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For Whom the Bread Rolls

Page 25

by Sarah Fox


  Here in the place I loved, with people and animals I cared for dearly, everything seemed perfect. And despite the fireworks exploding in the sky, I felt more at peace than I ever had before.

  If you can’t get enough of the The Flip Side, bring the pancake house home with these delicious recipes, created for this book by Carina Chao.

  Crêpes

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  1 ½ cups milk

  2 eggs

  1 tablespoon sugar

  ½ teaspoon vanilla

  Butter or oil for greasing pan

  Sift flour and sugar into mixing bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in half the liquid ingredients. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining liquid ingredients. Whisk until smooth again.

  Optional: Refrigerate batter for up to six hours.

  Heat crêpe pan or small skillet over low heat for several minutes. Grease lightly. Increase to medium heat and leave for 1-2 minutes. Pour ¼ cup batter into the pan. Tilt and swirl to coat the pan. Cook until lightly browned. Flip and cook till lightly browned on the other side. Remove from pan. Makes 12 to 16 crêpes.

  Strawberry-Banana Crêpes

  Use crêpe recipe.

  4 cups strawberries, sliced

  4 large bananas, sliced

  Whipping cream or confectioners’ sugar

  Spoon sliced strawberries and bananas onto crêpe. Roll crêpe. Top with whipped cream or sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

  S’mores Crêpes

  Use crêpe recipe.

  1 cup chocolate chips, melted

  24 large marshmallows, toasted or melted

  Optional: Use marshmallow fluff instead of marshmallows.

  Place a spoonful of melted chocolate on the crêpe. Add two toasted marshmallows or a generous spoonful of melted marshmallows or marshmallow fluff. Roll crêpe. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

  Strawberry-Vanilla Pancakes

  1 ½ cups flour

  1 ½ cups milk

  2 teaspoons lemon juice

  3 tablespoons brown sugar

  3 teaspoons baking powder

  ¼ teaspoon baking soda

  1 ½ cups sliced strawberries

  3 tablespoons vanilla

  1 large egg

  2 tablespoons melted butter

  Vegetable oil for greasing

  Combine the milk and lemon juice and set aside to thicken.

  Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. In separate bowl, beat together egg, milk/lemon juice, vanilla, and butter. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients. Mix in strawberries. Ladle batter into greased skillet and cook on medium heat until bubbles form on the top and don’t disappear. Flip and cook second side until golden brown.

  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

  Serves four.

  Maple-Pecan Sticky Rolls

  Dough:

  4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  1 cup buttermilk

  2 large eggs

  6 tablespoons butter

  3 tablespoons granulated sugar

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 envelope dry active yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)

  1 teaspoon sugar

  ½ cup warm water

  Dissolve the 1 teaspoon sugar in the warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the water. Let stand for 10 minutes, then stir.

  In mixer bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add the sugar and the dissolved yeast. Add approximately half the flour and the butter and mix until combined. Add remaining flour gradually while kneading with a dough hook attachment until dough is smooth, soft, and elastic. Knead by hand a few times on a lightly floured surface until the dough forms a smooth, round ball. Place in greased bowl and lightly grease the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, approximately 60-75 minutes.

  Make the glaze and filling.

  Filling:

  2 tablespoons butter, melted

  ¾ cup packed brown sugar

  2 teaspoons cinnamon

  Melt butter. Set aside. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.

  Glaze:

  ¾ cup pure maple syrup

  ¾ cup packed brown sugar

  6 tablespoons butter

  Combine ingredients in a saucepan, stirring over heat until the butter is fully melted.

  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle with the long side closest to you. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on filling. Starting with the long end closest to you, roll up like a jelly roll. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the cylinder in half, then cut each half in half. Then slice each quarter into thirds to get 12 rolls.

  Pour the glaze into a baking dish. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish, cut side down. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm spot until double in size, approximately 45 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 350°F.

  Remove plastic wrap. Bake for 20 minutes. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto platter or baking sheet, and leave to cool while making the topping.

  Topping:

  ¼ cup packed brown sugar

  3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

  2 tablespoons butter

  ¾ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

  Combine sugar, syrup, and butter in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in toasted, chopped pecans. Spoon onto the top of the rolls. Let cool another 15-20 minutes. Serve.

  Makes 12 rolls.

  For Fergus and Nazzy

  Acknowledgments

  I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to several people whose hard work and input made this book what it is today. My amazing agent, Jessica Faust, helped me bring this series to life and found a home for it at Alibi. My editor at Penguin Random House, Julia Maguire, provided valuable insight and guidance, and the entire Alibi team has been a joy to work with. Sarah L. Blair has been a great friend and critique partner, and has cheered me on from start to finish. Thanks also to my wonderful friends in the writing community, and to all the readers who have returned for another of Marley’s adventures in Wildwood Cove.

