Raspberry Basil Tart

Posted May 1, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

A few months ago I read a book that’s been on my TBR for quite a while: A FELLOWSHIP OF BAKERS & MAGIC by J. Penner. It was such a fun, light read! It’s set in a high-fantasy world with elves and magic and tells the story of Arleta, a human baker who competes in a Great British Bake Off-style competition called the Langheim Baking Battle.

If you like cozy high fantasy, food-focused fiction, and romantic subplots, this book is for you. I was so enamored with all the delicious-sounding bakes in the book, I decided to make a menu for it! The back of the book contains recipes for some of Arleta’s competition bakes from the story (namely Earl Grey Cherry Scones, Lemon Bars with Cardamom Shortbread Crust, and Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies). My menu will be based around bakes that don’t have recipes included in the book but are still important to the story—starting with the raspberry basil tart!

In the story, Arleta is initially too nervous to enter the Langheim Baking Battle, convinced that her lack of magic will make her bakes seem lackluster next to those of the other competitors. Instead, her neighbor Verdreth secretly submits one of her raspberry basil tarts in the qualifying round on her behalf. Adding traditionally savory herbs to her desserts is Arleta’s trademark, so I felt that this would be the perfect dish to start the menu.

I started with my go-to pie crust, par-baked to prevent a soggy bottom. Then I made the egg-free raspberry curd from my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, adding basil leaves in the first step so they could infuse their flavors into the raspberries. This uses a LOT of basil, since the leaves get strained out in the first step after infusing most of their oils into the cooked raspberries. It adds a subtle herbal note to the curd, which you can strengthen by adding some fresh, small basil leaves as a garnish if desired.

Three Teas to be Discontinued at End of April

Posted April 24, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Teas / 0 Comments

Hi, everybody! As you may recall, in January I announced that this year I will discontinue a few of my custom tea blends every few months. I’ve been making blends for almost 10 years and have over 60 blends by now, so I think it’s time to say goodbye to some of the less popular teas.

Before I discontinue each set of teas, I share a post here (and link to it on social media) one week before the blends are officially discontinued. This will give people time to grab a few final tins if they’d like. In this particular case, one of the teas I’m discontinuing is still available, but the other were made with teas Adagio no larger carries so they’re already out of stock.

This month I will discontinue the following teas:

Aqueous Tea

Patriot Tea

The Once and Future Tea

The Patriot Tea will be available to order until the end of April.

Thanks for your continued support of my teas and recipes!

I’ll be back next week with another recipe post. See you then!

Aqueous Tea from A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Once and Future Tea from King Arthur

Patriot Tea from Meet Felicity

Almond Pinwheel Pastries

Posted April 17, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Who’s ready for dessert? The final recipe in this month’s menu is an ode to almonds, and it’s sooo delicious!

In THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, the castaways eat lots of stone pine almonds, which are similar to pine nuts. However, since the castaways treat these nuts as a dessert, I decided to make my dessert recipe for this menu using true almonds, along with other ingredients they had on the island.

Since they have flour and dairy products in addition to almonds, I decided to combine them all to make pastries with almond-cream cheese filling. Neb is the main cook in the story, and he takes a lot of pride in his work. I like to imagine this is something he would make to celebrate a big moment on the island, like their first batch of milled flour or when Herbert recovered from a terrible sickness.

Since puff pastry is basically just flour,butter, and salt, I knew Neb would have all the ingredients to make it, so I used that as my pastry base. For the filling, I combined almond paste and cream cheese, two other ingredients Neb would be able to make with what he had on hand. I made them in a pinwheel shape as a nod to the windmill the castaways built at their home base, Prospect Heights.

These turned out AMAZING! The sweet, almond-y, creamy filling is a delightful contrast to the crisp, delicate pastry. I was really excited for my husband to try these, since he loves those flavors. He liked them, but I wasn’t prepared for how much my son would love them. He’s already asking for them for his next birthday (for context, his birthday was last month).

He’ll be excited to hear I’m planning to make more to bring to Easter festivities this year!

