Tag: Poirot


May
2023

Salmon Rillettes: Sad Cypress

categories: Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot, Salmon, Smoked Salmon, Starters, Uncategorized
Salmon Rillettes4

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Welcome to Dining with the Dame for May and my take on Sad Cypress.  I loved this one!  And I also loved the Salmon Rillettes so this was a win-win for me! Now it may be a bit risky to base my recipe on the supposed murder weapon (poisoned salmon paste sandwiches) but the rillettes were absolutely delicious!  

Sad Cypress -The Plot

First up, the name comes from a quote from Shake’speare’s Twelfth Night:

Come away, come away, death,
    And in sad cypress let me be laid.
Fly away, fly away, breath;
    I am slain by a fair cruel maid.

The beautiful Mary Gerrard is dead.  Prior to her death, Mary had been the gardener’s daughter in an estate owned by the Welman family.  Elinor Carlisle, niece to the recently deceased Laura Welman stands accused of her murder.  

Her motive?  Elinor had recently been jilted by her fiance (and kind of cousin) Roddy for Mary.  

Her means?  Salmon paste sandwiches laced with morphine.  

Her opportunity?  Tea time whilst clearing out the Welman estate.  

All fingers are pointing to Elinor being the murderer.  But did she do it?  Luckily the local doctor who has a bit of a crush on Elinor brings in Hercule Poirot to determine who is guilty.  

Salmon Rillettes

We have:

  • A poison pen letter
  • Some missing morphine
  • An elderly aunt possibly bumped off before her time
  • A very large fortune left to Elinor.  
  • A mysterious figure lurking in the bushes
  • A possibly perfidious cousin
  • A strange mark on a nurse’s wrist
  • Secrets from the past impacting the present
  • Poirot hilariously calling himself a “pukkah sahib”

Such a good story!!  

Salmon Rillettes3

Sad Cypress – The Covers

 

Sad Cypress Collage 2

There are some great covers here – many of which contain aspects of things we have mentioned, the roses, the morphine, the poison pen letter.  We also have our first Japanese cover, some French covers, a Spanish cover and a German which may actually be my favorite.  Here it is in full:

Sad Cypress

 

I also want to call out this one because…what?  

 

I understand the rose and the tea set.  The weird green guy?  Not a clue!  It reminded me of Dumb Witness when Emily Arundell, who had been poisoned with phosphorus was said to have a luminous haze around her head.  

The Recipe – Salmon Rillettes

I based my recipe for Salmon Rillettes on the recipe for Rainbow Trout Rillettes, Rye, Cucumber and Watercress Sandwiches from Food for Friends by Hardie Grant Publishing.  That recipe is by Philippa Sibley and her book New Classics.  I swapped out the trout for Salmon and used white bread for my sandwiches.  

Salmon Rillettes Recipe

Elinor went across the hall and brought back from the pantry a big plate of sandwiches.  She handed it to Mary saying:

“Have one?”

Mary took one.  Elinor stood watching her for a moment as the girl’s white, even teeth bit into the sandwich”

Agatha Christie – Sad Cypress

Links to The Christieverse

Peter Lord, the doctor who is crushing on Elinor tells Poirot that he was recommended by Dr Stillingfleet.  He is a character in a short story called The Dream which appears in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.  

 

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Sad Cypress

  • Raspberries
  • Fish Paste Sandwiches (multiple references)
  • Cocktails
  • Tea (multiple references)
  • Doughnuts
  • Pink Sugar Cakes
  • Milk
  • Salmon and Shrimp Paste
  • Salmon and Anchovy Paste
  • Beer
  • Fresh Fish for lunch

June’s read will be One Two Buckle My Shoe

Have a great week!

 


Jan
2023

Champagne Cocktail – Dead Man’s Mirror

categories: Champagne, Cocktail, Dining With The Dame, Poirot

Hello food lovers and crime readers!   Welcome to the first Dining with the Dame of 2023!  We are celebrating the new year with a classic Champagne Cocktail and the final story from the Murder in the Mews Collection.  I improvised here as there is no food mentioned in Dead Man’s Mirror. However, the sound of a cork popping features in the story so a Champagne cocktail feels fitting. Besides, who doesn’t love a Champagne cocktail?

