Diane Davidson - The Grilling Season

I grinned and kissed him. “You’re marvelous beyond words. And thank you – I’d love the company this morning.”

I fixed myself an espresso while Tom took his shower. Because the hospital had rebuffed me, and because it was too early to call Marla, I made a quick call to the sheriff’s department: ReeAnn Collins was out of danger and recovering from third-and second-degree burns. John Richard Korman, unfortunately, was still at large. And no, the duty officer informed me, Korman had not shown up at the Druckmans’ house.

I sipped the espresso and wondered how Arch was doing. He’d only been gone one night, but it felt like an eternity because it was so open-ended. I’m going to live with the Druckmans for a while. At least until Dad’s hearing. I got out leeks, tomatoes, and cream cheese, then retrieved two large bags of shrimp from the freezer. When Tom appeared in the kitchen, with his hair freshly washed and a tiny glob of shaving cream stuck under his ear, I was doubly glad he had decided to stay. Nothing like loneliness and a violent ex-husband on the lam to make one brood.

“Give me a job, Captain Cook,” Tom demanded merrily after he’d chugged down the espresso I’d given him and heard the news about ReeAnn and the Jerk. “The less savory the job, sir, the better.”

That was easy: I despise poaching and shelling shrimp. Now I not only needed the shellfish for the doll-club board breakfast, I needed them for the dinner, too. “If you could cook and shell all that shrimp, I’d be eternally grateful.”

He eyed the bulging bags and chuckled. “Aye-aye, sir.”

I started on a brioche-style dough that would form a delectable top crust for the dish I’d decided to call Collectors’ Camembert Pie. While we were both working, Macguire made a sudden appearance in the kitchen. I glanced at the clock: not even seven. “This is unexpected,” I remarked. “What’s up?”

“Give me something to do,” he said bravely, his voice still thick with sleep. “I want to help.”

I cut a glance at Tom, who resolutely bent over the shrimp. These two had conspired to cheer me up, no question about it. Fine. To Macguire, I pointed out the plump tomatoes to be seeded and chopped, artichoke bottoms to be trimmed, asparagus to be steamed and sliced, Camembert to be thickly cut, and Parmesan to be grated.

“I’ll worry about putting it all together when I get home,” I said with a smile.

“Uh,” said Macguire, “that’s a lot of food for breakfast, isn’t it?”

“It’s for dinner, Macguire.”

“Uh.” He rubbed his eyes. “Well, can I go back to bed until about ten and start chopping then?”

I laughed. “Of course.” When he had hauled himself back upstairs, I beat the eggs for the main course. “Tom,” I said thoughtfully as I chopped tomatoes and leeks, “what’s the time frame for John Richard’s trial?”

“Preliminary hearing should be in about another three weeks. The county’s prosecuting attorney needs to see if there’s enough evidence to go to trial. As soon as the drug screen’s done and the skin and hair under Suz Craig’s fingernails are analyzed, they’ll know more than they do now. But as you know, there’s already a lot of evidence against him.”

“What about the vandals?”

“No sign of them. They could be anybody. They could have been hired by somebody sympathetic to Suz Craig.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.” I melted butter, put in the chopped leeks, and stirred the gold-and-green mixture. The aroma was deliciously sharp and fresh. “I guess it’s conceivable that someone rented a white Jeep. Someone who knew what kind of car John Richard drove. The person would have to live close by.”

Tom expertly drained the shrimp and ran cold water over them. “The only people connected to the case who live very close by are Patricia McCracken and Ralph Shelton. Patricia says she was asleep and her husband backs her up. Ralph Shelton says that after he and his wife got home from the country club, they went to bed. The wife says he was next to her in bed the whole night. But she admits she’s a sound sleeper.”

“Lucky her.” I stirred the bright red tomatoes into the bubbling mass of butter and leeks, then gently stirred in the eggs. “I wish I knew why I can’t find out what’s going on inside ACHMO.”

His voice quivered with anger. “I wish I knew why I can’t seem to protect you from that violent ex-husband of yours.”

“Not to make any excuses for him, but the man can’t deal with frustration. Especially when he’s had a few drinks. Maybe he knocked on the front door the way he said he did. But just because I didn’t answer right away is no reason to lose his temper.”

Doll Show Shrimp and Eggs

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

8 large frozen easy-peel shrimp

3 tablespoons butter

ź cup chopped leek, white part only

1/3 cup chopped fresh tomato, seeds and pulp removed

6 eggs, slightly beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 ounces cream cheese, cut into ź inch cubes

Preheat oven to 400°. Bring a pint of water to boil and add the Old Bay Seasoning and the shrimp. Cook the shrimp until they are just pink. Do not overcook the shrimp. Drain and peel the shrimp, then cut each one in half. Melt the butter in an ovenproof skillet, then add the leek and tomato. Saute gently for about 5 minutes, until the leek is softened.

Pour the eggs into the leek-tomato-mixture, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent browning, until eggs have almost congealed but still have some liquid left. Stir in the shrimp and the cream cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until cream cheese is melted and eggs are completely congealed.

Serves 2 to 3

Collectors’ Camembert Pie

Crust:

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons sugar

2 ˝ teaspoons (1 package) dry yeast

ž teaspoon salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 ˝ teaspoons oil

1 ź cups flour (or more)

Heat the milk, butter, and sugar until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly (to 105 to 115 ). Stir the yeast into the milk mixture and let it stand for 10 minutes. Stir in the salt, egg, and oil. Add the flour ź cup at a time, stirring well, until each addition is thoroughly incorporated and dough holds together well. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 10 minutes, adding small amounts of flour if necessary, until dough is smooth and satiny. (Or use a dough hook and knead in a mixer for the same amount of time.) Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn it once to oil the top. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise at room temperature until tripled in bulk (about 2 hours). Punch the dough down, roll it into a rectangle approximately 9 by 13 inches, and place it in a jumbo-size zippered plastic bag. Refrigerate for up to 6 hours. When you begin to prepare the pie, remove the bag from the refrigerator to allow the dough to come to room temperature.

Filling:

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

36 large (1 ˝ pounds) easy-peel shrimp

8 ounces fresh asparagus, trimmed

1 pound fresh tomatoes, cored and seeded

1 pound canned artichoke bottoms (5 or 6 per can)

2 12-ounce wheels (1 ˝ pounds) Camembert

1 cup mayonnaise

2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 teaspoons pressed garlic (4 to 6 pressed cloves)

ž teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

ž teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

ž teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

In a wide skillet, bring a quart of water to boil and add the Old Bay Seasoning. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink. Do not overcook the shrimp. Drain the shrimp and discard the cooking water. Peel the shrimp and set it aside until you are ready to assemble the pie.