Enjoy some recipes the characters would enjoy and get a better look into their lives.
Chocolate needs to be re-tempered after melting to make sure you have a chocolate that doesn’t soften at room temperature or fall apart when filled or molded. There are several methods of tempering chocolate. I’m giving you the simplest.
To Temper Dark Chocolate: Chop the chocolate. Heat half of it in the top half of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stirring until the chocolate’s temperature reads between 115 and 120 degrees on a candy thermometer (the chocolate will melt quickly, and the temperature may already be high enough, even before all the chocolate is melted). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir until the chocolate is melted through and smooth. Add the rest of the chocolate in batches until it is all incorporated. Adding the chocolate in this method will “seed” the chocolate with crystals and make sure it tempers correctly. Stir continually. When the chocolate starts to thicken check the temperature again. You will want it to be cooler than 90 degrees before you stop stirring. At this point it is tempered and you can use it as such.
To test whether it’s tempered you can dip a knife into it and put it in the fridge for a few minutes. The sample should harden well.
Milk chocolate and white chocolate tempers at between 86 and 88 degrees.
Make sure you are using edible oils and flavorings (they should be labeled as such). Essential oils meant for bath products and crafting uses can be toxic if ingested.
Several people have asked for the truffle recipe Felicity makes in Grand Openings Can Be Murder. She’s all about creating meaning through flavor in the kitchen, and this truffle reflects her confusion over her two potential love interests, as there are elements here that represent each of them. Each chocolate will react a little differently, so you may need to adjust the chocolate to cream ratio in order to get a ganache that is solid enough to roll. The test for this recipe was done with a fairly average 70% chocolate. If you want to make different truffles, you can vary the flavoring oils.
1 c. heavy cream
1 sprig of tarragon
4 sprigs of thyme
6 basil leaves
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. white pepper
1 lb. dark chocolate, chopped
6 drops lemon flavoring oil or extract
4 drops bergamot flavoring oil or extract
4 drops rose flavoring oil or extract
Cocoa powder, for rolling
Cocoa nibs, for topping
Place the cream, tarragon, thyme and basil in a small pot, and bring just to a simmer over medium-low heat. Turn the heat off and allow the herbs to steep for 20 minutes. Strain out the herbs and add the lemon zest and white pepper. Discard herb solids. Return the cream to the pot and heat over medium-low until the cream starts to steam.
Place the chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the cream over it, and allow it to sit for several minutes, until the chocolate starts to melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Add the flavoring oils and whisk again. Place the ganache in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Roll the ganache mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into the cocoa powder, and then press a few cocoa nibs into the top.
As Felicity says in the book, there are a ton of ways to make gumbo, and everyone has their favorite. This is how we make it in our house. You can vary this with different proteins (shrimp and crab are a popular choice) depending on what’s on hand. Okra and filé powder are traditional ingredients in gumbo. But they are both thickeners, so I usually skip okra and add just a little filé, since I don’t like my gumbo super thick. If you don’t like the taste of file, you can easily omit it, since it is added to taste to each serving. If you prefer okra in your gumbo, add about half a pound of sliced okra to the mix. You can make your own roux, but there’s no shame in using the jarred variety (we’ve done both ways, and there’s not a noticeable difference). I grew up in Southeast Texas (the Beaumont/Port Arthur area), and Douget’s Rice Mill is local to Beaumont, so I grew up using their roux (still recommend), but since my husband and I moved to north of Dallas, we find Kary’s is easier to find (and is available on Amazon, if you can’t get it locally).
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ lbs. boneless chicken, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp. roux
½ lb. andouille sausage
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground black pepper
½ to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
¼ c. dried parsley
Filé powder, for serving
Cooked rice, for serving
One of my favorite chocolate shops is in Deep Ellum (a neighborhood in Dallas). CocoAndre isn’t just a chocolate maker – it’s also a horchateria and they do the BEST dirty horchata. When I designed my fictional chocolate shop, I wanted to include more than just chocolate, because that wouldn’t make for a shop where people would linger, to be a gathering place for my fictional community. CocoAndre was my model for Felicity’s shops coffee bar – so of course, her assistant Carmen’s specialty is dirty horchata. Horchata isn’t difficult to make – it just requires a bit of advance planning, since you’ll want the rice to infuse into the water overnight. Make sure to cool the espresso before adding it to the drink, because warm coffee will melt the ice and water it down. I tend to drink beverages with less sweetener, so I personally drop the sugar in this recipe to ¼ cup. You could bump it up to a whole cup if you like things really sweet. If you want a boozy version, you could add half a shot of Kahlua to each glass.
1 1/3 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
2 cinnamon sticks, crushed
1 ½ c. milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ c. granulated sugar
chilled espresso or cold-brew concentrate (1 to 2 shots per serving)
Place the rice, crushed cinnamon sticks and 2 cups of water in a blender. Blend for 2 minutes. Add an additional 2 cups of water and blend for another two minutes. Transfer the rice and water mixture to a lidded pitcher and let sit out at room temperature for around 12 hours.
Pour the rice mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a second pitcher. Discard the solids. Stir in the milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar. Chill for at least half an hour.
For each drink, fil a glass with ice and fill ¾ of the way with horchata. Add 1 to 2 shots of chilled espresso.
When I started working on Grand Openings Can Be Murder, I impulsively had Carmen making cupcakes for the titular grand opening party. But I didn’t want them to be just any cupcakes – they were chocolate cinnamon cupcakes with lemongrass frosting – which is an actual recipe I had created for my cookbook, There are Herbs in My Chocolate. I decided that the herb and chocolate thing would be Carmen’s signature cooking style. So when she makes besos later in the book, they’re not just besos – they’re chocolate chunk besos, rolled in lavender coconut. In the second book, she makes spicy orange cookies and conchas with rosemary and cayenne. Here’s the recipe that sets the tone for Carmen’s character and establishes her cooking style. I hope you enjoy the combination of flavors as much as I do. The frosting for these cupcakes combines cinnamon whiskey with lemongrass-infused butter. The cinnamon hits you first – and then the lemon comes in as a back note. Lemongrass is too gritty/abrasive to mince into a baked good, and you don’t want to add too much liquid to a frosting, so do take the time to infuse the butter and cool it back to solid. For a non-alcoholic version, add two tsp. of cinnamon to the frosting, and add milk to make up the missing liquid.
