Parmesan Polenta Disks and #Giveaway from Maddie Day!

Welcome back to one of our dear friends, Maddie Day, whom you may also know as Edith Maxwell. Murder at the Taffy Shop is the second in her Cozy Capers Books Group Mysteries. Don't miss her generous giveaway of two advance copies! Leave a comment with your email address to enter!


In the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, bike shop owner Mackenzie Almeida ends up solving real life cozy mysteries with the Cozy Capers book group – which only reads cozies.

Book two in the series, Murder at the Taffy Shop, is set in August, full season on Cape Cod. When Mac heads out for a walk with her friend, she finds a horrified Gin staring at Beverly Ruchart, an imperious summer person, dead on the sidewalk in front of Gin’s candy shop, Salty Taffy’s. When the police find the murder weapon in Gin’s garage, the Cozy Capers book group members put their heads together to clear Gin’s name and figure out who killed the woman whom almost everyone disliked. After the killer later invades Mac’s tiny house to finish her off, Bella, Mac’s African Gray parrot, comes to the rescue. Murder at the Taffy Shop releases March 31 in a paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble.

Mac isn’t much of a cook herself (unlike her hunky baker boyfriend), and she enjoys these easy cheesy disks with her scallops when she goes out to eat with her boyfriend Tim at a local seafood restaurant.


Parmesan Polenta Disks
Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 1/2 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
A quarter cup or less olive oil
Directions
Oil a 9”x13” baking dish and set aside.
Add the water and salt to a sauce pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
Add the polenta while continuously whisking to prevent lumps. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, around ten minutes. Remove from the heat.
Stir in the butter and grated Parmesan until smooth. Spread the mixture onto the oiled dish in an even layer. Cool in the refrigerator, uncovered, until solid.
Cut the solid polenta into disks with a biscuit cutter.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to a non-stick skillet and warm over medium heat. Once the oil is hot and glistening, but not smoking, add the polenta slices and cook until golden on each side. Add more oil as needed to fry the remaining slices. Serve hot accompanying a southwestern bean soup, with ratatouille, or next to eggs and bacon for breakfast. (Fry up the odd-shaped bits later for a tasty treat.)
Option: If you don’t want to make the polenta from scratch, slice rounds from a premade log of polenta, fry, and top with a teaspoon of cheese while still hot.

Maddie is delighted to give away an advance copy of Murder at the Taffy Shop to two lucky commenters (US only). Readers: What’s your favorite taffy flavor? Your favorite seaside meal?


Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. As Edith Maxwell, this Agatha and Macavity finalist writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. With twenty books in print and more in production, Maxwell lives north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, and cooks. Find her at EdithMaxwell.com and as @MaddieDayAuthor on social media.

 Don't forget to leave your email address so Maddie can contact you if you win!