Berried to the Hilt (23 page)

“Sounds like a great plan,” I said, relieved her departure wasn’t going to be permanent. As thrilled as I was for her, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of sadness. “What am I going to do without you? I feel like my daughter’s leaving home!”

“I’m not leaving
now
,” she said. “I’m not starting back until next fall.”

“Good—because I’m going to need your help this summer!” I said.

Gwen looked at John. “By the way, did you tell her your news yet?”

“What news?” I asked, looking at John. “Oh—is it the gallery?”

He nodded, smiling. “The show is planned for December,” he said.

“That’s wonderful!”

“And Gwen’s right—we’d better set a date,” he said, stroking my hair. “I’d recommend February 14.”

“Valentine’s Day? How romantic!” Gwen said.

“And convenient,” he said, “because our plane leaves for the Virgin Islands February 15.”

I turned and goggled at John. “What?”

He grinned. “I took the liberty of booking us a honeymoon at a resort on the beach in St. Thomas,” he said. “Fourteen days of sun, sand, and absolutely no cooking.”

“But the inn …”

“We’ll close for two weeks. And if there’s anyone we can’t turn away, Charlene, Claudette, Emmeline, and Marge have it covered.”

“What about the church?”

“Already booked it,” he said, mischief in his green eyes. “And all the ladies on the island have offered to cater the reception for us. Emmeline’s even making the cake. In fact,” he said, grinning, “all you’ve got to do is find a dress and sign the marriage license, and I think we’re done.”

I sat there, speechless, staring at him. After a long moment, his grin faded. “If you’re still interested, that is?”

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” I said, and as he folded me into his arms, I inhaled his woodsy, masculine scent and thanked God once again that I’d found my way to Cranberry Island—and home.

The End

Me-maw’s Gingersnaps

Rhonda Shield is not at all fictional, and is an amazing cook. This treasured family recipe belonged to her grandmother (“Me-Maw”), and was a finalist in the 2009
Austin American-Statesman
cookie swap competition. Thanks, Rhonda, for letting me include it—and you—in the book!

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (If possible, use a mill with a
very fine grind)

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars. Stir in the egg, the molasses, and the vanilla, Gradually add in the dry ingredients. The batter will be
very
stiff.

Form balls using a medium-size ice cream scoop. (Rhonda likes to warm hers in hot water and then dry it.) If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, you can make the balls by hand—they should be about the size of a Ping-Pong ball. With slightly damp hands, roll the balls in white sugar.

Bake at 350°F for 13 minutes, then rotate halfway. The cookies will spread, so space them out a bit. Leave them on the cookie sheet until they firm up a bit, and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack.

This makes approximately 30 cookies.

Downeast Clam Chowder

6–7 pieces bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

10 ounces canned baby clams, with juice reserved

6–7 medium-sized potatoes, cubed (Natalie prefers Yukon Gold)

2 10½ ounce cans cream of celery soup

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon dill (optional)

Dice the bacon, cook in a saucepan until crispy, then add onion and saute until translucent. Add clam juice and potatoes, then cook and cover the pan until potatoes are fork tender, about 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally so the potatoes won’t stick. Stir in clams, soup, cream, milk, and add dill if desired. Add the butter last, letting it melt into the chowder, and cook for about 30–45 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Natalie prefers to serve this in small, hollowed-out loaves of sourdough bread, but it’s also wonderful in a bowl with bread or oyster crackers on the side.

Serves 4 for dinner, 6 for lunch.

To-Die-for Glazed Apple Streusel Muffins

Muffins

3 cups flour

½ cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups tart apple, pared & shredded

1 cup milk

½ cup melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

Streusel

1 cup brown sugar

6 tablespoons flour

1½ teaspoon cinnamon

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons milk

1⁄8 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°F, and prepare muffin tins (Natalie uses muffin cups). In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Stir in apple and set aside.

In small bowl combine the milk, butter, and eggs until blended. Add to dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Spoon half of batter into muffin cups.

