Fatally Flaky (30 page)

Bread Dough Enhancer

1 cup wheat gluten

2 tablespoons lecithin

1 teaspoon powdered pectin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons gelatin powder

½ cup nonfat dry milk

 

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Place mixture in a heavy-duty zipped plastic bag and keep in refrigerator. Mixture will last 6 months; use 1 to 2 tablespoons in all yeast bread recipes.

Chilled Curried Chicken Salad

3 large or 4 medium-size bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves

Best-quality extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper

Contents of three 15-ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained

Contents of one 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained

½ cup raisins (or more, if desired)

¾ cup red onion, finely chopped

1½ cups real, best-quality mayonnaise

1 tablespoon curry powder (or more, if desired)

2 tablespoons chutney (or more, if desired)

¾ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Large, best-quality salted peanuts

 

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

 

Place the chicken breasts on a large rimmed baking pan covered with a silicone baking sheet. Rub oil onto the pieces and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.

 

Bake the chicken 25 to 40 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Check by slicing into one of the pieces, all the way to the bone. All the meat should have turned completely white, with no trace of pink. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the chicken to cool completely.

 

When the chicken is cool, remove the skin and bones and tear the meat into bite-size pieces. Measure it; you should have 4 cups. Reserve any remainder for another use.

 

In a large glass serving bowl, place the chicken, drained oranges, pineapple, raisins, and red onion.

 

To make the dressing: Place the mayonnaise, curry powder, chutney, salt, sour cream, and lime juice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend all the ingredients on high, or until almost completely smooth. You may have to turn the processor off and remove the top one or two times, to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. This should not take more than 2 minutes.

 

Pour the dressing over the ingredients in the serving bowl and stir carefully but well, until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the salad for at least 24 hours.

 

Serve with a large bowl of peanuts to sprinkle on top of each serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Fatally Flaky Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

¾ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon best-quality unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (recommended brand: Hershey’s dark European style)

1½ cups quick-cooking oats

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (high altitude: 2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Filling: Either 1 quart best-quality vanilla ice cream (recommended brand: Häagen-Dazs)

Or Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
(recipe follows)

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 rimmed cookie sheets with silicone baking sheets.

 

In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the sugar and raise the heat to medium. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the mixture bubbles, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a heatproof bowl, and set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

 

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa, oats, flour, baking powder, and sea salt until well combined.

 

In another bowl, beat together the egg and vanilla. Stir into the oat mixture until well combined. Add the cooled butter mixture and stir well.

 

Using a 1-tablespoon ice-cream scoop, measure out the batter onto cookie sheets, allowing at least 2 inches between cookies (they spread, and you need all the cookies to be a uniform size).

 

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are completely cooked. Allow to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then, using a wide, rubber-tipped spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely.

 

When you are ready to serve, spread 2 tablespoons of either the ice cream or the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting on the flat side of one cookie, then top with the flat side of a second cookie. Serve immediately, or freeze.

Makes about a dozen sandwich cookies

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Whipping cream or milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it is very creamy. Slowly add the sugar, a quarter cup at a time, beating each time until the sugar is completely blended into the butter. If the frosting begins to get too stiff, add a tablespoon of cream or milk. Beat in the vanilla, and if the frosting is still too stiff, add another tablespoon of cream or milk. You want the frosting to be fairly stiff so the sandwich cookies stay together. Cover and refrigerate any unused frosting.

Black-and-White Cake

Note: This is an ice-cream cake and should be kept frozen until ready to serve.

 

Butter and additional flour for pans and rack

1 quart best-quality vanilla ice cream (recommended brand: Häagen-Dazs)

3 cups all-purpose flour (high altitude: add ½ cup)

2 cups granulated sugar

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons best-quality unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (recommended brand: Hershey’s dark European style)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons safflower or canola oil

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 cups low-fat milk (high altitude: add 1 tablespoon)

Chocolate Glaze
(recipe follows)

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and a large cooking rack. Butter and flour two more 9-inch cake pans.

 

Soften the ice cream in a micro wave oven, just until it is spreadable. Spread it evenly in the buttered pan and place it back in the freezer.

 

Sift together the flour, sugar cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Sift it again into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla, rum, and milk. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, then scrape bowl. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until batter is completely mixed.

 

Pour the batter into the buttered and floured pans and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the layers comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the buttered rack to cool completely.

 

When you are ready to assemble the cake, soften the ice cream layer slightly and unmold it onto a plate. Place one cake layer on a serving dish. Place the ice cream layer on top. Carefully place the second cake layer on top of the ice cream. Loosely cover the whole thing with foil and place back in the freezer. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours.

 

Make the Chocolate Glaze and allow it to come to room temperature.

 

When you are ready to serve the cake, remove the serving dish from the freezer. Slowly pour it over the cake, smoothing it over the top and sides. Using a serrated knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry, cut the cake. Refreeze any unused portions.

Makes 12 large servings

Chocolate Glaze

10 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate (recommended brand: Godiva dark)

10 ounces (2½ sticks) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

 

Using a sharp knife, chop the chocolate. Place it and the butter in the top of a double boiler. Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in the
bottom
of the double boiler, and place the pan with the chocolate and butter on top. Place the double boiler over high heat and stir occasionally until the butter and chocolate are melted. Remove the top pan from the heat and whisk in the corn syrup. Allow to come to room temperature before pouring on the cake.

D
IANE
M
OTT
D
AVIDSON
is the author of fourteen bestselling novels featuring the irresistible Goldy Schulz. She lives in Colorado with her family.

www.dianemottdavidson.com

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

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The Cereal Murders

The Last Suppers

Killer Pancake

The Main Corpse

The Grilling Season

Prime Cut

Tough Cookie

Sticks & Scones

Chopping Spree

Double Shot

Dark Tort

Sweet Revenge

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

FATALLY FLAKY
. Copyright © 2009 by Diane Mott Davidson. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Mobipocket Reader March 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-186739-2

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