1/2 pound bay scallops (washed and patted dry with a paper towel)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn flour (Maseca)
1 tsp. corn starch
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
salt and pepper
1 can of beer (a lighter, crisper variety will work excellently)
1/2 cup of oil (we used half olive and half vegetable)
1) Combine the dry ingredients with a fork.
2) Add the beer and the egg yolk, making a slightly runnier batter than pancake batter.
3) Pour the batter into a Ziplock and toss the scallops in, dredging them thoroughly.
4) Make sure your oil is hot enough for frying by testing with a drop of batter--about 350 degrees. Fry half the scallops so as not to lower the oil temperature unduly, flipping after about 90 seconds. When the batter is crisp and brown, remove the first batch to a paper towel-lined plate and fry remaining scallops.
Garlic Aioli:
3-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tblsp lemon juice
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 large egg yolk
a pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
1) Toast the cloves with skin on in a small un-oiled pan, about 3 minutes per side.2) Peel the garlic.
3) Combine ingredients in a food processor or with a blender until well emulsified.
Dress your delicious sandwich with:
rolls of your choice (we used egg rolls)
fried bacon strips
arugula
lemon juice
salt and pepper
tomato
a few dashes of hot sauce to taste
And drink a Victory Prima Pils with it!
THE BEER:
Prima Pils is a delicious brew hailing from Pennsylvania and the fine folks at Victory. We like it so much, we might have talked about it on the blog before. If so, we don't care. It's technically a German Pilsener, but if you're in the mood for a spicy-sweet pale ale and there are none to be had, this is an excellent choice. A fine drinking summer beer with a citrus-rind nose and a lingering grassy finish. You get a lot of lacy head with this brew, and a delicate bitterness at the end after the sweet pils malt fades, and the mouthfeel is excellent for what is essentially a fairly light style.
THE LAUNCH:I should probably be telling you all about my UK trip. I'm not going to. Why?
I hereby swear before Gabe and Prufrock and also Grendel, who are the people currently occupying this living room, that I will update this blog more often and as incentive, I will tell the nice friendly people all about our trip to Scotland, England, and Ireland next time I post, which will be SOON, and if I do not, may I be trapped in a room consisting only of televisions playing the early seasons of Full House and primarily episodes focusing on Michelle.
Anyway, this information might be relevant to your lives because Seven for a Secret comes out on September 17! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! *runs screaming through woods and fields of tall grasses* I'm ridiculously excited about it, and apparently some other people are too, including STRANGERS, because Publisher's Weekly and Booklist both put little stars next to glowing reviews and made me very happy.
Because my publisher is extraordinarily nice to me, I'm going on a crazyass tour. Join me! I can't wait to see you. I'll be chatting about Tim Wilde (he's up there on the gorgeous cover, seeeeee him?), but if that doesn't move you, come for the jokes and to see my blue hair and if you asked me something about Sherlock Holmes, I'd very likely answer you, because I occasionally talk about that fellow.
Here's linkage to all my appearances!
NYC Launch Party 9/18
Bouchercon!
Minneapolis Reading 9/23
Houston Reading 9/24
Scottsdale Reading 9/25
San Diego Reading 9/26
Portland Reading 9/27
And then I shall collapse into the approximate shape and consistency of a very well-cooked bucatini noodle and sleep for eight years.
Seriously, I've been really really lucky (like, Harrison Ford cast as Han Solo lucky) to be getting some amazing press for the new book and additionally for Penguin to be giving it a great deal of support. I really couldn't ask for better from them, they're practically requiring their entire sales department to get Seven for a Secret face tattoos.
Meanwhile, the First Draft of Horrendous Unwieldiness and Source of Inexpressible Torment to the Author Also Known As the Third Book in the Timothy Wilde Series is now 127,000 words instead of 150,000 (which is not a book but rather a coffee table). So I'm starting up two great short story projects that were commissioned as well as Project I Cannot Yet Discuss But Which I Am Confident Will Cause the Sherlockian World Joy. More soon (ugh, I promise, NOT A YEAR LATER BUT RATHER PERHAPS A WEEK).
See you all at the signings, I hope!
Posts
