Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – Cucumber Sandwiches

categories: Dining With The Dame, Sandwiches, Stand Alone

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today we are raising our pinky fingers and taking delicate bites from a classic item of British high tea, cucumber sandwiches. Our book of choice is a standalone Christie novel, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Published in 1934, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans came after an amazing run of novels – Murder on the Orient Express and Three Act Tagedy (both also published in 1934), Lord Edgware Dies (1933) and Peril At End House (1932). And…well…for my mind, it is not in the same calibre as any of these. There is also not a great deal of food mentioned within its pages. Generic references to cocktail parties, breakfast and afternoon teas abound. There is even a reference to a sausage and beer party which sounds like heaps of fun. But not many specific mentions of food. So, for my menu, I have taken the liberty of choosing an item that I hope was served at least one of those any afternoon teas, cucumber sandwiches!

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – The Plot

Bobby James is playing golf near his home in Marchbolt, Wales. As a sudden fog descends Bobby hears a man cry out. Worried that he may have hit someone with his last shot, Bobby goes to investigate and finds a man lying close to death on a ledge below a cliff. The man gains consciousness long enough to utter the words “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” before dying. This sets Bobby and his friend / romantic interest Lady Frances (Frankie) Derwent on a series of adventures that could cost them their lives.

We have:

Sisters behaving suspiciously
Beer poisoned with morphia
Staged car accidents
Morphine addicts (aka drug fiends! in 1934 parlance)
Dodgy doctors
Supposed suicides
Kidnapping
Poisoned coffee
Wicked wives
And a romantic ending for Bobby and Frankie.

Bobby and Frankie are both very likeable characters and well written. So it is not the absence of Poirot or Marple which makes this book not one of my favourites. In fact, the tv adaptation I watched shoehorned Marple into it which to my mind, made the story even worse!. For me, this is just not a compelling plot. I think what didn’t work for me was that I LOVE trying to solve the mysteries and the mystery of Evans and why they weren’t asked is almost impossible to solve. There was some fun along the way though so this is still worth a read even if, to my mind, it was not as good as some of its predecessors.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans – The Covers

This was called The Boomerang Clue on its American release hence the varied titles. The modern 1920’s stylised look with Bobby and Frankie on the train. is my favourite. What is yours?

The Recipe – Cucumber Sandwiches

I used this recipe from The Spruce Eats but I cut my sandwiches into fingers and not triangles. And I buttered one side of the bread so there was only cream cheese on one side.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Why Didn’t They Ask Evans

Fried Fish
Coffee (Multiple mentions)
Sandwiches (a packet)
Beer (Poisoned with Morphia)
Cocktail Party & Cocktails (several mentions
Beer and Sausage Party
Port
Tea (several mentions)
Afternoon tea (several mentions)
Bacon and Eggs (It wouldn’t be a Christie without it)
Breakfast
Toast (two mentions)

Have you read Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? Am I being too harsh in saying it is one of the worst Christies to date? I would love to hear from people who love this novel to tell me I’m wrong…And from people like me who think it is just a bit meh.

Beer and sausage party? Who’s in?

Death in the Clouds will be our read for February and, despite some OMG moments of blatant racism, is to my mind a much better story. We’ll delve into that in February.

Happy reading and eating!

19
Jan
2022

Last of the Cheese Platter Quiche

categories: 365 Good Reasons To Sit Down and Eat, Book Club, Cheese, France

Hello friends, this weeks recipe takes the leftovers at the end of a cheese platter – the scraps of cheese, leftover nuts, maybe a bit of Proscuitto and turns them all into a delicious quiche. In theory that is. I, for one, think that leftover cheese belongs to the realms of unicorns and heffalumps. I personally have never known such a phenomenon. However, tomorrow, January 20, the world is celebrating Cheese Lover’s Day so there should be cheese platters aplenty. If ever there was a time to see that elusive creature, the leftover piece of cheese it will be then!

The quiche is very simple so you could jazz it up by adding some of the herbs or vegetables you may have languishing in your fridge! I used some parsley and some spring onions in my cheese as well as 4 types of cheese, some walnuts and some bacon.

Last year (for a few months), I implemented my Fridge, Freezer Pantry week which is my attempt to reduce kitchen waste. The last week of each month, we will not visit the supermarket but will eat only what is currently in our fridge, freezer and pantry. The practice kind of fell by the wayside during the year but I have brought it back for 2022 and recipes like this will help to ensure that I keep it going!

Last of The Cheese Platter Quiche – The Recipe

The recipe comes from 365 Good Reasons to Sit Down and Eat, the same book that brought us Detox Soup earlier this month.

The strange thing about this quiche was the walnuts. It was not that they tasted bad, they were a lovely addition. However, I think I am so used to having the contents of a quiche be fairly soft that finding a chunk of something hard in my quiche was disconcerting for me. Next time I shall cut my walnuts into smaller pieces so it is not as startling! It would be super if instead of buying pastry you made your own and added the chopped walnuts into that!

Just to be a little extra cheesy, here’s a very cute cheese pun.

Have a great Cheese Lover’s Day!

16
Jan
2022

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

categories: Berries, Blue Cheese, Magazines, Salad, Seasonal Recipes

Today’s recipe for Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons is inspired by a recipe from the December 2001 / January 2002 edition of Super Food Ideas. Which makes it twenty years old this month!

We are currently sweltering in a hot summer so this salad hits the spot perfectly. And, without tooting my own trumpet too much, can we just stop and take a moment to reflect on how pretty this salad is?

It’s almost too pretty to eat. But only almost. Because it’s also delicious

Before we jump into the recipe, let’s take a look at what else was hot in Dec/Jan 2002 with the seasonal eating guide.

