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Tag: Dining with The Dame

12
Mar
2023

Pineapple and Spice Financier – Murder is Easy

categories: Cake, Dining With The Dame, Pineapple, Stand Alone

Hello crime readers and food lovers! This month’s read is Murder Is Easy, and I have a LOT to say about it! Starting with a rant about how I ended up choosing a Pineapple and Spice Financier (which does not appear in the story at all) to represent the novel. Murder is Easy contains very few food references. This really annoyed me! I kind of get it when AC doesn’t mention food in the novels set in foreign climes. Back in the day, there would likely have been some good old-fashioned British reserve (ie thinly veiled racism) against foreign food. But Murder is Easy is set in an English village and features multiple old ladies! Where are the scones? Where are the high teas and finger sandwiches? The village fete with cake stalls galore?

Murder Might be Easy but Menu Decisions Aren’t!

So, what do you do when there is no food mentioned in the novel? My first thought always goes to puns. Murder is greasy? Murder is cheesy? Chowder is Easy? Humlebeetroot Salad? I dismissed all of these as cornier than the chowder! I was very nearly set on the idea of making Olivia De Havilland’s Salad Niçoise. (She played Honoria Waynfleet in the 1982 version of Murder is Easy). However, when I looked more closely at the recipe on Silver Screen Suppers I saw that it contained both red and green capsicums. Long-time readers will know that these do not agree with me at all. I thought about inventing a Hit and Rum cocktail, which was going to be my take on a pineapple mojito, and spoke to two of the murders in the novel. However, I felt there have been a lot of cocktails in my recent Dining with the Dame posts so I wanted to shy away from them.

Finally, I decided I wanted to use pineapple which, features as a murder weapon, in the story combined with the country feel of a freshly baked cake. I chose the Pineapple and Spice Financier as I felt that the spices (cardamom and ginger) were a nod to Luke Fitzwilliam’s time in the Mayang Straits. Whilst this is an entirely made-up place in my mind it is a reference to Malaysia which was still under British rule in 1939 when this book was written.

Phew…that was a long intro! So let’s get into Murder is Easy!

Murder is Easy- The Plot

Luke Fitzwilliam is home to England from his work as a policeman in the Mayang Straits. On his way to London, he meets an elderly lady called Lavinia Pinkerton on the train. They get to talking and Ms Pinkerton confides to him that she is on her way to Scotland Yard to warn them that there is a serial killer operating in her small country village. She names several people who have already been a victim of said killer and also names who she thinks will be next.

Now, if you want my honest opinion of Luke Fitzwilliam? To put it nicely, he’s no Hercule Poirot. He’s not even a Miss Marple. In the words of Smashmouth he “ain’t the smartest tool in the shed”. However, his lack of perspicacity comes later. Right now, we can’t really fault him for thinking he has sat down next to some batty old lady and so he doesn’t really take her seriously.

Until, the next day, he reads in the paper that she was killed in a hit-and-run accident.

And a week later, he reads that Doctor Humbleby who Miss Pinkerton said was the next victim, has also died. Luke’s spidey senses start tingling and he heads down to Wychwood under Ashe to do some investigating.

We have:

Several mysterious deaths in the town Wychwood-Under-Ashe
A chauffeur killed by a stone pineapple
Dirty deeds going on with the local antique dealer
A cat called Wonky Poo who becomes involved in the murders in a totally disgusting way.
One of the suspects strangling a canary
Inspector Battle who we last saw in Cards on The Table (also in The Secret of Chimneys and The Seven Dials Mystery) making an appearance!

Unfortunately, we don’t have Poirot around to solve the mystery. Instead, we have Luke Fitzwilliam (cue Smashmouth quote above in your head) making what seems like interminable lists of suspects and motives and still not honing in on the killer faster than his new girlfriend Bridget. Oh, and if we’re going to cue Smashmouth whenever Luke is mentioned, then the signature tune for Bridget is The Eagles Witchy Woman! So many references to Bridget being witch-like. All of which come to nothing.

Murder is Easy – The Covers

The Recipe – Pineapple and Spice Financier

My recipe comes from the November 2022 issue of Delicious Magazine.

“Luke – Luke – what’s that…?”

The moon had come out from the clouds. Luke looked down to where Bridget’s shoe trembled by a huddled mass.

