Comment to win MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT: The New Clueless Cook Mystery from Liz Lipperman

Please welcome author Liz Lipperman to the Kitchen! Liz writes a delightful series of cozies called The Clueless Cook Mysteries, and she's hosting a contest for us today. 

Answer her question (below the recipe) by leaving a comment, and you will be entered in the giveaway of her new release, MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT. It's a terrific read, and she'll tell you more about it. Now here's Liz...

~ Cleo

I’m beginning to feel like a regular on Mystery Lovers Kitchen, thanks to Cleo Coyle and the wonderful writers here who invite me back every time I have a new release. 

Yep! It’s that time again, and MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT is the third book of the Clueless Cook series. So far it’s getting great reviews — knock on wood. 

As usual, I’ve included ten recipes from the story in the back of the book. One of the subplots centers around an entrepreneur judging the Caribbean Cook-off with my girl, Jordan. The character has made his fortune selling alcoholic desserts, such as Kahlúa Brownies and Crème de Cocoa Peanut Butter Fudge. 

I thought about posting one of these recipes, but decided on a personal favorite of mine — King Ranch Chicken (or Pollo de la Hacienda del Rey to the good people of Ranchero, Texas).

The gist of the series is that my girl, who can’t cook a lick, ends up as the culinary reporter for the local newspaper. She and her gang of misfits from the apartment building have concocted a scheme where she uses a casserole recipe in her column, slaps on a fancy name, and passes it off as a gourmet dish. 

But no matter what she calls it, King Ranch Chicken is yummy and will satisfy any spicy craving you may have. There’s also a recipe in the book for Grilled Halibut Caribbean Style with Pineapple and Mango Salsa, plucked right from the personal files of Chef Maciek Kucharewic. He was one of the wonderful chefs on board the Celebrity Caribbean cruise I took for research (yeah, right!!) who helped me plot this murder. But like Jordan, I don’t eat much fish and have never made it. If any of you would like to have the recipe, send me your email address and I’ll get it to you. 

But before the recipe, 

here’s a little teaser for...

MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT

A sports writing job would have been the perfect catch for Jordan McAllister, but in Ranchero, Texas, all she could reel in was the food column. Though she may not know her way around a kitchen, she has no trouble finding herself in a kettle of fish…

Tempted by the offer of a free Caribbean cruise, Jordan accepts a spot as a judge in a week-long big-time cooking competition aboard the Carnation Queen. She just better hope no one finds out that her famous palate is far from refined. 

But there are bigger fish to fry when arrogant chef Stefano Mancini falls face first into his signature halibut dish during the first event. While evidence suggests that the handsome Italian chef’s death was an accident, Jordan thinks otherwise. But she’ll have to keep her wits about her—and the sea sickness pills handy—if she’s going to solve this one… 

Read another excerpt by clicking here.

Hope that tickled your curiosity bone. 

Now, here’s the fabulous recipe
right out of my own personal recipe files. 

~ Liz

KING RANCH CHICKEN 

from Liz Lipperman

Ingredients:

12-13 soft corn tortillas

1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup chopped onion

½ teaspoon minced garlic

1 (16oz) container sliced mushrooms

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 (16oz) container FF sour cream

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies

1 package (1.0 ounce) taco seasoning

3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast (approximately 3 large breasts

Non fat cooking spray

24 ounces of Colby/ Monterey Jack cheese mixed


Directions: Preheat over to 350° F. Place the tortillas in the chicken broth for 10 minutes (Do not cook). In a large skillet sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms and green pepper in the butter. Add the sour cream, flour, and corn starch, heating until smooth and bubbly. Add the tomatoes, taco seasoning and the chicken and mix well. Spray a 9 x 11 casserole dish with a non-fat cooking spray. Cut the tortillas into 6 pieces each. Use ½ the tortillas, followed by ½ the chicken mix, and ½ the cheese mix. Salt and pepper each layer. Repeat, ending with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

CLEO: That looks delicious, Liz, especially with all that bubbly melted cheese.

