California Christmas Potatoes ala Kate Carlisle

New York Times bestselling mystery author Kate Carlisle is a native Californian who worked in television production for many years before turning to writing. Kate also studied acting and singing, toiled in vineyards, collected books, joined a commune, sold fried chicken, modeled spring fashions and worked for a cruise ship line, but it was the year she spent in law school that finally drove her to begin writing fiction. It seemed the safest way to kill off her professors. Kate's latest book, DECK THE HALLWAYS (a Fixer-Upper Mystery), is available in paperback and ebook wherever books are sold. Visit Kate online at www.KateCarlisle.com, and be sure to pop into the Secret Room, where she's giving away a DECK THE HALLWAYS Christmas ornament every day in November! DECK THE HALLWAYS is my twentieth book, but the first one that's set at Christmas—and I had an absolute blast writing it! Lighthouse Cove is the perfect setting for an idyllic Christmas. Imagine how it would feel like stepping back in time, to see those beautiful old homes decked out for Christmas. As DECK THE HALLWAYS begins, contractor Shannon Hammer is ready to take the lead on the largest project ever for the Holiday Homebuilders: they're going to convert a Victorian mansion into apartments for deserving families. The only fly in the ointment is the irascible banker overseeing the project, a man so obnoxious that he has enemies all over town, including Shannon's dad.

Dad came in closer and shoved Potter in the chest. The banker stumbled backwards. “One more word against Shannon and I’ll make you sorry you were ever born.” He was as angry as I’d ever seen him and I felt a frisson of fear as I worried about his heart.

“Oh, I’m so scared,” Potter whined sarcastically. But in typical coward style, he said it while backing toward the door.

“You should be scared,” Dad said through clenched teeth. He was still carrying his sharp, new ax and he raised it up to make his point. “If I hear you talking trash about my daughter again, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

Not long after this scene, Shannon has the bad luck to find another dead
body—Potter's. The very man her dad threatened in front of dozens of volunteers.
She planned for every contingency. . . except murder, her own father a prime
suspect.

Like many of us, Shannon is busier than ever during the holidays. (Though one
hopes that most of us don't have to clear our father's name or track down a
killer.) Here's a great potluck recipe for a busy person on the go.

California Christmas Potatoes – aka California Thanksgiving Potatoes, if you use orange and yellow bell pepper instead of the red

(The full recipe is written out at the end of the blog.)

The ingredients:

Preheat the oven to 350. Peel the potatoes and cut into ½-inch chunks. Boil for 8-10 minutes, until tender.
While the potatoes are boiling, cut the vegetables. From the bell pepper, cut five slices and set aside, then dice the rest of the pepper. From the poblano pepper, use kitchen shears to cut out ten leaves. Set the rest aside for another use. From the olives, set aside fifteen slices to use as the center of the flowers. Dice the rest of the olives, slice the green onions, and mince the cilantro.
Mix together the sour cream, taco seasoning, and shredded cheese.
Drain the potatoes. Stir together all ingredients except the vegetables set aside to make the flowers.

Place the mixture in a greased 13x9-inch casserole dish. Form flowers on top.

Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

California Christmas Potatoes Ingredients:

• 6 large baking potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 poblano pepper
• 16 oz sour cream
• 8 oz shredded cheese (Cheddar, Jack, or a combination)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning
• 1 small can of sliced olives
• 4 green onions
• ½ Cup cilantro

Preheat the oven to 350. Peel the potatoes and cut into ½-inch chunks. Boil for
8-10 minutes, until tender. While the potatoes are boiling, cut the vegetables.
From the bell pepper, cut five slices and set aside, then dice the rest of the
pepper. From the poblano pepper, use kitchen shears to cut out ten leaves. Set
the rest aside for another use. From the olives, set aside fifteen slices to use
as the center of the flowers. Dice the rest of the olives, slice the green
onions, and mince the cilantro.

Mix together the sour cream, taco seasoning, and shredded cheese.

Drain the potatoes. Stir together all ingredients except the vegetables set
aside to make the flowers. Place the mixture in a greased 13x9-inch casserole
dish. Form flowers on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes.