When a favorite country music singer comes to town, Hayley pulls out all the stops to meet him and try to be his chef while he is in town for a charity concert. Will she be successful or will a murder of a staff member get in the way?
Death of a Country Fried Redneck is book #2 of Lee Hollis’ Hayley Powell Food and Cocktail Mysteries series. This fun mystery series contains recipes for sweet treats, savory dishes, and adult beverages all while entertaining the reader.
Death of a Country Fried Redneck by Lee Hollis
Cozy Mystery Novel Review
Outline and Tone:
Country western music, food, and superstars come to Maine. Bar Harbor, Maine is the gateway to Acadia National Park, and the home of Hayley Powell and her two teenaged children. Hayley writes a food and drink column (as well as serving as office manager) for the local paper. A perk of being a part of the local press means she just might be able to meet her favorite heartthrob musician and become his personal chef while he does a series of charity concerts. While this sounds like a perfect set up for a romance novel, it is still a cozy mystery. Hayley’s food is not the only thing to die for in this novel. However, her Southern Mac and Cheese is so good, the killer just might ask for it as a last meal!
What I like best about this series is that Hayley is so relatable. As a single mom trying to make ends meet and keep tabs on her teenagers, she is not perfect and that is just fine with me. She has a great sense of humor and the novel includes her columns that she writes for the newspaper. These columns might even be my favorite part of the book (other than the recipes of course).
The author:
This book was written by Lee Hollis. Well sort of… Lee Hollis is the pseudonym for the real authors, a brother and sister team, Rick Copp and Holly Simason. There is more information on Goodreads. Like their protagonist Hayley Powell, Copp and Simason are from Maine. Copp moved to Hollywood and wrote for The Golden Girls, Wings, Teen Titans and a long list of impressive television and movies. Simason is a columnist in Maine and writes a cooking column. Fortunately for us readers, they decided to combine their talents and write the Lee Hollis series, currently being published by Kensington House Publishing Corporation. The Hayley Powell series has a Facebook page. The authors are active on both Twitter and Instagram.
What is not to like?:
I had to think long and hard to answer this question. What didn’t I like about this novel? Maybe it is that her friends, Mona and Liddy, didn’t play a bigger role in the story. They both add a bit of humor.
The verdict:
Read it. Enjoy it. Make that fabulous Southern Mac and Cheese.
Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).
Southern Mac and Cheese Recipe from the novel
Assemble the Ingredients
Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a large saucepan or skillet big enough to hold the pasta. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth; cook while constantly whisking for one minute or until thickened.
Slowly whisk milk and evaporated milk into the saucepan and cook until thickened.
Whisk Gouda, cream cheese, salt and a ¼ teaspoon of the red pepper flakes until smooth. The sauce will be creamy and thick.
Remove from heat and stir in ham.
Pour pasta into the cheese sauce and mix.
Pour into a lightly grease 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Stir 2 tablespoons melted butter and remaining 4 teaspoon red pepper flakes into the crushed corn flakes and sprinkle over the mac and cheese.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes and then dig in!
Here is where you get to decide just how southern you want to be. You can eat it as a side dish or even a main dish since it does have protein from the ham and the cheese. Or if you really wan to tap into the south, serve it with BBQ pulled pork on top. Trust me, this combination is fantastic!
This recipe uses 3 of my favorite OXO products.
OXO Good Grips 7-Piece Nesting Measuring Beaker Set. Absolutely perfect for a wide variety of measuring liquids.
OXO Silicone Spatula. They are a one solid piece, no melting or collecting residue.
OXO Good Grips 6-Piece Nesting Measuring Cups. Easy to read marking on each cup and they are dishwasher safe.
Sizes are easy to read on the measuring cups.
Rich and Creamy Southern Mac and Cheese
Southern Mac and Cheese from: Death of a Country Fried Redneck
Ingredients
- 1 pound cavatappi pasta
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 2 cups smoked Gouda cheese
- 1 3-ounce package softened cream cheese
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, divided
- 1 8-ounce chopped cooked smoked ham
- 2 cups corn flakes cereal, crushed
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare cavatappi pasta according to the directions on the box.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a large saucepan or skillet big enough to hold the pasta.
- Gradually whisk in flour until smooth; cook while constantly whisking for one minute or until thickened.
- Slowly whisk milk and evaporated milk into the saucepan and cook until thickened.
- Whisk Gouda, cream cheese, salt and a ¼ teaspoon of the red pepper flakes until smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in ham.
- Pour pasta into the cheese sauce and mix.
- Pour into a lightly grease 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Stir 2 tablespoons melted butter and remaining 4 teaspoon red pepper flakes into the crushed corn flakes and sprinkle over the mac and cheese.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
- Let stand for 5 minutes and then dig in!
What would I do differently next time?
This mac and cheese was fabulous! There is not much room for improvement. Next time I might try using some pepper jack cheese and adding a few jalapenos.
These savory dishes make a great addition to your weeknight meal rotation.
Grits with Cheese from When the Grits Hit the Fan by Maddie Day
Hot Mama Frittata from Bedeviled Eggs by Laura Childs
and
Cheesy Biscuits from Flipped for Murder by Maddie Day
