A few weeks ago, I picked up copies of “Baltimore Blues” and “Charm City“, the first two books in Laura Lippman’s “Tess Monaghan” detective series, set in BodyBaltimore.

They’re not bad, although, as I make my way further into the series (I’m currently about 60 pages into the last in the series, “No Good Deeds“, I’m noticing several things. I’m going to start with the things I dislike about the series (because that way, I can end the post on a positive note):

1. The latter books seem to be less mystery, more thriller (boo!), although this last book seems to be heading back towards that ‘mystery’ catagory.

2. Secondary characters, in particular, Feeney, Tyner, Kitty, et al, seem to get short-thrift. What happened to Jackie? Tess’ parents? Spike? (Okay, so Spike’s probably dead in a gutter somewhere, still.) I was disappointed that Crow wasn’t in “By A Spider’s Thread“, which, to my mind, was the weakest of the series.

3. Assholeish nit-picking: revolvers don’t have safeties, so why is Tess always taking the safety off her revolver? Also, in one of the books, someone is carrying a 9mm revolver. I’m reasonably certain that there are no revolvers chambered for 9mm (but I could be wrong).

Things I like:

1. “In A Strange City”, the novel revolving around the mysterious ‘Visitor’ who leaves cognac and roses on Poe’s grave every year, is the absolute best of the series.

2. I don’t know if she invented the word “Baltibilia”, but I can guess what she thinks of all those folks running around with Boh t-shirts: read “Sugar House” for insight. (I’ll be hiding my Natty Boh beer glass…)

3. Tess trades in her Toyota (which probably got great gas mileage) for an SUV, then worries about how she’ll weather the “dry season” of her PI biz. Clearly, she’s got a few screws loose. (Why didn’t she buy a Jeep Wrangler? Top down doors off in the summer, and the big wheels for killing some snow when she needs milk and TP!)

All in all, not a bad series of novels. When the novels are mysteries, they’re well thought out and compelling and keep the reader interested. When they tend to slide to the “thriller” aspect, they can be a burden to get through. My absolute biggest complaint about the series are the interesting secondary characters Lippman invents, who either vanish or are relegated to one or two minor scenes.

The only way I’d ever win Top Chef is if they added “Boyardee” to the title, and even then, my Old Bay Ravioli probably wouldn’t impress any of those Food & Wine magazine snobs. I do make a pretty mean Apple Betty (made one Friday night, actually, it was grrr-ate!), and I’ve decided to expand my cooking horizons. In my cupboards and fridge are the ingredients to make lasagna and macaroni and cheese. I’m going to try the mac & cheese tonight.

Now, when I say “mac and cheese”, I don’t mean that (absolutely delightful and wonderful) orange crap from Kraft. I’ve been thinking of my Dad’s home-made, secret-recipe mac and cheese: it’s great stuff, with like this bread crust and wonderful flavoring. I was robbed of the belief that it was a secret-recipe when, having e-mailed my Mom for it, she replied, “He just makes it from the recipe on the back of the box.”

Here’s one thing I noticed: depending on what brand of pasta you’re buying, the recipe on the back of the box is completely different than it might be on another brand’s. Cheap! All I knew about my Dad’s recipe is that I was looking for two things: bread, and mustard. Yes, mustard. Dry mustard, in this case (available in the spice aisle in your favorite supermarket). Mueller’s elbow macaroni has the recipe closest to the one my Dad’s prepared in the past.

Here’s the ingredient list:

8oz elbow macaroni
1/4 cup margarine
3 tsp flour
1/8 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp salt (opt.)
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups (8oz) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup croutons

And here’s the recipe:

Cook elbow macaroni for 3 minutes.
Drain, cover, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 deg.
In medium saucepan, melt margarine (or butter); blend in flour, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Cook until mixture is smooth and bubbly; gradually add milk.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Gradually mix in cheese. Stir over low heat until cheese is melted.
Add pasta; mix together lightly. Pour into 2-quart casserole.
Top with croutons (bread). Bake 25 minutes.

(I’m substituting slices of white bread for the croutons). I’m also doubling the recipe, because, I figure, I won’t be eating all of this tonight, so this way, I’ll have dinner for the next several ready and waiting for some microwave reheating action later in the week.

So. Who wants to take bets as to whether or not I poison myself?