A Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

(Because I love Nancy Drew and Morse Code)

I would like to say that Nancy Drew was no ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. .

I cannot even bring myself to say the word ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. beside her name, which is why I got the idea to put the name in Morse Code.

The reason I created a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce for Nancy Drew is because I wanted to create some sort of sauce in her name. It just made sense to me to place it with all my other ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. . Sauces.

Nancy was very worldly. She traveled the world with her father Caron Drew, and her friends Bess and George. Nancy knew people from all over the world and also knew and respected their cultures and customs. She was mature beyond her young years. She had encountered many a villain, been knocked unconscious, and had to use her wits about her to escape whatever dangerous situation she found herself in, and then show up at a function a few hours later as if nothing had ever happened. I admired her bravery.

Dried Pears Dipped Into My Nancy Drew Sauce

Nancy was also very open-minded. You have to be in order to solve cases and catch ‘the bad guys.’ Only an open-minded person can pursue every angle of a case, follow the clues where they may lead, and also capture and incarcerate the criminals that are perpetrating the crimes. Nancy worked with the Police Department’s Chief McGinnis. She had cultivated a sleuthing relationship with him, he knew he could trust Nancy’s instincts.

Nancy may not have been a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. , but she did have the worldly experience that many a ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. does possess.

I will always love Nancy Drew and I do hope that the fictional Nancy Drew would love this sauce that I created in her honor.

Forever the Fan Girl, and Amateur Sleuth,

Julie

(._ _ _ .._ ._.. .. .)

Coffee and Breakfast

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Click Here For: Here’s A CLUE For Nancy Drew

(For More Nancy Drew Fun)

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Having Gathered All My Ingredients For My Sauce

Having Washed The Pears

I wanted to base this sauce on Pears. I can remember Pears being very prominent in Cooking and Entertaining in the 1970’s.

It’s the Nancy Drew books that I read in the 60’s and 70’s that I am basing all of this on. The Fashion, the Recipes, the Foods, the Table Settings, the Decorations, and the Customs.

Not to mention everything being Vintage!

I Wanted Green Jars and Green Lids

(Sadly, the green and white checked lids did not fit these jars.)

I Hand Wash All The Lids And Rings,

And Sterilize The Jars In The Dishwasher

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The Mystery Chef

The Mystery Chef’s Own Cookbook

1943

Garden City Publishing Co., Inc.

The Mystery Chef is a Scottish man who came to America in 1906 from London where he owned a prosperous advertising business. He decided to stay in America and learn about American methods. (I’m assuming in advertising.) His story is long and very interesting. But, the reason I am telling you about him is because he is mentioned in What Nancy Drew Ate.

What Nancy Drew Ate

Recipes From The Mystery Series

By Dorothy Denneen Volo

When I read about ‘The Mystery Chef’ in the ‘What Nancy Drew Ate’ cookbook, I immediately remembered that I did own ‘The Mystery Chef’ cookbook. I had found it at a thrift store years ago. I very excitedly located it among all my old books, and I looked through it. The reason ‘What Nancy Drew Ate’ referenced ‘The Mystery Chef’ is because The Mystery Chef cooked foods that were popular during the depression years.

The reason that he hid his identity is because his mother was too ashamed of him. He did eventually reveal his identity. John MacPherson. I could write more on him and perhaps I may in the future, but I did want to reference him here.

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Time To Create My Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

It’s all about the planning and shopping for all of the ingredients that will go into this great sauce.

I Also Love My Toys And Games!

Nancy Drew Mysteries Board Game

(In everything that I do I tend to marry my inner child with my grown up self.)

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When planning for my Nancy Drew Sauce I have to take in mind the amounts of the ingredients that I will be using, and purchase enough. I also tend to buy a little bit more than I think I will need. As I see it, I can always pass along the overage to my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, they’ll eat it!

I also ready my pots and pans and everything else I will need to make the sauce.

That is when I assemble everything and set it all out on the table. I like to see everything out in front of me, that way I’ll know I have everything I will need.

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Gold Ribbon and Keys For My Finished Jars

I always think of the adornments that I will want on my finished jars. I want it to relate to the sauce that I am creating.

The number #1 quote that Nancy Drew says throughout the series is:

“It’s Locked!”

Therefore I knew that I would attach a key to a ribbon to place around my finished jars. I also knew that I wanted the keys to look vintage.

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I try to think of everything before I start any of my Jezebels.

The two jars you see in the photo below, Wild Lingonberry Sauce, I didn’t use. But, I didn’t know that initially. I thought I would try them but the recipe really didn’t need them so I omitted them.

