'Til Death (Rockwell Return Files) - Jason Anspach, Author

Alice Rockwell's Perfect Pot Roast

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled into two pieces 

kosher salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium onions, halved and sliced thin

1 large carrot, chopped medium

1 celery rib, chopped medium

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press

1 cup beef broth, plus 1 to 2 cups for sauce

½ cup dry red wine, plus 1/4 cup for sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 sprig plus 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

ground black pepper

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Sprinkle pieces of meat with 1 tablespoon salt and and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Heat butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes longer. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup broth, ½ cup wine, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme sprig; bring to simmer.

3. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season generously with pepper. Tie each piece of meat into loaf shape for even cooking.

4. Place meat on top of vegetables. Cover pot tightly with large piece of foil and cover with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook  on middle rack until beef fully tender, 3½ to 4 hours, turning halfway through cooking.

5. Transfer roasts to cutting board and keep warm. Strain liquid through mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Transfer vegetables to a jar. Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. Add vegetables and beef broth as necessary to bring liquid amount to 3 cups. Blend until smooth. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat.

6. While sauce heats, remove twine from roast and slice against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Transfer meat to large serving platter. Stir chopped thyme, remaining ¼ cup wine, and vinegar into sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon half of sauce over meat; pass remaining sauce separately.

'Til Death (Rockwell Return Files) - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of: Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

S. Rockwell, Private Investigator
Returns and the Unexplainable Welcomed

When you think of 'returns' you normally think of someone sitting behind a counter helping people get their money back for items they either don't need or simply don't want.  At least that was how I've always looked at it.  That is until I read 'Til Death.  This is what I learned from reading this book:

'Returns' was the acccepted term used for dead folks who came back, usually due to sufficiently important unfinished business.  Who made the determination on who Returned or not was still a hot topic among theologians.

Sam Rockwell's PI business was to help these 'Returns' out so they could finish up their business and move on to better places upstairs.  He didn't deal with a large number of returns, but the few times a Return actually made his way into the office, they weren't exactly asking him to save the world.  Most cases were as simple as an executive returning to share the code for his wall safe with his business partner.  And that was the case until his mother calls to tell him his father had been murdered and his help was needed to find the killer.  Oh yeah, his father was a Return.  He told the people upstairs that he had information that was given to him to safe keep away from the Russians who would use it to destroy the US.

This book is so different from any I've ever read.  It has murder, suspense, and best of all humor.  Sam's task of finding out who killed his father and then who killed the killer, puts him up against some really rough people.  But you can't help but laugh as he deals with the Returns that pop up now and then, mainly his own father.  When I got to the end of 'Til Death I saw that book 2 was out.  It's titled 'Til Death: Second Impressions.  Yes I ordered it and can't wait to see where the Returns take Sam next.

Short Stories From The Spiral Galaxy - Lawrence Johnson, Sr,

 

Mini Cheesecakes

8 Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust

2 package Philadelphia cream cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 can topping

Place cream cheese into a medium size mixing bowl

Slowly incorporate sugar into cream cheese

Blend eggs with cream cheese mixture one at a time

Add vanilla extra 

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Pour mixture into pie crust shells

Place on cookie sheet

Bake for 30 minutes or until center is no longer wet

Remove from oven and let cool before adding your favorite topping. 

Short Stories From The Spiral Galaxy - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat, Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Terror On Telderan 

Rayna took a deep breath and lifted her head slowly.  "earlier I told you that as High Ruler I only have access to an astral-numerologist however, the Grand Apex has been told by the Oracle that Rotart's attempt to terra form Telderan will have catastrophic results.  The planet will spiral out of control then ultimately out of this galaxy and...onward...toward the Milky Way Galaxy.  It will eventually rip through space and smash directly into your beloved planet Earth."

Murder on the Eros Star 

The Eros Star is an entertainment and pleasure ship that travels throughout the galaxy.  Jada was working a case on the Eros Star.  When she got close to solving it someone pumped poisonous gas into her quarters.  She was alive but sedated.  The doctor feels that she will be ok but he is not 100% certain and the assailant is still on the loose.

Intergalactic detective Da'Quan was on his way to the yearly Festival of Life on the Planet of Lazon when he received word that his assistant Jada had undergone an attempt on her life.  With his plans now changed, Da'Quan   speeds to the Eros Star to not only find the perpetrator before he tried again and succeeded. 

Planet of Doom 

Da'Quan is an Intergalactic Detective. His ship (the Spirit) crashes on the planet Akanon aka The Planet of Doom. Actually, his ship was forced down by a race of deranged androids who are about to go out into the galaxy and take over. Da'Quan meets up the town's people on an island (the androids are afraid of water). The locals help Da'Quan repair his ship but he needs to go to the big city where the crazy androids are to get spare parts. There is another problem. Da'Quan sent out a distress signal right before the crash so his assistant Jada is on her way and he has no way to communicate with her, no way to warn her about the beam the androids used to drag his and hundreds of other ships to crash on the surface. Da"Quan eventually finds a way to use their weapon against them. 

These stories take you right up to the events that take place as earth goes into destruction and the plight its people take to survive on other planets.  You’ll be introduced to new aliens and discover they too have crime, law and order and a force to enforce these laws.  They kept me spell bound and holding my breath all the way through as I’m sure they will you too.

The Brede Chronicles - Book 1 - P. I. Barrington, Author

Parmesan Ham Mix

1 can evaporated milk

2 eggs slightly scrambled

2 cups cubed ham (cubed 1" pieces)

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms or small jar of of mushrooms

1 - 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons dried parsely

1 tablespoon pepper

1pkg Penne or Cavatappi

Cook pasta in large pan of water. Heat evaporated milk in large saucepan. When heated to boiling, add eggs, then warm again to boiling. Add ham & mushrooms bring to boil again and add Parmesan cheese, parsely. Pepper to taste. Drain the pasta & put back into large pan then add the sauce mixture, stir well and serve.

The Brede Chronicles - Book 1 - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of: Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

Elektra Tate who, abandoned, grew up in the streets of New Cairo, probably all human thereby reducing her to the lowest strata of society; the proscribed citizens.  She lived as a child in Garbage City, the filthy area reserved for the poorest of the poor of New Cairo.  Garbage City resulted as overpopulation of the country escalated unrestrained in recent centuries causing its citizens to take refuge anywhere they could.  Her current abode was an ancient tomb in one of New Cairo's cemetery cities that even the residents of Garbage City avoided.  And then she meets.....

Alekzander Brede whose earth father and amphidian mother's marriage produced him with full citizen rights on each planet and most planets in between.  Any other rights he did not have he merely took.  There were others like him; perhaps not exactly the same mix but close enough to make them all humanoid, enhancing the economic state of New Cairo.  It also gave him a taste for earth women, the more human the better.

I've never been fond of futuristic books and I can't say that I've ever read a book that made me dislike one of the main characters as much as I found myself disliking Alekzander Brede.  His character is of a cruel man who enjoys hurting Elektra Tate more than anything else he does in life.  There were times I would wish the author would kill him off and bring in a better, more likable character.  Well, that didn't happen and I knew it wouldn't because this is the 1st book in a series of books titled The Brede Chronicles.  So, how is she going to make me like him, must a little?  Well, she did, but not until the end of the book and by the end I mean the last 2 pages!  And she did this in a way that I'm anticipating the reading of Book 2 and will impatiently be waiting for it to come out.

This book is FULL of action and a very hard book to put down!