Love Notes in the Key of Sea Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #2 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series)
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2 T. Balsamic Vinegar
1 small clove garlic, minced [about 1 t.]
1 or 2 t. fresh oregano, parsley, or basil, minced
¼ t. sea salt
¼ t. fresh ground pepper
PREPARATION
Mix together EVOO, vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt & pepper. Let sit while making the salads.
Divide lettuce evenly to line two 10-salad plates. Layer tomato slices over lettuce, add artichoke hearts and tuck olives and pepperoncini opposite one another on the plate. Alternate slices of prosciutto, cheese, and Coppa on each salad. Pull onion slices apart and place on top of everything. Whisk vinaigrette together and drizzle evenly over the salads. Serve or store in the fridge to keep chilled.
Georgie’s Tips:
Antipasto can be a terrific lunch, all by itself!
There’s nothing sacred about the choices presented here. Pick your favorites and use them in this ‘before the meal’ or stand-alone delight. Traditionally, antipasto includes a mix of meats & cheeses, but if you don’t eat meat leave it out. An all veggie version is excellent. Try serving it with marinated or roast vegetables like red peppers, mushrooms, or eggplant. You can prepare the antipasto a few hours ahead of time and keep it chilled. Just add the vinaigrette at the last minute, so the cheese doesn’t get soggy.
About the vinaigrette. Beware, home-made vinaigrette can be habit-forming. You might never want to use bottled dressing again. Experiment with different herbs and with how much garlic you add. Switch out the vinegar for lemon juice. Find vinegar or lemon just too tart? Add a teaspoon of sugar. Make it a Dijon vinaigrette by adding a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.
Chef’s play with their food. Taste as they go and add their preferences. The only place you have to tread with caution is when you bake. That’s trickier since precise measurements are often critical. In this case, though, go for it!
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Lasagna a la Georgie Shaw
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 pound spicy Italian sausages, casings remove
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons fresh, chopped garlic
2 Teaspoons, dried whole oregano
¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes & juice, crushed in blender
1 c dry red wine
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
Filling:
1 1/2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
1 15-ounce container plus ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups (packed) grated mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
1 Tablespoon fresh, chopped garlic
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
For Assembly:
12 no-boil lasagna noodles from one 8-ounce package
3 cups (packed) grated mozzarella cheese (about 12 ounces)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
Nonstick olive oil spray
PREPARATION
Sauce:
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausages, onion, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper and sauté until sausage is cooked through, mashing sausage into small pieces with back of fork, about 10 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes with juices. Bring sauce to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled.)
Filling:
Using on/off turns, chop fresh basil leaves finely in processor. Add ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Using on/off turns, process filling until just blended and texture is still chunky.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread 1 1/4 cups sauce in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 3 noodles on sauce. Drop 1 1/2 cups filling over noodles, then spread evenly to cover. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering of sauce, noodles, filling and cheeses 2 more times. Top with remaining 3 noodles. Spoon remaining sauce atop noodles. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Spray large piece of foil with nonstick olive oil spray. Cover lasagna with foil, sprayed side down.
Bake lasagna 40 minutes. Carefully uncover. Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Bake until noodles are tender, sauce bubbles thickly and edges of lasagna are golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Transfer to work surface; let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Georgie’s Tips:
Wine adds depth to sauces. Many chefs add it to the sauces they serve you. The alcohol burns off during cooking, leaving a subtle more complex flavor behind. It’s okay to use wine you like to drink, but you can use a less expensive wine in cooking.
The no boil noodles work remarkably well for lasagna, although you can use those that require boiling. Cut back on the recommended cooking time by a couple of minutes. Then cool them to stop them from continuing to cook and make it easy to handle them.
12 noodles results in 4 layers of noodles. I like the top layer of noodles to be covered with sauce, then topped with cheese. So make sure you reserve some sauce for the top and plan to split the filling three ways.
The resting time is necessary for lasagna to set up well for serving. So, fight off your dinner companions when they see this bubbly delight and smell the delicious aroma. This recipe serves 8. If you don’t eat it all, this delicious pasta dish makes great leftovers. All the flavors blend, and it reheats well.
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Traditional French Chocolate Mousse in Chocolate Cups
INGREDIENTS
6 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, grated or finely chopped
4 Eggs, room temperature with whites and yolks separated
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/8 teaspoon Lemon Juice
PREPARATION
*For the chocolate cups:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a heat-proof bowl in a water bath [see Georgie’s tips for details] until smooth and shiny.
Line a 12-cup cupcake tray with paper liners and scoop approximately 1 tablespoon melted chocolate into each cup. Use a pastry brush to evenly coat each cupcake liner and paint the chocolate up the sides of each liner, stopping about 1/2-inch from the top.