(List Of Jezebel Ingredients, And The Recipe Written Down Below)

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When I think of Nancy Drew I think of the colors Yellow and Green, which is why I wanted some simple little yellow flowers placed into this Vintage Cooking Tool I picked up along the way.

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Dried Pears Dipped Into My Nancy Drew Sauce

This was the first thing that I ate with my Nancy Drew Sauce

It Tasted Vintage 🙂

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My Finished Jars With My Keys And Gold Ribbon

I Used Green Lids As Well As Silver Ones

In Some Cases I Glued A Key On Top Of The Lid..

Other Times I Tied The Key With The Ribbons

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Foods To Be Eaten With My Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

Vintage Pear Salad, and Colorful Jeweled Jezebel Corn

(I took out my retro plates and platters for this.)

Amish Pears, And Colorful Jeweled Corn On The Cob

I purchased the Amish Pears online. I am draining them in the photo above left. I also washed my corn and removed them from their husks. I saw these beautiful jeweled corn and knew I had to have them. 🙂

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Pears with Cottage Cheese and My Nancy Drew Sauce

(In the 70’s my mother would make that Pear “Salad” with the glob of Mayonnaise, topped with grated Cheddar Cheese. I hated it! Granted, the pear was pretty good. I would usually scrape the mayo off of it. And as much as I do love Cheddar Cheese, it was really gross on this. So, this time around, I wanted to remake them into something that I would like and enjoy. Hence, the Cottage Cheese and My Nancy Drew Sauce.)

Pear Salad With My Jezebel Jeweled Corn

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Sauteed Jezebel Pears with Burrata, Appetizers

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We purchased a lovely Baguette. Here Gordon is slicing it thinly.

Once sliced, place onto a baking sheet. It’s time to drizzle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over top.

Place into a 350F Oven for about 8 minutes.

In the Meantime, Gordon is Slicing, and Coring our Fresh Pears

Place into a non-stick Sautee Pan on a Medium-High Heat

Now Drizzle Some Of The Nancy Drew Sauce Over Top

Allow The Pears To Sautee Until Soft About 8-10 Minutes

In the meantime, the Baguette is ready.

(If not a bit browned, you can turn off the oven and turn on the broil setting to brown them a bit. You must monitor this so that they do not burn.)

The Bread Looks Amazing!

Now Spread A Bit Of Burrata Cheese Onto The Baguette..

Then Place Your Sauteed Pears Onto Each Slice..

Pour Over Top The Remnants From The Pan…

You Can Also Add More Jezebel From The Jar If You Like

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A Delicious Pear Appetizer

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Our Pear Delight Cocktail

In keeping with our Pear theme, I wanted to create a Pear Cocktail.

I found some Drillaud Pear Liqueur from France and just knew it would be great!

Some of our Pear Appetizers

I also found some Pear Juice that I wanted to use here…

Along with my Nancy Drew Pear Based Sauce..

The Recipe Calls For:

1 Shot Pear Liqueur, 3 Shots Pear Juice…

2 Tablespoons Nancy Drew Sauce, and 2 Shots Water

Shake together until very cold, then pour into glasses.

Although I am putting the ‘cart before the horse’ I wanted to explain the appetizers above. I created this cocktail after the ‘Light Afternoon Luncheon’ that I have listed below. Which means that I have leftover New York Cheesecake spread on a few of the baguettes, along with the Ube Goat Cheese that I don’t introduce you to quite yet. 🙂

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Making Bags Of Mystery

It was in the 1930’s-1940’s that Sausages were known as Bags of Mystery..

That is because the only person that knew what was inside of them were the butchers.

Therefore, it kind of made sense that I would make some Bags of Mystery for my Nancy Drew Sauce. 🙂

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You will need a large baggie, 2 packages of cocktail sausages, and my Nancy Drew Sauce.

Drain the sausages in the sink into a colander and rinse. Then place the sausages into a large Zip Lock Baggie, add the Nancy Drew Sauce to cover. Squish the liquid around and seal the bag, placing it into the refrigerator for a few days to marinate.

You can see that I had them placed into a bowl during the process.

This is to avoid the bag leaking into the refrigerator, just in case.

When ready to cook…. Dump the Zip Lock Bag into a colander in the sink to drain, then dump the sausages into a casserole dish.

Now I am going to add some more of my Nancy Drew Sauce.

Turn the Oven on 400F and Cook for anywhere from 30-45 Minutes. Be sure to monitor the cooking.

When Done They Are Lucious And Plump!

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My Nancy Drew Pear Jezebel Bread Pudding

(Recipe Down Below)

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A Light Sunday Afternoon Luncheon

A huge appetite can frighten the boys away!

