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November 2021 Monthly Letter

Hello everyone!

It’s November!  Time flies when you’re having fun…and even if you’re not.  It just doesn’t seem fair! All we can do is to do our best, even if we’re weary.  I hope Halloween brought you more treats than tricks and now we are heading toward Thanksgiving.  We need to focus on those two words:  Thanks and Giving, especially with the holidays looming.  Many people have suffered a lot over the past year and a half, but as long as you can get out of bed and put your pants on you’re ahead of the game!  I don’t mean to be flippant—just something to think about.

Most of you know I am a news junkie.  Recently I saw an interview with a psychologist talking about all the anger people are feeling, and, unfortunately, acting out in ways that are horrifying. And most of it is displaced, like yelling at the clerk in the grocery store because the line is too long.  Do you really think they planned it that way?  I don’t think so.   I know I talked about this in my last letter but it’s a chronic problem and it’s up to each of us to try to stem the tide. All of us can do a little each day.  I don’t want to get preachy here, but I implore each of you to try a random act of kindness.  Open the door for someone.  Give a total stranger a compliment “Oh, I like your shoes!”  It will make their day, and as a result, it will also make yours.  I know life is very frustrating right now, but if everyone makes a small effort to be nice to one another,  I truly believe we can become more civil and kind, which will truly shift the energy in a more positive direction.

I say this now because as we approach the holidays people are going to be even more frustrated with lack of goods and services.  So, before you blow a gasket ask yourself, “Do I really need that thing?”  (I’m not talking about necessities, like toilet paper.)  Or if your children are becoming too demanding, reel them in.  They will only learn if you teach them.  As Crosby, Stills & Nash said, “Teach your children well.”

Now I shall step off my soapbox and talk about our contests for November.  We will be giving away (5) special links for an audio-book download version of SANTA CRUISE.  There will be a Special Holiday Contest Coming soon. Check back next week for details.

Have a wonderful THANKSGIVING!
Fern

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November 2021 Recipes

Now on to the turkey and the fixings.  Left overs?  Turkey meatloaf! 

Depending on how much you have, chop 2-3 cups of turkey in a food processor…don’t pulverize it, just chop it.  Add left over stuffing and a little melted butter—2-3 tablespoons.  Form into a loaf pan and cover with foil. Bake on 325 for about 20-minutes until heated through.  As soon as it comes out of the oven spread cranberry sauce on top.  Voila!

If you are having house-guests you’ll want to have this handy and easy finger picking offering:

Ham & Cheese Sliders

  • 12 Hawaiian style rolls – split in half (top and bottom)
  • ¾ pound deli ham thinly sliced
  • ½ pound Swiss cheese
  • 6 tbsp melted butter
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 ½ tsp dried minced onion
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbs chopped parsley
  • Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350.
Coat sheet pan with spray.
Place bottom of rolls on the pan.
Layer ham first and then cheese.
Place top of rolls over the cheese.
In a small bowl whisk the butter, mustard, dried onion, Worcestershire sauce.
Drizzle mixture over rolls.
Cover sandwiches with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
Uncover and bake 3-5 more minutes until tops are lightly browned.

And of course Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete without Patricia Dorph’ s apple-pie recipe.

Apple Pie

Pastry  for two 9 inch  pastry pans:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cups butter
  • 2-3 tbs cold water
  • Sift flour and salt together
  • Add butter and cut it through with pastry blender until mixture is in pieces, pea size
  • Add cold water a few drops at time until moistened enough to hold together in a ball
  • Wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for 15-30 minutes
  • Take more than half for the under crust and roll out and fit into 9” pie pan

Filling:

  • 5 cups, cored, peeled and thinly sliced Granny Green and Mackintosh
  • Mix together and add to apples
  • 3/4 cups brown sugar
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 tbs butter
  • Place into pie pan
  • Roll out top dough for crust and place on top
  • Make 4 slashes in top crust

Bake 450 degrees for 15 mins. Turn heat down to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 35 mins. Remove when golden brown.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Enjoy!

