Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series
Page 12
“Si, Signora. A man just brought it a little while ago. Here it is.”
“Thank you.” She and Mike walked over to the elevator. “Mike, it’s really light. What do you think it is?”
“I have no idea. Honest. He didn’t say anything to me about this or the flowers. You can open it as soon as you get to the room. Can you wait that long?” he asked in a teasing manner.
“Barely, just barely.” Mike opened the door of their room, and she walked over to the table and chairs next to the window that overlooked the Duomo. Kelly took the small package out of her purse. It was wrapped in white tissue paper and tied with a red bow. She carefully took off the wrapping paper and the bow which covered the box. She removed the lid and took a note off the white cotton that covered whatever was in it.
“Well, read it. What does it say?” Mike asked. “I’m as curious as you are.”
“Enjoy this small gold statue of Saint Lorenzo. He is the patron saint of cooks and also the patron saint of the cooking school that’s located in the Mercato. I hope you will think of Italy with pleasure each time you look at him, and it’s a small token of my appreciation for what you have done for me. This little statue was made for you by one of my relatives who is a jeweler.”
She lifted off the cotton and gasped as she reached into the box and withdrew the two inch solid gold statue of Saint Lorenzo. It had a small bezel at the top, so it could be worn as a necklace or bracelet. She looked at Mike with tears in her eyes. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Look at the workmanship. I don’t know how anyone could make something this intricate and small out of solid gold. I’ll treasure it.”
“Here. Let me see it.” He turned it over in his large hand. “Kelly, I don’t know what this cost, but it couldn’t have been cheap, and I don’t think the chief is a wealthy man. I wonder how he could afford to give you this.”
“I don’t know when I’ve been so touched. This is far more beautiful than anything we saw in the Ponte Vecchio shops. And what a thoughtful gift. I take back everything I ever said about him being a male chauvinist.”
“Well, where does that leave me? Am I off the hook for purchasing a piece of jewelry for you?”
“Mike, a woman can never have enough jewelry. Let your conscience be your guide.”
“Kelly, are you the least bit familiar with the term enough is enough?” he asked, putting his arms around her.
“Nope, and I never want to be.”
Recipes!
There's a surprise following the recipes.
LIMONCELLO DESERT
Ingredients:
1 pint lemon sorbet
1 pint vanilla ice cream
6 oz. limoncello or any Italian lemon liqueur
1 lemon, zested
Biscotti (any kind)
Directions:
Place one scoop each of lemon sorbet and vanilla ice cream in a small bowl. Top with 1 ½ ounces of the lemon liqueur. Sprinkle the zest on top. Serve with biscotti.
PORK LOIN ROAST WITH MILK
Ingredients:
2 lb. boneless pork loin
1/3 cup butter
2 medium sized fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 leeks, finely chopped, white and light green parts only
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, diced
4 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
3 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
¼ cup flour
String
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place an ovenproof pan with deep sides on the stove top and melt the butter over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, leeks, garlic, and celery and cook until soft. While the vegetables are cooking, put the thyme leaves on a cutting board and spread to about the width and length of the pork roast.
Roll the pork loin over the thyme and tie lengthwise with a long piece of string and then tie three times around the width. Pat with salt and pepper. Dust the pork with the flour, increase the heat to medium-high and brown, pushing the vegetables to the sides. Heat the milk and pour it over the pork.
Transfer the browned pork and vegetables to the oven and cook for 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, put the pork on a serving platter and let it rest for 5 minutes. If the milk sauce is too thin, thicken with a mixture of water and flour and add to milk until desired consistency. (I have found it makes a nice sauce thickening on its own.)
Slice the pork into thick medallions, pour a small amount of the sauce over them and put the rest of the sauce in a serving bowl, letting people serve themselves.
TORTA DI NOCE (CALABRIAN WALNUT CAKE) with STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC SAUCE
Ingredients:
12 oz. walnuts
4 eggs, separated
8 oz. sugar
1 lemon peel, finely grated
1 lb. fresh strawberries
4 tbsp. powdered sugar, divided equally
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
9 inch springform pan
3 tbsp. water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9” springform pan. Put walnuts in a blender or food processor and finely chop.
