by Hillary Avis
Epic Chicken Noodle Soup
THIS IS THE SOUP THAT’LL cure what ails you. The humble broth is the key ingredient—use homemade bone broth if you can. I like to make mine in a pressure cooker (or overnight in the crock pot). See the following recipe for bone broth if you want to make your own.
Ingredients
1 Tb butter
½ cup carrot, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup fresh thyme leaves
2 Tb melted chicken fat (or substitute butter)
8 cups chicken bone broth (or substitute regular chicken broth)
4 oz uncooked egg noodles
1 large cooked chicken breast, cubed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and pepper
juice of ½ a lemon (optional)
Directions
Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Stir in carrot, celery, onion, a pinch of salt, and fresh thyme. Add the chicken fat or additional butter, then stir until the onions are soft, 6–7 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in egg noodles and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in cooked chicken breast meat and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to taste. For a brighter note, add a bit of lemon juice before serving.
Chicken Bone Broth
MAKING HOMEMADE BONE broth sounds like an intimidating feat, but it’s really quite simple once you give it a try. Bone broth can be substituted for chicken broth in any of the soup recipes in this book. Three methods are outlined below: on the stovetop, in an electric pressure cooker such as an Instant Pot, and in a slow cooker or crockpot.
Ingredients
Bones from a whole chicken (rotisserie chicken bones work great!)
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 onion, chopped
2 Tb apple cider vinegar
fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, bay leaves etc.)
salt and pepper
water
Directions
On the stove
Place chicken bones into a large stock pot and cover with water. Add vegetables, herbs, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 5–10 hours. Keep an eye on it to prevent scorching and stir occasionally. The longer the cook time, the better.
Strain the broth into mason jars or other heatproof vessel, discarding the cooked bones and vegetables, and cool before storing in the refrigerator.
In the electric pressure cooker
Add all ingredients to the pressure cooker and add water until the pot is about two-thirds full (don’t exceed the liquid line or the pressure cooker may not operate safely).
Lock the lid and seal the vent. Manually set the pressure cooker for two hours (120 minutes). When the time is up, allow the pressure cooker to release naturally.
Strain the broth into mason jars or other heatproof vessel, discarding the cooked bones and vegetables, and cool before storing in the refrigerator.
In the slow cooker
Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and fill with water. Secure lid and cook on low for 12–24 hours.
Strain the broth into mason jars or other heatproof vessel, discarding the cooked bones and vegetables, and cool before storing in the refrigerator.
Nostalgic Tomato Soup
THE CLASSIC SOUP FROM your childhood, with the added luxury of cream. And don’t forget—a bowl of tomato soup is incomplete without a grilled cheese sandwich by its side. Add a twist to this soup with the addition of chopped fresh herbs as a garnish. Basil, thyme, or chives are all delicious options.
Ingredients
1 Tb olive oil
1 Tb butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
red pepper flakes (optional)
1 can whole peeled tomatoes (28 ounces)
1 ½ cups chicken broth
¼–½ cup heavy cream (depending on desired creaminess)
salt and pepper
Directions
Heat butter and oil in a saucepan over medium heat until butter melts. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the onion is very soft (but not browned). Add garlic and red pepper flakes (if desired) and sauté for a few more minutes.
Add the tomatoes (including juice). Use a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes as they cook and soften. After about 10 minutes, add the chicken broth to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook another 15 minutes at a simmer until the tomatoes are very soft.
Turn off the stove and let the soup cool for 10–15 minutes. Purée the soup using a blender. You can use an immersion blender right in the pan, or a regular blender on the counter. Remember that warm liquids expand when blended, so blend the soup in a couple of batches to avoid splashing it all over your kitchen!
Return the soup to the pan over a low burner and add the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Spring Pea Soup
BRIGHT, DELICIOUS, and unexpected, this bright-green soup contains no dairy, eggs, or gluten and can easily be made vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth and omitting the garnish.
Ingredients
1 ½ Tb butter
8 oz garlic ramps (or substitute scallions)
3 ½ cups shelled fresh peas (or substitute frozen)
½ cup white wine
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
¼ cup parsley leaves
¼ cup mint leaves
juice of ½ a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
bacon breadcrumbs for garnish (optional, see following recipe)
Directions
Clean the ramps and separate the white bulbs from the green tops. Roughly chop each part.
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the bulbs until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the green tops and sauté for an additional minute.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Add peas and fresh herbs, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer 6 minutes for fresh peas or 2 minutes for frozen peas (to prevent toughness).
Turn off the stove and let the soup cool for 10–15 minutes. Purée the soup using a blender. You can use an immersion blender right in the pan, or a regular blender on the counter. Remember that warm liquids expand when blended, so blend the soup in a couple of batches to avoid splashing it all over your kitchen!
Return the soup to the pan over a low burner and add the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve topped with a sprinkle of bacon breadcrumbs or a dollop of crème fraiche.
