Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse (A Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery Book 1) (11 page)

INGREDIENTS

1lb buffalo chicken wings, with the drumette

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 carrots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

8 oz smoked bacon, chopped

14oz can chickpeas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained

14oz can crushed tomatoes

4 fl oz rosé wine (You can  use white if you prefer)

7fl oz chicken stock

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

A handful of chopped fresh parsley

METHOD

1. In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over a medium heat.
   
2. Add the chicken to the pan and fry, turning a few times, until golden brown.  (This step is not to cook the chicken completely - that comes later - so at this stage, just make sure it's nice and brown).
   
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover it with tinfoil to keep warm.
   
4. Add the remaining oil to the pan, along with the onion, carrot, garlic and bacon and cook over a gentle heat for five minutes, or until the onion and carrot are soft and the bacon is well browned.
   
5. Spoon or drain most of the fat from the pan (leave about a teaspoon behind) and add the paprika.  Cook for a minute and then add the wine and simmer until it has reduced by half. 
   
6. Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, chickpeas and salt and pepper to the pan, and bring everything to a boil. 
   
7. Return the chicken to the pan and turn the heat down to a simmer.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook until the chicken is completely cooked through.  This should take about 25 - 30 minutes, but depending on the size of the thighs could take a little less or more time to cook. 
   
8. Check the dish for seasoning, scatter with the fresh parsley and serve.
   

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced (You can leave these out if you prefer - many people in Spain don’t use anything other than potatoes, oil, eggs and salt in their tortilla, but I like this flavour of the onion.)

8 large eggs, whisked

1 teaspoon fresh thyme
or
½ teaspoon dried thyme (Again, you can leave this out if you prefer – personally, I love it!)

½ cup of olive oil (I know this sounds like a lot of oil, but it doesn’t make the tortilla greasy, and it makes a big difference to the end result.  I’ve tried it with less oil, and it doesn’t taste nearly as good.  If you don’t want to use that much oil, this recipe will still work with less – it just won’t taste quite the same.)

Salt and Pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Put the oil into a 10” non-stick skillet over a medium heat. 
   
2. Add the sliced potatoes to the skillet and cook over a medium heat for five minutes, or until they begin to soften.
   
3. Add the sliced onions and thyme (if using) to the potatoes, with salt and pepper to taste, and cook for a further five minutes, stirring everything together well.
   
4. Add the beaten eggs to the skillet and with a wooden spoon or plastic spatula, mix them quickly into the potato mixture until everything is well combined.
   
5. Turn down the heat to low, and shake the skillet to prevent the omelette from catching on the bottom.
   
6. Leave to cook gently until the eggs are set.
   
7. When the omelette is cooked, carefully hold a lid over the skillet and pour off any excess oil.  Be careful not to let the omelette tip out.
   
8. Flip the omelette onto a large plate and then slide it back into the pan for a minute to brown the top. 
   NB:
   If you have a heatproof skillet, you can put it under the broiler for a minute instead of turning it out.
   
9. Turn off the heat and allow the omelette to cool in the pan, before cutting into wedges and serving. 
   

Note;
This omelette is best eaten lukewarm, but it’s good cold too.  It also makes a delicious sandwich filling!

INGREDIENTS

2 Whiting fillets

A little oil

A small glass dry white wine

2 teaspoons fresh tarragon leaves

2 cloves garlic, broken open with a rolling pin or flat knife blade

1 lemon

2 teaspoon capers

10 whole cherry tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
   
2. You will need two sheets of baking paper (you can use tinfoil if you don't have baking paper), big enough to make a parcel around the fish, leaving a space at the top. 
   
3. Brush a little oil onto the sheet to help prevent the fish from sticking.
   
4. Place a slice of lemon in the centre of the sheet.  Place the fish fillet on top and put five whole cherry tomatoes, a teaspoon of capers and a garlic clove around it. 
   
5. Season well with salt and pepper and then scatter a teaspoon of tarragon leaves on top of the fish. 
   
6. Bring up the sides of the sheet and add half a glass of wine to each parcel, together with a squeeze of lemon juice.
   
7. Seal the parcel. 
   NB:
   Don't forget to leave a space at the top of the parcel so that the fish has room to steam.  
   
