WHEN THE GRITS HIT THE FAN, book three in the Country Store Mysteries, by Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is another solid addition to a terrific series! Robbie Jordan, owner of Pans ‘N Pancakes, is a believable and likable protagonist. I enjoyed her down-to-earth attitude and her willingness to jump in and get whatever needed to be done, done… be it knocking down walls to remodel her building; or exploring a tunnel even though she’s very claustrophobic; or solving a murder when a good friend is the suspect. The author also makes sure Robbie puts in the time required to running her restaurant, instead of letting her co-chef and friend, Danna, handle it all. This small detail added authenticity to the plot, along with the Indiana rural colloquialisms that are sprinkled throughout the book. My in-laws lived in Illinois, ten miles from the Indiana border, so I’m very familiar with the small towns, shops, and mannerisms of the people living there and Maddie Day nails both the setting and the characters.

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While the story takes place during winter with lots of snow and ice, I always avoided visiting the Midwest during that season. I’m definitely a fair-weather Southern California type of gal but Maddie paints such a vivid picture with her words I could feel the cold and the terror Robbie experiences upon finding a dead body in an ice fishing hole. The murder mystery is well plotted with a sub-plot revolving around items Robbie finds hidden in the walls of her shop as she knocks them down to remodel. The author expertly weaves them together to reach a very suspenseful and exciting conclusion that will have you on the edge of your seat! 

Running Pans ‘N Pancakes, Robbie is always cooking up delicious dishes that will have you drooling while reading. Fortunately, the author includes several recipes at the back of the book. Given the cold setting of WHEN THE GRITS HIT THE FAN, I was craving a bowl of soup by the time I finished the book. Maddie has graciously allowed me to share her recipe for Sullo Scio, a warm and nourishing bowl of comfort! Hailing from the Pisa region of Italy, this dish is easy to make using simple ingredients but the results are very satisfying. I had trouble finding tagliatelle pasta so I substituted fresh fettuccine noodles and when my husband asked, “Where’s the meat?” I added some shredded rotisserie chicken to his bowl… but I personally didn’t think it was necessary as this soup is filling as written. Sullo Scio will become a regular in our household on cold, chilly days! 

Amazon Synopsis

Despite the bitter winter in South Lick, Indiana, business is still hot at Robbie Jordan’s restaurant. But when another murder rattles the small town, can Robbie defrost the motives of a cold-blooded killer?
 
Before she started hosting dinners for Indiana University’s Sociology Department at Pans ‘N Pancakes, Robbie never imagined scholarly meetings could be so hostile. It’s all due to Professor Charles Stilton, who seems to thrive on heated exchanges with his peers and underlings, and tensions flare one night after he disrespects Robbie’s friend, graduate student Lou. So when Robbie and Lou go snowshoeing the next morning and find the contentious academic frozen under ice, police suspect Lou might have killed him after their public tiff. To prove her friend’s innocence, Robbie is absorbing local gossip about Professor Stilton’s past and developing her own thesis on the homicide—even if that means stirring up terrible danger for herself along the way . . .

A special thanks to Maddie Day, for providing a copy of WHEN THE GRITS HIT THE FAN for one lucky winner! Contest ends Monday, March 27, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST, and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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Ever since I saw the cover of ICED UNDER by Barbara Ross, the fifth book in her Maine Clambake Mystery series, I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to read it! And when Barbara released her novella in the Christmas book, EGGNOG MURDER, featuring Julia Snowden in October, my appetite for this series was whetted even more. So it was with great glee that I poured a steaming mug of tea, curled up on the couch with a fluffy blanket, and lost myself in the snowy world of Busman Harbor, Maine and Boston!

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Barbara weaves a tight tale of Julia’s family history while unraveling the secrets the family has closely guarded for almost 100 years which culminates in the murder of a long lost cousin. The multi-faceted layers of the story kept me turning pages late into the night…that OMC syndrome (“one more chapter”) was in full force. I so enjoyed getting to know Julia’s mother, Jacqueline, more. In past books, Jacqueline has seemed exceedingly reserved and I never really warmed to her. However, in ICED UNDER, we learn the full story of what has made Jacqueline the woman she is and I now see her in a different light, and admire who she is. Julia is a strong character and it’s from her dedication and love for her mother, that she involves herself in solving the mystery.

Both the setting and the plot are well developed, and Barbara’s descriptive language pulls me in, making me feel like I’m right there with the characters. She includes an especially touching sentiment when the murdered cousin’s caretaker tells Julia, “When you are needed most, that is when the work is most rewarding.” I have seen that type of dedication first hand with the people who work with my special needs granddaughter. I am always astounded at their capacity for caring and it is definitely at the forefront this time of the year! Barbara manages to capture the emotional impact of that kind of dedication in the book, which adds to the strength of the story. She also utilizes true historical events as the basis for Julia and Jacqueline’s ancestors building…and losing…their family fortunes. I was fascinated with the “Ice Kings” and appreciated the list of books the author provides at the back of the book for reading further on this subject.

As with the previous books, Barbara also includes recipes in ICED UNDER. She graciously allowed me to share her maternal grandmother’s recipe for Beef Stew. One of my husband’s favorite dishes, he couldn’t wait for me to make this recipe! Easy to put together (I loved that you don’t have to brown the beef) it’s hands off baking for several hours, filling the house with mouthwatering aromas. The addition of lemon juice and cocktail pearl onions adds a depth to the flavor. Vee’s Beef Stew will become a regular in my dinner rotation, especially during cold winter months!

