Sweet Revenge ~ Foodie Friday & Food For Thought

I'm linking to two different parties today because
I have both really good recipes to share as well as a fun book to talk about.

Review of the book

Sweet Revenge

by Diane Mott Davidson

for Food for Thought

brainchild of the very talented Jain.

This is where our camera, cooking & books collide!

***.*

This is one in the series of Diane Mott Davidson's
14 culinary mystery novels in which the protagonist is a caterer named Goldy (short for Gertrude) Schultz from Aspen Meadow, a small town in Colorado.

This woman gets into more mishaps & adventures yet remarkably survives each encounter & keeps on cooking!

In this one book alone she has 
a knife (hidden in a snowball)
thrown at her through a window

crashes her friend's Lexus while chasing
the self-confessed murderer of her ex-husband 

falls down an embankment into a creek,
as she tries to get a glimpse of another murder victim 
(while wearing that same friend's mink coat!!!)
was almost pushed over a cliff at a ski resort
& was stomped on & verbally threatened & 
knocked unconscious. 

In between all this, she manages to cater 
a breakfast meeting
a church luncheon
another luncheon for the garden club
a special dinner party for her wealthy & eccentric clients

AND

has freshly baked cookies available to hand out
every time you turn around!

I think she's a twin & was separated at birth

from Yvonne at StoneGable.

They both have so much creative energy!

Throughout all this, she trying to find out
who killed Drew Wellington, in the library

with what weapon?
Sounds like the mystery game, CLUE, doesn't it?

Drew was a local antique map dealer who was
using the library as his office.
(map available here)

Do you suppose it was the date-rape

drugs they found in his flask

that killed him?

Or was it the cyanide they discovered had been slipped into his coffee?

Perhaps it was a different method of murder all together?
I thought I had it all figured out but was totally wrong!
You won't find out until the very end of the book.

Ms. Davidson is a prolific writer who supplies a long list of mouth-watering
gourmet recipes inside each book. I had fun deciding which ones to make for

Food for Thought

Goldy served a pasta dish with butter & Parmesan cheese at one event.
I took it a step beyond &

made the Orzo Milanese recipe from Dishesdone's blog,

There's always thyme to cook

I had it for lunch in the Gazebo this week!
I puréed my slow-roasted tomatoes then
followed her recipe as posted here

except I cooked the orzo in the tomato pureé.
Delicious!


Goldy's recipe for Chicken Divine is also just that...DIVINE!

I changed it a wee bit to include broccoli & some curry,
as that is the way 2 of my oldest & dearest friends
taught me how to make it years ago.
Thanks Barb & Janet!!

Their recipe follows:
(if you want Goldy's recipe, you have to get the book)

Chicken Divan or "Divine!"

4 chicken breasts -- boneless, cooked
2 packages broccoli -- thawed
1 can cream of celery soup (or cream of chicken)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
2 cups cheddar cheese -- shredded
1/2 cup bread crumbs -- buttered
Place broccoli pieces in the bottom of a buttered 9X13 casserole.
Place cooked chicken (boiled with celery & onion) on top of broccoli.
Cover with a mixture of soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice & curry powder.
Top with cheese, then with bread crumbs.
Bake at 325º for 45 minutes.

Other parts of the meal included

Fresh Ohio grown Sweet Corn

& salad with home grown tomatoes started with our own seeds.

Oh & don’t forget the DESSERTS!

The books character, Goldy, made gingerbread houses for one of her events.

So did I… years ago!

Thank you Jain, for encouraging us to

*play with our food & cook the books*

Thanks also to Michael Lee for her

Foodie Friday

I appreciate everyone who visits the Gazebo House, too.

I’m honored that you’ve stopped by & hope you found something of interest.

Try the pasta & the chicken....you'll ♥ 'em!

fondly,

p.s. Thanks for the book, Sis!