Poirot - Retro Food For Modern Times

Tag: Poirot

24
Oct
2021

Coeur A La Creme – Murder on The Orient Express

categories: 1970's recipes, A-Zof Cooking, Dining With The Dame, France, Poirot

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Welcome to part two of my Murder on The Orient Express Trilogy! We started last week with the fun collab with Jenny from Silver Screen Suppers. Today is a regular Dining with The Dame and next week we will have an added bonus. For now though, let’s focus on my recipe of choice for Dining with the Dame which is a classic French dessert – a Coeur A La Creme, the recipe for which comes from my old favourite, The A-Z of Cooking!

And just to be clear, this dessert is French, not Belgian!

Murder on The Orient Express – The Plot

We touched on this last week but here is a quick recap. Hercule Poirot boards the Orient Express in Istanbul, the train is unexpectedly crowded for the time of year. On the first night, Poirot is approached by an American, Samuel Ratchett who offers Poirot money to protect him as he has been receiving death threats. Poirot does not like him and refuses. Later that evening, after a course of events that either awake him or keep him awake, Poirot learns that the train is stuck in a snowdrift in the middle of Yugoslavia.

The next morning, Poirot wakes to find that his neighbour, the odious Mr Ratchett has been stabbed 12 times and is now resoundingly dead! With no one able to get on or off the train, due to the snowdrift, the murderer has to still be on board. As the police can also not reach the train, Poirot takes on the job of hunting down the killer.

We have:

A mysterious red kimono
A burned letter with the words “member Daisy Armstrong” still legible
A handkerchief bearing the letter H
A pipe cleaner and a box of matches different to those used by Rachett
And twelve passengers who may not be entirely who they seem!

This book is so amazingly plotted, so well written that it brings my obsessive little heart joy to think about it. Every little detail in this is plotted to the nth degree, and yet when you are reading it, it feels effortless.

Murder on The Orient Express- The Covers

The American version of Murder was called Murder on the Calais Coach. Not quite as catchy is it? I love the pulp fiction cover with the woman in the red kimono and am completely baffled by the one on its right. What are those things? They look like some weird brass band instruments!

The Recipe – Coeur A La Creme

Murder on the Orient Express has a surprising lack of food. I was hoping we would have some Turkish food from the Istanbul scenes and then some very posh French food while onboard. No such luck! My choice of a Couer a la Creme came from this passage:

‘Poirot sat down and soon found himself in the favoured position of the table which was served first and with the choicest of morsels. The food too, was unusually good.

It was not until they were eating a delicate cream cheese that M.Bouc allowed his attention to wander to matters other than nourishment. He was at the stafge of the meal when one becomes philosophic”

Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

Coeur A La Creme is my take on that delicate cream cheese. And I am so glad I chose it. It is absolutely delicious!!! Next to that Ingrid Bergman Trout that I made last week, it is one of the most gorgeous, delicate, delicious things I have ever eaten. Think the lightest most delicious cheesecake you have ever eaten and you are nearly there! And it comes from something as gross as cottage cheese!

Coeur a la Creme is traitionally associated with romantic occasions such as Valentine’s Day. But as we are talking Murder on The Orient Express and we are in spooky season, I hope all those romantics out there will forgive me for making it a bit stabby!

Other Food Mentioned in Murder on the Orient Express

Perrier

Coffee (Multiple times)

Eggs – Eggs always make an appearance in these books! I wonder if writing about Poirot’s egg-shaped head so often made Dame Agatha hungry for them!

Orange juice

Mineral Water

Chicken no sauce

Boiled fish

Tea and biscuits

Cognac

Stay tuned next week for the third and final instalment of the Murder on the Orient Express Extravaganza!!! If you are reading along, next up is Three Act Tragedy so get reading!

Breaking news!

Dining with the Dame now has its own instagram page so if you are reading along or cooking along or just want to share Agatha Christie related recipes or book posts you can now hit me up there too!

23
Aug
2021

Dry Martini – Peril at End House

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

Greetings crime readers and food, well drink lovers! Today we are celebrating the delights of the Agatha Christie novel Peril at End House with a fabulous dry martini. And there are many delights to this book. First, it is a Poirot, second, the adaptation is filmed in the most gorgeous location and third, we get to drink a martini!

Also, for those of you who may think that Christie novels are all knitting and cups of tea at the Vicarage, this book has a Scarface-esque amount of cocaine in it. Those bright young things of the 1930’s were not shy when it came to a bit of blow!

