and I'm filling in to tell you what it is that I particularly adore about Lucy's Key West Food Critic series. Best, really the very best, the creme de la creme are the characters. Hayley Snow is tart and sweet, Lorenzo adds spice, Wally an earthy wheatiness, and Miss Gloria I think of as the nutmeg that you didn't know you needed to make a perfect dish.I'm a foodie, so another pleasure of reading the books is ... the food. Lucy the author is a particularly talented baker, so it's not surprising that the parts about cakes and pastries are particularly scrumptious. And food drives the story in a Hayley Snow novel.
I offer this tidbit from her FATAL RESERVATIONS as a case in point,
food mingling with romance:Then my thoughts seesawed back to the cake and which recipe would rise to the occasion of the after-party. Though some people might find this a sacrilege, Wally was not a fan of chocolate. And I tried to cook with whatever's in season in South Florida. Raspberries were not on that list in February. But I'd seen a couple of boxes at Fausto's market this morning They were organize and outrageously priced, but plump and soft red. I could imagine them folded into cream cheese icing with powdered sugar, turning a luscious pink color as they released their juices into the creamy frosting. I could make the cake tonight and finish up with the frosting in the morning.I don't know about you but I'm ready for a slice. Make that two
But would this cake transmit the message that I cared a lot, but without pressure, and that it was for Valentine's Day, but no declaration intended not anything expected in return? Would it send the message of love and care, without appearing needy, too sweet, or cliched?
Then realized that was a lot to ask of a cake.
slices. And the best part? The recipe is in the book.
