Disclosure: I received a copy of Steamed to Death from the author in exchange for my honest review. No compensation was received. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase on Amazon by using these links, thank you so much for supporting this blog!
Gourmet health food caterer Gigi Fitzgerald is used to helping dieters drop a dress size. But when her clients start dropping dead, she’s ready to switch her chef’s hat for a detective’s cap and track down a killer. . .
Aging soap star Felicity Davenport is looking to revamp her image, and she’s using Gigi’s Gourmet De-Lite to help her shed a few of those unwanted pounds. Having such a high-profile client is definitely good for business, but when Felicity is found murdered in her sauna, things start getting too hot for Gigi to handle.
The list of suspects is a mile long, and Gigi’s best friend, Sienna, is at the top. Refusing to let her friend get blamed for a crime she didn’t commit, Gigi is determined to hunt down the real killer. But, as the case reaches a boiling point, Gigi will have to be careful or she could be the next one getting burned.
About Peg Cochran
Peg grew up in a New Jersey suburb about 25 miles outside of New York City. After college, she moved to the city where she managed an art gallery owned by the son of the artist Henri Matisse. When her first daughter, Francesca, arrive, the new family moved back to the New Jersey suburbs where her second daughter, Annabelle, was born.
After her husband died, Peg remarried and her new husband took a job in Grand Rapids, Michigan where they now live (on exile from New Jersey, she likes to joke). Peg managed to segue from the art world to marketing and is now the manager of marketing communications for a company that provides services to seniors.
Her greatest love though as always been writing – particularly mysteries! She has two cozy mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime: The Gourmet De-Lite series set in Connecticut and featuring Gigi Fitzgerald, who provides gourmet diet meals to a select group of clients, and the Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie series, written as Meg London, set in Paris, Tennessee with Emma Taylor who finds murder and mayhem in this quiet country town.
As for pets – she has a schizophrenic cat (really!) named Frazzle and a Westhighland White Terrier, Reggie, who is desperately in need of losing a few pounds. But you know what they say: If your dog is overweight, it means YOU aren’t getting enough exercise!
When she’s not writing, Peg can usually be found cooking, which she loves. When asked to bring a dish to a potluck she invariably opts to bring dessert – partly because she loves making sweet dishes and partly because she and her husband always manage to be late so there’s no point in putting them in charge of appetizers!
Shepherd’s Pie De-Lite
Shepherd’s pie was originally created to use up leftovers and to expand the traditional Sunday roast. It is tasty enough, however, to make in its own right! It can be loaded with fat and calories or lightened up as this version is. It’s perfect for that meal when you’re craving comfort food!
Heat oven to 350°
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1.25 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 can fat-free turkey gravy
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Heat olive oil in sauté pan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and pressed garlic, and cook until soft. Add ground turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through. Add sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in frozen peas and add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Mix turkey gravy, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce and pour over turkey mixture. Mix thoroughly and transfer to a casserole dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly on top (see below) and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350° until bubbly, approximately 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings. 376 calories/serving.
Mashed Potatoes
4 to 5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
Skim or low fat milk
Place potatoes in saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain potatoes, add milk as needed and mash. (Quantity of milk will depend on density and age of potatoes.)
My Review
Now that my tummy is growling from that yummy recipe (thanks Peg!), it’s time for my review. This is the first book I’ve read from Peg Cochran. Even though I have not read the first book in the Gourmet De-Lite Mystery series, (available here: Allergic to Death (A Gourmet De-Lite Mystery)
I thought that Peg did a nice job setting up the story and the mystery surrounding the death of famous soap opera star Felicity Davenport. I felt it was a really entertaining whodunnit. The characters of Gigi, Mertz, Sienna, Alice and the authors were really likable and seemed like real people that you could meet in any small town. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Steamed to Death, and I hope you’ll check it out! I am planning on going back and reading the first book in the series. And I’m looking forward to the next Gourmet De-Lite installment.
The post Shepherd’s Pie De-Lite and Steamed to Death originally appeared on Brooke Blogs on June 4th 2013.