Maple Whole Wheat Dutch Oven Bread

Posted April 3, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

My favorite thing about the characters in THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND by Jules Verne is how innovative they are. They make a forge, an irrigation system, and even a telegraph system! One of my favorite moments is when they create their own oven using clay bricks. They spend almost a year yearning for bread before they’re able to grow enough wheat for flour. As you can imagine, the first loaf of bread enjoyed in the story is quite a celebratory moment, so I wanted to include some bread in my MYSTERIOUS ISLAND menu.

I decided to go with a whole wheat bread, since that’s the type of flour the castaways would have used (in fact, they might have even used something closer to graham flour, if you want to go that route). I made some slight variations to a recipe by Kneading Adventure, including swapping out the honey for maple syrup, an ingredient the castaways were able to harvest from maple trees on the island.

This no-knead maple whole wheat dutch oven bread is probably the most artisan-looking bread I’ve ever made, and it was super easy. It’s wholesome and hearty, perfect toasted and slathered in butter. The inside is soft with a close crumb, making it a good sandwich bread as well. I love the contrast of the soft interior with the crunchy crust, and the long rise time gave it a mild funky flavor similar to sourdough.

Also, it smells PHENOMENAL while it’s baking. I had mine in the oven at night, and my 8-year-old (who was waiting for me to tuck him in), came downstairs just to tell me how good it smelled. We were both so excited to eat it in the morning, and it didn’t disappoint. This might be one of my new favorite breads!

Leek and Mussel Chowder

Posted March 20, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

While reading THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND by Jules Verne, I was so excited when the characters discovered and ate lithodomes (which are a type of mussel) during their early days on the island. I really like mussels, so I’m always looking for more mussel recipes to try. Of course, I had to make some for this menu!

If you’re new to mussels, don’t worry. The meat has a delicate, mild flavor like crab (not at all fishy). Most grocery stores carry pre-cooked mussels in the freezer section, which I find to be cost effective and easy to cook.

I decided early on that I wanted to make mussel chowder, since I knew the side dish for this menu (which I’ll share in my next post) pairs perfectly with any form of soup. I found this recipe for mussel chowder from The Guardian, which is super easy and delicious. Plus, it features leeks, which is another food the castaways found on the Mysterious Island.

This chowder is creamy, salty, and oh so satisfying. And it reheats beautifully! I often have issues with the broth of cream-based soups developing an odd texture when reheated, but this one stays super smooth, which I think is due to the bacon fat.

My one critique is that I think this chowder could use a starchy vegetable. I’ve been obsessed with rutabagas in soup ever since making Norwegian chicken dumpling soup, so maybe I’ll throw some into this recipe next time I make it!

Bamboo Stir Fry

Posted March 6, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

After reading TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA two years ago, I became a big Jules Verne fan. I made a menu for that book here on the blog not long after reading it, and I made one for JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH last year. Today I’m continuing my culinary journey through the works of Verne with a menu inspired by THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND!

As the title suggests, the book is one part survival story, one part mystery. In it, a group of castaways build a life for themselves on a deserted island . . . which may not be as deserted as it seems. I won’t spoil the twist, but needless to say, I had lots of fun reading it!

Today’s recipe is inspired by the bamboo the castaways find on the island, which one of the group says are eaten like asparagus in India. I found a few recipes online for Indian-style asparagus stir fry from The Picky Eater Blog, Piping Hot Curry, and Ministry of Curry and merged them together to make a bamboo version. The final recipe has a strong citrus presence, which is complemented by a touch of green chili heat and warm spices. Enjoy!

1850s Spice Cake

Posted February 13, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

If you’ve been following along with the rest of my menu inspired by AGNES GREY, then you know it’s time for a Victorian-era dessert! Cakes were a popular Victorian indulgence, and Agnes specifically mentions spice cake in her story, which she says she enjoyed with some currant wine. In fact, the exact word she uses for the cake is that she “demolished” it. Considering what a restrained character Agnes is, I’d say that’s a glowing review of the cake!

