Big Easy, the first book in Eric Wilder's French Quarter Mystery series, is now available on your Nook or Kindle for 99 cents. Clarion Review said, "Wilder's fiction is like an icy cold Hurricane slush on a hot Louisiana day." Read it now for only 99 cents and take a trip to the Big Easy.

Eric'sWeb

Mama Mulate's Creole Zucchini Casserole - a weekend recipe

Mama Mulate is a character in my French Quarter murder mystery Big Easy. When she’s not mixing voodoo potions, or teaching English at Tulane University, she’s likely in her kitchen, whipping up a meal fit for a Mardi Gras king. She has a garden behind her house near the river in New Orleans, where she grows her own herbs and vegetables. Check out her recipe for Creole zucchini.

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini squashes, ¼ inch slices

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tomatoes, chopped

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

• 3 Tbsp butter

• 2 Tbsps flour

• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

• ¼ tsp oregano

• ¼ tsp basil

• 1 bay leaf

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

• ½ cup bread crumbs

Directions

Cook zucchini (about 5 minutes) until tender, but firm. Drain and arrange in greased 2 quart casserole dish. Melt butter over medium heat in medium saucepan, and add flour. Stir until smooth and bubbly.

Add tomatoes, onion, and cloves of garlic, green bell pepper, brown sugar, salt, bay leaf, oregano and basil. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes. Remove bay leaf and cloves of garlic. Pour mixture over zucchini. Top with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes.

Eric'sWeb

Mama Mulate's Voodoo Dipping Sauce - a Mardi Gras, weekend recipe

Mardi Gras Day, or Fat Tuesday, is this coming Tuesday. Six Carnivals since Katrina, the Crescent City will be rocking. Voodoo mambo Mama Mulate can mix a potion for anything from growing hair to casting an undying spell of love. She’s also a great cook.


One of Mama’s favorite Mardi Gras finger foods is Cajun Chicken Fingers, a lightly-breaded delicacy you can’t eat just one of. Along with her chicken fingers, she makes the meanest dipping sauce in the universe. Here is the secret recipe for her famous Voodoo Dipping Sauce. Don’t tell her I gave it to you, or she’s liable to make a certain bodily part of mine shrivel up and fall off. P.S.- read more about Mama Mulate in my new ebook Voodoo Nights.

Mama Mulate’s Voodoo Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• ½ cup cold water
• 1 t cornstarch
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 T green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ green pepper, small, thinly sliced
• 1 T lemon juice
• 4 t prepared Dijon-style mustard
• ¼ t onion powder

Directions

Place water in a medium saucepan, and mix in cornstarch to dissolve. Stir in honey. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in green onions, lemon juice, prepared Dijon-style mustard, onion powder and green pepper. Serve warm or chill in the refrigerator. Happy Mardi Gras, and laissez les bons temps rouler!!

Eric'sWeb