Tuesday, April 7, 2015

We’re Bursting Out in Cookbooks! #giveaway

By Leslie Budewitz

When I think of spring, I think of tulips, apple blossoms, and bird song. And because we live in the Northern Rockies, a late snowstorm or two. I do not think of cookbooks.

Except this year.


Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen author-cooks are featured in two new cookbooks: THE MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA COOKBOOK (Quirk Books, March 2015) featuring Sheila Connolly, Daryl Wood Gerber, and me, along with Mary Higgins Clark, Louise Penny, Scott Turow “and other acclaimed plot stirrers,” as the cover says.







THE COZY COOKBOOK (Berkley Prime Crime, April 2015) features excerpts and more than 100 recipes from eleven cozy mystery writers, including Cleo Coyle, Daryl Wood Gerber, and me, plus Ellery Adams, Laura Childs, Connie Archer, Victoria Hamilton, BB Haywood, Julie Hyzy, Jenn McKinlay, and Paige Shelton. (Where to buy? Check here.)

Publishers Weekly gave the books this delicious review!

And thanks to the publishers -- Quirk and Berkley Prime Crime -- we've got one copy of each to give away, to two lucky winners! Leave a comment by midnight, Wed April 8, to be entered. If you'd prefer one book over the other, say so; if not, you'll be entered for a blind drawing. U.S. addresses only.

So what’s on the menu? You'll recognize the themes of our books in our contributions to THE MWA COOKBOOK. Daryl Wood Gerber shares Cheddar-Monterey Jack Cheese Sauce with Broccoli, a recipe you might pick up at her character Charlotte’s Cheese Shop or find in a treasured volume at the Cookbook Nook, setting of her second series. (Note which gets top billing—and it’s not the vegetable!) Sheila Connolly serves up Apple Goodie, a recipe that Sheila’s been making since long before she started writing the Orchard Mysteries, and which she describes as “my all-time favorite comfort food.” Lucy Burdette contributed Shrimp and Grits, the winning recipe in the Southern cooking contest she created in her Key West Food Critic series. And my offering is a recipe I could easily imagine served at the Murphys’ Sunday table, in my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, Farfalle with Fennel and Pine Nuts.

In THE COZY COOKBOOK, you’ll get a taste of recipes from several books (some previously published, some to come). To whet your appetite, Daryl gives us Jenna’s Monte Cristo Sandwich and gluten-free biscotti, Writing as Avery Aames, she serves up a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches, for breakfast and lunch, San Simon Frittata, Pancakes with Gouda and Figs, and Gluten-free Popovers, and much more.

Cleo serves up Clare Cosi’s Doughtnut muffins and Coffee Cake muffins, as well as a smorgasbord of coffee drinks, Skillet Lasagna, Glazed Lemon Cookies, and oh, my, I’m getting hungry!

My two protagonists eat all over the map, so we’ve got appetizers, salads, cocktails (huckleberry martinis and margaritas!), steaks, pastas, including the recipe that provides a clue in Death al Dente, Fettucini with Minted Tomato Sauce aka Fettuccine a la Fresca. And we top it off with my Pumpkin Spice Coffee Blend and Mexican coffee.

Here’s a favorite of mine:

Erin’s Two Two-Bean and Pesto Salad

From CRIME RIB by Leslie Budewitz

Serves 6 to 8 as a main dish, 10 to 12 as a side salad. This is a terrific pot luck dish!


1 pound of fresh green beans (the thin, or French, style called haricots vert, works best)
1 (-14 oz.) can white beans
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small white onion, chopped fine (sweet, red, or green onions also work well, but a yellow onion will be too strong)
fresh pesto (see recipe, below)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Steam beans until tender-crunchy (start checking after about 3 minutes). (When steaming, use enough water to reach just below the bottom of your steamer basket.) Rinse, drain, and cool, then cut into bite-sized pieces, about an 1 inch long. Rinse and drain white beans. Mix vegetables and beans in a large bowl and toss with pesto. Add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled, by itself or on a bed of greens.

Pesto:

In a small (2-cup) food processor, loosely chop about 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves. Toss in one 1 or two 2 cloves of garlic—–the pesto will blend more easily if you slice or chop the cloves first. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse. Add oil and pulse until you get a good consistency for mixing with other ingredients. Add grated Parmesan and, if you’d like, pine nuts or walnuts, and pulse to mix well.




(And yes, it's perfectly okay to substitute commercial basil pesto. Erin and I won't mind one bit!)

Remember, leave a comment by midnight, Wed April 8, for a chance to win one of these terrific new cookbooks! U.S. addresses only.

