Biscuits and Slashed Browns Read online

  “Great to see you, Turner.” I kept my tone light and welcoming, or hoped that was how it sounded. “Are you and your parents here to eat?”

  “Hey, Robbie,” he murmured. “Yes. And we all want a chance to—”

  Sajit appeared behind his son, his face grave. “Robbie.”

  “Good morning, Dr. Rao. You can take any table. I’ll just get a clean apron.” I grabbed my nearly empty plate and turned away.

  “Wait.” Turner reached out for my arm and stopped me. “If you’ll have me, I’d like to come back to work.”

  “With our blessing, not that he needs it,” Mona added, having materialized at her husband’s side. The skin around her eyes was tight with strain, but her hair was neat and she mustered a smile.

  “Hi, Mona,” I said. “Of course I want you back, Turner. I hired you in the first place because I needed a third person, and I kept you on. You’re a good fit here and the three of us work well together.” I pointed to Danna. “Am I right?”

  After Danna popped a last morsel of bacon into her mouth, she gave both thumbs up, stacked my plate on hers, and sauntered over to the sink.

  “Seriously, please sit down, and I’ll get your order in a second.” I pointed to the closest four-person table.

  “If you insist.” Sajit pulled out a chair for his wife and waited until she sat.

  After I came back wearing a clean apron, order pad in hand, it took a few rounds of apologetic hesitations before Turner convinced his parents to just order breakfast, already. And it was a few more minutes before I delivered their vegetarian omelets, grits under my special non-meat gravy, and coffees, with hot tea for Dr. Rao.

  By then Buck had strolled in and hung up his coat. When the family waved him over, he gave me his Aw, shucks, why not? grin and joined them at their table.

  “Robbie, please sit down with us, too,” Mona said. “I have something I need to tell you.”

  They were still the only customers in the place, so I pulled up a chair between Buck and Mona.

  Sajit cleared his throat. “First, let me say that we all appreciate your help locating me that day, as well as your efforts trying to name the real murderer. It was a dangerous and confusing set of events, and I know you were doing your best.”

  “Yes.” Mona nodded.

  “Welp, she might coulda stayed just a tetch further away from the action,” Buck said, pronouncing might so it rhymed with lot.”

  “As usual, Buck?” I asked, gently elbowing him.

  “As usual.”

  “I want to apologize to you.” Mona gazed at me and lifted her chin as if to give herself encouragement to go on. “Not ‘want.’ I need to.”

  “No, you don’t.” I waved away the suggestion.

  “Yes, I do,” Mona said. “I way overreacted, and in fact buying prescription drugs the way I did was illegal. Right, Buck?”

  He nodded, slow and somber.

  “You did nothing wrong, Robbie. That was me,” Mona went on. “I’m just lucky I’ve finally secured the meds my dad needs—through legal channels.”

  “That’s awesome,” I said. “I’m so glad to hear it.”

  “And the judge was remarkably lenient with her,” Sajit added.

  “I have a question while you’re here, Lieutenant Bird,” Turner said. “Why did Nick drive Connolly to our farm? Did he kill him there?”

  “Far’s I know, Oscar’s got evidence showing Connolly was killed in his own rental car,” Buck replied.

  “Right,” I said. “Nick told me he woke Connolly and convinced him to get in the car. Said he was going to drive him to the hospital. He must have killed the professor once they got to your farm, or maybe somewhere in between. Nick had seen your dad push Connolly and knew the two men had argued. Maybe he thought if the body was found outside your sugar shack, all the blame would go on you, Dr. Rao.” Which it almost had.

  “Thanks to your persistence, it didn’t,” Mona murmured.

  “Hey. We do what we do.” I tried to brush away her thanks as I stood. “Enjoy your breakfasts, now. I’m so glad you came in, and that we’ve cleared the air.”

  Sajit stood and held out his hand, his fingers much like his son’s in length, but thicker and more worn. I smiled and shook his hand, meeting his gaze.