Peril at End House – The Plot

Poirot and Hastings are taking a little vacay to the Cornish town of St Loo. While sitting on the terrace of the Majestic Hotel, they make the acquaintance of Nick Buckley, a young female who is the owner of End House, a ramshackle mansion next door to the hotel.

Nick tells them that she has escaped death a number of times recently – a heavy painting fell of the wall cliff and onto her bed. Luckily she had been making tea at the time and missed having her head bashed in by it. The brakes on her car failed and she is nearly crushed by a boulder on the cliff path. Indeed, even as she is talking to Poirot and Hastings she is bothered by what she thinks is a bee flying too close to her face. Poirot later discovers that this was in fact a bullet, not a bee.

Someone is apparently trying to kill Nick Buckley!

Poirot convinces Nick to send for her cousin Magdalena to help keep her safe. Magdalena is then killed whilst wearing Nick’s shawl, presumably in a case of mistaken identity.

On top of a dead cousin, rafts of cocaine and multiple life attempts we have

The wonderfully named Commander Challenger
Some shonky Australian housekeepers
Chocolates poisoned with cocaine
Some wonderful repartee between Hastings and Miss Lemon in the adaptation
Missing pilots
Love letters and secret marriages
Lost wills
Fake deaths and mad ex-husbands

Peril At End House – The Covers

There are quite a few foreign covers in this lot – some French, an Italian and even an Arabic (?) one. Also two FABULOUS pulp fiction covers from the 1950’s or 60’s!

The Recipe – Dry Martini

‘What about a cocktail?’ I suggested. ‘It’s just about the time.’

‘Well—’ She hesitated. ‘Thanks very much.’

‘Martini?’

‘Yes, please—dry Martini.’

I went off. On my return, after having ordered the drinks, I found Poirot and the girl engaged in animated conversation.

‘Imagine, Hastings,’ he said, ‘that house there—the one on the point—that we have admired so much, it belongs to Mademoiselle here.’

‘Indeed?’ I said, though I was unable to recall having expressed any admiration. In fact I had hardly noticed the house. ‘It looks rather eerie and imposing standing there by itself far from anything.’

‘It’s called End House,’ said the girl. ‘I love it—but it’s a tumble-down old place. Going to rack and ruin.’

Agatha Christie, Peril at End House

Dry Martini

Print Recipe

A classic dry martini

Author: Taryn Nicole

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/2 ounces Gin, I used Four Pillars Cousin Vera Gin
1/2 ounce dry vermouth. I used Noilly Prat
Green olive or a lemon twist to garnish
Ice cubes
Ice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Combine the gin and vermouth in a mixing glass full of ice cubes

Stir them to combine.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with an olive (or two) on a cocktail stick.

Notes

If you are not a fan of olives you can also garnish with a lemon twist

Other Food Mentioned in Peril at End House

Cup of Chocolate

Bacon and eggs (as per every other Poirot)

Marmalade, coffee and rolls.

Good champagne (of couse darling!)

Tisane

Chocolates

Brioches

Chocolate eclairs

I LOVED this book! It was probably my favourite so far and the adaptation is also mwah chef’s kiss perfect!

If you are reading along, next up is Lord Edgware Dies.

Have a great week and happy reading!

23
Nov
2020

Castilian Leg of Lamb- Dining with The Dame 7

categories: Dining With The Dame, Lamb, Poirot

Hello crime readers and food lovers! Today we are dining on a Castilian leg of lamb as we uncover the evil machinations of a shady group of evildoers known as The Big Four. This is certainly not my favourite of the books I have read so far as the plot seemed a little silly in parts. However one of the early stories significantly involves a leg of lamb This seemed like a great excuse for a roast dinner and the meal did not disappoint!

The Big Four- The Plot

This novel pits Hercule Poirot against four evil genius’ bent on world domination – they are an American – the richest man in the world, a female French scientist, the Chinese leader of the group – a criminal genius and “the Destroyer” the group’s assassin who is also a master of disguise and (wait for it) a British actor.

We have:

Sinister cabals
Poisoned curries
Poisoned grandmasters
Hijinks on trains
Stolen radium
Secret lairs under mountains
Twin brothers
Telltale tics
And, course Hercule Poirot (or is it twin brother Achilles?) using his little grey cells to thwart the villains and their evil plans.

The Covers

Given that we are talking about the Big Four – I’m showing four covers today. The third from the left is the one I read but I am rather taken by all the others.

The Recipe – Castilian Leg of Lamb

The recipe comes from the wonderful Keith Floyd and his journey through Spain – not in the search of arch criminals but in search of some damn fine nosh!