With an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and creamy. Fold in the ground nuts and grated lemon. Beat the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold into the nut mixture. Gently pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 50 minutes until cake rises and is firm. Cool. When cool remove the cake from the pan and sprinkle with 2 tbsp. powdered sugar.
To make the strawberry sauce, hull and halve the strawberries and place in a saucepan with 3 tbsp. water and remaining 2 tbsp. powdered sugar. Heat slowly until soft and mushy. Pour into a food process or blender. Add balsamic vinegar and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl, cover, and chill.
Serve the cake in thin wedges with the strawberry sauce drizzled over the top and down the sides.
BRAISED ARTICHOKES WITH POTATOES, PARSLEY & GARLIC
Ingredients:
6 medium sized artichokes
1 lemon, quartered
1 head fresh garlic
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch of flat leaved parsley, roughly chopped
2 lbs. new potatoes, peeled, and cut into chunks
½ tsp. salt
4 cups water
Directions:
Squeeze the lemon quarters into the water. Trim and then quarter the artichokes, putting them immediately in the lemon water. Peel off the first layer of skin from the head of the garlic and cut into six wedges. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven type pan.
Add the garlic and parsley and sauté until the garlic is slightly colored. Add the artichokes, potatoes, salt and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are soft and most of the water has evaporated. Can be served hot or cold.
CROSTATA DELLA NONA or GRANNY's TART
Pastry Ingredients:
7 ½ oz. slivered almonds
3 oz. sugar
14 oz. cake flour
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 orange
10 ½ oz. unsalted butter, cubed in small pieces and chilled
3 eggs
Water
Note: All ingredients and utensils must be chilled several hours prior to preparation. Make the pastry a day before you wish to serve it.
Directions:
Place the almonds, sugar, and food processor blades in bowl and thoroughly chill. When chilled, place in food processor and pulse to reduce almonds to a powder. Transfer to mixing bowl and gently mix with a hand mixer.
Add flour, salt, zest, and mix. Add butter and mix until just incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time and pulse on and off until large loose crumbs start to form. If too dry, add a few drops of water. Turn the bowl over and remove dough.
Press dough into a ball and knead a couple of times. Don’t o
ver process. Wrap ball in saran wrap and refrigerate for one day. There is enough dough to make two tarts. If you only want to make only one, freeze half the dough. Will keep for two months in the freezer.
Filling Ingredients:
3 oz. raisins soaked in a few tbsp. of warm red wine
2 cups plus 1 tbsp. milk
Peel from one lemon
4 eggs, separated
4 oz. sugar
4 tbsp. corn starch
10 ½ oz. ricotta cheese
3 ¾ oz. sugar for whipping egg whites
Large bowl of cold water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan bring milk and lemon peel to a boil. In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch until thoroughly mixed. Remove the lemon peel and pour hot milk on top of egg mixture, stir well. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until it forms a smooth cream. Transfer to a bowl set in ice cold water. Stir from time to time to prevent a skin from forming on the surface. It will develop into a custard-like filling. Sieve the ricotta cheese in a strainer to release the liquid and add it and the drained raisins to the cold custard.
Whip the egg whites with the remaining sugar until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the custard. Place the pastry in a Pyrex 9” dish so it covers the bottom and sides of the dish. Pour the mixture onto the rolled out pastry and level the top with a spatula. Put in the oven and check after 20 minutes. Filling should be just barely set. Let cool. Cut and serve. Enjoy!
*****
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I'll explain it in very simple words, both theoretically and practically. The most famous experiment in quantum physics is called the 'Slit Eye Experiment.' Please hang on. Don't get unnerved by words like quantum physics. In the next few lines you'll understand perfectly well how it ties in to the simplest of things in your life.
