Review: Deadly Southern Charm (Cozy Mystery Anthology)

Title: Deadly Southern Charm
Author: Cozy Mystery Anthology
Publisher: Wildside Press
Pages: 173
Format: e-book
Source: GEBT

Description:

This volume collects original tales by Frances Aylor, Mollie Cox Bryan, Lynn Cahoon, Judy Chalkey, Stacie Giles, Barb Goffman, Libby Hall, Bradley Harper, Sherry Harris, Maggie King, Kristin Kisska, Samatha McGraw, K.L. Murphy, Genille Swope Parente, Deb Rolfe, Rod Sterling, S.A. Warwick, and Heather Weidner.

My Thoughts: 

These stories are great if you only have a few minutes while waiting for an appointment you can read one and then go back and read the next!  Definitely captivating stories that pull you in wanting to find out how they do after the story has been ended.  I thoroughly enjoyed each story!  Can't wait to check out some of these great authors and see what else they have written!

Recipe:

Family is a big part of all my stories and Cayce’s Treasures is no exception. So, when her big brother comes to check out the antique store she bought, she’s used to him poking his nose into her business. I think it’s going to become more of an issue in futures stories. 

When I think of family, I think of my mom’s potato soup. This version is my own – adding a little sausage to make it more of a meal. But my favorite part is the egg dumplings.

Chop one onion and mince a clove or two of garlic. Brown this in a large heavy stockpot with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Crumble a pound or so of a fresh sausage into the pan. I like the spicy Italian sausage my grocer makes for this. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Cook until the meat is done but not over cooked and dry. Then set the mixture aside in a colander, draining out the fat from the olive oil as well as the sausage.

Pour a box of chicken stock into the empty stock pan. Don’t worry that there might be bits and pieces from the sausage mixture still in the pan.  

Peel 4-6 large russet potatoes, chopping into small pieces. Add these to the stockpot along with two stalks of celery chopped into small slices. Add the leaves and chopped stalks into the pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes, add in salt (I like a lot of salt, so I’d say at least a teaspoon here, but this can be adjusted up or down for your own salt liking) and pepper and let the mixture boil for thirty minutes, checking the water level at different times. You don’t want this to dry out and burn. When the potatoes are soft, mash up some of the potatoes. Not all of the pot. You can also do this by inserting an immersion blender, but it seems a bit fancy for the recipe. J

Add back in the drained meat mixture, a cup of heavy cream, and enough milk to make the soup appear creamy.

In a separate bowl, add a ½ cup of flour, and generous sprinklings (or dashes) of salt, pepper, garlic salt, seasonal salt to the dry mixture. Then crack an egg in the middle. Mix together in the bowl, then drop by spoonful into the soup. If there are left over crumbling’s, add those as well as the flour/egg mixture will thicken your soup.

Put a lid on the soup, heat until the egg dumplings are cooked through, and serve.

My husband who’s a meat and potatoes dinner lover, finds this soup perfect for a weekend meal. I like to add some fresh rolls to the mix (yes, more carbs) but he likes the soup all by itself.

Enjoy.

Lynn