You can find the recipe here. You can also watch the entire series of Keith Floyd’s adventures in Spain on YouTube. Floyd is so engaging it is well worth investing the time.

In his hand he was brandishing a leg of mutton! “My dear Poirot!” I cried “What is the matter? Have you suddenly gone mad?”

“Regard, I pray you , this mutton. But regard it closely!”

I regarded it as closely as I could but could see nothing unusual about it. It seemed to me to be a very ordinary leg of mutton.”

Agatha Christie, The Big Four

Other Food Mentioned in The Big Four

Have a wonderful week! Next book in the list is The Mystery of the Blue Train from 1928.

17
Aug
2020

Welsh Rarebit- Dining with The Dame 6

categories: Bread, Cheese, Dining With The Dame, Grilled Cheese, Poirot, Vegetarian

Hello crime readers and food lovers! The Murder of Roger Ackroyd which is Christie number 6 has a special memory for me because this was one of the books we had oin the bookshelf when I was growing up. This was probably one of the first Christie books I ever read!. It was also the book that made Christie’s name as a writer for the innovative twist at the end. It has been recognised, many times, as one of the best and/or most influential crime novels ever written. Never mind the accolades though, it also, beautifully and comically features one of my own favourite foods – a Welsh Rarebit!

One of the few good things working from home for the last… Good Lord five months now…. is that I can whip up a Welsh rarebit for lunch whenever I choose. Turns out I choose to do so quite frequently! It’s tasty, filling, perfect with a bowl of soup, a salad, or just on its own! Of course, I ‘ am not alone in loving a bit o’ Welsh Rarebit!

The normally curmudgeonly Martin Lampen claims

Cheese on toast, its Welsh Rarebit to those in the know. It’s the perfect British rainy day lunchtime snack – quick, cheap, easy to prepare….it’s a national icon”

– The Knickerbocker Glory Years

Albert Jack, however, draws attention to the rather origin of its name by calling it

” the most insulting way to serve cheese on toast”

This is because the English thought it would be funny to mock the Welsh by insinuating that they were too poor to have proper meat and so had to have cheese instead!

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- The Plot

James Sheppard is the local doctor in Kings Abbot. He lives with his sister Caroline who knows all the gossip and scandal in the town and who is currently interested in finding out all about the “foreign” gentleman who has moved in next door.

A wealthy widow in the town has committed suicide by drinking veronal. Her fiance, Roger Ackroyd, is in a state of agitation because the day before Mrs Ferrars (the widow) confessed to him that she murdered her first husband. She also told him that someone knew she had done it and was blackmailing her.

That night, Roger Ackroyd is stabbed to death in his study by persons unknown…

Turns out the foreign gentleman next door is no other than Hercule Poirot who has moved to Kings Abbot to grow marrows in his retirement. (BTW, Kings Abbott is a real place and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS!)

Anyhoo, no one is getting away with stabbing people to death in the neck on Poirot’s watch. What follows are:

Mysterious phonecalls
Strangers lurking in the bushes
Chairs suspiciously out of place
Stolen money
Secret Marriages
And of course, Poirot using his little grey cells to solve the crime and out the murderer!
There is also a bit of slapstick when Dr. Sheppard gets hit over the head with one of Poirot’s marrows. I mean it’s not as good as this classic from the Amazing Race. But in terms of people getting forcefully hit with produce, it’s up there! Also, who knew I was keeping that list?

The Covers

Only three covers this time – the one from my childhood, the one I read which was a graphic novel! And my favourite of them all – I mean is it just me or does Roger look hot in that third one?

The Recipe – Welsh Rarebit

I need to set the scene a bit on this one. Dr. Sheppard invites Poirot round for lunch. However, there were only two chops available for the lunch table. In order to save face, Caroline Sheppard pretends to be a vegetarian and lunches on a Welsh Rarebit.

‘With magnificent mendacity, [she] explained to Poirot that … she adhered strictly to a vegetarian diet. She descanted ecstatically on the delights of nut cutlets (which I am quite sure she has never tasted) and ate a Welsh rarebit with gusto and frequent cutting remarks as to the dangers of ‘flesh’ foods.’

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie

The Recipe for Welsh Rarebit I used comes from Cookery The Australian Way which was my high school home economics cookbook! As you can see from the state of the page, this has been used a LOT! I have tried other recipes for Welsh Rarebit but this is the one I have returned to time and time again for the last…hmmm…lets not count the years since I was in high school!

Other Food Mentioned in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Stay safe friends and have a great week!