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COOKIN’ THE BOOKS, the first book in the brand new Tish Tarragon Mysteries by Amy Patricia Meade is a delightful start to a fun series! I love the premise of protagonist Tish Tarragon’s new business as owner of literary-themed Cookin’ the Books Café along with catering, in Hobson Glen, Virginia. Her food revolves around pun-y titles pertaining to literary works such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Baked Ham, to give an example. I was entertained by the cleverness of the titles and yummy sounding dishes. In addition, her café has shelves that showcase a variety of cookbooks and literary works from international destinations, along with a lending library. Sounds like a great place to hang out!
Her very first catering job is for the local library fundraising dinner, hired at the last minute by Binnie Broderick, the Executive Director of the library. Binnie is a very unpleasant woman and almost everyone in town hated her. When she dies after taking two bites of Tish’s catered dinner, all eyes are on Tish and her friends helping her serve the dinner. Tish must clear their names and save her fledgling business even though she hasn’t even opened the café. With just about everyone in town having disputes with the victim, Tish has plenty of suspects to sift through. I enjoyed that most of her suspects understood and cooperated with her questions without getting uncomfortably upset. Tish’s two friends, Mary Jo and Julian (who is also the Channel 10 weatherman), are great sidekicks, providing opportunities for fun interaction and dialog along with helping in her investigation. As Tish narrows down the suspects, the reader is pulled in for the exciting reveal while the author effectively ties the subplots together. This is a fun mystery with great characters and I’m looking forward to future books in this new series!
While the book doesn’t contain recipes, Ms. Mead has created a recipe for Cornmeal Rosemary Madeleines that her protagonist loves to serve to her friends and clients. When I think of madeleines, I always think of sweet, cake-like treats. I love the idea of using the elegant madeleine pan for a savory side dish to serve alongside soup, chili, or salad. Warmed up with a little butter to melt into the cheesy cornbread goodness with the hint of rosemary, I’ll be making these frequently instead of the generic pan of cornbread that I usually do.
Amazon Synopsis
Literary caterer Letitia ‘Tish’ Tarragon fights to save her reputation and catch a killer when a murder occurs during a fundraising dinner for the local library. Letitia ‘Tish’ Tarragon has just moved to Hobson Glen and opened a new restaurant and catering business, Cookin’ the Books Cafe. So when her new landlord, Schulyer Thompson, recommends her to Binnie Broderick, the executive director of the local library, Tish is delighted. Binnie needs a last-minute caterer to create a literary inspired three-course dinner for the library’s annual fundraiser, one of the highlights of Hobson Glen’s social season. But there’s a problem: Binnie Broderick is a notoriously difficult woman to please. And when she chokes to death from arsenic poisoning after dousing her main course in hot sauce, Tish suddenly finds herself fighting to save her business – and her reputation. It seems that very few of Hobson Glen’s residents escaped Binnie’s disapproval. But who would want her dead, and why?
A special thanks to Amy Patricia Meade for providing a winner with a hardcover copy of COOKIN’ THE BOOKS. Contest ends Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. and Canadian residents. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
- 1-1/4 cups (300 mL) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (250 mL) yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking powder
- 1/3 teaspoon (0.5 mL) baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (50 mL) grated Asiago cheese
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) finely chopped fresh rosemary
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Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
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Spray Madeleine molds with nonstick cooking spray.
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Beat butter, sugar and egg on medium speed of electric mixer until light and creamy. Add buttermilk; mix well. (Mixture will look curdled).
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Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper. Add to creamed mixture on low speed, mixing until smooth. Stir in grated cheese, garlic and rosemary. Spoon batter into prepared molds, filling about three-quarter full.
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Bake in centre of preheated oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until firm on top. Remove from molds and cool completely on wire rack.
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These tend to dry out quickly so it’s best to eat them within 24 hours of baking - which typically isn’t a problem in our cheese loving house!
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Coming September 1, 2019
Literary caterer Letitia ‘Tish’ Tarragon is preparing her English Secret Garden-themed luncheon for Coleton Creek’s annual garden club awards, but when she is taken on a tour of some of the top contenders with the garden club’s president, Jim Ainsley, Tish is surprised at how seriously the residents take the awards – and how desperate they are to win. Wealthy, retired businessman Sloane Shackleford has won the coveted best garden category five years in a row, but he and his Bichon Frise, Biscuit, are universally despised. When Sloane’s bludgeoned body is discovered in his pristine garden, Tish soon learns that he was disliked for reasons that go beyond his green fingers. Have the hotly contested awards brought out a competitive and murderous streak in one of the residents?
I was provided an advance copy with the hopes I would review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
“COOKIN’ THE BOOKS” sounds like a wonderful book and one I would greatly enjoy having the opportunity to read. It would be an awesome way to introduce me to a new to me author as well. After reading about both “COOKIN’ THE BOOKS” and the upcoming release of “THE GARDEN CLUB MURDER”, I know Amy Patricia Mead won’t stay new to be for long.
