Here Be Monsters (Tyler Cunningham) (24 page)

Grandma's Tiramisu

5 egg yolks

½ cup maple syrup

½ cup bourbon

1 pound mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 dash vanilla extract

40 ladyfinger cookies

12 ounces espresso

3T bourbon

2T sugar in the raw

2T cocoa powder

1)
      
Beat the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl

2)
      
Add maple syrup and the ½ cup of bourbon, wisk until blended

3)
      
Put yolk/syrup/bourbon mix over heat in a double boiler, mix until smooth and just beginning to bubble, set aside to cool

4)
      
Whip heavy cream and vanilla extract to soft peaks in another bowl

5)
      
Mash/whisk the mascarpone until smooth in another bowl

6)
      
Pour yolk/syrup/bourbon custard over mascarpone and mix until smooth

7)
      
Fold in the whipped cream with a spatula

8)
      
Mix espresso, sugar, and 3T of bourbon in another bowl

9)
      
Dip one ladyfinger at a time into the coffee mix and arrange them fairly tightly packed across the bottom of a 11”X7” (
or volumetrically similar
) dish

10)
   
When the bottom of the dish is covered in dipped ladyfingers, spread half of the yolk/mascarpone/cream mix over the cookies

11)
   
Repeat step #9

12)
   
Repeat step #10

13)
   
Sift the cocoa powder over the top

14)
   
Chill covered for 4 hours before eating

The maple syrup and bourbon serve to make it mine, make it Adirondack-y (
for Meg
), and make it a little less tricky (
for Frank
).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Writing this book has been a goal of mine for the last thirty years; accomplishing this goal without a crap-ton of help would have been impossible. I had the help of family and friends and complete strangers alike, in a hundred different ways; everything had to work perfectly, and thanks to having the best support on the planet, it did. “Here Be Monsters” is the product of a perfect storm of love and help and information and inspiration.

The folks at National Novel Writing Month (
NaNoWriMo) provided me with a time and organizational framework that allowed me to write the first draft in a fabulous and hectic month (August 2012). Amazon’s self-publishing services, through CreateSpace and Kindle Desktop Publishing (KDP) provided me with not only the means to publish this book, but also an abundance of useful information and resources that made it much easier to do so.

The Adirondack Park is both an inspiration for, and a character in, this book.  The natural beauty and empty space and peace that the Park, and especially the Tri-Lakes Region,
provide make a perfect setting for my life and for Tyler’s.

The Tri-Lakes Humane Society (TLHS) is a massive force for good in the Adirondack Park, and an inspiration to me as a writer and a human being.  The
Tri-Lakes Animal Shelter (TLAS) in the novel is loosely based on them… everything good about it is true, the illegal activities were entirely made up.  We’ve brought four dogs home from the TLHS to live with us, and all of them were instrumental in helping me write the book in one way or another.

The students that I have had the opportunity to work with, and learn from, over the years at Lake Placid Middle/High School have helped me to celebrate our differences, and explore some of the various ways that there are to see the world.

Friends and family have inspired and supported me throughout the writing and editing process, and I can’t thank them enough. My parents (Jim and Jill Sheffield), sister (Sarah Sheffield), wonderful son (Ben), and wife (Gail Gibson Sheffield) all gave me the time and space that I needed to follow this dream, and their bottomless love gave me the courage to try. Rick Schott, Bryce Fortran, Derek Murawsky, Kevin Curdgel, and Stephen Carvalho have helped me expand my map of the world through their friendship while camping in all conditions.  Countless other friends have also offered encouragement, especially  Jonathan Webber and Gail Bennett Schott who have given me unending support and positive vibes during the writing and editing process.

A big shout out to t
he entire staff at SmartPig Publishing for their tireless efforts throughout the process… thanks Gail!

While I couldn’t have done it without any of you, any errors or omissions are all mine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamie Sheffield lives in the Adirondack Park
with his wife and son and two dogs, Miles and Puck. When he's not writing mysteries, he's probably camping or exploring the last great wilderness in the Northeast.  He has been a Special Education Teacher in the Lake Placid Central School District for the last 15 years.  Besides writing, Jamie loves cooking and reading and dogs and all manner of outdoor pursuits.

"Here Be Monsters" is his debut novel.

Follow the ongoing adventures of Tyler Cunningham

and read other works by the author.

Visit Jamie Sheffield’s website:

www.jamiesheffield.com