Wedding Bells - #4

by Nancy Jill Thames

This past Saturday our daughter Holly got married. Our last child married Hudson her beloved in a sweet ceremony led by my niece's awesome husband Nate - the only ordained minister I know who changes into his tuxedo T-shirt for the dancing!

For those of you who've happily experienced passing the baton of parenting over to the new spouse, you'll understand my husband and my feelings of joy and relief! Hudson will take good care of her.

I posted in October of 2012, "God has been so gracious to provide wonderful mates for three of our four children. We trust Him to provide for our youngest daughter Holly as well." And in 2015 He did!

The wedding had a few breaks from tradition - one being the guests were served chocolate cream pie instead of wedding cake. It was our daughter's wish so her father and I made 16 pies, transported them 35 minutes away, and served them to 110.

I've included my recipe at the end of this post in case any of you are feeling domestic.

Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo

Amazon Kindle, Nook, SW, and Kobo

At the end of Book 7 

"THE RUBY OF SIAM" Jillian Bradley gets married in London at an upscale hotel across the street from Buckingham Palace. 

But unlike our daughter's picture perfect wedding you'll read in Book 8 "THE LONG TRIP HOME" about a tragedy that occurs at the reception. It all ends happily, though - thanks to the vehicle of fiction.

There's still time to enter the $200 Amazon Gift-card Giveaway contest. Thanks to all of you who've followed our sites and liked our pages. Click here for your chance to win: 
http://cozymysterymagazine.blogspot.com/p/cozy-raffle-200-prize.html

Cheers!

~Nancy Jill    

Nancy Jill's Chocolate Cream Pie  

For the Ganache:

1 c sugar
1/4 c flour
2 T cornstarch
1/4 t Salt
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
3 egg yolks. membranes removed
2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 T butter
2 t vanilla

For Ganache and Topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

1. In a heavy 2 qt saucepan mix sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt together. Add milk and 1 cup of the whipping cream.
With a fork mix the egg yolks together and add to remaining 1/2 c of whipping cream. Mix then add to saucepan combining ingredients well.

2. Cook over high heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted, then add butter and vanilla.

3. Pour mixture into freezer proof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap pressing down until no air remains and sides are sealed.
(Prevents skim from forming.)

 4. When cool, whip heaving whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold in 1 cup of mixture to ganache.

5. Pour ganache into baked pie shell mounding to center.
Cover with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with mini chocolate chips, chocolate shavings or chocolate sprinkles.
Chill for at least 4 hrs before serving.

Nancy Jill Thames was born to write mysteries. From her early days as the neighborhood story-teller to the Amazon Author Watch Bestseller List, she has always had a vivid imagination and loves to solve problems – perfect for plotting whodunits. In 2010, Nancy Jill published her first mystery Murder in Half Moon Bay, introducing her well-loved protagonist Jillian Bradley, and clue-sniffing Yorkie, “Teddy.”

When she isn’t plotting Jillian’s next perilous adventure, Nancy Jill travels between Texas and California finding new ways to spoil her grandchildren, playing classical favorites on her baby grand or having afternoon tea with friends.

She is a member of Leander Writers’ Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW CenTex Chapter), and Central Texas Authors

To learn more about Nancy Jill, visit these sites.

Twitter @mystriterdva

http://www.nancyjillthames.com

Pinterest

Jillian's Secret Recipe for Chocolate Cream Pie

By Nancy Jill Thames

When a reader learned I had won a prize for my Chocolate Cream Pie she asked for the recipe. So, today, I'm happy to share. Now the SECRETS lie in adding the egg yolks in the beginning (this saves a lot of grief instead of adding them gradually to the cooked filling), using half heavy whipping cream for the milk, and using plastic wrap to prevent a film forming over the cooked filling. The chocolate pie appears in an excerpt from Chapter 4 in Book 6 WAITING FOR SANTA:

Paperback $8.99 
 Kindle $3.99
 Nook Book $3.99
Smashwords $3.99
Kobo $3.99

Daisy placed the pie on a side table and crossed her arms. “I wondered what had happened to you two. What’s going on? You might as well tell me because you know I’ll find out sooner or later.” Walter shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. 

