This week we have a very special double-feature, with two authors who are friends AND who both visited with us when their debut books came out.
I'm excited that they're finding continued success! Please welcome back AVERY AAMES!
Avery's website is here: http://www.averyaames.com/
Her Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/AveryAames
She's on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/#!/averyaames
Her other website is here: http://www.darylwoodgerber.com/
Here are links to her past visits at B&N's Mystery Forum:
About Avery
Avery Aames is the pseudonym for Daryl Wood Gerber. As Avery, she writes A Cheese Shop Mystery Series, the first of which, "The Long Quiche Goodbye", won the Agatha Award for best first novel. The series is set in idyllic Holmes County, Ohio, and features Charlotte Bessette, a feisty cheese shop owner with a colorful extended family.
Daryl has also had short stories published and she created the format for the successful TV series "Out of this World" that ran for four years in first-run syndication. Daryl podcasts some of her suspense/thriller work on her website. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, its internet group Guppies, Mystery Writers of America,Romance Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers Association.
Prior to writing, Daryl was an actress in Los Angeles. A fun tidbit for mystery buffs: she co-starred on the popular series, "Murder, She Wrote" and "Matlock". Daryl graduated from Stanford University. She enjoys golfing, swimming, photography, gardening, gourmet cooking, and has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
She has been happily married for over twenty-five years and has a grown son who has flown the coop.
Visit her at her website: http://www.darylwoodgerber.com/
Check out her event schedule here: http://www.averyaames.com/event_calendar_february.
Here's Avery with Kate Carlisle:
The Long Quiche Goodbye (Cheese Shop Mystery Series #1)
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Overview
Welcome to the grand opening of Fromagerie Bessette. Or as it's more commonly known by the residents of small-town Providence, Ohio-the Cheese Shop. Proprietor Charlotte Bessette has prepared a delightful sampling of bold Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, delicious tortes of Stilton and Mascarpone, and a taste of Sauvignon Blanc-but someone else has decided to make a little crime of passion the piece de resistance. Right outside the shop Charlotte finds a body, the victim stabbed to death with one of her prized olive-wood handled knives.
Lost and Fondue (Cheese Shop Mystery Series #2)
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Overview
When a body is found in a long-abandoned winery, cheese shop owner Charlotte Bessette trades in her fondue fork for a flashlight to clear a friend's niece of suspicion. But as Charlotte starts to turn up the truth, the killer starts turning up the heat.
Clobbered by Camembert (Cheese Shop Mystery Series #3)
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Overview
Cheese store owner Charlotte Bessette is setting up for the town's Winter Wonderland fair. Then, when an old friend is found dead in the cottage of Charlotte's assistant Rebecca, a suspicion falls on Rebecca's boyfriend, a honeybee farmer. While the town buzzes with gossip, can Charlotte catch the culprit without getting stung herself?
THE HISTORY OF PROVIDENCE
Can’t find Providence on the map? No, it’s not the Providence that became a ghost town in the 1800’s and ultimately vanished from the landscape. Providence is a fictional town, but in the world of the Cheese Shop Mysteries, it is a stone’s throw from Millersburg, set in the rolling hills of Holmes County, Ohio.
Providence is an old town that has enjoyed its proximity to the tourist-draw of Amish country and its beautiful location in the hills of Ohio. The town’s shops sell quilts and other products from the Amish community. Providence is a grid-style town, built around a village square, with a wishing well and a clock tower as a tribute to the many from Providence who have served America in battle.
Thanks to tourism, the town has exploded with B&Bs, art galleries, and shops. Sew Inspired is the place where townsfolk and tourists learn to sew and quilt. Europa Antiques offers unique one-of-a-kind pieces. Mystic Moon Candles not only sells candles but holds yoga and New Age classes. All Booked Up is a popular a book store. The Silver Trader deals in handmade jewelry. Out of Hand is a crafting store. Nuts for Nails Hardware is a thriving concern. Waggin’ Tails is the store that caters to the pampered pets of Providence, which are plentiful.
With all the influx of visitors, Providence dining establishments have multiplied. La Bella Ristorante is the town’s four-star gem, while the Country Kitchen is the place everyone goes for a good hearty meal, a milkshake, and a song.
In addition, there are wonderful inns and specialty spots. The Harvest Moon Ranch is known for its extravagant weddings. Lois’s Lavender and Lace Bed and Breakfast is the in-place to stay in town, with high tea served every afternoon.
A wealth of family farms abound around Providence, including two cow dairy farms, one sheep farm, and one honey bee farm. Wineries are also springing up. The third-generation Bozzuto winery is the most respected and specializes in reds. For the children, Bozzuto’s also makes the best root beer around!
Notable places include the Providence History Museum, established by one of the town’s wealthiest women. The museum displays a terrific retrospective of the people that settled in Providence, their clothing, their silver and china, and the books that chronicle the period. The town library is also a hotspot, specializing in book clubs and children’s events. The theater, Providence Playhouse, is known for its cutting-edge material and has drawn raves from reviewers across the region. Actors from Hollywood and New York are showing interest in performing there. The private high school at the edge of town used to be a reformatory prison for the criminal elite.
