Killer Crab Cakes (32 page)

“I am now,” Phyllis said, because she had just seen Sam step out onto the porch with his cell phone held to one ear while blood trickled down the other side of his face from a gash on his head. But Phyllis could tell from the grin on his face that he wasn’t hurt too badly.

“Move over and let the lady by,” Abby said, tugging Nick to the edge of the pier. Phyllis went past them and broke into a run again.

Toward Sam.

 

“If I’m gonna be the brawn of this detectin’ outfit, I got to get better at it,” Sam said an hour or so later as he sat on the porch at Oak Knoll with Phyllis, Carolyn, Eve, Abby Clifton, the Anselmos, and Leo and Jessica Blaine. “Nick must’ve heard me comin’ and hid behind the door of Raquel’s room, because he walloped me a good one when I came in. Lucky for me he didn’t take the time to finish me off then and there. I guess he heard you come in, Phyllis, and that was all that saved me.”

“Well, you regaining consciousness and calling the police was all that saved me,” she said.

“Not necessarily,” Abby put in. “I was already on my way here when Mr. Fletcher was patched through to me and told me that Nick Thompson was trying to kill you. When I saw you leave the dessert contest in such a hurry, I had an idea that maybe you had figured something out. And, of course, you had. But I might not have hurried as much as I did without Mr. Fletcher’s call.”

Leo said, “Hey, I know what it’s like to work for a tyrant, but I can’t imagine killing people over a business deal.”

“Poor Raquel,” Jessica said.

“She may pull through yet,” Abby said. “Thompson thought he had killed her by smothering her with that pillow, but he’s no expert on things like that, even if he did manage to murder four people and get away with it . . . for a while.”

“Mrs. Newsom, what do you think Dorothy and Ben will want to do with the bed-and-breakfast now?” Tom asked. “Will they try to keep it going?”

“I hope so,” Phyllis said. “Once everyone knows that one of the guests was responsible for the murders, not someone who works here, I don’t see any reason why people won’t want to stay here.”

Carolyn sniffed. “As morbid as most people are, it may even
increase
their business.”

“Bed-and-breakfast as the notorious Murder House,” Eve said. “It might make for some catchy advertising.”

Carolyn rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“I feel sorry for Kate,” Phyllis said. “She and Nick seemed like such a nice young couple. Now her life may be ruined, too, through no fault of her own. I don’t think she knew anything about it.”

“She didn’t,” Abby said. “Thompson’s already admitted that he’d been drugging her to keep her sleepy all the time, so he could slip out and do his dirty work.”

“You mean they really were
napping
?” Eve asked. “I thought they were—”

“We all know what you thought,” Carolyn said.

At that moment, another police car eased to a stop in front of the house. Chief Dale Clifton unfolded his long-legged form from the front seat and came up the walk toward them. As he climbed the steps, he asked, “How are you, Mrs. Newsom?”

“I’m fine. Sam’s the one who was hurt.”

Sam touched the bandage taped to his head. “I’ll be all right. Takes more than one wallop to dent this old noggin of mine.”

Clifton turned to Phyllis and went on, “You forgot something, Mrs. Newsom. You left before the awards were handed out.” He extended a painted plate toward her. “First place in the cookie category went to the Oatmeal Delights, baked by Mrs. Phyllis Newsom.”

Phyllis put a hand to her mouth and said, “Oh.” She looked at Carolyn. “You didn’t tell me. You said your chocolate strawberry pie came in third, but you didn’t tell me the cookies won.”

Carolyn smiled and shrugged. “The chief said that he would deliver your trophy plate later. Who am I to argue with the police?”

Phyllis almost laughed at that sentiment, but instead she reached out to take the plate from Clifton. “Thank you, Chief,” she said.

“Thank you,” he replied with a grin. “Those were mighty good cookies.” He leaned a shoulder against one of the pillars supporting the porch roof. “I hope all this unpleasantness hasn’t soured you on our little part of the world. We want everybody who visits the coast to come back again.”

“We certainly might,” Phyllis said as she slipped her hand into Sam’s. “It’s beautiful here, no doubt about that.”

“Paradise,” Chief Clifton murmured as they all looked out at the water gently rolling in from the bay.

But there was a serpent in paradise, Phyllis reminded herself, and that had been true here, too. Murder could happen anywhere, even in surroundings like this.

