Kim, Author at Cinnamon and Sugar

Nutty Buttery Mini Muffins

I am so very pleased to be a part of the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour and share FINAL FONDUE by Maya Corrigan! While this is the third book in her Five-Ingredient Mystery series, it is the first one I’ve had the chance to read. I found it easy to immerse myself in this newest release without knowing backstory which makes this a nice stand-alone read.

Synopsis

Val Deniston lives with her grandfather, Don Myer, aka The Codger Cook. While he would like to be a great cook he mostly takes Val’s recipes and whittles them down to five ingredients, sometimes with great results and sometimes…not so much. Val has convinced her granddad to rent out the spare bedrooms to some of the tourists coming to town for Bayport’s Tricentennial Festival. Jennifer Brown, a bride-to-be, rents four of the guestrooms for herself and three members of the bridal party. They plan on enjoying the festivities and look at wedding venues at the same time.

The festivities take an ugly turn when Val finds one of the bridesmaids strangled to death in her granddad’s back yard. Even more disconcerting is that the deceased resembles Val and she’s not sure if she was the intended victim. Her nemesis, Chef Henri La Farge, is in town and appears to be stalking her. But the bride also has her share of enemies and could have been the intended target. With the police not finding the answers and Granddad taking on-line private investigating classes and wanting to practice, Val determines to find the culprit before another body shows up.

My Review

I just adored The Codger Cook! He went through a rough patch after losing his wife but with Val living with him he’s found a new lease on life by writing a newspaper column, branding The Codger Cook, and expanding his snooping skills with an on-line class. His sometimes grumpy character brings humor and humanity to the story. Val also has some “baggage” from her past that the author weaves effortlessly into a subplot intertwining with the central mystery. It kept me turning pages and guessing until the final reveal (reminding me a bit of an Agatha Christie grand-finale) which came as a complete surprise. The quaint town setting with it’s Haunted Maze left you feeling like you’d actually visited the area, not just read about it while the supporting characters meshed together creating a memorable story. After reading FINAL FONDUE I realize I have some catch-up reading to do and look forward to the next book in this series!

Of course a series titled Five-Ingredient Mystery series wouldn’t be complete without recipes! There are several included at the back of the book and all sound equally delicious. Maya Corrigan has graciously allowed me to share her Nutty Buttery Mini Muffins recipe with you which uses only FIVE ingredients! I was a bit worried when I realized that the recipe does not use any leavening, thinking they’d turn out like hockey pucks….but the author definitely knows what she’s doing! These Nutty Buttery Mini Muffins bake up amazingly moist yet light and taste reminiscent of pecan pie with the generous amount of pecans and brown sugar added. These muffins are worthy of any breakfast or brunch table (dessert too!) and as an added bonus, mix up and bake super fast!

A special thank you to Maya Corrigan for providing an autographed copy of FINAL FONDUE and given away by the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Contest is open to U.S. Residents only. Please enter via the Rafflecopter located below the recipe.

Nutty Buttery Mini Muffins

Yield 18 – 24 muffins

Even if you don’t like breakfast muffins, you might like these. They’re sweet enough to serve for dessert. They don’t have a lot of calories if you limit yourself to one. Good luck with that!

Ingredients

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed down
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup melted salted butter
2 beaten eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

Grease and flour 18 – 24 mini muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners. (The cups for small muffins vary in size and that’s why the number of muffins varies.)

Beat the melted butter and eggs together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and pecans.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the wet egg and butter mixture into the well. Stir just enough to combine everything.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. The cups should be 2/3 full. If you have some unused cups in your muffin pan, put a teaspoon of water in the empty cups.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes**. They’re done when a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean.

Cool them on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

** My muffins only took 15 minutes to bake. My muffin tin is very wide and shallow so it bakes faster than some.

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Drunken Raisin Scones

I’m very happy to be a part of the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour with READ TO DEATH by Terrie Farley Moran! While this is the third book in her Read Em and Eat Mystery series, it is the first one I’ve had the chance to read. It is easily read as a stand-alone and it didn’t take me long to get to know the characters and enjoy their adventure as they solve another crime!