With a startled exclamation he dragged his arm free and knelt down. He looked from the shapeless heap to the gate post above. The pine-apple was gone. “

Murder is Easy – Agatha Christie

Links to The Christieverse

As mentioned above Inspector Battle makes an appearance in Murder is Easy.
The Bells and Motley. is a pub in Wychwood under Ashe. A pub by the same name features in the Harley Quin short story called “At The Bells and Motley”.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Murder is Easy

Plum Pudding
Tea (multiple times)
Coffee (multiple times)
Bacon and eggs (I will make these one day!)
Kidneys (I will never make these)
Liqueur Brandy
Beer
Sherry

Other Related News

A boomslang features in the Bullet Train. We, of course, know all about that particular snake from Death in The Clouds.
The BBC has announced a new adaptation of l Murder is Easy. (The Olivia de Haviland / Bill Bixby version is available on You Tube. The Miss Marple version is not great and I would not recommend it, except Benedict Cumberbatch plays Luke).)
This month marks the 100th anniversary of Murder on The Links…why not celebrate by making an Omelette Berrichonne?

April’s read is Sad Cypress.

Have a great week!

13
Dec
2022

Stilton and Leek Soufflé – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

categories: Blue Cheese, Dining With The Dame, Leeks, Poirot, Soufflé

Hello food lover and crime readers! Welcome to a festive edition of Dining with The Dame. Today’s menu contains a Stilton and Leek Soufflé inspired by Agatha Christie’s 1938 novel Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. It makes me wonder – of all the people who received this book as a Christmas present that year, who would have guessed that within 12 months the world would be plunged into a second and terrible world war? Ok, sorry, that was not a very festive way to start this post. But really despite being set at Christmas, this is not an overly festive novel!

Before we move into that, let’s briefly talk about the wonderful combination that is leek and blue cheese. I first came across this many years ago at a pizza restaurant not far from my work. They had a lunch deal which was two slices of pizza and a drink for a very small amount. My favourite slice of pizza was a leek and gorgonzola. I ordered it every week for years!

I realised the minute I took the soufflés out of the oven that I had left my copy of Hercule Poirot’s Christmas upstairs. There was no going to get it, the soufflés were falling by the second!

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – The Plot

Simeon Lee is a very rich old man. And, like many rich old men, he is what they might have called back in Agatha Christie’s day, an old curmudgeon. I can think of a few more modern descriptions but, it’s Christmas so we’re keeping it clean! He’s angry at his family primarily as none of his sons have given him a grandson to carry on the family name. He is also somewhat of a braggart and likes to talk about all his sexual conquests and how he likely has many sons “on the other side of the blanket”. Which is gross, partly because he speaks at length about this to his granddaughter and no one, not even a formally estranged adult granddaughter needs to hear that grandpa was a f*ckboy! Also, because cheating on your wife and knocking up numerous women is not cool. He also has some uncut diamonds in his safe which he likes to fondle whilst he reminisces about his younger days in South Africa, Think Monty Burns crossed with Gollum and maybe a Bond villain and you have my interpretation of Simeon Lee.

He gets his though, as on Christmas Eve, not long after calling his family together to announce that he is changing his will, Simeon Lee has his throat cut. However the murder takes place in a locked room. And the diamonds are gone!

Who is the guilty culprit?

Harry, the prodigal son. Did he return just to do his father in?
David, the son who has always resented the way Simeon ill treated his mother.
George, the pompous son scared his father was going to reduce his allowance.
Alfred, the son who has remained steadfastly by Simeon’s side, jealous because his father favours Harry
Pilar Estravados, Simeon’s granddaughter, recently arrived from Spain.
Stephen Farr, the son of Simeon’s former business partner, come to England from South Africa
Horbury, Simeon’s possibly shifty valet.
All in all, we have many people who potentially Simeon Lee dead.
And a second murder attempt
And way too much blood!

Good thing we also have Poirot on hand to discover who did it and to explain the significance of a bit of rubber and a small wooden item found on the floor near Simeon’s body!

