Recipe Wednesday - Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton

Welcome to Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton.

Mixing Marriage and Mystery

Carolyn J. Rose and Mike Nettleton

Attempting to meld two distinct writing styles and a host of different ideas can be a recipe for both literary and marital disaster. But somehow we’ve kept it together through 21 years and cooked up five co-authored projects as well as a number of individual efforts.

Last year we mixed greed, lust, political aspirations, and secrecy to create The Big Grabowski (Krill Press), a cozy set in fictional Devil’s Harbor, Oregon.



In the sequel, Sometimes a Great Commotion, due out this summer, the ingredients for chaos are: a sewage treatment system about to crash, a tree-sitting scam artist blocking the timber sale that could keep the town flush (pardon the pun), and an image scorched into a grilled crab cake. Thousands flock to see it, prompting the mayor to plant a portable toilet on every lawn. Then someone cuts down the tree-sitter’s perch with him aboard and murder gets tossed into the mix.

Sometimes a Great Commotion Crab Cakes

1 c. seasoned breadcrumbs (Italian)

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. finely chopped green onion

¼ c. finely chopped celery

2 t. Dijon-style mustard

Big dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 16-oz can of refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat, drained

(or freshly cooked Dungeness crab if it’s available)

2 t. Creole seasoning or dash of Tabasco sauce

(optional and depending on how hot you like your food)



Combine all ingredients and let stand in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Check consistency and add a few more crumbs or a few drops of water if necessary.



Form patties. Coat with more breadcrumbs if you want.



Fry in oil or butter until nicely browned. (Note: we can’t guarantee an image of anyone—real or fictional—will appear.) Serve with lemon and tarter sauce.

Carolyn J. Rose grew up in New York’s Catskill Mountains, graduated from the University of Arizona, logged two years in Arkansas with Volunteers in Service to America, and spent 25 years as a television news researcher, writer, producer, and assignment editor in Arkansas, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. She teaches novel-writing in Vancouver, Washington, and founded the Vancouver Writers’ Mixers. Her hobbies are reading, gardening, and not cooking.



Mike Nettleton grew up in Bandon and Grants Pass, Oregon. A stint at a college station in Ashland led to a multi-state radio odyssey with on-air gigs in Oregon, California, and New Mexico under the air name Mike Phillips. He’s been with KEX in Portland since 1994. His hobbies are golf, pool, Texas held-em poker, and book collecting.



Surf to www.deadlyduomysteries.com for more information.