Drive Me Wild
Page 27
Note from Blair: “I usually triple the recipe and have portions of dough ready to go in the freezer. I take the dough out of the freezer and put it in the cooler so it’s ready for me to roll out in the morning.”
Filling:
1 lb. of spinach
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 c. caramelized onions (how-to below)
olive oil
1 14.5 ounce can white beans, drained
2 cups of shredded Gruyère
salt, pepper
Egg wash: 1 egg with 1 Tbsp. water
Caramelized Onions
2 yellow onions
3 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
Thinly slice the onions. Melt butter in saucepan over medium/high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions. Cook the onions, stirring constantly until they start to soften. Add 1 tsp. salt. Turn heat down to medium low and cook the onions until they are dark amber and jammy. This will take about 30 minutes. Make sure to stir the onions every few minutes to prevent burning.
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Sauté garlic until golden, and then add the caramelized onions. Mix that until it’s warmed up, and then slowly add the spinach. Season with salt and pepper. Once that is cooked down, let cool.
3) Assembly: Roll dough out into a 12" round. Spread shredded Gruyère evenly over the dough, leaving a 2" border of dough all around. Next, evenly sprinkle drained white beans over the cheese. Top this with an even layer of your spinach/onion mixture.
4) Fold the border of dough over the filling. Brush border with egg wash and bake at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
Pesto Twists
Note from Blair: “I make two versions of these savory rolls: red pepper rolls and pesto twists. The dough is the same for both. Filling and shaping methods are different.”
Dough:
1 c. lukewarm milk
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1/3 c. unsalted butter, diced
1) In a small bowl, combine milk, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes in a warm spot.
2) In bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook, combine flour, milk mixture, sugar, salt, eggs and butter on medium until it comes together. Then knead on high for about 10 minutes until smooth and soft. Transfer dough to oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours until double in size.
3) Punch down the dough.
PESTO TWISTS
I make a pesto using spinach, pistachios, olive oil, parmesan, garlic. Roll dough into rectangle. Spread the pesto on the dough. Sprinkle with parmesan and mozzarella. Fold dough. Cut into strips, and make twists.
RED PEPPER ROLLS
I make a paste with roasted red peppers (in a jar), almonds, Parmesan, garlic, oil, and sriracha. I roll out the dough into a rectangle and spread this savory paste on the dough. I then scatter strips of red pepper over the paste and sprinkle with mozzarella. Roll it up, cut into 12 pieces. Proof, and bake. Brush with garlic butter as soon as they come out of the oven.
Author note: “Blair, what the hell do you mean by ‘Proof’?”
Blair: “Proofing just means to let rise. Usually you let dough rise until double in size, for about an hour.”
Southern Comfort Strata
Ingredients
18 eggs
5 1/2 c. Half and half
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. thyme
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. turmeric
2 bunches of Swiss chard, roughly chopped
1 c. cooked chopped bacon
2 cups cooked chopped ham
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1 c. chicken stock
24 oz day-old bread cubes
12 oz Gruyère, shredded
4 oz Parmesan, grated
24 oz canned white beans
1) Slice onion and garlic. Cook until golden brown. Add chopped Swiss chard. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until Swiss chard starts to cook down.
2) Add chicken stock and cook until chard stems are soft. Drain any excess liquid and set aside.
3) Mix together eggs, heavy cream, and all the herbs and spices with an immersion blender or a whisk. Set aside.
4) Spray 12x18” roasting pan. Add layer of half of the bread cubes to bottom of the pan. Top with half of the Swiss chard mixture. Sprinkle half of the bacon, ham and beans over the Swiss chard. Then spread half of the cheese over that. Repeat once with remaining ingredients.
5) Carefully pour the egg mixture evenly over the top of the ingredients. Let soak for at least 2 hours or overnight.
6) Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until golden brown on top.
Blair’s Apple Pie with Mascarpone Cream
Crust
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks (8 oz) butter
6 Tbsp. water
Filling
3 lbs Granny Smith apples
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Heavy cream and sugar as needed for brushing the top
Crust:
1) In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. Add the water and mix with a fork just until the dough comes together.
2) Cut dough into two equal pieces and form into flat disks. Refrigerate for one hour.