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October 2021 Monthly Letter

Dear Reader,

Thank you for visiting my website.  I don’t know about you but as Yogi Berra used to say:  “It’s  Deja vu all over again.:”   It seems like we’re in a hamster wheel trying to move forward and getting nowhere.  Yes, some things have gotten better, but not enough.  People are still arguing over masks and vaccines.  Then when things seem to be opening up,  we get hit with another wave.  No wonder so many people are cranky.  Then there’s the whole school issue.  Virtual?  Hybrid? In-person?  I mentioned once before, I am so glad my kids are grown up and with the exception for one grandkid, they are no longer in school.  It’s a tough time for everyone and that’s an important thing to keep in mind.  We are all going through this.  A friend of mine was having dinner at a nice restaurant and there was a very loud and raucous group of five men.  They were terribly loud and annoying.  Finally she got up and walked over to their table and politely said, “Gentlemen (I know she used that word loosely) could you be so kind as to lower the decibel level just a bit?”  One of the men—who was a bit intoxicated—said “Listen lady, it’s been a rough year and a half. We’re just trying to have some fun. ”  She calmly said.  “Yes.  I agree.  It’s been a rough year and a half for everyone, including all the other people in this restaurant.  They too would like to have an enjoyable evening.”  Four of the men apologized, but Mr. Cranky Pants kept at it.  “And who do you think you are?”  He snapped.  She put out her hand and calmly introduced herself.  He had no choice but to shake her hand, otherwise he would have looked like a bigger jerk.  When she went back to her seat another gentleman at the next table said, “Thank you.  You did something the rest of us wanted to do.”  It takes a strong woman to be soft and reasonable.  I am sure she would rather throw a drink in his face, but that would only have escalated the situation.  My point is, no matter how much you want to smack the snot out of someone, take a minute and think about the outcome you want.  Peace or fisticuffs? And that’s  today’s lesson in tolerance.  It ain’t easy.  Try to be patient.

On to fun stuff.  I am happy to say HIDDEN has been a big hit and has been in the top 3 best-selling paperbacks for three weeks.  SANTA CRUISE just shipped and the cover looks spectacular.  It’s an entertaining read if I say so myself.  LOL.  Lots of shenanigans and a tribute to friendship.  To celebrate the book, each week for the  month of October we will be giving away a signed copy, so be sure you enter the contest. Winners will be chosen every Sunday at 12 PM EST so sign up as often as you’d like!

The kitty patrol are up to their usual tricks like turning on the TV in the middle of the night.  I have to remember to hide the remote, except I forget where I put it.  Need to leave a post-it, but I’m sure Mz. Boo will figure out a way to hide that too!

Be well, be safe, be kind, and try to have some fun.   All the best, Fern

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October 2021 Recipes

Halloween is in a few weeks and we surely need a few treats.  For the bakers I want to revisit a wonderful seasonal pie, and a comfort food recipe.

If you’re craving the traditional pumpkin pie, this is courtesy of Heidi Dugan.

Pumpkin Pie

Pastry  for two 9 inch  pastry pans:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2/3 cups butter
  • 2-3 tbs. cold water

Sift flour and salt together

Add butter and cut it through with pastry blender until mixture is in pieces, pea size

Add cold water a few drops at time until moistened enough to hold together in a ball

Wrap in plastic and chill in frig. for 15-30 mins

Take more than half for the under crust and roll out and fit into 9” pie pan

Filling:

  • 2 Large eggs, beaten
  • ¾ Cup brown sugar (may also use white sugar)
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • 1 Teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ Teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ Teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ Teaspoon clove
  • 15 Oz can pumpkin puree
  • 1 12 Oz can evaporated milk

In a medium bowl combine ingredients in order listed above.

Pour the mixture into unbaked piecrust. Bake in pre heat oven at 425 for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 2 hrs. and serve or refrigerate.

Short Ribs – Crock Pot Recipe – You can make two different dinners from this

  • 2 lbs. short ribs
  • 1 lb. mushrooms – washed and sliced
  • 1 large leek (or onion) sliced thin
  • 3 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups dry red wine (don’t worry the alcohol will evaporate)
  • 8 oz. broth (bone is the best but you can use chicken or vegetable)
  • 1 tsp. ground savory
  • 1 tsp. dry oregano
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • Pinch of salt
  • Fresh ground pepper – to your taste

Brown the short ribs in the olive oil.  Don’t overcook. Remove and set aside.

Brown the leeks and garlic in the same pan.

Pour the wine and broth into the crock pot and add savory, oregano, thyme, salt & pepper.  Stir together.

Add ribs and top with the mushrooms.

Cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

The meat will literally fall off the bone, that you can discard.

