It's

Cozy Food Friday!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

This week's recipe is from

BROKEN BONE CHINA

Book 20 in the Tea Shop Mysteries

by Laura Childs

Theodosia Browning serves tea and solves crimes in Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out. 

As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.

Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.

Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO's soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO's personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques' dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia's dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

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DETECTIVE RILEY'S SEA SCALLOPS

WITH BROWN BUTTER

Photo property of rasamalaysia.com

Ingredients

12 fresh sea scallops

Sea salt

Black pepper

¼ cup oil

3 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot

Juice of half a lemon

½ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Photo property of JerseyGirlCooks.com

Directions

   Pat scallops dry with paper towels, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and ad oil. Sauté scallops on one side until well-browned (about 2 minutes), then turn and cook on the other side. Transfer scallops to a platter and keep warm. Carefully wipe any remaining oil from pan, then add shallot. Cook for 1 minute, then add lemon juice and chapped parsley. Place 3 scallops on each of 4 warm plates. Spoon butter and shallot mixture over scallops.

   Serves 4.

   (Hint: Serve with rice, salad, or your favorite vegetable.)

Photo property of CafeDelites.com

I love scallops! This has made me soooo hungry!

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Please keep reading to check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

Both the BB and 56 are from

BROKEN BONE CHINA

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader

Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading.

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.

My Book Beginnings

Red and yellow flames belched from propane burners, inflating the hot-air balloon to heroic proportions and propelling it skyward.

My 56

He sounded as intense as he looked. Tall, with an aristocratic nose and cheekbones, cobalt blue eyes. Quite a hunk. 

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