October deserves a cookbook with a little menace.
This month, The Foyer Cookbook Club is cooking through—and reading—Cuisine to Kill For, a collection made for fall nights, flickering candles, and dinners with a darker side.
Next up: Scotch Eggs with Strawberry-Serrano Sauce.
Savory pork. Soft-boiled eggs. Crisp panko. Then a sweet, sharp strawberry sauce with just enough serrano heat to keep things interesting.
Why Cuisine to Kill For Is Our October Pick
Some cookbooks are useful. Some are beautiful. Cuisine to Kill For knows dinner can also be entertaining.
It’s exactly the kind of book we want open on the counter in October: a little theatrical, a little unexpected, and full of recipes that make an ordinary night feel more occasion-worthy.
And this one is a very good place to start.
Scotch Eggs with Strawberry-Serrano Sauce
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus chilling time
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: 12 eggs
This sweet and spicy twist on the traditional Scotch egg comes courtesy of Finn’s Irish Restaurant. The beauty of a Scotch egg is that it can be eaten anytime: breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a snack. People eat them warm or chilled. There’s simply no wrong way to enjoy one.
For the Strawberry-Serrano Sauce
- 1 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 serrano pepper, seeded and diced
For the Scotch Eggs
- 1½ pounds ground pork
- 4 teaspoons ground sage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 dozen eggs, soft-boiled
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs, beaten
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
Make the Strawberry-Serrano Sauce
- In a medium mixing bowl, toss the sliced strawberries in the lemon juice. Refrigerate for 2–3 hours.
- In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the strawberries and their juices with the sugar and serrano pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Blend the mixture with an immersion blender, or in a conventional blender, until smooth.
- Refrigerate the sauce for at least 4 hours before serving.
Make the Scotch Eggs
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pork, sage, and salt. Mix well.
- Peel the soft-boiled eggs carefully, keeping them whole.
- Divide the sausage mixture into twelve 2-ounce portions.
- Flatten one portion of sausage and wrap it completely around one soft-boiled egg. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
- Place the flour, beaten eggs, and panko in three separate bowls.
- Dredge each sausage-covered egg first in the flour, then the beaten egg, then the panko. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 11–12 minutes, until the sausage is fully cooked and the panko is browned.
- Serve warm or chilled with the strawberry-serrano sauce for dipping.
The Part That Makes It
The Scotch eggs are rich, savory, and satisfyingly crisp. The sauce cuts straight through all of that with strawberry sweetness, lemon, and serrano heat.
It sounds slightly suspicious.
It tastes extremely convincing.
Serve them at a Halloween dinner, bring them out for cocktail hour, or make a batch for the kind of weekend snack that somehow becomes dinner.
Cook Along With Us
If your October plans include one new cookbook, make it Cuisine to Kill For.
Cook the recipe. Pour something good. Light the candles. Try not to ask too many questions about the title. 👻
October Cookbook Club has officially begun.