The Mystery of the Fire Dragon

Green Grapes, Pears Topped With Ricotta and Nancy Drew’s Mystery Sauce in a bed of Butter Lettuce,

Bags of Mystery marinated and cooked in Nancy Drew’s Mystery Sauce, along with a Toasted Baguette

Other Luncheon Items:

New York Cheese Cake

When your fabulous housekeeper isn’t with you on a sleuthing venture, a bakery cake will have to do!

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet

Slice of Brie baked and topped with Nancy Drew’s Mystery Sauce

A Platter of Meats and Cheeses,

with Mustard and Relish

Candied Nuts with Red Wine

Ube Goat Cheese adorned with Candied Pecans, with Crackers

Never remind a dieter that they’re on a diet!

The Hidden Window Mystery

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What’s this?

It’s from abroad.

This is in an Airmail Envelope!

Looks like I’ve got a mystery to solve!

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#8 Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

By mistake Nancy Drew receives a letter from England intended for an heiress, also named Nancy Drew. When Nancy undertakes a search for the missing young woman, it becomes obvious that a ruthless, dangerous man is determined to prevent her from finding the heiress or himself. Clues that Nancy unearths lead her to believe that the villainous Edgar Nixon plans to marry the heiress and then steal her inheritance.

During her investigation Nancy discovers that Nixon is engaged in a racket that involves many innocent, trusting persons. The thrilling hunt for Nixon and the heiress takes Nancy in and out of many perilous situations.

How the teen-age detective saves the British heiress from the sly, cunning schemer makes a highly intriguing story of mystery and suspense.

“I’ll start dieting tomorrow” is a great slogan!

The Clue in the Crossword Cipher

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The Drew Family Dinner,

with Nancy’s Mysterious Sauce

Sometimes you’ll look so beautiful in your new frock, that men will drop breakable objects at the sight of you!

The Phantom of Pine Hill

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(Hopefully, this won’t be the “breakable” object.) 🙂

I wanted to incorporate this lovely plate that we inherited from Gordon’s mother. The grooves in the plate are for grating.

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I am Zesting some Lemon onto our Casserole, using the Grating Plate above.

As Usual, Nancy Drew’s Mystery Sauce Is The Star Of This Meal

On The Menu:

Pork Chops Grilled In Nancy’s Mysterious Sauce

Baked Yams and Sweet Potatoes…

and,

Dinner Rolls and Butter

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Our Nancy’s Green and Yellow Casserole,

with the Lemon, and Grate Plate.

The Perfect Drew Family Dinner

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Nancy and Ned’s Delicious Dinner Plates

(Recipes Down Below)

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Just Some Pretty Flowers On The Drew Dining Table

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Our Imitation Crab Dip

This dip is truly delicious. We have made it for years and the recipe is located on a few of our website pages. Gordon just happened to make it again while I was in my 1960’s – 1970’s Nancy Drew mood so I created this little display for it. Although none of my Nancy Drew Sauce is in it, it still looks really nice as part of this page.

The Recipe:

3 Pkgs. Imitation Crab, break apart

2 Tbsp. thinly chopped ends of the Flowering Garlic Chives

1 1/4 Cups Celery – sliced to a small dice

~1 Cup Miracle Whip

~2-3 Tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning

3 Tbsp. Mirin – sweet cooking rice seasoning

2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil

3 Tbsp. Black and White Sesame Seeds for garnish

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Simply place all of the ingredients into a bowl, mix together, and then refrigerate until ready to eat.

Buttery Crackers Are Perfect Here

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Recipes Start Here

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My Nancy Drew Mystery ._ _ _ /./_ _.././_… ././. _.. Sauce

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As with all of my Jezebel’s, there are similar ingredients as well as new ones that will then make this Jezebel Sauce a bit more unique to this theme.

I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we have.

Ingredients:

(I have more ingredients listed throughout this recipe, so keep reading.)

5, 17 Ounce Jars of Apple Jelly

3, 12 Ounce Jars of Pineapple Preserve Topping

Pear Preserves:

(I used 6 Jars of the Pear Preserves, and I used two different kinds of Pear Preserves.)

Sometimes it’s nice to add different brands and combine them. Each brand has a different flavor to enjoy.

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This is Only the Beggining

Turn Your Burner Onto A Medium-Low Heat

You will need a large cooking pot. Initially, I wasn’t quite sure how much I would be making, and if everything would fit into one pot.

Turns out I only needed the one pot.

Opening Jars and Placing Them into the Pot to Simmer

Like So…

(Just stir together to combine.)

