Note: I’m sorry that I didn’t post a blog entry for a couple of weeks. My website required some updating, and when that happened, I discovered I could no longer use my theme (the theme affects how a site looks). That meant that I had some work to do to fix things. I’m not crazy about this theme, but I’m happy to have a working site again, so I’ll use what I have for now.
There was no doubt in my mind that at some point I was going to write about Diane Mott Davidson. I just hadn’t planned on doing that quite so soon. My initial plan was to reread (or in some cases, read for the first time) all of her culinary mysteries in chronological order, make at least one recipe from each book, and then blog about the series.
COVID-19 led me to decide to write about these books sooner rather than later. In fact, I’ve scrapped my content calendar in favor of posts that seem more appropriate for these crazy, stressful times. And when it comes to “something wonderful,” I figure I should be writing about something comforting — like light reading and good food.
Davidson puts the “cozy” in “cozy mystery.”
Like many cozy mysteries, Davidson’s books take place in a small town, and the mysteries are solved by a female amateur sleuth. In this case, the sleuth is a 30-something caterer named Goldy, who lives in the fictitious town of Aspen Meadow, Colorado. As a caterer, Goldy often turns to cooking when she needs comfort or wants to think things through. Davidson’s cooking scenes make these some of the coziest mysteries you will ever read.
I put some hazelnuts in the oven to toast, then melted a jagged brick of unsweetened chocolate in the top of our double boiler. I combined sun-dried cranberries and oversize morsels of semisweet chocolate in a bowl, then scattered the hazelnuts to cool on a plate. I began to feel better. By the time I was beating unsalted butter with sugar and cream cheese, I was humming… . (from The Grilling Season)
I also love the fact that Goldy unabashedly enjoys food.
Schultz settled me at his cherrywood dining room table, and then began to ferry out dishes. He had outdone himself. Plump, succulent shrimp nestled inside blue corn tortillas smothered with a green chile and cream cheese sauce. Next to these he served bacon-sprinkled refried black beans, a perfectly puffed Mexican corn pudding, and my fragrant Irish bread. A basket of raw vegetables and pot of picante made with fresh papaya graced the table between the candles. I savored it all. (from The Cereal Murders)
There’s more to these fluffy, fun books than food. I’ve fallen in love with many of the recurring characters, and I enjoy the plots. But if I’m being honest, I’m a sucker for Davidson’s food scenes.
This isn’t just a series of mysteries; it’s a series of mini-cookbooks.
Want to try those cookies Goldy is making as she puzzles over the motive for a murder? You can. While Davidson doesn’t include recipes for every single meal or treat she mentions in her books, she does include several. Many of those recipes are quite good.
I’ve only started cooking out of this series over the past year. So far, I’ve made several things from the first six books, and I’m quite pleased with the results. The worst of what I’ve made was still “okay,” and some of the recipes were to die for (sorry — couldn’t resist). In a few of the books, Goldy makes a lot of low-fat recipes: first, for a group of women who are concerned about fat content and later for a friend who has had a heart attack. I’ve found that those recipes are some of my least favorite. But there are lots of winners. In addition to the Chocoholic Cookies pictured above, my family has particularly enjoyed Rainy Season Chicken Soup (The Main Corpse), Julian’s Cheese Manicotti (The Cereal Murders), and Scout’s Brownies (Dying for Chocolate).
I’ll admit that finding ingredients right now can be dicey. But if you have a well-stocked pantry and want to cook your way through these days of social isolation, this series is a great resource. A cozy mystery and a cookbook… what more could you ask for?