1 c. cocoa powder
2 c. hot coffee
2 ⅔ c. all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 c. butter, room temperature
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 batch Lemongrass Buttercream Frosting
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper wrappers.
Combine the cocoa powder and the hot coffee in a medium bowl. Stir to dissolve. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Stir in the chocolate mixture and mix to a uniform color.
Scoop 2 Tbsp. of batter into each paper cup. Bake 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then frost with Lemongrass Buttercream Frosting.
Lemongrass Buttercream Frosting
1 batch Lemongrass-Infused butter
Shortening, as needed
4 c. sifted confectioners’ sugar
4 Tbsp. cinnamon whiskey
Measure the lemongrass butter, and add enough shortening to total one cup.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl frequently. Add the cinnamon whiskey and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
Lemongrass Infused Butter
2 stalks fresh lemon grass
1 c. butter
2 tsp. lemon zest
Trim and discard tough tops and root ends from lemon grass. Remove and discard tough outer layers.
Cut each stalk lengthwise in half, and cut into 2-inch pieces. Place the butter in a saucepan pan, and add the lemongrass pieces. Over high heat, melt the butter. When butter is melted, turn heat to low and stir often until flavors are blended, 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the butter into a bowl. Add the lemon zest. With a slotted spoon, lift out and discard lemon grass. Let cool, cover, and chill until solid.
In my book, Felicity’s aunt brings jambalaya to share with a grieving family. Some jambalaya recipes have you cook the rice in the sauce, but this tends to give you a drier result, as the rice sucks moisture out of the sauce. Serving the jambalaya over the rice also allows people to choose more or less rice to go with the dish. If, like Naomi, you’re taking the food somewhere to be part of a buffet, you can always toss the sauce together with the cooked rice just before you head out the door. The sausage has to be part of this dish, but you can substitute other proteins for the chicken. Popular choices include shrimp, duck, turkey, wild boar or alligator.
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. boneless chicken, cubed
1 ½ lb. smoked andouille sausage, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can peeled diced tomatoes
1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning blend
1 tsp. ground thyme.
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, minced, for serving
Cooked rice, for serving
Place the olive oil in a deep skillet or pot over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown through. Add the sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook stirring frequently until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and the Cajun seasoning blend, thyme, and cayenne pepper, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for an hour or more. Serve over rice, sprinkled with fresh parsley.
In Grand Openings Can Be Murder, Felicity Koerber makes bean to bar craft chocolate. To entice people new to bean to bar chocolate to try it out, she makes a whole line of truffles inspired by traditional Cajun desserts. Here, I’ve reversed the idea and given you a recipe for a dessert that incorporates single origin chocolate into the sauce. To counterpoint the pecans, choose a fruity-noted chocolate. This comforting dessert combines rustic bread pudding studded with raisins and pecans with an elevated version of a classic Cajun-style whiskey sauce. You can use whatever kind of whiskey you like. For a non-alcoholic version, omit whiskey and add a tablespoon of vanilla and several gratings of nutmeg for flavor.
butter, for greasing
3 1/2 to 4 c. day-old French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ c. heavy cream
1 c. whole milk
2 large eggs
½ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans
Powdered sugar, for garnish
1 batch Single-Origin Chocolate Whiskey Sauce
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 4 (6-inch) ramekins with butter and set aside.
Place the bread cubes in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the heavy cream, milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt. Whisk to combine, then add the pecans and raisins. Stir until uniform, then pour the custard mixture over the bread. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is uniform, the allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Divide the pudding mixture evenly in the four ramekins and bake 40-45 minutes or until the center of the bread pudding is set. Dust on a little powdered sugar and top with warm chocolate whiskey sauce. Serve warm.
Single-Origin Chocolate Whiskey Sauce
6 oz. single-origin dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
2 Tbsp. whiskey
Place chocolate in the top portion of a double boiler (there should be roughly 2 inches of water in the bottom pan) over medium heat, stirring frequently until the chocolate is melted through. Remove from heat and set aside. Set aside.
Whisk together the milk and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk until the chocolate is completely incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Add the cream, and whisk to incorporate. Let cool completely, then stir in the whiskey. Serve on top of bread pudding or other dessert.
My agent is in Minnesota, so I thought it would be fun to have a character who’s from there too. My husband and I visited Minnesota in 2019 for a writing event, and we talked to so many people who were excited to share their favorite local food (we had just missed the fair, which is apparently a big deal). When I had Logan make Felicity a meal that represented his home kitchen, I had to go hotdish. Felicity’s a foodie, and I needed Logan to be a good match for her, so I made his cooking style all about elevated comfort food. He’ll eat tater tot casserole – but he’s going to make his mushroom soup from scratch. Make your batch of cream of mushroom first, then the casserole will come together easily. You can add some fresh or frozen veggies if you want to bump up the nutrition.
Butter, for greasing
1 lb. ground beef
½ c. onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. salt
1 package (16 ounces) frozen tater tots
1 ½ c. cream of mushroom soup (see recipe below)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Grease a two quart baking dish with the butter. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook until the onion becomes translucent and the beef is cooked through. Drain any grease, then add the garlic powder, pepper and salt.
Pour the ground beef mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading to make a smooth layer. Add the frozen tater tots, making another layer. Pour the homemade cream of mushroom soup over the tater tots. Top with the shredded cheese.
Place the baking dish in the prepared oven and bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes, or until heated through.
