Final Fondue (A Five-Ingredient Mystery)

by Maya Corrigan

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  Stale or toasted French or wheat bread, enough to cover the pan in one layer

  6 eggs

  2 cups milk

  1 cup chopped fire-roasted red peppers, fresh or from ajar

  1 cup grated sharp cheddar (or pepper jack cheese, if you like spicy food)

  Cube the stale bread and spread it in a single layer at the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan.

  Sprinkle the chopped pepper and the grated cheese on the cubed bread.

  Beat the eggs with the milk and pour the mixture over the bread and cheese.

  Cover the pan and refrigerate it overnight or for a minimum of an hour.

  Bake the casserole for 45 minutes.

  Serves 6 for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.

  For a meat version, brown and drain a pound of bulk sausage (pork or turkey) as the first step. Then follow the vegetarian recipe, but substitute sausage for the peppers. If you’re not hung up on using only five ingredients, you can use both the meat and peppers in the casserole. The recipe for the meat casserole is similar to the strata recipe at the end of By Cook or by Crook, the first Five-Ingredient Mystery, but this version includes details that were missing from that one and some variations.

  With meat, the casserole serves 8.

  NUTTY BUTTERY MINI MUFFINS

  Even if you don’t like breakfast muffins, you might like these. They’re sweet enough to serve for dessert. They don’t even have a lot of calories if you limit yourself to one. Good luck with that.

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

  ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed down

  ½ cup flour

  1 cup chopped pecans

  ⅔ cup melted butter

  2 beaten eggs

  Grease and flour 18–24 mini muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners. (The cups for small muffins vary in size and that’s why the number of muffins varies.)

  Beat the melted butter and eggs together. In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and pecans. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the wet egg and butter mix into the well, and stir just enough to combine everything.

  Spoon the mixture into muffin cups. The cups should be ⅔ full. If you have some unused cups in your muffin pan, put a teaspoon of water in the empty cups.

  Bake for 20–25 minutes. They’re done when a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean. Cool them on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.

  Yield: 18–24

  KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2016 by Mary Ann Corrigan

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-1-6177-3142-6

  ISBN-10: 1-61773-142-0

  First Kensington Mass Market Edition: July 2016

  eISBN-13: 978-1-61773-143-3

  eISBN-10: 1-61773-143-9

  First Kensington Electronic Edition: July 2016