  As he sat again, my phone buzzed in my back pocket, signaling an incoming e-mail. “Excuse me.” I turned toward the kitchen area. When I got to the grill, I read the message.

  Maria and I have bought our tickets. We will see you in June!

  The joy in Baba’s words warmed me inside, like sitting outside on the first truly warm day of spring. The visit from my father and his wife would be only our second time to meet, and I couldn’t wait. The Bill Monroe Music Park over in Beanblossom was going to be hopping with folks playing bluegrass. June weather in Brown County was normally perfect, lovely, bug-free, and fragrant with blooms. And the couple could inaugurate my bed-and-breakfast rooms.

  Yikes. I counted off on my fingers. June was only a scant three months away. Would the rooms even be ready? Bathrooms and electricity operational? Bedrooms furnished right down to curtains and new linens? It would be tight, but now that Turner was back on board, I knew I could make the deadline.

  In a return message, I typed, Arrivederci. See you soon. Or as Abe would put it, a river dirt cheap.

  Recipes

  Maple Curry Biscuits

  They didn’t win first prize in the contest, but Robbie’s customers don’t care. Makes a dozen.

  Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (With inspiration from the Tassajara Bread Book)

  Ingredients

  1 cup whole wheat flour, plus extra for kneading

  1 cup unbleached white flour

  1 tablespoon baking powder

  1 teaspoon curry powder

  A dash to teaspoon cayenne or hot chili pepper

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup butter cut in half-inch cubes

  2 eggs

  ¼ cup milk

  ¼ cup real maple syrup, plus 2 tablespoons (Option: if you like a sweeter biscuit, omit the milk and use ½ cup maple syrup)

  Directions

  Mix the dry ingredients. Cut butter into the flour mix until mostly pea-sized pieces.

  Make a well in the middle and add the eggs, ¼ cup syrup, and milk, mixing with a fork in the well. Stir all with a fork until liquid is just blended with the flour. Do not overmix.

  Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and on the dough. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the surface, rubbing flour around the inside of the bowl until clean. Lightly knead the dough until it comes together.

  Roll the dough to a half-inch thickness. Fold in thirds. Roll, fold, and repeat several times. Cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter or drinking glass and position on a baking sheet. You don’t need more than half an inch in between. Brush tops with maple syrup.

  Bake for about ten minutes or until risen and golden brown on top.

  Adele’s Cracked Wheat Bread

  Used with permission from Barbara Bergendorf.

  Ingredients

  3½ cups water

  1 cup cracked wheat

  2 teaspoons salt

  3 tablespoons butter

  ⅓ cup honey

  2 packages dry yeast

  6–8 cups unbleached flour

  Directions

  Add cracked wheat to water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 8 minutes. Add salt, butter, and honey. Cool to 110 degrees.

  In mixing bowl combine yeast and 3 cups flour. Add cracked wheat mixture and two eggs. Using a dough hook, beat for five minutes on #2 speed. Gradually add enough more flour to form a dough that clings to the hook, but not to the sides of the bowl (it can still stick to the bottom). Let the mixer knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and oil the bowl before setting aside. Knead dough lightly by hand until smooth and elastic.

  Let rise in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap. When doubled in size, remo
ve, punch down, and form into two standard-size loaves or four smaller ones, depending on available pans. (Option: divide the dough into three parts instead, braid them, then form them into a ring, pinching the ends together.) Place in pans and brush tops with melted butter. Cover and let rise again until doubled in size.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease loaf pans. Bake until the tops are light brown and the bottom sounds hollow when you tap on it. Brush bread with more butter after you remove it from the oven.

  Robbie’s Roasted Garlic Hummus

  Robbie always keeps a can of tahini in the fridge so she can whip up a batch of hummus at a moment’s notice.

  Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.

