by Gale Deitch
Careful not to let the roux stand too long without stirring to avoid burning.
Gumbo Base
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pound sliced Andouille sausage, kielbasa or turkey kielbasa
1 pound of cubed chicken breast
1 diced onion
1 diced red pepper
1 diced green pepper
2 diced ribs of celery
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon gumbo file
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon blackening spice
1/4 cup flour
6 cups chicken stock
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 bag frozen cut okra
Worcestershire
Hot sauce – couple of dashes
Salt and pepper
Heat oil in a heavy bottom stock pan or Dutch oven.
Add chicken and sausage and brown. Remove chicken and sausage from pan and set aside, leaving the reserve oil in the pan.
Add onion, peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and spices. Cook 5 minutes.
Add flour and stir until well mixed with the vegetables to absorb remaining oil to make a light roux.
While stirring, add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Slowly add ¾ of the brown roux until slightly thickened. (If too thin, add more roux. If too thick, add water. Extra roux can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for quite some time and used as needed.)
Turn down heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Skim off any foam or oil that comes to the top.
Add browned sausage, chicken and okra and let simmer for 15 minutes, continuing to skim any foam or oil that comes to the top.
Season with Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper to your liking.
Serve in bowls with a scoop of your favorite rice and sliced scallions!
Mushroom Risotto
(Appetizer at Maybelline’s)
Makes 6-8 servings
5-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of assorted sliced mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, oyster or other)
6-8 sprigs of fresh thyme tied with butcher’s twine
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 shallot diced
1-1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan
Salt and pepper
Heat stock to a simmer and set aside.
In a large sauce pan, heat oil on medium high heat.
Add mushrooms, thyme, garlic and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add rice, stirring to coat with oil.
Add wine and let rice and mushrooms absorb.
Reduce to medium heat.
Add in about a cup of stock to the rice while stirring.
Once stock is absorbed by rice add another cup and keep stirring.
Repeat with stock until rice is al dente.
Remove thyme and discard.
Finish the rice by stirring in butter, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in bowl topped with a little extra grated parmesan.
Drizzle of truffle or porcini mushroom oil and fresh snipped chives makes a great addition!
Cheesy Grits
(Midnight snack at May’s house)
Makes about 8 servings
3 cups of water or stock of your choice (vegetable, chicken, ham, turkey, or shrimp stock)
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup stone ground grits
1 cup light cream
1 cup shredded cheese (1/2 cup shredded cheddar and 1/2 cup shredded provolone)
Salt to taste
White pepper or cayenne
In medium pot, bring water (or stock), salt and butter to a light boil.
Slowly whisk in grits, continuing to stir.
Turn down to medium heat and let grits cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Add cream, cheese and salt to taste and a little white pepper or cayenne for some kick!
Set aside and keep warm.
Biscuits
(Breakfast at May’s house)
Makes 15-20 large biscuits
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks)
3-4 cups milk
Melted butter
Preheat oven to 400o.
Combine all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl (flour, baking powder, salt).
Using a box grater (larger hole side), grate butter into flour mixture.
Using hands, mix flour mixture and butter together to resemble coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the middle of the mixture. Add 3 cups of milk.
Mix until milk is absorbed. If too dry add a little of remaining milk.
Dough should be a little sticky but hold its shape.
Turn onto lightly floured surface. Sprinkle dough with flour. Using a rolling pin or hands, roll or pat out dough to 1 inch thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter or glass.
Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet about an inch apart.
Bake at 400o for 12-15 minutes.
Brush biscuits with a little melted butter after they come out of the oven.
For added treat, brush top of the biscuits with melted butter and equal amount of honey!
Scones
(Jennifer’s coffee shop)
Makes 8-12 scones
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (one stick)
1 teaspoon fine grated orange peel
1/2 cup raisins (can also use currants, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, diced dried apricots)
1/4 cup raw sugar
Preheat oven to 400o.
In a small bowl, mix sour cream and egg together and set aside.
In a larger bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Using the larger side of box grater, grate butter into flour mixture.
Using hands work butter and flour together to resemble coarse crumbs.
Add the grated orange peel and raisins or other dried fruit.
Using a spoon or hands, mix sour cream egg mixture into the flour.
Use hands to form dough into a ball.
Place on lightly floured surface and pat out to 3/4" to 1-inch thickness.
Cut into triangles and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.
Sprinkle raw sugar on top of the scones trying not to get much on the cookie sheet.
Bake 15-18 minutes.
Cool slightly on cooling rack and serve warm.
Bananas Foster
(Dessert at Maybelline’s)
Makes about 4 servings
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 bananas sliced into coins
Nuts (optional)
1 shot Myers (or other) dark rum
1 shot Southern Comfort
In a large sauté pan melt butter over medium heat.
Stir in brown sugar, orange juice and cinnamon.
Add bananas (and nuts, if you’d like) and cook for 2 minutes.
Add Myers rum and Southern Comfort.
Flame the mixture using a stick lighter to cook out some of the alcohol.
Careful when flaming!!
Cook 1-2 minutes more.
Serve over va
nilla ice cream
When adding bananas, you can also add any nuts of your choice (almonds, pecans, walnuts, brazil).
Acknowledgements
My most valuable tool as an author has been my writing community.
The members of Novel Experience and White Oak Writers (WOW), my two critique groups, keep me on my toes. By now, they know Trudie Fine pretty well and readily voice their opinions about my scenes, which ones work and which don’t. They keep me writing and editing until I get it right. Thank you also to my trusted beta readers. Their fresh eyes on this book helped me smooth out the rough edges.
Each summer, I journey to Wildacres to feed my soul and improve my craft with the help of the talented faculty and students on top of the mountain who continue to inspire, encourage and challenge me. A special thank you to Wildacres friend Lynn Meade of Larson Investigations and Consulting in Billings, Montana for educating me about fires and what a human being would or would not survive.
Again, I feel so fortunate that D.C. Executive Chef James Turner has provided all of the recipes for this book and I thank him for his generosity of time and spirit.
Thanks also to my family, Stanley, Marcie, Matt, Steve, Mom, and the joy of my life, Jackson, for their love and support.
About the Author
Gale Deitch enjoys writing all types of fiction—novels, short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Literary magazine The Writing Disorder featured her short story, Pressing Matters, in their winter 2014 issue. Her flash fiction piece, Prima, has been featured in the March, 2013 issue of literary magazine, the Rusty Nail, and her poetry in the 2011 Maryland Writers Association poetry anthology, life in me like grass on fire, love poems.
Although most culinary mysteries take place in small town U.S.A. locales, having been born and raised and still residing in the Washington, D.C. area, Gale’s Trudie Fine mystery series, and much of her other writing, is based in her hometown, Washington, D.C.
Gale works for a large non-profit nursing home and senior living system. She has two grown children and one grandchild and lives with her husband in Rockville, Maryland.
You can follow Gale at www.gdeitchblog.com on Facebook or Twitter.
If you’ve enjoyed reading Gale’s books, please leave a review on Amazon.com or Goodreads.
And if you haven’t read it already, don’t miss the first book in the Trudie Fine Mystery Series, A Fine Fix.
