I just read the latest Louise Penny book featuring Armand Gamache. It was wonderful! This character is one of my favorite fictional detectives, and I love the setting in Quebec.

Kirkus Reviews (06/15/2017):
A dark, still figure, wearing long black robes and a hood, appears on the charming village green of Three Pines, a small Quebec town; though at first it seems scary but harmless, it turns out to be something much more sinister. The strange figure's appearance coincides with a Halloween party at the local bistro, attended by the usual villagers but also four out-of-town guests. They are friends from the Universite de Montreal who meet for a yearly reunion at the B&B in Three Pines. But this event actually happened months ago, and village resident Armand Gamache, now head of the Surete du Quebec, is recounting the story from the witness stand in a courtroom suffering from oppressive summer heat. Gamache's testimony becomes narrative, explaining how over the course of a few days the masked man grew into a fixture on the village green and morphed slowly into an omen. Gamache's son-in-law and second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is asked to research the "dark thing's" back story after one of the B&B guests, a journalist, mentions that the figure reminds him of story he did on an old Spanish tradition, that of the "debt collector." It becomes clear, as Gamache relays the events leading up to murder, that "someone in the village had done something so horrific that a Conscience had been called." But did the dark thing come for a villager or for one of their guests? Conscience is an overarching theme in Penny's latest, seeping into the courtroom narrative as Gamache grapples with an enemy much larger than the dark thing, a war he took on as the new Chief Superintendent. His victory depends on the outcome, and the path, of this murder trial. While certain installments in Penny's bestselling series take Gamache and his team to the far reaches of Quebec, others build their tension not with a chase but instead in the act of keeping still--this is one such book. The tension has never been greater, and Gamache has sat for months waiting, and waiting, to act, with Conscience watching close by. A meticulously built mystery that follows a careful ascent toward a breaking point that will leave you breathless. It's Three Pines as you have never seen it before. COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

 

 

Recipe Corner

Red Wine and Shallot Beef Stew

taken from "Food Swings" by Jessica Seinfeld

Serves 4  Active Time 40 min. Total Time 3 hours 30 min.

2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if necessary

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups dry red wine, such as pinot noir or Chianti

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes

8 shallots

2 dried bay leaves

1 pound medium carrots (about 8), halved crosswise and lengthwise

 1 1/2 pounds medium Yukon gold potatoes (about 6), quartered

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven (with the oven rack in the middle) to 300 F

Season the meat with the salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the meat with the flour, shaking off the excess.

In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the meat and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, turning occasionally, until a dark brown crust forms. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining meat, adding more oil as necessary to the pot, and transfer to the plate.

Turn off the heat and add the tomato paste to the pot and stir for 30 seconds to let it cook in the residual heat. Add the red wine, tomatoes, and 1 cup water. Turn the heat on to medium-high and let the mixture come to a boil while breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the shallots and bay leaves. Return the meat and the accumulated juices back to the pot, Cover tightly and transfer to the oven.

Roast for 2 hours, or until the meat is just tender. Nestle in the carrots and potatoes, cover, and return to the oven for 1 hour more, or until the vegetables are tender and the meat is fork-tender. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.