“Smart girl. But is it okay if I invite somebody from Belgium to come over sometime soon, now that we have a whole big inn up on the bluff with rooms to fill and rent out?”
The way he looked at me told me something more was going on. He had a secret. I said, “You invited somebody already, didn’t you? Who?”
“It’ll be a surprise. A special delivery of sorts for you straight from Belgium.” He nodded at the books in my lap. “A clue is in there.”
“In this book?” I had it open to the picture of Bram Oosterling and Clément Van Damme with their big fish. “One of our relatives?”
“Well, yes and no. And it has to do with that darn cup John Schultz brought up from an old shipwreck.”
A sudden flash of the imagery of the fancy script “AVD” on the cup came to me. “There was another Ava Van Damme? Did she lose her dinnerware service during a storm on Lake Michigan?” I didn’t recall any tales about our ancestors dying on the lake like so many others, but now I wondered. Fortunately, the cups stolen from Lloyd’s house had been found in Professor Faust’s car and had been returned. I wondered about the tales behind that collection, too.
Gilpa grabbed his coffee off the table for a slurp. “Not an ‘Ava.’ Lloyd’s lawyer says that among the safe’s papers were notes about Lloyd’s ancestor being helped by a Belgian by the name of Arnaud Van Damme. That would’ve been way back on your grandmother’s side of things. I asked Sophie about the name and she didn’t know it. But Parker called up one of his church history guys, and the guy seems to think Arnaud married some royal family princess by the name of Amandine.”
A feeling akin to winning the lottery washed over me. Bubbles started effervescing in my veins. “So maybe what John has found is valuable? It belongs to a royal family? And we’re related?” I stared hard at the young men of years gone by in the cookbook on my lap. They didn’t look like royalty. “This person coming from Belgium might know more about the men in this picture? And a cup?”
“I hope so,” Gilpa said, grinning behind his coffee cup. “In the meantime, Parker’s going to talk with John about going back to the shipwreck site to explore even more. A full table service could be worth a fortune, Parker says.” His grin turned into a wicked smile. “By the way, Parker said he’d be over later to work on the real estate offer for the inn with you. I suggested he make it noon and bring a picnic basket along and take you to one of our lovely beaches or lighthouse parks for lunch.”
“You didn’t!” But I could tell he was lying. “Stubborn buffalo Belgian.” He’d got me. But then I got an idea and said, “Gilpa, a picnic sounds wonderful.” A picnic with Dillon and Lucky Harbor on a secluded beach for lunch. “Could you handle the fudge shop this afternoon?”
“Sure. Seems I owe you. Now that I don’t have a boat to preoccupy me, I’ve got time on my hands.”
“Well, then, that gives me more time to experiment with new fudge recipes. If I’m going to be tested by people who enjoy fine chocolate candies daily in our motherland, I’ve got to roll up my sleeves and work on my art.”
“Who knows! Your fudge might end up in the royal palace in Belgium. Maybe you and Sophie’s friends can also make more aprons as gifts for our guests to take home with them? Those are a hit with both the ladies and the men.” He winked.
“Leave it to Grandma’s church lady friends to find the secret to a man’s heart. It’s not food; it’s aprons!”
He grew somber then as he sat down on the stool next to the bolted table in the middle of the open cabin. “I’m going to miss this old bucket, but we’re gonna be too busy to be sad about it, Ava honey.” Then mischief came dancing back into his dark eyes. “Parker’s a nice guy. You could do worse, you know.”
He meant Dillon. Then he was laughing and ruffling the dog’s fur. “I guess we all deserve a second chance. Even that Dillon fellow.”
Gilpa’s silver hair fluttered in the breeze coming off the harbor. My grandfather was happy in a new, wonderful way, despite saying good-bye to his boat. Perhaps I’d helped liberate him somehow, and he was happy to start a new journey in his life, one where he’d set sail for adventures on Lake Michigan as our ancestors did when they came to Door County from Europe. Grandpa looked young again.
Lucky Harbor poked his nose into my lap.
I got up, set the cookbooks a safe distance away on the table, then reached in my pocket for Goldfish crackers. I tossed them in the harbor.
The big splash from the dog jumping in drenched Gilpa and me. It was a baptism, I sensed. My life was ready to begin a new chapter. I was stronger. I needed to be, what with all the mysteries ahead of me to solve. What would become of my grandpa and me in the months and years to come? Would Dillon and I make it together finally? Could I run the Blue Heron Inn on my own? Who were Grandpa’s visitors he’d invited? What if our family really was connected to some princess and royalty?
There was so much to think about all at once that I knew just what I had to do first in order to sort it all out—make fudge!
Recipes
Rapunzel Raspberry Rapture Fudge
PREPARATION: 10 MINUTES
COOKING TIME: 20 MINUTES
This is an easy recipe you can make on your stove top or in the microwave.
Before you cook: Prepare an 8-by-8-inch pan by either greasing it with butter on the bottom and sides or lining it with wax paper so that the wax paper comes over the edges. Spray the paper lightly with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
14-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
4 teaspoons raspberry flavoring
3/4 cup raspberry jam
Whipped cream (for garnish)
Fresh raspberries (for garnish)
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave with the sweetened condensed milk and butter on medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir, and return it to the microwave as needed until it’s melted and smooth. (Stove-top method: Put chips, milk, and butter in a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Stir constantly until it’s melted and glassy.)
