Do or Diner: A Comfort Food Mystery (27 page)

“I’m going to call it a night,” he said, standing and stretching. Several female diners paused with their forks in the air and just watched him.

“See you tomorrow, Ty.”

“G’night.”

In the mirror behind the counter, I watched him leave; then I turned back to my laptop.

Aunt Irene Gladysz’s Wacky Cake

Put the mixed flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda into a 9″ × 13″ ungreased cake pan.

Make three wells in the above dry ingredients.

Into the first well put 2 tsp. vanilla.

Into the second well put
²
⁄
₃
cup vegetable oil.

Into the third well put 2 tsp. vinegar.

Pour two cups of water over everything and mix it up with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.

Trixie’s Delicious Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine softened cream cheese, milk, and vanilla, mixing until well blended.

Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition.

Fills and frosts two 8″ or 9″ cake layers.

Trixie’s Notes:

Grandma Rose Matyjasik’s Snowball Cookies

(Good at any time of the year, but especially at Christmas!)

Sift together 2 cups flour and
¹
⁄
₂
tsp. salt.

In a separate bowl, blend together
³
⁄
₄
cup butter and
¹
⁄
₂
cup sugar.

Add 2 tsp. almond extract (or vanilla or peppermint) and one egg to the wet ingredients.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Add 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 cup chocolate chips (chocolate mint chips are really good, too, or even peanut butter chips), and stir with a heavy spoon.

Shape into 1″ balls.

Place on cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool slightly and roll in confectioners’ sugar (or gently shake in a plastic bag).

This recipe works well when doubled.

Cindy Sherlock’s Easy Cinnamon Buns

In a mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, dry cake mix, yeast, and warm water until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 14″ × 10″ rectangle.

Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into 12 slices; place cut side down in two greased 13″ × 9″ × 2″ baking pans.

Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes. Frost.

Frost with Trixie’s Cream Cheese Frosting!

Grandma Matyjasik’s Pork and Scalloped Potatoes

(Grandma never measures anything, and it was very difficult documenting her recipe! She says just to “play with this to suit yourself.”)

Broil, grill, or bake several pork shoulder steaks.

Drain off grease and debone when cool.

Wash and peel (or leave the peel on!) several large potatoes.

Slice the potatoes (not too thick, not too thin).

Wash and slice three or so large onions.

Put some of the pork in a large, deep rectangular pan—3″ × 15″ would be good; deeper would be better—like a lasagna pan.

Put the onions and potatoes over the pork.

Then more pork.

Then more potatoes and onions.

Season with salt and pepper or your favorite herbs.

Pour milk or half-and-half over everything until all covered.

Cook uncovered at 350 degrees F until the potatoes are done. It might take an hour or an hour and a half, depending on the pan you use.

Trixie’s Notes:

I divert from just the plain milk/half-and-half. I whisk together milk and (forgive me) a can or two of mushroom soup. If you aren’t a mushroom fan, use cream of celery. Then pour this mixture over everything.

Aunt Helen’s Pot Roast

Brown roast in oil. Add all remaining ingredients, except apples and onions.

Bring to boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 2 hours.

Add onions and apples. Simmer an additional 1
¹
⁄
₂
hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat from pan.

Serve over egg noodles or boiled parsleyed potatoes.

Mrs. Stolfus’s Delicious Chocolate Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Beat eggs, sugar, salt, margarine, and syrup with a hand beater.

Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour mixture into pie shell.

Bake until set, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool.

M
y diner was hopping and so was I!

I’d just dropped the larger-than-a-manhole-cover cast-iron frying pan on my foot. It had bounced off my big toe and landed on the floor with a thud. Thank goodness there hadn’t been anything in it yet.