In Grand Openings Can Be Murder, Felicity%u2019s assistant Carmen makes baked goods from Felicity%u2019s chocolate. One of the things she makes is chocolate-chunk pan dulce %u2013 in this case Besos (the word is Spanish for kisses), also known as yo-yos, because that%u2019s what they look like. There are a number of variations on what they%u2019re sandwiched together with, and how they%u2019re coated. Carmen%u2019s cooking style takes classics and basics %u2013 and then elevates them by incorporating herbs and spices (this ties into everything I learned writing There are Herbs in My Chocolate). We used home-made strawberry jam which was thick and sticky, which helped the two halves of the bread to really stick together. And don%u2019t be afraid to really grease the outside of the assembled besos, to get the coating to stick.
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons baking powder
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, plus one additional yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup water
1 cup chocolate chunks
1 tablespoon food grade lavender flowers
1 tablespoon caster sugar, plus 2 additional tablespoons
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, yeast and baking powder. Set aside.
Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and cream the mixture until it becomes fluffy. Add the eggs and the vanilla, then mix until well combined. Add the flour mixture, the water, and the vanilla extract. Mix on low for 1 minute, to combine and then increase the speed to medium. Continue mixing until the dough takes on a soft, smooth texture (about 10-20 minutes). Add the chocolate chunks and work them into the mixture using your hands or a spoon.
Using a 2-ounce baking scoop or the palm of your hand, place half spheres of dough roughly 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the spheres are browned (about 15-20 minutes). Cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle, combine the lavender flowers and the tablespoon of caster sugar. Grind until you achieve a fine powder, then put the powder through a fine-mesh strainer. Re-grind any remaining solids. Discard anything that won%u2019t go through the strainer. Place the lavender sugar in a medium bowl, add the remining caster sugar and the coconut flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of strawberry jam on the flat side of one cooled beso half. Place another half, flat side against the filling to create a sandwich with the jam in the middle. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to stick better.
Using your fingers, coat the cooled beso halves with the room-temperature butter. Roll into coconut sugar mixture, then tap off the excess coconut.
Cream of Mushroom Soup (Small Batch) –
This should make about enough for your hotdish. If you want to make enough to either eat the soup as soup, or to have cream of mushroom in the freezer for later, here ‘s a link to the full batch recipe.
1 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. onions, diced
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. shitake mushrooms, diced
1 c. baby portabella mushrooms, diced
2 Tbsp. Marsala wine (any dry red or white wine)
1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 pinch dried thyme
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 c. beef stock
¼ c. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Melt butter and oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is softened and starts to turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and let them cook down a bit (4-6 minutes) then add the wine and cook for a few more minutes. Add the flour, thyme, salt and pepper to the mixture, and mix until the flour is completely combined. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, then add the stock and stir until the mixture is uniform. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally until thickened (around 30 minutes).
Reduce heat to low, stir in cream and parsley. Simmer for and additional 4-6 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil). Adjust seasonings. Pull out ¼ cup of the mixture and set aside. Puree the rest of the soup using an immersion blender until smooth, then return the remaining soup to the pot and stir to incorporate.
Cream of Mushroom Soup (Full Batch) –
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 c. onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. shitake mushrooms, diced
4 c. baby portabella mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup Marsala wine (any dry red or white wine)
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 c. beef stock
1 c. heavy cream
¼ c. fresh parsley, chopped
Melt butter and oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is softened and starts to turn translucent. Add the mushrooms and let them cook down a bit (4-6 minutes) then add the wine and cook for a few more minutes. Add the flour, thyme, salt and pepper to the mixture, and mix until the flour is completely combined. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, then add the stock and stir until the mixture is uniform. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
Simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally until thickened (around 30 minutes).
Reduce heat to low, stir in cream and parsley. Simmer for and additional 4-6 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil). Adjust seasonings. Pull out two cups of the mixture and set aside. Puree the rest of the soup using an immersion blender until smooth, then return the remaining soup to the pot and stir to incorporate. Measure 1 ½ cups of the completed soup for your hotdish recipe. Reserve remaining soup for another use.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity gets a new neighbor. Mrs. Guidry opens a café across the street from Greetings and Felicitations. When Felicity and Logan visit, even Logan is impressed with the crawfish pie. At our house, we like the 3-2-1 pie crust recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio, but you can use whatever recipe you want. You can also make a full batch of the recipe and put a top crust on the pie, if you prefer. If you don’t have the time to slow roast tomatoes, you can used diced fresh tomatoes, but it won’t have the same depth of flavor.
½ recipe pie crust (enough for one crust)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
¾ c. onion, finely diced
¼ c. shallot, minced
½ c. celery, minced
½ c. green bell pepper, finely diced
½ c. red bell pepper, finely diced
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
¼ c. flour
1 lb. crawfish tail meat
½ c. slow roasted tomatoes (see recipe), diced
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 c. heavy cream
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 egg, beaten
¼ c. Panko breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Roll out dough and place in a deep dish pie pan. Use pie weights or a piece of parchment paper to weigh down the dough as you partially bake it. Place prepared crust in the oven for 7-10 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, place the butter and olive oil in the bottom of a large over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic and Cajun seasoning. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened and the onion turns translucent. Sprinkle the flour onto the mixture and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes, then add the crawfish tails, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce. Cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the cream. Remove from heat. Temper the egg with a little of the crawfish mixture, then pour the egg into the mixture and stir thoroughly to combine. Add the breadcrumbs and stir to combine.
Transfer the crawfish mixture into the pie crust. Bake until the filling is set and the crust is completely cooked through, 25-30 minutes.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity is throwing a party, and Carmen (Felicity’s barista and pastry chef) knows that the guest of honor is a fan of both cinnamon and lavender. So she creates this drink to offer at the party. I am a huge fan of London Fog, so this is one of my favorites too. If needed, you can use a dairy-free milk alternative, such as soy or almond milk. You will need some way to froth the milk. We used the frother on our espresso machine, but you can also use an electric milk frother that heats the milk at the same time. (Alternately, you can just use hot milk, but the drink won’t have the same texture. Heat the milk until it steams, but do not let it boil.)
