Category: Cozy Mysteries

Long Island Iced Tina (A Catering Hall Mystery)
by Maria DiRico

About Long Island Iced Tina

Long Island Iced Tina (A Catering Hall Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Kensington (February 23, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1496725352
ISBN-13: 978-1496725356
Digital ASIN: B089NCJ9NS

Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens—in charge of the family catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor, and keeping her nonna company. But some events—like murder—are not the kind you can schedule . . .

Mia’s newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View—but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It’s a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for “how to run a catering hall” can get you only so far.

Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole’s Belle View shower when a fight breaks out—and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . .

Italian recipes included!

Check this one out!

Honey Phyllo Rollups

Ingredients:

The cookies:

• 2 cups ground nuts—walnuts, pecans, pistachio, or almonds work. Baker’s choice
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 2 tsps. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 24 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
• 1⁄2 cup butter, melted

The syrup:

• 1⁄2 cup honey
• 1⁄2 cup white sugar
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1 T. lemon juice

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine the ground nuts, sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.
• Place two sheets of phyllo dough on a sheet of parchment paper larger than the dough. Brush the phyllo dough with melted butter. Sprinkle the dough with 1⁄4 cup of thenut mixture. Roll the dough tightly but carefully from the long side upward, creating a slim log. Slice the log into four pieces and set each into a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.
• You can pack the rollups tightly—they won’t expand.
• (Note: keep the unused phyllo dough covered with a wet cloth or paper towel so that it doesn’t dry out.) When you’ve finished making the rollups, bake for 14-16 minutes until they’re light brown. Let them cool.
• While the rollups are in the oven, make the syrup. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for around five minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for about ten minutes.
• Spoon the syrup over the rollups. If you have any leftover nut mixture, sprinkle it over the rollups.

Serving: 24 rollups.

About Maria DiRico

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father’s side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother’s family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She’s a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

Website – https://www.ellenbyron.com/catering-hall-mysteries

Chicks on the Case – http://chicksonthecase.net/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/ellenbyronla

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