First meal is the beef.  Serve with mashed potatoes.

Second meal (which is the best part for me)

Pappardelle pasta.  Those are the long flat ones that are about a ¼ inch thick.  They  usually come in spirals. Depending on how many people you are feeding you can decide how much pasta to make.

Use the mushroom sauce on top of

Garnish with fresh basil, grated parmesan, or pecorino cheese.

If you’re like me and you want to give it a kick, sprinkle crushed red pepper.

Buon appetito!

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September 2021 Monthly Letter

Dear Reader,

I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and well.  Hard to believe it’s September.  We’re 18 months into the pandemic, and now Mother Nature is giving us a pounding.  She sure is pissed at us.

It’s been a hard year and a half.  Just when you thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be an oncoming train!  It’s no wonder people are on edge, depressed, anxious, and angry.  We’ve got to remember the one thing we can control is how we deal with things.  I probably said that before, and now more than ever we need to hang tight and try to be loose at the same time.  Our mental health is major.

I know people are worried about kids going back to school; what is going to happen for the holidays this year; will the pandemic ever be over; should I hoard toilet paper again?  It’s been a whole lot of crisis management.  But it’s important to stop and smell the flowers, find some beauty, choose to find joy.  It’s out there somewhere.  It doesn’t have to be a big thing.  Watching my hooligan cats gives me great joy.  No matter how hard things get or how bad they are, there has got to be something to be thankful for.

Speaking of cats, Mz. Boo, here’s her latest shenanigan.  I have a Christmas tree in my den.  It’s on a timer and I keep it lit year round.  It’s for my daughter, Patti who passed away at Christmastime several years ago.  One night I got spooked when the lights came on at a different time.  Now some of you know about the ghost named Mary Margaret.  For those of you who don’t, I live in a very old house.  Over a hundred and fifty years.  Lots of history, and apparently there’s some about a young woman named Mary Margaret who shows up occasionally.  I’m not cuckoo.  Many people have experienced her presence.  It’s not scary.  Really.  And if it was I wouldn’t tell you.  I’m Fern Michaels, not Stephen King.  LOL.  Anyway, back to the tree.  A few hours after the lights had mysteriously turned themselves on, the lights went out.  A few hours later they came back on again.  I didn’t know if it was a “sign” from the other side. Maybe Mary Margaret was visiting.  But enough was enough.  As I bent down to look under the tree there was Mz. Boo sitting next to the timer giving me a “what?” kind of look.  Somehow she figured out how to change it.  I kid you not.  A friend of mine told me a story last week about her newly rescued kitten and the momma.  Now she has four who create havoc.  Each night she sets her security alarm before going upstairs to bed.  It was around 2:00AM when she was startled awake by loud voices coming from the living room.  She sat up and grabbed the phone and wondered why the alarm didn’t sound.  She listened for a few more seconds and realized it was Andy Griffin!  The fur rascals knocked the remote on the floor and turned on the TV.  At least it wasn’t the news!  That would have been really scary.

I am very excited about the new books that are coming out in the next two months.  Last month I mentioned a new series about sister and brother who have shops in a large art center.  It’s an interesting and quirky set of characters, mystery, humor, and of course a little romance.  The first book is called Hidden and is on-sale now.  I think you’ll find it very entertaining.  Then in October the new Christmas hardcover, Santa Cruise will be on-sale.  Four friends on a singles cruise and lots of shenanigans—a romp on the high seas.  Actually, the Caribbean.  It’s a fun escape.

This month’s contest is a signed copy of Hidden.

Be well, stay safe. Put fun and joy into your life.

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September 2021 Recipes

Pasta Fagioli (pronounced Pasta Fazool) – This should feed at least 6 people — and it freezes well too

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 loaves of Crusty Italian Bread
  • (3) 15 oz cans cannellini beans
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 oz pancetta or approx 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup crushed tomatoes
  • 1 3/4 cups small pasta shells, uncooked
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • crushed red pepper flakes, optional
  • parmesan cheese, optional

Instructions:

  • Drain ONE can of beans and set aside.
  • In a large soup pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and pancetta and sauté until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary and sauté about 4 additional minutes.
  • Transfer sautéed ingredients to a blender or food processor and add the two other cans of beans (liquid included). Puree until smooth.
  • Add the pureed mixture back into the pot, along with the drained beans, the chicken and beef broth, salt, and crushed tomatoes. Simmer while pasta is cooking.
  • In a separate pot, cook pasta shells until al dente. Box should give you timing.  You don’t want them mushy.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, remove from heat, drain and add to bean mixture.
  • Simmer everything together for 8-10 minutes.
  • If you like a little kick, top with crushed red pepper; Serve, topped with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, with crusty bread.

