A Mystery Addict II

A couple more of my favorite mystery authors. All are quite addicting – I start reading one of theirs and get hooked, always disappointed when I realize that I have to wait for a new book to come out. It’s a good thing my family keeps me well-stocked with an assortment of mystery books (I get a box or so a month, usually more than I can keep up with!).

I hope you enjoy getting to know these authors and their characters as much as I have. Please let me know what you think, or if you have any new recommendations for me and the family (fellow mystery addicts) to try!

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Alex Kava: Most of Kava’s books are trilogies, several centered around FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell. Unlike Brennan and Stewart’s trilogies below, Kava’s should be read in order, as the later books usually refer back to previous storylines.

Allison Brennan – Brennan writes trilogies with several reoccurring characters, most members of the FBI.

Mariah Stewart – Another author that writes in trilogies. Stewart’s books follow a group of FBI agents, with each book focusing on one or to characters.

In addition to the FBI group, the Mercy books add in a group called the Mercy Street Foundation, a group of investigators funded and run  by a wealthy man lost wife and son.

Karen Rose: Unlike the others in this post, Rose writes about local cops rather than a federal law enforcement service. Like most mystery books, all of Rose’s books have a secondary, romantic storyline – but I will admit to becoming much more attached to this storyline in her books than others.

Iris Johansen: The Eve Duncan series is my favorite of Johansen’s books. Eve Duncan is an artist who often helps law enforcement identify the remains of the deceased through forensic sculpting. This series follows Duncan and her family – police detective husband and daughter Jane – often across the world.

Mixed Spiced Nuts

These nuts are great for munching. I love the rosemary flavor combined with the sweet brown sugar. Quick and easy to make, these nuts can be made up to a week ahead of time.

Mixed Spiced Nuts

Source: Fine Cooking No. 75 (p. 90c)

Ingredients:

  • 4 c. mixed unsalted nuts (I chose peanuts, cashews, pecans, almonds and walnuts for a batch and a half)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
  • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
  • 2 Tbs. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne
  • 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spread nuts out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until toasted (be sure to shake baking sheet to stir nuts a couple times to ensure nuts are toasted throughout).

While nuts are toasting, you’ll make the butter sauce for the nuts. While I used a small skillet, I’d recommend using a large pot so that you’ll be able to toss the nuts in the same pot, rather than a separate one.

So heat your skillet or pot over medium heat.  When hot, toast coriander and cumin until aromatic, just a few seconds. Lower heat to low and add butter, brown sugar, rosemary and cayenne. Stir until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Keep warm.

Remove nuts from oven and add to pot of spiced butter. (If you used a skillet, add nuts to a warmed bowl, warmed to make it easier to spread the butter). Using a rubber spatula so that you can really scrape the sides of the pot, stir nuts and spiced butter until nuts are coated. Add salt to taste.

Let nuts cool completely before transferring to a serving bowl or an airtight container.

Creme Brulee

Barefoot Bloggers challenge… yep, I’m so incredibly late. Not going to lie, wasn’t excited about this recipe so I might have been procrastinating on it a bit. I haven’t had any creme brulee that I like, partly because I’m not a fan of the texture of custard. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this one, perhaps because the ramekins I used were wider and shorter than most I’ve seen (only about half an inch tall) – thanks to J for letting me borrow them!. Thus, much more sugary goodness to go around.

I attempted to half this recipe to make only 2 servings. I wasn’t thinking and used two whole eggs, instead of one whole egg and an egg yolk so my custard texture wasn’t quite right. It still came out pretty good, but maybe a little creamier. And of course, I ended up with a balloon of sugar on top, but that’s ok. I still finished mine and the hubbie said to keep the remaining two for tomorrow night!

Creme Brulee

Source: Published in Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris and on the Food Network

Serves 4 (if using the 1/2 inch tall ramekins)

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/4 c. sugar, plus 1 Tbs. per serving
  • 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbs. Grand Marnier

Prepare the custard well before serving….

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Start heating cream in a small saucepan over medium to medium-high heat until hot to the touch but not boiling.

Meanwhile, start boiling water for the water bath (I used my tea kettle).

