Peach Pie #recipe from author @DarylWoodGerber + Grilling the Subject #giveaway

From Daryl aka Avery


Today, I'm giving away a copy of GRILLING THE SUBJECT so some lucky winner will have something to read over Labor Day! Check the details below!

I love peaches. I crave peaches. When in season, I buy at least 5-6 peaches a week. But they're really only good "in season" so you have to do something with them right away. You don't want them to go bad. You can eat them plain. You can make jam, of course. You can add them to ice cream and cereal. You can make ice cream. Or you can make pie. And other than plain, with the skin and everything, PIE is my favorite! 

I decided to try two different versions this week. Yes, two. I went to the farmer's market and bought twice as many peaches. Needless to say, I've been having my fill of sweet things and it's probably time to take a week off and just eat protein, but oh, man, it was worth it!! Every calorie. Every bite. 

You can also make "pie" without the crust and just add a crumble or biscuit topping! See my second "version" with topping below!

**Gluten-free pie version (see below)

DEEP-DISH Peach Pie

1 9-inch deep-dish pie shell (recipe * see below)

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

6 tablespoons butter

6-7 ripe peaches, peeled and cut in half

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prepare pie shell (see below). Set aside.

To make pie ingredients:

In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, corn starch, nutmeg, and butter. Cut in the butter.  Sprinkle half of the mixture in the pie shell.

Arrange peach halves cut side down in the pie shell.  I like to take a few and cut those halves in thirds and set around the open spaces. You can make whatever pattern your heart desires.

**Tip for peeling peaches - I dip them in hot water and they become easier to peel (sort of like what you can do with tomatoes). About 20 seconds per peach.

Cover with the remaining sugar mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Set on a baking sheet just in case.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Serve warm. With ice cream or whipped cream or a slice of cheese – or just plain.

Yes, it sort of falls apart, but it's okay.

DEEP-DISH PIE SHELL FROM SCRATCH

1 1/3 cups flour

8 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil

6 tablespoons ice cold water

Directions:

In a food processor, put the flour, butter, and coconut oil. Pulse about 10 times about 10 seconds each. Add the ice cold water. Pulse again.  Remove the batter and place on parchment paper. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and set on a floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle with flour and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll with a rolling pin until a 10-11” circle forms. Remove the parchment paper and set the pie dough in the pie plate.  Crimp the edges according to your desire.  Follow above directions for pie ingredients.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE PIE SHELL,  from scratch, switch out the 1 1/3 cup flour with a gluten-free flour mix or an equal mixture of sweet rice flour and tapioca flour.  Add ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. And then proceed with butter, oil, and water.  You can also use mixtures like Bob’s Red Mill or Pamela’s mixture and follow their directions for a pie shell. Note: gluten-free pie shells do not hold together as well as a regular flour pie shell. Don’t worry. If you press and piece it together, it won’t show beneath the pie ingredients, it just might be harder to get out of the pie pan. That’s okay, too. It still tastes good. (I didn't, but you might grease the pie shell first. I'm not sure if that would help. Hmm. Must make another pie!  LOL)

Note: If you choose to use a store-bought pie shell, you might want to cut back on the amount of peaches. I like the deep-dish version because that means I get more peaches!!

BISCUIT TOPPING (alternative)

Make the peaches as above and set into the deep-dish pie pan. (No crust below)

Then make the topping beow and put on top, in dollops.

INGREDIENTS for gluten-free version:

1 cup gluten-free flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum

¼ cup lard (Coconut oil)

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and put in dollops on top of peaches.

(If you want to make a regular version, use regular flour for the gluten-free flour and omit the xanthan gum.)

This topping was so crispy and tasty!

Giveaway!

Today I'm giving away one copy of Grilling the Subject. 

Leave a comment and tell me what you're doing for Labor Day! 

Remember to leave your email so I can contact you if you win!

*

Savor the mystery and say cheese!

Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames

Tasty ~ Zesty ~ Dangerous!

Friend Daryl and Avery on Facebook

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Plus check out my website.

GRILLING THE SUBJECT, the 5th Cookbook Nook Mystery, is out!