 Leslie's latest: ASSAULT AND PEPPER  (March 2015, Berkley Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 978-0425271780
7.99

Leslie Budewitz is the only author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction—the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, for Death al Dente (Berkley Prime Crime), first in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, and the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction, for Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure (Quill Driver Books). She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Coming in July 2015: BUTTER OFF DEAD, third in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries!

Connect with her on her website, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

118 comments:

  1. I would love to add any of these to my collection.

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  2. I love mysteries and read cookbooks like they are novels.

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  3. I am excited about both of these cookbooks. So fun to combine two of my favorite things...cooking and mysteries. dmskrug3(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  4. My cookbook collection needs a new member, though it's a mystery where I'll put it! sssusieq@hotmail.com

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  5. Both cookbooks sound wonderful! I will certainly be adding both to my already overwhelming collection, and I can't wait to try the bean salad recipe (I'm always on the lookout for new vegetable recipes to try).

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  6. I would love a copy of the MWA cookbook! Thanks for the giveaway.
    Sallycootie@gmail.com

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  7. I would love a copy of the MWA cookbook! Thanks for the giveaway.
    Sallycootie@gmail.com

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  8. I love mysteries and I love to cook! Either one would be a perfect take off point for my themed dinner group.

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  9. These cookbooks sound fantastic! EMS591@aol.com

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  10. I would love the MWA cookbook. Thanks

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  11. I would love to win a copy of The Cozy Cookbook. Thank you for the giveaway.
    myrifraf(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. I'm leaning toward the MWA because I've read fewer of their books.
    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  13. I am looking forward to adding both of these to my cookbook collection! Thanks for the chance to win one!

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  14. Love this Blog and each writers entries. I wouldn't mind a copy of The Cozy Cookbook coming my way! kkdaley (@) comcast.net

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  15. I'd like to try for The Cozy Cookbook since my library is getting the other one. Thanks.
    sgiden at verizon(.)net

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  16. These both look wonderful!

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  17. Both of these cookbooks sound like fun. A little mystery, a little food. Nice combination. :-)

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  18. I would love to have either of these cookbooks! Thanks for the contest!
    bobandcelia@sbcglobal.net

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  19. i love to have these love cookbooks

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  20. I would love to have either of these for my collection!

    sbandjz at yahoo dot com

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  21. As a cozy mystery lover, I would love to add a cozy cookbook to my collection of cookbooks. Thanks for a chance to have one.

    Benglish@whro.net

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  22. I love cozy mysteries, I would love to add any of these to my collections, they look great. Thank you for a chance to win. weluvdopey@sc.rr.com

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  23. I would love a copy of the MWA Cookbook. Thank you for the chance! rachaelb2014 (at) gmail (dot) com

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  24. I collect cookbooks and cozy mysteries , so this is right up my alley ! I would be happy with either one ! kathambre@yahoo.com

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  25. These cookbooks look so great. Thanks for the chance to win one. rencw@verizon.net

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  26. I would love to win the MWA cookbook. I have the other ordered. Thanks for the chance!
    Dnrocker@yahoo.com

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  27. I would love a chance to win THE MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA COOKBOOK. I love cookbooks and love to cook and bake.
    scarletbegonia5858@gmail.com

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  28. I love cookbooks, I've ordered the Cozy Cookbook and it should be here today, but I didn't know about the Mystery Writer's of America. That looks fabulous! llcejka at gmail dot com

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  29. Cookbooks and mysteries, what heaven should be like!
    debprice60@gmail.com

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  30. Pat (patdupuy@yahoo.com)April 7, 2015 at 9:27 AM

    It's fun to read cookbooks whether you make any of the recipes or not.

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  31. I have both of these as e-books but would love to win a print copy of either book! Thanks for the opportunity!

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  32. I would love to win, I read on a Kindle and it is so hard to do recipes on it.
    nlb1050@yahoo.com

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  33. I have the Cozy Cookbook, but i'd love to win the other.

