Michael Ruhlman's Sour Orange Daiquiri

 

Ann Hood with Lucy and Elise Hart Kipness

LUCY BURDETTE: I am reading Ann Hood‘s memoir called Fly Girl this week, which is the story of her time as a flight attendant. She’s such a good writer she can make any subject interesting! But that’s a side note to say, we had Ann and her lovely husband, the food writer, Michael Ruhlman visiting Key West last February as part of our Friends of the Key West library speaker series. We also asked him if he would prepare a special cocktail for our major donor party. This is what he made! It was delicious and went down oh so easily. (Which will explain my dirth of photos...)

Michal Ruhlman's Sour Orange Daiquiri

2 ounces white rum

1/2 ounce lime juice

1/4 ounce orange juice 3⁄4 ounce

3/4 ounce simple syrup

1 orange twist

Combine the rum, lime juice, orange juice, and simple syrup in a mixing glass, add ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe or an old-fashioned glass over ice. Garnish with the orange twist.

USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.

Coming July 14--isn't it gorgeous?

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, is in bookstores now!

The trade paperback edition of A POISONOUS PALATE is out now! 

And the trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!

@Author Darci Hannah; Bunny's Classic Scottish Scones #GIVEAWAY

On a wintery hike with my pups, Ripley & Finn

DARCI HANNAH: Happy 2026! I hope everyone is staying warm and cozy. Here in Michigan, it's a typical snowy winter. And what an honor it is to be the newest member of the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen! I want to thank all the members for being so welcoming. Not only are they wonderful writers and food bloggers, but they’ve also been so kind and patient with me as I learn the ropes of this long running, beloved blog. 

I’m going to be honest. I’ve always loved being a guest on the MLK blog. I mean, how can I not with so many bestselling mystery writers who love sharing their recipes? Kindred spirits, I call them! As I’ve said, being a guest is wonderful. However, being a part of this fan-favorite, wide-reaching mystery blog was never on my radar. Not until the middle of January, when the wonderful Kim Davis sent me an email inviting me to join.

Oddly enough, at the time I just happened to be in Charlotte, NC, knee-deep in boxes with a lot of guy stuff strewn around me. I was in the middle of moving my son, Matt (the youngest of my three sons), back to Michigan after getting laid off from his job right before Christmas. Poor Matt. It was his first out-of-state job since graduating. Being a good mom, when he told me he was going to look for a job in Michigan, I said, “Let’s do this!”

Due to our little adventure, I hadn’t checked my email in days. However, when I saw Kim’s email inviting me to join the blog, I was so honored by the invitation, and yet a little terrified as well. Yes, Mystery Lovers' Kitchen is my favorite cozy mystery blog, but blogs require commitment! I was in a mess and couldn't think straight. My son was moving back in with us--and bringing so much stuff back to the house! Then I remembered that I had a book launch at the end of the month, January 27th to be exact, and a Cozy Con in Florida on the 31st. Yikes! Things were crazy. However, after a good night's sleep, and after all the boxes had been loaded into the truck, I thought, how can I not say yes to being a part of the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen blog? And so, I sent Kim an email saying, “Yes! I’m in!” And I'm really happy about it too!

I'm back home now and still surrounded by boxes and guy stuff. And dog hair. It's kinda my life these days. But things are coming together, as they always do. I find that I'm really looking forward to this new Mystery Lovers' Kitchen adventure, and to be a part of this prolific blog. 

For my first recipe, I’m excited to share one of my favorite recipes from my new release, A SPIRITED SUPPER AT DUNDOON CASTLE. Since the book is set in Scotland, I just had to include one of my favorite British treats, authentic Scottish scones. Unlike most of the scones I make (and I make a lot) British-style scones are surprisingly simple. They’re not stuffed with fruit or covered with glaze. They’re like a slightly sweet biscuits. They’re crisp on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. The real magic happens when you cut them open, still warm from the oven, and fill them with strawberry jam and a dollop of clotted cream. Yum! Sound good? Let’s get baking!

Ingredients

• 2 ½  cups of all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ cup sugar (plus extra for sprinkling on top)

• ½ cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cubed

• 1 cup half and half, plus extra for brushing on top of scone

• Fruit jam

• Whipping cream

Helpful equipment:

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

2 ½ -inch biscuit cutter

Directions: Preheat oven to 425° F. 

