A Body on Fitzgerald's Bluff
Page 19
“I have,” Robyn replied. “Deputy Devers called me a crazy lady—one among many at Seaview Cottages!”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it’s Shakespeare’s ghost and he’s looking for something in my cottage! Maybe I am crazy. I don’t want to move out of Shakespeare’s Cottage. I love it—and this entire place, too.”
“Don’t sweat it, Robyn. They know all about the daffy old dame treatment from Devers. They won’t let it happen to you.” Carl nodded in enthusiastic agreement with Joe’s statement.
I sighed heavily. Carl and Joe were right, of course. How could we let that happen? I wasn’t convinced Robyn was being troubled by a ghost, but something was going on. She was clearly distraught. How could we turn our backs on her?
“Do you like scones?” I asked, motioning for our visitors to follow as we all paraded back into the kitchen.
“What makes you believe it’s Shakespeare’s ghost?” Neely asked.
“That’s a good question,” Marty added. “It could be any dead person, couldn’t it?’
What a day! What a year! I thought. What on earth can happen next?
—THE END—
Thanks so much for reading A Body on Fitzgerald’s Bluff, the first book in my Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery series. I hope if you enjoyed meeting Miriam Webster, Domino, and the other residents of the Seaview Cottages Community you’ll leave me a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
I’d love to hear from you if you have feedback for me or questions about this or any other book I’ve written. Feel free to contact me by email at burke.59@osu.edu.
Book 2 in the Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery series, The Murder of Shakespeare’s Ghost, will be out soon. To keep up with news about the release of that book, with sales and giveaways, I’d love for you to subscribe to my newsletter: https://desertcitiesmystery.com.
While you’re waiting for the next installment of murder and mayhem with the Grand Old Lady Detectives, why not check out the books in one of the other series I write? You can find them all on my Amazon author page https://www.amazon.com/Anna-Celeste-Burke/e/B00H8J4IQS.
RECIPES
MUFFINS
12 full-size or 24 mini muffins
Ingredients
2 cups pastry flour or Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
white sugar, for topping
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Or line the cups with papers and grease the papers.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Blend the liquid ingredients— milk, oil or butter, eggs, and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk together just until it’s all blended--about 20 seconds should do it. Don’t overmix--it's fine to have some lumps so don’t keep stirring!
Fill the cups of the muffin pan two-thirds to three-quarters full. Sprinkle with sparkling white sugar, if desired.
Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Remove them from the oven, and as soon as you can handle them turn them out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
For berry or fruit muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of berries to the recipe (or finely chopped, well-drained fresh fruit: peaches, apples, etc.; or chopped dried fruit). To make sure berries or fruit stay evenly distributed throughout the batter, add to the dry ingredients and mix until coated before adding the liquid ingredients. This prevents them from sinking once the liquids are blended in.
For oatmeal muffins: Instead of using 2 cups of flour, use 1 cup rolled oats and 1 1/4 cups flour. You can also substitute brown sugar for granulated. These muffins don't rise as high as the basic muffins, but they certainly taste wonderful!
*If you can’t tolerate gluten, use your favorite gluten free flour instead
QUEEN CITY CHILI
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped*
1 pound extra-lean ground beef (hamburger)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin*
1 teaspoon ground ginger*
1/2 teaspoon red (cayenne) pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa or 1/2 ounce grated unsweetened chocolate*
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 (16-ounce) package uncooked dried spaghetti pasta
Oyster crackers
*These are all optional since some fans of this chili will tell you these items weren’t in the original recipe—basically this is a ground beef chili accented with a blend of Middle Eastern spices. Experiment until you find the blend that’s perfect for you!
Toppings
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Onion
Kidney Beans [canned, heated in a little of the chili]
Directions
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, sauté onion, ground beef, garlic, and chili powder until ground beef is slightly cooked. Ground beef should be stirred so it’s fine, not clumpy or chunky [some cooks say put the beef through a food processor before cooking].
Add allspice, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, unsweetened cocoa or chocolate, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, and water. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove from heat. [Some say it’s even better if you make this a day ahead and reheat!]
Cook spaghetti according to package directions and transfer onto individual serving plates.
Ladle Cincinnati Chili mixture over the cooked spaghetti and serve with toppings of your choice.
Have it your way…
Two-way chili: served on spaghetti
Three-way chili: add mounds of finely shredded cheddar cheese
Four-way chili: add chopped onions on top of the cheese
Five-way chili: add a ladle or two of kidney beans on top of all the rest!
Serve with oyster crackers on the side!
