copyright 2014 Aaron Paul Lazar
Gus LeGarde, the main character in
Lady Blues: forget-me-not, has always loved to cook for his friends
and family. Every Sunday he invites his mother-in-law, her cop boyfriend, the
reverend from church, his daughter’s fiancé, elderly family friends, Oscar and
Millie Stone, and anyone else who he happens to befriend in each new book in
the series of ten mysteries starting with
Double
Forté.
I didn’t plan it this way, but when I wrote the first book
and every novel since then, I’ve employed the device of tension and release, or
what I like to call the "literary sine wave." I feature an action vignette first
– someone’s being chased or there’s a tornado coming, or a saboteur is pulling
nasty tricks backstage on high school kids…then when the scene fades, I “pan”
to a family vignette. Gus is cooking, or playing with his grandkids, or walking
through his gardens. Family is shown in their every day chaos or quiet, and I
use these scenes to encourage my readers care about Gus and his family, who
will be most definitely threatened in scenes to come.
It just so happens that when we’re the “lower” half of the
sine wave, beneath the x axis, if you will, in those quiet times, Gus tends to
be cooking.
I’ve pulled meals from my own life every time I need
material for these scenes. Yes, every meal Gus cooks, I’ve probably just cooked
the weekend before I wrote that chapter. Yes, in a large family feast. Yes, for
lots of family around a table much like Gus’s. But how Gus and I are alike is
an article for another day.
Some of my readers have expressed interest in recipes from
the books. In Lady Blues, I do
feature a fair amount of comfort food. Problem
is, I don’t cook by the book. I just sort of estimate everything and throw
things together. That’s how Gus does it, too. But today I’ll try to make things a bit more specific.
;o) Use your own judgment, though. If you need more or less of something to
make it work, just do it. We don’t stand on ceremony in the LeGarde…er…Lazar
household.
Here are a few of the meals Gus cooked in Lady Blues: forget-me-not. I’m not a
recipe writer, I’m a seat-of-the-pants cook. So I hope the quantities I
estimated here will work for you.
Scalloped Tomatoes
(that’s right, not potatoes!)
This dish is very popular in my house. It’s also very
fattening, but we don’t care when it’s a special occasion. It’s also very easy
to make. I use frozen tomatoes from my garden, defrosted and drained, but you
can use chopped canned tomatoes if you have them, or whole roma tomatoes,
canned or fresh. I leave the skins and seeds in, and they taste just fine.
This will feed a huge crowd, and I bake it in an enormous
rectangular baking pan, but you can use whatever is handy and cut the amounts
in half if you’re serving a smaller family.
Ingredients (roughly
estimated)
- 8 cups chopped, diced, or whole plum tomatoes, drained of
all liquid (squish ‘em in a colander)
- 8 cups Mozzarella or cheese of your choice, shredded
- 1 pound butter
- 1 box of coarsely crushed ww Saltines or regular Saltines
(other crackers or crumbs can work) (I put them in a big baggie and mash them
with a rolling pin.)
Directions
1. Melt the butter and mix with the crushed crackers. (You
can add parsley or any seasonings you prefer, but it doesn’t need much!)
2. Build layers of tomatoes, cheese, buttered crackers (like
lasagna) until the dish is full. I usually get about three layers of each.
3. Cover with shredded cheese and/or crumbs.
4. Bake for ~ an hour until the cheese is melted and crispy
on top.
That’s it!
(I told you it was fattening, but it’s so delicious, it’s
worth the calories!)
Homemade cranberry
sauce with pears
This is so easy to make, I often prepare it when we serve
baked turkey legs, or turkey patties. I made it for Thanksgiving, too, but I’m
the only one who likes it over the gelled type of canned cranberry, LOL. I buy
bags of cranberries around Thanksgiving and freeze them for the whole year.
That way, I can just grab one from the freezer and make this in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- One package fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1-2 cups sugar or sweetener of your choice (I used Blue
Agave sometimes)
- Two pears, skinned and diced
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
Directions
1. Place frozen or fresh cranberries and pears in a large
stockpot and cover with water.
2. Boil until nearly softened.
3. Add sweetener at the end to make it syrupy. If using
sugar, you need several cups to counteract the delicious tartness of the
berries.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg.
Gus LeGarde is now officially proud of you. ;o)
Bavarian Cabbage
This dish goes great with pork chops, mashed carrots and
parsnips, or a pork loin roast. Adjust the flavors as you go to suit your
taste.
Ingredients
- One head red cabbage, sliced
- Six tart apples, peeled and sliced.
- Two onions, thinly sliced
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Vinegar OR Apple cider, about 1 cup
- Brown Sugar, about 1 cup, but add more or less to taste
- Clove powder, just a tiny sprinkle at the end.
Directions
1.
Sautee onions in EVOO until translucent.
2.
Add red cabbage and apples, apple cider (or
vinegar).
3.
Cook down until the cabbage and apples are
tender, keep stirring.
4.
Add brown sugar to taste halfway through
cooking. The color will become more purple/blue as the dish cooks down.
5.
Adjust flavors until it has a sweet/sour taste
and sprinkle just a touch of clove powder in at the end.
Enjoy!!
Aaron Lazar
www.lazarbooks.com
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