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – The Covers

We have some absolutely cracking covers here, and a fair number of them from non-English speaking countries, which is something I love! My favorite is the pulp fiction cover from I’m going to say the 1950’s which I have shown below in full. Just take a closer look at the lady in red. Yes, I know all our eyes are drawn to her cleavage but the expression on her face is not even remotely congruent with the sight before her! “Pffftttt…another dead body just in time to ruin the holidays” she seems to be saying. “And by the way, have you seen my breasts? They’re real and they’re spectaular”

The Recipe – Stilton and Leek Soufflé

You might be wondering why I chose a stilton and leek and soufflé for this post. I was thinking I could make some sort of pun on Simeon Lee and Stilton Leek. The more I tried, the more laboured it became until I trashed it. Sometimes, as per Kenny Rogers, “you gotta know when to fold ’em”.

Good lord, who knew wen starting this we were going to get a Seinfeld quote and a Kenny lyric?

Here’s the recipe. It is from a 1992 book by the Australian Women’s Weekly called Brunches and Lunches.

As mentioned, I love the combo of leek and blue cheese. However, if you are not a lover of blue, you could sub in a cheese of your choice!

Tresilian went round with the soufflé. It struck him, now that hi interest in the ladies’ toiletries and his misgivings over Walter’s deficiencies were a thing of the past, that everyone was very silent tonight. At least, not exactly silent: Mr Harry was talking enough for twenty – no not Mr Harry, the South African gentleman. And the others were talking too, but only, as it were, in spasms. There was something a little – queer about them.

Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

Links to The Christieverse

Colonel Johnson refers to “that Cartwright case” when conversing with Poirot. This is reference to Three Act Tragedy.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

Coffee
Hock I was not familiar with this name for Riesling but I feel this would work very well with the souffle!
Claret
Pear

January’s read will be the final novella in the Murder in the Mews Collection – Dead Man’s Mirror. And if anyone can get the pun on Simeon Lee and Stilton and Leek to work, please let me know!

05
Nov
2022

Petits Pois à la Française- Murder in The Mews

categories: Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot

Greetings crime readers and food lovers! Today we are reading and eating our way through the titular novella in the Murder in the Mews collection. Murder in The Mews begins on Guy Fawkes Night, which is today (if you are reading on the day I posted it)! To go with this most English of nights, we are eating a very French dish of petits pois à la française. Now, I’ll be absolutely honest here. I am not a great lover of peas. But, there is not a lot of food mentioned in Murder in The Mews. Indeed, I was thinking this might be the day I share the recipe for Golf Pie, when, in the very last paragraph, a meal is mentioned containing the aforementioned little peas!

Murder in The Mews- The Plot

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot

We open with a street urchin (think Oliver – please sir, can I have some more?) asking Japp and Poirot if they will give him a penny for the guy. Japp sends him off and the two resume their walk. In an act of foreshadowing, Japp muses that it would be a good night for a murder. The fireworks would mask sound of a gun shot. In an even greater act of foreshadowing, they then move on to the topic of Poirot committing a murder. We’ll get to that one in time!

More immediately though, the following morning Poirot learns that woman has been found dead in the very same mews they walked through the previous evening. Poirot wonders why Japp, a high ranking police officer, would be called to a suicide but agrees to meet him at the home of the deceased.

We have

The gun found in Barbara Allen’s hand held in such a way that she could not have possibly shot herself with it
No suicide note
Jane Plenderleith, Mrs Allen’s flatmate behaving suspiciously
Poirot fascinated by a series of seemingly disparate objects – a watch, a writing set, a fireplace and the contents of a locked cupboard and the smell of a room
A shady Major

Poirot and Japp (but mostly Poirot) need to figure out – was it suicide? Or murder?

My favorite part of the story has nothing to do with the plot. It is the moment when Poirot answers the call from Japp with “Allo, Allo“. Now if, only Poirot had been in a certain café in Nouvion during the war, he might have been able to help Rene in solving the mystery of the painting of the Fallen Madonna. I would pay money to see that mash up!

Murder in The Mews- The Covers

Yesssss!!!! After a slew of short stories, we can finally get back to looking at the cover art on books. And Murder In The Mews does not disappoint.

I love the cover with the green mirror image woman looking alarmed. It is so brilliantly menacing! If like me, you are a little bit confused Anubis on one of the covers, I believe it is because he was the God who took care of the dead. Bottom left is a Portuguese edition which translates literally to Murder in the Alley.

The Recipe – Petit Pois À La Française

I used the recipe for Petit Pois À La Française from Manu Feildel’s book Manu’s French Kitchen.

Japp looked at his friend for some moments in silence. Then he rose, clapped him on the shoulder, and burst out laughing.