I took a couple of deep breaths and willed myself to calm down. I had a big breakfast (served twenty-four hours a day) order to get ready, with a variety of eggs and an even greater variety of toast.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead with a towel that I kept draped over my shoulder, I took the pan over to the sink and grabbed another that was equally big and heavy and emptied a couple dozen patties of breakfast sausage—handmade by yours truly—into it, along with half a pound of bacon, and set it on the stove.

Then I readied another order and rang the little brass ship’s bell that I bought because it was nautical and sounded better than the school bell that reminded me of Sister Mary’s constant attempts to get our attention in fourth grade.

Chelsea, one of my waitresses, appeared and looked more
than exhausted. It had been an extraordinarily busy graveyard shift at the Silver Bullet Diner.

“You rang, Trixie?” Chelsea yawned, walking slowly toward the prep table.

“Hang in there, sweetie. We’re almost done.”

I handed her the plates over the steam table. “One cowboy on a raft, one hound on an island, a large Cobb with Thousand Island, three meat loaf specials with the works, and two kiddie specials.”

I had become very fluent in Dinerese, the special language that diner staff uses to communicate orders. It had taken me a while to get the hang of Dinerese, but I kind of enjoyed it now. Truth be told, I even made up my own Dinerese as I went along, which sometimes stymied my waitresses or got us all laughing.

“Don’t forget the free udder juice that goes with the kiddie specials, Chelsea.”

“The wha—?” She wrinkled her face. “If you’re referring to milk, that’s pretty lame, Trix.”

“I know!”

Chelsea set the western omelet with toast and the franks and beans and everything else on a large serving tray. “I’ve never seen the diner so packed at two o’clock in the morning.”

I eyed the pile of orders wrapped with a rubber band that the day cooks, Juanita Holgado and Cindy Sherlock, had filled on the morning shift. Later, I’d enter the orders on a spreadsheet, somehow looking for a pattern as to what customers liked and what supplies I needed to order.

“It’s been like this all shift.” I plucked a couple of orders from the wheel and studied them. There were a lot of orders for the daily specials—cream of chicken soup, my salsa-infused meat loaf with mashed potatoes and gravy, and for those looking forward to a summer picnic, I offered the Silver Bullet Summer Clambake: a dozen steamed Cherry-stones, an ear of corn, broiled or fried haddock, and salt potatoes. I could do both of those orders at the same time. “I love it when we are busy, though. Time goes by so fast.”

And with the extra business, I can make the next balloon payment to Aunt Stella!
I’d bought the diner on an installment plan from my aunt. It had been in our family for years now, and I hadn’t been about to let it go under when Aunt Stella decided to retire.

I’d grown up inside the diner, learning how to cook from Uncle Porky and Aunt Stella. My aunt and uncle didn’t have any children and had always wished to keep the property in the family, so when Aunt Stella wanted to sell, and Deputy Doug wanted me out of our Colonial and out of Philly, I jumped at the chance to buy.

“By the way, Trix, I love your new outfit,” Chelsea said, balancing the tray on the palm of her hand and hoisting it to shoulder level.

I looked down and grinned at my new red jacket and my matching baggy pants covered with a never-ending tomato print. I’d ordered both items online on a chef’s Web site.

“Thanks. I’ve decided that since I’m a chef, I ought to look the part.” I brushed some panko crumbs from my embroidered pocket:
Trixie Matkowski, owner, Silver Bullet Diner, Sandy Harbor, New York
.

I’d ordered the embroidery in black script. Classy.

Chelsea scooted off with her tray, and I pulled an assortment of plates from the shelf for the next order.

Smiling, I thought about how the diner would soon get even busier since it was almost the official start of the tourist season in Sandy Harbor: Memorial Day. The fishermen arrived even before all the ice melted on Lake Ontario. Soon the sun worshippers would arrive at the state beaches, and so would the recreational boaters and those who had camps.

My heart raced when I realized that in addition to the Silver Bullet Dinner, circa 1952, I was ready to open the doors to my twelve cottages, which dotted the Point, a type of peninsula that jutted out into the lake.