Fran Rizer - Callie Parrish 06 - A Corpse Under the Christmas Tree (37 page)
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Authors: Fran Rizer
Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Humor - Cosmetologist - South Carolina
Hey, Diddle, Diddle THE CORPSE AND THE FIDDLE
Surprise recipes from Callie of all people!
As everyone knows, Callie is not a great cook like Jane and Rizzie, so she looks for easy, foolproof recipes. This one has been around for ages and goes by different names, but this is the only pie Callie makes, and she calls it:
MY PIE
Ingredients
3 egg whites at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda
20 Ritz crackers
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped coarsely
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 pint Cool Whip or real whipped cream*
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray an 8-inch pie plate very lightly with Pam or similar spray. Put Ritz crackers in a plastic zippered bag and mash with a rolling pin until finely crushed. Beat the egg whites in a medium size bowl until they peak. Gently fold the crushed crackers, chopped nuts, and vanilla into the stiff egg whites. Spread the mixture in the pie pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let the pie cool in the pan. Refrigerate, preferably overnight. Spread with Cool Whip or whipped cream before slicing and serving.
Note: Callie sometimes doubles this recipe and bakes it in a 9x13-inch pan.
*Callie likes the whipped cream that comes in a can because she likes to squirt it onto the pie in concentric circles. At times, she puts chopped nuts and/or cherries on top of the whipped cream.
BETTER MOONPIES
Just when you think something can’t get any better, you find out it can!!! Sheriff Harmon says he loves MoonPies just as much as Callie does. He suggests that barely warming the MoonPie makes it even more delish. He recommends 8 seconds in the microwave for one regular sized MoonPie. Callie likes minis and 5 to 6 seconds makes a MiniMoon Pie a perfect delight! (They both remove the plastic and wrap their MoonPies loosely in paper towels before putting them in the microwave.)
EVEN BETTER MOONPIES
A very dear, sweet lady named Colleen Robinson Baker died young, way too young. Her daughter told me she thinks of her mom every time the advertisement comes on about the people bumping into each other while one’s eating peanut butter and the other has chocolate. Years before that commercial, Mrs. Baker liked to spread peanut butter on top of her MoonPies. Callie tried it—absolutely yummy!
BEST EVER MOONPIES
Mrs. Baker’s early death came before microwaves became commonplace in homes. After hearing how Mrs. Baker liked her MoonPies, Callie went one step beyond. She spread peanut butter on top of her MoonPie before she put it in the microwave. The peanut butter came out too drippy. She found perfection when she smeared peanut butter across the MoonPie as soon as she took it from the microwave. Warm graham crackers, chocolate, gooey marshmallow cream, and slightly melted peanut butter. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Jane’s Recipes from
A Tisket, a Tasket,
A FANCY STOLEN CASKET
JANE’S KILLER MEATBALL STEW
Ingredients
1 pound prepared cocktail-sized meatballs (frozen are fine)
1½ cups diced onions, preferably red
3 or 4 chopped large cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups zucchini, sliced and halved into crescents
½
cup thinly sliced carrots
3 cups canned diced tomatoes in juice
4 cups meat broth (Jane uses 2 cups ham and 2 cups chicken)
5 tablespoons tomato paste (may use Italian seasoned)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
3 tablespoons dried sweet basil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pepper
Optional:
1 teaspoon sugar, shredded mozzarella and/or grated Parmesan cheese and/or fresh chopped parsley
Directions
In a large soup pot with a lid, put the olive oil, onions, and garlic. Sauté them on low to medium low heat until soft—about 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Add the canned tomatoes, broth, and seasonings to the pot and bring to a low boil. Add the carrots and zucchini. Stir in the tomato paste. Taste and add 1 teaspoon of sugar if desired. Cut the heat to low or medium low and add the meatballs. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or more. Taste. Salt and pepper quantities are suggested, but adjust these to your own taste. Spoon the stew into soup bowls or cups. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella, grated Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley over the soup if desired. Killer!
*Make or buy the meatballs. If using homemade meatballs, cook per recipe. Jane uses bought frozen Italian meatballs directly from the freezer.
JANE’S TO DIE FOR LASAGNA
Ingredients
8 ounces lasagna noodles
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage*
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1 jar 26-ounce prepared spaghetti sauce**
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
Preheat oven to 375° F. Prepare the lasagna noodles by the directions on package. Cook the sausage with onions and garlic over medium heat, stirring to mix as it cooks. When meat is done, drain off fat and discard, then stir in spaghetti sauce, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Drain with colander, saving juice. Pour enough sauce juice to cover bottom of 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer lasagna noodles to cover. Layer half of the drained sauce mix on top of the noodles. This will be thick. In a separate bowl, mix the Ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, beaten eggs, salt and pepper. Spoon half of the cheese mixture over the sauce. Sprinkle with one-half of Parmesan cheese, then one-half of the mozzarella cheese over the Parmesan. Repeat layers beginning with noodles. Bake 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil. Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes. Allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes to set before serving.
* Callie and Jane like hot Italian sausage removed from casings or you may use sweet Italian sausage or substitute hamburger, ground turkey, spinach, or zucchini.
** Jane prefers a 3 to 6 cheese prepared spaghetti sauce straight from the grocer’s shelf.
THE BOYS’ FRIED FISH
Ingredients
Fish
—as many as you caught or froze and defrosted to feed your crowd. Pan fish about the size of a man’s hand are fried whole. Great big, bragging-sized fish are filleted.
Oil
—enough to just about fill up approximately ¾ depth of black, cast-iron Dutch oven. The Boys prefer peanut oil.
Brown paper grocery bags
—what you get if you say, “Paper” when the grocery attendant asks, “Paper or plastic?”
Cornmeal
—a little for a few fish, a lot for many fish—The Boys use self-rising yellow cornmeal. You might start with a cup of cornmeal in a paper bag and add more as needed. Cornmeal that has been used in the bag must be thrown out after all fish are ready.
Salt and pepper
Directions
Step 1 - Catch or thaw the fish
Step 2 - Scale, gut, decapitate and cut the fish, then wash. (If these are catfish, skin instead of scaling.)
Step 3 - Heat oil to HOT. (To test heat, drop a big pinch of cornmeal in the oil. If hot enough, the oil will bubble around it immediately.)
Step 4 - Dump a cup of cornmeal into a paper sack. To cornmeal, add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 5 - Drop two or three fish into sack of cornmeal. Hold top closed and shake.
Step 6 - Remove fish from sack and drop carefully into hot oil so the oil doesn’t splatter onto the cook. Oil should be hot enough to bubble around the fish. Remove the fish from the oil and spread them out on paper bags (or paper towels if you’re fussy) when the fish are golden brown. Repeat until enough fish are fried.
Serve with hush puppies and hot grits with butter.
About the Author
Fran Rizer is the author of the Callie Parrish Mysteries. She lives in Columbia, South Carolina, near her sons and grandson. To learn more or correspond with her, visit her website:
www.franrizer.com
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