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes. 
   
9. Open the parcels at the table - the smell is gorgeous and the taste is even better!
   

Note:
These are good served with steamed green beans or wilted spinach, buttered carrots and baby potatoes.

Serves 10

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE

10 oz all-purpose flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 level teaspoon salt
2 level teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 level teaspoon ground ginger

1 level teaspoon ground nutmeg
7 oz dark brown sugar
3½ oz superfine sugar
4 large beaten eggs
9 fl oz sunflower oil (or half sunflower oil, half olive oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 carrots, peeled and grated (about 1 lb in weight)
14 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained
4 oz pecans, chopped (if you don't want to put these in, substitute with one extra carrot)

FOR THE FROSTING

6 oz softened cream cheese (leave out of the fridge for a while)
2 oz softened, unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 oz confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons milk
 

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4.  Line a 13" x 9" tin with non-stick baking paper.
   
2. Sift the first seven ingredients
   only
   into a large bowl, and then stir in the sugars until blended together.  Make a well in the centre.
   
3. In a jug or bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and vanilla extract and pour the mixture into the well.  Using an electric beater on a slow speed, gradually draw the flour mixture from the side of the bowl and then turn up the speed and beat until a smooth batter forms. 
   
4. Stir in the carrots and the crushed pineapple (and chopped nuts if using) until everything is mixed together well. 
   
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon or a pallet knife.
   
6. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 50 minutes – one hour, or until the cake is firm and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  (In my oven, it normally takes about an hour and 15 minutes to cook.) 
   
7. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to completely cool before removing from the tin and discarding the baking paper.
   
8. Make the frosting by beating together the cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla extract until smooth, and then gradually beating in the icing sugar until it's all combined.  Add a little milk if necessary to help make the icing a spreadable consistency and then decorate the top of the cake with it. 
   
9. Refrigerate for about an hour before cutting into squares and serving.
   

Note:
  I've made this cake before just with granulated sugar when I haven't had brown or superfine sugar, and it's turned out fine.  I've also used mixed spice when I haven't had any ginger and it was OK, and I’ve also made it without nuts.  Again, it was perfectly fine.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, and publisher, of this piece of work, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews

This is a work of fiction.  All names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, or are used in an entirely fictitious manner.

Any other resemblance to organizations, actual events or actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Published by Sherri Bryan - Copyright ©2015

Hi, and thanks so much for reading my first Cozy Mystery novella,
Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse.

It was a joy to write, and I really hope you enjoyed it.  If you did, I would love to hear from you - as a new writer, your feedback is very important to me ... constructive criticism included!  Also, if you’d like to, I’d really appreciate it if you would leave me a review on Amazon.

I should mention that although this book has been proofread and edited more times than I can recall, there may still be the odd mistake within its pages.  If you should come across one, I’d be grateful if you could let me know so I can put it right.

You can contact me by email at
[email protected]
, on Twitter @sbryanauthor or on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/sherribryanauthor
.

Even if you’d just like to say ‘hi’, just drop me a message and introduce yourself – I’d love for you to get in touch!

Anyway …. if you’d like to receive news about forthcoming books, along with details of free downloads from time to time, please visit my website at
http://sherribryan.com
where you can sign up to my mailing list.  Don’t worry, I respect your privacy and I promise I won’t flood your inbox with messages, nor will I ever share your name or email address with anyone!  

Thanks again for taking an interest in my book - I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series.

Wishing you warm regards,

Sherri Bryan

Sherri Bryan lives in Spain with her husband and their two dogs. 

She’d never read a Cozy Mystery until 2014, when she accidentally downloaded the wrong book onto her e-reader, but thought she might as well read it anyway.

Her love of Cozy Mysteries started that day, and since then, she’s read many more, finding new authors to add to her list of favourites along the way, and enjoying the different approach and style that each author lends to their own Cozy Mystery stories.  

Apart from writing, Sherri’s main interests include cooking, reading, watching crime dramas and her dogs.  When she’s not tapping away on her keyboard, you’ll most likely find her in the kitchen, playing with her two rescue dogs, or curled  up somewhere with her nose in a book

Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse –
the first in the Charlotte Denver Cozy Mystery series -
is her debut story in this genre.