Cooking Between The Sheets

by the Hard Shell Word Factory Authors

Cover art by
Kate Douglas

Where else can you find Murder by Potato, Second Only To Sex Dessert and Fallen Angel Egg Salad but in this very special literary cookbook by some of Hard Shell Word Factory's hottest authors? As a special gift to all our readers, we offer you a free e-book download for a limited time. MS Reader for your Windows computer or handheld and HTML for your Macintosh, Rocket Reader, Palm or printer.

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Fallen Angel Egg Salad

Submitted by Jennifer Kokoski
Author of Notorious Angel

INGREDIENTS:

6 hardboiled eggs
Mayonnaise
Deli mustard
Dill pickles
Celery
Salt
Pepper
Old Bay / Paprika

DIRECTIONS: Shell and dice hardboiled eggs. Add dice celery and pickles. Blend 3 tablespoons mayo for every 1 tablespoon deli mustard. Mix with eggs until the soft consistency you desire (add more mayo to increase softness). Season with salt, pepper & Old Bay.

Serve on bread for sandwiches or Ritz crackers for tea.

Maryland Crab Soup (the easy way)

Submitted by Jennifer Kokoski
Author of Notorious Angel

We had a running joke about my grandmother as we grew up. She used her oven to store salt and pepper and her dishwasher to hold the soda and beer. Needless to say, she wasn't a gourmet cook, but there was one dish she made better than anyone. Maryland Crab Soup is known for its reddish vegetable soup color. This dish is easily put together with store-bought soups and healthy doses of blue crab and Old Bay Seasoning.

INGREDIENTS:

20 oz. Beef Vegetable Soup (thin not gravy-like)
1 pound crab meat
6 tablespoons Old Bay
diced fresh tomatoes (one big one, a couple small ones, or as much as you like)
diced fresh potatoes (same as tomatoes)
Salt
Bay leaves
1 can beer
Any other fresh vegetables you want to add (green beans, corn)

DIRECTIONS: Mix the soup and ingredients cooking to a simmer. If you have a lot of fresh uncooked veggies, you'll want to cook longer until they are soft (particularly potatoes and green beans). You add the crab meat last because it is already cooked. Make sure you stir to evenly distribute crab meat and veggies. Maryland-style crab soup is supposed to be thin and reddish-brown, so if it gets gravy-like add beef stock to turn to a near watery consistence. Some recipes call for chicken stock, but my mom and I think the beef adds a richer taste. My uncle adds beer to spice up the recipe. If everything is cooked you only need to heat. Simmering for half hour or so will do. Crab soup always tastes better the next day once the fresh vegetables have a chance to fully absorb spices. Bay leaves are for cooking only, remove before eating.

Old Bay is used to season to taste. The more you use the hotter it gets. You can also sprinkle Old Bay on individual bowls if someone likes theirs spicier. (Usually what I do.)

Serve with saltines, ice cold beer or a cool drink.

Shepherd's Pie

Submitted by Jennifer Kokoski
Author of Notorious Angel

Though I'm half-Irish in descent, I find a lot of things to like about English culture. Perhaps that's why I enjoy setting my historical romances in Regency England. One of my favorite dinnertime dishes is a favorite of the English. Shepherd's Pie is fairly easy to make and a big improvement on our American meat loaf.

INGREDIENTS:

1lbs. Ground beef
Chopped onions
Mash potatoes
Carrots
Peas
Cheese
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS: Fry ground beef with onions & season to taste. Cook mash potatoes. Defrost any frozen vegetables. Shred cheese & dice carrots. Mix ground beef & vegetables.

In casserole baking dish, layer ground beef & vegetable mix. Cover with potatoes. Layer cheese on top. Place in oven at 350 degrees Farenheit 20-35 minutes until top is brown.

Serves 4-8

Notorious Angel Food Cake

Submitted by Jennifer Kokoski
Author of Notorious Angel

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, grated
12 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
confectioners' sugar for dusting
Pint of fresh strawberries (de-stemmed and washed)
Whipped cream

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9 inch tube pan with parchment paper. Sift together the flour, cocoa and 3/4 cup of the sugar. In separate dish, mix 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture and toss with the grated chocolate.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set at low speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Increase mixer speed to medium, stir in cream of tartar and salt, and continue to beat until egg whites form soft peaks. Gradually mix in the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice.
3. Gently fold the flour mixture into the beaten egg whites, then fold in the grated chocolate, stirring until no white streaks remain.
4. Gently scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the surface of the batter and tap the pan lightly to remove any air bubbles. Bake in center of the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until the surface springs back when touched.
5. When completely cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Chocolate Almond Pizelli Cookies

Submitted by Jennifer Kokoski
Author of Notorious Angel

While baking the annual cookies with the women of my family, I decided to get creative. Since chocolate is my favorite flavor, I wondered how to incorporate that into my favorite cookie. After many attempts with various forms of chocolate, this one is the winner. Be warned, batches of these never last long. Even the finickiest of eaters grab them before they ever have a chance to cool.

INGREDIENTS:

6 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup almond slices (not chunks)
2 teaspoons baking powder

DIRECTIONS: Beat eggs and blend with sugar and margarine. Fold in flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Add almond slices and extracts last. Mix until consistency is gooey and sticky.

Heat Pizelle iron and spray with Crisco. Using a tablespoon, spoon a dollop of batter on center of iron cookie form (usually there are 2 cookie forms per iron). Close lid tightly and count to 10. Lift lid and remove cookie with spatula. Cookie should be mostly white with just a tinge of golden brown. Be sure to place cookie on flat plate until it cools and hardens.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

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