due tomorrow out on time or just a little late to get back on posting track!
July’s read is Evil Under The Sun which is a great read and I have something very special planned for it.
Hello friends! On the menu today is a savoury upside down pie (say what?) which comes from a new book to the blog, 250 Quick and Easy Recipes by Woman’s Day from 1986. It’s actually from Let me tell you , if the savoury upside pie was anything to go by, I am looking forward seeing what the rest of this book has to offer. This was delicious! I made this back in February and looking back at the photos now is really making me want to make it again!
I chose this recipe because of its unusual cooking method. You line your pie dish with bacon (yum) then spoon a mix of minced chicken, creamed corn, and some herbs on top of the bacon. Finally, almost like a tarte tatin, you top the lot with pastry. The end result is great, the bacon and the pastry turn crispy and the chicken mix stays succulent! You will see below that the recipe below calls for green capsicum. I can’t bear them. They also tend to repeat on me for hours afterward so instead of the capsicum, I added some additional herbs from the garden being sage and oregano along with the parsley and mint the recipe called for.
I have been featuring a lot of “posh” food recently. This is definitely not that. This is mid-week budget-style cooking. I think it would be a great family meal. I served my pie with shop-bought sweet chilli sauce, some zucchini pickles made from homegrown zucchini and a watercress and orange salad which will feature in an upcoming post.
Savoury Upside Down Pie – The Recipe
The sweet chilli was the perfect accompaniment to the pie – they really worked well together. The pickles also bought a nice tang. And it all looked lovely and colourful.
The pie was also good cold the following day when I had some for my lunch! I was going to reheat it but couldn’t wait!
250 Quick and Easy recipes really delivered on its title with the Savoury Upside Down Pie! Add in that it was also really tasty and you have a winner, winner chicken dinner! There are a few more recipes which sound like they might be worth a try so I’m sure this will not be the last time we see this book!
Hello crime readers and food lovers! When I first thought about writing about the food featured in Agatha Christie novels I spent quite a bit of time thinking about what to call my new venture. “And Then There Were Buns” was my first idea. It seemed equally Christiesque, food-related and appealed to my love of puns. In the end, I settled on Dining with the Dame as being a more simple title. However, the inital idea never really left my mind, and has, resurfaced, here as we begin to talk about the Christie classic And Then There Were None. In what has become a bit of a theme around here And Then There Were None features very little actual food. Plenty of tinned tongue (🤮) but little real food. Given it is Easter, I decided to make Devonshire splits over a more traditional hot cross bun for two reasons. First, the novel is set on a small island off the Devon Coast and second, I don’t really like a hot cross bun.
Oh, and I know I previously said that April’s read would be Sad Cypress but you can blame a work trip to Sydney for the mix-up. I accidentally popped the wrong book into my bag and didn’t realise until I was on the plane. I blame the 4:00am wake up for that error! Sad Cypress will be May’s read.
And Then There Were None -The Plot
This one is such as classic that I feel that it needs little explanation by me. It is Christie’s best-selling title with over 100 million sales! But here goes nothing – Eight people are invited to spend time on Soldier Island, off the Devon Coast. When they arrive, they are greeted by a butler and his wife, the cook but their hosts are absent. Each person finds a framed copy of a nursery rhyme called Ten Little Soldiers in their room and the dining table contains a tableau of ten soldiers.
As our guests are having dinner a terrifying voice booms out of nowhere that they have been gathered together as each of them has previously gotten away with murder and lists their crimes. Panic and pandemonium ensues.
And then they start dying in ways paralleling the Indians from the rhyme.
And with each death, one of the little figurines on the tables disappears.
We have:
No way off the island
A dawning realisation that one of them is a killer
A baffling puzzle for the police when they finally arrive on the Island. The last death was Vera Stanhope who hanged herself. So, given no one could get on or off the island, who moved the chair she stepped on to reach the noose away from her body and put it against the wall?
A confession in a bottle. If Smashmouth was the theme for Murder is Easy, then The Police’s Message in a Bottle might be this month’s song!
And Then There Were None is so creepy and the growing fear and paranoia of the guests as the death toll rises is so well done! It is no wonder that this is the best-selling mystery novel of all time! Speaking of which, let’s look at the covers of some of the 100 million!
And Then There Were None – The Covers
There are some wonderful covers here! Not sure about the significance of the fish (top right) but I really like all of the rest of them – the remoteness of the island, the way the noose forms the O in bottom left, the broken Indian, the skull shadow cast by the house are all greatly evocative of the book. You will also notice there are also a few covers with the title Ten Little Indians which is one of the former titles of this novel.
And I guess about now would be the right time to talk about the original title of this novel which was Ten Little N-words. I made the decision not to include any of the covers with that particular title. I don’t even know what to say about the original title. Except to say I’m very glad it was changed and I think Änd Then There Were None”is a much better title than either of the others!
The Recipe – Devonshire Splits
I used the recipe for Devonshire splits from the Waitrose website. I’ve also included it below in case the website ever takes it down. These are also called Cornish splits in other places on the internet so don’t come at me, people of Cornwall if you feel slighted, head straight to the source. The Devonshire Splits were delicious. BUT I found them quite big. Personally, I would use the amount of mixture suggested in the recipe to make 18 buns instead of the 12 suggested. If you do this make sure that you reduce the cooking time accordingly.
Links to The Christieverse
I could not find any links in this one.
Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in And Then There Were None
