Wickham Hall, Part 1
Page 11
I sank down onto the chaise longue and stared at Esme.
‘So,’ I said, wetting my dry lips with my tongue, ‘to recap. I’ve just admitted to my new boss that I think he’s fit, that my mother got it on with a stranger at his family’s Summer Festival and that I think literally anyone could be my father.’
‘That about sums it up.’ Esme hid her mouth behind her hand and I could tell she was dying to laugh.
‘Well, Monday morning should be interesting,’ I groaned. ‘He’s never going to take me seriously after those revelations. How on earth am I going to work for him now?’
I watched as Benedict Fortescue drove off in a scruffy hatchback and raised his hand in a wave through the open window. More importantly, had my dream job just turned into a nightmare?
Next at Wickham Hall in
Summer Secrets
Summertime at Wickham Hall is hard to beat. The sun is out, the gardens are in full bloom, and the Summer Festival is just around the corner.
With a clipboard in one hand and her diary in the other, Holly Swift is in her element. She’s even warming to Ben, her unorganised, spontaneous (if very attractive) boss who occasionally drives her mad.
But as the festival rolls near, a family secret from the past threatens to rain down on Holly’s parade. Can she weather the storm, or is this a problem not even Holly can plan her way out of?
Coming 23rd July 2015
Available for pre-order now
About the Author
Cathy Bramley is the author of the best-selling romantic comedies Ivy Lane and Appleby Farm, both four-part serialised novels, and Conditional Love. Wickham Hall is also a four-part serialised novel. She lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her husband, two daughters and a dog.
Her recent career as a full-time writer of light-hearted, romantic fiction has come as somewhat of a lovely surprise, after spending the last eighteen years running her own marketing agency. However, she has always been an avid reader, hiding her book under the duvet and reading by torchlight. Luckily her husband has now bought her a Kindle, so that’s the end of that palaver.
Cathy loves to hear from her readers. You can get in touch via her website www.CathyBramley.co.uk, Facebook page Facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor or on Twitter twitter.com/CathyBramley
Irresistible recipes inspired by Wickham Hall
Lemon and Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
Helen’s Lemon Curd
Asparagus Tartlets
Lemon and Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
I’m a big fan of shortbread, especially those fancy tins you get at Christmas, and I wanted to include a recipe that fit with the flavours of Wickham Hall. I’m not entirely sure whether lemons were around, but rosemary was very popular in Elizabethan times, so here we go . . .
You will need . . .
250g plain flour (sieved)
200g butter
100g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons washed and finely chopped rosemary leaves
A little extra sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan/gas mark 5) and grease a non-stick baking tray.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer. Gradually mix in the flour and then add the lemon zest and rosemary. Using your hands knead the mix together into a smooth ball.
Lay out the baking parchment onto the baking tray – use a small blob of the meringue mixture to stick the parchment down in each corner. Draw four large circles with a pencil – I draw round a bowl measuring 12cm in diameter.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll out to about 1-2 cm thick. Use a cookie cutter of any shape, pressing firmly through the dough but not twisting, and place on a baking tray. They will take 10-15 minutes depending on the fierceness of your oven.
Remove from the tray and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack. Sprinkle with a little sugar while they cool.
Serve with tea or coffee in your favourite mug.
Helen’s Lemon Curd
If you read Appleby Farm, you may remember a recipe for Helen Redfern’s deliciously chewy pistachio meringues. She features all sorts of recipes on her blog HelenRedfern.co.uk and she has very kindly shared this one for lemon curd with me.
You need to get certain equipment ready for this one before you start:
A heatproof bowl that sits over a saucepan of water (without touching the water)
Zester and juicer
Another small bowl
Whisk
Two small jam jars, sterilised
You will need . . .
4 unwaxed lemons
200g sugar
100g butter
5 egg yolks (leaving lots of eggs whites for meringues!)
Zest and juice the lemons.
Set the heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Add into the bowl the zest and juice from the lemons, along with the butter and sugar. Heat gently and stir until the butter has melted and sugar dissolved.
In a separate bowl lightly whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the egg yolks into the sugary lemon mixture over the heat and whisk to ensure all yolks are well combined.
Whisk regularly as it cooks for about 10-12 minutes. It’ll become thicker when it is done.
Pour into sterilised jam jars and allow to cool. Tighten the lids, then place in the fridge. It’ll keep for a couple of weeks.
Asparagus Tartlets
This is the first dish that Holly Swift sees coming out of the Wickham Hall ovens on her first day. In my head, the ones she saw were more quiche-like, but these are far simpler to make. If asparagus isn’t in season, or you don’t like it, simply replace with something else like red peppers or courgettes.
You will need . . .
1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
150g ricotta cheese
80g fresh parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Zest of 1 lemon
16 spears of asparagus
A little olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas mark 6). Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking parchment. Cut the pastry sheet into four rectangles each about 12x6cm and place them on the baking parchment. With a sharp knife, gently score a 1cm border on each rectangle.
Wash and trim the asparagus spears, cutting off the woody ends.
Combine the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly in a bowl. Spread the mixture on to the pastry, taking care not to put it in the scored border, and top each tart with two asparagus spears. Brush the pastry borders with oil and cook in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden.
Add a few parmesan shavings to serve.
Also by Cathy Bramley
Ivy Lane
Conditional Love
Appleby Farm
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Copyright © Cathy Bramley 2015
Cathy Bramley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
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