“Not so bad for an old dog. Upon my word, you take the cake! Come out and have a spot of lunch?”

“With pleasure my friend, but we will not have the cake. Indeed, an omelette aux champignons, blanquette de veau, petits pois à la française, and to follow a baba au rhum.”

– Agatha Christie, Murder in The Mews

Other Food Mentioned in Murder In The Mews

December’s read will be Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. Because who hasn’t wanted to murder an annoying family member at Christmas?

Happy reading!

16
Oct
2022

Gin And Ginger Beer – Triangle at Rhodes

categories: Cocktail, Desserts, Dining With The Dame, Gin

Hello crime readers and cocktail lovers! Today we are reading (and drinking ) our way through a short story from the Murder in The Mews collection, Triangle at Rhodes. And what better way to sit back and watch the shenanigans taking place on this gorgeous Greek island than with a cocktail in hand? A gin and ginger beer happens to be one of my favourite cocktails so I was delighted to find it mentioned in my favourite story in this collection! I will also point out that the gin and ginger beer is not the most commonly named cocktail in Triangle at Rhodes, pink gin is mentioned multiple times and may have been a better choice. However, as I am largely reading / rereading the Christie books as I blog about them, I have already used Pink Gin as the recipe for Three Act Tragedy! If you are reading along and would prefer to have that as your tipple, click the link above!

Triangle at Rhodes- The Plot

.Poirot is on holiday at the Greek Island of Rhodes. The story opens as follows

“Hercule Poirot sat on the white sand and looked out across the sparkling blue water. He was carefully dressed in a dandified fashion in white flannels, and a large panama hat protected his head.”

It makes me laugh a little bit to imagine the fastidious Poirot sitting on sand. I feel that he would absolutely loathe it. Almost as much as we can tell he hates rubbing sun tan oil on someone, which happens in the very next paragraph! So much for enjoying his break!

The Poirot episode of Triangle at Rhodes, has him seated on a chair which seems far more his style!

Staying at the same hotel ias Poirot s the very glamourous Valentine Chantry and her fifth husband, a naval Commander who is described as a brute and somewhat apelike.

Newly arrived at the hotel are the very handsome but not too bright Douglas Gold and his frumpy wife Marjorie. And with that, all aspects of the triangle are in place!

We have

An illicit affair
A marriage on the rocks
Poirot warning Marjorie Gold to leave the island. Do not pass go, do not collect £200. Just go. Now!
Valentine Chantry killed by poison in her pink gin
A packet of poison found in a husband’s pocket

The case seems pretty clear cut. But of course it isn’t because this is an Agatha Christie story so, things of course are not entirely as they seem! It’s up to Poirot to see the innocent spared and the guilty punished.

Triangle at Rhodes- The Covers

I could only find one cover for Triangle At Rhodes.

Very beautiful – it makes me want to go to Rhodes!

But while digging about the internet, I was also able to find this from the Strand Magazine version of the story! Isn’t it glorious?

As we are not spending too much time on the covers, I thought we might look at some of the fashion. The women are beautifully dressed.

And whoever thought we would see Poirot in shades!

The Recipe

Gin And Ginger Beer – Triangle at Rhodes

Print Recipe

Spice up your life with this mix of gin, ginger beer and lime. A lovely refreshing cocktail.

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

30ml London Dry Gin
10ml lime juice
Ginger beer
Ice cubes
Mint leaves, lime slices and crystallised ginger to serve

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Mix the gin and lime juice together and pour into your glass.
Add the ice cubes and top with the ginger beer. Stir.
Garish with lime slices, mint leaves and a piece of crystallised ginger.

“Tony, darling it was too divine, ” cried Valentine as she dropped into a chair by his side. “The most marvellous idea of Mrs Gold’s. You all ought to have come!”

Her husband said: “What about a drink?”

He looked inquiringly at the others.

“Pink gin for me darling,” said Valentine

“Gin and ginger beer, ” said Pamela

– Agatha Christie, Triangle at Rhodes

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Triangle at Rhodes

November’s read will be the titular story from the Murder in The Mews collection. The setting is Guy Fawkes niight so get ready for fireworks and murder!

Happy reading!

