Jane Reads: A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, & 2 Giveaways

The Blurb

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.

A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber

Series: A French Bistro Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
Publication Date: November 7, 2017
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683313410

e-Book File Size: 4627 KB
Kindle ASIN: B06XWDWRLF

The Review

I just read a really good book, y'all — A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber, book one in the French Bistro Mystery series. Let me tell you a little about it.

A Deadly Éclair's main character, Mimi Rousseau, captured my interest from the start. As she's realizing her dream of being the owner-operator of a bistro and inn, I found her easy to root for. The dynamic of the relationship between Mimi and her childhood best friend, Jorianne (Jo) James, is delightful. Another character I really cared for is Mimi's benefactor and mentor, Bryan Baker. I was dismayed that he was the murder victim.

I adored the story, told from the POV of Mimi. The gorgeous cover sets the right tone for a book set at a French bistro. The mystery is plausible, and kept me guessing. I like how Author Daryl Wood Gerber wrapped up several subplots after the big reveal. I am looking forward to the next French Bistro Mystery, A Soufflé of Suspicion.

I really enjoyed A Deadly Éclair, and recommend it to all fans of cozy mysteries. I think it will have special appeal to fans of Daryl Wood Gerber's other books, Avery Aames' books, and the Santa Fe Café Mystery series. And to foodies! Foodies will love the 14 recipes included, plus reading about all of the delicious-sounding cuisine.

I really like A Deadly Éclair by Daryl Wood Gerber, and bestow upon it Four Kitties!

Four out of five kitties

Note: I received an advance review copy of A Deadly Éclair,

and voluntarily reviewed it. All opinions shared are 100% my own.

Daryl's Guest Post

Traveling Meal

Entrée

Please tell me you're not getting tired of me sharing French food recipe yet. The wonderful thing about French food is the variety. When I first started writing the French Bistro Mysteries, I worried that I wouldn't be able to do it well because all the recipes would require flour. Being a celiac, that was horrifying and scary.

But I took heart in something Eleanor Roosevelt said: "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’"

Okay, cooking isn't entirely frightening and I wasn't facing life-threatening fear, but I felt fear nonetheless. Then I learned that cooking French food didn't require using flour all the time. And even if it did, substitutions could be made. Honestly. I also had the misconception that everything is so rich with butter that I "shouldn't" eat it unless imbibing with a glass of cabernet to balance the cholesterol. Not true. Though I do like a glass of cabernet. And butter.

Now, there are some foods that you simply must try and savor despite the calories or cholesterol because, well, the flavor is incredible. {Can't you just see a Frenchman saying this word and then kissing his fingertips and throwing the kiss in the air?}

For our traveling feast, here is a recipe that I dare you not to try!

By the way, Roquefort cheese is a sheep’s milk cheese, created in the south of France. Though you’ll find similar cheeses around the world, the European Union law requires that the cheese come from the Combalou Caves of Roquefort-sur-Solzon. It is white, crumbly, and tangy and has distinctive blue veins.

For this recipe, you may substitute any blue-veined cheese.

Last breath: This recipe looks “long” because I’m sharing both pie crust versions… But the pie itself only has 9 ingredients and 3 of those are spices.

FRENCH ROQUEFORT TART

(Serves 8)

1 layer pastry dough (recipe below)

3 medium onions or 2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2/3 cup blue-veined cheese (Roquefort, Bleu, Gorgonzola, Cambozola), crumbled

4 eggs

1 cup Half-and-Half

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Need parchment paper and dried beans, rice, or lentils.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Make and roll out the pastry. (See below) Set the pastry in a deep-dish pie pan. Line the center of the pastry with parchment paper and fill it with dried beans, rice, or lentils, and bake it for 15 minutes. Remove the pie dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the beans, rice, or lentils and cool them so you can use again.

Slice the onions. They will yield about 2-3 cups. In a large skillet, over low heat, melt the butter and cook the onions for 20 minutes until they're tender but not browned. Be careful not to burn them. I used tongs to stir every few minutes.

Turn up the heat to medium-high and sprinkle the sugar over the onions. Sauté the onions and sugar until the mixture turns golden brown. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Be patient and stir often. The onions will cook down to about 1 ½ cups. Remove the onions from the pan and set on a clean plate. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, the Half-and-Half, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Layer the caramelized onions onto the pastry. Top with the crumbled blue-veined cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the onions and cheese.

Bake the tart for 35-40 minutes, until the eggs are set in the middle. Cool slightly and serve.

Cool tip: If you do not have Half-and-Half, you can make a substitute by melting one tablespoon butter and adding enough whole milk to make one cup.

PASTRY DOUGH

Gluten-Free Version

(makes 1 deep-dish pie shell)

1 ½ cup sifted gluten-free flour*

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons butter or shortening

3-5 tablespoons water

Put gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, and salt into food processor fitted with a blade. Cut in 3 tablespoons of butter or shortening and pulse for 30 seconds. Cut in another 4 tablespoons of butter or shortening. Pulse again for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with 3-5 tablespoons water and pulse a third time for 30 seconds.

Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a ball using your hands. Wrap with wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the covering. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a countertop. (If desired, sprinkle parchment paper with 2–4 tablespoons gluten-free flour.) Place the dough on top of the parchment paper. Cover with another large piece of parchment paper. This prevents the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. Roll out dough so it is ¼-inch thick and large enough to fit into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, with at least a ½-inch border along the edge.

Spray the deep-dish pie plate with non-stick spray or rub with butter or shortening.

Remove the top parchment paper. Place the pie plate upside down on the dough. Flip the dough and pie plate. Remove the parchment paper. Press the dough into the pie plate. Crimp the edges. Note: Why flip the dough and pie plate? Because gluten-free pastry dough, unlike regular pastry dough, doesn’t roll into a tube or fold well and has a tendency to break. This flip technique works best for me. If your dough does break, don’t worry. Use a little water and fingertips to press any breakage back together. Nobody will see the bottom of the quiche. Also, here’s a quickie tip re: gluten-free pastry. If you run a knife between the pastry and the dish before filling with mixture, it will not stick to the pie plate.

I use a combination of sweet rice flour and tapioca starch; you can use store-bought ingredients like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur gluten-free flour.

PASTRY DOUGH

(makes 1 deep-dish pie shell)

1 ½ cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons butter or shortening

3-5 tablespoons water

Kosher salt

Put flour and salt into food processor fitted with a blade. Cut in 3 tablespoons of butter or shortening and pulse for 30 seconds. Cut in another 4 tablespoons of butter or shortening. Pulse again for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with 3-5 tablespoons water and pulse a third time for 30 seconds.

Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a ball using your hands. Wrap with wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and remove the covering. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a countertop. (If desired, sprinkle parchment paper with 2–4 tablespoons flour.) Place the dough on top of the parchment paper. Cover with another large piece of parchment paper. This prevents the dough from sticking to the rolling pin. Roll out dough so it is ¼-inch thick and large enough to fit into 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, with at least a ½-inch border along the edge.

Remove the top parchment paper. Gently roll the dough into a tube, removing the bottom layer of parchment paper, and then place the tube of dough into the pie plate. Unfurl the dough. Press the dough into the pie plate. Crimp the edges.

GIVEAWAY #1

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 — meat or fish or vegetarian for dinner?

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

The Author

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Agatha Award-winning Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and the Cheese Shop Mysteries which she pens as Avery Aames.

Daryl is now debuting 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!