BOOK TOUR

I'm so happy to be a stop on the blog tour for

RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE MURDER

Book 3 in the Poppy McAllister Mysteries

by Libby Klein

Cape May, New Jersey, is the site of a big culinary competition—and the knives are out . . .
 
Poppy McAllister is happy about opening a Jersey Shore B&B—but working in a professional kitchen has always been her real dream. Now it’s coming true, at least briefly, as she teams up with her former fiancée, Tim—and his condescending partner, Gigi—during the high-profile Restaurant Week challenge. Poppy’s specialty is pastries, despite her devotion to a Paleo diet. But if anyone can make glorious gluten-free goodies, it’s Poppy.
 
Things get heated quickly—especially when some ingredients get switched and Tim’s accused of sabotage. Relatively harmless pranks soon escalate into real hazards, including an exploding deep fryer. And now one of the judges has died after taking a bite of Poppy’s cannoli—making her the chef suspect . . .  
 
Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

No-Bake Passion Fruit Chili Cheesecake

I wouldn’t normally make a no bake cheesecake, but I wanted to give the recipe Poppy used during the competition. This no bake version uses gelatin instead of eggs. Mini spring form pans enable the cheesecake to set up quickly. You could make one big 8 or 9-inch cheesecake if you’d rather. You would just need to let it chill for several hours to be firm enough to cut.

Use rubber or latex kitchen gloves when cutting chili peppers – remove gloves and don’t touch anything the gloves have touched when you’re finished. ~ Libby

Ingredients

Cheesecake Filling:

1 envelope Knox plain gelatin

3 Tablespoons cold water

¾ cup frozen passion fruit pulp, thawed (you could also use fresh passion fruits, pulped, and strained.)

*1-2 chili peppers

1 can dulce de leche (or sweetened condensed milk - about 1 ¼ cups)

16 oz cream cheese, softened

Almond meal – a few tablespoons to dust the bottom of the spring form pans. You could also make yourself a crust if you want, but Poppy just made the cheesecake without a cookie bottom.

Rubber kitchen gloves

*I used red serrano chilis for a gentle heat. If you want more of a bite you can use habaneros.

Passion Fruit Jelly for the top:

1 envelope Knox plain gelatin

3 Tablespoons cold water

4 oz passion fruit juice

¼ cup sugar

Instructions

1. Put on your rubber gloves. Seed and chop your chilis. Don’t touch anything. Don’t rub your eye or scratch your face. When your chilis are chopped very small, add them to your passion fruit juice. Clean up the area and equipment you used and throw away your gloves.

2. Mix the gelatin with the water and let it bloom. Then, microwave the gelatin for 20 -30 seconds so it melts. Add it to the passion fruit juice and peppers.

3. In a mixing bowl, whip your softened cream cheese until it’s smooth. Doing this now will help the finished batter not be lumpy. When the cheese is fluffy and smooth, add the dulce de leche (or sweetened condensed milk.) At the lowest speed, beat for 1 to 1.5 minutes until the mixture is well-blended. Add in the passion fruit juice, fold or beat at the lowest speed until the mixture is incorporated.

4. Sprinkle the bottom of your spring form pan/s with almond meal. Enough to cover the bottom and make releasing the cheesecake easier.

5. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top. Smooth out the surface because what it looks like now is what it’s going to look like later. It isn’t going to move. Refrigerate until set. 3o minutes for minis. Several hours for a large cheesecake.

B. Passion Fruit Jelly for the top:

1. Mix the gelatin with the water and let it bloom. Then, microwave the gelatin for 20 -30 seconds so it melts. Add in 1/4 cup of sugar and microwave another 40-60 seconds to melt. Keep your eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. Using oven mits or a towel, remove bowl from microwave. Add the 4oz passion fruit juice that you thawed and set aside.

2. When this mixture is nice a cool, it doesn’t have to be cold - but it can’t be warm- and the cheesecake is cold, gently pour the passion fruit liquid on top of the cheesecakes. Chill for another 2 – 4 hours. 

3. When you’re ready to serve, use a butter knife to gently go around the inside of the spring form pan to help release the cheesecake from the liner. The cheesecake should come off the bottom easily because of the almond meal.

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!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

 3 lucky readers will 1 print copy of

RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE MURDER

USA only

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

Winner will be chosen after March 10 at the end of the tour

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.

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MY REVIEW

I am so excited to have finally read RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE MURDER. The first two books in this series, CLASS REUNIONS ARE MURDER, and MIDNIGHT SNACKS ARE MURDER are among my very favorite reads. Author Libby Klein truly has the gift for transporting readers into her stories as though we are living them ourselves.

Wonderfully written with a plot that not only grabbed, but held my attention, there is so much going on in RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE MURDER that it made it impossible to put this book down. Everything that makes for a great mystery is covered. Murder, mayhem, sabotage, deceit. Protagonist Poppy is hit with it all and more! I had no clue whatsoever who the who of this whodunit was until it was revealed.

And, I dare anyone to read a Poppy McAllister book and not laugh. It simply can’t be done. Author Klein herself has a wicked sense of humor to be able to produce the tears in the eyes, snorts she gets out of me. I have two words for you. Aunt Ginny! Prepare yourselves. 😉

Last but in no way least, Klein includes wonderful recipes! Poppy has to eat gluten free because of health issues, so creating delicious Paleo treats is her thing.

Honestly, if you haven’t read the Poppy McAllister Mysteries, you’re missing out. You can read RESTAURANT WEEKS ARE MURDER as a standalone but grab up all three books in the series and prepare for some of the most enjoyable reading you have ever had!

About the Author

Libby Klein dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets, and taking out the trash. She writes culinary cozy mysteries from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard.

Author Links

Website – https://libbykleinbooks.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/libbykleinbooks/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/LibbyKleinBooks

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/libbykleinbooks/

Cozy Mystery Crew - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1757692634274149/ 

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16834863.Libby_Klein Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/libby-klein 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/libbykleinbooks/ 

Amazon - http://amazon.com/author/libbyklein/

Purchase Links

 Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Hudson Booksellers   Target   Books A Million IndieBound   Walmart

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

February 25 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
February 25 – Here's How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
February 26 – The Montana Bookaholic - REVIEW
February 26 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 27 – Mythical Books – GUEST POST
February 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
February 28 – MJB Reviewers - REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 28 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW
March 2 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
March 3 – That's What She's Reading - CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST
March 4 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 5 – FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW
March 5 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
March 6 – Laura`s Interests – REVIEW
March 6 – Sapphyria's Books – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – REVIEW
March 7 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 8 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews - REVIEW, RECIPE
March 8 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
March 9 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 10 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW

Book One                                      Book Two

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