Also, mix the egg and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until just combined. When cream is hot, slowly add cream to eggs. When combined, add vanilla and Grand Marnier.

Ladle custard mix into 6-8 ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place ramekins in a baking pan and add boiling water, until water hits halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake 35 minutes or until custard is set when gently shaken. With a pair of tongs, remove ramekins to cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate until firm.

Just prior to serving….

Since I didn’t have a kitchen blowtorch took a hint from JennCuisine and used my oven’s broiler instead. I sprinkled 1 Tbs. sugar evenly over each ramekin and stuck them in the oven on broil, rotating every minute to so to make sure the sugar didn’t burn. The sugar was supposed to be crispy throughout (takes about 3 minutes) – not so much for mine. I figured they were done when the sugar puffed up and was slightly browned.

Let rest for a minute, until the sugar hardens. If the sugar puffs up like mine, then you’ll get a crusty little balloon on top! 🙂

Breakfast Casserole

A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

There was a time when my offices at work were doing a LOT of breakfast potlucks. Working with very few women, those potlucks ended up being a lot of bagels, donuts, and other carb and/or sugar-heavy store-bought goods. And so, I set out on a quest to find something higher in protein, and many with a little veggies or fruit in there.

Enter this Breakfast Casserole. I love it because, while end-to-end, it takes about 90 minutes to make, it can be prepared up to 12 hours ahead of time, making it perfect for morning potlucks. I make and assemble the night before, and toss in the oven when I get up in the morning. The casserole cooks while I shower and and get ready. I then toss a lid on the Pyrex, tuck it in the carrying case with a hot pack (see Amazon affiliate link below), and go!

A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

This Breakfast Casserole recipe is super flexible, so have fun with it. Mushrooms, onions, and breakfast sausage are my preference but this would also be great with bacon, peppers, and tomatoes. I don’t make this often, but whenever I do, it gets polished off quicker than I’d imagine.

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A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

Breakfast Casserole

A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 12
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 1 package Jimmy Dean pork sausage
  • 10 eggs lightly beaten
  • 3 c. milk
  • 2 tsp. dry mustard
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 6 c. cubed bread
  • 2 c. cheddar cheese
  • 1 ½ tsp. black pepper
  • ½-1 c. sliced or diced mushrooms
  • ½-1 c. diced onions

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
  2. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish and set aside.

  3. Cook sausage in a skillet until browned. During the last few minutes of cooking, add onions. Cook onions until translucent and slightly browned. Set aside to cool.
  4. Combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt. Whisk together.
  5. Spread out half of bread in the baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage, half the mushrooms, and half the onions. Repeat.
  6. Pour egg and milk mixture over top of casserole.
  7. Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes:

  • Use whatever bread you have on hand. My preference, if I have it, is to use a sturdier, bakery bread – day old French bread, a whole grain baguette, a combination of a couple types of leftover bread. If you use sandwich bread, the texture will be a bit softer than if you use a bakery-style bread. I’ve done both, and there’s certainly no wrong answer!
  • The casserole can be assembled and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.
  • This recipe was originally adapted from a 2007 recipe on JimmyDean.com. As of January 2019, the link to the recipe had broken. An updated link was unable to be identified by searching the site.

This post was updated (photos and format) in July 2018.

A hearty protein-rich breakfast, this Breakfast Casserole recipe can be assembled up to 12-hours ahead, making it great for entertaining and morning potlucks.

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Product Review


Product Review:

Peanut Soy Finishing Sauce & Black Sesame Ginger Puree

From Williams Sonoma

My mom gave me this combo from Williams Sonoma a little while ago. The black sesame ginger puree is supposed to be used like a rub, to season the meat or seafood, and the peanut soy sauce is meant to be drizzled on top of the finished dish.

I’ve made this twice so far, both with shrimp topped over rice, and some crushed peanuts on top. I enjoy the puree – its sweet with a little kick from the red pepper mixed in. I even liked the ginger, which I’m not normally a fan of.


I wasn’t such a huge fan of the finishing sauce. It was a little salty to me thanks to the soy sauce. I also didn’t taste the peanut in the finishing sauce much, hence why I added the crushed peanut on top (which really did make the dish pretty good).