Amazon Synopsis

The snow is deep in Maine’s Busman’s Harbor and the mighty rivers are covered in ice. Snowden Family Clambake Company proprietor Julia Snowden and her mother, Jacqueline, are hunkered down for the winter when a mysterious package arrives—heating up February with an unexpected case of murder . . .
 
Inside the mystery package is an enormous black diamond necklace that once belonged to Julia’s great-grandmother and disappeared in the 1920s. Who could have sent it—and why? Julia’s search for clues takes her on a perilous journey through her mother’s troubled family history, from a squabble over the family fortune in “frozen water” to the recent unexplained death of Jacqueline’s long-lost cousin Hugh—who’d been missing and presumed drowned for more than forty years. To protect her mother’s inheritance, Julia must fend off a small army of feuding relatives, solve the mystery surrounding Hugh’s demise, and get back home before the next blizzard buries them all . . .

A huge thank you to Barbara Ross for providing an autographed copy of ICED UNDER for one lucky winner! Limited to U.S. residents only. Contest ends Monday, January 2, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

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I always love when a new release comes out in a series that I enjoy reading. I have long been anticipating Karen Rose Smith’s SILENCE OF THE LAMPS (such a great title even though the original movie gave me nightmares for weeks…) and it was every bit as good as I had hoped! As usual, Karen includes several recipes with her book, all equally delicious sounding, but I was drawn to Caprice’s Easy Beef Bourguignon. I adore anything made in the slow-cooker and even though the ingredient list may look a bit long, it’s not complicated and doesn’t take long to assemble. My husband was crazy about this easy Beef Bourguignon with it’s super flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth tender beef. I liked that Karen uses plenty of vegetables to compliment the beef and that aside from stirring a couple of times, it was mostly hands off cooking.

Just as Karen’s easy Beef Bourguignon was a hit, SILENCE OF THE LAMPS was a delicious read!

Synopsis

Home Stager Caprice DeLuca is hosting an open house with her sister, Nikki, providing the catering. Nikki has had issues with her former employee, Drew Pierson, since she fired him. Drew had wanted to be partners in her business with some romance thrown in, but Nikki wasn’t interest in either. Furious, Drew started up his own catering company and shows up at the open house. He pulls Nikki into a loud argument and vows to destroy her business. Unfortunately, there are several potential home buyers who witness the argument.

A few days later at a wedding expo Nikki is exhibiting at, she and Caprice find that Drew has stolen some of her recipes and clients. In addition, he’s serving a Chocolate Walnut Cake that appears to be from his grandmother’s closely guarded recipe. Could he have stooped so low to steal from his own grandmother? When Caprice and Nikki find him murdered, all evidence points towards Nikki. Caprice is determined to clear her sister’s reputation and help save her business. As she peels back the layers of deceit Drew has built up, she finds there were numerous people who have reasons for killing him. Can she find the murderer or is Nikki going to take the fall?

My Review

I so enjoyed catching up with Caprice and her close-knit family! Their interaction and seeing how much they care for each other and for those in their community is a refreshing change from all the conflict you see in the media. I know from following the author’s Facebook page that Karen is involved in caring for stray, almost feral, cats. I loved how she wove part of her personal story and passion into her book. It adds compassion and a depth to her characters, while giving you insight into some of the complications that can exist for these rescued felines. Karen’s books are truly character driven, which leaves you thinking of them long after you’ve finished the story. But she doesn’t neglect the plot either… there are enough twists, turns, and suspects to keep you guessing until the end when it reaches an unexpected conclusion!

Thank you to Karen Rose Smith for providing winner’s choice of e-book or autographed print copy of SILENCE OF THE LAMPS! Print copy available to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below the recipe to enter. Contest ends Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

Caprice’s Easy Beef Bourguignon

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients

6 bacon slices, plus 3 tablespoons of the drippings
2-1/2 pounds stewing cubes
2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup peeled and sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove grated (or crushed) garlic
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups beef broth (use Swanson for no MSG)
1-1/2 cups white burgundy wine (red burgundy discolors the mixture)
4 or 5 red pepper flakes

Instructions

Coat a 5-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.

Fry the bacon, then remove it from the drippings. When it is cool, crumble it and set aside in the refrigerator.

Save 3 tablespoons of the drippings.

Dry beef cubes as much as possible with food-friendly paper towels.

Combine flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a Ziplock bag.

Drop a few stewing cubes in at a time to coat them, then place the coated cubes in the slow cooker.

Add onion, carrots, celery, garlic, marjoram, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the red pepper flakes to the beef cubes in the slow cooker.

Pour broth over the mixture, then add the three tablespoons of bacon drippings, and the wine.

Cover and cook on low for 5 hours or until beef cubes are tender. (I cooked on high heat for 5 hours and it was perfect. If you cook on low you may need to cook for up to 8 hours, depending on the cut of beef you use.)

Stir every two hours for a smooth gravy base without flour lumps.

I serve over 1 pound of wide egg noodles and top each portion with crumbled bacon.

Tips

This stew makes a lot of gravy that is very light in color… While this recipe for Beef Bourguignon is extremely easy to make AND is loaded with flavor that my husband absolutely loved, the gravy doesn’t have the rich appearance of the traditional dish. If presentation is important to you and your family, I would recommend taking the extra time to brown the meat in the bacon drippings and then proceed with the recipe.

Or you can do what I did and place the gravy at the bottom of the bowl, top with egg noodles, then add the beef and vegetables, garnishing with bacon and parsley.

In the last hour of cooking check the consistency of the gravy. If it appears too thin, remove the lid from the slow-cooker and finish cooking uncovered on high heat. Different cuts of beef can contribute different levels of liquid to the dish.

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