Champagne Cocktail 1

 

Dead Man’s Mirror- The Plot

Hmm…we have a dead man in a locked room. If it sounds familiar is because it is also kinda, sorta what happened in  Hercule Poirot’s Christmas which was last month’s read. This time the patriarch who meets an untimely end is Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore.  Sir G as we will call him because if I have to type Sir Gervase Chevenix -Gore every time I name him, I’ll be writing this into next year summons Poirot to his home at Hamborough Close.   Much like Simeon Lee from last month, Sir G is obsessed with not having an heir to carry on the family name.  He is also a bit of a martinet when it comes to timeliness.   For instance, dinner is announced by a gong which is sounded twice – the bangs being seven minutes apart.  Guests who are late for dinner are not invited back! On this night Sir G himself does not appear by the second gong. He is found, shortly thereafter,  in his locked study, with a bullet in his brain and a pistol lying on the carpet by his body.  A piece of paper with the word “Sorry” written on it lies on the desk in front of him.  A clear-cut case of suicide.

Or is it?

We have

  • For the bullet to have smashed the mirror, Sir G must have shot himself at a very odd angle
  • As in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, we have a woman picking up something from the floor of the crime scene
  • Ruth, Sir G’s adopted daughter.  Sir G was keen for her to marry her cousin Hugo Trent which would keep the family line going.  Only Ruth has some secrets.
  • A lack of footprints in the flower bed

Champagne Cocktail 2

Luckily we have Poirot around to solve the mystery of the Dead Man’s Mirror!

Dead Man’s Mirror – The Covers

Dead Man's Mirror CollageAs expected, many of the covers feature a broken mirror.  I particularly like the one in the top which shows the dead man in the mirror, holding the note in his skeleton hand.  However, my absolute favourite is the one on the far right which shows the Egyptian head and scarab beetle, in reference to Vanda, Sir G’s wife who believes she is the reincarnation of the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut and a priestess from Atlantis.  It’s such a minor plot detail but makes an amazing cover! The broken mirror around her eye also gives it a bit of a steampunk look, decades before there was such a thing!

The Recipe – Champagne Cocktail

I am using the from a book called Fantastic Cocktails and Mixed Drinks.  I have added a garnish of an orange wedge and a maraschino cherry to make it look prettier!

Champagne Cocktail Recipe

Champagne Cocktail 3

 

“You see, I thought the first gong had gone, so I hurried up with my dressing, came dashing out of my room, heard, as I thought, the second gong and fairly raced down the stairs.  I’d been one minute late for dinner the first night I was here and Hugo told me it had about wrecked our chances with the Old Man, so K fairly hared down.  Hugo was just ahead of me and then there was a queer kind of pop-bang and Hugo said it was a champagne cork but Snell said “No”to that.

Dead Man’s Mirror – Agatha Christie

Links to The Christieverse

Mr Satterthwaite, who we last met in Three Act Tragedy makes an appearance in this story.  He not only mentions that case but also that he has seen Mary Lytton Gore recently.

Champagne Cocktail 4

 

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Dead Man’s Mirror

  • None

If you are wondering why this post is unusually early, it is because later today we are going to see The Arctic Monkeys, then tomorrow we are flying to Darwin for a week to celebrate the Fussiest Eater in The World’s birthday.  Neither of us has been there before so it will be an exciting trip for us.  It is by far the farthest north in Australia we have ever been!  Also, just to put the distance in perspective, Darwin is about 400km closer to Singapore than it is to Melbourne! I am expecting some delicious seafood, tropical fruit, and some spectacular scenery

I may have to delay next week’s post due to the holiday. However, we have all the more time now to get stuck into February’s read – Appointment with Death.

