Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Alexander Steele Trilogy - Lawrence Johnson, Sr., Author




Shrimp Salad
(An original by Larry Johnson - The Budget Gourmet)



2 1/2 cups Elbow macaroni (low carb)
2 Tbsp. Dijonniase mustard
2 large boiled eggs
2 stalks celery, diced
2 lb. shrimp, cleaned and boiled
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. Mayonnaise (low fat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder



Cook macaroni according to package, drain and cool.  Peel, clean and cook shrimp (boil until pink).  Cut into halves or thirds depending on size (need to be bite size).  In a large bowl combine macaroni, oil, shrimp, celery and eggs.  Stir in Mayonnaise and Dijonnaise.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  This dish may be served warm or chilled.  This is the converted recipe I use in my cooking classes.  It's a little healthier with less fat and less carbs.



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


The Case of the Deadly Ring - "Listen to this boss, a stranger from a distant land will enter your life.  He will seek out your counsel on matters of health or religion,"  Steele snickered as he shook his head.   "Sugar Bear, would you please give it up?  Those things are never right."  Sugar Bear's mood was deflated. 


Oh, was Steele wrong.  It wasn't long before he was paid a visit from Julius DiBona from the Vatican City, Rome, with a mystery to solve and a very short time in which it had to be done.


The Case of the Death Dealer - "There's a guy, a big time drug dealer named Fat Daddy.  Him and some chemist got into a thing in Florida about 6 months ago about manufacturing a large quantity of pills, probably Esctasy.  anyway it ended badly and Fat Daddy had his sister offed.  Now the doctor is after Fat Daddy's next coke shipment.  If it's true, and it works, folks for Philly to Maryland are gonna start dropping dead within 48 hours after using the drug.


Steele had grown up with Trench and learned to despise him.  He was bad news but how could Steele not help prevent hundreds of deaths.  But again, time was running out since the shipment could come in at any time and even already be in and just waiting for distribution.


Alexander Steele and the Legacy of Death - It had been nearly 20 years since the double murder that spawned dozens of rumors and never ending gossip.  Some say the murders of the Mt. Airy barber shop owner and his South Philly girlfriend were the results of a love triangle gone bad; while others whispered strange tales of mysticism and witchcraft.  No matter what story you believe they all say there is a treasure hidden within the dilapidated old building.


Steele has decided to expand his club by renovating the old barber shop which was right next door.  But all work stops when Julia walks into the club.  Julia was the daughter of the murdered woman and she is in need of Steele's help to help save the restaurant she inherited from her mother and the only way to do this is by finding the missing money.



Alexander Steele tells everyone he is retired from the detective agency work and is now just an upscale club owner but his reputation for success seems to prevent his retirement.  His fast actions and quick thinking keep him telling himself, just this one last case.  As I read these 3 stories I wanted more.  I wanted to know more about his best friends Sugar Bear, Roger the Philosopher and Stan his computer man.  I wanted to see him in action in a full book story.  Author Lawrence Johnson has started that story and I'm really looking forward to him finishing.  I can see a possible Alex Cross set of books in the future.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Final Respects - F. M. Meredith, Author



Marilyn's Meat Loaf
(I really don't measure anything but you can
tailor this meatloaf to suite yourself)

Ground Beef (I usually get a lot because I feed a lot of
  people and I like leftovers.)
2 eggs (or one if you only use 1 - 1 1/2 pounds of meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 big dollop of Worchestershire sauce
salt & pepper to taste
Sometimes I add a bit of torn up sour dough bread (leftovers)
  (I'm not a fan of much filler)
Ketchup for a topping

Beat the egg then add everything together.  It's best to mix with your hands.  Form into a loaf - I usually make it about a 2 or 3 inch thick loaf and flattened on the top - and put it in a sprayed baking dish.  I cover the top with ketchup.  (at this point you could add halved potatoes of any kind around the edge.)  Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour - depending upon how much ground beef you used.  And check to make sure the potatoes are done.


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

Doug Milligan spent part of Friday tinkering with his classic MG.  His wife, Kerrie, had been in a foul mood most of the day, no doubt because he had come home so late from work.  Rather than find out exactly what her gripe was, he elected to stay out of her way.  But when he came inside and took his shower in preparation for work, she dogged his steps.... Doug is a policeman with a wife who isn't too happy about her husband's choice of work.

Al Bertalone's wife, Barbara, flung open the front door and met him on the porch.  She gave him a big kiss... As he stepped inside, Al sniffed in an exaggerated fashion.  "Is that my favorite dinner I smell?"  Barbara giggled.  "If you mean spaghetti, it most certainly is." ... Barbara patted the place where his uniform stretched tautly over his belly.  "You're the sexiest police officer in the whole department."  Al too is a policeman and best friend of Doug.  He too is married but has a wife who not only supports his choice in occupations but is proud of him.

