For our Sherlock Holmes bonus recipe, we’re making a recipe I first heard of when researching this menu: London Fog Lattes. These are lattes made with EARL GREY TEA! And I was so excited to try them. Plus, there’s nothing more British than Earl Grey, so they’re a perfect send-off for Sherlock! 🙂
P.S. The recipe I use here is kind of a mash-up of two recipes I found online: one from Gimme Some Oven and another from The Busy Baker.
Is it just me, or was Sherlock Holmes DESIGNED to have a reading kit? Putting this thing together was a breeze, you guys. I’ve made easy kits before, but seriously—I chose all the items for this one in under 20 minutes. It practically made itself! Maybe it’s the iconic imagery (pipes! deerstalkers! magnifying glasses!), or maybe it’s just the fact that there are so many Sherlock fans out there making awesome stuff. Either way, I’ve pretty much decided that this is already in my top 5 favorite reading kits. Enjoy! 🙂
Say hello to our new Book of the Month: Sherlock Holmes! I’ve been wanting to making a Sherlock menu since Day 1 of this blog, but one of the struggles I ran into is that Holmes just doesn’t eat a lot. He subsists mainly on coffee, pipe smoke, and music—which is cool to read about, but doesn’t make for an appetizing dinner.
So up until a few months ago, I had Holmes on the back burner. Then a friend of mine specifically requested a menu for him, and I renewed my search. I tried a Holmesian recipe hunt once more, but just couldn’t find enough to make a full menu. When I expressed my frustrations to another friend, she had a great idea: make recipes inspired by the names of the Sherlock Holmes stories! Before long, we were chatting about how fun it would be to have an orange-flavored recipe for The Five Orange Pips, something ginger for The Red-Headed League, and so on. So, at long last, my Sherlock Holmes menu is FINALLY ready to premiere! 😀
Time to premiere our Sherlock Holmes tea! I had a lot of fun developing this blend. As I’ve stated in the past, Adagio Teas already has a TON of unique Earl Grey blends, so I decided not to make an Earl Grey, even though it was the first flavor to occur to me.
Plus, Sherlock actually isn’t the biggest fan of tea in the books—he prefers coffee! So I decided to make a coffee-inspired tea blend. It’s been a long time since I played with Adagio’s mocha-flavored teas (the last time was when I made a Hercule Poirot tea), so I got to step outside my comfort zone a little bit. I knew I wanted something smoky and intense to evoke the feeling of a wood-paneled Victorian study, a roaring fireplace, and pipe smoke. Adagio’s Mocha Nut Mate with a little Gunpowder Green tea did just that! 🙂
Sherlock Holmes is famous for having a sparse appetite, but cold beef sandwiches seem to be a weakness of his. He indulges in them several times throughout the books, mostly while traveling on a case. I can see why! What could be better brain food that hearty bread, protein that sticks to your ribs, and some choice toppings to wake your taste buds?
The recipe we’re making today features toasted whole wheat bread, seared steak, arugula, and homemade horseradish sauce (it’s an interpretation of an appetizer I saw at The Kitchen Alchemist). It’ll set your brain cells whirring in no time!
CHRISTMAS
Jo’s Gingerbread Nuts from THE LITTLE WOMEN COOKBOOK (2020)
Polar Express Hot Chocolate with Gingerbread Marshmallows (2019)
A Literary Christmas Cookie Exchange (2017)
THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving Recipe Throwback: Part 2 (2016)
HALLOWEEN
Jekyll & Hyde Hard Cider Potion and Apple Pie Truffle Antidote (2020)
Colonel Brandon’s Curse Cupcakes and Sir John’s Kraken Rum Punch (2019)
Phantom of the Opera Menu (2017)
Edible Bug Taste Test: Part 2 (2015)
Edible Bug Taste Test: Part 1 (2014)
HOBBIT DAY
Miruvor from THE GEEKY BARTENDER COOKBOOK (2020)
NATIONAL BOOK LOVER’S DAY
A Toast to National Book Lover’s Day: 7 Literary Drinks (2017)
NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY
Happy National Ice Cream Day (2015)
MEMORIAL DAY/4TH OF JULY
Red, White, and Blue 4th of July Desserts (2017)
14 Memorial Day Recipes from Classic Lit (2015)
FATHER’S DAY
11 Father’s Day Foods Sure to Make Dad’s Day (2017)
MOTHER’S DAY
3 Literary Tea Party Themes for Mother’s Day (2021)
MAY THE 4TH
EASTER
Alleluia-in-Place: A Shelter-in-Place Easter Feast (2020)
10 Festive Easter Recipes (2017)
ST. PATRICK’S DAY
St. Patrick’s Day Recipes from Classic Lit (2016)
A St. Patrick/Pi Day Mashup Party (2015)
PI DAY
VALENTINE’S DAY
10 Book Themed Valentine’s Day Desserts (2017)
10 Valentine’s Day Gifts for Avid Readers (2015)
Howdy, folks! Sorry about the mix-up earlier today. Those of you who were paying close attention probably already know what I’m talking about. I’ve been trying to work ahead on my posts and accidentally scheduled next Tuesday’s post for today! EEP! >.< It was only up for 10 minutes before I caught the mistake, but those of you who follow through email probably still got an update about it….so I guess you got a sneak peak at next month’s menu! I can trust you to keep it a secret until June for everyone else, right? 😉
Anyway, THIS is the post that was supposed to go up today: my Top Ten Tuesday linkup! Below I’ve shared a list of my top 10 favorite fictional worlds. Hopefully they’re all worlds that are forgiving of bloggers who try to work too far ahead and get their wires crossed! 😉
Every book lover has a weakness for beautiful books, and I’m no exception. There’s just something about a hardbound illustrated edition with lush cover art and gold-fringed pages that draws me in every time. Over the years, my mom has bought me several beautiful editions of the classics, including a few Barnes & Noble hardcover classics and an Anna Bond illustrated Alice in Wonderland. I’m doing my best to preserve these precious volumes from the destructive grasp of the Little Mister, who has a penchant for tearing paper. So far I’ve been successful, but I don’t think I’ll breath easy until he’s fully grown out of his whirlwind tornado phase (which should be in about 10 years >.<)
When I saw that this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt involved book covers, I decided to do my own spin on it and write a post devoted to beautiful book collections. Below you’ll find some of the more famous editions—like Barnes & Noble and Penguin—including a few unexpected treats. Feast your eyes on the rich colors and elegant designs, then let me know your favorites in the comments below! 🙂
I love a good cookie exchange. It’s a great chance to experiment with something new or whip up a crowd-pleasing classic. A couple years ago I made pumpkin madeleines with cream cheese frosting for a cookie exchange by riffing on my go-to madeleine recipe, and I was oh so pleased by how well they were received (definitely one of my prouder baking moments).
Sadly, I won’t have a chance to attend any exchanges this year, but I volunteered to bring some homemade cookies to my family’s Christmas get together. I decided to make Jo’s Christmas gingerbread from my Little Women menu. They couldn’t be more festive, and gingerbread is a favorite treat of the Little Mister (while I was recipe testing for my cookbook, he ate all the limbs off a poor gingerbread man before we could stop him).
Cookie exchange or not, I figure I’m not the only one who wants to try a fun new cookie recipe for the holidays. I’ve made loads of book-inspired cookies in the past that are perfect for Christmas, so I decided to share a few of them below! There’s Jo’s gingerbread of course, but also Sherlock Holmes’ brandy snaps, Romeo and Juliet’s Italian sandwich cookies, and many more. So bake up some bookish fun for Christmas! Your bibliophile friends will thank you. 🙂