Bake a dozen at a time, until they are puffed and golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped, about 15 minutes. Cool on racks.
MAKES 2 DOZEN
Goldy’s Nuthouse Cookies
1½ cups blanched, slivered almonds, toasted and cooled
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups (4½ ounces) cake flour
1 cup (4½ ounces) all-purpose flour
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
22/3 cups (10 ounces) sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blend the almonds, baking soda, salt, and flours; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and beat on medium low until very creamy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the beater speed to low and add the egg and vanilla; continue to beat until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture just until well combined; do not overbeat.
Divide the batter into 3 equal pieces and equally distribute them in the bottom of zipped plastic freezer bags. Roll each section of the dough into logs. Zip the bags closed and place them in the freezer overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Remove one log at a time from the freezer. While each log is still frozen, place it on a cutting board. Use a large, sharp knife to divide each log into 24 equal pieces. Place 12 of the cookies on an un-greased Silpat sheet on top of a cookie sheet. Flatten each cold cookie slightly with the palm of your hand. When the first two dozen cookies are baked and cooling, you may remove another roll from the freezer and start on it. (The cookies hold together better, cook more evenly, and develop a better texture if they are placed in the oven while they are still frozen.)
Bake one sheet at a time for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have turned golden brown at the edges. Rotate the cookie sheets from front to back after 5 minutes. Cool completely on racks.
MAKES 6 DOZEN
Handcuff Croissants
4 croissants, split lengthwise
1 cup mayonnaise
1½-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup crabmeat, flaked
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/3 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
Crumb crust
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Place the croissant halves on a Silpat sheet on a large rimmed cookie sheet. Mix the next six ingredients in a bowl, and spread this mixture on top of the croissant halves.
Melt the butter in a small frying pan and cook the garlic in it over low heat until translucent. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the crumb crust, then mix in the garlic and melted butter. Top each croissant with the crumb mixture.
Bake the croissants for 15 to 20 minutes, or until heated through.
8 SERVINGS
Trudy’s Mediterranean Chicken
Sauce
½ cup olive oil, divided
3 medium-size onions, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cups tomato juice
½ cup sherry
1 teaspoon salt, divided
¾ teaspoon paprika, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup all-purpose flour
Make the sauce first. In a large frying pan, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the onions and immediately turn the heat to low. Stir and cook the onions for 1 minute, then add the garlic. Stir and cook over low heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the juice, sherry, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon paprika. Stir and cook until the mixture bubbles. Cover and keep over low heat while you prepare the chicken breasts.
Rinse the chicken breasts and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Spread out a sheet of plastic wrap approximately 2 feet long and place the chicken breasts on it. Spread another sheet of plastic wrap over the chicken breasts. Using the flat side of a mallet, pound the chicken breasts between the plastic to an even ½-inch thickness. Remove the plastic wrap.
Whisk the flour and the remaining salt and paprika together on a large plate. Dip the chicken breasts one at a time into the mixture, until they are completely dusted.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass pan.
In another large frying pan, heat the remaining ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat, just until it shimmers. Place the chicken in the pan and cook until seared on each side, approximately 3 minutes per side. Place the chicken in the glass pan. Pour the hot sauce over it. Place in the oven and cook just until the chicken is done, approximately 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
4 SERVINGS
Double-Shot Chocolate Cake
10 ounces unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (recommended brand: Godiva dark)
¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-fine granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-style cocoa (recommended brand: Hershey’s Premium European-Style)
8 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar
Sweetened whipped cream or best-quality vanilla ice cream
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Butter a 10-by-1½-inch heavy-duty round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment cut to fit. Butter the parchment. Set aside.
Fill a 16-by-11-inch roasting pan with 1 inch of hot water, place the roasting pan on a baking sheet, and put it into the oven.
In the top of a double boiler, melt the butter with the chocolate. When the ingredients are melted, remove the pan from the heat to cool slightly. Sift the sugar with the cocoa twice, then whisk it into the melted chocolate mixture.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are foamy. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture. Blend with a spatula until very well mixed.