For these two brave men, life is getting ready to take a dramatic turn as one of them finds the body of a teenager that has been bitten in the neck and left dead.  But this is only the beginning of the problems they'll encounter as they go through their task of protecting and serving.  One won't make it, the other will, or will he?

Following Doug and Al through their daily routines... some cases simple, some actually funny and some downright scary... I couldn't help but feel for the officers themselves as well as the wives.  The constant fear of losing a husband has to be one that nags not only your heart but also your mind.  But when given an ultimatum of the job or wife, what do you choose?


This is the 1st in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series by Author F. M. Meredith.  This Author has a style of her own.  She actually takes you into the lives of each character allowing you to know them personally and their connections with each other.  After you get to know them personally you're brought into the true action of the book which allows you to continue to feel what they feel as they step into the job they're hired to do.  I can't say that I've ever read a book that makes me a part of the story as much as this book has.  I loved it and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series Bad Tidings.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Murder on the Eros Star - Lawrence Johnson, Sr., Author



Blueberry Muffins
(a Jada favorite)

1 Egg
1/2 cup Almond Milk
1/4 cup Canola oil or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup Truvia baking blend
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 cup Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine and stir wet ingredients.  Combine and stir dry ingredients except blueberries and brown sugar.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl before adding blueberries.  Fill muffin pan 3/4 to the top.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top.  Bake 20-25 minutes.


Murder on the Eros Star - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

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. 

Jada had been working on a case involving a time machine.  Apparently someone had the main components that were up for sale to the highest bidder.  In the wrong hands, this could change the complete outcome of the world as they knew it and from what Da'Quan would soon find out, the wrong hands were attached to an old enemy of his.  Now he just had to make sure he stopped him before it was too late.


This short story is, I hope, the lead-in for Author Lawrence Johnson's next book and I can't wait!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sticking Point - a Logan Hunter Mystery - Susan Whitfield, Author


Seafood Casserole
(A Susan Whitfield Family Favorite)

2 cups water
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 lb. crab meat
2 pkg. (12 oz. each) frozen shrimp, thawed
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups milk
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce
½ cup sliced almonds
10 buttery round crackers, crushed


Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C).  Lightly grease a 3 quart casserole dish.  In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.  Add rice and stir.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Combine crab meat, shrimp, rice, mayonnaise, onion, milk, hot sauce, and almonds in casserole dish.  Mix well.  Cover top of casserole with crumbled crackers.  Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until casserole is bubbling.

Sticking Point – A Logan Hunter Mystery – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

I opened squeaking French doors and stepped into the big yard now in dire need of attention.  I glanced at the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain range, wanting it to fill me with peace and calmness.  It didn’t happen.  Instead I sat down on the terrace steps and buried my face in my hands.  A warm nose nudged me and I looked into the forlorn eyes of my blood hound, Homer.  He turned his head back and forth a few times, studying me, and then barreled around the corner of the house, reappearing with a nearly deflated football dangling from his huge mouth.  When I made no move to play with him, he put the ball down and pushed it toward me with his sizable snout.  He needed attention too.

Logan Hunter has lost her husband Chase as well as their baby she was carrying.  As she sits in the Asheville home that she inherited after Chase’s death, all memories of the past continue to flood her mind.  Then the phone rings. 

Logan is a North Carolina SBI agent and after months of trying to pull herself back together, her agent supervisor has decided it’s time for her to get back into the game of life.  Her assignment is to travel to Beaufort to investigate the death of a 14 year old boy who was known, by the whole town, as being the “ruling bully.”  Kids, parents, teachers, store keepers, all alike were no exception.  He would bully anyone to get his way.  This being said, the number of suspects that would be on Logan’s list to talk to included pretty much the whole town.    But this wasn’t all that Logan was hit with.  She was being assigned to work with Farris “Crack” McCracken.  She had been teamed with McCracken before and the two are like mixing oil and water.  She blamed him partially for not backing her up when she needed him the most which prevented her from getting help for Chase, resulting in his death.  He blamed himself for the death of his own wife and for letting Logan down in her time of need.  This assignment is something she simply does not want to do but has no choice in the matter.

I’ve read all of the Logan Hunter series and loved them all.  I’ve followed her through happy times as well as sad.  I’ve laughed with her when she went to the Mountain Testicle Fest and hurt with her when she lost her husband.   And I’ve cheered her on each time she picks up the pieces and puts herself back into action.  Each of the books gives the reader everything a good book should… mystery, love, hate, happiness, sadness, laughter, tears, and just a tiny bit of sex.