Charlotte Bessette, the protagonist of The Cheese Shop Mysteries is in her early thirties. She is college-educated and has been burned once in love. She has lived in Providence all her life and can’t think of a better place to live. Orphaned at three, she was raised by her grandparents, Bernadette and Etienne, who left war-torn France in the late 1940’s and have embraced all things American.
Charlotte’s feisty grandmother, Bernadette, is the current mayor of Providence and the town’s driving creative force. She has served as the town’s mayor for three terms and is running for her fourth. She also oversees the town’s theater productions.
Hardworking Etienne Bessette opened Fromagerie Bessette, a specialty cheese shop, when he first arrived in Providence and has turned the place into a must-stop local business. However, at seventy-two, he feels it’s time for him to retire, so he has offered the business to his two grandchildren, Charlotte and Matthew, though it is difficult for Etienne to let anything out of his control for very long.
Matthew Bessette was a sommelier in Cleveland, but when his wife up and left him and his twins, running off to dear old mumsie and dear old dad in England, Matthew looked for a new life. He and Charlotte wish to grow Fromagerie Bessette into a thriving concern, with a wine annex, cheese classes, internet newsletters, and more.
Walking into a cheese shop or strolling through the cheese sections of a street market can be daunting. But don’t despair. When selecting, consider these questions.
Do you prefer soft, creamy cheeses or firmer ones? You know, brie or cheddar?
Do you like strong cheeses, like gorgonzola, or milder cheeses like Monterey jack?
Do you like salty cheeses or cheese with a tang?
If you don’t know, don’t be shy. Ask the cheesemonger. Many of the finer stores with staff attending the cheese counters will give you opportunities to taste before you buy.
And be adventurous. Something might look a little different (i.e. covered in paper, or wrapped in herbs). Another might have a deep orange rind while another has a soft, almost marshmallow look – known as a bloomy rind. If you’re unsure, ask for a cheese that looks like one you think you like (i.e. cheddar is hard and orange. It is a cow’s milk cheese. Ask for a hard, orange, cow’s milk cheese. It won’t taste exactly the same. Not if it was grown in another region by a different kind of cow.) Explore.
Look for clues on the packages. In most specialty shops, there will be labels on the cheeses with the region, the type of milk (either cow, goat, sheep and sometimes buffalo). Some might have little hints as to taste and texture (soft, hard, tangy, sharp, robust).
When choosing a cheese, you might think about the food and wine you like. If you prefer big, bold flavors, you’re going to enjoy big, bold cheese like cheddars, edam, stilton, and bleu cheeses. If you favor milder flavors, you’ll lean toward milder cheeses like mozzarella, fresh goat cheese, and Monterey jack.
CREAM CHEESE
According to Kraft Foods, the first American cream cheese was made in New York in 1872 by a dairyman named William Lawrence. In 1880, Philadelphia became the 'named brand' after Philly was considered to be the best city for food.
Cream cheese goes with just about anything. On a bagel, on a pieceof toast with jam. It can be incorporated into cake frostings, tucked into the centers of cupcakes, and more. Often other dairy items like creme fraicheor queso blanco can be substituted for cream cheese. My dog, Max, loves his vitamins tucked into a scoop of cream cheese or ricotta. He's no dummy.
Gluten Free Chocolate Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups Pamela’s Gluten-Free Baking and Pancake Mix
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. Gluten-free vanilla
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, large
3/4 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup milk (I used 1%)Filling:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Nestle’s semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp. cinnamon
Topping: Brown sugarDirections:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.
For the batter: Mix melted butter and sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat on low. Still beating on low, add cream cheese and milk. Then add Pamela’s mix until thoroughly mixed.
Spoon half of the batter into a greased 9” square pan. Sprinkle all of the filling on top of that and smooth out. Spread the rest of the batter over the filling.
Take a knife and cut through the batter to swirl the flavors together.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, when inserted a toothpick comes out clean. When cool, remove the cake from the pan and sprinkle with a generous amount of brown sugar.
Champagne Fondue
Ingredients:
12 oz. Jarlsberg cheese
1 cup dry {brut} champagne
2 garlic cloves, roasted
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. Triple Sec
1 Tbs. potato starch
½ tsp. nutmegDirections:
Crush garlic and place in foil. Seal and put in 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, shred Jarlsberg and set aside.
In a bowl, dissolve potato starch in Triple Sec. Add 2 Tbs. champagne. Stir.
Heat remaining champagne in fondue pot over medium heat.
Slowly add cheese and Triple Sec mixture. Stir, stir, stir.
Add nutmeg.
Remove garlic from foil and stir into cheese mixture.
Serve with cubes of crusty sourdough bread, dipping the bread into the cheese mixture.
[For gluten-free diners eating with regular folks, put your GF bread cubes on your plate and scoop a heaping portion of the cheese onto your bread. Then let the rest of the guests dip and sup.]
