Playful, Audacious, Sixties Sizzler
Year Released: 2019 – present
Directed by: Fiona Banks
Starring: Geraldine Hakewill, Joel Jackson, Catherine McClements, Toby Truslove, Louisa Mignone
(Not Rated, 85 min.per episode series 1, 45 min. per episode season 2)
Genre: Mystery and Suspense

“You’re just like your aunt, a bull in a china shop.” Birdie, head of the Adventuresses’ Club

Ms. Fisher’s Modern Mysteries is almost as much fun as its prequel. Peregrine is every bit as prying, unrelenting, and audacious as her Aunt Phryne. And as dazzling in her fashionable 60s attire, aquamarine eye shadow, mini skirts, and bold geometric prints that take Different Drummer back to her own youth at Oak Park River Forest High.

Although Different Drummer held off on the mini skits until she was out of high school – we had a rule that you had to kneel down in the dean’s office and your skirt had to touch the floor, if you modern gals can believe it. But I still remember those bold geometric prints, especially one sweater with huge squares of different colors, making me look like a colorful chessboard, but so cool in my eyes back then.

Perhaps that is one reason I am loving the new Acorn series even if they are heating up Peregrine’s (Geraldine Hakewill) romance with Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson) a little too quickly, in my eyes. The slow simmer is what kept all of us tuning into Phryne and Jack’s adventures.

Season 2 opens up with an engagement. Don’t they know that marriage can be the death of viewership?

***

Phryne’s venerable house, a real show stopper in the original series, is now the home of The Adventuresses’ Club, and like the society itself, a little short on cash and fresh paint, but long on passion and perkiness.

The house itself was and still is a character in itself, even if the new Ms. Fisher now resides in a thoroughly modern Millie one now. A moment to remember that old house, though, when Phryne graced its interiors, as well a wonderful trip through other filming locations:

Ms. Peregrine Fisher, Phryne’s newly discovered long-lost niece, inherits her famous aunt’s new house. (Phryne is assumed dead after going missing over the highlands of New Guinea. That “assumed” leaves us fans some hope of her return, right?) And the new house is a doozy if you like the 6os modern look. Not really my cup of tea, but Peregrine sees it as vastly superior to the trailer she lived in previously, and the 1962 Austin-Healey 3000 is definitely a keeper.

Following in the paths of Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise, The Brokenwood Mysteries , and the original Miss Fisher series, our deaths are comically bizarre. A bridal fashion show opens with a dead bride tilting out of a wedding cake like a limp Leaning Tower of Pisa; a surfer boy pop star sizzles to death on his surf board during a photo shoot; a chef is butchered by a meat cleaver, not to mention a house full of swingers and death by sauna, to name a few.

And the supporting cast is lively and loveable. Detective James Steed is tall and handsome and immediately (too soon in DD’s opinion) smitten with Peregrine. Stoic to some extent, that exterior dissolves when experimental LSD is slipped into his drink… with titillating results.

Birdie (Catherine McClements), the head of the Adventuresses’ Club, is at first reluctant to acknowledge the new Ms. Fisher and puts her to a rigorous test. What else should we expect from someone of her expertise?

With a mind like a steel trap, and ex-member of WW2 Special Forces, Birdie is the 'M' of The Adventuresses' operation and club president. A tough woman of high expectations, she recognises the '60s are changing and they need new blood - but having Peregrine under her wing is also a way of staying connected to the old friend she misses desperately.

Birdie’s baby brother Samuel (Toby Truslove) is Q to Big Sis’s M, devising clever devices that allow Peregrine to sleuth in 1964 high tech fashion, inventing a mini hidden camera, as well as clandestine listening and recording devices. He also speaks and reads Mandarin.

And finally, Violetta (Louisa Mignone) is a shy scientist with mysterious ties to Italy, a real beauty hidden behind her classes. And she has the voice of an angel. She works closely with the widowed Samuel, and the collaboration soon becomes much more than professional, another sizzling romance that leaps to flame too soon again in DD’s opinion.

Another dessert to end your evenings, especially the second season which wisely has cut the episodes to a 45 minute length, mirroring the more concise and less busy prequel.

Not to miss, murder mystery fans, even if you are old-style.

–Kathy Borich
🥁🥁🥁1/2

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

A running joke in the new series is Ms. Fisher’s lack of culinary skills. Of course, her Aunt Phryne always served delectable food, but that was really the doing of her butler, Mr. Butler, a true Renaissance man.

Peregrine tries her hand at Cheese Straws and accidentally uses a wrong ingredient. The smitten Detective Steel tries hard, but even he cannot stomach these anemic pretenders.

Let’s help poor Peregrine out. We go the good old USA for a wonderful Cheddar Cheese variation. And we find out, its roots in the South are pretty authentic, too.

Eat your heart out, Mrs. Marlowe.

These will put your famous Secret Cheese Rolls in the back seat.

Cheese straws are a traditional food of England and the Southern United States. They are eaten as an appetizer or snack. They are made as cut strips, or by using a cookie press, from dough made with butter, flour, salt, cheddar cheese and cayenne pepper. Variations use different types of cheese, spices and nuts.

Cheddar Cheese Straws

Ingredients

· 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

· 1 pound block sharp orange Cheddar cheese, shredded

· 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

· 1 to 2 teaspoons ground red pepper

· 1/2 teaspoon paprika

· 4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

· Step 1

Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until blended. Gradually add flour, beating just until combined.

· Step 2

Use a cookie press with a star-shaped disk to shape mixture into long ribbons, following manufacturer's instructions, on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Cut ribbons into 2-inch pieces.

· Step 3

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

· Step 4

Cheese Wafers: Combine ingredients as directed; chill dough 2 hours. Shape dough into 4 (8-inch-long) logs; wrap each in plastic wrap, and chill 8 hours. Cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container 1 week.

Chef's Notes

If you don't have a heavy-duty stand mixer, you can use a handheld mixer. Just divide the ingredients in half, and work with two batches.

Southern Living. com