Uncle Saul came to greet me. “We thought we’d put together a little lunch for you since you missed the victory dinner.”
I hugged him, and my friend, Lavender, who’d allowed everyone to hold the lunch in her café.
I thanked everyone for being there, and they toasted me with champagne. I toasted them back, and the party really got started.
Patti was there with Macey Helms. They were off duty and drinking with the rest of us.
“That was a brave thing you did in the food truck yesterday,” Patti said. “Stupid, but brave.”
“All’s well that ends well,” I quoted. “Did Marsh ever admit to killing Alex? He was confessing up a storm in the food truck.”
“Yes,” Helms said. “He tried to drag Tina into it, but I guess she was smart enough to stay away from him, except for that kiss I saw. Marsh was infatuated with her, which was why he killed Alex. He thought he could still have the money and have her, too. At least until the end when she told him to stay away from her. Then she became a liability as well.”
“So she’s going to testify against him,” Patti said. “You broke Marsh’s hand with that cane, by the way. But he’s claiming police brutality.”
I put my hand over my mouth in surprise. “I broke his hand? I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well considering he’s up for the death penalty, I guess it’s not too big a deal.” Helms saluted me with her champagne. “Sorry you lost the race, though, Zoe.”
“Me, too.” I squeezed Miguel’s hand. “But that’s okay. I still have the Biscuit Bowl.”
They moved away, and Miguel and I circulated through the crowd. Cole was there, too. I had a chance to introduce Miguel to him, and thank Cole again for his help.
“I know this wasn’t what you had in mind,” Miguel said when we had a brief moment alone right before lunch was served.
“True, but we’ll get to that later.”
My cell phone buzzed in my handbag. Miguel excused himself to go to the restroom. I glanced at the text I’d received. It was my invitation to food truck rally during carnival festivities in February. To say I was excited about it would’ve been a terrible understatement.
I held up my glass again, and the room got quiet. “We’re going to the Mardi Gras!”
RECIPES FROM THE BISCUIT BOWL!
We’re so excited about selling our biscuit bowls at carnival! We’ll be working on new recipes, trying everything until then. It’s going to be hard to come up with food as exciting as that event!
Here are some of the recipes from the Sweet Magnolia Food Truck Race!
Spiced Peaches
Spiced peaches were a hit for us during the food truck race. They aren’t hard to make and have a cool, delicious zing!
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
4 three-inch cinnamon sticks
10 peaches, about 2 pounds
1 small square cheesecloth
Mix water and sugar in a heavy saucepan.
Tie allspice and cloves in the cheesecloth. Add this and the cinnamon sticks to the water and sugar.
Cover and boil for 5 minutes.
Peel the peaches while the water and sugar are cooking. After the syrup is done boiling, remove cinnamon sticks and cheesecloth bag. Drop the peaches into boiling syrup, a few at a time.
Simmer peaches until tender, about 5 minutes.
Delicious with vanilla ice cream!
Barbecue Chicken
Uncle Saul doesn’t like to share his recipes, but he’s letting me break the rules for this.
We’ll make the barbecue sauce first.
1½ cups dark brown sugar
1¼ cups tomato sauce
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2½ teaspoons ground mustard
2 teaspoons paprika
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Measure and add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. When the sugar has dissolved, everything should be mixed. Set this aside until you’re ready with the chicken.
Shredded or pulled chicken:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
3 cups barbecue sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
Trim off any excess fat from the chicken. Place in a pan or slow cooker.
Combine the homemade barbecue sauce with the minced garlic and pour the sauce over the chicken. Cook until the chicken is tender and falling apart.
Remove the chicken and shred with a fork. Return the chicken to the pot and stir. The sauce will thicken up in about 10 minutes.
YUM!
White Icing
This icing is good on biscuit bowls and almost anything else!
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk
Mix the confectioners’ sugar, butter, and vanilla together.
Add half the milk to start. Stir in to make a thick glaze. Add more milk by drops to reach the right consistency. You don’t want it to be runny.
Spread or pour immediately over cooled pastries. The icing will form a crust and harden as it cools.
How to Make Biscuit Bowls!
I’m sharing my trade secret here for those of you who can’t get to Mobile and get one from me!
2 cups white flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter or vegetable shortening
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it forms coarse balls. Add the buttermilk until the mixture is slightly wet. Turn the dough out on a floured board. Gently roll or pat dough until it is about ½ inch thick. Fold the dough three more times then carefully press down to about 1 inch thick.
Here’s where the normal biscuit recipe changes for biscuit bowls.
Spray vegetable shortening into a muffin tin. Use a cutter to cut circles of dough. Place these circles into the openings in the tin, pressing down the center gently. Bake for about 10 minutes until brown. The biscuit dough will rise around the circle, leaving a well in the middle for the filling.
The biscuits don’t have to be deep-fried right away, but don’t wait more than a few hours. The freshest biscuits will make the best biscuit bowls. If you can’t use them right away, freeze them for later.
To deep-fry, simply drop the biscuits into a deep fryer set on high for 2 minutes. You want them to be crisp but not greasy. Be sure to use good-quality vegetable oil in your deep fryer.
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