1 c. whole milk
2 c. brewed Lavender Earl Gray Tea, hot
3 Tbsp. cinnamon simple syrup
Ground cinnamon, for garnish
Pour the hot tea into two large mugs. Add the cinnamon syrup stir to combine.
Froth the milk in a milk frother or using the steam attachment of an espresso machine.
Slowly pour in the frothed milk, so that the layer of froth floats on top, slowly pouring in the froth at the end. Garnish with a sprinkling of cinnamon, and serve immediately.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity interacts with an international team of researchers who have come to Galveston to research local plants and animals. One of them takes a job at her shop – and then promptly goes missing. But not before giving Felicity a bowl of this stew, with is a classic Spanish dish. Make sure you are using Spanish chorizo – which is a hard, sliceable sausage packed with paprika – rather than Mexican chorizo, which is soft. This does get a bit greasy as it cooks, so be prepared to skim the fat off the top.
6 bone-in chicken thighs
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. Spanish chorizo, sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 c. white wine
2 ½ c. chicken stock
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 c. green olives, pitted and sliced
Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the chicken thighs.
Place the olive oil in a large Dutch over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add half of the chicken thighs, and brown them, turning during cooking (approximately 8-10 minutes). Transfer the chicken thighs to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining chicken thighs.
Add the chorizo to the Dutch oven. Cook the chorizo until it releases a bit of the fat. Then add the onion and bell peppers. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bell pepper is softened and the onion turns translucent. Add the garlic, parsley, thyme, paprika, cumin, and bay leaves. Cook for an additional two minutes, then remove the chorizo and vegetables and set aside.
Add the white wine to the Dutch oven, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, and then add the chicken stock, orange juice, orange zest, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir until the mixture is uniform, then return the chicken, chorizo and vegetables to the Dutch Oven.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then the heat to medium low. Cover the Dutch oven and cook for an hour, or until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally.
If the sauce is still thin after, remove the chicken and increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the sauce thickens. Skim the extra grease off of the surface. Return the chicken to the pan. Add the sliced olives and stir to combine. Heat the stew through, then serve warm, either over rice or with a side of crusty bread.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity gets to dinner at a fictional steak house on Galveston Island (which is somewhat generically named The Steak House). She winds up ordering crab cakes as an appetizer, because seafood is always an option when you’re on the cost. We made the sample crab cakes in the pic while visiting my parents’ house in Southeast Texas. That’s my dad frying the cakes in the video. If you want to cut back on the salt in these, half the Cajun seasoning and replace it with Paprika and Cayenne.
5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
¼ c. onion, minced
¼ c. orange bell pepper, minced
¼ c. celery, minced
1 egg
1 Tbsp. sour cream
½ tsp. dry mustard
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/3 c. Panko breadcrumbs, plus extra for dredging
1/2 lb. lump crabmeat, picked over
3 Tbsp. butter
1 recipe Cajun Rémoulade, for serving
Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. When the skillet is hot, add the onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile place the egg, sour cream, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce, and Cajun seasoning in a large bowl. Stir to combine well. Add the cooked vegetables, crabmeat and 1/3 cup breadcrumbs. Form into 4 – 5 cakes (about 3 inches in diameter). Dredge cakes in remaining breadcrumbs. Heat the remaining oil and the butter in a larger skillet over medium heat. Add the crab cakes to the pan and cook until browned on the bottom. Carefully flip the cakes and brown on the other side (approximately 8 minutes total). Serve warm with Cajun rémoulade.
Cajun Rémoulade
½ c. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. pickled jalapeno peppers
1 Tbsp. celery, minced
Juice from ½ a lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. scallions, sliced
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Serve with crab cakes.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Felicity gets a new neighbor. Mrs. Guidry opens a café across the street from Greetings and Felicitations. One of Felicity’s favorite foods on the menu there is the boudin balls. (If you aren’t familiar, boudin – sometimes spelled boudain – is a Cajun rice and pork sausage.) To make them, basically, you pull the boudin out of the casing, form balls and fry them. Boudin is one of those foods where it’s hard to get out of Southeast Texas or Louisiana, and everyone has their favorite. Jake is fond of the boudin at Market Basket (a local grocery store) in Nederland, TX (where my parents live). Some of our friends have favorite stops any time they make it home at specific grocery stores and meat markets along the route.
2 links boudin, removed from casing
1 ½ c. breadcrumbs
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. hot sauce
Vegetable oil, for frying
Heat the cooking oil to 370 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roll the meat and rice mixture into balls about the size of a walnut and set aside for a few minutes to firm up.
Pour the breadcrumbs on a plate and set aside. In an a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, and hot sauce. Dip the balls in the egg mixture to fully coat the ball. Dredge the balls in the breadcrumbs to coat. Drop the boudin balls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, approximately 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain. Serve warm or cold.
In my book 70% Dark Intentions, my protagonist a craft chocolate maker. As she is growing her business, she starts experimenting with making cocoa powder – just in time to take a huge order for gift baskets that include hot chocolate bombs, which are a fun way to show off that water solubility of cocoa powder.
To make your own hot chocolate bombs, you will need a mold to create the half-sphere shapes (2 1/2″ sphere mold, silicone or acrylic. We used two molds with a total 12 cavities to create six bombs at a time, repeating the entire process twice to get a dozen finished hot cocoa bombs). You will also need a thermometer to make sure you achieve the appropriate temperature to temper chocolate. Other than that, you can use equipment you probably already have in your kitchen. In the book Felicity adds cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne to her cocoa mixture, but you can leave it plain or flavor it any way you want.
24 oz. dark couverture chocolate, chopped, melted and tempered (You will need to monitor the temperature of the chocolate as you work to make sure it stays in temper. I have posted instructions for tempering chocolate HERE.)