Synopsis

Sassy Cabot owns Read ‘Em and Eat Cafe and Book Corner with her best friend, Bridgy Mayfield, in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. It’s nearing the end of “snow bird” season so the two women put together the last book club tour for the seniors, visiting Thomas Edison and Henry Ford’s winter estates. They hired talkative, know-it-all, although good-hearted Oscar Frieland as the van driver who ends up in an argument with one of the senior ladies in the group.

After the tour the ladies scatter to get ready for their book club meeting and Bridgy returns to the van to retrieve her sunglasses. She finds Oscar dead, stabbed to death with scissors. With the shock of finding the body, Bridgy is overheard saying things that could be construed as admission of guilt. With the police focusing on Bridgy instead of finding the real killer, Sassy knows she needs to start asking questions instead of staying out of the investigation as Lieutenant Frank Anthony (aka Lieutenant Judgmental) demands. When Bridgy and Sassy’s mothers show up, Sassy finds she has a lot to juggle. Can she keep her Cafe going, keep the mothers happy, and find the killer before they fly out of town? Or will her best friend and business partner spend the rest of her life in jail?

My Review

READ TO DEATH is a fun, lighthearted read that is character driven. The senior citizen group has some quirky characters, such as Bridgy’s Aunt Ophie. There is tension and mystery surrounding the fallout Aunt Ophie had with Bridgy’s mother and the subplot weaves nicely with the story Sassy’s mother, who calls herself Sage at the moment, has a free spirit keeping everyone on their toes and provides some humor. I also enjoyed the historical facts woven into this cozy mystery. I had no idea that both Edison and Ford wintered in Florida! I missed Oscar after he was murdered because he was a great tour guide providing all sorts of insight into the history of the area.

The author cleverly provides funny nicknames for so many things such as Sassy’s Heap-A-Jeep. She has also creatively named the food items sold in the cafe to correspond with books, such as Old Man and the Sea Chowder and My Secret Garden Salad. In addition to a cute culinary cozy, Terrie also includes a couple recipes with her book. The one that I was instantly drawn to, Drunken Raisin Scones, was provided to Terrie by Karen Owen, blogger at A Cup of Tea and a Cozy Mystery. They have graciously allowed me to share the recipe with you…and oh my, these are amazingly flavorful scones! Plump raisins are simmered in a whiskey and cinnamon sauce that infuses the flaky, tender pastry. Additional whiskey and cinnamon reduction is used in the glaze to add another layer of flavor that will have you asking for seconds! Thank you, Terrie and Karen, for allowing me to share such a scrumptious recipe!

A special thank you to Terrie Farley Moran for providing two giveaway copies of READ TO DEATH and given away by the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour. Please enter via the Rafflecopter located below the recipe.

Drunken Raisin Scones

Ingredients

Raisin Whiskey Reduction

1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup whiskey
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar

Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup soft salted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
Raisin reduction minus 2 tablespoons

Whiskey Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons reserved reduced whiskey mixture (liquid only)
2 tablespoons milk

Icing Drizzle – optional

2 tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon milk

Instructions

Raisin Whiskey Reduction

Place raisins, whiskey, water, cinnamon, and sugar in a small saucepan.

Stir and bring to a boil, then simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Remove from heat and set aside 2 tablespoons of the reduction liquid for the glaze.

Set aside the raisins and the remaining reduction liquid for the scones.

Scones

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).

Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder in a bowl.

Cut butter in small pieces and blend into the flour mixture until it resembles bread crumbs.

Whisk the egg and milk together then hand stir mixture into the flour mixture.

Add raisins and liquid reduction to scone batter and mix.

If dough is too wet, add a small amount of flour.

On a cutting board, shape dough into a mound.

Cut into eight triangles and place on a cookie sheet without pieces touching.

Bake until the edges are golden brown, approximately 15 – 17 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly before glazing.

Whiskey Glaze

Place powdered sugar in a small bowl.

Stir in the reduction liquid and milk.

If glaze is too thick, thin to taste with a few drops of water.

Brush over warm scones.

Icing Drizzle – optional

Mix powdered sugar and milk together until smooth.

Drizzle in zigzag pattern over glazed scones.

Tip

If you’d rather not use whiskey, substitute apple juice.