Click here to order.

FOR CHEDDAR OR WORSE, 

the 7th Cheese Shop Mystery is out!

Click to order.

GIRL ON THE RUN is out!
When a fairytale fantasy night becomes a nightmare, 

Chessa Paxton must run for her life...but will the truth set her free? 
Click to order

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Erin’s Two Bean and Pesto Salad

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: This recipe appeared in CRIME RIB, the second Food Lovers’ Village Mystery, set in high summer in the village of Jewel Bay, Montana. It’s perfect for this time of year because everything is in season, it’s easy to prepare, and only one ingredient—the green beans—require any cooking. I’ve also made it in winter—the red and green color combination makes it a holiday fave—and taken it to numerous potlucks. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit since then—as all honest cooks do.

I like wandering out to my garden and picking fresh green beans. In the off season, we use the thin French style, also called haricots vert.  Since then, I’ve migrated from steaming green beans to cooking them briefly in boiling water; steaming occasionally leaves tough skins.

Although I’ve included an easy pesto recipe, I will confess we often use jarred pesto from Costco—it’s thin and pourable, unlike Mr. Right’s heartier version.

On the onion: we prefer a small white onion; sweet, red, or even green onions also work well, but the one time I used a yellow onion, I found it too strong.

We served the salad with Mr. Right's Famous Stuffed Burgers---I'll save that recipe for another time. It's wonderful with pretty much any meat, fish, or chicken, especially grilled!

So, with no further ado —

Erin’s Two Bean and Pesto Salad

one pound of fresh green beans, stemmed and cut in bite-sized pieces
1-14 oz can white beans
about a cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
a small white onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh pesto (recipe below) or more, to taste
kosher salt and fresh ground black or white pepper

Bring 2-3 quarts water to a boil. Stir in the beans and cook until tender-crunchy, 2-3 minutes. Pour into a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking; drain and cool, and place in your serving bowl.

Rinse and drain the white beans and add to your bowl, along with the tomatoes and onions. Toss with the pesto. Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled, by itself or on a bed of greens.

Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 or 2 cloves garlic, to taste
½ cup olive oil, more or less, to taste
½ cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

Toast the nuts in the oven at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes, or toss in a dry saute pan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until they begin to darken and become fragrant. (Don’t overcook; they will continue to cook as they cool.)

In a small (2 cup) food processor, loosely chop about fresh basil leaves. Toss in the garlic—the pesto will blend more easily if you slice or chop the cloves first. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse. Add oil and pulse until you get a good consistency for mixing with other ingredients. Add grated Parmesan and nuts, and pulse to mix well.

From the cover of KILLING THYME. coming October 4 and available for pre-order now: 

At Seattle Spice in the Pike Place Market, owner Pepper Reece is savoring her business success, but soon finds her plans disrupted by a killer…

Pepper Reece’s to-do list is longer than the shopping list for a five-course dinner, as she conjures up spice blends bursting with seasonal flavor, soothes nervous brides fretting over the gift registry, and crosses her fingers for a rave review from a sharp-tongued food critic. Add to the mix a welcome visit from her mother, Lena, and she’s got the perfect recipe for a busy summer garnished with a dash of fun. 

While browsing in the artists’ stalls, Pepper and Lena drool over stunning pottery made by a Market newcomer. But when Lena recognizes the potter, Bonnie Clay, as an old friend who disappeared years ago, the afternoon turns sour. To Pepper’s surprise, Bonnie seems intimately connected to her family’s past. When Bonnie is murdered only days later, Pepper is determined to uncover the truth. 

But when Pepper roots out long-buried secrets, will she be digging her own grave?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. The president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website  and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook, where I often share news of new books and giveaways from my cozy writer friends.

Sometimes You Just Need Chocolate

It often comes as a surprise to people that I don't eat chocolate every day. Apparently, I have a reputation as a chocoholic. Undeserved, I assure you. But sometimes, I have a chocolate craving, and let's face it, when that happens nothing else will do.