25
Sep
2022

Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

categories: Desserts, Dining With The Dame, Eggs, Soufflé

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today we are reading (and eating) our way through another short story from the Murder in The Mews collection. On the menu is a lovely and light lemon soufflé. Also, an apology for the long break between posts – we had a lovely week away but pretty soon after we got home, I fell ill. I had an old-school non-covid flu that lasted nearly two weeks and left me with infections in both ears! A lingering cough from that same flu also lead me to putting my back out! All up, September has been a month of me either being ill or in pain, neither of which has left me with much energy for cooking or writing. However, I read this Poirot short story when away and in the small gap of time between my return home and getting ill, I cooked the soufflés.

The Incredible Theft- The Plot

.Air Marshal Sir George Carrington calls Poirot to come to the country house of Sir Charles Mayhew where some plans for a new bomber have been stolen. The bomber will give Britain unparalleled power in the air should war eventuate. The theft of the plans is a great blow to Britain’s military power. Attending a house party on the night of the theft was Mrs Vanderlyn, a much-married vamp who is described as being “a very useful person to….a European power – and perhaps to more than one European power”. Given her marriages have been to an Italian, a German and a Russian, we are not only given the start of a joke where three men walk into a bar but the possible European powers to which Mrs Vanderlyn might be useful!

Pefect Poolside Reading — Perfect Poolside Reading!

Apart from the seductive Mrs Vanderlyn we have

A mysterious figure in the shadows
A screaming maid
A woman with gambling debts
A spoiled son in need of some cash
Britain’s likely next Prime Minister with something to hide from the populace

Good thing we have Poirot to sort it all out. Only…do we? This story is somewhat of an anomaly because only after the denouement do we realise that Poirot actually does very little – all the work is done by….ah…that would be telling! 🙊

The Incredible Theft- The Covers

I could only find two covers for The Incredible Theft – neither of which are very exciting:

Instead, I thought we could all crush on the divine country manor that features in the Poirot version of The Incredible Theft

And, whilst we are in full drool mode, how about we take a look at Mrs Vanderlyn (and also some more house porn)

That same dress also does not disappoint from the back!

Here is another very glam outfit!

No wonder half of Europe seems to be gaga for Mrs V!

Lady Carrington also knows how to rock a sparkle and lace combo!

As much as I could dote on the fashions and locations of Poirot all day, we need to move on to another gorgeous little number, my lemon soufflé!

The Recipe – Lemon Soufflé

Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

Print Recipe

A lovely light dessert, given a retro twist by serving it in the lemons.

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

8 medium-sized lemons
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tbsp plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp icing sugar for dusting

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Trim the base of the lemon so they sit flat. Cut off the top third of each lemon and, using a teaspoon, remove the pulp from the lemons (this takes a while) over a bowl lined with a sieve.
Squeeze the juice from the pulp and reserve. Discard the pulp.
Place the lemon shells on the prepared tray.
Preheat your oven to 180C
Combine the yolks, half the sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and the flour in a heatproof bowl. Beat until thick and pale.
Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat for another 8-10 minutes until the mixture is the thickness of a thick custard. Remove from the heat but continue to beat until the mixture is cool – about another 2-3 minutes.
Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, add the remaining salt and the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Whisk one-third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture. Fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture with a large metal spoon. Be as gentle as you can here. You want to preserve as much of the lightness and air from the whipped whites as possible.
Spoon the mixture into the lemon shells, filling to the rims.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the soufflés have risen 2-3 centimetres above the rim of the lemons and are golden.
Transfer to serving plates, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Notes

Leftover lemon juice can be frozen into ice cube trays to use as you need.
Or seeing as life has given you lemons, make lemonade!
If you accidentally poke your spoon through the bottom of the lemon as you are removing the pulp, never mind. Wrap the base of the lemon tightly in aluminium foil for cooking and remove it for serving. This will prevent any souffle mixture oozing out the bottom!

As the butler handed round the souffle, Lord Mayfield leaned confidentially towards his neighbour on the right, Lady Julia Carrington. Known as the perfect host, Lord Mayfield took trouble to live up to his reputation. Although unmarried, he was always charming to women.”

– Agatha Christie, The Incredible Theft

Links to The Christieverse

Nothing that I could find.

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Incredible Theft

Dessert
Port
Breakfast

October’s read will be another short story from Murder in the Mews. Get out your sunblock and get ready for some fun and murder in the sun with Triangle at Rhodes.

Happy reading and cooking!