  BY SARAH FOX

  Pancake House Mysteries

  The Crêpes of Wrath

  For Whom the Bread Rolls

  Music Lover’s Mysteries

  Dead Ringer

  Death in A Major

  Deadly Overtures

  SARAH FOX was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer, she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English springer spaniel.

  authorsarahfox.com

  Facebook.com/​authorsarahfox

  Twitter: @TheWriteFox

  If you enjoyed For Whom the Bread Rolls by Sarah Fox, read on for a sneak peek of

  Of Spice and Men

  A Pancake House Mystery

  Coming soon from Alibi

  Chapter 1

  A small flame flickered to life, dancing up from the pile of kindling in the large stone fireplace. I carefully added some larger pieces of wood, gently blowing on the flame, coaxing it to grow and spread. More flames erupted, consuming the kindling with greedy hunger before igniting the small logs I’d placed on top of the tinder. Less than a minute later, a full-fledged fire was roaring in the fireplace, radiating warmth and an orange glow into the dining area of The Flip Side Pancake House.

  I stepped back to admire the effect. The crackling fire definitely added to the cozy atmosphere of the pancake house, created in part by its rustic wood beams and dark flooring. I’d thoroughly enjoyed the recent summer months, spending my free time on Wildwood Beach and swimming in the ocean, but I didn’t mind that the weather had changed a couple of weeks back, steadily getting cooler as summer morphed into fall.

  This morning had
dawned even cooler than the previous ones, prompting me to put the stone fireplace to use. With drizzling rain adding to the chill of the morning, I knew The Flip Side’s diners would appreciate the extra warmth from the crackling fire.

  After setting the protective screen back into place in front of the fire, I brushed my hands off on my jeans and surveyed the rest of the dining area. The time was creeping toward seven o’clock, opening time, and I now had everything ready to go. Turning as I heard the sound of the front door opening, I smiled when I saw Leigh Hunter, The Flip Side’s full-time waitress, coming in out of the morning drizzle, her jacket’s hood up to protect her bleached blond hair from the rain.

  “Morning, Marley,” she said as the door fell shut behind her. Before I had a chance to return the greeting, she took in the sight of the fire crackling merrily across the room. “First fire of the season. Nice!” She rubbed her hands together. “It’s a perfect day for it.”

  “That’s what I thought,” I said.

  She shrugged out of her rain jacket as she headed for the break room. As she disappeared from sight, the front door opened again, this time admitting sixteen-year-old Sienna Murray. Sienna had worked full-time at The Flip Side during the summer and hadn’t wanted to give up the job completely when she returned to school, so she was now coming in on weekends. The teenager had grown out her hair over the past three months. She still had magenta streaks, but her dark hair now almost reached her shoulders, and it was currently damp from the rain.

  “A fire!” she exclaimed happily after we’d said good morning. “So cozy.” She approached the stone hearth and held out her hands to warm them. “Did you see all the trailers? It’s so exciting that there’s going to be actual Hollywood actors in Wildwood Cove.”

  “I didn’t see the trailers,” I said. “I came my usual way along the beach. Where are they?”

  “Along Wildwood Road, near where Shady Lane branches off to the south.”

  “Makes sense. I heard they’ll be doing a lot of filming at the Abbott house on Shady Lane.”

  “Yep. The production company is paying for the Abbotts to stay at our place while the filming’s going on,” she said, referring to her family’s waterfront bed-and-breakfast, located just three properties away from my own beachfront Victorian. “I wish they’d picked my house for the movie. It’s not spooky-looking like the Abbott house though.” She glanced at the clock on the wall and rubbed her hands together one last time. “I’d better go get ready.”

  As she hurried off down the hall to the break room, I headed for the front door to flip the CLOSED sign to OPEN. I had to agree with Sienna that it was exciting to have a Hollywood production here in our small seaside town on the Olympic Peninsula. I didn’t keep up with recent feature film releases and I didn’t make a point of following the lives of Hollywood stars, but it would be cool to have Wildwood Cove appear on the big screen.

  Back when I lived in Seattle, I’d seen movies filmed now and then in various parts of the city, and I knew that watching a scene being filmed could often get boring with the repeated takes, but the energy that the upcoming production had injected into the town was infectious and I knew I’d probably try to check out the main shooting location at some point during the week.

  The arrival of the production also had another benefit—good business. While some of the cast and crew would be lodging in Port Townsend or Port Angeles, having them work in Wildwood Cove meant more business for The Flip Side and other eateries around town. The cast and crew would have access to some meals on set, but already a few people attached to the production had ventured into the pancake house for a meal. Filming was scheduled to begin the next morning and several members of the crew were already here, getting ready for the shoot. Some of the actors had probably arrived by now too.

  Leaning in close to the glass door, I peered out at the dull morning. The Flip Side’s front door opened onto a paved promenade that ran along the top of Wildwood Beach, and at the moment both the promenade and the beach were deserted. No doubt the damp and chilly weather had kept many of the town’s early risers indoors. Still, I knew I didn’t have to worry. Rain or shine, most of The Flip Side’s regulars would appear at some point, and hopefully others would join them.