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Nov
2022

Petits Pois à la Française- Murder in The Mews

categories: Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot

Greetings crime readers and food lovers! Today we are reading and eating our way through the titular novella in the Murder in the Mews collection.   Murder in The Mews begins on Guy Fawkes Night, which is today (if you are reading on the day I posted it)!  To go with this most English of nights, we are eating a very French dish of petits pois à la française.  Now, I’ll be absolutely honest here.  I am not a great lover of peas.  But, there is not a lot of food mentioned in Murder in The Mews.  Indeed, I was thinking this might be the day I share the recipe for Golf Pie, when, in the very last paragraph, a meal is mentioned containing the aforementioned little peas!

Petit Pois A La Francaise

Murder in The Mews- The Plot

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot

We open with a street urchin (think Oliver – please sir, can I have some more?) asking Japp and Poirot if they will give him a penny for the guy.  Japp sends him off and the two resume their walk.  In an act of foreshadowing, Japp muses that it would be a good night for a murder.  The fireworks would mask sound of a gun shot. In an even greater act of foreshadowing, they then move on to the topic of Poirot committing a murder.  We’ll get to that one in time!

More immediately though, the following morning Poirot learns that  woman has been found dead  in the very same mews they walked through the previous evening.  Poirot wonders why Japp, a high ranking police officer,  would be called to a suicide but agrees to meet him at the home of the deceased.

We have

  • The gun found in Barbara Allen’s hand held in such a way that she could not have possibly shot herself with it
  • No suicide note
  • Jane Plenderleith, Mrs Allen’s flatmate behaving suspiciously
  • Poirot fascinated by a series of seemingly disparate objects – a watch, a writing set, a fireplace and the contents of a locked cupboard and the smell of a room
  • A shady Major

Poirot and Japp (but mostly Poirot) need to figure out – was it suicide?  Or murder?

Petit Pois A La Francaise2jpg

My favorite part of the story  has nothing to do with the plot. It is the moment when Poirot answers the call from Japp with “Allo, Allo“.  Now if, only Poirot had been in a certain café in Nouvion during the war, he might have been able to help Rene in solving the mystery of the painting of the Fallen Madonna.  I would pay money to see that mash up!

 

Murder in The Mews- The Covers

Yesssss!!!!  After a slew of short stories, we can finally get back to looking at the cover art on books.  And Murder In The Mews does not disappoint.

Murder in The Mews Covers

I love the cover with the green mirror image woman looking alarmed.  It is so brilliantly menacing!  If like me, you are a little bit confused Anubis on one of the covers, I believe it is because he was the God who took care of the dead.  Bottom left is a Portuguese edition which translates literally to Murder in the Alley.

Petit Pois A La Francaise3

The Recipe – Petit Pois À La Française

I used the recipe for Petit Pois À La Française from Manu Feildel’s book  Manu’s French Kitchen.

Petit Pois A La Francaise Recipe

Japp looked at his friend for some moments in silence.  Then he rose, clapped him on the shoulder, and burst out laughing.  

“Not so bad for an old dog.  Upon my word, you take the cake!  Come out and have a spot of lunch?”

“With pleasure my friend, but we will not have the cake.  Indeed, an omelette aux champignons, blanquette de veau, petits pois à la française, and to follow a baba au rhum.”

– Agatha Christie, Murder in The Mews

Petit Pois A La Francaise4

 

Other Food Mentioned in Murder In The Mews

 

December’s read will be Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.  Because who hasn’t wanted to murder an annoying family member at Christmas?

Happy reading!

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Oct
2022

Gin And Ginger Beer – Triangle at Rhodes

categories: Cocktail, Desserts, Dining With The Dame, Gin

Hello crime readers and cocktail lovers!  Today we are reading (and drinking ) our way through a short story from the Murder in The Mews collection, Triangle at Rhodes.  And what better way to sit back and watch the shenanigans taking place on this gorgeous Greek island than with a cocktail in hand?  A gin and ginger beer happens to be one of my favourite  cocktails so I was delighted to find it mentioned in my favourite story in this collection!    I will also point out that the gin and ginger beer is not the most commonly named cocktail in Triangle at Rhodes, pink gin is mentioned multiple times and may have been a better choice.  However, as I am largely reading / rereading the Christie books as I blog about them, I have already used Pink Gin as the recipe for Three Act Tragedy! If you are reading along and would prefer to have that as your tipple, click the link above!