Bacon Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
4 SLICES BACON, CHOPPED
1 Tb olive oil
1 cup fresh bread crumbs (blitz two slices of bread in your food processor or use panko bread crumbs)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Directions
Cook bacon in olive oil in a skillet until crispy. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, leaving drippings in skillet.
Add bread crumbs and red pepper to skillet and toast until crispy, stirring constantly. In a bowl, combine toasted bread crumbs with crispy bacon pieces and parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
CHILI CON CARNAGE
A Death du Jour Mystery #3
Chapter 1
FRIDAY MORNING
“RIGHT BEHIND YOU!” Bethany stepped deftly around Kimmy and poured a steaming pot of white beans into a colander in the sink. The kitchen at Café Sabine was small, but they’d been cooking together so long that they had developed their own working rhythm.
Kimmy shook her head as she finely minced a handful of flowering chives. “I can’t believe you’re making minestrone. I’ve warned you a hundred times that it’s—”
“The pumpkin sp
ice of soups,” Bethany finished. “I know. For your information, I’m doing it specifically to prove you wrong. Anyway, everyone likes minestrone—it’s good.”
“Exactly. Good, but not great. Pumpkin spice.”
Bethany added the cooked beans to her simmering stock and inhaled the fragrant steam. It promised green onions and fresh herbs, her springtime twist on the classic recipe. “I think you might be eating your words in a few minutes, Kimmy Caldwell.”
Kimmy dumped her chopped chives into a large mixing bowl that was full of spring greens and tossed it lightly with olive oil and a splash of white wine vinegar. “I’d be happy to. Don’t forget the asparagus.” She nodded at a bowl of bright blanched asparagus tips near her left elbow.
“Oops—thanks!” Bethany slipped the vegetables into her soup and gave it a stir. “I think it’s ready. Hopefully this will be a crowd-pleaser.” She handed a spoonful to Kimmy, who sipped the broth thoughtfully and then ate the whole bite.
She tossed the spoon in the sink. “It’s a winner. I’ll never doubt you again.”
Bethany grinned. “Can I get that on tape?”
Kimmy giggled, but then glanced at the clock. Her face fell. She grabbed a block of parmesan cheese and began frantically shaving it over the salad. “You better get going. Monsieur Adrian will be here any minute!”
Monsieur Adrian was Café Sabine’s owner and head chef, although he left all the cooking to Kimmy. He rarely made an appearance at the restaurant, but he’d be less than thrilled to find out that Kimmy had been letting Bethany use his kitchen to cook for her soup kiosk in the train station.
“See you at the meeting,” Bethany said, and hefted her pot onto a kitchen cart. She pushed it out the back door into the narrow alley, and then, holding the lid with one hand, crossed the street to Newbridge Station.
A scaffolding had been built around the station’s ornate marble facade for the upcoming restoration, and swaths of plastic sheeting prevented tools and debris from falling on pedestrians below. Though she knew the entrance would look amazing once the restoration was finished, right now it looked like the building wore a shroud. Bethany felt like she was in mourning, too. The restoration meant her little kiosk had to close while the work took place—which could take a month or more!
Probably more. She sighed and pushed the door open, pulling the cart through it behind her.
Olive spotted her right away. “Hi, honey! Can you believe this mess?” She gestured around at the drop cloths and barriers that marked work areas inside the station. “They’ve totally dismantled Souperb, too.”
Bethany looked over where her kiosk usually stood and was shocked to see the area vacant. It seemed impossible that the station could be put back in order in only a few weeks. Her stomach twisted.
How in the world am I going to pay the bills this month?
She couldn’t think about that now. “Where’s the meeting?” she asked.
“Concourse,” Olive said briskly. “Let me grab my stuff and I’ll come with you.” She hustled back into the Honor Roll Bakery and emerged with a basket nearly overflowing with golden-brown breadsticks that were studded with roasted garlic cloves and rosemary. It took all of Bethany’s willpower not to grab one right then and there and cram it into her face.
Olive leaned toward her as they headed for the rows of antique benches that made up the station waiting area. “Watch out for the TV guy. He keeps getting all up in my face with that camera,” she said in a low voice.
“TV guy?” Bethany asked, but Olive didn’t have time to answer before a burly man in a tight suit approached and stuck out his hand.
“Chuck. Chuck Bolton. You can call me Chuck, although my friends call me ‘The Tenderizer.’ Mind if we shoot a candid? Ned, move around here so you can see her face.”
A thin guy with a ponytail and glasses maneuvered a TV camera on a dolly around Chuck and pointed it at Bethany. Chuck turned so he stood beside Bethany, and before she could respond, he launched into a monologue.
“I’m Chuck ‘The Tenderizer’ Bolton”—he slammed his fist into his palm—“and we are here in Newbridge, Connecticut, to watch local chefs throw down their chili-making skills in another episode of the Ultimate Freakin’ Cook-off.”
“Smile,” Ned mouthed to Bethany from behind the camera, and she pasted on what she hoped was a convincing expression.
“I’ve got one of the contestants here.” Chuck turned to her. “Give us a little intro and tell us how you’re going to deliver a beat-down to your competition!”