LIZ: Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I’ll be glad to send the recipes for the boozy desserts, too, if any of you want them—or you can just buy MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT and get them all at one time!! Shameless plug. Sorry. 

CLEO: Plug away, Liz. We love to hear about new releases in the Kitchen. Especially on Guest Post Sunday. 

LIZ: Anyway, since this is a blog about food and the book is about a cruise, I thought it would be fun to have you guys comment on the best thing you remember about the food onboard a cruise ship. 

For those of you who haven’t been fortunate enough to cruise yet, just tell me something fun/delicious/scary about food in general. Some lucky commenter will receive a copy of MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT from Berkley Prime Crime (US only at their request.) 

Thanks again, Liz! To find out more about
Liz and her books, visit her website
by clicking here.

Comment-to-Win Contest
will be open until
11:30 PM (Eastern time),
Monday evening, 1/21.

Winner announced
here Monday at 11:45 PM.

Guest Blogger Liz Lipperman

Comment to win Liz's book!

Please welcome our guest blogger Liz Lipperman!

It's great to be back with the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen writers because I love this blog with all the great mystery writers and their recipes. Today I'm going to share one of my mother's recipes, and of course, there's a story behind it.

I grew up number eight of nine children, and although we were poor, we never really knew it. My father got sick when I was just a toddler and spent two years in and out of hospitals unable to work, and my mother held down three jobs to keep us off Welfare. One of those jobs was as the head cook in the kitchen of an Interstate motel that catered to truck drivers. There she thrived, drumming up business with her great recipes.

The one that had those truckers coming back in droves every week, though, was her fabulous Baked Steak and Gravy. I've included this one in the back of BEEF STOLEN-OFF, my Clueless Cook mystery series, and I'll share it with you today. When you pull this baby out of the oven, it literally breaks up with the fork and comes with already made, yummy gravy. My kids still beg for this one at family dinners. Here it is exactly as it appears in the back of the book, and although I’ve given the credit to one of the characters, it is definitely an Annie Roth original. Enjoy. Oh, in the picture I used mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes as hubby and I are counting carbs.

Bella’s Steak and Gravy

                    

Yields 3-4 servings

 

1 pound (3-4 pieces) top round steak                                                       

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, divided

1 tablespoon cooking oil

4 beef bouillon cubes

2 teaspoons pepper                                                                         

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Cut the meat into 3-4 single serving size pieces if it has not already been done. Trim all the fat. Sprinkle a little flour (approximately 1 tablespoon) on one side of the steak and pound it in with a tenderizing hammer, flattening the steak. Turn and repeat for the other side. (If you use a butcher, you can ask him to tenderize the steak for you. Then, you can simply rub a little flour on each side of the meat.)

In a Dutch oven or skillet that has a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Brown the steak pieces on both sides (2-3 minutes per side), working in batches if necessary so as not to crowd the pan. When all the pieces are browned, place them back in the Dutch oven, layering them. In a bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup of flour and 2½ cups of water, blending well. Pour the mixture into the Dutch oven. The liquid should cover the steak and will become the gravy. Whisk out any clumps of flour, then add the bouillon cubes and pepper. Continue cooking on the top of the stove until bubbling.

Cover and transfer the Dutch oven to the preheated oven and cook for 1½ hours. After about 45 minutes, check the gravy for thickness: if it is too thick, add more water: if it is too thin, add a tablespoon of flour to 4 ounces of water and whisk until smooth before adding to the gravy. If the flour clumps, simply remove it with a louvered spoon. Taste it and see if it needs more pepper or bouillon cubes. If you are doubling the recipe, add one bouillon cube at a time after the initial four cubes and taste after each one. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Look for more great recipes from Annie Roth in MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT which will release in January. And watch for HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (written as Lizbeth Lipperman,) the first book of A Dead Sister Talking mystery series coming from Midnight Ink in May.