So I made chocolate applesauce cupcakes. Apples and chocolate don't jump out at me as a great match with the notable exceptions of apple slices dipped in chocolate fondue and Mrs. Prindable type apples covered in chocolate. But when baking, applesauce is kind of like carrots or pumpkin. It provides moisture and sort of disappears.

They turned out nicely. Next time, I'm going to substitute coffee for the applesauce and see what happens. Mocha cupcakes!

To continue my must-have-chocolate theme, I searched around for chocolate frosting recipes and stumbled upon one by Food Network. Once again, the comments were fascinating, so I followed their suggestions and implemented some of my own.

Most notably, I skipped the double-boiler. Seriously, Food Network? I don't use my microwave for much, but it does a few things very well and very fast, and one of them is melting chocolate. Another is melting butter. (The final one is cooking oatmeal super fast and just right.) So naturally, I skipped the double-boiler and melted the butter and chocolate in the microwave. You can do that fairly early because you want it to cool before you make the frosting.

I increased the amount of butter and chocolate per the suggestions. But I also beat it for about four or five minutes. The recipe says to beat until fluffy, which is what happens when you let it beat for a longer time. Thank you to the ladies of Georgetown Cupcakes for teaching us that.

I'll be using this chocolate frosting recipe more often. It has a thoroughly chocolatey taste and a lovely texture. This recipe makes exactly the right quantity for a generous amount of frosting on 12 cupcakes. I would double it if making a 2-layer cake with a simple swirled frosting.

Aren't those sunflowers cute? Pop them (or ladybugs) on your cupcakes, and you'll look like a pro. They're by Wilton. I found them in the baking section of my Walmart (near the wedding section, not the food section). I only put them on two because I'm planning to freeze most of the cupcakes, and I'll add the sunflowers just before serving.

Chocolate Applesauce Cupcakes

makes 12 regular size cupcakes

3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup regular sugar

1 large egg
1/2 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 and place cupcake papers in pan.

Use a fork to mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugars. Add the egg and beat. Add the applesauce and beat. Beat in the flour mixture in small portions so it doesn't all fly out in the air.

Fill cupcake papers about 1/2 full, dividing the batter between the 12 cups. Bake 15 minutes or until a cake taster comes out clean. Frost when cooled.

Chocolate Frosting

based on a recipe by Food Network

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used Bakers)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-8 tablespoons milk (I used 2%)

Place the chocolate and the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in short bursts stirring in between until it melts and can be stirred together. Set aside to cool.

Place cooled chocolate in a mixing bowl. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and beat. Add the vanilla and 1 more cup of powdered sugar and beat. Scrape the bowl and add 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Beat. Scrape the sides and add more milk (I used a total of 6 tablespoons) if it looks dry. Beat 4-5 minutes until creamy.

Pipe onto the cupcakes or swirl on with a knife.

Mix dry ingredients.

Fresh from the oven.

For frosting, use microwave to melt chocolate and butter.

Plenty of frosting!

Please Welcome Guest Sofie Ryan aka Sofie Kelly! & #Giveaway

Muffins are popular in my house. They’re a quick snack. They’re great at breakfast with a scrambled egg or lunch with chicken salad. And teenagers will eat them anytime!

This recipe happened because I was craving an apple muffin and discovered that I had apples but no applesauce, which is what I usually used to make apple muffins.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour                 

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1 ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon   

⅓ cup of margarine

½ cup white sugar 

2 eggs

1 medium apple, grated

⅓ cup sour milk or buttermilk

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and cinnamon.

In a large mixing bowl beat margarine, sugar and eggs until light and frothy. Add the flour mix alternately with the milk. Stir in the grated apple. Don’t over mix.

Fill paper-lined muffins tins three-quarters full with batter.

Bake at 375° for 18 to 20 minutes. Makes one dozen muffins. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Most people know that I write mysteries under two different names--Sofie Kelly and Sofie Ryan. Sofie Kelly will have a new Magical Cats mystery, Paws and Effect, coming out October 4^th. Sofie Ryan’s next book is Telling Tails. It will be available January 3^rd.