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Topsy-Turvy Pineapple Torte

I have been a fan of the books written by Elizabeth Buzzelli (aka Elizabeth Lee) for some time. When she told me she was writing a new series and asked if I would be an early reader for A MOST CURIOUS MURDER: A Little Library Mystery, I jumped at the chance! Even though the book does not have recipes, Elizabeth created a special dessert, Topsy-Turvy Pineapple Torte, to celebrate the Alice in Wonderland theme of the book. The torte is a meringue-based cake, baked in a cast iron skillet which creates crispy edges. Brown sugar mixed with butter, crushed pineapple, and maraschino cherries provides an easy base to support the cake while baking. But when it’s turned upside down for serving, that’s when the magic happens. The sugar caramelizes with the pineapple, creating a rich contrast to the light cake. Even though my husband shouldn’t eat dairy, he couldn’t stop eating this delightful dessert and declared it was one of the best he’s ever had! Elizabeth has also included a yummy optional rum sauce to drizzle over the cake. While not necessary to use, it does add an additional level of decadence!

Synopsis

Jenny Westson has returned home to Bear Falls, Michigan after a bitter divorce and the loss of her job and friends. When she pulls up to her mother’s house in the early morning hour, she finds her mother’s Little Library broken into smithereens with the books destroyed. Sick at heart, her deceased father had built the Little Library as an anniversary gift just months before he was killed in a hit and run accident, Jenny tries to clean up the mess before her mother sees it.

She’s interrupted by her mom’s “little person” neighbor, Zoe Zola, who loves to quote Lewis Carroll. With her exhaustion and emotional heartache, Jenny doesn’t care for Zoe all that much, but despite her attitude, Zoe pitches in to clean up and help break the news to Jenny’s mom, Dora. When the police tell them it’s probably just a hit and run, Zoe points out all the evidence which indicated it was something much more malicious. She thinks it could be one of their neighbors, Adam Cane, who destroyed the Little Library since he hated it and her dog, Fida. When Fida disappears Zoe points the police in the direction of Adam again, but when he turns up dead in Zoe’s fairy garden, she’s suddenly suspected of murder.

Evidence is even more incriminating when Adam’s brother, Aaron, is found murdered with Zoe’s dog locked in his impoverished cabin. Jenny knows Zoe is innocent, despite her quirks, and decides she has to find the real killer before the small-town police railroad Zoe right into prison. With the madness of murders going on around her, Jenny must find the answers that they and the killer are looking for but time may be running out for another innocent victim.

My Review

I enjoy reading cozy mysteries for a variety of reasons: good character development, happy endings, and of course they are a source of wonderful entertainment. A MOST CURIOUS MURDER fits my criteria for what makes a book good, but then the author went a step further and made it great! This first book in her brand new series has a strong plot with plenty of twists, turns, and falls into the rabbit hole which kept me up late at night turning pages. But what made this book stand out in my mind is the intertwining of emotions in the subplots that pulled me in, made me relate, and made me think about the story and the characters long after I had finished the book. Ms. Buzzelli has a lyrical cadence to her writing which fit the theme of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland and enhanced the settings so I felt like I was experiencing the book instead of just reading a story.

One of the quotes Zoe shares with Jenny that I thought was quite appropriate for my review is “….words and words and words – until the words sort themselves out and everything is clear, or it becomes completely unclear and it doesn’t matter anymore.” Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s words are perfectly clear and come together to make a delightful, thought provoking read. Well done!

A very special thank you to Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli for providing an autographed hardcover of A MOST CURIOUS MURDER! (U.S. residents only.) Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Monday, July 11, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Topsy-Turvy Pineapple Torte

Ingredients

Cake

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 twenty-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and patted dry (reserve juice for rum glaze)
10 Maraschino cherries, halved

4 eggs, separated
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Rum Sauce (optional)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup butter (optional)

Garnish

1/2 cup crushed walnuts
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherries

Instruction

Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).

Warm a well-seasoned 9-inch cast iron skillet in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Don’t let it smoke.

Remove skillet from the oven and melt 1/2 cup butter in it, over low stovetop heat.

Remove from heat and sprinkle brown sugars evenly over the pan.

Sprinkle pineapple over the brown sugars, to cover bottom of the skillet.

