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Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark
(A Bean to Bar Mystery)
by Amber Royer
Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark (A Bean to Bar Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Texas
Golden Tip Press (September 12, 2023)
Print length : 301 pages
Digital ASIN : B0C9YXTC78
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Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is hosting the friends and family coming into town for her best friend Autumn’s wedding. As matron of honor, Felicity has a ton of tasks to complete – including making chocolates for the gift bags. She doesn’t have time to solve another murder. But when one of the bridesmaids becomes a prime suspect in the death of a visiting real estate agent, Felicity has to put her detecting skills to use again to keep the wedding plans from getting derailed.
She’s already nervous about the impeding deadline she’s given herself to finally choose between her two love interests – and figuring where life goes once she makes her choice. But add in a missing pigmy goat and a new coffee shop that wants to partner with her, and she’s frazzled.
She begins to discover that not everything is as it seems among the wedding guests. Can she handle the wedding preparations, pull off turning her shop into a concert venue, and unmask the killer – before anyone else dies?
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Recipe Post
In each of my Bean to Bar mysteries, I try to explore something different about chocolate, from how it is made to how it is used in cooking. For Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, I wanted to talk about chocolate in savory cooking. This is something my husband and I explored extensively in our cookbook, There’s Herbs in My Chocolate, which combined culinary herbs with chocolate in both sweet and savory recipes. We did the cookbook while we were active with the Forth Worth Herb Society. In the first Bean to Bar Mystery, I used one of the recipes from the cookbook to give Carmen, the Greetings and Felicity Pastry Chef her cooking style, working with chocolate my protagonist Felicity had made. In Something Borrowed, I have Enrique, a chef who has done a number of pop-up dinners (and pop-up appearances in the series) catering the wedding that forms the centerpiece of the plot. He decides to play with savory chocolate in a course that includes this Dark Chocolate Mushroom Arancini (which originally appeared in the cookbook).
Dark Chocolate Mushroom Arancini
Makes 8-10 Servings
Traditionally, people made arancini to use up leftover risotto. It’s amazing how many delicious things result from the need not to waste leftovers. These fried balls, with their gooey, cheesy centers, are no exception. The dark chocolate complements the flavor of the mushrooms in the risotto itself, and the herbs in the panko crust are a nod back to Italy. You can use a commercially prepared Italian herb blend or mix together your own dried herbs. If you blend your own, be sure to include dried oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, and sage.
4 cups Dark Chocolate Mushroom Risotto, cooled (see below)
1 cup fresh mozzarella, well drained and cubed
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 eggs, lightly whisked
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons dried Italian herb blend
2 cups canola oil
Take a spoonful of risotto and fill it with a cube of mozzarella. Shape the risotto into small even balls. Continue the process until all the risotto has been used.
In a small bowl, mix the flour with the salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs in a second bowl. Combine the panko and the Italian seasoning in a third bowl.
Dip each risotto ball into the flour, then into the egg mixture, and then into the breadcrumbs, evenly coating it with each layer. Place on a tray and repeat until all arancini are prepared.
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan until a dropped in bit of panko sizzles, then fry the arancini in small batches for about 2 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Remove from the pan, pat them dry on kitchen paper, and serve immediately.
Dark Chocolate Mushroom Risotto
8 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh baby portobello mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped, plus whole sprigs for garnish
2 tablespoons butter
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 ounces dark chocolate
1 tablespoon truffle oil
½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms, wiped of grit
2 cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Heat the chicken broth in a medium saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 cup of the chicken stock. Chop finely and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, herbs, butter, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned. Drizzle in the truffle oil, then add the reconstituted porcini and the dark chocolate. Sauté until the chocolate melts, then remove from heat and set aside.
Coat a saucepan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the rice and stir quickly until it is well coated and opaque, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until it is nearly all evaporated.
Add the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, stirring until the rice has absorbed each cup of liquid before adding more. Continue to cook and stir, allowing the rice to absorb each addition of broth before adding more. The risotto should be slightly firm and creamy, not mushy. Add the mushrooms to the rice mixture. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and cook briefly until melted.
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About Amber Royer
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course.
Author Links: Website / Blog / Instagram / Facebook
YouTube / Twitter / Amazon / Goodreads
Purchase Links – Amazon
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