But the two Sofies have teamed, so to speak, up for an e-book, which will be out September 6^th. Two Tall Tails offers two novellas, The Cat Burglar, set in Mayville Heights, home of Owen and Hercules, the Magical Cats; and No More Pussyfooting Around, which features Sarah Grayson, Elvis the cat, and the senior detectives known as Charlotte’s Angels.

Giveaway!

To celebrate I’m giving away two books on CD. One lucky winner will receive Buy a Whisker, the second in the Second Chance Cat mysteries. Another winner will receive the third in the series, A Whisker of Trouble. Good luck.

Bio:

Sofie Kelly is an author and mixed-media/fiber artist who lives on the east coast. She’s the author of the New York Times bestselling Magical Cats mysteries (Faux Paw, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat) which feature librarian Sarah Paulson and her two very special cats, Owen and Hercules, who have a magical knack for solving crime.

As Sofie Ryan she writes the New York Times bestselling Second Chance Cat Mystery series, (A Whisker of Trouble) featuring re-purpose store owner Sarah Grayson, a group of senior sleuths, the world’s oldest computer hacker, and Elvis, a black cat with an uncanny ability to sniff out a lie.

www.sofiekelly.com

www.sofieryan.com

  

Grilled ham, cheddar and green apple sandwiches #recipe #mystery @abbottmysteries

From Victoria Abbott aka Victoria and Mary Jane Maffini

Last spring I had a memorably delicious sandwich on a trip to Nova Scotia.  I’ve been thinking of ways to experience it again.  This was inspired by a lunch at Oh My Cod in beautiful Mahone Bay, a terrific casual restaurant in a lovely spot. 

We were out shopping and the weather turned  wild, windy and wet. Our lunch really lifted our damp spirits and got us back in vacation mood. 

The original was a club with three slices of bread and smoked bacon.  It probably didn’t have maple syrup and Dijon, but I like them in everything.  I also wasn’t in the mood to cook bacon for the sandwich and I had the ham on hand. 

We tried this with our cheese sliced and grated. Grated melts sooo much better, but suit yourselves.  Just pick one that you like. 

At any rate, this version was a big hit around here, perfect for a rainy summer afternoon or a fall lunch.  We think we'll like it in winter too!. It’s fun to make and easy and delicious. One of these days we’ll try the club version with three slices of whole wheat bread and bacon. 

In the meantime, they tell me this one’s a keeper.  Hope you like it too! 

GRILLED CHEESE, HAM AND GREEN APPLE SANDWICH

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons maple syrup

4 slices 7-grain or your favorite whole grain bread (you could use sourdough too)

4 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest or other deli ham

8 thin slices Granny Smith apples

4 ounces medium cheddar cheese, grated or pre-shredded

1 tablespoon butter  

Directions

Combine mustard and maple syrup. Spread maple syrup mustard mixture over the bread slices. 

Layer half the bread slices with ham and apple.

.  

Add grated cheese.

 Top with remaining bread slices.  Melt butter in skillet or on grill. 

Toast/sauté sandwiches for five minutes on each side or until browned and cheese is melted and nicely gooey.  Oops!  This photo is from the time we made three sandwiches (adjusting the recipe).  We know you'll spot that.

NICELY GOOEY!

This may take as little as three minutes or as many as six, but the cheese must be melty and the bread shouldn’t burn.   We put a cast-iron pan on it the second time we tested this recipe. It seemed to aid the melting process.

Enjoy!

And speaking of enjoying:  we hope you are prepared to curl up and savor our fifth book collector mystery.  THE HAMMETT HEX is coming on OCTOBER 4^th. No extra charge for the trip to San Francisco, the romantic encounters or the dangers in Hammett's old haunts. How’s that for a tasty thought?

We're sure you know that the shadowy figure that is Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between us, Victoria and Mary Jane Maffini, seen here getting in the mood for The Hammett Hex.

We hope you'll join us in this tasty trip complete with the recipes from Officer Tyler Dekker's favorite childhood dishes.

Don't want to wait a minute longer than you have to?  Why not PRE-ORDER IT HERE! or at your favorite source of books?

And remember, you can sign up for our newsletter by clicking RIGHT HERE

Finally, have a little fun by watching the trailer HERE 

Have a great weekend, everyone!