Arrange halved cherries around pineapple.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites just until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the granulated sugar, beating well after each addition, then beat until medium-stiff peaks form.

In a small bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until very thick and yellow, about 2 minutes.

Using a whisk, gently fold egg yolks and flour mixture into the egg whites until blended.

Fold in 1 tablespoon melted butter and vanilla.

Spread batter evenly over pineapple in skillet.

Bake until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Loosen the edges of the cake with table knife.

Cool the cake for 5 minutes before inverting onto serving plate.

Flip the skillet and leave a few minutes before removing. The cake will release easier this way.

Rum Glaze

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and boil for 3 minutes.

While the sauce is hot, pour over cake and garnish with crushed walnuts, whipped cream, and Maraschino cherries.

Tips

Separate the eggs while they are cold then allow them to come to room temperature while you collect the remaining ingredients. Cold eggs separate easier while room temperature eggs will whip up fluffier.

Make sure there is not even a speck of yolk in the whites and your bowl and beaters are grease-free or the egg whites won’t whip up fluffy.

The difference between light and dark brown sugar is simply the amount of molasses each contains. Dark brown sugar has a more assertive flavor but they can both be used interchangeably.

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Lemon Tarts

I have been a huge fan of the Domestic Diva Mystery series by Krista Davis and was elated when I won an early copy of THE DIVA SERVES HIGH TEA! Shortly after receiving the book my 11-year-old granddaughter, Emory, came to spend a long weekend with me. We browsed through Krista’s recipes together but it only took her two seconds to decide we HAD to make the Lemon Tarts and have a tea party! Lemon has long been Em’s favorite flavor and these Lemon Tarts will become a much requested dessert from here on out. The tarts were easy enough for Em to make on her own with a bit of help from me rolling out the dough and providing a few tips. I liked that the filling did not have to be baked but instead, cooks quickly on the stovetop. The tartness of the lemons and zest perfectly compliments the sweetness of the luscious filling, while the shortbread style cookie crust provided a tender and flaky bite. Thank you, Krista, for allowing me to share such a delicious recipe with my granddaughter and on my blog!

Synopsis

Sophie Winston’s nemesis and ex-husband’s girlfriend, Natasha, is frantically organizing the Tea, Brie, and Skeleton Key fundraising event. The new tea shop in town, The Parlour, is hosting the event and Sophie and her friends gather to support the charity. Numerous antiques have been donated to the cause and Robert Johnson, owner of the antique store in town, is in charge of the auction. Many of the ladies in town have crushes on the handsome man and he has developed quite a reputation.

The day after the auction Sophie drops by Robert’s house and finds him lying on the floor, barely conscious. He doesn’t survive and it is determined that he died from botulism. The Parlour is shut down and the new owner is devastated by both the loss of life and the loss of her business, but she’s sure her food isn’t the cause. Not long afterwards a young mother, with ties to Robert, is found murdered and her son begs Sophie to find out who killed her. When Sophie’s ex-husband, Mars, comes down with botulism poisoning, Sophie decides it’s time to take action and find out who is behind the crimes since the police aren’t any closer to stopping the killer. Can she stop the culprit before they strike again or will she be the next victim on the list?

My Review

THE DIVA SERVES HIGH TEA by Krista Davis is book ten in her Domestic Diva Mystery series and I think her best book by far! The preceding books in this series have all been great and I eagerly anticipate each new release, but THE DIVA SERVES HIGH TEA captivated me from the very beginning. The first page starts off with a bang and the fast-paced story continues throughout. I literally kept saying ‘just one more chapter’ even though my sleep-deprived eyes begged for rest…it is a true page turner of a story and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it!

Aside from a terrific plot with many complex (in a good way) characters and suspects intertwined, Krista writes with humor. I truly enjoyed beginning each chapter with the Dear Natasha or Dear Sophie letters, and then got a chuckle when Sophie gave opposite (correct) advice to Natasha’s answers. It takes a very creative writer to think to put Natasha and chickens in the same sentence…the results are hilarious! And even though Natasha can be an annoying character, it was nice to get an inside peek at why she’s become this way and she’s earned some sympathy from me. It was a bittersweet moment when I closed the book after finishing the very last sentence…it’s much too long of a wait for the next book in the Domestic Diva Mystery series!

