Molasses Ginger Snap Cookies @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Since it's not the New Year yet, and we have one last holiday to pack in before kicking 2021 to the sideline, I thought we needed one last cookie recipe. I included molasses cookies in my first Key West mystery, AN APPETITE FOR MURDER. (I believe I borrowed that recipe from my sister-in-law.) These cookies are a little crunchier and also a bit spicier, especially if you get a bite with the fresh ginger in it. Feel free to increase the flavors you like by punching them up a little. I could imagine these served with a small bowl of vanilla or coffee ice cream...or maybe as a pick-me-up with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

I did not use the chai but did include vanilla!

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, room temp

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Several grinds of fresh pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

Sugar for rolling

Beat the butter with the sugars until light and fluffy Add the molasses, vanilla, fresh ginger, and egg. 

Beat gently. Sift together flour, soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt, add to first mixture. 

Mix well and chill for at least an hour, to overnight. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit for half an hour.

 Form the dough into 1-inch balls and roll them in sugar. 

Place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake at 350 for about ten minutes until the tops begin to brown and crack. Cool on a wire rack.

In addition to Lucy's Key West food critic mysteries, she's written a thriller called Unsafe Haven! 

About Unsafe Haven: A chance meeting on the New York subway leads to the destinies of two very different women becoming intertwined with terrifying consequences in this nerve-jangling thriller.

Sixteen-year-old Addison is on the run. She's leaving her life on New York's streets behind for a new one with Rafe, armed with just his phone number on a scrap of paper. She's taking the subway to meet him in New Jersey. He'll take care of her. Or so she thinks . . .

Elizabeth Brown's world has fallen apart and she's thinking about her newly ex-fiancé. Until she locks eyes with a teenage girl while waiting for the train doors to open, and a bundle is thrust into her arms as she leaves the subway. A baby, wrapped in a dirty coat.

Elizabeth phones the number she finds in the coat pocket. Then wishes she hadn't. Someone wants Addison and the baby. And they'll do whatever it takes to get them . . .

In a major departure from her lighthearted Key West mysteries, Burdette invites readers into the world of a chilling thriller. (Unsafe Haven is) a page-turner highlighting the problem of exploited runaways.

—Kirkus Reviews

If you'd like a nibble before you buy, read the first chapter here. And if you'd like to read more about the genesis of the book, read this post from Jungle Red Writers.

Ways to buy your copy of UNSAFE HAVEN:

Book depository 

Indiebound 

Barnes and Noble 

Amazon 

Severn House 

And if this is not in your budget (which I totally get,) you can invite your local library to order a copy!

Mojito with Minty Simple Syrup @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Having received both of our vaccinations and waited enough time for them to kick in, we’ve begun to slowly re-enter the world. What a joy to see friends and family after a year of fear and isolation. And we’ve been so thrilled to visit restaurants we love (still sitting outside) and sample Mojitos! (The one at the left is from Salute on the Beach.) One of my dear friends, Paulette, suggested that the secret to the best Mojito is in the use of the simple syrup. So I made my latest batch this way. And I share the results with you:

Ingredients for Five Mojitos

One lemon

5 to 6 key limes

One bunch mint

Rum

Club soda

1/2 cup sugar (I used Domino's golden sugar)

1/2 cup water

To make the simple syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Move the pan from the heat and add the sprigs of mint. I used two and I would double it next time. This infuses the syrup with a lovely minty flavor. Let the syrup cool to room temperature.

To make the Mojitos:

In a highball glass, add one lemon slice, several lime slices, and three-quarter ounce simple syrup. Muddle this (bruise it) using a pestle or wooden spoon. Add 1 to 2 ounces of rum, depending on how strong you want to drink to be. 

Fill the glass with ice, and then club soda. Float a mint sprig on top.

To make the drink nonalcoholic, simply omit the rum. Here’s to a healthier, happier year!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. #11, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, will be in bookstores near you on August 10. Follow Lucy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...

And if you are a Netgalley reviewer, Scone is available now!

 

Easy Sloppy Joes @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I have a strong memory of sloppy Joes from my childhood. Back in middle school, or maybe it was late grade school, our school was being rehabilitated and we had to go to another school and share split sessions. That meant that half the kids arrived very early (could it have been 6 AM?) and left by noon. The other kids attended from noon to five. My sister and I were in the early bird shift. And my mother hated getting up early.

But she wanted us to eat well before we went to school. One of the things she fixed ahead of time for our breakfast was sloppy Joes. We were on our own for heating them up to eat at 5:30. They were delicious! Remembering that gave me the idea to re-create them for John and me.