  Ingredients

  1 large head of garlic

  2 cups cooked chickpeas

  4 tablespoons olive oil

  2 tablespoons tahini

  ¼ cup warm water

  1 lemon, juice of

  ½ teaspoon salt

  Dash soy sauce to taste

  A few drops hot sauce to taste

  Directions

  Cut off a quarter inch from the top of the garlic so that the tops of most of the cloves are exposed slightly. Set on a square of tin foil, drizzle a bit of olive oil into the cut top, and seal foil around garlic into a packet. Roast in oven for forty-five minutes or until soft. Remove and allow to cool.

  Using your fingers, squeeze the soft, roasted garlic out of each clove into food processor. (Option: use only half if you like a milder garlic flavor, or none at all, as desired.)

  Rinse and drain chickpeas. Add the chickpeas, oil, tahini, water, lemon juice, and salt to the food processor and blend until completely smooth. Tip: Measure the oil and add it, then use the same tablespoon for the tahini so it slides off the spoon and doesn’t stick. Add a dash soy sauce and a few drops of hot sauce.

  Stop and scrape ingredients off sides of food processor several times to make sure it blends evenly. If the hummus is too thick, drizzle in additional olive oil at this time. Add it very slowly, allowing the mixture to combine fully before adding more liquid.

  Serve at room temperature with triangles of pita bread, raw vegetables, or crackers, or use as a spread on sandwiches. Refrigerate extra.

  Chocolate Biscotti

  For your next Italian-themed brunch, or just to savor with coffee in the morning. Makes 48.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Ingredients

  1½ cups sliced almonds, toasted, divided in half

  1 cup butter, softened

  2 cups sugar

  ⅔ cup cocoa

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  3 eggs

  ½ teaspoon almond extract

  3½ cup unbleached flour

  Directions

  Lightly grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.

  Place ¾ cup of toasted almonds in a food processor and pulse until ground.

  Beat butter in large bowl for 30 seconds, then add sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; beat until combined. Beat in eggs and almond extract. Beat in half the flour. Add remaining flour, the ground almonds, and the remaining ¾ cup of sliced almonds and mix well.

  Divide dough in half. Arrange half in a long row on an 18-inch length of wax paper. Use paper to shape dough into 14-inch-long log. Repeat for other half. Place rolls on prepared cookie sheet at least 5 inches apart, flatten slightly.

  Bake 25–30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 hour.

  Cut each roll diagonally into ½ inch thick slices. Carefully place slices, cut sides down, on two ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 minutes.

  Remove pans from oven and carefully turn slices; bake 7 to 9 minutes more or until cookies are dry and begin to crisp (do not overbake). Remove from cookie sheets to wire racks. Cool completely.

  Enjoy with coffee or tea.

  Eggplant Bake

  Robbie invented this for her dinner one night.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Ingredients

  Olive oil

  1 eggplant, sliced cross wise in half-inch slices

  4–6 sliced fresh tomatoes (Option: use 1 cup of commercial or homemade tomato sauce instead if desired.)

  1 cup cooked medium-grain brown rice

  One boneless chicken breast, sliced crosswise into quarter-inch pieces

  1 teaspoon each dried basil and rosemary, or one tablespoon each, minced, if fresh

  Salt and pepper to taste

  2 cloves garlic, minced.

  1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

  ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

  Directions

  Drizzle bottom of 9 x 13 baking pan with olive oil. Lay eggplant to cover bottom. Overlap if necessary.

  Lay sliced tomatoes on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for fifteen minutes.

  Sauté chicken in olive oil. Season with basil and rosemary, fresh or dried, and salt and pepper to taste.

  When chicken looks almost done, add garlic and stir constantly for thirty seconds. Remove from fire.

  Remove pan from oven. Spread cooked brown rice on top of the tomatoes and eggplant. Layer chicken on rice. Sprinkle cheeses on top and return to oven. Bake another fifteen minutes or until bubbling.

  Serve hot with garlic bread and a green salad.