Freeze the tray for several hours or overnight. Pull off the cupcake liners and store the chocolate cups in the freezer.
For the mousse:
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a metal heat-proof bowl set in a water bath [see Georgie’s tips for details]. If you use the double boiler, stir as chocolate is melting. Remove from heat when melted to cool it slightly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (hand mixer may also be used) beat egg whites on high until frothy, then add the lemon juice. Continue to beat egg whites, slowly adding the granulated sugar a few tablespoons at a time (allow to mix in before adding more). You want the egg whites to be stiff but not dry, they should form into soft peaks that hold their shape.
Stir egg yolks into the chocolate that’s still warm but no longer hot. Gently stir about one third of the egg white mixture into the chocolate.**
Then combine the chocolate mixture into the bowl with the egg white mixture and gently mixture together completely.
Spoon the mousse mixture into 8 chocolate cups. Cover and fully chill before serving.
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*Find the original recipe for the chocolate cups @ www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chocolate-mousse-served-in-edible-chocolate-dessert-cups-with-raspberry-sauce
**Though the eggs are combined with the warmed chocolate they may not be fully cooked. Using pasteurized eggs which should remove any risk of Salmonella from eating raw eggs. The statistics on contracting Salmonella are pretty slight but of course follow your own judgment. Recipe for this mousse is adapted from Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Fou
r Star Chef. Read a great story about how this version of the mousse recipe came about @
boulderlocavore.com/traditional-french-chocolate-mousse-mousse-au-chocolat
Georgie’s Tips:
It’s no secret that I love chocolate. What could be better than serving chocolate mousse in a small edible chocolate bowl? You can serve these little chocolate cups singly or take two—they’re small but rich! These adorable and delicious chocolate confections aren’t that difficult to make. You can make them and store them in the freezer to fill with all sorts of good things when the mood strikes you.
There are several ways to melt chocolate: Microwave, double boiler or water bath. I think the water bath method gives you the most control. To use that method, place about an inch of water in the bottom of a wide skillet. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl [tempered glass or metal]. Set the bowl in the water and bring the water to a simmer. Turn off the burner and let the chocolate melt. No babysitting required.
You can also create a water bath by setting one heatproof bowl containing your chocolate inside a second, larger bowl, and pour boiling water from your tea kettle into the bottom bowl—just be careful not to splash any water into the chocolate or it will turn grainy on you.
Here’s a site with a picture or two of the bowl in a bowl water bath:
www.instructables.com/id/Melting-chocolate-without-microwave-or-double-boil
A microwave can work to melt chocolate. Use short spurts so the chocolate doesn’t burn. Start with a minute, stir, then repeat, 15 or 20 seconds at a time.
One last tip from a chocoholic! Use the bittersweet chocolate. Good dark chocolate will have cocoa solids (the actual chocolate) and cocoa butter (the creaminess of the chocolate) as top ingredients. To get that melt-in-your-mouth texture and dark, chocolaty flavor, choose chocolate that’s mostly cocoa solids and little else. Plus, if you eat chocolate with a high cocoa content (70-85%) it’s heart healthy!
If the surface is scarred, cloudy, or gray, this may be a sign that the chocolate is old or has been subject to extremes in temperature or handling. Pass.
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Quick Easy Gazpacho
INGREDIENTS
6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 large cucumber—peeled, halved, seeded and cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Salt to taste
Hot sauce, for serving
PREPARATION
In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, water, oil and vinegar and process until coarsely pureed. Season with salt and refrigerate until chilled. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or a tablespoon full of diced cucumber. Serve with your favorite hot sauce and something crunchy like breadsticks. Serves 4
Georgie’s Tips:
Gazpacho can be served more or less “chunky.” So try pureeing it more if you want it soupy or less if you prefer it even chunkier, closer to salsa. Gazpacho is a dish that you can make in a flash a day ahead. There are so many variations on this healthy, delicious treat, why not swap out the ripe, red tomatoes for yellow tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes? Or use another of your favorite veggies like red peppers or celery in addition to or instead of the ones in this recipe. Try topping with a sprinkle of a favorite fresh herb like cilantro, parsley, basil or mint.
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Partridge in Chocolate Sauce
INGREDIENTS
2 oven-ready partridges
4 thin slices of bacon
2 cloves
Half a bunch of parsley
2 squares or 50 grams of semi-sweet chocolate
A pinch of sugar
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons of pork lard
6 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 c white wine
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
1 c game or chicken stock
1 bay leaf
PREPARATION
Wash the partridges thoroughly. Dry and rub with salt and pepper, inside and out. Wrap the slices of bacon around the partridge breasts. Tie the birds securely in position using kitchen string.
