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Ang Pompano: Several years ago, Annette and I were at one of our favorite restaurants in Wooster Square, New Haven’s Little Italy. It’s the kind of place where the pasta is made in-house, the ingredients are chosen with care, and the food respects tradition while quietly kicking things up a notch. That night I had a fantastic fennel salad with pears, gorgonzola, and olive oil, and I’ve never

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Friends, here in the Kitchen, we take food seriously. We have fun with food; like our characters, we believe in the power of food to express love and joy, nurture community, and be a force for good. In our books, we share recipes we’ve created ourselves, inherited, or adapted from another source enough that we can legally and morally call it our own. Here on the blog, we

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗Happy Valentine’s day! My recipe today is for hot chocolate so rich, so thick, and so luscious that when you put your empty mug down you’ll know you probably shouldn’t live on it alone. Although, if you’re a chocolate lover, you might want to try. The banana in the recipe is a bit

Vicki here and I’m delighted to have the chance to introduce you to a good friend of mine, Tanya Huff. Tanya has had a long career as a hugely successful science fiction writer. Her newest book, Direct Descendant is a fabulous and very clever blend of fantasy and cozy.  Think small town, good friends, a bakery. And monsters.  Here’s Tanya to explain--- Cassidy “Cassie” Prewitt is

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VMBURNS: What do you do when you have leftover turkey? You make Turkey Pot Pie. At least, that's what I did. I can only endure leftovers for 2 days, then I get bored. I knew there would leftovers after I got a great deal on a turkey, which was WAAY too much for one person. So, I adapted a recipe for Chicken pot pot.I didn't have frozen mixed vegetables, but I had frozen green beans, and frozen

 Gnocchi, in my book, is comfort food. This is true whether you make your own or take a short cut with a package of shelf-stable, refrigerated, or frozen gnocchi from the grocery store. Using a shelf-stable variety works well in this recipe and that gives you time to trim and slice your sprouts. Gorgonzola, sage, and walnuts elevate the dish and the addition of wine vinegar and a touch of

YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson

VMBURNS: It's me, Valerie (V.M.) Burns aka Kallie E. Benjamin. And, it's my turn in the spotlight. As you can see, I write multiple mysteries using several pen names. Today, I'd like to turn the spotlight on my Mystery Bookshop Mystery series, which I write as V. M. Burns. The Mystery Bookshop Mystery series was the first series that I ever sold. Samantha Washington and her late husband

 Brrrr, it’s cold here on the windblown prairie of central Illinois, and soup is just the thing. This soup is delicious and the kind of recipe that lets you add and subtract ingredients depending on what you have in your kitchen or what you have a hankering for. Add another potato, cheddar cheese, and bacon and it’ll taste like a loaded baked potato. Sauté sausage with the onion and garlic

 VMBURNS: During the holiday, I wanted sweets, but didn't want to bake a lot for one person. So, I found a great recipe for an apple puff pastry and had to give it a try.The beauty of this recipe is that you can make small quantities. The ingredients picture shows two apples, but I actually only used one. I also love that I did not have to be perfect with this recipe. Like more cinnamon than

 KIM DAVIS: January may usher in good intentions to eat healthier but my sweet tooth doesn't sit quietly by, especially when a chocolate craving hits. I'm always happy when I find a "healthier" version of a delicious dessert, such as chocolate mousse. Eons ago, back when the Cooking Light magazine was in its heyday, I came across a recipe similar to what I'm sharing today. I was skeptical...

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  A few years ago, I bought Mr. Right a copy of Drinking French by David Lebovitz for Christmas – just in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some of David’s treats. Gougère and French Manhattans are a pairing the man himself recommends, and we heartily agree!What, you ask, are gougères? Little cheese puffs, almost as easy to make as they are to eat! Lebovitz says Comte,

We can create kindness and decency, despite Trump

For standing up to tyranny. In honor of attorney Joseph Welch, who represented the U.S. Army in the Army-McCarthy Hearings of June 1954.

 We aren’t a marshmallow and sweet potato family. Sweet potatoes, yes, but tending more towards the savory. Roasted sweet potato spears with molasses and horseradish are a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition at our house. Black bean and sweet potato burritos with sweet-spicy pickled red onions are a tasty option for vegetarians when you’re having a taco night. Later in the winter I’ll post

Libby Klein I've been obsessed with the Great British Baking Show lately. I've been sick so I've been binge watching Netflix to distract myself. I'm gutted every time my favorite baker is booted from the tent. I even got all the books from the library so I could see the recipes. This is from one of the show cookbooks, but a baker is never given credit for the bake. The original recipe is for

LUCY BURDETTE: I imagine that a dish like this might have been one of the first things Hayley made for Nathan when their relationship was new. It’s exactly the kind of homestyle food he loves, and now he requests it for Thanksgiving as well as any time Hayley roasts a chicken. It’s a little sweet, and very corny, and not at all challenging for fussy palates. It would be perfect for your

Ang Pompano: It goes without saying that Thanksgiving is all about tradition, and traditions mean a lot to Annette and me. One of our longest-standing traditions goes back to when our kids were little: me reading A Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin to them, followed by Annette making cranberry bread with their help. The well-worn book, its pages smudged with two

