To Brie or Not to Brie (38 page)

The guests raised their glasses and yelled, “Hear, hear.”

Meredith blew me a kiss. So did Matthew.

“And now,” I added, “if you’ll join me in singing ‘The Irish Blessing.’ I believe
many of you know the words, since it’s sung almost nightly at Timothy O’Shea’s Irish
Pub.” The violin played a middle C note. I eyed Jordan and he nodded. Together we
sang, “May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the
sun shine warm upon your face, and the rain fall soft upon your fields.”

When we finished the verse, the guests let out another cheer.

Grandmère smiled a flinty grin at me. “
Chérie
, you have a secret you’ve been keeping from me.”

My face grew warm. “Um, no. No secret.” Had Urso told her what had happened with regard
to Iris?

“Your Jordan,” she said.

Oh, no
. She had found out—from Rebecca or Delilah or someone—about Jordan’s past. With all
that went on in the last two weeks with Jacky and her husband’s murder and the rumors,
how could she not? Even so, my stomach twisted into a pretzel. Was she mad at me for
not confiding in her?

She eyed Jordan. “You are a man of mystery. You not only know how to build a set,
but you have a fine voice.”

I breathed easier. “Yes, he does.”

Grandmère crooked a finger. “You must be part of my next musical.”

Jordan shook his head.

Urso joked, “You’re stuck now, buddy.”

I nudged Jordan. “I told you so.”

“
Mais oui.
You must. I am not taking no for an answer.” Grandmère finished loading her plate
and headed toward the table, singing “The Irish Blessing.”

Jordan chuckled. “She is a pistol.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Urso left us and made his way to the bride and groom.

When Jordan and I finished eating, I asked him to take
a stroll. I reached for his hand. “C’mon. I’ve got something to tell you. You’re going
to like it.”

He slung an arm around my waist.

At the edge of the bluff, I turned into him and walked my fingers up the front of
his shirt. I stopped at his neck and ran a fingertip along the hollow of his neck.
“I’ve picked a date for our wedding. You wanted December. I like December, too. December
tenth. My mother and father’s anniversary. Is that okay?”

He turned silent.

“Oho,” I teased. “You don’t like that number? Fine. The fifteenth, the twentieth?”

“Charlotte.” He swallowed hard then gripped my hand. He held it against his chest.

My stomach plummeted. Had he changed his mind? Had I blown it by delaying? Shoot,
shoot, shoot. When would I learn to seize a good opportunity? “Is it because I didn’t
tell you about Iris the moment I sat down?”

“No.” He released me and slipped his hand into his pocket. “I’m sorry about Iris,
and I’m sorry, despite my warnings, that you got involved again but, no, that’s not
it.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and said in a teasing tone, “Okay, let me guess.
Throughout the service, your right hand was fingering something in your pocket. It
has something to do with that, doesn’t it?” I tapped his arm. “I know it’s not an
engagement ring because I’m wearing that. It’s not your cell phone, because you keep
that in your left. So what’s in there?” I pawed at his wrist, playing like I might
filch whatever he was hiding.

“Don’t.” He backed away, his voice stern.

I stiffened. “What’s in there?”

His mouth turned grim. “It’s a slip of paper with a phone number on it.”

“Whose phone number?” Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. Was there one more secret I needed
to learn? Was there another woman?

“It’s my WITSEC case officer’s phone number. My
new
WITSEC case officer. I have to leave next week.”

“For where?”

“New York. The trial has been moved up. The attorney isn’t sure how long the trial
will last.”

Brie Blueberry Ice Cream

Put the half-and-half, cream, and mascarpone cheese into a saucepan. Place over medium
heat and stir occasionally until steaming.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together. Once the cream mixture
is hot, begin ladling small amounts into the eggs while whisking.

After adding about
¹
⁄
₂
cup of the hot cream mixture to the eggs, pour the cream-egg mixture back into the
saucepan and stir continuously while it thickens. Once the mixture starts steaming
gently again, you can turn off the heat. Keep stirring for a few minutes.