For those of you who have been assigned to the local cake sale, here is one of my favorites.  But I warn you, you will want to make one for yourself.  Just yourself.  It’s from Patricia Dorph who gave us her Busch de Noel cake last Christmas.

Patti’s Plum Cake

Ingredients:

  • 9” round pie pan – greased
  • 1 cup butter – softened
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 2-3 plums cut into slices
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 tsps. Cinnamon
  • 2 tsps. Powdered sugar
  • Juice of lemon

Instructions:

  • Beat sugar into butter; add eggs and vanilla.
  • Add flour and beat mixture well.
  • Spread mixture into greased pan.
  • Starting in the center, place plums on top in wagon-wheel design (spokes coming from the center).
  • Bake 45 minutes – test with a toothpick.
  • Let cool.
  • Sprinkle cinnamon and powdered sugar to taste, squeeze lemon juice over cake top of cake.
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August 2021 Monthly Letter

Dear Reader,

I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and well.  The COVID rollercoaster seems to continue to be in operation.  It’s been so long since this thing started I’ve almost forgotten what life is like without it although my fur family doesn’t have a clue!

Yes, the cats are on a hooligan rampage.  I think they’ve broken everything possible in the house.  I shrug.  It’s just stuff.  So here’s a tip: if you ever adopt young cats lock everything up that has any value, although I think Miz Boo can pick locks.  She surely knows how to turn the water on.  Speaking of which, not sure if I shared this last time but she fell in the toilet.  Henry, my Yorkie was the one who alerted me to the swimming shenanigans.  As crazy as her stunts are she makes me laugh out loud.

August is hot and sticky down here. Every year it seems to get hotter and stickier.  I love to sit on my rocking chairs on my front porch but lately I feel like I’m melting.  Back into the A/C to see what the hooligans have destroyed in the half hour I’m outside.

Lots of new books coming out soon.  Hidden, the first in a new series is coming next month in paperback with an interesting cast of characters.  In October we’ll have Santa Cruise, a madcap adventure on the high seas in hardcover; and then the mass market of The Brightest Star.  Lots of fun and inspiring reading for the fall. I hope you enjoy them.

This month’s contest will be a signed copy of Hidden.  I’m very excited about this new series.

Now on to food!  I’m featuring several recipes from friends for a Southern dinner.  My editor at Kensington, Esi Sogah offered up a flourless cake for dessert.  Many people turn up their nose to collard greens—I for one am one of those people—but this is made with bacon. Everything is better with bacon.  The recipe comes from Ashley Fenimore, a beautiful young pharmacological oncologist who won the Charleston Magazine contest for side vegetables.  Her work is very grueling so she relaxes by cooking.  Another friend Carolyn Williams gave us her family recipe for fried chicken.  And of course, every Southern meal has to have potato salad.

Enjoy the rest of the summer.  Stay cool, stay well, stay safe, and most of all stay sane!

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August 2021 Recipes

TUSCAN STYLE COLLARD GREENS (A LITTLE BIT OF ITALY)

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 large bunches local collards
  • 16 oz. low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 large leeks, washed, white part diced (slice 2-3 rings for garnish)
  • 1/3 lb. pancetta or bacon chopped

DIRECTIONS

  • Cut or tear collard leaves off stems.
  • Clean by rinsing repeatedly in cold water Soak and use a salad spinner if you have one.
  • Cut into two-inch strips.
  • Place in a large pot, cover generously with vegetable broth (reserve 1/3 cup broth for later), and bring to a low boil.
  • Cook until collards are almost tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
  • Sauté garlic for two minutes, or until tender. Using slotted spoon, remove garlic to a bowl.
  • Add diced leeks to pan, and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes—do not brown.
  • Remove leeks to garlic bowl. Add pancetta/bacon to frying pan, and sauté until browned.
  • Return garlic and leeks to pan.
  • Add reserved vegetable broth and collards.
  • Stir gently and thoroughly until collards are completely cooked, about three minutes. Serve.