In the slit eye experiment, scientists took a roll of paper, made a vertical slit in it and fired photons through it. (Just like making a slit in a plastic sheet and pouring water through it.) Behind the sheet of paper they had a photographic plate that recorded where the photons would land. And as one would expect they ended up in a nice vertical line. What's so surprising about that? The slit is the only place through which the photons could go and since it was vertical, the photons landed in a nice vertical formation on the photographic plates. They did this over and over again and got the same results.
It so happened that one night they forgot to turn off the equipment before leaving the lab. The next morning they came and got the SURPRISE of the lives. The photons no longer landed in a fine vertical line. Instead they were scattered all across the photographic plate. How could that be possible? The vertical slit in the sheet of paper was the same. No one had torn it apart.
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Let's say that the journey of life begins in Los Angeles and ends in New York. Most of us are stuck somewhere along the way. The biggest secret is that you will reach New York no matter what. Let me repeat that - you will reach New York no matter what. How long it takes is where free will comes in. The universe helps you as much as it can but maybe you are shooting yourself in the foot too often. You may reach New York in this cycle of awareness or the next but make no mistake you will reach New York. Hence - You have already won the Game of Life.
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The Best Book on Money and Success That'll Take You to the Top
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 - A New Beginning
CHAPTER 2 - What Do You Want?
CHAPTER 3 - Plugging Massive Energy Leaks
CHAPTER 4 - Empty Yourself First
CHAPTER 5 - Resistance Explained
CHAPTER 6 - Sin, a Wretched Invention
CHAPTER 7 - Nothing can kill
CHAPTER 8 - The Turnaround
CHAPTER 9 - Actionless Action - Act Without Acting
CHAPTER 10 - Mother's Special Recipe for Success (Reader's Favorite)
CHAPTER 11 - The Power behind a Choice or Decision
CHAPTER 12 - Why do some people never get what they want?
CHAPTER 13 - Be Very Selfish & Don't Forget the F Word
CHAPTER 14 - Reverse Engineering your Deepest Fear
CHAPTER 15 - Living in the Now & The Secret of a Billion Bits
CHAPTER 16 - The Essence
CHAPTER 1
A New Beginning
It was the first week of March and Spring was just around the corner, eager to burst forth and bless everyone with life and warmth once more. A beaming sun and blue skies dotted with white fluffy clouds greeted all those who had assembled. Smiles abounded, and even those who were grouchy couldn't help flashing their pearly or not so pearly whites.
The organization catered to those who needed someone "to listen" to them in their moment of crises, and in the long run steer them away, tactfully, from committing suicide. It had been in existence f or decades, tucked away in a quaint house in a leafy neighborhood in the suburbs. What these callers didn't realize was that loneliness was killing them, slowly and
softly.
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Twice a year the organization would hold a get-together where the Chairman would host a feast for the volunteers who were educated, compassionate, eclectic, enthusiastic and inspiring. The Chairman was a wise and generous man revered for his wisdom, both, from a monetary and spiritual angle. He wanted to share his secrets, "real secrets of life", with them.
There are principles and then there are tactics or techniques. Principles are few and far in-between whereas tactics range in the hundreds or thousands. He wanted to share his life-transforming principles (and a few techniques), the best of the best, with these good Samaritans; they deserved it. The possibilities were limitless once the foundation was laid.
The chairman had a handsome forehead, deep-set eyes, lush eyebrows, an aquiline nose and a head covered with silvery-white hair. The volunteers could invite their family and friends, and the event was always a memorable one.
The post lunch session was the most precious part of the day. By then all barriers had been broken and the gathering resembled one big, happy family. The Q&A session would begin where they could ask the Chairman absolutely anything. No topic was deemed inappropriate or juvenile, and they were free to go in any direction. The volunteers came from all walks of life and despite vast differences, both economic and social, they all shared a common thirst for love, money and happiness. Yet, at times, the intensity of that thirst seemed to get in the way of everything they yearned for.
CHAPTER 2
What do you want?
“So what's the first question going to be?” asked the chairman, as he smiled magnanimously.