I Need Your Vote!

As Linda was saying the holidays are upon us. Now I'm not a person who cooks very often. I can cook I just don't enjoy it that much. But I've decided I'm going to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year. I'm also going to buck the routine and I've decided to cook a pork tenderloin. I wanted a recipe that included apples. I found three that sound yummy - now I want your vote. Which one do you think I should cook. Can't wait to hear from you and I'll be sure and take pictures and post the outcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Lazy Day Sweet and Sour Tenderloin

   • In a heavy skillet, brown the tenderloin on all sides in 2 or 3 tbsp. of cooking oil. Place the tenderloin in the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour 1 can of apple pie filling over the browned roast. Add 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. Place the lid on the cooker and cook on low for five to six hours for a small tenderloin and up to eight for a larger 2-lb. roast. Test for proper temperature at the end of the cooking time. Cook longer if necessary to achieve 160 F.

   Tenderloin with Fresh Apples

   • Core and slice 2 small or 1 large Granny Smith apple into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle or dip the slices in lemon juice to prevent browning. Slice 1 Vidalia onion into slices of approximately the same size. In a heavy, oven-safe skillet, heat 2 tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Brown the pork tenderloin on all sides. Remove the tenderloin from the pan and set on a platter. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and sauté the onions and apples until evenly browned. Place the tenderloin on top of the apple and onion mixture in the skillet. Brush the top of the loin roast with Dijon mustard. Bake the roast in a 450 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 160 F.

   Roasted Tenderloin and Apples

   • Place a 1 lb. to 1 1/2 lb. tenderloin in a roasting pan. Cover with a tight lid or aluminum foil. Place the pan in a 400 F oven and let cook for 30 minutes. While the roast is cooking, slice two cooking apples (such as Granny Smiths) into 1/4-inch slices. Add 2 tbsp. of fresh or frozen cranberries. In a bowl, combine 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Spoon this mixture over the fruit, coating the fruit thoroughly with the sugar and spice. Remove the tenderloin from the oven after 30 minutes and spoon the fruit mixture on and around the roast. Return the roast to the oven and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the roast is golden brown and reaches a 160 F internal temperature.

 Deborah Malone’s first novel Death in Dahlonega, finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Category Five writing contest! Deborah was also nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year in First Novel category. She has worked as a freelance writer and photographer, for the historic magazine “Georgia Backroads.” She has had many articles and photographs published, and her writing is featured in “Tales of the Rails,” edited by Olin Jackson. She is a member of the Georgia Writer’s Association. As a current member of the American Christian Fiction Writer she has established a blog where she reviews Christian Fiction.  

Proceed with Caution

Many of the most loved cozy mysteries are historicals. It's not hard to figure out why--everyone from the past is dead!

And where there is a death, there is a potential mystery.

Of course that could just be my mystery-writer brain hard at work.

If you spend any time over at ancestry.com (and why wouldn't you?!) you will have run head-first into many a historical mystery already. One simple example is that census records from 1820 and earlier only list the name of the head of household. When digging up my own family tree I've stared at the screen, scratched my head and said, "Well, if I do the math right those should be the same people." Moments later though, my mystery-writer brain kicks in to say, "But what if they aren't?"

Immigration records are another source for inspiration when you are plotting your first--or next--historical mystery. For my own little family researches I found myself asking, "Why might they have come on separate boats?" and "If they were from Wales why did they leave from Liverpool?" A simple matter of several hundred miles could equal 300 pages of solid suspense.

One caution: If you turn to your own family history to help with future plots, be sure to keep the story that inspired it close to your chest. Change names and dates, and even locations if you must. Family peace is worth a thousand best sellers!

In honor of family, historical fiction, and coziness, enjoy our family's yummiest traditional family dessert: Huckleberry Duff.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar, plus 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
1/4 cup milk
1 quart fresh huckleberries (or blueberries, blackberries, black caps, you get the picture)
 2 cups water

Directions

Sift together flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Grate cold butter into flour mixture with a cheese grater. Stir together with a fork. Add milk to form dough. Combine berries, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Drop dumplings into berrie sauce by the tablespoonful. Cover pot. Turn heat down to low and cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes. Don't open until your timer beeps! Serve with fresh cream, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Traci Tyne Hilton is the author of The Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery Series. She is also a wife, mom, Sunday School teacher, and award winning playwright from Portland, Oregon. She is madly working on her next mystery series which has finaled in the Books of Hope Contest at Write Integrity Press and has an impending deadline.

Traci earned a degree in History from Portland State University and lives in the rainiest part of the Pacific Northwest with her husband the mandolin playing funeral director from Kansas, their two daughters, and their dog, Dr. Watson.
More of Traci's work can be found at tracihilton.com