Add the Brie in chunks and stir vigorously to melt the cheese into the custard. Add
a dash of nutmeg.

Place the creamy mixture into a bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly, about 2 hours.

Freeze in an ice cream maker per its instructions. [Mine requires 30 minutes of automatic
stirring action.]

Five minutes before complete, add in the blueberries. Serve with blueberry sauce.

* * *

Blueberry Sauce

Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer
and cook for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and then refrigerate. Reheat gently if you want
a warm sauce.

* * *

Broccolini, Pine Nut, and Edam Cheese Quiche

Blanch broccolini in boiling hot water for 1 minute then drain and rinse with cold
water.

Sauté garlic and pine nuts in olive oil at medium heat.

Take pan off burner, add drained broccolini, and sauté for 1 minute.

Sprinkle 2 ounces of shredded Edam cheese on piecrust.

Put sautéed vegetables and nuts on top of cheese.

Mix soup, milk, eggs, and seasonings together.

Pour into piecrust on top of vegetables.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake 35–40 minutes at 375° until quiche is firm and lightly brown on top.

* * *

Gluten-free Popovers

Preheat oven to 450°.

Liberally grease a popover pan with vegetable oil.

Combine gluten-free flours, whey powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

Combine half-and-half, eggs, and gluten-free flour mixture in a large blender pitcher.
[* IMPORTANT: Add the items in that specific order.] Blend at high speed for 30 seconds.
Scrape down the sides of the pitcher and pulse briefly, 15 seconds. The batter should
look like thin pancake batter.

Place popover pan in preheated oven for 3 minutes. Carefully remove pan and fill each
popover cup
¹
⁄
₂
to
²
⁄
₃
full. Place pan back in preheated 450° oven and bake for about 15–20 minutes. Reduce
oven temperature to 300° and bake an additional 5–7 minutes or until the popovers
are deep golden brown. Serve warm.

Note: I made a batch using a cupcake tin instead of a popover tin. It doubled the
amount of popovers and you need to cut the baking time to a total of 15 minutes. They
cook fast!!!

* * *

Delilah’s Grilled Cheese with Grapes, Onions, and Bacon
(SERVES 2)

For each sandwich, butter two slices of bread on one side only. Spread cream cheese
on the other side of the bread.

Meanwhile, grill the bacon to crisp and drain on paper towels. When cool, cut or chop
the bacon into small bites. [Delilah suggests grilling the bacon in the microwave,
on paper towels. No mess. Takes about 3–4 minutes to make them crisp.]

Sauté the chopped onion in a sauté pan with the olive oil for 3–5 minutes until slightly
browned. Cool.

Rinse and slice the grapes into “chopped olive” sized slices.

In a bowl, mix the bacon, onion, grapes, pepper, and dash of paprika together like
a salsa.

Heat up a flat grilling pan. Place one slice of bread, butter side down, on hot grilling
surface. Layer with Doux de Montagne or Fromage d’Affinois (or other favorite soft)
cheese. Top with the grape-onion salsa. Top with the other piece of bread (butter
side up). [Repeat for the second sandwich.]

Grill the sandwiches on low to medium for 4–5 minutes. Flip the sandwiches and grill
for another 4–5 minutes, until a nice golden brown and cheese is oozing.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

[This can be made on gluten-free bread. It is still amazing.]

Ricotta-stuffed Mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400°.

Brush a flat baking pan or cookie sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Wash and scoop out mushroom caps. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, mix ricotta cheese, crumbled Rice Chex-style cereal, parsley, rosemary,
salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.

Brush mushrooms with remaining olive oil. Spoon a tablespoon-plus of cheese mixture
into each mushroom cap. Set the caps on the baking pan or cookie sheet and bake for
15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Sprinkle with paprika. Set a sprig of parsley on each. Place on
a serving plate adorned with mixed lettuce.

Serve warm. (Warning: Do not eat right out of the oven or they will burn the inside
of your mouth!!)