The Rosemary Cornmeal Madeleines sound delicious and would make a great addition to any meal.
Thank you for the chance to win a copy of “COOKING’ THE BOOKS”!
I have a rosemary cornbread recipe that I’ve made a few times. It is yummy! Thanks for this recipe and the opportunity to win.
I have never used rosemary.
I use rosemary in A beef vegetable soup I make.
I do not make anything with rosemary. I love madelines and cornbread, but this recipe is outside my comfort zone.
I’m sorry to hear that Gloria! I think the recipe would be just as delicious leaving out the rosemary and substituting grated parmesan for the asiago cheese. You can always take a look at my video at the bottom of the page to see the steps for the recipe if you’re interested.
I love rosemary with chicken and think that it would be amazing with cornbread. This recipe is definitely one I need to try!
I use rosemary in all my chicken dishes. It is a very savory herb that enhances the flavor of the chicken.
I used rosemary once on a turkey and is was amazing.
Sorry a spice I don’t really know much about.
I’ve never used rosemary and don’t even know what it tastes like. My mom’s name is Rosemary, and she swears her mother named her after a cooking column in their old newspaper called Rosemary & Thyme lol
I never use Rosemary. Thank you for a chance to win a hard copy of Cookin’ The Books.
I like to use fresh rosemary with garlic to roast small red potatoes (skin on). I use olive oil to keep them from sticking to the pan.
The book story is really interesting, one I’d love to read. I love a food based cozy and I see there is a Bichon in the story. My son has a Bichon mix and they are such sweet and smart dogs.
I don’t use rosemary much—I’ve used it in addition to other herbs when roasting a turkey and it was wonderful. I’ve also had quail made w it and that was excellent.
I use rosemary on pork and in my spaghetti sauce.
Sounds like a great read. No I don’t have a recipe with rosemary, but this sounds delicious.
My post didn’t show up. No I don’t have a recipe with rosemary, this one sounds delicious. I’d love to read this book.
I do not any recipes with rosemary.
I would put rosemary on chicken when baking.
I use rosemary in a lot of my dishes, my family loves it. I’m looking forward to reading a new-to-me author.
I grow my own rosemary and use it a lot in cooking, I think I will make these madelines tonight to go with my Caraway Chicken
Thank you for the chance to win.
robsnest60 (at) yahoo (dot) com
I’m not fond of rosemary (makes me think of pine needles) or tarragon (Too much like licorice).
QUESTION-What can we do if we don’t have the proper pan to make these? (Other than buying one, of course!)
Muffin pans might be a good substitute, but I would only fill them 25% – 30% full so that they remain thin. A shallow mini muffin pan might be a better choice, but I’m not sure about baking time. You’d need to check for doneness pretty frequently so they don’t over bake. Good luck!
Thanks
I use rosemary on occasion with chicken and turkey
Rosemary is not my most favorite herb except in rack of lamb and a few chicken dishes but I always grind it as I don’t like it in the dry whole evergreen needle form. I use a lot of fresh parsley and dill and chives, if I have fresh basil in the summer I make pesto for my daughter but it’s not one of my favorites either. I just think that the evergreen flavor of rosemary is overpowering in many recipes but that’s just my opinion.
I have never used Rosemary before.
I have never used Rosemary in baking.
I like the taste of rosemary (and the scent) but my kids don’t like the texture, so I rarely use it. The corn muffins look good, but some of my family are lactose intolerant so no recipes with butter for us. I would like to read the book, though!
I love making Rosemary Baked chicken. It’s so good and earthy.
I don’t have any recipes with rosemary since I am allergic to it.
Rosemary is an ingredient for our butternut squash alfredo sauce, yum!
I love rosemary with chicken. The cornbread sounds delicious! I’ve added the book to my TBR list.
Rosemary & Garlic Chicken is my favorite. The recipe sounds great ! Thanks for the contest.
I make a homemade spaghetti sauce that uses rosemary.
I have never used Rosemary in a recipe.
I love to use rosemary when I roast chicken or potatoes.
My Madeline pans sit empty. I will have to try the recipe. Interesting. Would not have thought of doing savory.
No, I have never used rosemary
No I don’t use Rosemary
I’m not a huge fan of rosemary. Thanks for the chance!
I don’t have any special rosemary recipes. I’d like to give these madeleines a try.
Hi Kim! No, I haven’t any recipes that call for rosemary. But, thanks so much for the chance to win!
I’ve never had a recipe that called for rosemary in it. This books looks like a delicious read. Thanks for your great generosity.
The madeleines sound great. I use rosemary in my tomato sauce but mainly on chicken. Especially grilled. Thank you for the opportunity.
I don’t do the cooking anymore, hubby does. I think he has used rosemary when he oven roasted some potatoes.
I made a rosemary baked chicken a few years ago. It was a bit strong for my tastes. Thank you for this chance. pgenest57(at)aol.com
I had one for chicken I used to make but not any longer.
I love cookbooks. I have a pretty good collection of them.