Filling:
1) Peel, core and slice apples into 1/2” wedges. Toss with remaining ingredients and set aside.
2) Roll pie dough into two 12” rounds that are 1/8 inch thick. Transfer one of the dough rounds to a 9-inch pie pan or cast iron skillet, fitting the dough into the bottom and sides of the dish. Trim the dough, leaving a slight overhang. This can be done with scissors. Spread the apple mixture into the crust and scatter the bits of butter over the mixture.
3) Place the second dough round over the apple filling. Trim the dough so it is even with the bottom crust. Fold the overhang under and crimp by pinching or using a fork. Cut a few slits in the top crust.
4) Brush top with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
5) Place pie on a lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn temperature down to 350 and bake for another 45-60 minutes or until top crust is golden brown.
Mascarpone cream:
4 oz Mascarpone
1/4 c. powdered sugar
2 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
In a medium bowl, beat mascarpone And powdered sugar until soft and fluffy. Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Slowly add 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and beat on low speed until combined. Turn speed up to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
Also by Melanie Harlow
The Frenched Series
Frenched
Yanked
Forked
Floored
The Happy Crazy Love Series
Some Sort of Happy
Some Sort of Crazy
Some Sort of Love
The After We Fall Series
Man Candy
After We Fall
If You Were Mine
From This Moment
The One and Only Series
Only You
Only Him
Only Love
The Cloverleigh Farms Series
Irresistible
Undeniable
Unbreakable
Unforgettable
The Bellamy Creek Series
Drive Me Wild
Co-Written Books
Hold You Close (Co-written with Corinne Michaels)
Imperfect Match (Co-written with Corinne Michaels)
Strong Enough (M/M romance co-written with David Romanov)
The Speak Easy Duet
The Tango Lesson (A Standalone Novella)
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Acknowledgments
DRIVE ME WILD was very much inspired by Schitt’s Creek, a show I discovered during quarantine that brought laughter and joy to days that were often sad, challenging, and uncertain. I knew in my gut that I wanted the next book I wrote to bring that kind of hope, love, and levity to my readers—so I hope Blair and Griffin’s story made you smile, and I am grateful to the brilliant Dan Levy for creating such a wonderful series about family, friendship, belonging, and acceptance.
I need to thank incredibly talented baker and special effects makeup artist Dina Cimarusti for all the delicious recipes in this book, both sweet and savory! She was the inspiration behind all of Blair’s creations, and I hope you enjoy making them yourself. You can follow her on Instagram @dinasaurclub. Look for more of Dina’s recipes in the Bellamy Creek Series coming up!
As always, my love and gratitude to the following people for their talent, support, wisdom, friendship, and encouragement…
Melissa Gaston, Brandi Zelenka, Jenn Watson, Hang Le, Devyn Jensen, Kayti McGee, Laurelin Paige, Sierra Simone, Lauren Blakely, Corinne Michaels, Meghan Quinn, Adriana Locke, the entire Social Butterfly team, Anthony Colletti, Rebecca Friedman, Flavia Viotti & Meire Dias at Bookcase Literary, Nancy Smay at Evident Ink, Julia Griffis at The Romance Bibliophile, proofreaders Michele Ficht and Shannon Mummey, Stacey Blake at Champagne Book Design, Andi Arndt & Katie Robinson at Lyric Audiobooks, narrators Rock Engle and Vanessa Edwin, the Shop Talkers, the Sisterhood, the Harlots and the Harlot ARC Team, bloggers and event organizers, my Queens, my betas, my proofers, my readers all over the world…
And once again, to my family. We’ve spent a LOT of time together over the last few months, but you’re my favorite people in the world, and there is no place I’d rather be than home with you, eating takeout and watching Schitt’s Creek. (“Congratulations on your ongoing love for each other. You did it!”)
About the Author
Melanie Harlow likes her heels high, her martini dry, and her history with the naughty bits left in. She’s the author of the small town Cloverleigh Farms Series, the One & Only series, the After We Fall Series, the Happy Crazy Love Series, and the Frenched Series.
She writes from her home outside of Detroit, where she lives with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, she’s probably got a cocktail in hand. And sometimes when she is.
Find her at www.melanieharlow.com.