“Nothing important. Just asking her if she knew anything about a man who was supposed to come over and play Santa last night for the kids.”

“Is he a criminal?” Daisy asked, alert.

“I don’t think so. Anyway, we’d better get back to the hospital. Cecilia will be wondering where we are.”

Nicely done, Walter.

Daisy appeared satisfied.

“Hmm. You’re probably right. I’ll tell Douglas we need to go. Jillian, thanks so much for having us today. The dinner was amazing. Especially the chocolate pie. I want to get your recipe.”

“Sure, anytime, but you’ll have to watch how I make the ganauche—there are a few tricks.”

CHOCOLATE CREAM PIE

 By Nancy Jill Thames

1 freshly baked 9" pie shell

For the filling:

1/4 c. all purpose flour

1 c. sugar

2 T cornstarch

1/4 t. salt

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

3 egg yolks, beaten (try and remove the little white parts)

2 1/2 squares (ounces) unsweetened baking chocolate

2 T butter

2 t vanilla 

For the topping:

1 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. sugar 

1 t. vanilla  

Filling: In a 3 qt. saucepan mix together flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt, cream, milk, beaten egg yolks, and chocolate. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla, mixing in well. Pour filling into bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing down on the filling to prevent air from entering, and place in freezer to cool.

Topping:

Beat heavy whipping cream until almost stiff. Gradually add sugar and beat until soft peaks form. 

Pour cool filling into pie shell. Top with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings or chocolate chips if desired. 

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren in two states, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London, England. To learn more about the author and check out her books, please visit her blog at  

Cozy Mystery Author, Nancy Jill Thames.

CONTACT INFORMATION

jillthames@gmail.com

To view and purchase her books on this site, please visit the Cozy Book Store.

Passing the Baton

This Christmas the cooking and baking baton was officially passed to my children. Our youngest daughter compiled a family cookbook and gave them as gifts to her siblings. The gifts were well-received mainly because she included the ancient recipe handed down from my husband's grandmother for Chicken and Dumplings. Now, there's a story behind that particular recipe.

When Granny made the dish, there was no recipe. She simply did what her mother and grandmother before her did - throw a big fat hen in a large pot, add salt and pepper and cook that bird until it fell apart!

For the dumplings, cups of flour were placed in a bowl, salt and baking powder (a rounded spoonful) were added, along with some Crisco, stirred together, milk added in, mixed, kneaded, rolled, cut into strips and squares, and then dropped onto the boiling broth. Finally, a cup of sweet milk was poured over the top, and without stirring, the dumplings were covered and allowed to rest for 20 minutes.

Of course, "the dumminies" tasted better the second day after absorbing all the flavorful broth. After I'd eaten my first plateful of these wonderful pillows of delectable flavors and textures, I had to have the recipe. Since there wasn't one, I had Granny make them for me and recorded, step by step, the entire process beginning with, "Wash hands."

This Christmas, our son made the entire Christmas Day Dinner, complete with turkey baked in the Big Green Egg (Google it if you don't know what one is), and homemade popovers. Delicious - better than I could make. Then, when we arrived at our daughter's house in California, she had not only made the Chicken and Dumplings, but Banana Cream and Chocolate Cream Pies, two of our family's favorites. And what did I have to do? Absolutely nothing but sit back and enjoy forkfuls of delicious food.

So it is with complete and utter joy that I hand the baton of making the family recipes to my children. And I hope and pray the tradition of eating these wonderful favorites continue (at their houses)!

Happy New Year, dear readers!

~Nancy Jill

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her Chocolate Cream Pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren in two states, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers Guild and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales.

Nancy Jill is busy working on book 7 "The Ruby of Siam" a mystery taking place in London, England.

To learn more about the author and check out her books, please visit her blog at  
Cozy Mystery Author, Nancy Jill Thames.

CONTACT INFORMATION
jillthames@gmail.com

To view and purchase her books on this site, please visit the Cozy Book Store.