Showing posts with label C M Albrecht. Show all posts
Showing posts with label C M Albrecht. Show all posts

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Hale Mary - C. M. Albrecht, Author


Curried Egg Appetizer
(ala Dorothy Sale)

Gently boil one dozen large eggs for 14 minutes.

Immediately place in cold water, the colder the better. Gently begin tapping each egg all around until the shell begins to come apart and gently peel, placing the peeled eggs back in cold water.
After eggs are completely cool, carefully cut in half lengthwise and remove the yolk to a bowl.

When all the yolks have been placed into the bowl, add a bit of mustard (I prefer dry, but that's just an opinion), a bit of salt and pepper to taste and a goodly portion of curry powder. Mix well with a fork and then, either with a small pastry bag or spoon, place a nice portion of curried yolk on each egg half. If you have empty halves left over, enjoy them before someone else gets them.

Arrange the prepared curried eggs on an egg server, or lacking that, take a plate of suitable size and arrange them on a bed of lettuce.

Your guests will love them. Bon appétit.



Hale Mary - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Inside the guest bedroom, Mary and Gracie lay back on the twin beds, watching a little TV as they passed a fat joint back and forth between them, slowly filling the room with smoke.  Gracie got up and opened the window all the way.  "Have to keep this on the down low," she said, giggling.  "We don't want your son to be shutting us down."  "No way," Mary agreed.  She got up off the bed and fumbled in the pockets of a heavy bathrobe, bringing out half a pint of whiskey.  "We can always depend on Maudie."  She held up the bottle in a sot of pre-toast.  "Here,"  she said with a wide smile.  "let's drink to better days ahead."

Meet the characters:
"Hail" Mary Drummond married to Police Detective "Bulldog" Drummond, recently deceased.
Cray "Crayfish" Drummond - Son of Mary and Bulldog - recently fired from his job and looking for work.
Estelle - Daughter of Mary and Bulldog - following her father's footsteps she has become a Police Officer.
Grace "Gracie" Prevost - one of two best friends of Mary since childhood, widowed, living in Arizona.
Maude "Maudie" Greene  - Mary's other best friend since childhood, babysits for income but the majority of her money comes from selling pot.
Celie Drummond - Cray's wife; Brooke Drummond - his daughter; and Harry Drummond  his son.
And then there is Rowlf - a hundred forty-eight pound yellow/tan, huge hound dog that spends his days and night laying in front of the door sleeping - and he doesn't move when the door needs to be opened.

Did I mention that the ladies Mary, Gracie, and Maudie are senior citizens?  Well, they are and the antics they get into has kept me laughing throughout the whole book.  They're whiskey drinking, pot smoking women who are out to bring back their good old days and I think they succeeded and I enjoyed riding along with them.  You gotta read this book if you want a fun filled laugh.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Deputy - C. M. Albrecht, Author


Chef Merle Blanc's Secret Potato Salad Recipe

2 med. potatoes
1 hard-boiled egg, cut into cubes
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup sweet relish
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard
pepper
Seasoning salt to taste

Boil potatoes until tender.  Cool, peel and cut into 1" cubes.  Makes about 2 cups.  Blanch onion and celery in boiling salted water for one minute.  Drain.  Fold all ingredients together and refrigerate in a covered bowl.  Serves 4

You should keep these salads refrigerated and preferably consumed the same day.  If the Macaroni Salad becomes dry and/or sticky, a few drops of milk blended in may help.
For boiling your egg, place egg in salted gently boiling water for 14 minutes.  Cool quickly in cold water and roll around to gently crack the shell all over and peel.  Cooking too long results in dark green edges around the yolk.

But wait!  There's more!  This recipe works equally well to make a Macaroni Salad.  Just substitute two cups of cooked salad macaroni.  (One cup of uncooked macaroni should give you 2 cups cooked.)  If you prefer your salad a bit more tart, substitute Dill Relish or minced Dill Pickles for the Sweet Relish.
To add that special gourmet touch to either of the above, you may add your choice of chopped Parsley, Olives, Capers or chopped and blanched Red and/or Green pepper.  Some like minced cooked bacon.

The Potato Salad recipe is just one of the famous Chef Merle Blanc's dishes.  It's your creation now.  Make it the way you like!  You can read more about Chef Merle Blanc in "Deadly Reception" by C. M. Albrecht.  Bon appétit!

