Synopsis: It’s a culinary tour of France for Carolyn Blue, her husband Jason, and their son Chris as they travel through Normandy and the Loire Valley with a group of academics. Where better to write about food than France? But before they even get out of the airport, an “accident” befalls one of the tour members. It’s a sign of bad things to come. And soon there’s a murder in their midst. Carolyn is once again investigating crime when she’d rather be investigating cuisine—and trying to stay one step ahead of a killer with an insatiable appetite. C’est la vie. . .
Read an excerpt on Nancy's website!
About the Author: Nancy Herndon is a US lecturer in English, and the author of historical romances under the pseudonym Elizabeth Chadwick, and mysteries under the name Nancy Herndon and Nancy Fairbanks. Originally from St Louis, she now lives in El Paso, Texas, with her husband, a University professor.
Review: While this isn't my fav of The Carolyn Blue series (Creme Brulee retains that title), it's a quick read and will keep you guessing as to who the suspect is! Who knew traveling with a bunch of academics who all want to become Dean of the same Department could be so harrowing? PLUS, all the descriptions of France will leave you wanting to get on the next plane! As with any book of the Blue series, there's also a bit of history of the area thrown in and it will definitely get history buffs' attention! As always there are scrumptious recipes from different areas in the book. This one was my fav (check it out and come back to enter to win the book!):
Chicken Marengo
Ingredients:
1 3lb roasting chicken
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp chopped shallots
1 tsp dried tarragon
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1 cp dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cp chicken buillon
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 tbsp flour
Instructions:
1. Cut the roasting chicken into pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil and 2 tbsp of butter in an heavy Dutch oven or stew pot, and then sauté the chopped shallots, salt, pepper, dried tarragon, garlic, the white wine and cook until wine is reduced by half.
3. Add the tomato paste and chicken bouillon ( or you can use the liquid from cooking the mushrooms in salted water, reserving mushrooms to add later).
4. Make roux starter while waiting for the chicken to get tender: mix the flour with 1 tbsp of butter. When chicken is tender, place pieces on a heated platter.
5. Reduce sauce and stir in the roux starter. Heat.
6. Put mushrooms on the chicken, strain sauce from the pot over it.
7. Garnish with parsley, and serve hot
Option 1: to satisfy Napoleonic tradition, garnish with crawfish (which have been sauteed in butter and spices) !
Option 2: to satisfy Lyon tradition, surround the chicken with deep-fried eggs!
Ready to win?
**
**
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I bought this book for my own reading purposes. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.
Comments
Post a Comment