I really wanted to use a historically accurate spice cake recipe, which means it would need to come from some time around the 1840s. I decided to go with this 1850s recipe for gingerbread spice cake by Sarah Gonzalez. I love this version because it’s rich and thick in the best possible way. It’s almost as fudgy as a brownie! Sarah’s recipe includes modern mascarpone frosting, which sounds delicious. However, since I’m trying to make something closer to what Agnes Grey would have eaten, I decided to swap it out for just a simple dusting of powdered sugar (though I’ll probably add the frosting next time I make it!).

Thanks for joining me on this Brontë-inspired journey through Victorian recipes! I can’t wait to start my next Brontë book. I think I’ll read VILETTE next!

Victorian Stewed Potatoes

Posted January 30, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Today I’m back with another recipe inspired by AGNES GREY by Anne Brontë! Agnes eats a side of potatoes with her steak when she first arrives at Wellwood, so I decided to make stewed potatoes, a recipe from the late 1800s. What makes stewed potatoes different from regular boiled potatoes is that they’re simmered in milk and/or broth until the liquid thickens into a creamy sauce, which is then served with the potatoes. The recipe I’m using today is a combo of two recipes from 12 Tomatoes and CutsFood. I also added a bit of flour to my sauce to make it extra thick—a bit more like gravy.

These are just as easy to make as mashed potatoes and every bit as cozy and comforting. They’re perfect alongside the Stewed Steak with Pearl Onions I posted a couple weeks ago. Enjoy!

An Announcement About My Teas

Posted January 23, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Teas / 0 Comments

Hi, everybody! As many of you know, I’ve been making custom tea blends through Adagio Teas for about 10 years now. Over that time, I’ve developed a set of almost 60 teas (I know, it blows my mind too!). Since there are so many, I’ve decided to begin discontinuing some of the less popular teas.

I’ll discontinue them in groups of three every few months this year. Before I discontinue a set of teas, I’ll share a post here (and link to it on social media) one week before the blends are officially discontinued. This will give people time to grab a few final tins if they’d like. I may temporarily re-release discontinued teas for limited runs in the future if that’s something people express interest in. I might even hold votes in the future to decide which teas to keep!

Today I’m announcing my first set of discontinued teas:

Arrietty’s Cherry Tree Tea

The Odyssey: Calypso’s Tea

Serpentine’s Restorative Tea

These teas will be available to order until the end of January.

Thanks for your continued support of my teas and recipes!

I’ll be back next week with another recipe post. See you then!

Arrietty’s Cherry Tree Tea from The Borrowers

The Odyssey: Calypso’s Tea

Serpentine’s Restorative from Neverwhere

Stewed Steak with Pearl Onions

Posted January 16, 2025 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hi, folks! I’m back with another recipe inspired by AGNES GREY by Anne Brontë. Most of my blog recipes are inspired by delicious literary dishes, but today’s recipe is unique in that it’s inspired by a comically bad food experience in AGNES GREY. When Agnes first arrives at Wellwood, Mrs. Bloomfield serves her some steak that is so tough that it takes Agnes several tries to even cut into it. But don’t worry—even though that’s the inspiration, today’s recipe is a tasty take on Agnes’ steak!

Like my previous post (1850s-style graham bread), today I’m making a historical recipe from the time period in which AGNES GREY is set. Most steak preparations from that time period are pretty basic (and similar to others I’ve made here on the blog, like butter-basted steak and scotch collops). However, during my research I stumbled across a recipe for stewed steaks in the 1831 edition of THE COOK’S ORACLE that involves simmering the steaks in liquid after a brief sear, then making a sauce with the remaining liquid and serving with boiled pearl onions. I decided to give it a try, altering it a bit to suit the ingredients I had on hand and the conveniences of a modern kitchen.

My favorite part was the rich and robust sauce, which reminded me of a jägerschnitzel recipe I made last year, probably because both are made with beef broth and red wine. The pearl onions were basic and too numerous in my opinion, so in the future I’ll probably make half the recommended amount and just add some on top as a garnish. The steak itself was definitely more tender than Agnes’ steak but still a bit too tough. When I make it again, I’ll cook it longer (I simmered for about 30 minutes, so I recommend 45 minutes to make it more tender).

I’m having lots of fun putting together an AGNES GREY menu inspired by historical techniques. I’ll be back in a couple weeks with my next foray into mid-1800s cooking!