The Deputy - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Just half a block from the sub-station, crossing the railroad track, Wayne's eyes caught sight of a wiry bandy-legged little guy walking along by the track.  The man limped slightly, and from the look of his oversize coat and unshaven face, he was obviously down and out.  As he neared the man, he stopped and leaned out of his side window, said, "Howdy."  The little man stopped abruptly, looked over at Wayne sitting in his cruiser and hesitated.  he looked as if he was debating whether to stay or run.  "Hi," the stranger said.  "You're new around here," Wayne said swerving his vehicle to a stop in front of the man.  "Just passing through," he said.  "I been looking for work."  "What kind of work do you do?" inquired Wayne.  "Oh...most anything.  "My name's Deputy Terwilliger, but most folks call me Wayne.   "I'm Ray Stark from Montana," the man said.  "Well, what I was thinking, Ray, is that I'm tied up here in town so much of the time.  You know, a sheriff's always on duty, and my wife, Janie, she's alone out there at the farm all day with all those chores to take care of.  I was just thinking, I can't offer much in the way of money, but we do have a spare room.  I've been using it for storage, but we could clear it out and make up a little room for you there and my Janie's a good cook." Wayne said to him.  "As to wages, I just need maybe enough to keep me in a few things."  replied Ray.  The two men shook hands as Wayne said, "Come on.  We'll get in the cruiser and I'll take you out there.  It isn't far." 

This was the hiring of Ray by Deputy Terwilliger to help his wife Janie with the chores around their farm.
Ray couldn't believe his luck in finding a job and by a Deputy to boot.  This was going to make his life so much easier... so he thought.  What he was unaware of was that the Deputy had other 'chores' in mind for Ray and they weren't exactly up to Ray's liking.

What the Deputy lacked in morals he made up for in his bravery.  When the bank in Franklin was robbed, he showed no fear in going after the robbers.  He had a loving wife at home, Sandy in town, a job that made him proud and the 'respect' of those around him.  So when he read about a bus load of convicts escaping after killing the driver, he came up with a plan and Ray fit in perfectly.  A plan that would give him the freedom to do and have everything he wanted, and deserved.

This book kept me on the edge.  I was able to come up with Ray's fit into the story but I had no idea as to how he would handle what had been planned for him to do for Wayne.  The ending was a bit of a surprise for me.  Loved this book as much as I've loved all books I've read by this Author.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Sand Bluff Murders - C. M. Albrecht, Author


 
Spaghetti
(A Jonas favorite
)
1 lb. ground beef.
1/2 lb. ground pork.
One chopped onion.
Quarter or half each of a green pepper and a red pepper, chopped.
At least one good stalk of chopped celery.
Up to half a cup of olive oil.
I brown all this and set aside.

In a separate pan I simmer broth. Prefer beef, but chicken stock will do. You can create your own or buy liquid stock or use as a last resort, bouillon cubes, etc. About a quart of this.

In this stock as it simmers, add, a bay leaf.
2 Tsp.  anise seed (not star anise).
4 Tsp. fine basil (or you can chop your own fresh basil, which takes more),
One good-size head of garlic, chopped a bit,
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar,
1/4 cup sugar.
2 Tsp.  dry mustard

Simmer broth 1/2 hour.

Open a can of diced tomatoes. Drain liquid into broth. Give the tomatoes a little chop, or if you can, get the smaller chopped tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the beef and continue to cook slowly.

Strain the broth into the beef mixture and add tomato paste. Probably at least three small cans. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce with a can or so of tomato sauce and/or more tomato paste to get the right consistency.

Let this sauce gently simmer for another half hour, stirring occasionally.

Pour over hot spaghetti or rigatoni , etc., and top with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
 



The Sand Bluff Murders - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

"A corpse?" I smiled.  Like a dead body?  Oh yeah!  I was supposed to take this seriously?  Only thing people killed around Sand Bluff were lots of bottles of beer and the occasional careless cat that got in the way of a speeding pickup.  I checked out the town's reputation before I ever applied for the job.  This was supposed to be a cool job with a badge, easy money and a little authority in a small town where nothing ever happens - that's what I signed on for.  Okay, let him have his little joke.  Maybe this was a sort of initiation or something.


Cheif Castillo stroked his mustache and smiled grimly.  "our Officer Ackers didn't even know the guy was dead.  Officer Ackers thought the stiff was just drunk.  He dragged the body to his patrol car and brought him in to sober up."  Chief Castillo splayed both dark hands on the desk.  "In doing so of course he totally f... up the scene and manhandled the body, so I'd say you've got your work cut out for you."  "My work?  Are you saying this is a homicide?" 


Jonas McCleary was hired on with the Sand Bluff police department as the Chief Detective.  Actually he was the only detective.  Actually they had never had a detective before.  Now that he has been on the job just three days, they have their first murder in 20 years.  Way to go Jonas!  Well, how hard can a murder in a small town be to solve?  Turns out it was pretty difficult, especially when two more bodies turn up. 


Author C. M. Albrecht has written what I call an enjoyable 'light-hearted' murder mystery that includes a little humor and a lot of questions without so much gore and strong language.  As hard as I tried to determine who the guilty person was I just about had it near the end but still couldn't connect them with all three murders.  This book will keep you in suspense and keep you guessing.  I really enjoy this Author's style of writing. 

 
Design by Wordpress Theme | Bloggerized by Free Blogger Templates | coupon codes