Deadly Eclair by Daryl Wood Gerber - #review #recipe #giveaways

It’s always been Mimi Rousseau’s dream to open her own bistro, but it seems beyond her grasp since she’s been chased back home to Nouvelle Vie in Napa Valley by her late husband’s tremendous debt. Until her best friend Jorianne James introduces her to entrepreneur Bryan Baker who invests in promising prospects. Now, working the bistro and inn until she’s able to pay it off and call it her own, Mimi is throwing the inn’s first wedding ever.


The wedding will be the talk of the town, as famous talk show host Angelica Edmonton, daughter of Bryan’s half-brother, Edison, has chosen the inn as her perfect venue. Anxious, Mimi is sure things are going to turn south, especially when Edison gets drunk and rowdy at the out-of-towners’ dinner, but by the evening, things begin to look up again. That is until six AM rolls around, and Bryan is found dead at the bistro with an éclair stuffed in his mouth. And the fingers point at Mimi, whose entire loan is forgiven in Bryan’s will.

Now it’s up to Mimi to clear her name and get to the bottom of things before the killer turns up the heat again in A Deadly Éclair, the scrumptious series debut by Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber.

GoodReads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

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MY REVIEW

There are a growing handful of author names in the cozy mystery genre that *scream* (well, they are mysteries, after all) "THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD!"  Daryl Wood Gerber is one of them.  Avery Aames is another.

I'm already a fan of the Cheese Shop Mysteries and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries.  And, if A Deadly Eclair is any indication, I'll be getting my fangirl costume out for the French Bistro Mysteries as well!

So, Mimi is a widow.  Her late husband left her a tremendous amount of debt.  It seems that once the debt surpasses a certain amount, or percentage of one's wealth, that more and more of it becomes secret.  So, the surviving spouse is left with a second nasty surprise like Mimi was.  So, she has to go back to her family and figure out how she's going to pay all that off.  And, let's face it, minimum wage isn't going to cut it.  Not for Mimi, not for most people, either.

But she's got a good head on her shoulders and angel investor Bryan Baker likes go-getters with a plan.  So he loans her the money to open a bistro/inn combination.  In a surprising and very nice gesture, he erases the loan in his will.  Unluckily for Mimi, Bryan is found murdered on her premises the day of a VIW (very important wedding)...with one of Mimi's eclairs stuffed in his mouth.

Due to that loan forgiveness, Mimi is a top suspect.  But there is no shortage of those.  It's like someone threw some yeast in with the suspect list and *presto, change-o* the list of possibles doubles or trebles in size!  But the author is a whiz in the mystery kitchen, because there is enough intrigue to engage her readers, but not so much that we are left scratching our heads.  Like with Goldilocks, it is 'just right'.

Make space on your bookshelves (or e-readers), y'all, cause, "THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD!"

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RECIPE

Traveling Meal

Dessert

Today, the traveling meal continues with a delicious dessert. Who’s ready for something sweet? Me!  How about something French to celebrate the upcoming release of the first French Bistro Mystery? Mais oui!

I'm sharing possibly the prettiest tart I’ve ever made. I love making pies. I've made them all my life. At one time I used to sell pies around my neighborhood, plus I'd make over thirty pies every summer with the fresh apples and berries we grew in our garden.

In the past few years, I've had to become adept at making a gluten-free crust (not an easy task). I'm providing the recipes for both regular and gluten-free crusts. Now, to be fair, I have to rely on sense memory to make a regular flour crust, but I promise, the recipe works! My family and friends confirm it - if you can trust them. And the gluten-free crust has just the right texture. Enjoy!

As for the design of this tart, I adapted this recipe from a lovely foodie website called The Mediterranean Dish.  I would never have figured out how to make the scalloped design without the site's photographs. My recipe varies slightly, but I attribute the beauty to my fellow foodie. And the tip about how to remove the shell of a tart pan with a separate bottom--all her idea. Brilliant!  (See below)

Enjoy.

FRENCH PEAR TART

aka PEAR TARTIN

CRUST:

(*Gluten-free Piecrust Recipe Below)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:

6 large pears, washed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon water

3/4 cup fig preserves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Set one oven rack in the middle of the oven and set another at the top or second to the top slot (depending on how hot your broiler is).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and combine to form dough. Set the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough along the bottom and onto the side rims of the pan.

Place the crust in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. When ready, remove crust from oven and let it cool. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, set the fig preserves into a small microwaveable bowl and heat for about 40 seconds. Pour the fig preserves through a mesh strainer into a bowl to separate chunks from liquid.  Don’t throw away either portion. Set aside.

Now, slice three pears into 1/2-inch slices, discarding core. (You do not need to peel.) Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Add pear slices plus 1 tablespoon water. Cover and cook on medium heat until pears are slightly tender— about 3 minutes. Remove pears onto a large plate and let cool.

Take the remaining three pears and cut them in the same manner. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in previously used skillet. Add the uncooked pears, chunks of fig reserves, and salt. Cook on medium heat, covered, for ten minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they cook through. You want them to be very tender.

Using a potato masher, mash the pears and fig reserves into a puree. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes or until pureed mixture reduces and thickens. It will turn a darker color. That’s okay.

Transfer pear-fig puree onto the cooled tart crust; spread evenly. It will fill up nicely.

Next, take the cooled pear slices that you set side and assemble them in layered circles, starting at the outer edges, like a rose petal design. You might have to trim a few to make them fit together.

Place tart on the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 28-30 minutes.

Just before the tart is finished baking, warm up the strained liquid fig preserves for 20 seconds in the microwave.

When the tart is cooked, remove it from oven and brush the surface of the pears evenly with the warmed fig liquid. Return the tart to the oven and place on the top rack (or second to the top rack). Broil very briefly!!! 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully until pears get a nice caramelized look. You don’t want the fig jam to burn.

Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.

When ready—and this is a nifty trick—place the bottom of the tart pan on a wide can of food. Hold the ring part of the pan and carefully slide it downwards. It leaves a perfectly formed crust.

Cut pear fig tart into eight slices and serve.

*

GLUTEN-FREE PIECRUST

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 cup sweet rice flour

1 tablespoon whey flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

5 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together cornstarch, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, whey flour, xanthan gum, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and combine to form dough. Set the dough into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough along the bottom and onto the side rims of the pan.

Place the crust in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 28-30 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. When ready, remove crust from oven and let sit to cool. Leave oven on. Return to main recipe: “Meanwhile, set the fig preserves…”

Enjoy!

2ND GIVEAWAY

From Daryl:

I’m offering a book giveaway (winner’s choice of 1 from my published paperbacks) every day of this traveling feast. To enter today, tell me—chocolate, vanilla, fruit, or other?

BY THE WAY, don’t miss out on the French Bistro-themed BOX I’m giving away on my Facebook Author page.

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MEET THE AUTHOR

Website * GoodReads * Daryl's  blog * Avery's Blog

Mystery Lover's Kitchen * Killer Characters

Daryl's Facebook * Avery's Facebook

Daryl's Twitter * Avery's Twitter

Daryl's GoodReads * Avery's GoodReads

Agatha Award-winning Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries and CHEESE SHOP MYSTERIES, which she pens as Avery Aames. She will soon debut the new French Bistro Mysteries. Daryl also writes stand-alone suspense: DAYS OF SECRETS and GIRL ON THE RUN. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky who keeps her in line!

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GIVEAWAY!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to a week's worth of reviews and recipes!  You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book tours in exchange for my honest review.)