Gin and Ginger Beer1

 

Triangle at Rhodes- The Plot

.Poirot is on holiday at the Greek Island of Rhodes.  The story opens as follows

“Hercule Poirot sat on the white sand and looked out across the sparkling blue water.  He was carefully dressed in a dandified fashion in white flannels, and a large panama hat protected his head.”

It makes me laugh a little bit to imagine the fastidious Poirot sitting on sand.  I feel that he would absolutely loathe it.  Almost as much as we can tell he hates rubbing sun tan oil on someone, which happens in the very next paragraph!  So much for enjoying his break!

The Poirot episode of Triangle at Rhodes, has him seated on a chair which seems far more his style!

Staying at the same hotel ias Poirot s the very glamourous Valentine Chantry and her fifth husband, a naval Commander who is described as a brute and somewhat apelike.

Valentine Chantry

Newly arrived at the hotel are the very handsome but not too bright Douglas Gold and his frumpy wife Marjorie. And with that, all aspects of the triangle are in place!

We have

  • An illicit affair
  • A marriage on the rocks
  • Poirot warning Marjorie Gold to leave the island.  Do not pass go, do not collect £200.  Just go.  Now!
  • Valentine Chantry killed by poison in her pink gin
  • A packet of poison found in a husband’s pocket

The case seems pretty clear cut.  But of course it isn’t because this is an Agatha Christie story so, things of course are not entirely as they seem!  It’s up to Poirot to see the innocent spared and the guilty punished.

Gin and Gingerbeer2

Triangle at Rhodes- The Covers

I could only find one cover for Triangle At Rhodes.

Very beautiful – it makes me want to go to Rhodes!

But while digging about the internet, I was also able to find this from the Strand Magazine version of the story!  Isn’t it glorious?

As we are not spending too much time on the covers, I thought we might look at some of the fashion.  The women are beautifully dressed.

And whoever thought we would see Poirot in shades!

Triangle at Rhodes Fashion 2

 

The Recipe

Print

Gin And Ginger Beer – Triangle at Rhodes

Print Recipe

Spice up your life with this mix of gin, ginger beer and lime.  A lovely refreshing cocktail.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 30ml London Dry Gin
  • 10ml lime juice
  • Ginger beer
  • Ice cubes
  • Mint leaves, lime slices and crystallised ginger to serve

Instructions

  • Mix the gin and lime juice together and pour into your glass.
  • Add the ice cubes and top with the ginger beer.  Stir.
  • Garish with lime slices, mint leaves and a piece of crystallised ginger.

Gin and Ginger Beer3

 

“Tony, darling it was too divine, ” cried Valentine as she dropped into a chair by his side.  “The most marvellous idea of Mrs Gold’s.  You all ought to have come!”

Her husband said:  “What about a drink?”

He looked inquiringly at the others.

“Pink gin for me darling,” said Valentine

“Gin and ginger beer, ” said Pamela

– Agatha Christie, Triangle at Rhodes

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in Triangle at Rhodes

 

November’s read will be the titular story from the Murder in The Mews collection.  The setting is Guy Fawkes niight so get ready for fireworks and murder!

Happy reading!

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Sep
2022

Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

categories: Desserts, Dining With The Dame, Eggs, Soufflé

Hello crime readers and food lovers!  Today we are reading (and eating) our way through another short story from the Murder in The Mews collection.  On the menu is a lovely and light lemon soufflé.  Also, an apology for the long break between posts – we had a lovely week away but pretty soon after we got home, I fell ill.  I had an old-school non-covid flu that lasted nearly two weeks and left me with infections in both ears!  A lingering cough from that same flu also lead me to putting my back out!   All up, September has been a month of me either being ill or in pain, neither of which has left me with much energy for cooking or writing.  However, I read this Poirot short story when away and in the small gap of time between my return home and getting ill, I cooked the soufflés.