 

SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS

  • Cut up whole chicken
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 cup corn meal
  • 2 tablespoons sea salt season salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 3-4 cups Wesson or high heat oil – enough to cover frying pan by at least 1 inch

DIRECTIONS

  • Wash Chicken  – soak in slightly salted water for 10 minutes.
  • Blend dry ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes.
  • Heat oil until a drop of water sizzles.
  • Dip chicken in buttermilk.
  • Dredge chicken through dry ingredients and place in hot oil.
  • Keep an eye on the chicken—when it’s brown on one side turn over and cook other side.

 

EASY POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lbs New Potatoes or red potatoes cubed and cooked – let cool a bit
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup ranch dressing [with or without bacon] or add your own
  • ¼ cup bacon bits or crumbled bacon

DIRECTIONS

  • Mix together and serve or refrigerate for 2 hours and serve.

 

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE – ANOTHER CONTEST WINNER!

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.
  • Chop chocolate into small pieces.
  • In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.
  • Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture.
  • Add eggs and whisk well.
  • Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.
  • Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust.
  • Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.
  • Dust cake with additional cocoa powder. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)
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July 2021 Monthly Letter

Dear Friends,

July 4th!  Holy firecrackers.  If you are reading this after the holiday I hope you had a blast! 😊

The weather has been extremely hot and steamy, although that’s not new to South Carolina.  It seems like it lasts longer and gets hotter more often.

I’m not going to use the word age.  As far as I’m concerned it’s a three-letter word.  Therefore I shall substitute it for “mature.”  For those on the “mature” side of life, parts start to wear down or wear out. Not much different than a car.  I have a friend who needed both hips replaced.  She said the doctor told her she was “riding on her rims.”  Now she has two chunks of titanium on each side.  In many ways we are lucky we have those options.  This week I had an option to fix my vision.  I needed cataract surgery.  No fun, but I am on the mend. So for any of you who have gone through it, I feel you!

I trust many of you are getting back to a more normal way of living.  Let’s pray we never have to go through something like that again. Now we can actually laugh about hoarding toilet paper. Talk about counting squares!

Most of you know that I have become one of those “Cat Ladies.”  I refrain from inserting the word “Crazy” but give me time.  I have some fun news. Miz Boo, the three legged maniac, is going to be featured on the Chewy.com social media bulletin board.  I can honestly say I love that little hooligan to the moon and back.

As far as book stuff, this month’s contest will be a signed Advance Reading Copy of my Christmas novel, Santa Cruise.  The official on-sale date is October, but I wanted to offer a little Christmas in July.  I am very excited about this book.  It features four friends from college who meet up at a reunion and they plan the unthinkable:  go on a singles cruise.  Lots of madcap adventures on the high seas. But before that is published, I’m launching a new series about a brother and sister who have shops in a large art center.  The first book is called Hidden and will be out in September.  It’s splashed with mystery, suspense, a bit of woo-woo, and of course romance.  It has a very interesting cast of unique characters I hope you will grow to love.

That’s my news for now.  Be safe, be kind, stay cool, and have fun.

All the best,

Fern

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July 2021 Recipes

P.S. I LOVE bacon.  I make a salad with a pound of bacon but I’ll share that recipe another time.  With summer Bar-B-Ques I thought you might try a different take on potato salad.  You have to turn on the stove for that one, but the dessert recipe I included is No Bake!

German Potato Salad

  • 5 slices bacon (diced and cooked until crisp)
  • 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 cups sliced cooked potatoes – look for thin skinned like red or fingerling
  1. Boil already-sliced potatoes until they are cooked through. Set aside.
  2. Cook the bacon and keep the drippings. Set it aside to cool.
  3. Heat bacon drippings in a pan large enough to add the potatoes.
  4. Blend in flour, sugar, salt, and mustard.
  5. Slowly add vinegar and water, stir until smooth.
  6. Continue cooking over low heat, until thickened.
  7. Add potatoes and heat through, slowly add crumbled bacon-save a few tablespoons for garnish.
  8. Serve warm or room temp.

No Bake Cheesecake

  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • ⅓ cup white sugar
  • 4 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
  • ½ pint sliced fresh strawberries – sprinkled with sugar – set aside
  1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
  2. Fold in whipped topping.
  3. Spoon mixture into graham crumb crust. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
  4. Once the cheesecake has set, garnish with sliced strawberries.
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