Heat the lard in a braising pan and brown the partridges on all sides. Add the shallots, garlic and carrots. Cook in the fat until they begin to brown. Add the white wine, vinegar and game stock. Season with the bay leaves, cloves and parsley. Cover the pan with a lid and braise the partridge for around 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Strain the sauce through a sieve and bring back to the boil. Crumble the chocolate and melt in the sauce. Leave to thicken slightly and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Remove the slices of bacon from the partridges and put them back in the sauce. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Serve in the sauce. Serve with crusty bread or crisp toast. 2 servings
Georgie’s Tips:
I’ll bet you’re thinking, ‘any excuse to use more chocolate,’ right? I must confess that’s part of it. But it’s also interesting to try something different once in a while. Partridge qualifies for me. It has a flavor that’s distinctive, more like dark meat on chicken, or turkey, but not gamey.
You’ll have to go to a specialty store to find partridge. If you can’t do that you can substitute Cornish Game Hen—you’re back to a flavor like chicken but the sauce still makes this interesting. Cut back on the lard because game hen has more fat than a partridge.
Same rules about using good chocolate, by the way, although this recipe calls for chocolate with a bit of sugar in it.
Roasted potatoes and earthy root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, beets, or butternut squash make excellent side dishes.
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Before you go…
Hope you have fun trying out these recipes. Some are probably already familiar to you, like lasagna or gazpacho. I hope you’re intrigued to find a few new ones here, too. Bon appetit!Before you go, here's another sneak peek. Corsario Cove, the setting for this eorgie Shaw mystery, is part of another series I write. Detective Mitchum’s there too along with an adorable 20-something couple on their honeymoon at the Sanctuary Resort & Spa.
In the words of that immortal bard, Shakespeare, “the course of true love never did run smooth.” Kim and Brien soon face a series of unfortunate circumstances that turn their little bit of paradise into something altogether different. Corsario Cove is a place of mystery—some old, some new, and sure to offer Kim and Brien a series of “most excellent adventures.”
Here’s an excerpt from Cowabunga Christmas! http://smarturl.it/cove1 the first book in the Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery series.
1 SURF’S UP
The sound of pounding surf woke me at the crack of dawn. Why not? We had left the doors to the veranda open. We felt safe in our suite up on the sixth floor and the sound of the waves was pleasant at night. That wasn’t all that was pleasant, I thought as I slipped out of the oversized bed. That bed was a dream, decked out in soft, silky sheets and a plush comforter in creamy colors mirroring the sea, sand and sun. I grabbed a waffle weave spa robe I had tossed casually on a chair near the bed when we returned from a midnight dip in the hotel pool.
Resort staff locked the gated area at 10:00 p.m., but no matter. Brien climbed over the fence and then opened the gate from the inside, bowing gallantly as I entered carrying champagne and crystal flutes. The gesture was sweet—a side of Brien that made it almost impossible not to love the guy. He had just violated several resort rules, however, and probably a law or two. He ought to know, given he’s licensed in security and has his ‘guard card’ as the State of California calls it.
As I slipped the robe on, I padded in bare feet out onto the lavish balcony that spanned the length of our two-room suite. The sunrise was glorious; molten colors spilling over the rolling waves. The sea air felt brisk, normal for mornin
gs this time of year on California’s Central Coast. Despite the chill, warmth crept over me as I tightened the belt on my robe and sank down on a comfy chaise.
My robe had not been tossed casually, but frantically as Brien and I lunged at each other the moment we returned to our room after sneaking that swim. We were giggling and out of breath when we burst into our suite and shut the door behind us. Our leisurely moonlit soak had come to an abrupt end as we ran for it before hotel security could catch us. The entire evening had been like that—bouncing wildly between deliriously romantic and breathlessly sexy; moonlight and surf vying to set the mood.
Not that unusual for a honeymoon, I suppose. I looked at the rings on my left hand, almost in disbelief. What had I—what had we—done? Me, Kim Reed, a married woman. Kim Reed-Williams if I went along with Brien’s idea to add the hyphen. A little over a year ago, if asked, I would have described myself as a loner, down-and-out. Worse, I had been swimming for my life in murky, shark-infested waters. That all changed when murder and mayhem put the celebrated music producer I worked for in prison. When he had found me on the street years before, I was grateful—that was before I knew what it meant to be ‘discovered’ by the Mr. P.
What I’m grateful for now, is the chance for a do-over. I have a fresh start, thanks to my new BFF Jessica Huntington. Brien owed her a lot, too. That included this deluxe honeymoon. Neither of us could have afforded anything close to a real honeymoon after paying for our small, Christmastime wedding.
My boss, Jessica Huntington—as in the Huntington Beach Huntingtons—would gladly have paid for the wedding too. One thing I got back, though, when freed from indentured servitude to a scum bucket, was my pride. So, I set limits on Jessica’s largesse. That’s not always easy to do. She’s sneaky generous and her lawyer skills give her great persuasive power.