Carefully pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Gently place the cake pan in the water-filled roasting pan.
Bake about 40 to 50 minutes, or until the cake begins to shrink slightly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then invert carefully and peel off the paper. Allow to cool completely.
Just before serving time, carefully place a 9- or 10-inch cake stencil on top of the cake. Sift confectioners’ sugar over the stencil, then remove the stencil.
Serve with sweetened whipped cream or best-quality vanilla ice cream.
16 SERVINGS
Brownie Points
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken into small pieces
1 tablespoon unsweetened alkalinized cocoa (recommended brand: Hershey’s Premium European-Style)
1¼ cups cake flour (high altitude: add 2 tablespoons)
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2¼ cups sugar (high altitude: subtract 2 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups chopped pecans, lightly toasted and cooled
Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 9-by-13-inch metal (not glass) baking pan.
Melt the butter with the chocolate in the top of a double boiler (over boiling water), stirring frequently. When the chocolate has melted, set the mixture aside to cool.
Sift together the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Sift again and set aside.
Beat the eggs until they are well combined, then gradually add the sugar, beating constantly. Add the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, stirring until well combin
ed. Sift the dry mixture over the egg mixture, and stir this mixture only until it is completely combined. Spread the batter in the prepared pan, and sprinkle the nuts on top.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a crumb or two adhering to it. Remove to a rack and cool completely.
MAKES 16 LARGE OR 32 SMALL BROWNIES
Acknowledgments
The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following people: Jim, Jeff, J.Z., and Joey Davidson; Carolyn Marino and her brilliant team at HarperCollins; Sandra Dijkstra and her fabulous team; Carole Kornreich, M.D.; Kathy Saideman; Dan Pruett, coroner investigator, and Triena Harper, chief deputy coroner, Jefferson County, Colorado; Lowell Fortune, Esq.; John Schenk, JKS Catering; Steve Langer, Panache Catering; Regina Carlyon; Meg Kendal, Denver-Evergreen ob-gyn; Julie Kaewert, Jasmine Cresswell, Lee Karr, Francine Mathews, and Shirley Carnahan, for friendship and enlightenment; Craig Aiken, R.N.; Johanna Gallers, Ph.D.; the Reverend Christopher Platt; and as ever, the most excellent Sergeant Richard Millsapps of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
About the Author
DIANE MOTT DAVIDSON is the author of eleven bestselling mysteries. She lives with her family in Colorado.
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Also by Diane Mott Davidson
Catering to Nobody
Dying for Chocolate
The Cereal Murders
The Last Suppers
Killer Pancake
The Main Corpse
The Grilling Season
Prime Cut
Tough Cookie
Sticks & Scones
Chopping Spree
Credits
Jacket design by Amy King
Jacket photograph by Douglas Whyte
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DOUBLE SHOT. Copyright © 2004 by Diane Mott Davidson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © SEPTEMBER 2004 ISBN: 9780061807510
FIRST EDITION
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About the Publisher
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Contents
Prologue
Celebration of the Life of Albert Kerr, M.D.
Chapter1
Chapter2
Chapter3
Chapter4
Chapter5
Chapter6
Chapter7
Chapter8
Chapter9
Chapter10
Chapter11
Chapter12
Chapter13
Chapter14
Chapter15
Chapter16
Chapter17
Chapter18
Chapter19
Chapter20
Chapter21
In-Your-Face Strawberry Pie (I)
In-Your-Face Strawberry Pie (II)
Primavera Pasta Salad
Party Pork Chops
Party Apples
Strip Show Steaks
The Whole Enchilada Pie
Got-a-Hunch Brunch Rolls
Goldy's Nuthouse Cookies
Handcuff Croissants
Trudy's Mediterranean Chicken
Double-Shot Chocolate Cake
Brownie Points
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Diane Mott Davidson
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
Double Shot Page 32