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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (m) Temple, L. 2005 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A delicious new mystery series that takes readers on a cook's tour of kitchens through history.
A fresh new series begins-- one which will follow a spice box--and the cooks who use it--through different historical periods, each with a mystery to solve and a handful of precious recipes.
Bridget Heaney escaped from Ireland's Great Famine to New York City, where she spent her childhood as a pickpocket, supporting herself and her younger sister. But ever since she made her first pot of soup at the orphanage, she knew she wanted to be a cook. Now, in the home of wealthy and powerful department store owner Isaac Gold, her dream is about to come true.
But on Bridget's first day of work, amidst gleaming copper pots and mighty woodstoves, she finds a body hidden inside the dough box. It is Gold's youngest son, whose whereabouts have been a mystery for several days. Bridget's courage and street sense take her from cook to crime-solver as she helps the heartbroken Gold family unravel the story of their son's fate. Justice will be served-along with a home-cooked meal.
A taste of The Spice Box's recipes:
Mustard Fruit Compote
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried powdered mustard
1/2-cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey mustard
2 cups apple juice
15-20 pitted prunes, chopped
15-20 dried apricots, chopped
1-cup raisins
1-cup dried cranberries or cherries
6-8 dried figs, chopped
3 fresh pears, chopped
In a small sauté pan over medium heat, heat the mustard seed and turmeric until the seeds begin to pop, about two minutes.
Be careful not to inhale directly over the pan, as the mustard gas is strong. Remove from heat. Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pears are soft, about 25 minutes. Serve with ham, turkey, or a prime rib of beef or pork.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The first of a new food-themed historical series, Temple's charming tale of New York City in the Civil War era introduces Bridget Heaney, a clever, streetwise Irish immigrant. The day Bridget starts as an assistant cook in the Manhattan household of wealthy merchant Isaac Gold, she makes a terrible discovery: the body of the family's youngest son, Seth, who'd been missing, crammed inside a dough box. Two gunshot wounds to the chest are the cause of death. The obliging Bridget sets aside her kitchen duties to help the Gold family search for Seth's killer. A delightful mix of upstairs and downstairs characters, a vivid picture of the city's seamy underside, absorbing details of Sephardic Judaism and a fittingly melodramatic climax make this a memorable debut. Agent, Lisa Queen at IMG. (May 3) FYI: Temple is also the author of Death Is Semisweet (2002) and other mysteries in her Heaven Lee series. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
New York circa 1865, a city of baronial mansions and wretched hovels, plays home to a sleuthing Irish cook. Bridget Heaney considers herself fortunate to be starting a new job as assistant cook for a wealthy Sephardic family--that is, until she finds their missing son Seth dead in the breadbox. Department store owner Isaac Gold is unsuccessfully consoled by his son Benjamin and his wife, his daughter Rose and their snooty stepmother, along with a racially diverse group of servants for whose welfare Isaac is uncommonly concerned. Desolated by Seth's murder, he enlists Bridget's aid in combing the Irish ghetto to find Seth's lover Katherine, who soon becomes the next victim. But Bridget finds a secret drawer in Katherine's spice box crammed with recipes in many languages and a clue that leads her through newspapers, whorehouses, Irish bars, German boardinghouses, the stock exchange, an insane asylum and Gold's store in her pursuit of the murderer and of her own missing sister Maggie. Nimble-witted and well aware of the city's depravity, Bridget finds that life is cheap in this turbulent era, but her dogged optimism will overcome all odds. Temple (Death is Semisweet, 2002, etc.) further brightens her dark landscape with a mÉlange of recipes, cooking hints and tidbits of Manhattan history. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Set in New York City during the Civil War, this new series features Bridget Heaney, an orphaned Irish lass who has learned to cook well enough to be hired to work in the kitchen of a prosperous Jewish merchant. On her very first day of work, Bridget discovers the body of her employer's son. None of the characters has much depth, but they are all recognizable: Bridget's fragile sister; the kindly employer; the wronged kitchen maid (Bridget's predecessor); the French chef; the free man of color who is the house steward; and, of course, the butler. The point of view changes sometimes midparagraph, the characters have the sensibilities and speak in the language of the twenty-first rather than the nineteenth century, the food preparation is described with more care and gusto than anything else, and both the crime and the resolution strain credulity. With all that, however, the novel is thoroughly readable, if one is willing to give in to the comforts of formula. Hard to put down, like a bowl of pudding. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2005 Booklist
Library Journal Review
A new series featuring a spice box and its travels through time and cooks, each with a mystery to solve, debuts with Bridget Henry escaping Ireland's Great Famine to New York, and her cooking cum crime-solving venture. Temple is a caterer in Kansas City, MO, and author of the culinary mystery series featuring Heaven Lee.-Ann Kim (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.