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  34. I'd gladly take either one. This would mean I could get rid of all the photo copied pages of recipes from those cozy authors who are in the book. It would make it so much easier to find them. LOL

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  35. Love to cook and try new recipes. This would maker a great addition to my cookbook collection!!! Congrats to all the contributors.

    purplewyytch@icloud.com

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  36. I've already ordered The Cozy Cookbook so I'd love to win The Mystery Writer's Cookbook. Thanks for the chance! lkleback@hotmail.com

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  37. Love cookbooks and love to read so these books are just right for me :-)

    susanne@4inchina.dk

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  38. Either cookbook would be wonderful. Love the authors in each of them. bobbipad@gmail.com

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  39. Would love to have these for my Book Club's dinner and discussion groups! Cooking, baking, reading, eating, and chatting...what could be better?! Thanks! pjhans.fl@gmail.com

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  40. I need both of these for my collection. The bean salad looks awesome!

    bevarcher AT me DOT com

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  41. would love town and try the recipes

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  42. Would LOVE to win either book. Have tried some of Clare Cosi recipes and love them!!!!!!

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  43. I would love to win either cookbook----I like to get all sorts of new ideas from them.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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  44. I would love to have these cookbooks, I'm ready to place a bunch of sticky notes for things I plan to make. carter.karen@gmail.com

    Karen Carter

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  45. Hou got me with huckleberry martinis!!

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  46. I would love to have either one of these cookbooks! The Two Two Bean Salad looks great I will definitely be trying it out! Congratulations to you all on your cookbooks! Thanks for the chance!
    edtercross7304@yahoo.com

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  47. I'd love to add either to my collection of cookbooks. Both have enticing recipes. servedogmom@yahoo.com

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  48. You know I always like to respond to every comment, but it's impossible this morning! Thanks to you all for your enthusiasm -- you more than make up for the reviewer who loved Assault & Pepper but didn't understand why there were recipes in the back. The poor man....

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    1. Are you serious? That's crazy, I love the recipes in the back, even if I know I will never make it. <3

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  49. I love food mysteries and I love to cook and try new recipes.Some of the best ones came from 'included in novel'. hope to win either one.

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  50. I just love cookbooks, but to have the added bonus of getting recipes by my favorite authors is priceless.

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  51. Can't wait to own a copy of the cook book. I love books.

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  52. Too hard to choose! I am a cozy addict but my mystery shelves are full of many types of mysteries. And I have a man who likes to cook for me. Can't go wrong with either one.
    wismomworks @gmail .com

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  53. I'd love to win the Cozy... but either! Thank you!

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  54. I love to collect cookbooks! The Cozy Cookbook!

    littleone AT shaw DOT ca

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  55. I have them both ordered. I am so excited to get them! But they will probably arrive while I am gone for a month. Too bad. I am so looking forward to having them in my hands!

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  56. I would love to win either book. Thanks.

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  57. I need both of these as additions to my mystery cookbook collection.

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  58. not sure whether post went through or not. would love to win either book.

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  59. I would love to win either of them, it's a wonderful idea putting these recipes together, I get so mad at myself when I decide to make one and forget which cozy it's in. Thanks for the recipe, it sounds yummy!
    momzillasteel at gmail dot com

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  60. I would be delighted to get either book.
    I recently heard a trick for keeping pesto from browning. Add a bit of lemon juice while processing it. Obvious idea, but I'd never thought of it.

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  61. Would take either. Haven't gotten them yet but plan on it. TY

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  62. I would 💖💖💖 to win either one. I did just put The Cozy Cookbook on my wish list on Books-A-Million.com

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  63. Love mysteries Love Food! Would love either book. Thanks

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  64. I would love either of these cookbooks. :)

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  65. I love cozy mysteries and I love cookbooks :) Would love to win either of these books! Thanks for the chance :)

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  66. food theme mysteries are one of my favorite cozies to read! I would like to be entered for the The Cozy Cookbook please. :)

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  67. What a nice giveaway! I would love either of them!!! Thanks!

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  68. I love so many of these authors, and have tried some of the recipes from the books. Cleo Coyle's recipe for Triple-Threat Firehouse Penne Mac 'n Cheese with Caramelized Bacon Bits is FANTASTIC! What a great collection of recipes... would be awesome to win either one!

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  69. What an awesome giveaway! I need to try the recipe for the green beans. It looks and sounds so yummy.

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  70. Would love either:) Love to read and hubby likes it when I cook up a new recipe. Thanks again

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  71. Love trying the recipes I read! Thanks so much for the chance.

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  72. I would love either, cooking and reading, reading and cooking, my 2 favorite things.

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  73. Cookbooks and mysteries? Sounds like a great time reading and eating! I would love either book.
    little lamb lst at yahoo dot com

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  74. I would love to win either as I really love mysteries and cookbooks!

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  75. I would love to win a copy of the Cozy Cookbook!! Thanks for the chance :) darholley1@aol.com

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  76. Hi Leslie, no need to enter me in the drawing, just stopping by to say congrats!! This is an exciting day--delicious recipes.

