Retro Food For Modern Times

Hello Crime readers and food lovers! I am excited today to be sharing a recipe for Macaroni au Gratin – aka Baked Mac and Cheese!  This month’s Agatha Christie book, The ABC Murders is dark.  It is definitely the darkest book we have read so far. So, it’s a good thing we have the comforting familiarity of macaroni and cheese to get us through!  We have my favourite trio in Christie too – Poirot, Hastings and Japp. It is however written in a mix of first-person and third-person which feels a bit clumsy.  However, it is a cracking read so do not let that prevent you from reading this.

The ABC Murders – The Plot

We begin with Poirot receiving a letter taunting him:

MR. HERCULE POIROT–You fancy yourself, don’t you, at solving mysteries that are too difficult for our poor thick-headed British police? Let us see, Mr. Clever Poirot, just how clever you can be. Perhaps you’ll find this nut too hard to crack. Look out for Andover on the 21st of the month. Yours, etc., A.B.C.

And on the 21st Mrs Alice Ascher is murdered by a blow to the head in Andover

We have:

• Some fun banter between Poirot, Japp and Hastings prior to the first murder.
• A second murder – Betty Barnard strangled in Bexhill
• A third murder – Sir Carmichael Clarke clubbed to death in Churston
• Taunting letters to Poirot with each murder and a copy of the ABC rail guide left by the body of each of the victims
• The diary of a man who seems to be increasingly losing his grip on reality.  The man’s name?  Alexander Bonaparte Cust.  (Just look at those initials!)
• We have a group of amateur sleuths made up of Megan Barnard (Betty’s sister), Franklin Clarke (Sir Carmichael’s brother, Donald Fraser (Betty’s fiance) and Mary Drower (Alice Ascher’s niece).
• There is a beautiful and very poignant bit of writing about the death of Alice Ascher and the remorselessness of the passing of time
• This is lightened almost immediately by a lovely fun bit of banter between Poirot and Hastings concerning fruit and vegetables
• The fourth letter leads Poirot to Doncaster.  Will Poirot be able to stop the ABC Murderer’s reign of terror here?

What makes The ABC Murders so dark is the use of gaslighting by the villain of the piece.  Christie would not however have used that term as it only came into being in 1944, eight years after The ABC Murders was published!

The ABC Murders – The Covers

There are some very cool covers here.  The two that for me are the standouts – top row second from the left looks very Hitchcockian, Tippi Hedren fleeing from birds with evil intent maybe.  And speaking thereof…that cover with poor Betty Barnard lying dead on the beach with the seagull’s feet on her throat gives me the screaming heebie jeebies!!!!

The Recipe – Macaroni au Gratin

I kept this macaroni au gratin very simple.  The internet abounds with fancy recipes for mac and cheese.  I love the lobster Mac ‘n’  Cheese they serve at Meatmaiden, one of my fave local restaurants!  And if you are looking to make your mac ‘n’ cheese a bit more healthy then I can also recommend Jamie Oliver’s Greens Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

Macaroni au Gratin / The ABC Murders

Print Recipe

Comfort food at its finest!

• Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 110g macaroni
• 1 bay leaf
• 450g milk
• 50g butter (plus more for dabbing on the top)
• 40g plain flour
• 175 grated Cheddar cheese or a mix or what you have in the house.  I used some Red Leicester for this one.
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Dash of Tabasco (optional)
• Breadcrumbs
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp fried shallots (optional) Or more if you like!

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Bring 850ml of water to the boil and cook the macaroni for 3-4 minutes less than the instructions on the pack.  (We will finish off cooking in the oven).
2. Meanwhile, heat the milk with the bayleaf in a small pan and leave it to infuse.
3. In another pan, melt the butter and add the flour and allow your roux to cook for a minute. Gradually add the milk, whisking all the time to remove any lumps.  Cook until the mixture reaches the consistency of pancake batter, stirring all the while.
4. Add half of the Cheddar and stir until it melts.  Add some grated nutmeg and Tabasco sauce if using and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Preheat your oven to 180C.
6. Drain the macaroni and add it to the cheese sauce.  Place into one large or individual baking dishes Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, the fried onions if using and a few dabs of butter to help the breadcrumbs brown.
7.  Place in the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes until bubbling around the edges.  Then turn on your grill and cook under the grill until the cheese and breadcrumbs are golden.
8. Let this sit for 1o minutes before eating.  If you can wait that long!

Enjoy!!!!

Notes

I like to cook this in smaller dishes so I have a ready supply of work from home lunches!

The fried shallots are available at Asian Groceries and whilst by no means traditional, add a lovely French onion flavour to this fish.

I really wanted to make this with alphabetty spaghetti.  Unfortunately, I could not find any so elbow macaroni had to do!

If the fried shallots are not your bag, you can top with finely chopped chives or parsley before serving.

Our first visit was to The Ginger Cat.  Situated on the seafront, this was the usual type of small tearoom.  It had little tables covered in orange-checked cloths and basket-work chairs of exceeding discomfort with orange cushions on them.  It was the kind of place that specialised in morning coffee, five types of tea (Devonshire, Farmhouse, Fruit, Carlton and Plain), and a few sparing lunch dishes for females such as scambled eggs and shrimps and macaroni au gratin.

-Agatha Christie – The ABC Murders

The Adaptations

The Alphabet Murders – 1965

Tony Randall as Poirot, Robert Morley as Hastings?  Anika Ekberg as….I’m not really sure who she was but she was stunningly beautiful whoever she was meant to be.

I was so up for watching this!

Until I started watching it.

It.  Was.  Terrible.

I lasted half an hour max and went scurrying back to my beloved trio of David Suchet / Hugh Fraser and Phillip Jackson.

I don’t know what possessed MGM to try to turn this book into a comedy but it didn’t work for me at all!

The ABC Murders – Poirot S4 E1 1992

This version is the most true to the book.  To me, this is the gold standard by which all adaptations should be judged and this episode is no exception.  And there is an absolutely touching moment at the end between Poirot and Cust.

The ABC Murders – 2018

John Malkovich as Poirot?  Sign me up!!!  I only watched this one recently and it blew me away.

This version has Rupert Grint aka Ron Weasley as Inspector Crome.  No Hastings, Japp dies within the first few minutes.  Poirot is old and tired and has lost his relevance. Britain is dirty and dark and xenophobia is running high. This one is DARK.

I think this one brings to life the characters of Betty Barnard and Alexander Cust in a way the other two did not. It is beautifully shot and the attention to detail is meticulous. The acting is largely superb.  Poirot, Cust, Betty, Rose Marbury, Thora Grey, Franklin Clarke – all played to perfection!!!!! It is not entirely true to the book but it goes some interesting places. This one is a much watch for any Christie fan although I’m sure some die-hard Christie fans will not be happy with the kink element, the addition of a new murder and Poirot’s backstory.

I would LOVE to see more Malkovich as Poirot!!!!

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The ABC Murders

• As per usual we have a mention of Bacon and Eggs
• Coffee (several mentions)
• Meat Pie
• Black Tea
• Scrambled eggs and shrimps
• Brandy
• Tea and Devonshire Cream
• Mackerel
• Irish Stew
• Sandwiches and a glass of wine

Next month we are heading to the Middle East for a Murder in Mesopotamia. My advice on this one?  Pack your disbelief into a deep dark corner and just go with it.  The plot is largely ludicrous but we’ll have some fun on the way!