12 cupcake wrappers
3 c. mini marshmallows
12 Tbsp. Cocoa Mix (see recipe below)
Steamed milk, for serving
Polish your molds with a paper towel. If desired, add any decoration that will be part of the chocolate. *
Spoon about a tablespoon of chocolate into the bottom of one of the cavities. Using swift strokes, paint the chocolate upward, ensuring that you cover every bit of the sides and edge. Repeat, one at a time, with each cavity, making sure to maintain the temperature of the chocolate as you work. Refrigerate the completely painted molds for five minutes. Add more chocolate to one of the cavities and paint a second coat of chocolate, making sure to fortify the rim of the sphere half. Repeat with the remaining cavities. Refrigerate the completely second-coated molds until completely set, 5 to 10 minutes. **
Release the chocolate half spheres from the molds and place 6 of them rim side up in the cupcake wrappers. Fill each half sphere with 1 tablespoon of cocoa mix and ¼ c. marshmallows.
Wear gloves for the remaining steps to avoid getting fingerprints on the chocolate shells. Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Take one of the remaining half sphere and place it rim-side down for a few seconds in the heated skillet. Immediately place it on top of one of the filled half spheres and press gently for a second or two to form a light seal. One at a time, place each cocoa bomb onto the rim of a glass or a tall round cookie cutter, or whatever you can find to stabilize it as you work. Brush a little melted chocolate around the joined edge to seal any cracks.
Decorate if desired, with sprinkles on the seal, or drizzles of white chocolate over the top, or any other edible design elements.
To serve: Place one hot cocoa bomb in the bottom of a large mug. Pour the steamed milk over the cocoa bomb and watch it melt open and the marshmallows pop up to the top.
* I used colored cocoa butter, painted in different patterns onto each cavity of the molds using a paintbrush, to add a pop of color. I chose pink because it reflects the cinnamon in the cocoa mix.
** If using acrylic molds, instead of painting on the chocolate, you can fill the cavities with tempered chocolate, and then pour it back into the bowl, leaving a coating on the mold. Set the mold upside down on waxed paper to continue draining, then refrigerate until set.
Cocoa Mix
8 Tbsp. powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
A pinch salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper (or ½ tsp., if you like things spicy)
Place all ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
In 70% Dark Intentions, Carmen has been promoted to pastry chef at Felicity’s shop. She’s still using her signature cooking style – taking traditional pan dulce recipes and giving them a twist with spices and herbs. Here, she’s made conchas – but with a spicy chocolate-rosemary topping. The flavor of the topping itself reminds me of the Fireball candy from when I was a kid.
vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl
½ c. milk
3 ½ c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
½ c. sugar, plus 1 tsp. for proofing yeast
1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
½ tsp. salt
½ c. unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 batch chocolate herb topping
Heat the milk until it is warm, but do not allow to boil. Add the yeast and 1 tsp. of sugar. Set aside. Grease a large mixing bowl and set aside. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low, just until combined.
Add the butter and mix thoroughly on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each. Then add the vanilla extract and slowly pour in ¼ c. of the milk, slowly adding more and mixing between additions until you have a cohesive dough (you may not need all the milk).
Switch to the dough hook attachment and continue mixing about 7 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the large greased bowl, rolling the ball to grease on all sides. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot and allow the dough to rest until it doubles in size (roughly 1-2 hours).
Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate herb topping and set aside.
Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, and shape the dough into 16 equal-sized balls. Place them on the lined baking sheets. Use your fingers to generously grease the top and sides of each ball with shortening.
Place the topping balls one at a time onto a sheet of plastic and flatten them into discs. Peel each disc off the plastic and place it on one of the dough balls, pressing down firmly until the whole thing forms a dome shape. Use a knife or a concha cutter to mark the top with “swoop” shapes, to resemble a shell.
Place the baking sheets in a warm place, and allow the conchas to rise until almost double in size.
Preheated your oven to 325º degrees. Bake the conchas for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned. Allow to cool completely, and serve with a strong cup of coffee.
NOTE: You can freeze shaped, topped conchas on a sheet tray before baking and store in a plastic bag in the freezer until ready to bake.
Chocolate Herb Topping
½ c. vegetable shortening, plus extra for greasing dough
1 c. confectioner sugar
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. dried rosemary, finely ground
½ tsp. cumin, ground
½ tsp. cayenne pepper, ground
¼ tsp. cracked black pepper
Place the shortening in a medium bowl, and whip it with a spatula or spoon until it becomes very creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Divide into 16 balls, and use to top the conchas before baking.
In Out of Temper, Felicity gets invited to do chocolate demos on a cruise ship. I wanted the ship to be a new venture, out of Texas, since the boat is sailing out of Galveston. So I decided the cruise line was going to focus on Texas flavors, which is, after all, part of what shaped Felicity’s cooking style. There’s nothing more Texas than barbecue, and my favorite barbecue is brisket. The ingredients in this recipe are the way my mom cooked brisket when I was growing up, but the cook method is all Jake, who is our household’s barbecue expert.
5 lb. brisket
1 c. barbecue sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 clove garlic, minced
2 onions, minced
1 can beer
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp/ freshly ground black pepper
Place brisket in roasting pan. Combine remaining ingredients in bowl; mix well. Pour over brisket. Roast in 275 degree oven for 6 hours, basting occasionally with beer mixture. After brisket reaches 145-155 degrees internally, wrap in foil and place back in the oven for the remainder of the time until the internal temperature reaches 195.
I’ve adored the Victoria Sponge (a.k.a. a Victoria Sandwich) since Mary Berry assigned it to the contestants in Season 4 of Great British Bake Off. It’s such a simple design. And it feels like the more elegant cousin of the strawberry shortcake (which has a more biscuit-like base).
You know me – I can’t leave anything alone. Not even a classic like Victoria Sponge. So when I wrote one into Out of Temper, I wanted to add a chocolate element. But I didn’t want to ruin the look or feel, so it had to be white chocolate. And since Victoria herself was addicted to lavender, adding lavender was a no brainer.