“Um, ah...” Bethany stuttered. “I’m Bethany Bradstreet? And, um...”
Chuck rolled his eyes and motioned to the camera. “Cut. Cut it, cut it. Let’s try that again. You ready?” He stared at Bethany with a mixture of skepticism and disappointment.
She took a deep breath to calm her jangling nerves. “Can we do this later? I need to set up the food table.”
“Sure,” Ned said, adjusting his glasses. “We can work around your schedule.”
Chuck grinned. “Lettin’ a little lady push you around, huh, Ned?”
“I’m not—” Ned began, and Bethany took the opportunity to hurry after Olive, who was already setting out her breadsticks on a table near the benches.
She moved her soup from the cart to the warmer and placed a stack of bowls near the pot. “What a nightmare,” she muttered.
“Right?” Olive said. “He already waylaid Garrett at the bakery this morning. You can imagine how that went over.” Olive’s husband Garrett had always been something of a curmudgeon, but he’d become even crabbier as his health problems had increased.
“How’s he feeling?” Bethany looked at Olive sympathetically. “Has he started treatment yet?”
Olive shook her head, lips pressed into a thin line, as she set out the cutlery and napkins. “Not yet.” She clearly didn’t want to talk any more about it.
Bethany pushed the empty cart around to the back of the table. An orange ball of fluff yowled and streaked from under the table across the concourse and hid behind a trash can.
“Sorry, Caboose!” Bethany called, wincing. “Didn’t mean to get your tail!”
Olive waved her hand. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just all wound up over the renovation. Ben’s not doing the rounds since the Zamrail trains aren’t stopping here, so the cat’s not getting his exercise. He’s going a little stir-crazy.”
Bethany grimaced. “I wonder how he’s going to take it when the construction noise starts.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” Olive shrugged, and then her face lit up as she spied someone over Bethany’s shoulder. “Kimmy! Finally!”
Bethany turned to see her friend and roommate approaching. Kimmy held a huge salad bowl out in front of her, and had a dour French chef following behind her.
Monsieur Adrian. He doesn’t look too happy—but does he ever?
Kimmy set the salad down on the table and took a moment to fluff the greens with the serving tongs.
“Looks beautiful,” Bethany said, and Monsieur Adrian snorted. “You disagree?”
He pursed his lips and sniffed. “So simplistic.”
“Sometimes simple is best,” Bethany said, glancing at Kimmy to gauge her reaction. Kimmy subtly shook her head.
“Simplicity is for beginners,” Monsieur Adrian said in his thick French accent. He looked disdainfully at Bethany’s pot of minestrone, and then back at her. “Obviously.”
Kimmy nudged Bethany with her elbow and Bethany bit her tongue before she said something she’d regret. They both stared at the floor.
“Why don’t I introduce you to the television host, Chef?” Olive asked, breaking the awkward silence. Monsieur Adrian nodded and followed her over to where Chuck Bolton had Garrett cornered.
“Why is Chuck bothering Garrett so much?” Bethany asked Kimmy. “Olive said he already talked to him this morning.”
“Garrett’s one of the contestants. Didn’t Olive tell you?” Kimmy looked at her curiously.
“They’re hoping the prize money will help them afford Garrett’s treatment.”
“I didn’t even know there was prize money—and I didn’t know Garrett could cook!” Bethany reeled with the new information. “Isn’t their insurance paying for the chemo?”
Kimmy shook her head. “It only covers half the cost. And chemo ain’t cheap. Hey, the meeting’s getting started, so you should sit down. I’m going to split.”
Bethany saw she was right—the rest of the people there were drifting toward the concourse benches, which had been set up in a semicircle. “You meeting up with Charley?”
Kimmy shook her head. “I have to do the lunch service at the café, and then she has softball practice tonight. There’s a big game on Monday.”
Bethany smiled. Charley, Kimmy’s girlfriend and one of Newbridge’s sharpest police detectives, had become a good friend over the last year. She visited the cottage so often, it was almost like she lived there. But as much as Bethany liked Charley, and as much as she enjoyed seeing Kimmy so happy, sometimes she missed the closeness they’d once shared when they were both single. “Guess I’ll have you to myself, then! I’ll see you after work. We can make cocktails.”
“Just like old times.” Kimmy grinned and waved Bethany toward the benches. “Good luck. You got this, girl.”
Maybe she misses me, too. The thought buoyed Bethany’s confidence as she took a seat on a bench by Olive and Garrett. And maybe I can win this thing—especially if there’s prize money attached!
“Welcome!” Ben Kovac, the stationmaster, stood and clasped his hands as Ned scurried around handing out bottles of water to the assembled group. “We’re going to get started here in a minute. Then after we run through the rules, we’ll have some refreshments provided by the Honor Roll, Souperb, and Café Sabine, three of our local eateries.”
Everyone knows who we are—why is Ben being so weird? Bethany followed his gaze and realized exactly why—he was talking directly to Chuck Bolton.
