Month: October 2021

Cooking With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: Serrano Hot Sauce

Recently my fridge contained a bunch of Serrano peppers I needed to use before they went bad – so I decided to try my hand at making a hot sauce. Unlike many hot sauces this one didn’t require me to ferment any of the ingredients hence why I chose it! (My experiments in fermentation, as of yet, haven’t been particularly successful.)

This is the recipe I used!

I stuck pretty close to the instructions, though I did omit the cumin (as its’ not my favorite spice) and I had to use regular oregano instead of Mexican (as its’ what I had on hand).

It turned out GREAT!

(Helpful hint: wear gloves and scrub your hands well after playing with these peppers they are HOT. The residual juice and oils will burn your eyes and nose well after you handle them if you are not careful!)

Agatha Christie: Colonel Race is the only one of Agatha Christie’s sleuths I can see enjoying a spicy hot sauce. Due in no small part to his extensive travels outside of England during his career in the Amy and later as leader of MI5’s counter-intelligence branch.

On second thought, Mr. Harley Quin might also enjoy this very hot sauce…though Mr. Satterthwaite definitely would not.

Cooking With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: Swiss Steak

I’m sure it will surprise no one that I’m a huge fan of cookbooks – vintage ones especially. Well, with everything that’s happened over the past year I haven’t been able to haunt the used bookshops and antique/neat junk stores. But recently I did make my first foray to a bookshop for the first time in over a year and found this fun little gem on the shelf.

I do love Betty Crocker cookbooks! (BTW- did you know Betty Crocker isn’t a real person? Just a marketing ploy from way back when?) In any case – I decided to make Swiss Steak, asI remember eating it as a kid and wanted to see if I still liked it!

The biggest alterations I made to the recipe: I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes (for a bit more flavor), I added two handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes cut in half (to help freshen the taste), added a tablespoon of Portland spicy Worcestershire sauce (cause I love it) and an extra bell pepper (cause I love extra veggies)

Served over mashed potatoes – it was as lovely as I remember it being!

Agatha Christie: This homey dish is one I definitely can see Miss Marple serving. Especially because you can church it up by serving it over gnocchi or a fancy pasta – for the occasional Tuesday night dinner party attended by Sir Henry Clithering.

Cooking With Christie!

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This Week’s Recipe: Hungarian Goulash

I’m a fan of make ahead meals. Too tired to make something healthy for dinner? Head to your deep freeze, pop it in a pot to warm up and voila – a nutritious meal in minutes.

Recently I’ve become a big fan of this particular recipe. Though it isn’t a particularly quick one. (Hence why I make it ahead. Plus, it always tastes better the next day!)

And of course, because I can’t help myself, I didn’t follow the recipe exactly….

I add an extra bell pepper, an extra carrot or two, a six ounce can of tomato paste (as I always loose the tubes of tomato paste in my fridge), and if I have extra cherry tomatoes I will toss them in as well.

Then I double the Worcestershire sauce. (A great spicy one from Portlandia Foods and no I’m not being paid to plug them I just love their product!) Then cut the 3 Tsp of beef bullion down to 1.5 tsp tomato/chicken bullion (otherwise it gets a bit salty).

However the biggest change: Rather than using a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up – I use potato flakes instead. They work like a dream. I also omit the Yukon potatoes called for at the tail end of the recipe. (As they don’t freeze well.) Instead, after I reheat the goulash, I serve it over buttery mash potatoes!

Seriously this is now one of my absolute favorite dishes now!

(And kudos to carlsbadcravings.com where I found the instructions – they not only give you the crockpot method – but oven and stove top methods as well. Plus tips on how to freeze/reheat the goulash!)

Agatha Christie: This is a dish I can see Tuppence making for the same reasons I do! With three kids, a husband and a dog (though they do have a butler) I think she needs all the shortcuts she can find to fit in all that detecting and spying.