A very special thank you to Krista Davis for providing an autographed copy of THE DIVA SERVES HIGH TEA! (U.S. residents only.) Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Friday, June 24, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!) If you are a new commenter, please be aware that your comment won’t post until I approve, however, your entry will still be valid. Since I am traveling the end of this week there may be a delay in comment approval.

Lemon Tarts

Ingredients

Pastry

1-3/4 cups flour, plus extra for rolling out
7 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cold egg

Filling

6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

Garnish

Whipped Cream

Instructions

Pastry

Cut the butter into 7 pieces.

In a food processor, whir together the flour and the butter until the butter disappears.

Add the powdered sugar and pulse to combine.

Add the egg and whir until it starts to form a ball.

Place the dough on a piece of wax paper and shape into a ball, then refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough and cut into 3 – to 4-inch circles.

Tuck the circles into the wells of a cupcake pan and bake 12 – 15 minutes until baked and light golden.

Filling

Cream the butter with the sugar in a stand mixer.

Beat in each egg.

Add the lemon juice, salt, and lemon zest (if using) and beat.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook over low heat until it begins to bubble, roughly 10 minutes.

Pour into the baked shells and refrigerate until firm.

Garnish with a swirl of whipped cream if desired.

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Tío’s Flan de Naranja (Orange Flan)

A couple years ago I downloaded the first book in the Alvarez Family Murder Mystery series by Heather Haven and loved it. I purchased another two books in the series but they somehow got buried in my long list of to-read Kindle books and I never got around to reading them. By chance, I ended up sitting at dinner with Heather at the Left Coast Crime banquet in Phoenix this past February. As soon as I heard what she authored, I remembered how much I enjoyed her book and vowed to read more. Once I returned home from Phoenix, I started reading DEAD….IF ONLY, and immediately lost myself in this story that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Synopsis

With a black belt in karate, Lee Alvarez is the in-house Private Investigator for her family’s company, Discretionary Inquiries, in California’s Silicon Valley. Her impeccably dressed and well-mannered mother is the CEO while her brother, Richard, is the techie. Richard’s pregnant wife, Vicki, is opening a new branch of her hat shop in New Orleans and except for Lee, the family has joined her for the grand opening. While trying, unsuccessfully, to enjoy the Calistoga mud baths, Lee receives frantic texts and phones calls from her brother telling her that Vicki will be arrested for murder.

The police would rather not look for any other suspects so Lee goes to New Orleans to clear her sister-in-law’s name. Once she arrives, Lee is faced with tracing the history of a brutal man declared dead ten years previously, who Vicki swears she saw roaming the streets of New Orleans. Vicki has reasons for wanting to make sure this man is dead for good and the police use that against her. Lee’s search intertwines with a decade old incident involving her now deceased father and corruption in the New Orleans police department. She doesn’t know who she can trust and when her questions hit home, her life is put into danger. A warning, in the form of a voodoo doll, makes her realize she needs to step up her game before it’s too late.

My Review

The Alvarez Family Murder Mystery series has a lot of action and at times is a bit dark, but it is interspersed with humor that had me laughing out loud on several occasions. Being a black belt in karate and a career private investigator, Lee isn’t your typical amateur. She knows how to do her job and while she takes risks, she’s confident of her skill to see her through…although her family often thinks her risks are too dangerous. Lee is highly loyal and the family motto is Honor Above All, which shows in how she views her cases. The close-knit Alvarez family has a unique dynamic that adds interest. Lee is just the opposite of her prim, properly dressed mother who doesn’t quite understand her daughter, and it adds levity to the book. But the humor does not detract from the well plotted mystery that kept me turning pages late into the night to see “what happens.” The story pulls you in with its twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat! I am looking forward to catching up and reading all the books in this series!

While Heather’s books don’t contain recipes, Lee’s uncle is a master chef and Heather was gracious enough to share one of his specialties: Flan de Naranja, aka Orange Flan. Oh my goodness…this is the epitome of decadence! Silky orange and vanilla scented custard that’s been spiked with orange liqueur and then garnished with candied orange peel. Tio’s Flan de Naranja is worthy of any special occasion, but be warned, you’re going to need to provide extra candied orange peel for your guests to take home along with the recipe for this Orange Flan. Thank you, Heather, for allowing me to share!