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    1. Thanks, Mary! We're all super-happy to be included in such delicious company!

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  77. What a wonderful combination of my favorite things: mysteries, cookbooks and new recipes to try. I would love to win either book, but my first choice would've be the MWA cookbook because it sounds as if it has new recipes.

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  78. I love cookbooks!! Especially with recipes from my favorite authors!!

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  79. Cookbooks are my hobby! Would love either one.

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  80. What a great idea! I can't wait to try out the recipes!

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  81. So wonderful to see how popular these two cookbooks are going to be among the mystery-reading community. All of us who are included are thrilled to be in such delicious company!

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  82. It would be fantastic to win cookbooks, I'm always looking for fresh recipes!!!

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  83. I love cozy mysteries and cookbooks! Thank you for this chance!

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  84. A delightful and special giveaway. Love cookbooks and cozies. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  85. Great cookbooks which I would treasure. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  86. since I have been cooking for three instead of one, I have become fascinated with cookbooks. Love the idea of Mystery Writers cookbooks

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  87. They both sound like they'd be great to have but I gotta admit I'd prefer to have The Cozy Cookbook. It just has so many authors that I love and know are fabulous. So many of the recipes in their books are great and would love to have recipes from them altogether in one book. Thanks for the chance to win.

    robbfan141729@yahoo.com

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  88. I would love to win either of them. lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  89. I'm not a big fan of the white beans, but that two-bean salad looks good! :)

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    1. Give it a try, Marsha -- anything's better smothered in basil pesto!

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  90. Oh such a great giveaway!!! It would be awesome to win either one, but I really like the sound of the Cozy Cookbook! Now if I were to win I would take either book. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    magicgirl2357@yahoo.com

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  91. I would love either cookbook. Thanks for such a delicious giveaway

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  92. I would love one

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  93. I have been hearing good things about both these cookbooks, would love to win either one! Thanks!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  94. I am an avid mystery reader but a terrible cook-I would love to win any cookbook-I need all the help I can get

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  95. I would love either cookbook! Thanks for having the giveaway!

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  96. I would love to win either of the cookbooks. Love cookbooks and mysteries! Thanks for the chance to win.
    MarshaMysteryreader@yahoo.com

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  97. I love these cookbooks. If I win, I'd prefer the cozy cookbook.

    Tennisace50(@)yahoo(dot)com

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  98. Would love to win either of these cookbooks, but first choice is The Cozy Cookbook. Thanks for the chance!

    Helen helen_fields30@yahoo.com

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  99. Count me in for either of the cookbooks! Thanks!

    lola777_22(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  100. Both cookbook look great. We now have easy way to reference all those great recipes we read about in there cozy mystery. Cool.
    xzjh04@ Gmail.com



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  101. I have The Cozy Cookbook and adore it! I'd love to win The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. I have a side collection of cookbooks based mystery writers. Love them! lisaksbookreview(at)aol(dot)com

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  102. Such a tossup, isn't it? The MWA Cookbook has short essays by authors and some photos -- not of my dish, alas -- but the Cozy Cookbook has excerpts from our books! Thurs morning, Ruff the Cat will push the button the random number generator and choose the winners!

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  103. Thanks for the chance to win one of these books! I've been waiting for the MWA cookbook to come out since I've read about it from Daryl. Yay! Thanks. annelovell12@yahoo.com

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  104. Mouth watering goodness! I would love to win either of the cookbooks. Thank you for this opportunity! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

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  105. Never thought of pesto in bean salad--sounds like a winning combination, great for the big Sunday dinners I do. And I have homemade pesto in the freezer. I covet the MWA cookbook--can't tell if I want the recipes or the stories more, but it sounds like a winner in which I could lose myself for hours. Oops! Maybe not a good thing!

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  106. Cookbooks & cozies are my two addictions. Need to add both of these to my collection! Would love to win!
    Scouts579 (at) aol (dot) com

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  107. I love that these mysterious cookbooks are being published. I'd be thrilled to win either one!

    cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com

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  108. Wow! What a Great contest! It's really a tough choice but I would go with the MWA if I should be one of the lucky ones! Thank you for the great recipe and contest!
    woodrumbetty@gmail.com

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  109. I love cookbooks and I love mysteries.... either one of these cookbooks would look fabulous great on my book shelf! What a great giveaway!!
    jrobinson12 (at) austin (dot) rr (dot) com

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  110. Congratulations to our winners! Daniele K wins the MWA Cookbook and Debbie S wins the Cozy Cookbook. Thanks to all for joining in the fun!

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