Category: Coffee

Murder on the Orient Espresso Martini

Given my love of Aggie, cocktails and puns was there ever a world where I was not going to make a Murder on The Orient Espresso Martini?  And yes, in my head I call her Aggie.  I am sure Dame Agatha is turning in her grave at the thought!   But, once I started I could not stop!  Just like you might not be able to stop at just one of these delicious Espresso Martinis!

I have always been a bit wary of an Espresso Martini as I thought the caffeine would keep me awake.  Also, the last coffee flavoured cocktail I made was from Cantina and was disgusting.  It convinced me that I did not like coffee flavoured cocktails.  I now think that the awfulness of that cocktail was probably more due to the many problems with that book rather than an aversion to coffee cocktails per se.  I really enjoyed the Espresso Martini!!!  Drinking it felt  very luxuriant and sophisticated which ties in nicely with the glamour and opulence of the Orient Express.

Espresso Martini 1

Poirot might have sipped one instead of the luminous green cocktail he drinks in the film had they been invented back then!

Express Martini History

London bartender Dick Bradsell created the Espresso Martini in the 1980s. He mixed it up for a young model who asked him for something to “wake me up and f**k me up”  Rumour has it that the model was Kate Moss but this is unconfirmed!

It would however dovetail very nicely into my narrative as Kate Moss famously dated Johnny Depp in the 1990s. And he played Ratchett in the Kenneth Brannagh version of Murder on the Orient Express!

This brings us back to doh-oh-oh!

(Don’tcha love it when something works out so neatly!)

Espresso Martini – The Recipe

I used the recipe from 365 Days of Cocktails by Difford’s Guide.  The recipe on their website has a very intriguing sounding dash of salt solution in it which I really want to try!

Here’s the recipe I used:

Espresso Martini Recipe
via 365 Days of Cocktails

Espresso Martini 4

 

The November book if you are reading along will be “Three Act Tragedy” which was actually written before Murder on the Orient Express but which I skipped in order to do the collab with Jenny.  Whilst it is not as well known as Murder it is a cracker of a read and unlike a few recent books is jammed full of food references.

Have a wonderful week and happy reading!

Signature2

 

Coffee Ice Cream Sodas – The ManBrown Suit

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  Today on Dining with the Dame I am looking at the food found in the fourth novel by Dame Agatha Christie, The Man in The Brown Suit, published in 1924.  Like The Murder on the Links there was not much mention of food – at one point I seriously thought that this post might have to be on “dry toast and ginger-ale” which is mentioned as a meal taken by the very seasick heroine.  Happily for me, later in the book she buys not one, but two, coffee ice cream sodas to soothe her jagged nerves following one of her adventures.

Coffee Ice Cream Soda 1

 

The Man in the Brown Suit – The Plot

Our heroine, Anne Beddingfield leads a quiet life but is ever so ready for adventures.  After the death of her father she decides she wants to live in London and heads there for a job interview.  On the way home, Anne sees a man fall onto the live rail at the station and die.  Anne picks up a note dropped by the doctor who pronounced the man dead which reads “17.1 22 Kilmorden Castle”.

The man is identified as LB Carton and in his pocket was a viewing document for The Mill House, owned by Sir Eustace Peddler MD. The very next day a strangled woman is found dead in the same house.  The eponymous “man in the brown suit” who was seen entering the property shortly after the dead woman is named a suspect.

Anne realises that Killmorden Castle is the name of a ship, sailing to South Africa.  She uses the last of her money to buy a ticket.

Hijinks ensue!

The Man in The Brown Suit contains:

  • Travel to South Africa
  • Shifty secretaries
  • Suspicious clergymen
  • Stolen diamonds
  • Romance
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder attempts
  • And of course, the mysterious man in the brown suit

The Man in the Brown Suit is also funnier than any of the previous novels.  There are quite a few witty lines, mostly to do with Guy Pagett, the shifty secretary mentioned above.

“Guy Pagett is my secretary, a zealous, painstaking,  hardworking fellow, admirable in every respect.  I know no one who annoys me more” says Sir Eustace. He also describes Pagett as having  “the face of a fourteenth-century poisoner”.

Coffee Ice Cream Soda 2

The Covers

A lot of the covers for The Man in The Brown Suit either depict the scene on the train platform or else the ship, The Killmorden Castle.

I have chosen my two favourites here.

The one on the left has a Frank Abignale, Catch Me if  You Can vibe which very much enjoyed.  The one on the right takes the prize for bonkers with a depiction of a long blonde wig and a bloodied razor.

Man in The Brown Suit Collage

The Recipe – Coffee Ice Cream Sodas

Coffee Ice Cream Soda 3

 

“I walked into Cartwright’s and ordered two coffee ice-cream sodas – to steady my nerves.  A man, I suppose would have had a stiff peg but girls derive a lot of comfort from ice cream sodas”

The Man in the Brown Suit, Agatha Christie

Print

Coffee Ice Cream Soda – Dining with The Dame 4

So good you might want two!  And for the daring, it also has a “stiff peg” in it’

Ingredients

Scale
  • ¼ cup hot coffee
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 12 tablespoons coffee liqueur or rum (optional)
  • Club Soda to fill your glass
  • 23 scoops coffee ice cream
  • Finely grated chocolate (optional)
  • Maraschino cherry (optional)

Instructions

  • Stir the sugar into the hot coffee. 
  • Chill until ready to serve.
  • When ready to serve, add the coffee liqueur / rum.
  • Pour into your serving glass.
  • Add the ice cream.
  • Top with club soda. 
  • Garnish with grated chocolate and a maraschino cherry.

Notes

Alternate or additional garnishes might include chocolate sauce or whipped cream.

Coffee Ice Cream Soda 5

Other Food Mentioned in The Man in The Brown Suit

A Personal Note

I identified with Anne Beddingfield quite a bit, particularly at the start of the book where she is girl from the ‘burbs, longing for both adventure and romance.  Cue me at 14…15…16…17….

The plot about the stolen diamonds also made me remember a story I wrote when I was…maybe 10?  I had just learned that the nickname for diamonds is “ice” and immediately wrote a story about a band of diamond thieves who hid their stolen wares in a large pitcher when the police came calling.

They would have got away with their nefarious ways except for an eagle-eyed  girl detective (Trixie Belden?  Nancy Drew?  No, ME!) who noticed that on this very hot day, the “ice” in the pitcher was not melting as it should be.

Thieves caught, diamonds restored to their rightful owner.  All well with the world!

 

I hope all is well with your world!  Have a great week.

 

The Italian Cuisine I Love – Moccha Mousse

There is something delightfully retro about  chocolate mousse.  And this recipe is right up there with the best of them  Gooey, luscious chocolate kept from being too sweet by a shot  of coffee and a hefty dose of alcohol.  The recipe called for Strega and rum.  I didn’t have either of these  so I used kahlua and amaretto.  You could really use anything you have on hand!

This looked so cute served in a  demi- tasse cup!

180g dark chocolate
1 tbsp sugar
4 eggs (free range please)
1/4 cup strong espresso
2 tbsp strega cordial
2 tbsp rum
1 cup whipped cream

Separate eggs.
Beat whites until stiff.
Beat egg yolks with sugar until light and creamy.
Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water.
When melted, remove from heat, blend in egg yolks, coffee, strega and rum.
Fold in egg whites and whipped cream.
Put in serving bowl, small individual bowls or demi-tasse cups.
Chill well, preferably overnight.