A very special thank you to Heather for providing 1 print copy AND 1 e-book copy of DEAD….IF ONLY! (Print copy for U.S. residents only.) Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Monday, June 20, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Tío’s Flan de Naranja
(Orange Flan)

Lee Alvarez, protagonist of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries by Heather Haven, shares one of her uncle’s recipes:

I don’t mean to brag, but as the central character of the humorous Alvarez Family Murder Mystery Series, I get to eat a lot of terrific food. That’s because my uncle, better known as Tío, is the retired head chef of the world famous ‘Las Mananita’s’ Restaurant in San Jose, California. During his illustrious career, his recipes were often written up in gourmet food magazines. They’d throw in a few pics, too, as Tío is one elegant and classy-looking man. I have all the articles and pictures in a scrapbook I started in my early teens. That was before my PI days. I don’t have time to make scrapbooks anymore – too busy chasing bad guys over rooftops – but I always seem to find time to sit down at the dinner table and scarf down one of his culinary masterpieces.

Tío’s desserts undo me. While he’s creating a recipe, he makes it again and again until it reaches his idea of perfection. Meanwhile, lucky me gets to gobble up every version, as he strives for the ultimate. When Tío was working on his homemade mango and red plum ice cream garnished with fresh spearmint leaves, I must have gained six pounds. Worth every ounce.

Don’t ever tell him, but my favorite is his Flan de Naranja. His flan has gone down in song and legend. Tío even picks the oranges himself from our backyard and candies only the best. All I have to say is Olé!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
1 cup white sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half cream
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 orange peel
1/2 fluid ounce orange liqueur (I used Grand Marnier)
2 ounces candied orange peel, grated

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (If you use smaller ramekins, decrease the heat to 325 degrees.)

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks.

Beat in sugar until smooth. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, half-and-half, the vanilla bean and its scrapings, and the peel of one orange.

Heat until bubbles form at edges of liquid, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove orange peel and vanilla bean.

Allow cream mixture to cool for 10 minutes then beat into egg mixture, a little at a time, until all is incorporated. Be sure to whisk constantly so the eggs don’t scramble.

Stir in orange liqueur. Pour into 4 to 6 individual custard cups.

Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place cups on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack.

Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cups.

Bake in preheated oven 45 to 60 minutes, until set. The center should still be a bit jiggly and if you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature should read 170 to 175 degrees (F).

Let cool completely. Sprinkle candied orange peel on top of each cup before serving. Yum!

My Note: While Flan de Naranja is incredibly delicious on it’s own, the candied orange peel elevates the dessert! And trust me, this candied peel is yummy enough to eat long after the Flan is gone! My leftovers ended up in my husband’s office for him to snack on… not sure how I lost out 🙂

Tío’s Candied Orange Peel

Ingredients

6 thick-skinned Valencia or navel oranges*
4 1/2 cups sugar, plus extra for rolling*
1 1/2 cups water*

Great Latin music. (As Tío lets me help with the candying, I like to listen to Latin music while we work. Sets a mood.)

Instructions

Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Don’t cut yourself.

Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe.

Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide.

Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. Tío likes his peel assertive, so he only does it once.

Remove the orange peels from the pan.

Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water.

(Put on another CD. I like some disco at this point, but that’s me.)

Bring sugar water to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes.

Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Sing along with the music. Helps to pass the time.

Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around.

Drain the peels and cool for several seconds.

Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Return to the sugar to store, unless you’ve eaten them all. In that case, back to square one. Been there, done that.

* I cut the recipe down to 2 oranges and used the following ingredients:

2 oranges
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water

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Peaches Poached in White Wine

I have long been a fan of Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Mystery series and was very happy when BOOKS OF A FEATHER was recently released. And even though the book does not contain recipes, Kate was gracious enough to let me share her Peaches Poached in White Wine recipe, which she developed for RIPPED FROM THE PAGES. When “chatting” about the recipes, she mentioned that she “didn’t develop any for this particular book since it seemed wrong, somehow, to celebrate birds and eat them at the same time. LOL!” Kate does have a good point!