This frosting is a bit on the sweet side. (After all, anything involving white chocolate is going to be.) If you prefer your desserts less sweet, you can substitute whipped cream. Both buttercream and whipped cream are classics in this cake. You can also use raspberry jam in place of the strawberry if you want a tart note.
NOTE: Not all herbs are suitable for everyone. Always check if herbs you want to include are appropriate.
1 ½ c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 c. caster sugar
1 c. softened butter, plus extra for greasing pans
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. milk
1 batch white chocolate buttercream
1 batch strawberry lavender jam
confectioner’s sugar, to decorate
Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter two 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
Place the caster sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the mixer on medium, cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix on medium until well combined before adding the next one. Add the milk and mix briefly. Add the flour mixture in three progressive additions, and mix until it makes a smooth, soft batter.
Pour the mixture into the cake pans, dividing evenly. Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, or until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn each cake out onto a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely.
Spread the strawberry jam on the top of one of the sponges. Top with beads of white chocolate buttercream. Place the second sponge on top. Dust the top of the top layer with confectioner’s sugar.
3 c. strawberries
11/2 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. lavender flowers
Juice of ½ lemon
Wash and hull strawberries and slice using an egg slicer. Combine the strawberries and the lavender sugar in a large pot and heat slowly until the juices become clear (4-6 minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice. Bundle the lavender flowers into a square of cheesecloth and tie securely. Add the bundle to the strawberry mixture. Cover the pot loosely with plastic wrap let stand overnight. When you are ready to proceed, remove and discard the lavender flowers. Heat 2 or 3 ladles full of the strawberry mixture in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir for 3 -5 minutes, or until the preserves pass one of the tests for reaching the gel state.
Cool completely before you use as a filling. Refrigerate leftovers.
1/2 c. butter, softened
6 oz. white chocolate, melted and cooled somewhat
1 1/4 c. confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add the melted white chocolate and beat until thoroughly combined. Turn off the mixer and the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat at low speed until it forms a fluffy frosting.
Sunset Cruises’ Roast Beef Sandwiches *A (As Written for Bean to Bar Bonuses)
For the cruise line I invented for Out of Temper, I wanted the chef’s sensibility to be upscale (as typical for “cruise food”) but with a Texas flair. One thing I’ve found ships I’ve been on always do well is sandwiches and cuts of meat. So I wrote in a scene where Felicity and Logan don’t have time for a meal in the dining room and grab roast beef sandwiches instead. Which left me to figure out: what would this Texan chef do to combine the sensibilities, and still have the sandwich feel upscale? I started with the rub on the beef, giving it an earthy note with coffee. Then I added pepperjack cheese and pickled okra to the sandwich ingredients. Because if pickled okra doesn’t say Texas, then nothing does.
These are generous sandwiches. If you make them on smaller rolls – or even on toast – adjust the amount of toppings accordingly. If you don’t like grainy mustard, use yellow mustard, or your favorite mayo (in our house, we’re fans of Japanese mayo).
For the roast:
1 (3-lb.) round roast
¼ c. olive oil
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. ground coffee
For each sandwich:
1 large round roll, cut in half to make a bun
6 slices roast beef
3 Tbsp. Grainy mustard
2 slices pepper jack cheese
¼ c. spring greens
pickled okra, sliced (appx. 2 pods)
tomato, sliced (appx. 3 slices)
onion, cut into rings (appx. 3 rings)
bell pepper, sliced (appx. 5 slices)
Let roast sit uncovered in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or until the next day. Remove from refrigerator and let sit for, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 525°. In a small bowl, combine oil, salt, pepper, and coffee. Rub all over roast. Be sure to get the bottom of the roast.
Place roast in roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Roast for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 275° and roast about 2 hours. Remove from oven and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. We usually use a bottom round roast. Even tougher and more lean cuts of meat will cook down and be tender.
Making the Sandwiches:
Place the bun on a plate, with both cut sides up. Divide the mustard and spread evenly on both cut sides. Stack the roast beef onto the bottom bun, top with cheese, lettuce and cut veggies and place the other half of the bun on top, cut side in. Slice sandwich in half vertically.
In Out of Temper, Felicity gets to show off some of her favorite creations when she does a demo on board the cruise ship the book is set on. One of the things she makes is her bread pudding truffles. In the first Bean to Bar mystery, I talk about how she does a lot of her truffle flavors as inspired off of traditional desserts. When I got around to actually making a recipe for this, the big challenge was to add an element that was reminiscent of the crisp edges of bread in the pudding. I tried a few different things before I hit on the idea of Whoppers (which are hard enough to stay crunchy on the outside of the ganache).
1 c. heavy cream
1 lb. dark chocolate, chopped
1/8 c. raisins
1/2 c. pecans
¼ c. whiskey
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
Crushed Malted Milk Balls, for rolling
Place the chopped chocolate in a deep dish with a wide surface area. Pour the cream over it, and allow it to sit for several minutes, until the chocolate starts to melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
Place the raisins, pecans, whiskey, cracked black pepper, cinnamon and cloves in the bowl of a blender or food processor. Process until as smooth as possible. Pour the mixture over the chocolate/cream mixture and whisk until evenly combined. Place the ganache in the freezer for at least half an hour.
Roll the ganache mixture into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball into the crushed malted milk balls.
Note: For gluten free, substitute crushed rice cereal for the milk balls. For nut free, omit pecans and allow for a longer cooling time.
Note: If you aren’t pressed for time, allow the ganache to set for several hours in the refrigerator instead of the shorter time in the freezer.
