Although Kate Carlisle is best known as the New York Times bestselling
author of the Bibliophile Mysteries, it's her second ongoing series—the
Fixer-Upper Mysteries—that are coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries this
month.
One of my books is
coming to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tonight. Celebrate with me! Framed for Murder: a Fixer-Upper Mystery, will
air at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT, and will star singer/songwriter/actress Jewel in the
role of Shannon, a contractor who specializes in restoring Victorian homes to
their former glory—and in solving the murders that happen within their walls.
Actor Colin Ferguson will play Shannon's love interest, Mac. He's a wonderful
choice!
I'm delighted to
celebrate with you here at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. We'll be live-tweeting
during the show, so follow us both: www.twitter.com/katecarlisle www.twitter.com/mysteryloverskitchen
About the Fixer-Upper Mysteries: In the small resort town of
Lighthouse Cove, California, the best man for the job is a woman: Shannon
Hammer, owner of Hammer Construction Company and an expert in Victorian home
restoration and renovation. Shannon discovers not only skeletons in her
neighbors' closets, but murder victims, too!
The producers at Hallmark hope to bring all of the
Fixer-Upper Mysteries to the screen—four books so far, with more to come: A High-End Finish, This Old Homicide,
Crowned and Moldering, and Deck the
Hallways. You can read free excerpts of all of the books on my website, www.KateCarlisle.com.
In honor of this career milestone, I've created a recipe
that I'm calling Celebration Lemon-Cherry Pie. The first time I served this,
everyone remarked on how flaky the crust is. The trick is to make sure that
your shortening is very cold. I had mine in the refrigerator overnight. I'll
have a printable version of this recipe available in the Secret Room at
KateCarlisle.com.
Celebration
Lemon-Cherry Pie
Crust:
1 C all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ C vegetable shortening, very cold (refrigerate overnight
if you can)
2-3 Tbsp ice cold water
Preheat the oven to 450. Whisk together the flour and salt,
then cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until the pieces
are about the size of lentils.
Add ice cold water 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring gently, just
until the dough holds together. Too much water will make the crust hard. Too
little will make it fall apart. Roll it out on a floured surface until it's
about four inches larger than your pie plate (two inches on each side). Pinch
dough around the crust to form little hills and valleys. Loosely tent aluminum
foil around the edges of the pie crust. Line the bottom of the crust with
parchment paper, and then weigh down with pie plates or something that's
oven-proof and substantial but not too heavy. You're trying to keep the crust
from ballooning up, but you don't want to smoosh it completely.
Bake the crust for 7 minutes, then carefully remove the
aluminum foil. Bake for another 7-10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.
Filling:
¾ C sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
1 C cold water
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
Juice of two lemons
2 Tbsp butter, cubed
1 tsp lemon zest
½ tsp lemon extract
2 drops of yellow food coloring (optional)
1 can cherry pie filling
In a heavy-bottomed
saucepan, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, and salt. Stir in the water
until the mixture is smooth, with no lumps. Stir constantly over medium-high
heat until it thickens and begins to boil, then turn the heat to low and
continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks. Add a small
amount of the hot mixture to the egg yolks, stir, and return all to the
saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for two
more minutes. (I took a break from stirring to take this picture, and the world
didn't fall apart.) Remove from heat.
Add the lemon juice, butter, lemon zest, lemon extract, and
food coloring if using, and stir them in very gently. Cool to room temperature
without stirring anymore. Spread into precooked crust and refrigerate for at
least an hour.
Spread the cherry pie filling over the lemon filling.
Topping:
1 C heavy whipping cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
½ C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Whip the cream alone until it thickens and is spreadably
solid. Whip in the remaining ingredients. This will give you more whipped cream
than you need to do something artistic like I did with my pie, so if you like
lots of topping, just pile it on and enjoy!
This pie is perfect for the Fixer-Upper Mysteries because it's a little
bit sweet, a little bit tart, and it packs a big punch! If you had to pick a
food that best describes you, what food would it be, and why?
We're giving away a $25 Visa Card to one lucky winner today. To enter, leave a comment with your email address so we can contact you if you win. Good luck! And don't forget to live tweet with Kate and the authors of Mystery Lovers Kitchen tonight during the movie! See you there!
