“I can be a hard man sometimes, Genia. Sometimes there’s too much business in me and not enough heart. I guess you know that now. I feel bad about what I said without even knowing the boy. It made me think of my own boy, and the terrible mistake I made.…” The grief and regret of his life had been that he had encouraged his young physician son, his only child, to serve in Vietnam, from which the boy had not returned alive. “I hope you will forgive me, and give me a chance to redeem myself.”
She was glad, even more for his sake than for hers.
“How do you raise teenagers?” Donna had asked her only yesterday, in mock despair. Jason’s first-semester grades at the university weren’t what they might be, and his mother had a feeling he was playing more than studying. Janie, meanwhile, had a new boyfriend with three rings through his nose. Genia had assured her niece that Donna already possessed the recipe, which was known to mothers all over the world. “The secret ingredient is love.”
“Hi, Genia!” Kevin Eden smiled when he caught sight of her.
There was plenty of that secret ingredient to go around in this little family, Genia thought as she greeted them. Janie ran around the edge of the booth to plant a lipsticked kiss on her cheek, and Jason grinned and asked, “T’sup?” Their recipe might not be perfect—few were—but Genia had a feeling it would turn out fine.
She dug in her handbag for her special “autographing pen” that her own children had sent her, and thought happily, Let’s go sell some cookbooks, Stanley.
THE RECIPES
LOBSTER BISQUE
SERVES 8.
¼ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Butter
2 one-pound lobsters, cooked, meat removed and cut into chunks, shells reserved
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Bay leaf
⅓ cup chopped carrots
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
½ cup white wine or sherry
5 cups fish stock (chicken broth
may be substituted)
2 cups heavy cream
In a soup pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Add the cracked shells, salt and pepper, bay leaf, carrots, parsley, and 1 tablespoon tarragon. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables start to soften. Add sherry or white wine and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add fish stock or broth. Cook 45 minutes to 1 hour over low heat.
Remove the shells and puree the bisque in a blender or food processor. Place the mixture over low heat. Add the cream and 1 stick butter.
Make a roux of butter and flour. Stir into the strained bisque until the desired thickness is attained. In a pan, sauté the lobster meat quickly over high heat. Place in the soup pot and salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into soup bowls, sprinkle the remaining tarragon on top, and serve.
LINDSAY’S BLUE SUEDE SOUP
SERVES 4 TO 6.
Lindsay’s mother told her Elvis Presley invented this soup in an effort to get the kids to eat blueberries.
3 cups fresh Rhode Island
blueberries
1 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 whole clove
1 cinnamon stick
3 cups buttermilk
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon lemon or orange zest
2 tablespoons crème de cassis
(optional)
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
Garnish
Lemon or orange twist
Sour cream
Handful of fresh mint leaves
Rinse blueberries, removing any green and damaged berries and stems, and drain.
In a large pot, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Stir the sugar until it dissolves and forms a syrup. Add 2 cups blueberries, clove, and cinnamon stick, reduce the heat, and simmer until the berries are tender, about 15 minutes.
Cool to room temperature; remove the cinnamon stick.
In blender or food processor, blend the buttermilk and berry mixture. Add the lemon juice, zest, and crème de cassis (if desired). Add the yogurt or sour cream. Process until smooth.
Stir in the remaining blueberries.
Serve in glass bowls with a twist of lemon or orange, dollop of sour cream, and mint leaves.
TUNA IN PHYLLO
SERVES 4.
⅔ cup basmati rice, cooked and cooled
4 fresh tuna fillets, 1 to 1½ inches thick, about 6 ounces each
1 cup chopped onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
8 sheets phyllo
½ cup melted butter for basting phyllo
Poaching Broth
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup water
Wine Sauce
½ cup carrots and ½ cup leeks,
cut in thin strips
¼ cup butter
1 cup chardonnay
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
Cook basmati rice. Take off the burner and cool.
In a skillet or fish poacher, bring the poaching liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat, place the tuna in the broth, and poach, covered, for 5 minutes. Take off the burner and let cool in the liquid.
In a small skillet, sauté the onions in the butter over low heat until golden. Take off the heat and add the capers, juice of half a lemon, and salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the cooled cooked rice and mix well.
On a large, dry surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo. Brush with butter. Lay a second sheet on top and brush with butter. Fold the sheets in half crosswise and brush again. Place ⅛ of the rice mixture on the dough and place a tuna fillet on top of the rice. Season carefully with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place another ⅛ of rice on top of the fillet and fold the ends of the phyllo over the fish to form a package. Brush with butter one more time and place, seam side down, in a buttered baking dish large enough to hold all 4 tuna packages. Repeat the process with each fillet. Brush all packages one last time and bake in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes, or until brown.
Arrange on a platter and spoon wine sauce over the tuna. Serve extra sauce on the side.
To make the wine sauce, sauté the carrots and leeks in butter. Boil down the chardonnay until reduced by half. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, flour, salt and pepper, half-and-half, and chicken broth. Add the lemon juice, parsley, basil, and the sautéed carrots and leeks. Add the mixture to the wine and stir together over low heat until thick (about 15 minutes).
JANIE’S APPLES IN JACKETS
SERVES 6.
½ cup dark raisins
¼ cup small pieces of pecans
½ cup brandy (optional)
1½ cups granulated sugar
2 cups water
Butter
1¾ teaspoons cinnamon
1¾ teaspoons ground cloves
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup orange or apple juice
Unbaked pastry (2-cup flour recipe or prepared pastry)
6 medium-large Rhode Island greening apples (or any other tart apple)
2 egg yolks mixed with 1 teaspoon water
Soak raisins and nuts in ½ cup brandy (if desired) for an hour or longer.
In a saucepan, bring to a boil 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 cups water, 3 tablespoons butter, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is syrupy.
Mix the cloves, remaining cinnamon, brown and granulated sugars into the raisin and nut mixture and add the apple or orange
juice. Mix well.
Roll the pastry to an ⅛-inch thickness (approximately) and cut into six 7-inch squares.
Peel and core the apples.
Place 1 apple on each square of pastry. Spoon the filling into the hollow center. Dot with butter.
Bring the corners of the pastry together at the top of the apple, moisten, and press together until sealed.
If desired, with extra pastry, cut out designs and press into top of pastry-covered apples.
Carefully place apples, a couple of inches apart, into a large baking dish. Pour the hot syrup around the apples. Brush the tops of the apples with the egg yolk/water mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven (425 degrees) for 40 minutes, or until the crust is well browned and the apples are cooked through.
Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
For Virginia Rich
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The entire credit for this mystery series goes to the late, beloved Virginia Rich. But one-half of the credit for this particular book goes to Sally Goldenbaum, cook, writer, and friend extraordinaire.
By Nancy Pickard
THE WHOLE TRUTH
TWILIGHT
CONFESSION
BUT I WOULDN’T WANT TO DIE THERE
I.O.U.
BUM STEER
DEAD CRAZY
MARRIAGE IS MURDER
NO BODY
SAY NO TO MURDER
GENEROUS DEATH
By Virginia Rich
THE NANTUCKET DIET MURDERS
THE BAKED BEAN SUPPER MURDERS
THE COOKING SCHOOL MURDERS
By Nancy Pickard based on characters and a story created by Virginia Rich
THE 27-INGREDIENT CHILI CON CARNE MURDERS
THE BLUE CORN MURDERS
THE SECRET INGREDIENT MURDERS
The Secret Ingredient Murders: A Eugenia Potter Mystery Page 26