In Out of Temper, Felicity gets to go on a cruise to demo her chocolate making skills. I invented a cruise line sailing only out of Texas, so I wanted the food philosophy to be cruise ship fancy with a Texas flair. One thing I’ve always seen on ships is various forms of eggs benedict. (The cruise we recently went on even had a crab cake Benedict.) But since chicken fried steak is more or less synonymous with Texas, I wanted that to be the star of the dish Felicity gets on the cruise. I’ve actually gotten to try something similar at a local restaurant, but I wanted to make it a bit more unique to the Bean to Bar Mysteries sensibilities – and to match the sensibilities I imagined for the chef aboard the ship – so it’s built on a jalapeno biscuit (recipe also on the bonus page) and topped with a cocoa powder gravy, which gives the whole dish an earthy note. (No, it is not sweet.) Enjoy y’all!
For Steak:
1 lb. cube steak, trimmed of excess fat
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 whole eggs, beaten
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
For Poached Eggs:
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vinegar
½ tsp. salt
For Assembling:
1 cup fresh spinach leaves
2 jalapeno herb biscuits (see accompanying recipe)
Trim cube steak down to a square ½ inch longer and wider than the biscuit. Season each steak on both sides with the salt and pepper. Set aside. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place the eggs into a separate pie pan. Dredge the steaks on both sides in the flour, followed by the egg and finally in the flour again. Place the steaks onto a plate and allow them to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.
Place the vegetable oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Repeat until all of the meat is browned. Place on a plate and set aside.
Whisk in 2 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging and 1 Tbsp cocoa powder into the pan the steak was cooked in. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon. Season to taste, with more salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.
Pour enough water into a large sauce pan to reach a depth of about 3 inches, add vinegar. Bring sauce pan to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Get the water to swirl using a spoon. Crack an egg into a cup and carefully slide it into the hot swirling poaching liquid. Poach the egg, turning it occasionally with a spoon, until the whites are firm, or to the desired degree of doneness, about 3 1/2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the egg. Lightly dab the egg with a paper towel to remove any excess water. Repeat with the remaining eggs.
To assemble. Take half a biscuit and layer the steak, spinach, poached egg, and gravy. Serve immediately.
In Out of Temper, Felicity gets to go on a cruise to demo her chocolate making skills. I invented a cruise line sailing only out of Texas, so I wanted the food philosophy to be cruise ship fancy with a Texas flair. These biscuits become the base for a chicken fried steak benedict Felicity gets to try – with a biscuit base instead of an English muffin. I’ve gotten to try something similar at a local restaurant, but I wanted to make it my own. I needed to give a kick to a basic buttermilk biscuit here, so I added a bit of jalapeno and parsley.
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 ¾ c. sifted all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. baking soda
5 tbsp. butter
¾ c. buttermilk
2 tbsp. minced parsley
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place jalapeno in a small skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the jalapeno and saute until the jalapeno is soft. Set aside.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, onion powder and baking soda. Pour into a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Add buttermilk, jalapeno and parsley and lightly mix. Turn dough out onto floured board. Knead for ½ minute. Pat dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter. Bake 10 – 12 minutes.
I gave Carmen, the pastry chef at Felicity’s shop a particular cooking style, inspired by the cookbook Jake and I did together. She combines chocolate with herbs and spices, whether she’s doing something completely new, or re-working something traditional. In Out of Temper, there’s a crisis at the shop while Felicity is away on the cruise ship, and Carmen responds by taking charge and making minted pineapple chocolate empanadas to accommodate the unexpected crowd.
I love getting to riff on classic recipes, adding herbs and chocolate. This one took a few tries to get right. I wanted there to be enough chocolate flavor in the dough to be satisfying – but not so much that it would overwhelm the subtle taste of mint.
Dough Ingredients
½ tsp. anise seeds
1 cinnamon stick
½ c. shortening, melted
1 ½ c. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
½ c. granulated sugar, for dusting
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon ground, for dusting
Filling Ingredients
3 c. pineapple, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. dry hibiscus flowers (labeled food-grade)
2 Tbsp. mint leaves, minced (preferably a mix of spearmint and pineapple mint)
¾ c. piloncillo or dark brown sugar
1½ Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. lime juice
Place the anise seeds and the cinnamon stick in a small bowl and pour in ¼ cup of boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain, to keep liquid. Discard spice solids. Add the melted shortening and stir to combine. Set aside.
Place the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Gradually add the shortening mixture to the flour mixture and mix until it forms a dough. If the dough is sticky, add a little extra flour. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of cold water and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Place the pineapple in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and lime juice and stir until the brown sugar melts. Add the hibiscus flowers. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the mint leaves and cook for an additional two minutes. Add the cornstarch slurry and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the pineapple mixture from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 375 ºF.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 24 1½-inch dough balls.
Place one dough ball at a time in a tortilla press lined with wax paper and flatten into a circle. Place ½ to 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the dough circle.
Fold the dough over the filling (forming a half-moon shape and press the edges of the dough together with a fork to seal the empanada.
Transfer the filled empanadas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
In a shallow plate, combine the remaining sugar with the ground cinnamon. While still slightly warm, roll empanadas in the sugar mixture to coat.
In Out of Temper, my protagonist Felicity gets invited to do chocolate-making demos on board a cruise ship. She brings along samples of some baked goods from her shop to show what it possible to create using the unique flavor profiles found in craft chocolate.
The basil brownies she shows off were inspired by Italian flavors, of pesto and coffee. (One side of Felicity’s family is Italian, so it makes sense for her to draw from these flavors. She has a pastry chef who handles baking and recipe design, drawing from several different culinary traditions.) The strength of the basil makes for a sophisticated balance with the sweetness of the brownie. Don’t worry if your kitchen smells like you’re making something savory while the brownies are baking. It will be very “brownie-like” when you are done.4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¾ c. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. strong espresso
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ C. granulated sugar
3 eggs
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/3 c. tightly packed fresh basil, very finely minced
½ c. pine nuts
2 tbsp. candied lemon peel, coarsely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 brownie pan with parchment paper.