What’s Peaking in January – Fruit

Apricots

Why not make some apricot and rhubarb frangipane tarts?

Bananas

Banana Breakfast Cream is a great way to start your day!

Blueberries

Get your Scottish on with some Rhubarb and Blueberry Cranachan

Grapefruit

And if you don’t like eating fruit, why not drink it. This Navigator cocktail has gin, limoncello and pink grapefruit juice…yum!

What’s Peaking in January – Vegetables

Asparagus

Why eat normal sandwiches when you can have these cute as a button Easter Lily Sandwiches?

Mushrooms

The vol au vent is, for me, the archetypical retro food. Why not check out my mushroom vol au vents from way back in 2012?

Retro Food For Modern Times – Holiday Wrap Up

Potato

Step back in time to Pieathalon3 when Ruth sent me a Lemon Potato Pie!

Sweetcorn

Another cookalong resulted in this Cowboy Caviar. It was delicious. Thanks Greg for organising our Cowboy Day Cookalong!

Ok, so now onto the main feature!

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons – The Recipe

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Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

Print Recipe

A delcious and gorgeous salad, perfect for summer days.

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Croutons

1 baguette sliced into 1cm slices
50g creamy blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola dolce)

For The Salad

100g rocket (arugula)
1 cup berries (I used raspberries and strawberries)
2 carrots, cut into thin ribbons
1/8 red cabbage, finely sliced
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

For The Dressing

1 tbsp raspberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For The Croutons

Spread each round of bread lightly with the cheese.
Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for 5-10 minutes until crisp.
Allow to cool.

For The Dressing

Puree the raspberries.
Whisk in the oil, vinegar, sugar and seasonings.

For The Salad

Place the rocket leaves in a bowl.
Add the berries, carrots, red cabbage and walnuts.
Toss to combine.
Top with the blue cheese croutons.
Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Notes

The original recipe contained spinach and asparagus. I didn’t have either when I made this so I subbed in the carrot and red cabbage. Go your own way on this!

I was back to work this week which was a shock to the system!

I’ll be back ,mid-week with another cheese heavy post.

In the meantime, have a great week!

09
Jan
2022

Schnitzel a la Holstein

categories: Meat, Name Plates

It’s been quite some time since I have done a Name Plates post where I look into the names behind famous foods. Schnitzel a la Holstein is named after the German diplomat, Friedrich August Karl, Ferdinand Julius von Holstein who helped to shape German foreign policy in the time directly after Bismarck. Hello? Is there anyone still there? Please do not be perturbed, we are not going to spend any more time on the Baron because this is a food blog, not a German foreign policy of the 1890’s blog!

What is Schnitzel a la Holstein?

I feel that Schnitzel a la Holstein has fallen somewhat out of favour over the years. A pub staple in Melbourne is a chicken or veal parmigiana which is the Schnitzel a la Holstein’s Italian cousin. I have eaten cotoletta, a more refined Italian relative in restaurants and, at home, my mother would often make Weiner Schnitzel. But never a la Holstein.

So what turns a regular schnitty into a version a la Holstein? First you need to add a fried egg then add some anchovies on top of that. Then, drizzle a litle caper, lemon and parsley sauce over the top of it all!

That is at least in the modern version of the dish. The Baron’s OG version came surrounded by small piles of caviar, crawfish tails, smoked salmon, mushrooms, and truffles!!!! I’m surprised the whole thing didn’t come wrapped in gold a la Salt Bae. I mean there’s a lot…and then there’s too much! It made me wonder if Baron was also the inspo for this Monty Python character.

I really enjoyed this dish! The sharpess of the lemon and caper sauce offset some of the richness of the schnitzel, the egg added some rich creaminess and the anchovies some delightful saltiness.

I served my schnitzel with a very simple salad of watercress leaves, red shallots and shaved parmesan.

The Recipe and My Variations

The recipe I used to cook my Schnitzel a la Holstein was from Saveur which I modied as follows

I added 2 tablespoons of finely grated Parmesan cheese into the bread crumb mixture for some additional flavour.
I poached my egg using one of those old fashioned egg rings instead of frying it as I do not like the texture of the white of a fried egg. The softness of the poached egg also provided a great contrast to the crunchy crumb crust.

Here’s the Baron:

Have a great week!

04
Jan
2022

How To Eat Spaghetti

categories: 1970's food, Margaret Fulton Cookbook, Pasta

Happy International Spaghetti Day! We must have been pretty gauche back in the 1970s because in her eponymous cookbook, Margaret Fulton had to show us how to eat spaghetti. Lord only knows what we’d been doing before this. Launching face-first into the plate? Lady and the Tramping it? Employing scissors a la Buster Keaon?

Thank goodness we had Margaret to tell us how to do it with a modicum of grace and class.

Three Steps to Spaghetti Eating Heaven

I very clearly remember my parents teaching me this exact method of twirling spaghetti in our favourite Italian restaurant (Leo’s Spaghetti Bar) when I was around 5. I’m not sure if they had been taking lessons from Margaret or were just trying to prevent the tabletop from looking like Armageddon. Apparently, though this is not the proper way of eating spaghetti at all.

It would be remiss if I left this post without commenting on the model in the spoon twirling shots. That woman has quite hairy arms. Nowadays she would be epilated, waxed and / or photoshopped into hairless conformity. The 1970s were content to let it all hang out. Except for their spaghetti which was tightly coiled around a fork, thanks to Margaret Fulton!

If you would like to celebrate today by eating some spaghetti, you can find a recipe here!

Have a great week!