Fun New Detective Series – by Joanne Fluke

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is a fun book that came highly recommended, and free, from a friend. I don’t think I would have picked it up off the shelf, because I am ashamed to admit that I often base my book buying decisions on the cover art, and this one is sadly lacking.  It is a quick, easy read that is entertaining on a couple of levels.

I am still trying to decide if I liked the mystery or the included recipes best.  I really appreciate the main character, Hannah Swensen, as she is a strong, independent small business owner.  Hannah is not intimidating or overwhelming, and is therefore very believable as a main character from a small town.  Both the strong tie to the setting, Minnesota in this case, and the relationship between Hannah and her mother had me remembering my first Stephanie Plum mystery.  I haven’t tried any of the cookie recipes that were included throughout the book, but I do have plans to do so this weekend and will report back with pictures and a full review then.

For now, if you are looking for a cozy mystery to read at the beach or poolside, I would recommend this one for a quick and easy read.

Cafe Thursday – Rum and Coke Cupcakes

I saw a fantastic recipe last week for Rum & Coke Cupcakes over at the I Heart Cuppycakes blog and knew I had to try it right away.  DD and I had some events planned last weekend and we thought these little gems would be perfect.  They were.

The one word of caution I would add if you plan to try these is to BE SURE to follow the directions exactly for the frosting.  As you can see, her frosting is WAY cooler than mine.  Mind never firmed up.  I know why mine didn’t work.  You see, I broke my candy thermometer a while back and have been refusing to go get a new one.  I don’t have a reason, I just keep forgetting when I am out to pick one up.  So, I tried to predict when I hit the right stage instead of measuring it out and that clearly doesn’t work.  The taste however, made up for my silliness.  This is a wonderful recipe that everyone will like.

Best Recipe – Ever!

Ok, so I splurged.  I have been wanting to make prime rib for about a year now, and I finally did on Christmas Eve.  I was planning a small dinner party with our family and a couple of friends and decided that there wasn’t a better time to go for it and since it was Christmas, I figured the cost was justifiable.

I had seen this recipe on the FoodNetwork a couple of weeks earlier and decided to try it. . .am I ever glad I did.  I really like Tyler’s Ultimate show and have been wanting to try some of his recipes, and now I am anxious to try more of them since this one turned out so well.  In fact, it was nearly perfect!  I can’t recommend this recipe enough if you have a special occasion coming up and want to give Prime Rib a try.

Horseradish and Garlic Prime Rib

Ingredients

Prime Rib:

• 1 (3-rib) prime rib beef roast, about 6 pounds
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed, plus 2 heads garlic, halved
• 1/2 cup grated fresh or prepared horseradish
• 1/2 cup sea salt
• 1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 parsnips
• 1 red onion, halved

Wild mushrooms:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, oyster, shiitake, chanterelle, or white, trimmed and sliced
• Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1/4 cup reserved beef broth (drippings from roast) or low-sodium canned broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lay the beef in a large roasting pan with the bone side down. (The ribs act as a natural roasting rack.) In a small bowl mash together the garlic, horseradish, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a paste. Massage the paste generously over the entire roast. Scatter the vegetables and halved garlic around the meat and drizzle them with a 2-count of oil. Put the pan in the oven and roast the beef for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for medium-rare (or approximately 20 minutes per pound). Check the internal temperature of the roast in several places with an instant-read thermometer; it should register 125 degrees F. for medium-rare. Remove the beef to a carving board and let it rest for 20 minutes. The internal temperature of the meat will continue to rise by about 10 degrees. Remove the vegetables and set aside. Pour the pan juices into a fat separator or small bowl and set aside to allow the fat and beef juices to separate. Pour off and discard the fat. You will use the tasty beef juices for the mushrooms.

Place a clean skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and a 2-count drizzle of oil. When the butter starts to foam. add the mushrooms and thyme; and season with salt and pepper. Stir everything together for a few minutes. Add the red wine, stirring to scrape up any stuck bits; then cook and stir to evaporate the alcohol. When the wine is almost all gone, add the reserved beef juices. Let the liquid cook down and then take it off the heat. Stir in the cream and chives, and season with salt and pepper.

