An Evening in France with Cara Black and Susan Shea: July 11

Celebrate Bastille Day with a Francofile Literary Salon with Authors Cara Black and Susan Shea. Drink and eat and enjoy the discussion  and readings about France, books, people, and more!

When: Wednesday, July 11, 7 p.m.
Where: RSVP for venue address (Berkeley, CA)
This is a free event, but YOU MUST RSVP to attend.
RSVP required. Address of venue sent with acceptance.
RSVP: janet @ mysteryreaders.org

Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 18 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris. Cara has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year citation, the Médaille de la Ville de Paris—the Paris City Medal, which is awarded in recognition of contribution to international culture—and invitations to be the Guest of Honor at conferences such as the Paris Polar Crime Festival and Left Coast Crime. Murder on the Left Bank is her latest Aimée Leduc mystery.

Susan Shea spent more than two decades as a non-profit executive before beginning her critically praised mystery series featuring a professional fundraiser for a fictional museum. Dressed for Death in Burgundy is the latest in her French Village series. She’s a regular on the 7 Criminal Minds blog, is secretary of the national Sisters in Crime board, on the board of the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. 

Post-Bastille Day Literary Salon: Cara Black and Susan Shea

Immerse yourself in France at this Post-Bastille Day Literary Salon: An Evening with Mystery Authors Cara Black and Susan Shea. Both authors set their mysteries in France. Drink and eat and enjoy the discussion  and readings about France, books, people, and more!

When: Thursday, July 20, 7 p.m.
Where: RSVP for venue address (Berkeley, CA)
This is a free event, but YOU MUST RSVP to attend.
RSVP required. Address of venue sent with acceptance.
RSVP: janet @ mysteryreaders.org

Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 17 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris. Cara has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards, a Washington Post Book World Book of the Year citation, the Médaille de la Ville de Paris—the Paris City Medal, which is awarded in recognition of contribution to international culture—and invitations to be the Guest of Honor at conferences such as the Paris Polar Crime Festival and Left Coast Crime. 

Susan Shea spent more than two decades as a non-profit executive before beginning her critically praised mystery series featuring a professional fundraiser for a fictional museum. Love & Death in Burgundy is the first in her new French Village series. She’s a regular on the 7 Criminal Minds blog, is secretary of the national Sisters in Crime board, on the board of the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. 

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Upcoming Literary Salons in Berkeley

July 26: James Ziskin and Marla Cooper, 7 p.m.

September 13: Amy Stewart, 7 p.m.

The Culinary Joys of Burgundy in Winter: Guest Post by Susan Shea

Susan Shea spent more than two decades as a non-profit executive before beginning her critically praised mystery series featuring a professional fundraiser for a fictional museum. The first in her French village series, Love & Death in Burgundy (St. Martin’s Minotaur Books) debuts next month. She’s a regular on 7 Criminal Minds blog, is secretary of the national Sisters in Crime board, on the board of the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Marin County, California.

Susan Shea:
The Culinary Joys of Burgundy in Winter 

So many authors write well about France and the French – Cara Black, Martin Walker, Fred Vargas - well, she’s French, so she should - and more. But no one else that I know of is writing about the pastoral areas of Burgundy where wheat and rapeseed are as common as wine grapes (thanks, I have been told, to a nasty epidemic of phylloxera some time ago) and where white cattle decorate green fields and red poppies dot the sides of the road in season.

Burgundy has long, cold winters and I have a hunch that’s when some of the region’s signature dishes were developed. After all, if it’s just above freezing, rainy, and the clouds are too low to see the ramparts of the nearest chateau over the soft, rolling hills, what else is there to do but bake gougeres, set a pot of wine-enriched boeuf bourguignon or coq au vin to simmer on the back burner, and roll out a crust and slice apples for a tarte tat in?

I spent eight wet days in a small town in Burgundy last December, researching seasonal foods and activities for the second in my French village mysteries. I know you roll your eyes and say, “Poor you, eight days in France,” but I was cold all the time and the constant rain didn’t support sightseeing. I learned so much that was useful, however: The people in small towns do nothing like our gaudy Christmas decorations and retail promotions. Chocolate and marzipan are the celebratory holiday treats. The churches are dark and silent, their ancient stone walls radiating cold. A few red-cheeked farmers maintain outdoor stalls with cabbages, celery root, potatoes, and fat, white carrots. The biggest market display I saw included imported oranges (Morocco), kiwi (Spain, my notes say), and lettuce that came, perhaps, from hothouses.

As always, cheeses are king. A vendor I remember from summer visits greeted me like a as he raised the side panel of his truck to display what must have been 100 varieties of cow, goat, and sheep cheese, from pretty to downright dangerous looking.

Near the square in Avallon where he’s parked this morning is a small store that advertises “only local cheese” and there I discover a new one to me: little gray mold cheeses in the shapes of pyramids from Vezelay – delicious if you like your cheese with lots of flavor.