The Peaches Poached in White Wine is a light, refreshing summer dessert. I loved that it wasn’t overly sweet and the whipped sour cream topping added a boost of tangy richness. I’ll be honest, I didn’t bother sharing ANY of this with any of my taste testers…I ate the entire recipe all by myself…it was absolutely delicious even with chilled peaches! Next time I’ll double the amount of peaches I use, but the sour cream topping is plenty for two batches. Thank you, Kate, for letting me share your delectable summery dessert!

Synopsis

BOOKS OF A FEATHER finds rare book restorer, Brooklyn Wainwright, back home in San Francisco. She is helping catalog books with Genevieve, owner of Taylor’s Fine Books after the shop had experienced multiple thefts. Brooklyn is also setting aside the rarer books that need repaired and she has a stack to take home. Both are excited about the unveiling party of Audubon’s Birds of America exhibit at the Covington Library. At the party Genevieve slips a damaged rare book to Brooklyn, telling her she thinks her cousin was trying to steal it and could be responsible for the other thefts. Shortly after that the president of the Bay Area Bird-watchers Society, Jared Mulrooney, slips her a small Audubon book and begs her to repair it without anyone finding out.

Not long afterwards, Brooklyn finds Jared murdered in a deserted wing of one of the galleries. Finding the dead man is only the beginning of the trouble that heads Brooklyn’s way. Her home is broken into; a homeless man is found murdered in front of her book safe; and she’s caught in the middle of a nasty divorce when she agrees to be an expert witness. She knows the two murders have to be related to one of the books she recently obtained, but which one is it? Brooklyn’s research into the tomes leads her to a centuries old mystery crossing continents. Can she figure out the secret to the books before she becomes the next victim?

My Review

First off, this book made me want to desperately visit The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. It’s a bit of a trek from my house, considering traffic, but I can lose myself for hours in the vast, wonderful galleries. And it’s exactly what I picture the Covington Library to be like in BOOKS OF A FEATHER! I loved the author’s description of the old books and the loving care Brooklyn takes in restoring them. She provides quite a bit of detail in the restoration process, but you can tell it’s because of the deep respect she has for books. She also gives some good tips for caring for your own books at home which makes me want to empty my bookcase and examine my books one by one. I found it interesting that each of the many books mentioned in BOOKS OF A FEATHER, had some sort of reference to birds.

Kate also has allowed Brooklyn to mature, especially in her relationship with Derek Stone, and I enjoyed seeing his interaction with her family. Brooklyn’s parents show up in San Francisco and are a hoot with their free-spirit. I did miss the other characters back in their hometown of Dharma, so I hope the next book takes us back for a visit. The plot provided a satisfying mystery, with enough subplots to keep me guessing and turning pages. I look forward to the next installment in this terrific series!

As a bonus for my readers, one winner will have the choice of either a hardcover copy or an e-book copy of BIRDS OF A FEATHER! (Print copy U.S. residents only.) Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Peaches Poached in White Wine
with Whipped Sour Cream

Ingredients

Poached Peaches

2 peaches, peeled, pitted, and halved
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Whipped Sour Cream

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

Poached Peaches

In a small saucepan, heat the wine, honey, lemon juice, and vanilla to a simmer.

Add peaches and continue to simmer for 30 minutes.

Occasionally, spoon syrup over the peaches and flip the peach halves over.

Remove the peaches from the poaching liquid and set aside. Allow the liquid to continue simmering to thicken while you prepare the whipped sour cream topping.

Whipped Sour Cream

Combine ingredients in a bowl that has been chilled in the freezer.

Whip until it thickens enough to mound up on a spoon.

Serve the peaches warm with a drizzle of the poaching liquid and a dollop of whipped sour cream on top.

Tips

Use freestone peaches if you can find so the halves will be easier to slice and remove the pit, resulting in a prettier dessert.

Dip the peaches into boiling water for 30 seconds and then rinse in cold water to easily peel them.

Don’t use an oaky Chardonnay for this recipe. It’s better to use a light, crisp wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, or a good Riesling for a bit more sweetness.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Peaches Poached in White Wine with Whipped Sour Cream

If you receive my blog post via email you will need to visit my website to view the video.

Tío’s Flan de Naranja
(Orange Flan)

Peaches Poached in White Wine
with Whipped Sour Cream