You can see what else has been keeping me busy on my website www.lizlipperman.com. Since the main character of my Clueless Cook series can’t cook a lick and uses her friends’ casserole dishes with made up fancy names (Baked Steak and Gravy is Boeuf Cuis au Jus de Viande,) most of the recipes in the back of the books are right out of my own cookbook. Unlike my heroine, I am a pretty decent cook. Today I want to know if after you read a good book, do you ever try the recipes in the back? And as a bonus, Berkley will send one lucky commenter (Sheila’s pick) a copy of BEEF STOLEN-OFF (US only at their request.)

----------------------------------------------------

Liz Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Wasting many years thinking she was a romance writer but always having to deal with the pesky villains who kept popping up in all her stories, she finally gave up and decided since she read mysteries and obviously wrote them, why fight it? Two years ago, she signed her first contract with Berkley to write a cozy series writing as Liz Lipperman.

The first book of her Clueless Cook Mystery Series, LIVER LET DIE, debuted in October, 2011 with BEEF STOLEN-OFF releasing in July 2012. MURDER FOR THE HALIBUT is coming January 2013 and CHICKEN CACCHIA-KILLER in the fall of 2013. Look for HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE, a paranormal mystery series involving five sisters COMING next May from Midnight Ink and download MORTAL DECEPTION, a romantic mystery, now from Amazon. Both the mainstream mystery and the romantic mystery are written as Lizbeth Lipperman.



Comment to Win LIVER LET DIE, Series Debut from Liz Lipperman

Please join me in welcoming author Liz Lipperman to the Kitchen! Leave a comment on her post today and you are entered to win the launch book in her new "Clueless Cook" series, LIVER LET DIE. I thoroughly enjoyed Liz's debut, and I think you will, too, which is why it is my great pleasure to turn over my regular Tuesday blog spot to her today. Take it away, Liz.  

~ Cleo Coyle

Note: The winner of the comment-to-win contest was Denise! (Congrats, Denise! Contact Liz at Liz@LizLipperman(dot)com , and she will get her book to you!) 

Liz Lipperman

Thanks, Cleo, for inviting me back to this great blog. I've probably gained five pounds just looking at the pictures. Cleo will be hanging out today at my Mysteries and Maragritas blog so, go say hey by clicking here. 

Today, I’m sharing a recipe from my debut novel that released last Tuesday (SQUEE.) Here’s a short summary of LIVER LET DIE, the first in the Clueless Cook Mystery Series from Berkley Prime Crime.

Jordan McAllister, a wannabe sports reporter, follows her boyfriend to Dallas, gets dumped, and ends up in a small Texas town where she lands a job writing personals. When an opportunity arises to fill in for the culinary reporter (who's rehabbing a broken hip), she jumps on it, thinking it’s one step closer to writing that sports column she wants so badly. 

The problem is Jordan was raised in West Texas, the only girl with three brothers who needed her outside every day to even up the sides for football games, and although she can throw a razor-sharp touchdown pass from 50 yards, she can’t cook her way out of a box of macaroni and cheese.  


Her first assignment is reviewing the new steakhouse in town where she inadvertently orders foie gras (fatty duck liver) that ends up untouched and shoved into a borrowed purse. Back home she discovers that she has ruined her friend's beautiful handbag, but that's nothing compared to finding her waiter from the steakhouse murdered outside her door along with her name and number in his pockets. Now she’s the prime suspect as well as the main course on the murder menu.

The concept for LIVER LET DIE was hatched when the editor read a straight mystery of mine that she loved but couldn’t use because she was looking for a cozy series – a "foodie" to be exact. Growing up number eight of nine children, I knew I couldn’t pull off a gourmet series, and the idea of a sports nut like me suddenly thrust into a position with her own food column seemed like the way to go. 