Desserts everywhere in France are the most beautiful, the most tempting, the most elegantly conceived treats, but you knew that. I can close my eyes and point and I know I’ll love whatever it turns out to be.

In the spirit of Janet’s chocolate worship, I am enclosing a recipe for a bittersweet chocolate tart that I got from the web site of a chef in Burgundy. Funny thing: He’s an American!

Bon appetit, mes amis!

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Recipe from burgundytoday.com, and the American, French-trained chef Bob Chambers 

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE TART 
Makes a 23 cm (9 inch) tart

FOR THE PASTRY SHELL
• 1 plump vanilla bean
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 60 gm ( 1/2 cup) icing sugar, sifted
• 2 Tbsp whole blanched almonds
• 100 gm (3/4 cup) plain flour, sifted
• Pinch of salt
• 70 gm (5 Tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

FOR THE FILLING
• 3/4 cup double cream
• a third of a cup of milk
• 200 gm (7oz.) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 50 gm (5 Tbsp) chopped orange peel, optional
• 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder for sifting 


TO MAKE THE PASTRY SHELL

Flatten the vanilla bean and cut it in half lengthwise. With a small spoon, scrape the seeds into a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and stir to blend. In a food processor, combine the sugar and almonds and process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the flour and salt and process to blend. Add the butter and process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolks and pulse until the dough just about begins to hold together; do not over process – the dough should not form a ball. Gently pat the dough into a disc, handling it as little as possible. Wrap dough in wax paper and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hr or overnight.

Butter the bottom and side of a 23 cm (9in) fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 28 cm (11in) round. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and gently press the dough against the side, allowing about 1 cm (½ in) to hang over the rim. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. 
Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hr.

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for about 5 mins, just until the pastry begins to firm up. Remove from the oven and, with a sharp knife, carefully cut off and discard the overhanging pastry to make a smooth, even rim. Return the shell to the oven and bake for about 15- 20 mins longer until the pastry is well browned all over.

Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before filling. Leave the oven on.

TO MAKE THE FILLING

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream and milk to a simmer. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Let cool to lukewarm, then whisk in the egg until thoroughly blended. Stir in the candid orange peel.

Pour the custard into the pastry shell and bake in the middle of the oven for 12 to 15 mins, or until the filling is almost set but still trembling in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Sift the cocoa powder over the tart and serve warm or at room temperature. It is also delicious served chilled.

Literary Salon 4/14: Terry Shames, Susan Shea, Reece Hirsch

Join Mystery Readers NorCal for an evening Literary Salon with authors Terry Shames, Susan Shea, and Reece Hirsch.

Date and Time: Thursday, April 14, 7 p.m. (please plan to arrive no earlier than 6:30). 
Location: Berkeley, CA (RSVP for directions and space) Limited seating.
Potluck Sweets & Savories: 'Pick Up' food

Terry Shames: Terry Shames' first Samuel Craddock novel, A Killing at Cotton Hill, (July 2013) won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery and was a finalist for Left Coast Crime's Best Mystery and Strand Magazine's Critic's Award for Best First Mystery. The second in the series, The Last Death of Jack Harbin was named one of the top five mysteries of 2014 by the Library Association's Library Journal. Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek, the third in the Samuel Craddock series, came out in October of 2014, followed by A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge in April 2015 and The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake in January 2016. Terry is the current president of the NorCal chapter of SinC  

Susan Shea: Susan Shea is the author of the Dani O'Rourke Mysteries, a "wickedly funny" series built around the mishaps of a museum fundraiser whose rich prospects have a nasty habit of turning up dead while she's busy promoting them. Susan was the president of the Norcal chapter of SinC, and secretary of the national SinC board. In a former life she, like Dani, learned how to ask for a million dollars without stammering. In 2017, she will debut a new mystery series set in France, for Minotaur Books. She’s a regular on 7 Criminal Minds blog.


Reece Hirsch: Reece Hirsch is the author of four thrillers that draw upon his background as a privacy attorney. His first book, The Insider, was a finalist for the 2011 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. His next three books, The Adversary, Intrusion, and Surveillance, all feature former Department of Justice cybercrimes prosecutor Chris Bruen. Hirsch is a partner in the San Francisco office of an international law firm and cochair of its privacy and cybersecurity practice.

Ken Kuhlken & Susan Shea: Literary Salon

Join Mystery Readers International, NorCal chapter, in Berkeley, CA on Wednesday, June 23, at 7 p.m. for a Literary Salon with mystery authors Ken Kuhlken and Susan Shea.

Ken Kuhlken is a Shamus and Hemingway award winning author of historical novels, mysteries, suspense and short stories. His unique and genuine characters lead readers on an adventurous trip through the mysteries of 20th century California. His latest novel is The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles. Read an Interview with Ken Kuhlken about The Biggest Liar in Los Angeles on International Thriller Writers.

Susan Shea is a first time author making her debut with Murder in the Abstract that takes place within the fascinating world of fine art. She was a non-profit executive for more than two decades before quitting her day job in 2006 to become a full time fiction writer.

RSVP for address and directions or leave a comment.