Spell Bound, page 27
Remove the Dutch oven from the hot oven, then use the parchment paper to lift and place your loaf into it. Reduce heat to 450 degrees and bake covered for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 20 minutes or until the loaf is a nice golden-brown color, though some may prefer to cook it to a darker brown.
Let cool completely before serving.
Phoebe tops her slices with thinly sliced turkey, fresh tomato, and a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, then places them under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Homemade Ricotta Cheese
8 cups whole milk (not ultrapasteurized)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (white vinegar will also work as the acid here)
Makes roughly 2 cups of ricotta
This recipe works best in a nonreactive bowl, so if you have glass mixing bowls, get them out! Before you start, line a strainer with cheesecloth that has been folded over three times and place the strainer over your bowl. You are now ready to begin!
Heat milk over medium heat. Add salt and stir; use a wooden spoon for this if you have one, and be careful not to let the milk sit too long, as it may burn. A thermometer is best for this, as you will want to heat the milk to 185 degrees (simmering but never boiling).
Reduce heat to low and add lemon juice (or vinegar).
Stir until you begin to notice the milk part separating into curds (solids) and whey (liquid) and appreciate that you now know what Little Miss Muffet was eating when the spider showed up, but also wonder why on earth this was her snack of choice.
Remove from heat and let stand covered for 15 to 20 minutes.
Once cooled, ladle the ricotta into your waiting cheesecloth and strain. You can strain lightly if you want a creamier finish (like if you plan to put it on toast) or strain more thoroughly to get a firmer ricotta you can use in cheesecake or lasagna.
Enjoy immediately, as it will not keep in the fridge for long.
Note: You can also buy cheese kits, as Phoebe did, from most major online retailers or local cheesemakers that will help you make your first batch if you want to try multiple kinds of cheese, but this nontraditional ricotta is genuinely a three-ingredient wonder, no special tools needs aside from cheesecloth.
Why is this nontraditional? Real ricotta is traditionally made from the leftover whey of other cheese products, so this version is not a truly “traditional” ricotta recipe, but certainly an easier one if you don’t happen to have leftover whey on hand.
Amy’s Breakfast Hand Pies
2 sheets puff pastry (cold but not frozen)
Stuffing ingredients of choice (see below)
Flour to dust work surface
Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Stuffing:
1½ cups scrambled eggs at room temperature
3–4 slices cooked bacon (crispier is better)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Crab, Chive, and Goat Cheese Stuffing:
1 can crabmeat, drained
1 cup crumbled goat cheese (or 1 log soft goat cheese)
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Each recipe yields 6 hand pies
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Lightly flour your work surface. Take cold puff pastry dough and unfold onto work surface, then cut both sheets into six equal rectangles. This should give you twelve total rectangles.
Place six of the puff pastry rectangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine all stuffing ingredients.
Leaving about a ½-inch border, put a sixth of your stuffing of choice onto each rectangle. Then using water, wet the edges and place the reserved rectangles on top. Use a fork to crimp the edges until the hand pies are sealed, then cut a small ½-inch slit in the top of each pie.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes depending on desired color. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Note: These are basically adult Pop-Tarts, so you can really have an endless number of filling options. Try these to start, then let your imagination run wild.
Peach’s Signature Butter Smash Burger
2 sticks unsalted butter
3 pounds ground beef, preferably chuck
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
½ teaspoon celery salt
Pepper
8 slices American cheddar
8 brioche buns
For serving: caramelized onions, crispy bacon, pickles (sliced lengthwise), chili (optional), other condiments to personal preference
Makes 8 burgers
Grate the unsalted butter using a box grater.
In a large bowl, combine the beef and butter and mix with your hands until well combined. Do not overmix, as the butter will begin to melt the more you handle it. Generously season your meat mixture with seasoning salt, celery salt, and pepper.
Shape into eight big balls. Yes, that’s right—balls, not patties. Don’t worry; trust the process.
Place balls on a baking sheet or in a metal bowl and put in the fridge until right before you cook.
For a true Peach’s experience, you will cook these burgers on the stovetop, unless you have a griddle option for your barbecue grill. Heat a cast-iron skillet or your griddle to super-high heat, then take your burger balls out of the fridge. Working with three to four burgers at a time, depending on the size of your work area, let the balls sit for 3 to 4 minutes, and then comes the fun part. Flatten your burgers as much as you can. You can use a spatula, a burger press, or even another clean skillet, but get them as flat as you can.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes more before flipping. Add the cheese slices and cool 1 to 2 minutes more.
While the cheese melts, you can quickly add butter to your brioche buns and broil them for 1 to 2 minutes with the interior facing up until they are just golden brown inside.
Assemble your burger and enjoy immediately. Napkins are required.
Note: Peach’s chili is a chili con carne with no beans and a slightly sweet finish, thanks to brown sugar added during cooking. Your favorite chili will work just fine if you want to go for a loaded burger, and the burger is also wonderful with no chili at all. Do what your heart tells you.
An additional note on the buns: While the buns as written in the book have an onion crust on them, these may prove difficult to source unless you make them yourself. Any brioche bun will work for this recipe.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank every single person who read Something Wicked. Your support and enthusiasm for the first book in this series far exceeded any of my expectations, and because of you Phoebe and Bob’s adventures get to continue. Thank you a million times over. I hope this series keeps charming you, because I love writing it.
Next, I have to thank my incredible editor, Melissa Rechter, for believing in this story and believing in me. My gratitude to you is endless. And likewise to the entire staff at Crooked Lane Books, who continually champion me and my work and are just genuinely the best people to work with.
I have to thank every one of my friends—my chosen family—for the way you rallied around me and these books. After a decade in publishing, I was sure you’d be sick of being my cheerleaders, but you showed up for me like Something Wicked was the first book I’d ever written. You made this whole process feel fun and exciting again. Thank you.
Special thanks to Darby Robinson, my podcast cohost, for all the wonderful insider tips on local PNW snacks and general Washington information. For anyone who actually caught that “Tim” chips reference in the first chapters, I owe it to Darby.
And last but not least, thanks to my past self for spending so darned much money on tea. Guess it’s finally paying off.
About the Author
GRETCHEN RUE lives in the Canadian prairies, which affords her ample time to read during six months of winter. She plays cat mom to seven mostly indifferent fur children, and plant mom to roughly 100 very demanding flora. When she isn’t sipping tea and working on her next novel, she enjoys swimming, hiking, and watching baseball.
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Gretchen Rue, Spell Bound