DEATH BY CHOCOLATE CAKE
Makes 12 Slices
Ingredients
Cake
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/4 cups cocoa powder
3 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of kosher salt
1 1/2 cups melted butter
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups espresso or strong black coffee
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Ganache Filling
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chocolate chips – milk, semi-sweet, or dark
2 tablespoons brewed coffee or espresso
1 pinch of kosher salt
Frosting
3 cups butter—softened
7 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 pinch of kosher salt
3/4 c. heavy cream (plus more if necessary)
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips—divided
Directions
Cake
Preheat oven to 350°. Line three 8” round cake pans with parchment and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the melted butter, eggs, coffee, buttermilk and vanilla and whis
k until smooth.
Divide batter evenly among the cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks before removing from pans.
Filling
Add heavy cream and butter to a small saucepan and heat on low heat until the butter has melted, and the cream is warmed throughout.
Add chocolate chips to a large glass or nonreactive bowl. Pour the warmed cream and butter mixture over the chocolate chips. Add in the brewed coffee and a pinch of salt. Allow to stand for about 3-5 minutes to soften the chocolate chips completely.
Stir briskly to combine and until smooth. Allow to cool then spread between layers of cake and assemble.
Frosting
In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt. Blend in the heavy cream (adding more by the tablespoon until consistency is creamy but can hold peaks).
Cover the entire cake with frosting. Then use your hands to cover the cake with chocolate chips—about 3 cups. In the microwave, melt one cup of chocolate chips—start with 1 minute on a medium setting. If necessary, continue to heat in 15 second intervals. Drizzle melted chocolate over cake and serve.
VANILLA BEAN SCONES
8 scones
Ingredients
Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated vanilla bean sugar [see note below about this sugar]
1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half—cold
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg—cold
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Caviar from inside 1 vanilla bean (or substitute 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste)
2-3 tablespoons cream or half and half as need for desired consistency
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla sugar together in a large bowl. Work the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter, fork or with your clean fingertips until you have a coarse mixture with pea sized pieces of butter. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
Whisk the egg with the milk and vanilla extract until blended. Gradually pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. With a lightly floured hand, knead the dough by folding it in thirds toward the center and then flatten—repeat 3 times. Pat the dough out to an 8 or 9-inch circle (about 3/4-inch-thick) and cut into 8 triangle shaped pieces.
Use a spatula to arrange the scones about 1/2-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the scones in the preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes, until golden brown around the edges. Allow scones to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
While the scones are cooling, prepare the glaze. Place the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Stir the vanilla bean caviar into the cream or half and half. Slowly whisk the milk into the powdered sugar until smooth. Glaze should be fluid yet spoon-able. Add additional milk or powdered sugar as needed to reach the desired consistency.
Once the scones have cooled, spoon the glaze over each scone covering it completely—you can spread the glaze with the back of the spoon. Allow the scones to rest until the glaze sets before serving.
Leftover scones may be stored at room temperature, lightly tented with aluminum foil for a day or in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Vanilla bean sugar
Ingredients
1 whole vanilla bean
2 cups sugar
Directions
Place the sugar into an airtight container like a mason jar.
Slice the vanilla bean open lengthwise. With the back of knife, scrape the seeds into the container and mix with the sugar. Bury the bean pod in the sugar, too, and seal tightly with lid. Store until ready to use. Use as you would regular granulated sugar.
SHOO FLY PIE
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
1/2 cup molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, dissolve the soda in the molasses and stir until it foams. Stir in the boiling water and pinch of salt.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, brown sugar and butter into crumbs.
Pour 1/3 of the molasses mixture into the unbaked crust. Sprinkle 1/3 of the crumbs over the molasses mixture and continue alternating layers, finishing with the crumbs on top.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the crumbs and crust are golden.
About the Author
An award-winning, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, I hope you’ll join me snooping into life's mysteries with fun, fiction, and food—California style!
Life is an extravaganza! Figuring out how to hang tough and make the most of the wild ride is the challenge. On my way to Oahu, to join the rock musician and high school drop-out I had married in Tijuana, I was nabbed as a runaway. Eventually, the police let me go, but the rock band broke up.
Our next stop: Disney World, where we “worked for the Mouse” as chefs, courtesy of Walt Disney World University Chef’s School. More education landed us in academia at The Ohio State University. For decades, I researched, wrote, and taught about many gloriously nerdy topics.
Retired now, I’m still married to the same, sweet guy and live with him near Palm Springs, California. I write the Jessica Huntington Desert Cities Mystery series set here in the Coachella Valley, the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery Series set in California’s Central Coast, The Georgie Shaw Mystery series set in the OC, The Seaview Cottages Cozy Mystery Series set on the so-called American Riviera, just north of Santa Barbara, and The Calla Lily Mystery series that takes place in California’s Wine Country. Won’t you join me? Sign up at: http://desertcitiesmystery.com.