Lemon Soufflé1

The Incredible Theft- The Plot

.Air Marshal Sir George Carrington calls Poirot to come to the country house of Sir Charles Mayhew where some plans for a new bomber have been stolen.  The bomber will give Britain unparalleled power in the air should war eventuate.  The theft of the plans is a great blow to Britain’s military power.  Attending a house party on the night of the theft was Mrs Vanderlyn, a much-married vamp who is described as being “a very useful person to….a European power – and perhaps to more than one European power”.  Given her marriages have been to an Italian, a German and a Russian, we are not only given the start of a joke where three men walk into a bar but the possible European powers to which Mrs Vanderlyn might be useful!

Pefect Poolside Reading
Perfect Poolside Reading!

Apart from the seductive Mrs Vanderlyn we have

  • A mysterious figure in the shadows
  • A screaming maid
  • A woman with gambling debts
  • A spoiled son in need of some cash
  • Britain’s likely next Prime Minister with something to hide from the populace

Good thing we have Poirot to sort it all out.  Only…do we?   This story is somewhat of an anomaly because only after the denouement do we realise that Poirot actually does very little – all the work is done by….ah…that would be telling!  🙊

The Incredible Theft- The Covers

I could only find two covers for The Incredible Theft – neither of which are very exciting:

Incredible Theft coversInstead, I thought we could all crush on  the divine country manor that features in the Poirot version of The Incredible Theft

And, whilst we are in full drool mode, how about we take a look at Mrs Vanderlyn (and also some more house porn)

That same dress also does not disappoint from the back!

Here is another very glam outfit!

No wonder half of Europe seems to be gaga for Mrs V!

Lady Carrington also knows how to rock a sparkle and lace combo!

 

As much as I could dote on the fashions and locations of Poirot all day, we need to move on to another gorgeous little number, my lemon soufflé!

The Recipe – Lemon Soufflé

Lemon Soufflé3

 

Print

Lemon Soufflé – The Incredible Theft

Lemon Soufflé1
Print Recipe

A lovely light dessert, given a retro twist by serving it in the lemons.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 medium-sized lemons
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 Tbsp icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

  • Line an oven tray with baking paper.
  • Trim the base of the lemon so they sit flat.  Cut off the top third of each lemon and, using a teaspoon, remove the pulp from the lemons  (this takes a while) over a bowl lined with a sieve.
  • Squeeze the juice from the pulp and reserve.  Discard the pulp.
  • Place the lemon shells on the prepared tray.
  • Preheat your oven to 180C
  • Combine the yolks, half the sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and the flour in a heatproof bowl.  Beat until thick and pale.
  • Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and beat for another 8-10 minutes until the mixture is the thickness of a thick custard.  Remove from the heat but continue to beat until the mixture is cool – about another 2-3 minutes.
  • Beat the egg whites to soft peaks, add the remaining salt and the remaining sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
  • Whisk one-third of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture.  Fold the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture with a large metal spoon.  Be as gentle as you can here.  You want to preserve as much of the lightness and air from the whipped whites as possible.
  • Spoon the mixture into the lemon shells, filling to the rims.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes until the soufflés have risen 2-3 centimetres above the rim of the lemons and are golden.
  • Transfer to serving plates, dust with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Leftover lemon juice can be frozen into ice cube trays to use as you need.
  • Or seeing as life has given you lemons, make lemonade!
  • If you accidentally poke your spoon through the bottom of the lemon as you are removing the pulp, never mind.  Wrap the base of the lemon tightly in aluminium foil for cooking and remove it for serving.  This will prevent any souffle mixture oozing out the bottom!

 

As the butler handed round the souffle, Lord Mayfield leaned confidentially towards his neighbour on the right, Lady Julia Carrington.  Known as the perfect host, Lord Mayfield took trouble to live up to his reputation.  Although unmarried, he was always charming to women.”

– Agatha Christie, The Incredible Theft

Links to The Christieverse

Nothing that I could find.

Lemon Souffle 4

Other Food & Drinks Mentioned in The Incredible Theft

  • Dessert
  • Port
  • Breakfast

 

October’s read will be another short story from Murder in the Mews. Get out your sunblock and get ready for some fun and murder in the sun with Triangle at Rhodes.

Happy reading and cooking!

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