Add the raspberry flavoring. Stir thoroughly.
Pour half the mixture into the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread a light layer of raspberry jam across the fudge, being careful to keep the jam away from the edges. Pour the remaining fudge on top, completely covering the jam. Let it cool and sit for a day.
To serve Ava’s way, as a dessert: Cut fudge into 1-inch squares or any size you wish. (If you used wax paper in your pan, grab the edges of the paper to lift the entire pan of fudge out onto a cutting board. Remove the wax paper before cutting the fudge.) Serve on dessert plates with a dollop of whipped cream on the side and with several fresh raspberries atop the whipped cream and on the dish. Enjoy bites of fudge, cream, and raspberries in any order.
Rose Garden Fudge
Rose petals are lovely, edible additions to confections and desserts. Use organic (chemical free), fresh rose petals in your favorite colors for this recipe. You can find edible flowers in specialty shops or produce sections of grocery stores, and if not, you might do what I did—ask your neighbor for a couple of blooms.
Before you cook: Prepare an 8-by-8-inch pan by either greasing it with butter on the bottom and sides or lining it with wax paper so that the wax paper comes over the edges. Spray the paper lightly with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips*
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons rose water*
1 medium rose blossom in full bloom (about 2 inches across)
Optional: crystallized rose petals for garnish
**
Prepare the rose petals that you want to go into the fudge. Pluck them from the blossom, then cut each into small edible pieces (half-inch diameter or smaller).
Put chips, milk, butter, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat. Stir constantly until it’s melted and glassy. This will take about 20 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract and rose water. Stir thoroughly. Pour it into a prepared pan. Sprinkle the fudge with rose petals. Work them into the top of the fudge with a greased spatula.
*Using white chips: This is lovely when made with white chocolate and I prefer that variety because the roses show up so well against the white fudge—however, the rose flavor can be overpowering. When using white chocolate, reduce the rose water to 1 tablespoon.
**To crystallize rose petals: Use whole petals plucked fresh from the blossom. Mix powdered egg whites or powdered meringue according to directions on the package. Dip rose petals in the prepared mixture; let the excess drip off each petal. Set these on waxed paper and sprinkle both sides with extra-fine sugar, such as bartender’s sugar. Let them dry. Drying will take about two days, depending on the humidity in the air.
Belgian Booyah
I met Ron Anderson when he was making booyah at the second annual Pilsen, Wisconsin, kermis in August 2013. Bob and I were on our way to nearby Door County and had stopped by the kermis on a whim after seeing a notice for the fall harvest celebration posted in the nearby Stangelville church, where we’d stopped to gawk at the famous and historic European-style, ornate building. The sign on the bulletin board said “Booyah, burgers, and ring bologna.” And anybody was welcome. How could we resist?
Two miles down the road we came upon a rural, barnlike ballroom filled with about two hundred people enjoying good food, Belgian pies, and polka music. Ron was out back stirring the booyah in a huge stainless steel pot over an open flame. The thick red stew smelled heavenly. When I asked about his recipe, he handed me one that was already laminated. So many people enjoyed his booyah that he’d begun giving it away as fast as nuns give away prayer cards to kids. With his permission, I’m offering Ron’s recipe here for your own community’s kermis. My adaptation of the savory stew follows, created to feed just 8 to 12 people.
Ron Anderson’s Booyah
YIELD: 22 GALLONS
SERVINGS: 100+
40 pounds chicken, cut in half
6 pounds beef roast
8 bunches celery
8 cans green beans
2 large heads cabbage
10 pounds carrots
20 pounds potatoes
10 pounds onions
3 jars V-8 juice
3 16-ounce cans peas
3 16-ounce cans corn
6 16-ounce cans mixed vegetables
1 gallon diced tomatoes
Spices
3 tablespoons pepper
1 cup salt
3 tablespoons Accent salt
8 ounces Lawry’s seasoning salt
1 jar chicken base
Take along
Bowls and spoons
Pails
Kettle, barrel, basket, hooks, paddle, and dipper
2 x 4
Knives, soup ladle, cutting boards
Roaster
Water to top of basket. Cook the chicken and beef 31/2 to 4 hours. Bone the chicken and beef, then refrigerate. Turn down heat to a simmer. Add V-8 juice, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and spices. Heat this for 1/2 hour. Do not boil it hard. Gradually add celery, carrots, green beans, mixed vegetables, peas, corn, and potatoes. When the potatoes are done add chicken and beef. Heat this for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. This stays hot for about 4 hours.
Christine DeSmet’s Booyah
SERVINGS: 8–12
Use a stock pot that holds at least 5 quarts.