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  This is a classic combo that somehow, we’d never made—essentially, an alfredo with chicken, bell pepper, and mushrooms. It’s easy enough for a weeknight dinner, pretty enough for weekends or guests. We used a mix of button and crimini mushrooms. Did you know crimini are baby portobellos? No wonder they’re so tasty! Give me a call when this is on your menu—

Libby Klein Risotto is one of those things I have had in restaurants that lack a decent gluten-free menu. It seems like some of them go out of their way to add gluten to everything. Steak marinated in beer. Chicken with soy sauce in the gravy. Bread crumbs on everything. Risotto has been the only gluten-free option on some menus. But I would not make it at home for years.Risotto always

Only as spicy as you want it to be, with a lovely zing of lime, this soup is good on every level. Next time I’ll double the recipe so we have leftovers for lunch.   Spicy Peanut Pumpkin Soup Adapted from Yewande Komolafe in The New York Times Serves 4   Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, smashed1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and chopped 1/2 habanero (or other

LUCY BURDETTE: I remembered making a wonderful pie ten or so years ago for wonderful writer Nancy Pickard, whom we’d invited to teach a class in Connecticut. The recipe came from Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur flour. It was a peach pie with a crumb crust, and oh so good. Since the peaches have been so amazing this year, we froze 6 cups of them to use in a future pie. At the last minute, I

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MADDIE DAY reporting in. Here at the Kitchen, we're supposed to offer you readers clever Halloween recipes this season. Alas, I'm behind on everything, and I came came up short. This yummy cake at least includes pumpkin and complementary seasonal spices, and I hope you'll forgive me for not offering something more decorative this year. (I haven't even gotten a pumpkin for outside, so these gold

Before I get to today's recipe, I'm excited to announce that my latest Orchid Isle mystery, WATERS OF DESTRUCTION, was just released yesterday as a trade paperback, at the new low price of $16.99--yippee! (Buy link here.)Okay, now onto the food. This is a delicious and easy-to-prepare dish (adapted from a New York Times recipe), perfect for the cooler autumn nights many of us are now starting to

ANG POMPANO: I don’t know about where you live, but here in Connecticut, Halloween has become a major holiday. Some folks go all out, decorating almost as much as they do for Christmas but with orange and purple lights and those nine-foot-tall skeletons towering over the lawn!Ironically, traditional trick-or-treating has mostly given way to parties. But that’s fine by me. It just gives my

I'm thrilled to announce that today, my second Orchid Isle mystery, Waters of Destruction, is being released as a trade paperback, at the new low price of $16.99! So if you've been waiting to buy the book until the price came down, now's the time!Here’s the synopsis: After a vacation of a lifetime in Hilo, Hawai‘i, retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have decided to move

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  One of the highlights of the Christmas season in my childhood neighborhood was the exchange of food gifts among the families. Our next-door neighbors often gave us a big bag of homemade Chex Mix—you remember it, I’m sure, with its mix of nuts and cereals and salty-savory sauce.So when I spotted this recipe for a Halloween version, I was all in. Now, you could simply

 I bought what I thought was a mix for brownies and you can imagine my disappointment when I got home from the store and discovered I'd picked up a chocolate cake mix instead.  I didn't want to make a cake--I had nothing to frost it with.  I went searching on the Internet and found you could make cookies from a cake mix!  Making cookies can be so fiddly, and I'm terrible when

LUCY BURDETTE: When John and I visited the beautiful city of Siena, Italy last month, we very much enjoyed taking a cooking class with Scuola di Cucina di Lella. I’ve taken other classes in the past (Japan and France,) but this was a first for John. It’s a wonderful way to get a window into the culture of the place you are visiting.For this class, we and five other American couples made a

Is there anything better than a lovely, warm, home-made muffin?  Not in my opinion, and there isn’t much baking that comes easier either. I had some excess carrots on hand and wanted to do something with them. I have no need to make a carrot cake, so I made muffins. Muffins with Carrot, Oats, and Walnuts Makes 12 muffins Ingredients:  1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour &nbsp

 KIM DAVIS: I'm delighted to let you be the first to see the brand new cover for Catering to the Dead, the eighth book in my Cupcake Catering Mysteries! Keep scrolling down the page for a look... With a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theme, I included a recipe for Churro Cookies in the book, which I'm sharing here. The cookies are full of cinnamon and are topped by a

☕ From Cleo Coyle: One apple and some simple ingredients come together in this recipe to create a tasty bread pudding, perfect for chilly fall mornings, afternoon snacking, or even an after-dinner dessert. Serve it with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for a fun alternative to pancakes or waffles. For dessert service, try plating the warm pudding with a scoop of ice cream or

Libby Klein The merest hint of chill in the air, the first leaf to turn colors, and I fly into action baking fall treats. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I will it to start when the days are so muggy you need a shower after checking the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Pumpkin bread isn't new, and I'm not doing anything special with it here. But this is a fantastically moist

Libby Klein I've just returned from a Mystery Writer's Conference in New Orleans where I did as many tours as I could squeeze into two pre-conference days. My favorite tour was a guided food tour of the city by a local chef. Even though I couldn't eat everything on the tour, I still found a new favorite. The Muffuletta. It's pretty close to being an Italian hoagie with olive and vegetable