  With no one to serve yet, I followed Sienna as she passed through the swinging door into the kitchen while Leigh stayed behind, tying a red apron around her waist. Although I was only seconds behind Sienna, she was already chatting about the movie when I got into the kitchen.

  “I’m hoping I’ll get to see Chase Lowman,” she was saying to Tommy Park, assistant to the Flip Side’s chef, Ivan Kaminski. “He’s pretty hot, even though he’s a bit on the old side.”

  I nearly choked on the air I was breathing in. “He’s what? In his mid-thirties?”

  Her eyes widened as she realized what she’d said. “Thirty-six. You’re younger than that, Marley.”

  “By three years.”

  “Um.” Sienna tried to backtrack. “I meant he’s hot and really young?”

  I tried to look unimpressed, but Tommy was stifling a laugh and I was more amused than anything.

  “It’s all right,” I assured her. “I get that thirty-six seems almost ancient when you’re sixteen.”

  She smiled with relief. “I’d better get back out front.”

  As she left the kitchen, Ivan muttered under his breath, “Ridiculous.”

  I looked at the burly chef with surprise. He was in the midst of slicing up some bell peppers, thunk-thunking his knife against the cutting board with obvious irritation, his typical scowl surlier than usual.

  “She didn’t mean anything by it,” I told him, thinking he was insulted by what Sienna had said about Chase Lowman, who was younger than the chef by nearly ten years.

  “Not Sienna,” he said as he continued slicing the peppers. “The movie.”

  “Not a horror fan?” Tommy guessed.

  “Not a remake fan,” Ivan corrected. “Especially when it’s a remake of a classic.”

  “The Perishing is a classic?” I said, once again surprised.

  Ivan glared at me. “Haven’t you seen it?”

  I tried not to shrink beneath his fierce gaze. “I wasn’t even born when it came out.” His scowl intensified and I realized maybe that wasn’t the best thing to have said. “Besides,” I went on quickly, “I don’t really watch horror movies. I fell asleep in the first ten minutes of Night of the Living Dead, and that was it for me and the horror genre.”

  I flinched when Ivan pointed the tip of his knife at me.

  “You’ve missed out.” He glowered at me for another second before going back to his food preparation.

  “Are you going to watch this version of The Perishing when it comes out?” Tommy asked me.

  “Sure. It’ll be cool to see all the familiar locations.”

  “You should watch the original first,” Ivan muttered.

  “Maybe I will. Maybe that’s what Lisa and I will watch for our next movie night,” I said, referring to one of my closest friends in Wildwood Cove.

  Ivan still didn’t look pleased, but that wasn’t unusual for him, so I tried not to worry about it. I could hear voices other than Leigh’s and Sienna’s coming from beyond the kitchen, so I headed for the door.

  “I’d better get out there.”

  Leaving Ivan and Tommy to their work, I joined Leigh and Sienna out in the dining area. Two tables had been claimed by early morning diners, and I stopped to say hello to them before retreating to The Flip Side’s office, knowing that the two waitresses could handle the front of the house on their own for the time being.

  More than an hour passed before I finished up my latest administrative task and returned to the dining area to see how things were going. The restaurant was fairly busy now, but Leigh and Sienna were managing well, so when I spotted a familiar face across the room, I decided to take a few minutes to chat.

  “Morning,” I greeted Chloe Collins, my boyfriend’s younger sister
. “How are things going?”

  “Good,” she replied as I pulled out the chair across from her and settled into it. “How about you?”

  “Same.”

  Chloe leaned forward, her blue eyes bright with excitement. “Guess who I saw this morning.”

  “Someone from the movie?” I figured that was a safe guess considering her enthusiasm.

  “Yes. And not just any somebody. Chase Lowman!”

  “So he’s arrived then.”

  “Definitely. And he brought his cute little dog. He was heading for the beach to take his dog for a walk. He didn’t even seem to mind about the rain. Some Hollywood stars probably wouldn’t be caught dead getting their hair wet.”

  “Did you talk to him?”

  Disappointment replaced some of the excitement in her eyes. “No, I didn’t have the nerve.”

  “He’ll be around for a while. Maybe you’ll have another chance.”

  “I hope so. He’s even better looking in person than he is on the screen. And I just loved him in Forever Gone. He’s not just eye candy. He’s actually quite a good actor.”

  “He was good in Forever Gone,” I agreed. “That’s one of the few movies I saw in the theater over the last few years.”

  Sienna delivered a plate of blueberry crumble waffles to our table and after tucking her blond hair behind her ear, Chloe started in on her breakfast.

  “Whatever happened with the lead actress in The Perishing?” I asked, remembering some of the talk I’d overheard in the pancake house over the last couple of weeks. “Didn’t she have to pull out?”

 

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