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Next Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Honey

1 LB. 12 Ounces, Apple Butter

16 Ounces Horseradish Mustard

2 T. Ground Cinnamon

AND,

5 Ounce Prepared Horseradish

Some Of The Brands I Used

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Simply Add The Next Ingredients, Stir Together, And Bring Up To Temperature

You want to keep the temperature steady, still on the Medium-Low

Himalayan Coarse Pink Rock Salt, Grated, As Much As You Like

(I figured that Nancy had probably visited the Himalayans with her father, and even picked up some of the salt to take back to River Heights to give to Hannah Gruen.)

Keep The Temperature Of The Sauce Steady. If it starts to boil then turn the heat down to a lower setting.

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Fresh Pears!

As Many As You Like

Here We Have Red and Green Pears

They Will Cook Down So You Can Use Quite A Few If You Like

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I had Ned to slice the Pears to add to the Jezebel Sauce

Before The Pears:

The Sauce is nice and smooth and awaiting the Pears. Keeping the heat on a Medium-Low.

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Slicing The Pears For The Jezebel Sauce

You Can Chop These However You Like

Add To The Pot

Simmer Away Until The Pears Are Soft

(You want to watch it, and stir often.)

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The Weber’s Mustard is a Vintage Mustard That we Enjoy

I wanted to give you this as an example, but sometimes I will reserve some ingredients until nearing the end of the cooking process. I do this because I never know exactly how many ingredients that I will need until initially. I taste as I go. In this case I ended up adding more ingredients, that you see in the photos above. But, I do have the accurate amounts listed in this recipe write-up.

With The Amounts Delicious And Simmering Away…

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Ned’s Mysterious Ingredient…

Suspicious Behavior In The Kitchen…

Cinnamon Liqueur

Ned Poured A Generous Amount Into My Sauce

3/4 Cup

(The Alcohol will boil out and what is left is the taste.)

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Did Ned Spike The Jezebel?

There Will Be NO Second Base For You Ned Nickerson!

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Nancy Drew Sauce Complete..

Simmering Away Until Done

;

Continue Stirring, and Thickening

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While the Sauce is Thickening…

Bring out your Canning Pot, fill with water, and put onto a Medium Heat on the Stove Top

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Now That My Nancy Drew Sauce Is Thickening…

..Time For A Taste

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Ned’s Write Up:

I am getting ready to can Julie’s Nancy Drew Sauce. I like to set things up this way so that on the stove is the sauce to the left and the hot water for canning is on the right. Then I have the lids getting warm to make the rubber gasket more pliable in the back left on the stove top. To the left of the stove I have the sterilized jars.

Here you can see the tasty sauce ready for canning.

The rings are all in a large bowl for easy access.

We sterilize the jars in the dishwasher using the sterilize setting and ensure we heat dry them.

They will stay in the dishwasher until ready to use.

I use a ladle and funnel to fill the jars.

The funnel helps to not create a mess on the rim of the jar.

Fill each jar to an inch of the jars top.

This is called head space which is needed in the canning process to create a vacuum.

This will be explained more later.

The jars have been filled with the sauce. Clean the tops of the jars with a wet paper towel to ensure there is no residue that would prevent the jar from sealing. Then you top the jar with a heated lid that was brought up to just below boiling point. Top the lid with a ring to just tight. The ring can’t be too tight that when heated doesn’t allow air to escape creating the vacuum seal.

Watch for the bubbles leaving the jars from the lids as this will indicate the air is escaping.

Here is a great shot of the bubbles coming out of the jars.

Boil the jars for 15 min. ensuring they are submerged in the water.

When the 15 min. is done, remove the jars with the jar removal tool provided in most canning kits.

The jar lids should be in the down position or some will pop to let you know the jars have sealed. If the jar didn’t seal then you need to start the process over with that jar. I usually remove some of the sauce, get a new lid, wipe down the jar again and barely tighten the lid. For those jars that did seal, remove the ring, wipe away the water from both the jar and ring, then place the ring back on. Doing this will prevent rust.

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION

My Nancy Drew Pear Jezebel Bread Pudding

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Baking Sweet Potatoes And Yams

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UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Our Nancy’s Green and Yellow Casserole

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Our Sweet Potatoes And Yams Are Ready..

..And Cooling A Bit

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Easy Pre-Made Yeast Rolls Right From The Oven

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Grilling Our Pork Chops Glazed With Our Jezebel Sauce

We thought the hot sweet fruity flavor of the sauce would work well with pork. I heated the grill up on high for about 10 min. to burn off any residue. Then clean the grill and turn the temperature down to medium high. Place your pork chops on the grill and let them just sit.