A meal fit for a Queen (of mystery!)... by Cathy Ace

QUESTION: You've invited an author (living or dead - fantasy okay) to dinner and you're nervous. What will you serve that you think will make her or him your greatest admirer?

RESPONSE: This is an easy one…of course I’m going to invite Agatha Christie, and of course I’m going to serve her a classic, multi-course, dinner.

We’ll begin – as one does, with cocktails in the drawing room, but no little nibbles to spoil our appetite as we sip and chat. I might open by asking her how she felt about a collection of Royal Mail postage stamps being published to coincide with her 100th birthday, in September 2016. (My lovely sister gave me a set for Christmas, 2016.)

 

Then we’ll move to the table where an amuse bouche will be served: just a single mouthful of creamed, herbed cheese atop a round of thin, lightly toasted bread, decorated with a garnish of glistening caviar. 

The soup will be cauliflower; I’m rather good at cauliflower soup, with a hint of curry powder to add interest. 

The salad will be crisp and fresh and small, lightly dressed with a zingy citrus dressing. 

The fish course will be a handful of mussels, cooked in a white wine and cream liquor, with just a hint of garlic. 

The roast will be – of course – lamb, served with tiny new potatoes, already tossed in butter and chopped parsley, with a choice of baby carrots and broccoli. Mint sauce (absolutely NOT mint jelly) will be available, as will gravy made from the meat’s juices. 

A little break before dessert will allow for more chat, then dessert will be served: a portion of berry-flavored sorbet.

All small plates, all delicious, and we won’t be rolling around completely stuffed at the end of it all!

Click here for the story behind the design of the commemorative Christie stamps

  

Cathy Ace is the author of the Cait Morgan Mysteries and the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries. You can find out more about Cathy and her work here:  http://www.cathyace.com/