She wasn’t going to think about that now. Not with a warm breeze blowing and the golden light of late afternoon fading toward dusk and the cry of a seagull in the air as it sailed above the waves. Right now she held tightly to Sam Fletcher’s hand and thought only good thoughts.

1 cup chopped fresh peaches
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons liquid fruit pectin

2 packages dry yeast
2½ cups warm water
1 package yellow cake mix
5 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ to 1 teaspoon water

 

 

Jam:
In saucepan combine peaches and sugar. Heat over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Add liquid pectin, and then bring to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Refrigerate overnight.

 

Rolls:
In a large bowl combine the yeast and warm water. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in the cake mix and then the flour one cup at a time. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place about 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

 

Roll out the dough onto a floured surface into a rectangle about ½-inch thick. Spread with peach mixture and sprinkle with cranberries. Roll up the dough, starting from the long side. Chill 1 hour.

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a 15-x-10-inch jelly-roll pan.

 

Slice the chilled dough roll into ½-inch pieces. Place each slice on the prepared pan. Bake 23 to 25 minutes.

 

Glaze:
In small bowl, mix sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla, adding the water until the glaze is the right consistency. Drizzle glaze over warm rolls.

 

Note:
You can use a small jar of peach jam instead of the homemade jam.

 

6 to 7 slices bread
¼ cup melted butter
4 eggs beaten
1 can skim evaporated milk
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 cups fresh sliced peaches

 

 

Cut bread in cubes and allow to dry overnight. Put bread cubes in large bowl. Drizzle butter over bread. Mix eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour over bread-and-butter mixture. Add sliced peaches and toss mixture. Put in baking dish and let set for 15 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for 30 minutes.

 

1 small white onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter divided
¼ cup whole milk
2 eggs
½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon spicy Dijon mustard
1½ cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs), divided
1 pound fresh crabmeat
½ cup finely chopped pecans
2 teaspoons lemon pepper

 

 

Sauté chopped onions with 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until barely limp, about one minute. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.

 

In medium bowl whisk milk, eggs, vinegar, Old Bay seasoning, salt, and mustard until well blended. Add ½ cup bread crumbs, onions, and crabmeat and mix thoroughly.

 

In a shallow bowl or pan mix 1 cup bread crumbs, pecans, and lemon pepper.

 

Divide crab mixture into 8 equal piles and form cakes, or use a
measuring cup filling until almost full, pack down into cup to form patties, dump, and then flattening them lightly into the cakes. Turn cakes in the bread crumb mixture until well covered.

 

Place cakes on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper, cover pan with plastic wrap and chill 2 to 4 hours.

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put about ½ teaspoon butter on each crab cake. Bake around 20 minutes.

 

Note:
If you like spicy crab cakes add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper with the milk/egg mixture.

 

1 cup cooked crab (can use imitation crab)
1 cup cooked small shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces softened cream cheese
½ cup green chile enchilada sauce, mild or hot
⅓ cup green onions, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 10-inch flour tortillas
Oil for pan

 

 

In medium bowl blend crab, shrimp, cream cheese, green chile sauce, onion, and salt and pepper. Place ¼ of the mixture and ½ cup cheese on tortilla, and cover with second tortilla. Brush skillet with oil and lightly brown each quesadilla on both sides. Cut into fourths and serve with salsa.

 

 

1 pound ground pork or beef
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ can green chile enchilada sauce (about ½ cup)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained
10 fresh tamales, frozen
Grated cheese

 

 

Brown ground meat with onion in oil in a large skillet. Drain off grease. Add bouillon that has been dissolved in water. Add other ingredients, except tamales and cheese. Cook on low heat until flavors are blended. Ten minutes before serving, cut the frozen tamales into one-inch pieces and add to soup. If tamales are not frozen, they will fall apart after a short time. Top servings with cheese and serve with tortilla chips.

 

If fresh tamales are not available, use canned. Drain, remove paper, and slice into one-inch pieces. Add at last minute to soup to heat through.

 

 

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped shredded coconut
1 12 ounce bag white chips

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then add oatmeal, set aside. Mix butter and sugars in large bowl until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Gradually mix in flour mixture until well blended. Chop pecans and coconut in food processor until finely chopped. Then add to dough. Fold in white chips.

 

Drop by tablespoon 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.

 

Bake 12 to 14 minutes.
Allow to cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.