Ingredients

1 pound high quality hamburger meat

One large onion

Three small or one large pepper

1/2 jar Bone-sucking or other favorite barbecue sauce

One can tomato sauce, 8 oz

Brown the beef and drain the grease and set this aside. Chop the onion and the peppers and sauté these until soft and beginning to brown. Add the meat back into the pan. Add the two sauces and simmer. Serve on soft rolls, toasted if you have the time, with a green salad or vegetable.

And then maybe grab a cupcake from Key West Cakes for dessert!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. #11, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, will be in bookstores near you on August 10. Follow Lucy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...

And if you are a Netgalley reviewer, Scone is available now!

 

Coconut Cream Birthday Cake #recipe @lucyburdette

Birthday girls by Bill Carito

Lucy Burdette: I don’t mind sharing a birthday celebration, in fact I like it. I trace this back to my experience growing up. My older sister Sue (older by 11 months, two weeks) and I shared our January celebrations. We often had a joint party, though maybe we had individual cakes on the actual day? I don't remember for sure.

This year and last year, I was pleased to share birthdays with my friend Barbara Ross, who reaches all the milestones eight days before I do. This year I promised to make this coconut cake. However, I got sick and couldn’t attend the dinner nor make the cake. My solution was to make a cake for our two birthdays together. The rub was, I had a good old friend visiting who loathes coconut. So I made a coconut cream cake, only sprinkling the coconut on the icing so I could leave a little section coconut free. (You will note the little toothpicks which are used to remind myself not to put coconut on this triangle of cake. It turns out at this age, I can agree to do something with myself and forget it instantly, so I decided a physical reminder would help.)

This cake is found in Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott. I changed a few things around, like making the coconut unsweetened – the cake was plenty sweet anyway. And I added some chopped strawberries between the layers and strawberries on top for color and decorations. When I put the batter into the pan, I was worried. It did not fill up the pans as many batters do. It also came out looking quite flat. But after the whipped cream and strawberries and coconut were added, it was beautiful, and everyone agreed, delicious!
Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder, low-sodium for me
1/4 teaspoon salt
Three eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whipping cream

1 1/2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
Shredded or flaked organic coconut
Strawberries

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease the pans, followed by inserting rounds of parchment paper. Stir together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs with 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat the cream to stiff peaks, using a KitchenAid or handheld mixer. 

three sets of ingredients

And the egg/vanilla mixture and beat that in briefly. Add the dry ingredients and stir until the flour disappears.

nice fluffy batter

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned and the cake springs back when touched.

uh-oh, not covering bottom of pan

Cool the cakes completely. (I made these the day before and covered them with plastic wrap.)

a little skinny

Beat the cream with confectioner's sugar until stiff. 


Spread whipped cream on the bottom layer, sprinkle this with coconut flakes and chopped strawberries. 

Settle the second layer on top and again, sprinkle with coconut and decorate with strawberries.

note the toothpicks demarcating coconut-free zone

Make sure to refrigerate if you are not serving this right away, and refrigerate leftovers if you have any. I can’t emphasize how good this cake tasted and how fast it disappeared!


Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries--find them wherever books are sold! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest--Instagram too...DEATH ON THE MENU will be in bookstores on August 7! Here's a pre-order the book link from Amazon--and here's a link to preorder a hard copy from RJ Julia in CT, where you'll be able to get a signed copy. I'll post others as they appear. 

Baked Beans a la @lucyburdette #recipe

 LUCY BURDETTE: I love baked beans, any kind, even straight out of the can. My Aunt Barbara used to make some killer beans that we loved, baked with bacon and onions covering the top of the dish. Oh heaven! But of course they are loaded with sodium (and sugar probably too) and so not on my diet. But I figured I could make a batch that would be very tasty while leaving out the parts that aren’t very healthy. 

You will get to see my newest, new obsession in this recipe. It’s a vegetable based Sriracha with medium heat, no mystery ingredients. 

This is another recipe that is very flexible – take the measurements that I gave you and then taste as you make the sauce and adjust as meets your taste buds. More syrup or molasses? Or hot sauce? More or less vinegar or mustard? You be the judge.

Ingredients

Three cans low-sodium organic pinto beans (feel free to swap out for another kind of beans)
2/3 cup no salt ketchup
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons good mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
2 tsp Sriracha or to taste
One large onion, chopped

Chop the onion and sauté it in a little olive oil until soft and beginning to brown. Mix the other ingredients together (not including the beans) and taste just to see what needs to be added.

Add the sauce to the onions and simmer for a few minutes. 