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

When The Drum Major Died - Anjuelle Floyd, Author


A Dinner for Two in thirty Minutes
by Anjuelle Floyd


2 to 4 ¾” cuts of filet mignon
butter
basil
parsley
1 white onion, chopped
salt
pepper
1 bag of leaf spinach
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 bag of salad of your choice
salad dressing(s) of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is warming, place cuts of filet mignon on a sheet of aluminum foil.  Salt and pepper both sides of each cut of filet mignon.  Place 1-2 squares of butter on each cut.  Add basil and onions.  Once temperature reaches 350 degrees, place in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes turning once.  While filet mignon is cooking, sauté spinach in olive oil for 5-6 minutes adding salt, pepper and garlic as desired.  Remove filet mignon form oven when 20 minutes is up or earlier.  Serve with sautéed spinach and salad with dressing, both of your choice.


When The Drum Major Died – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish

“The thick jungle, and the heat.  It was too much.  They had to cut their way through vines and over growth.  No path had been laid out like usual.  It was native tropical forest, untouched.  They had been through their own war.”  Clifford lowered his head.  He teared up, redness swallowing the whites around his irises.  “Towards the middle of the night the Viet Cong heated up their firing.  We thought it was all over, that in the next moment their entire company would descend on us.  I lost track of Ennis.  Like me he was trying to keep focus on his men amid the fighting and keep them alert.  Firing died down about one the next morning.  We began to hope.  Then one of my men reported seeing a soldier dragged off.  By morning twenty-five men lay with their necks slit.”  “Not more than ten yards from me Ennis lay dead.”…. “I never got to say “Good-bye,” Clifford said, barely audible.  Neither had Florina.

Florina had met Ennis while in college.  They found themselves deeply in love and married just before he left as a First Lieutenant in the US Army on his way to Vietnam.  Many saw him as a white man but Ennis’s mother was of both Negro and Cherokee heritage.  This was no problem for Florina since she was of the Negro race but very light skinned.  But due to his heritage, she decided to keep both Ennis and their marriage a secret from her family until after her graduation.  This never took place.  Ennis was killed in action while in Vietnam.

Life goes on for Florina.  She found a great man and husband in Dr. Redmond Austin, one of only 3 black doctors in the small North Carolina town of Poinsettia… Redmond, his father and Macon Elders.   But as  all lives come with baggage...hers was in continuing to keep Ennis and their marriage a secret, Redmond’s baggage came in the form of Agnes, Macon’s wife as well as their next door neighbor.

Now and then I run across a book that has a story that simply tugs at my heart with its love/hate relationships.  This is one of those books but this is more than just a love story.  I grew up with boys I went to school with being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.  I grew up with segregation going on all around the little town where I lived just outside of Atlanta.  I also grew up confused as to the way both white and blacks treated the one boy that was admitted to my high school.   He wasn’t accepted by either race.   Why?  He was light skinned.  I never understood the problem.  As I read, When The Drum Major Died, after all these years, I have begun to understand.  If you grew up as a baby boomer, especially in the south, this is a book I recommend you read.  It is beautiful, educational and simply a wonderful book to read.


Stalk Me - Richard Parker, Author


Barbecue Shrimp
A Richard Parker Special

(This is a great communal appetizer best served on newspaper spread over the dining table.)

8 lb. Large shrimp, unpeeled
2 sticks butter
1 cup Olive oil
8 oz. Chili sauce
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp. Smoky Chipotle Tabasco
2 Lemons sliced
5 Cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tbsp. Lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. Smoked paprika
3 Tbsp. Oregano
1 Tbsp. Cracked black pepper
1 Newspaper

Wash shrimp and spread out in a shallow pan.  Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat for about 10 minutes and pour over shrimp.  Once cooled, refrigerate, baste and turn shrimp every thirty minutes for a couple of hours.  When guests arrive pour some oil in frying pan and cook shrimp for five minutes.  Spread newspaper over table and pour shrimp in center.  Serve with beers, lemon wedges, raucous company and plenty of napkins.
 
Stalk Me - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; A Book and A Dish; Think With Your Taste Buds

Beth tried to look up and along the curving road, but her aching spine only allowed her to raise her vision enough to glimpse the bottom half of the skewed camper in front.  The chocolate-brown back doors were mangled and the French license plate lay in the other debris that had been smashed from it, but the vehicle was still the right way up.  In the gap between its underside and the road, she could see a pair of feet moving.  Dark navy trousers and black boots.  She cried out, not recognizing the mournful howl that emerged from her, but hoping it would be loud enough to attract their attention.  Her face dropped into the puddle a second time and she had to blow a few bubbles of air into the water before she could raise her head again.  Beth fought unconsciousness, and when she cracked her eyes and blinked the water from them, somebody was standing beside her, a smudgy black silhouette against the failing daylight.  She opened her mouth, fighting oblivion to alert them to Luc's predicament.  The foot swung back and kicked Beth squarely in the face.  Before the impact embedded her deep into unconsciousness, she heard the squeak of her teeth and a flat crunch as her jaw fragmented.