2 cups shredded chicken (adjust amount in pot to taste)
1 pound beef roast (optional/booyah is often chicken meat only)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup canned green beans
1 cup canned mixed vegetables
1 cup canned corn
1 cup canned peas
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 ounces V-8 juice (low sodium)
6 medium-sized red potatoes, chopped or quartered
Additional tomato juice (as desired for thinning the stew)
Simmer cut-up chicken in enough water to cover it; cook this until it’s tender and falling off the bones. Remove the chicken pieces from the pot to a bowl. Save the water in the pot. Strip the meat from bones and set aside. Put the beef in the chicken-flavored water and simmer it for 30 minutes.
Add the 2 cups of shredded chicken back into the pot with all of the other ingredients. Add more water and tomato juice as needed if it looks too thick. Add more chicken if you decided not to use beef in this recipe. Simmer it for 90 minutes to 2 hours—until the beef is tender and can be broken apart. Do not boil it.
Serve this with crusty bread, cheeses, Belgian mustards, and a Belgian beer (made with Door County cherries or wheat!).
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my readers who enjoy Ava Oosterling and her grandpa Gil, as well as Belgian chocolate, fudge, and the occasional tasty beer infused with Door County ingredients. What more do we need to be happy, right?
Many thanks to my taste testers at University of Wisconsin-Madison Continuing Studies, who weighed in with votes and comments on Rose Garden Fudge. They included Judy Brickbauer, Christina Finet, Vanika Mock, Ellen Morin, Laurie Scheer, Kathryn Sweet, Anne Voxman.
Thank you to my neighbor Ken Belmore for the lovely red roses to use in my recipes.
Much appreciation goes to Ed Felhofer, docent at the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County, who gave me the “mystery author murder tour”; lighthouse manager Patti Podgers; and writer and student of mine Cheryl Hanson, who gave me detailed notes about the lighthouse.
Whenever I have a question about the Belgians in Door County, Wisconsin, I go straight to wonderful Belgians Al and Theresa Alexander, who work with organizations like the Peninsula Belgian American Club and the Namur (Wisconsin) Belgian Heritage Foundation. Don’t miss the September kermis in Namur!
My research took me to Kilwins confectionary store in Madison, Wisconsin, where manager Curtis Diller gave me tons of time and expertise—and great fudge.
Booyah recipe? Ron Anderson in Kewaunee County gave me a scrumptious one.
A big thanks to an important team: Danielle Perez, executive editor, New American Library/Penguin Group, for her continued support of this mystery series and for her creative suggestions; Neal Armstrong, for wonderful book covers; and John Talbot, of the Talbot Fortune Agency.
Thank you to my fellow Wisconsin Sisters in Crime author members who answer my many questions, especially Deb Baker (aka Hannah Reed), Kathleen Ernst, and Peggy Williams (aka MJ Williams).
Thank you for the great support from Joanne Berg, owner, Mystery to Me Bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin, and to the lovely stores in Door County and beyond who featured my book in their front windows and on special shelves.
Finally, thanks to my family for their support, especially the greatest guy a confectioner author could have—Bob Boetzer—who’s sweeter than fudge!
Don’t miss the next
Fudge Shop Mystery by Christine DeSmet,
FIVE-ALARM FUDGE
Available from Obsidian in 2015!
The royals were coming in two weeks to our tourist haven of Door County, Wisconsin—a thumb of land in Lake Michigan cal
led the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.”
The momentous event had panicked me, Ava Oosterling. It’s why I was in an unused, stuffy church attic with my best friends, Pauline Mertens and Laura Rousseau. We were looking for a divinity fudge recipe while vowing not to find a dead body.
Divinity fudge is a white meringue-style confection and an American invention, though this type of fluffy nougat candy can be traced to ancient Turkish Europe and back thousands of years BC, when Egyptians combined marshmallow root with honey. Local lore said that a Catholic nun may have served school children divinity fudge. She allegedly left the handwritten recipe inside the church that Pauline, Laura, and I were cleaning.
Finding and making this divine recipe would help improve my reputation. Immensely. Since returning to Fishers’ Harbor last spring, I had unintentionally combined my Belgian fudge making with helping our local sheriff solve two murders. I was determined to stay out of trouble and focus on fudge.
Nature was cooperating. Three hours ago I had been in my fudge shop, and everybody had been talking about how we’d be at our colorful best for Prince Arnaud Van Damme from Belgium and his mother, Princess Amandine. Today was the second Saturday in September. Door County’s famous maple trees overhanging the ribbons of two-lane country roads bore leaves tipped in scarlet. The leaf-peeper tourists clogged our streets and roadside markets on the weekends to snap up pumpkins, apples, grapes, and everything made from our county’s famous cherries.
I’d increased fudge production at Oosterlings’ Live Bait, Bobbers & Belgian Fudge & Beer. I’d also opened a small roadside market in the southern half of the county near my parents’ farm with the hope of catching more tourists coming to see the prince. My six copper kettles were constantly filled with fresh cream from my parents’ Holsteins, the world’s best chocolate from Belgium, and sugar. Favorite fudge flavors flying off my shelves included maple, butterscotch, double-Belgian chocolate with walnuts, and pumpkin. But I couldn’t wait to serve the prince and princess my Fairy Tale line of fudges—cherry-vanilla Cinderella Pink Fudge and Rapunzel Raspberry Rapture Fudge.
Hot Fudge Frame-Up: A Fudge Shop Mystery Page 32