Personally, I am a pretty good casserole cook, since that's what I ate growing up. Since my girl doesn’t cook, she uses her friends' recipes for her column after they slap on a made-up, foreign name to make them seem gourmet-ish. So, I headed straight to my own recipe books for the ten offerings in the back of LIVER LET DIE. 


Here’s the awesome recipe from the steak house where Jordan first gets into trouble. I can get hubby to do all kinds of honey-dos if I promise him this one. I actually half made this recipe up when a favorite restaurant took it off the menu...and mine is just as good as theirs. Shameless plug alert!  The best way to eat this is while you’re reading LIVER LET DIE.

Longhorn Prime Rib’s
Rattlesnake Pasta


From Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman

Yields 4 servings

1 pound bow-tie pasta

5 tablespoons cooking oil

¼ sliced onions

½ medium yellow squash, cut diagonally into ¼-inch slices(about ¾ cup)

½ medium zucchini cut diagonally into ¼-inch thick slices (about ¾ cups)

¾ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (or 1 tablespoon canned diced jalapeño)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon Cajun Seasoning

2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about ½ cup)

1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons oil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and cut up into bite-sized pieces

All purpose flour and Cajun seasoning for dredging

Directions: Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, yellow squash, zucchini, and mushrooms (if using) and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are heated through but still firm.

Pour in the cream and the cooked pasta and simmer for 4 minutes. Mix in the jalapeño, garlic, mustard, and Cajun seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cheese and the tomatoes. Reduce heat to low.

In another large skillet, preheat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Shake the Cajun seasoning over the chicken pieces and then dredge in the flour. Pan fry for 5 minutes on each side or until brown. Add the chicken to vegetable pasta mixture and stir a few times to incorporate. Serve and enjoy. This casserole has a bite, (that’s why it’s called Rattlesnake Pasta), so if you don’t like spicy food, go easy on the jalapeño.

------------------------------------------------------

To find out more about Liz and her books,
visit her online home by clicking here:

http://www.lizlipperman.com/

Read an excerpt from
Liver Let Die
by clicking here.

CONTEST ALERT!

A final note from Liz...

The release date for Liver Let Die is finally here, and I am giving away a great prize. It’s a Pandigital Kitchen Technology Center that retails for $399. It has an HD TV, a digital recipe file, a digital photo album and wireless internet connection. It’s awesome. 

There are several ways to enter multiple times without buying the book, although I’d love for you to try me. I’ll even give you three extra entries if you do. The awesome Brent Taylor, teenage extraordinaire, helped me with this contest. (He did all the techno stuff!) So, check it out and get as many entries as you can. The random drawing will be on October 31st and the winner will be posted on FaceBook, Twitter, my website, and my blog. So what are you waiting on? Check it out by clicking here.

Welcome Liz Lipperman, Author of a New Culinary Mystery Series!

Liz Lipperman

I am delighted to welcome guest blogger Liz Lipperman to our kitchen today. She and I are actually doing a little switcheroo. While Liz is here, I'm blogging over at her group blog, a fun little cantina called Mysteries and Margaritas! I'm holding a hot instant giveaway there, too. Leave a comment and you could win The California Firehouse Cookbook. So after you've met Liz, come on over and visit me by clicking here (drinks are on the house). Take it away, Liz...   ~ Cleo Coyle


First off, I want to thank Cleo for having me here. I love her Coffeehouse Mysteries and was delighted to have an opportunity to tell you a little about me and my upcoming book.

Since both Cleo and I have series with yummy recipes involved, I’m posting one of the great ones from my story. The kicker is, you have to read all the way down to get it. (Yeah, I know – scrolling takes the impatient ones right to it!)

Cleo asked me to talk about my new Casserole Lover’s Series coming from Berkley in 2011 with the first book, Ducks in A Row, debuting in July 2011.