When Beth woke to find herself in the hospital, the doctors informed her that her jawbone had been in fragments when she was admitted and had to be replaced with plates.  She also learned that she had been in a coma for over eight weeks.   Her first question - "Luc?"  Where is he?  Did her survive the crash?  Unfortunately, the answers weren't what she wanted to hear.  But Beth was soon to learn that this was just the beginning of what awaits her as she travels from France to America in search of answers to the last word Luc uttered to her... "sorry" and the one word she was told he uttered to the emergency nurse at the site "Allegro." 

Author Richard Parker has a knack for writing books that will keep you not only on the edge of your seat but also finding it impossible to put down .  This book is no exception.  Each chapter fills the reader with nail biting action that draws you tightly into the story.   And with the chapters being 1 - 2 pages long, you'll find it hard not to read 'just one more.'  I can never get enough of his books.


Thursday, January 23, 2014

River Oaks Plantation - B. J. Robinson, Author

Plantation-Style Red Beans and Rice

1 lb. dry red kidney beans
1 Tbsp. oil
1 onion
1 bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 - 2 stalks of celery
Water to fill near top of pot
Bay leaves
Cayenne pepper
Parsley
Black pepper
1 Tbsp. Creole or Cajun seasoning
Choice of meat for seasoning - Ham, ham bone, salt pork or smoke sausage

Rice:
2 cups rice
1 Tbsp. butter
4 cups water

Wash red beans and soak.  If I don't soak mine, I cook them a few hours.  If soaked, they'll cook quicker.  Wash and cut seasonings.  Brown or saute seasonings to taste, including the ones you enjoy and leaving out the ones you may not like.  If using smoke sausage, you may brown it with the seasonings.

Pour seasonings into pot with beans.  Add meat.  Let come to a boil and then simmer until done.  I recommend cooking at least two hours.  A ham bone provides the best flavoring in my opinion.
You may turn the fire to low and let the beans simmer or just keep warm after two hours.  You can also cook using a crock pot, but you should put them on very early in the morning and let them slow cook all day.  If cooking on the top of a stove, you will need to continually add water to them as it cooks out until they are nearly done.  Then, let them cook down so the gravy is thick and red.

Boil rice about thirty minutes before serving time.  Let two cups of rice, four cups of water and 1 Tbsp. of butter come to a boil, turn to low and let the water cook out of the rice.


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

River Oaks Plantation 1856 - The minute the horse and buggy drew up in front of it, Margaret Jane Turnrow knew she'd found the home of her dreams.  In a trance, she sat spellbound and stared.  The majestic beauty from the long white-shelled drive, the huge live oak trees dripped with Spanish moss, and the white-columned splendor of the large two-story antebellum home made her heart flutter.  She fell in love at first sight, and that first view of the large white house sitting behind massive oaks took her breath away. 

Margaret and her new husband Danny have just returned from their honeymoon to their new thirty-five hundred acre Louisiana home.  Danny's promise to "Maggie" is to become a wealthy planter and make them rich with the growing of cotton and sugarcane. But then comes the war.  Will they be able to survive the war without losing everything they have worked so hard for?

River Oaks Plantation 2005 - On August 29th, Amaryllis Camilla O'Brien eased her red metallic Chevy Camaro down River Road.  After driving all night in horrible wind and rain, she couldn't wait to reach the plantation.  Her heart thudded  against her chest the closer she got.  The best summers of her life were the ones she'd spent under shady oaks with her grandmother.  And now with the passing of her grandmother the plantation was hers. 

When "Cammie" stepped from her car and made it into her home she found more than she could ever expect.  She found an old friend from the past, but she also found that she had picked the worse time ever to return to the plantation.  Her return came just in time to experience one of the worse hurricanes Louisiana had ever faced - Katrina. 

River Oaks Plantations is made up of two stories that become one.  The struggles to survive and to keep River Oaks alive are more than most could possibly endure.  But with the help of God, both generations stand firm, determined  to keep going no matter what.  This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read.  I've read all books written by this Author and each time I think I've read the best for her to come through with one that tops the last.  If you're looking for a book that will fill you with love and life, this is the book for you.


This book actually has an extra treat.  At the end you'll find a recipe for Allie's Famous Louisiana Cornbread Dressing to go along with the Red Beans and Rice!   

 
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