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07/25/2024 12:00 AMAn intriguing email, the disappearance of an old friend, a murder, and the disappearance of a new friend kick off Lucy Burdette’s A Poisonous Palate. Burdette, the pen name for Madison’s Roberta Isleib, who also lives in Key West, will be launching her latest book with us on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at R. J. Julia Booksellers in Madison.
This is book number 14 in Burdette’s Key West food critic mystery series. Burdette/Isleib also is the talented, prolific, and versatile author of an advice column mystery series, and a golf lovers mystery series, along with a standalone thriller, Unsafe Haven, and the novel Ingredients of Happiness.
In A Poisonous Palate, Burdette says, Key West food critic Hayley Show is working on an article when she gets an email from Catherine, who is returning to the Keys to research a book and to investigate the 1970s disappearance of an old friend. “Ever-curious Hayley agrees to help her, and they travel up the islands to Big Pine Key to talk to some other Islanders who were around in the ‘70s,” Burdette says. “After chatting with one woman who has nothing much to add, they stop at an old motel to visit a man who was on the outer edges of this commune. Instead of answers, they find him murdered. It’s hard not to imagine a connection.”
Then, Catherine disappears. That leaves the intrepid Hayley, along with one of her most lovable sidekicks, Miss Gloria, to unravel the whole mess, including tracking down a murderer who might have one of them in mind as the next victim.
I look forward to digging into Burdette’s latest, not only to find out what is happening with Hayley and Miss Gloria, but also to find out what they and their friends are cooking. In the series, Burdette includes recipes for food that appear in the books.
“Hayley Snow’s mother, Janet, in the Key West food critic mysteries, is a caterer whose reputation has blossomed in Key West. She caters the spread for Hayley's friend and coworker Danielle’s rehearsal dinner, including these crab cakes. She makes mini-sized cakes, topped with a mango avocado salsa. I hope you find them ‘to die for,’” Burdette writes.
When Burdette is in town, she sometimes treats herself to the crab cakes made by Star Fish Market, 650 Village Walk, Guilford, one of my favorite places as well. But, if you have to make your own, this looks like a wonderful recipe. I love the idea of the mini crabcakes and the mango avocado salsa looks like the perfect side dish. Burdette says the salsa also pairs well with pan-fried yellowtail snapper or Key West pink shrimp. And she sometimes serves it alone, with tortilla chips as an appetizer.
Crabcakes with Mango Avocado Salsa
Lucy Burdette
Ingredients for the crab cakes:
Mix the ingredients from scallions to eggs. Then fold in the crab meat and the panko, sorting through the crab as you go to make sure no cartilage or shell remains. Shape the crab mixture into ½ cup-sized cakes. This should result in six. If they are to be served as appetizers, make them smaller. Refrigerate for an hour or more to help the mixture set. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add crab cakes. Sauté them until brown, then flip carefully and continue to sauté the other side.
Serve with cocktail sauce (one part horseradish to two parts ketchup) or avocado mango salsa.
Ingredients for Avocado Mango Salsa
Cut the mango and avocado into small chunks. Mix this gently with the onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. Squeeze the lime juice over the top and drizzle with the olive oil. Then salt and pepper to taste.