Book Review – Booked to Die

Booked to Die (Cliff Janeway Novels) is my first John Dunning novel, and it won’t be the last. I am actually looking for a copy of his book Deadline now.  I wasn’t sure what to expect with Booked to Die, as I hadn’t heard of it or the author before, but when I read the synopsis over at Paperback Swap, I figured I may as well give it a chance. It is a mystery about a bookseller that combines two of my passsions, mysteries and books, which seemed worth a read.

The story line did keep me guessing a bit, but in the end, I did figure out who-done-it before the author revealed it. So I guess it is a bit predictable, however, I think it has enough twists and interesting turns to keep most readers interested. While it isn’t a complicated book, it is the perfect mystery for a blustery weekend in the Midwest when the roads are bad but there is plenty of coffee and soup to keep you toasty and happy.

And speaking of soup, if you are gearing up for a long weekend of reading, here is a link to an easy little recipe for homemade chicken soup over at Lifehacker.

Heavenly Ice Cream Cake

We had a birthday party here at work yesterday, and one of the ladies brought in a cake that was absoulutely amazing.  I wanted to share the recipe, and encourage you to try it, making modifications of your own.

24 ice cream sandwiches
chocolate syrup
caramel syrup
peanuts or toffee chips
1 large tub of whipped cream

Line a 13 x 9 pan with 12 of the ice cream sandwiches (lying flat in the pan) and top with a layer (1/2 of the tub) of whipped cream, then drizzle the chocolate, caramel and peanuts/toffee. Repeat a second layer of each item.

Cover and put in the freezer overnight. Remove dessert from the freezer about 15 minutes before serving. WARNING: This dessert is very rich, you may want to slice it into very small pieces.

Cafe Thursday – Skillet Chicken Stew

I raised some picky eaters.  And my punishment for this?  I am condemned to high frustration and endless complaining every night around 6 pm.  My dear sister-in-law did this right, she had her kids eating veggies and fruits from the time they were small and now she actually has a child that loves tomatoes and broccoli.  Me, I have children who love bread and sugar.  I think I am going to have to learn to be more cleaver if I am going to get my kids to eat better.  Time to pick-up a copy of the book Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food.

I know I almost never find recipes that all 4 of us will agree on, but if I can hit 3 out of 4, I am pretty happy.  For that reason, I am adding Rachel Ray’s Skillet Chicken Stew to my bi-weekly line up of dinner menus.

This recipe is right up there with our chicken pot pie, chicken alfredo, and salmon nights.  I also have a taco night, a frozen pizza night, and usually a spaghetti night.  For Sundays, I try to get a bit more fancy and will try to make either a homemade soup, pot roast, or pork chops. 

Cafe Thursday – Easy Chicken Alfredo

We had a cheap, easy, delicious meal last night, so I thought I would share it here.

Easy Chicken Alfredo

2 cups chicken cubes

1 Tbls Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Emeril’s Essence seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

1 jar of Alfredo Sauce (I have tried them all, Bertolli is my favorite)

1 pkg of linguine, cooked (Dreamfields is the best tasting, low carb option out there)

Cook pasta to desired consistency.  In the meantime, in a skillet, heat oil, then add chicken chunks and seasoning, salt and pepper.  Cook chicken until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  To the skillet, add the jar of alfredo sauce and let simmer.  When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce.

Add a veggie and a salad for a half-way healthy meal.

What’s 4 Dinner – 4 Quick Tips

This HAS to be my least favorite question.  I think my DD calls me at least 4 times a week just to ask me this question before I get home from work.

My usual response is, I don’t know.  Now, this is not entirely true, I do try to shop for one week at a time and I never go to the grocery store without a list, or, at least, a general idea of what we need.  This includes some rough form of what I am planning to make for the next week for that ever important evening meal.

One lifesaver in the past few weeks has been the FoodNetwork website.  I like that I can do a search at the top of their page for parts (like I did one yesterday to use up some chicken thighs that I had on hand) and get a big list of recipes using those parts.

