Pressing the Issue Read online

  Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the potatoes that you have reserved in the stockpot, plus add 2 tablespoons cream or milk. Mash with a fork or potato masher, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. (Add more butter, cream, or milk if necessary so potatoes are moist.)

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

  Place the meat mixture in an 8 x 8 pan. Top with the mashed potatoes. Score the surface of the mashed potatoes with a fork so there are peaks that will get well browned. Be creative.

  Place casserole in oven and cook until browned and bubbling, about 20–30 minutes. If necessary, broil for the last few minutes to help the surface of the mashed potatoes brown.

  If desired, sprinkle grated cheddar cheese or Parmesan cheese over the top of the mashed potatoes before baking.

  * For a 13 x 9 pan, double the recipe.

  Sin-in-a-Cup

  Frozen Cheesecake Bites

  From Katie:

  These are easy but messier than all get-out to prepare. You’ll want to lick your fingers a lot. Try not to or you will OD on chocolate. LOL. Also, don’t be disappointed if the first few times you try to make them they don’t turn out “pretty.” Working with chocolate and ice cube trays isn’t easy. But the result is divine. Remember, you’ll want a square-shaped ice cube tray, not the rectangular kind. If you do use the rectangular kind, then forgo serving these little tasty treats in mini muffin cups.

  (Makes 12)

  8–12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (8 ounces is probably ample)

  1 tablespoon coconut oil

  8 ounces cream cheese, softened

  2 tablespoons sour cream

  1/3 cup powdered sugar

  1 tablespoon liqueur (I like an orange-based liqueur like Grand Marnier)

  pinch of kosher salt

  12 raspberries

  You will need a 12-cube ice cube mold and, if desired, mini cupcake holders.

  In a medium bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and coconut oil for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave longer, if necessary, until just melted, about 15–30 seconds more. It’s okay on this round of microwaving if the mixture is not completely smooth. Don’t overcook.

  Pour a teaspoon of the melted chocolate into each ice cube mold. Using clean fingers, press the chocolate around the sides of the mold completely. Freeze the mold until the chocolate is solid, about 10 minutes. If you feel you didn’t get enough chocolate around the mold, remove from freezer and add more chocolate and repeat the pressing and freezing action. You’d like a nice “crust” to form.

  Meanwhile, in another medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar, liqueur, and salt, and mix until fluffy and light.

  Remove the ice cube mold from the freezer and fill 12 cubes about half full with the cream cheese mixture. Press a raspberry into the center of each cube. Fill the rest of the cube with the cream cheese mixture and top with melted chocolate. (You might need to remelt the chocolate. Again, don’t overcook. Zap in 15-second intervals. Do not overcook. You do not want the chocolate to seize.)

  Freeze the mold until the mixture is solid, about 90 minutes.

  Invert the mold to release the cubes. If you need to, twist the mold to make the treats pop out, or loosen each treat with a knife. Serve in mini cupcake holders, if desired. Keep frozen whatever you don’t eat.

  Books by Daryl Wood Gerber

  The Cookbook Nook Mysteries

  Final Sentence

  Inherit the Word

  Stirring the Plot

  Fudging the Books

  Grilling the Subject

  Pressing the Issue

  The French Bistro Mysteries

  A Deadly Éclair

  A Soufflé of Suspicion (coming soon!)

  Writing as Avery Aames

  The Long Quiche Goodbye

  Lost and Fondue

  Clobbered by Camembert

  To Brie or not To Brie

  Days of Wine and Roquefort

  As Gouda as Dead

  For Cheddar or Worse

  Stand-alone Suspense

  Girl on the Run

  Day of Secrets

  About the Author

  Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award–winning, nationally bestselling author of the French Bistro Mysteries, featuring a bistro owner in Napa Valley, as well as the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, featuring an admitted foodie and owner of a cookbook store in Crystal Cove, California. Under the pen name Avery Aames, Daryl writes the Cheese Shop Mysteries, featuring a cheese shop owner in Providence, Ohio.

  As a girl, Daryl considered becoming a writer, but she was dissuaded by a seventh-grade teacher. It wasn’t until she was in her twenties that she had the temerity to try her hand at writing again . . . for TV and screen. Why? Because she was an actress in Hollywood. A fun tidbit for mystery buffs: Daryl co-starred on Murder, She Wrote as well as other TV shows. As a writer, she created the format for the popular sitcom Out of This World. When she moved across the country with her husband, she returned to writing what she loved to read: mysteries and thrillers.

  Daryl is originally from the Bay Area and graduated from Stanford University. She loves to cook, read, golf, swim, and garden. She also likes adventure and has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Here are a few of Daryl’s lifelong mottos: perseverance will out; believe you can; never give up. She hopes they will become yours, as well.

  To learn more about Daryl, visit her website at DarylWoodGerber.com.