Dump the cans of beans into a strainer in the sink and rinse them. Stir the beans into the sauce. You can either heat them up right on the stove or put them in the oven for half an hour while your ribs heat up! Next time I think I might add a second onion and also chop up a green pepper for a little extra zip.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries--find them wherever books are sold! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest--Instagram too...DEATH ON THE MENU will be in bookstores on August 7!

Chipotle Pepper, Corn, and Chicken Chowder #recipe @lucyburdette

LUCY BURDETTE: With December upon us, the search for a delicious low-sodium soup continues! In this case, I wanted to make a chicken, corn, chipotle combination, as John has been yearning for a corn, potato, and sausage chowder that I used to make but can't eat right now. (Most sausage is laced with sodium.)
The secret, I'm finding, is lots of other flavor...

Then I realized that I'd finished up my chipotles, so I substituted Penzey's Arizona Dreamin' spice mix, which has no salt but lots of yummy peppers among other spices. I also found no-salt added versions of corn and creamed corn--a score! We liked the cilantro garnish a lot, and also used hot pepper sauce at the table (and John, some salt!)

Ingredients:

1 tsp Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming, or 1 or 2 dried chipotle chiles, soaked in 2 tbsp olive oil and chopped, or 1 tsp cumin
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bunch scallions, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 large box chicken stock, low sodium
5-6 small red potatoes, peeled and diced small
3-4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 can sweet corn, drained (no salt added)
1 can cream-style corn (no salt added)
Chopped cilantro, to garnish Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a soup pan and saute the chopped red peppers, the scallions, the chipotle peppers, and the spices until the vegetables are soft. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring so it doesn’t stick.Slowly stir in the box of chicken stock, stir until thick and bubbly. Add the potatoes and simmer about ten minutes. Add the chicken and both kinds of corn and heat through. (You can thin this down with some milk or a little more broth if it seems too thick.) Stir in the cheese and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with Tabasco or other hot sauce on the side.

 Lucy writes the Key West food critic mysteries.  Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Happy Thanksgiving from Mystery Lovers' Kitchen!

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Thank you all, dear readers, for letting us share our love of good food and good mysteries with you all through the year. You allow us to do what we do best: tell stories, whether on the page, on the screen, in pictures, or on the dining room table. When we count our blessings, I know each of us includes you.

Here's a recipe from a year ago for Spiced Pumpkin Seed Brittle, a treat I know you'll enjoy this busy weekend -- and beyond!

LUCY BURDETTE: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your day has turned out just as you imagined...friends? family? food? We are so grateful for all of our readers, who are friends too after all these years. And I am thankful for my blog sisters, for their warm hearts and great food and entertaining books! You all deserve a day out of the kitchen so I'm sending you flowers instead of more recipes:)

Peg Cochran:  Today we give thanks for all of you, our readers! And for the privilege of writing books for you.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  I hope you are celebrating with friends, family and plenty of good food!  If you want to change things up, here is a recipe for pumpkin roll that is so delicious!


Krista Davis: Happy Thanksgiving to all our wonderful readers. I have gotten to know so many of you through this blog, and I'm so appreciative of your friendship. I always look forward to reading your comments and hearing about your lives. May you all be surrounded by family, good friends, and good food today, celebrating the many joys in our lives. I just took my favorite pie out of the oven. I hope you'll be eating some of your favorites, too!

Sheila Connolly (who is hiding out in Ireland rather than facing a turkey!). Thank you to all our readers who allow us to share our recipes, spicy and sweet, simple and complicated. Cooking and in particular sharing food at events like Thanksgiving is at the heart of any community, and we feel that all of you are part of our family. Have a wonderful day.

PIE VS PIE. WHO WON?
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!

Cleo Coyle: Cheers to our readers for helping to make this Kitchen a warm and cozy source of good food, good times, and good community. May you eat with joy today and always and may your Thanksgiving tables be blessed!





Linda Wiken:  Such a wonderful time of the year to be sharing with family and friends. I certainly hope you are.  Thank you for being a part of our food lives and for your many comments over the months and years. I'd like to share a look at some of my most recent cookbook buys as my Thanksgiving gift to you. Maybe you'll find one to help inspire your menus, too. 


Mary Jane Maffini aka Victoria Abbott As Canadians, Victoria and I get to celebrate Thanksgiving more than once. How lucky is that? We have much to be thankful for, especially the wonderful community of readers and writers who live in our mysterious world. We have made friends for life here and we treasure all of you! We hope your Thanksgiving is full of wonderful food, friends and family. At the end, we hope you can put your feet up and catch up on your reading. Or watch the turkeys on the lawn as we did last year! Whatever you do, have fun.

Gobble gobble!