Olla-Podrida: mystery

Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

While opinions vary, my contention has always been that there are four genres of mystery: the Whodunnit, or classic mystery, Hard-boiled, Police Procedural, and the Cozy, the latter being my favorite. A sub-genre of this genre (are you still with me?) is the culinary cozy, a variety of mystery that has enamored me since I read my first (though written too early - 1986 - to have been labeled as such), The Nantucket Diet Murders by the late Virginia Rich. Titles and covers grab my attention first when book shopping, opening up this one and finding the end pages covered in recipes was all it took for me to make the purchase and then fall in love with the genre. Since then I've tried to read every mystery that features recipes; it's not easy! Michael Bond, Diane Mott Davidson, Joanne Fluke, Ellen Hart and Joanne Pence are among the writers in this ever-growing list, as well as relative newcomers like Krista Davis, Avery Aames, and Livia Washburn. Rarely do I actually try one of the recipes, that is until now. I've decided that not only will I read the mysteries, but also make at least one of the recipes from the book.

Today's selection is a seasonal one, The Pumpkin Muffin Murders by Livia J. Washburn. I wanted to bake the entire time I read this novel. Seriously, I could almost smell the pumpkin. So I gave them a whirl this morning and was very pleased with the results. I used a jumbo muffin pan, so instead of filling each well of batter with just one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture, I used a 2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop and it worked out well. I think the next time I may just make the indentation in each muffin a bit deeper and add even more. I also tend to like raisins in pumpkin muffins (particularly those that have been soaked in 2 tablespoons of rum to loosen, err, plump them up), so will add them when I make these again. What a wonderful fall breakfast they provided on the patio this morning! The recipe is below with my comments in parentheses.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

from The Pumpkin Muffin Murders by Livia J. Washburn

Filling:

1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 egg

3 T. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

Topping:

4-1/2 T. all-purpose flour

3 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground ginger

3 T. chopped pecans

3 T. butter

Muffin:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1-1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners (I sprayed with PAM and they came out of the pan with ease.). Fill any unfilled muffin cups with water (to promote even baking).

Filling:

In a medium bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat until mixed, then place bowl in freezer to set while making other ingredients.

Topping:

In a medium bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

Muffin batter:

In a large bowl, blend flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat together until well mixed.

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Take the cream cheese mixture out of the freezer and add 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter in the muffin cups. Having the cream cheese mixture will help you keep the cream cheese from touching the edges. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. (If using larger muffin pans, you may need to bake a bit longer. Test for doneness with a toothpick. Remove from oven and run a sharp knife around the edge of each muffin. Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes. Gently pry from pan with knife and place on wire rack to cool completely.)

NOTE: Use remaining pumpkin for pumpkin pie cocoa.

I was tickled pink to be able to add this antique medicine bottle to my collection of flower vases. Just this morning it was unearthed by the guy who came out to grind down the last of the five stumps we had left from the uprooted trees. I washed it, added zucchini leaves and a zinnia and had a lovely seasonal addition to my place setting.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday Food on Friday Friday Favorites Friday Fat Camp I'm Lovin' It Friday Simply Delish Saturday Fantabulous Friday

Seasonal Sundays

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Sharing Recipes

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I collect recipe postcards. What you probably don't know is that I also make them. It started years ago -- my guess is back in the 80s, but who knows? -- when a friend asked me for my recipe for Lemon Squares. Rather than just dictate it to her over the phone (this was in the days before email), or send it to her in a letter, I thought, why not make it the letter, or in this case, postcard. Making use of a piece of clip art and sheet of yellow card stock, my longtime love of creating recipe postcards was born, and continues to this day. I am one woman who is determined not to let the art of correspondence go by the wayside, and figure that I'm helping out the post office at the same time. (At my local post office, all of the employees know me by name.)

As my interest in rubber stamping grew, I changed my approach to the postcards, hand-stamping and coloring them rather than making use of clip art.

I have, at this point, close to forty different designs, but those that reflect my long-held love of mysteries tend to be my favorites.

(The back side)

Back in 2002 they came to the attention of Rubber Stamper magazine, and they featured some of my work on a page in their October issue.

I hope you'll consider doing something like this the next time someone asks you for a recipe. Your miniature work of art will be both a delight and keepsake to its recipient. This post is linked to: Metamorphosis Monday-BNOTP Mosaic Monday-Little Red House Brag Monday-The Graphics Fairy Making the World Cuter Monday-Making the World Cuter Motivate Me Monday-Keeping it Simple Masterpiece Monday-Boogieboard Cottage Amaze Me Monday-Dittle Dattle Thrifty Thursday-Tales from Bloggeritaville 100 Ideas Under $100-Beyond the Picket Fence Show and Tell Saturday-Be Different Act Normal
Fall in Love - Decor to Adore

Monday, March 14, 2011

IRISH COFFEE and a Good Book

The above collage features books from a list of St. Patrick's Day mysteries (complete list shown below) created by Janet Rudolph from her wonderful Mystery Fanfare blog. I like seasonal reading and this group of St. Patty's murders certainly fills the bill. What to imbibe while reading a St. Pat's mystery? An Irish coffee, of course!

I always thought the making of an Irish Coffee to be pretty basic, so was rather stunned when I ordered one at a local pub and was delivered some horrid concoction of whiskey, Bailey's Irish Cream, with a stir-in of instant coffee. I still shudder when I think of it, and have to shake my head at that waitress/bartender who delivered it with such aplomb, and then, upon seeing my rather horrified look, pulled it back and asked, "What's in an Irish coffee?" Well, coffee for one, Irish, for another, i.e. Irish whiskey, either Jameson or Old Bushmill's if you want to be authentic (It's permissible to drop a sugar cube in first if you like your coffee sweet, but I'm a purist so omit it.), and, in the name of all things holy...whipped cream!!

I have a set of glassware that makes it easy, pour the whiskey to the first line, the coffee to the second, and top with real whipped cream (REAL WHIPPED CREAM - do NOT use Redi-Whip or heaven forbid, something non-dairy like Cool Whip. Cows, people! Cream comes from cows, not chemists!). (This set of Irish coffee mugs has similar markings, but run a bit on the pricey side.) Warming and wonderful, I guarantee no matter how bad your day started or may have become, Irish Coffee will make it all better.Here is a recipe for those of you without the appropriate glassware:

Traditional Irish Coffee

1 c freshly brewed hot coffee

1 raw sugar cube

1 jigger Irish whiskey (1½ oz.)

Heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

Fill a footed mug with hot water to warm; empty. Place sugar cube into the bottom of the glass. Pour in whiskey. Pour in hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about ¾ full. Top with a dollop of the whipped heavy cream. Serve hot.Now...back to my book!