I also purchased a book a few weeks back called Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table by Leanne Ely that I find moderately helpful.  Some of her recipes are a hit, and some are not.  My family is very picky, so in all fairness, this is probably a really great recipe book, and you can go online and get actual shopping lists if you want to follow her weekly dinner plan.  I don’t, I pick and choose and then make my own list.

I also love Every Day with Rachel Ray for this as well.  Each month she has a pull out section that gives you 7 recipes and then shopping lists for them.  Again, because of my picky eaters I usually have to pick just a couple of recipes that we will try and not use the full planner, but every little bit does help.

And finally, a tool I found recently when searching for organization tips is a free little newsletter that comes everyday with a recipe.  The Change Your Life Challenge is mostly about organization, but there are a few newsletters on this page, including The Daily Rush, which is the one that includes the daily recipe.

Got any great tips on where to find fun, easy, quick, and yummy dinner ideas??  Please share!

Cafe Thursday – Crescent Wreath

I can’t wait to try this adorable, yet quick and easy to make crescent wreath!  I just love the shortcuts from Pillsbury.

Ingredients

2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

1 container pineapple cream cheese spread

1/3 cup chopped ham

1/4 cup yellow pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon red onion, finely chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

Directions

Heat oven to 375°F. Turn 10-oz custard cup upside down on center of ungreased large cookie sheet.
Remove dough from 1 can, keeping dough in 1 piece; do not unroll.
(Keep remaining can of dough in refrigerator.) Roll dough in one direction to make 12-inch log.
Cut log into 20 slices. Arrange 16 slices, slightly overlapping and in clockwise direction,
around custard cup on cookie sheet.

Repeat with second can of dough, cutting log into 20 slices. Arrange remaining 4 slices and slices
from second can (total of 24 slices) slightly overlapping each other and in counterclockwise
direction, close to but not overlapping first ring. Remove custard cup.

Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Gently loosen wreath from cookie sheet;
carefully slide onto cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Place wreath on serving tray or platter. Spread cream cheese spread over wreath. Sprinkle with
remaining ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving.

Ah yes, the weekend is coming, and I am preparing for it ahead of time. It has been a very long week both at work and at home, and I have been thinking all morning about some of the fun Christmas Cocktails I have seen and how I can’t wait to try them.

Before the mad cow kicks in (yes, I am a closet Boston Legal fan, and I know it is a terrible show but it is just so darned entertaining and impertinent that I LOVE it) I thought I better jot a couple of these down.

1. I first want to try a Candy Cane Martini. I found this yummy sounding recipe at my new favorite Christmas website; CandyCaneMartini.com. Combine the following: 3/4 oz Peppermint Schnapps, 3/4 oz Creme de Cacao, 1/4 oz Grenadine, 1/4 oz Half & Half, and a splash of 7-up.

2. How about a White Christmas? This recipe comes from the folks over at Fine Living: combine 4 oz of Eggnog, 1/2 oz of White Chocolate Liqueur, and 1 oz of Southern Comfort.

3. Next, I may have to try Emeril’s Candy Cane recipe. To make this, add the following ingredients to a large bowl filled with ice cubes: 3 candy canes, crushed , 1/2 bottle vodka, 1 1/2 cups cranberry vodka, 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, 2 cups macerated cherries, 2 quarts cranberry juice, and 2 tablespoons grenadine.

4. My Grandpa used to make Grasshopper parfaits for all the adults at Christmas when I was a kid, but I had to settle for the fudge parfait instead. This recipe for a Frozen Grasshopper will no doubt be good, and also bring back childhood memories. You blend the following ingredients: 3/4 oz green creme de menthe, 3/4 oz white creme de cacao, and 2 cups vanilla ice cream.

5. And just in case it is as cold by you as it is by me these days, I thought I should add at least one hot drink. How about a Hot Nuts: pour 1 oz of Amaretto almond liqueur and 1 oz of Frangelico hazelnut liqueur in a coffee mug, then fill with hot chocolate. Top with whipped cream and pour 1/8 oz of Cherry Brandy carefully over the whipped cream. Top with a cherry.