Place the chocolate, butter, espresso and vanilla extract in the top section of a double boiler over medium heat and whisk frequently until both chocolate and butter have melted and the mixture has a uniform consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, then whisk in the sugar, eggs, salt and pepper. Gradually add the flour and the basil. Stir until just combined. Add the pine nuts and candied lemon peel and stir briefly to incorporate.
Spread the batter into the prepared brownie pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack, then cut into squares.
In the 4th Bean to Bar Book, Carmen (the pastry chef at Felicity’s shop) is getting ready to promote her upcoming cookbook. Felicity’s blogger friend Tam Binh has showed up to help out. When Tam Binh shows up at the shop, she and Carmen decided to do some baking while podcasting. They start trying to outdo each other – while at the same time collaborating. They make traditional desserts that have special effects – but adding fusion-fun flavors. Carmen makes Chocoflan – because chocoflan does something special in the oven. Since Tam Binh brought pandan flavoring with her baking stuff, Carmen decides to throw it into the flan. And Tam Binh responds by making honeycomb cake – which is traditionally flavored with the pandan – with a café de olla-inspired mix of flavors. The honeycomb cake is fun, too, because it has to cool upside down. The book is first person and Felicity wasn’t there, but I imagined the scene in detail, even though Felicity only gets to hear Carmen talk about the results.
Chocoflan does a really cool trick in the oven: the layers switch places. You line the bottom of the pan with caramel, then scoop in the cake batter, and then pour on the flan. And somehow, the cake floats to the top to become the cake base when you flip it. I added pandan extract and coconut extract to the flan mixture to go with the events taking place in A Shot in the 80% Dark, but you could just as easily make a plain (more traditional) chocoflan by omitting the flavorings.
Butter, softened, to coat pan
4 Tbsp caramel sauce
10 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
⅓ c. Dark cocoa powder
1 ¼ c. buttermilk
8 oz. evaporated milk
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp pandan extract
½ Tbsp. coconut extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a Bundt pan generously with a butter, then drizzle the inside bottom of the pan with the caramel sauce.
For the cake:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture, and ½ of the buttermilk to the egg mixture and beat until smooth. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Blend until well incorporated.
For the flan:
In a blender, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, pandan extract, coconut extract, and eggs. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
To assemble:
Scoop the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and distributing evenly. Slowly pour the flan mixture over the cake batter.
Prepare a water bath by using a baking sheet with a lip that can hold the Bundt pan and ½ inch of water.
After sliding the pan into the oven add the water to the pan, and bake 1 hour, until the surface of the cake is firm to the touch, or an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When cake is done, remove from the water bath and cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Place a serving plate upside down over the Bundt pan. Hold them together, shake side to side a little and flip over. Remove the pan and scrape any remaining sauce from the pan.
In the fourth Bean to Bar Mystery, A Shot it the 80% Dark, Felicity is in a better place with her friends and has made peace with Arlo (her ex – who she dated about a decade ago in high school).
Felicity sees Arlo’s mom – who doesn’t know Felicity has come back into Arlo’s life. Arlo’s mom – who is known to be an excellent cook — is polite enough to invite Felicity to join them for ropa vieja. Here’s the recipe for that dish.
3 pounds flank steak
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2/3 c. vino seco (Golden Cuban cooking wine)
30 oz. canned tomato sauce
2 c. beef stock
1 lime, juiced
1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, sliced into thirds
2 Tbsp. capers
White rice and Cuban black beans, for serving
Season the flank steak with salt and black pepper and place on a rack in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water and the bay leaves. Lock pressure cooker lid in place and cook according to the manufacturer’s directions, cook for 35 minutes on High pressure. Remove the flank steak from the pressure cooker. Transfer the flank steak to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Shred the beef into long strands.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers to the same pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the onion turns translucent. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, for about 1 minute. Add the vino seco, tomato sauce, beef stock. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes. Add the shredded beef to the tomato mixture and stir it in.
Cover the Dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Cook until the beef is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 1 -2 hours. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and stir the tomato and beef mixture. Add the lime juice, olives, and capers. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Serve with white rice and black beans.
In A Shot in the 80% Dark, blogger Tam Binh and Carmen, the Pastry Chef at Greetings and Felicitations spend some time in the kitchen coming up with fun, fusion desserts. They’re also making coffee, so one of them decides to take the spices meant for the café de olla and use them to flavor a cake.
This Vietnamese-style honeycomb cake may have an untraditional flavor profile, but it maintains the traditional “honeycomb” structure that comes from the gloss of the tapioca flour, with the air pockets that are maintained by cooling the cake upside down. (As otherwise it might collapse in on itself.) The eggs are handled gently in the preparation stages as well, to allow for the most height in the cake.
vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
1 c. coconut cream
¼ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. espresso powder
¼ tsp. clove
¼ tsp. anise
3/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
5 eggs, at room temperature
1 c. tapioca starch
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
3 oz. dark chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of an 8 inch round cake pan and place it in the oven to heat up.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the coconut cream, salt, espresso powder, clove, anise, and sugar. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for one minute on high. Add the vegetable oil and mix to combine. Set aside.
Crack the eggs into a separate bowl. crack the eggs. With a pair of scissors, cut the egg yolks into small pieces. Pour the eggs into the bowl with the coconut mixture.
Sift together the tapioca starch, rice flour, cream of tarter and baking soda. Slowly add the tapioca mixture to the egg mixture, constantly whisking gently.
Carefully remove the cake pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Press the cake mixture through a sieve, directly into the hot cake pan. Holding the pan with oven mitts, tap it on the counter a couple times to release air bubbles. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, set up a cooling station, using two cooking racks with a gap between them to allow the cake to cool upside down at least three inches above the counter.
Take the cake out of the oven and immediately rest it upside down on the cooling station. Allow to cool for 40-50 minutes, or until lukewarm. Flip the pan over, and remove the cake from pan.
In a small bowl, melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring at ten second intervals. Drizzle the chocolate over individual cake slices and serve.