First a little back story. It’s funny how this all came about. I am a romance writer–-or at least I thought I was--until I consistently got dinged in romance contests because I didn’t follow the rules. I wanted murders and even though I always have a hot love interest and a “happily ever after”, I wasn’t writing romance. You’d think a smart girl like me would have figured that out a lot sooner and saved herself a lot of entry fees!

Temporary cover for Liz's
Ducks in a Row,
the first in her new
Casserole Lover's Mysteries,
 coming next year.

I was excited when my agent began shopping a mystery ghost series in NY and elated when an editor at Berkley called to say she loved the story and the voice. Unfortunately, she was looking for cozies and asked what else I had.

I had nothing that would work. I write mysteries with lots of twists, a fair amount of sex, language that wouldn’t work in a cozy and gruesome murder scenes. My agent asked if I could write one about food since that was what the editor was looking for. Initially, I said there was no way. We agreed I would sleep on it and let her know in the morning.

Here’s the problem. Most of the food cozies I read involved intricate gourmet cooking. I knew I could never pull off a series like that. Did I mention I grew up with 9 siblings in a household where casseroles were the only things that fed us all on our budget?

So, I fell asleep that night prepared to tell her I couldn’t write a cozy--until I awakened from a deep sleep at three in the morning and Jordan McAllister was born.

Jordan is a wannabe sports writer who graduated the top of her class and followed her boyfriend to Dallas where he promptly dumped her for a weather girl with “perky clouds.” She ends up in a small Texas town writing Personals until she's offered a chance to fill in for a local food critic off on sick leave.

Rationalizing that it’s one step closer to her dream, she jumps at the chance. However, when a dead body is found underneath her apartment stairwell with her name and number along with it, she becomes the prime suspect, as well as the main course on the murder menu.

Now, that I can write about--a girl whose idea of cooking is frying bologna and microwaving TV dinners. Now she has to write a column with fancy food recipes, and despite cooking a mean Pop Tart, has to rely on her hippy friend for recipes that are given fancy names and printed in her column. One such recipe is Potato Chip Chicken or Budine de Papitas Fritas con Pollo.

Click on the link below to download it.

It’s easy and really good.

Liz's awesome
Potato Chip Chicken Casserole
(or) "Budine de papitas fritas con pollo!"

CLICK HERE
to get Liz's Recipe

 

To visit Liz at
her offical author website
click the link below

http://lizlipperman.com/

And that’s how the
Casserole Lover’s Mystery series was born.

I’d love to hear how your ideas were hatched.



Comments and questions for Liz
are most welcome.
Just click the "comments" link below.

******************************************

And now I'd like to tell you about our brand new contest here at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen!

My talented friend, mystery author Avery Aames, has an exciting contest for us now that Margaret and Ken won Julie’s May contest. We’re celebrating the upcoming release of The Long Quiche Goodbye and...

Here’s how you can enter!

 

Avery's "You Be The Sleuth" Contest!
Avery’s first book in A Cheese Shop Mystery series, The Long Quiche Goodbye, debuts July 6. To celebrate its release, Avery is running a contest from June 9 to July 6! You be the sleuth! Track down the recipe on Avery's website that includes eggs, Edam, and white pepper. Enter your answer by clicking on this link: CONTEST ENTRY FORM.

One of you will win a $25 gift certificate at your favorite bookstore.

Two of you will win signed copies of The Long Quiche Goodbye.

Three of you will win a Long Quiche Goodbye magnet. You can ask friends for help. Spread the word and share the fun. And while you're there, consider pre-ordering a book on Avery's booksellers page. Here is the link to Avery’s website to help get you started. Good luck!

*************************************

Cleo Coyle is also holding a
HOT instant giveaway today
during her guest blogger appearance at Mysteries and Margaritas blog.

Go to Cleo's blog post by clicking here.
Leave a comment for Cleo
and you could win
The California Firehouse Cookbook, which benefits a charity formed in the name of Terry Farrell, an heroic firefighter who lost his life on 9/11....