Mistletoe & Missing Persons
Page 11
“It’s important to me that you understand.” He took her hand, running his thumb across hers. “A lot of women would not.”
“Are you talking about your ex-wife?” she asked.
“Yes, but let’s not.” He pulled her to him. “That’s in the past.”
He kissed her, his hands in her hair.
“Happy New Year,” she said and kissed him back. “I’m glad we’re beginning it together. And I’m looking forward to a very good year.”
Mariposa Café Recipes
Grandma Grace’s Chocolate Meringue Pie
A holiday staple especially on Christmas Eve
¾ cup sugar
3-4 tablespoons Hershey’s (or your favorite) cocoa*
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Dash of salt
2 cups of milk
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 baked 9 inch pie shell
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
Combine the ¾ cup sugar, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt in the top of a double boiler** Mix well. Add about 2 inches of water in the bottom of the double boiler.
Combine the milk and egg yolks in a separate bowl. Beat with a wire whisk until frothy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Gradually stir the milk and eggs into the sugar mixture, mixing well.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened to a pudding consistency. The water in the bottom of the double boiler will be bubbly.
Remove from heat. Add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the butter is melted and the pie filling is smooth.
Spoon into the baked pie crust shell.
Meringue:
Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites (at room temperature) and cream of tartar at the highest mixer speed. Gradually add the ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff peaks form and the sugar is fully dissolved.
Spread meringue over the hot filling, sealing to the edge of the pastry.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until gold brown.
*If you use unsweetened chocolate, increase the sugar by ¼ cup.
** If you don’t have a double boiler, you can improvise by using two saucepans or one saucepan and a metal mixing bowl as long as the bowl doesn’t touch the water in the bottom pan. The top pan should seal off the lower pan to hold in the steam in order to cook the food in the top pan/bowl.
A Note From the Author
Thank you for reading Mistletoe and Missing Persons, my first Mariposa Café short holiday mystery. I hope you enjoyed the latest adventure with Libby, Mimi, Jack, and the other fun and quirky characters in Mariposa Beach as much as I have enjoyed expanding their little world.
If you enjoyed the book, please consider writing a review on Amazon or Goodreads, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Word-of-mouth is the best way for authors to grow readership and for other readers to find my books. Your reviews are important and are so appreciated. If you give the recipes that I include in my books a try, let me know how you like them. The chocolate pie recipe included at the end of this story is an old family holiday favorite.
You can connect with me on Facebook at Teresa Michael – Author and on Instagram at @teresamichael1.
Happy reading. I’m busy working on Libby’s future adventures and perhaps begin a few other projects as well.
Teresa Michael
November 2019
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the Inkylinks Writers Group – Jim, Lizzie, Marisa, Pam, Rob, Shirley, and Teri. Thanks for listening, encouragement, and helping to work out the kinks. I love our little group.
To my beta readers on this story – Pam Menard, Sheila Smith, and Judy Timmons. Thanks for your great comments and input.
Continued thanks to the Sarasota Ex Libris Book Club for their continued expansion of my reading horizons and for their support and friendship over the years.
Thanks to Anne Mahalik for Devereaux.
Thanks to Sheila Smith for the smudge lesson and your love and friendship.
Thanks to Sunny Birdsong for sharing your stories about working the horses and traveling with the circus. I truly enjoyed hearing them.
Thank you to Dee Dee Scott at Let Love Glow Author Services for the wonderful editing, encouragement, and keeping me on track along this authorpreneur publishing journey.
To those who read the first Mariposa book, I appreciate all the great reviews and feedback. You all have made my year with all the positive responses I’ve received. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoy this one as well.
Last but certainly not least - Thanks to Larry for his support, first draft editing, building and construction consultations, honest feedback and love.
About the Author
Teresa Michael’s professional career is in health information management and technology and she is currently the Director of Health Information Management at a large health care system in Florida. She returned to college in her fifties, and instead of following the healthcare informatics path, she followed her passion and earned a degree in Creative Writing from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.
Teresa has always loved a good mystery and has turned her love of writing and mystery stories into her first mystery novel. She likes to read and belongs to a book club whose members have pushed her out of her comfort zone into enjoying all genres, though a good mystery is still her first choice.
She loves to travel and has visited forty-nine states having spent nine years on the road working *for a healthcare software vendor. She also spent many years as the Team Manager of the U.S. Archery team for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia and the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia as well as other international tournaments all over the world.
She lives in Sarasota, Florida with her husband and two cats, Lily and Lido. She enjoys visiting her children and grandchildren and loves spending time with her family creating new memories. She’s busy working on the next Mariposa Café mystery and planning her next trip, hopefully to that fiftieth state.
Books by Teresa Michael
Mariposa Café Mysteries
Murder in Mariposa Beach
Mistletoe and Missing Persons (A Mariposa Café Short Holiday Mystery)
Deception in Mariposa Beach --- Coming Soon!
Short Fiction
Indian Rock