To make the streusel, combine all of the ingredients until crumbly and well-mixed. Reserve a scant ¾ cup, and sprinkle the remaining streusel on the muffins. Cover each muffin with the remaining half of the batter, and sprinkle the reserved streusel on top of muffins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until muffins spring back to the touch.

Glaze
: in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until completely smooth. Immediately drizzle glaze over warm muffins.

Makes 24 muffins.

Luscious Lemon-Berry Bundt Cake

Cake

2¾ cups flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

1¾ cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Zest of two lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

1¼ cups blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries, tossed
with 1 tablespoon flour (fresh or frozen is fine—you may
need a touch more flour if frozen)

Glaze

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

3–4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Lemon zest (optional)

Fresh berries (for garnishing—optional)

Heat oven to 350°F, and grease (or butter) a 12-cup Bundt pan. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, and set aside. In another large bowl, beat butter until smooth, then add sugar and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, and beat until combined. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in berries and spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, and run a sharp knife around edges of the pan. Turn out and cool completely.

Glaze: in a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and corn syrup until smooth. Drizzle over top of cake and let it roll down the sides, and garnish with a few fresh berries if you’ve got them.

Cranberry Island Cod Cakes
with Lemon Mayonnaise

Cod Cakes

4 cups milk

2 pounds cod fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided

¼ cup minced chives

2 tablespoons grated onion

2½ teaspoons lemon zest

1½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup fresh lemon juice, divided

¼ cup olive oil, divided

Lemon Mayonnaise

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

½ teaspoon black pepper

Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat in a large, heavy saucepan, and add the fish. Cover the pan and simmer for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, and drain well. Combine cod, ½ cup panko, chives, onion, lemon zest, salt, pepper, eggs, and garlic, then stir in 2 tablespoons juice. Divide the fish mixture into 16 equal portions, shaping each into a ½-inch-thick patty (you may need to add a bit more panko if patties are too moist), and coat patties with the remaining ½ cup of panko. (Again, you may need more.)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 patties to pan, and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels. Repeat procedure 3 more times with remaining olive oil and patties. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons juice.

To prepare sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Serve with cakes. (Natalie likes to garnish this with chopped chives—if you want, you can add some to the lemon mayonnaise as well.)

Serves 4.

Emmeline’s Award-Winning
Cranberry Streusel Cake

Cake

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon table salt

½ cup butter, softened

11⁄3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

½ cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Streusel

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup chopped walnuts

¼ cup cranberries, chopped

Heat the oven to 325°F, and lightly butter and flour a 9-inch-square baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt together. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until well blended. Reduce the speed to medium low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Alternately fold the flour mixture and the sour cream into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the chopped cranberries with the last addition of flour, then spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan gently on the counter to release any air bubbles and bake for 40 minutes.

While the cake is baking, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix, using a fork, until the ingredients are well blended and form small crumbs. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries. After the cake has baked for 40 minutes, sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the cake. Continue baking until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, another 10 to 15 minutes.

Natalie’s Caramelized Overnight French Toast

This is my favorite holiday recipe; it goes together quickly the night before, and all you have to do is put it in the oven as soon as you get up. Before the kids are done unwrapping their presents (or finding their hidden eggs), you have a decadent, sweet, sticky pan of French toast on the table—and you haven’t had to do a thing!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons corn syrup

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar, packed

12 slices French bread (preferably 1–2 day old bread)

8 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. In a small saucepan combine the corn syrup, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is syrupy. Pour the mixture over the bottom of a buttered baking pan, and lay 6 slices of bread over the brown sugar mixture.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs with half and half cream or milk, vanilla, and salt. Pour half of the egg mixture over the bread slices in the pan, then layer the remaining 6 slices on top. Pour the remaining egg/milk mixture over the top (make sure that all the bread is covered with the mixture—Natalie often spoons some of the egg mixture from the bottom of the pan over the bread to make sure it is soaked). Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove plastic wrap and bake, uncovered, at 350°F degrees for 45 minutes.

Serves 6.