In a large mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powered, salt, and sugar.

Add chilled cubed butter and rub it into the flour mixture using your fingertips. You can use a pastry cutter for this as well. Mix until it resembles fine bread crumbs. 

Add the half and half to the mixture and mix until a soft dough forms. 

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly to form a ball. Roll the dough out on the floured surface until it is one inch thick. 

Using a 2 1/2 -inch biscuit cutter, cut the dough into 7 or 8 scones. This depends on how thick the dough was rolled out. I can usually get at least 7 good scones out of this!

Place scones on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with half and half, then sprinkle a little sugar on top of each one. Place scones in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until scones have risen nicely and the tops turn golden brown. 

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. See my little hack below for the perfect scone.

*Darci’s little hack:

These scones bake at a hot temperature. To prevent bottoms from burning, which they tend to do, I place an extra cookie sheet or shallow pan on the rack below the scones and add about a cup of water to the pan before baking. The pan reflects some of the heat while the steaming water adding moisture to create perfectly baked scones. 

To make fake clotted cream, place 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream into an electric mixer and whip until very stiff peaks form. Careful not to over-whip the cream. You’ll get butter! If you like sweeter cream, you can add a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar while whipping. 

Serve scones with fruit jam and fake clotted cream. Enjoy!

Scones are a staple at a traditional English or Scottish tea, which is often called a cream tea. Do you like tea parties? What's your favorite tea party treat?

*Please scroll to the end of the post to leave a comment. Be sure to leave your email address to win a copy of A SPIRITED SUPPER AT DUNDOON CASTLE

*Continental U.S. residents only, please.

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. 

Connect with Darci at www.darcihannah.com

Instagram: @authordarcihannah

Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah

 

Just Released!

A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle

By Darci Hannah

Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

Purchase link

When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .

Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well. 

After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .

Trade Paperback Release!

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor

By Darci Hannah

Book #1 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

Purchase Link

While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . .

It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!

Coming this July!

Murder at the Campfire Cookout

By Darci Hannah

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

Preorder today!

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .

Because no one is out of the woods yet.

Scallops and Snow Pea Salad -- a midwinter treat from @LeslieBudewitz

Friends, we are super excited to welcome a new cozy cook to the Kitchen crew tomorrow! Be sure to pop in and meet her -- we know you will love her books and recipes! 

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Mr. Right and I love scallops. A couple of times a month, a local seafood company parks its funky little wagon outside a bar in the village where we live, selling beautiful frozen seafood. These scallops aren’t cheap, but they are so good!

And when served in this dish, they are as simple and tasty as they can be. Left Coast Crime in 2025 was held in Denver, home to Savory Spice, in a historic district near the river. A group of readers and I made the short trek from our hotel and had a tour of the shop, as well as some taste treats. As one of them said, she half expected Pepper from my Spice Shop series to emerge from a back room!

We spent a fair amount of money between the 8 or so of us, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who scored an extra jar or two of spice as thanks. Mine was Saffron Salt, and we love it, in apricot blondies I’ll share later this year and these scallops. It’s a specialty item, not always available, so when we started using it, I had to think of substitutes I could recommend to you. The blend includes sea salt, saffron, and vanilla, but honestly, I think any could small-crystal salt (or a larger crystal you grind) would be great in these scallops, whether it’s got added flavor or not. I’m eager to try them with a smoked salt. So scan your spice rack or ask for suggestions at your local spice shop.

This recipe originated with Savory Spice, but I have adapted it quite a bit.

And gosh, it’s a pretty dish, isn’t it. I think it would make a lovely main dish for a Valentine’s Day dinner for two!

Have you discovered any new-to-you herbs, spices, blends, or other ingredients lately? Do tell! Inquiring eaters want to know! 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Scallops and Snow Pea Salad (adapted from Savory Spice)

For salad:

12 ounces of snow peas, stemmed and sliced diagonally

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

4 radishes, thinly sliced

For scallops:

1 pound fresh or thawed sea scallops

2 teaspoons saffron salt (see note above) 

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil

Make salad: 

In a medium saucepan, bring several inches of water to a boil. Add snow peas and cook about 2 minutes, until bright green. Quickly drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. 

Use a wide-mouthed pint jar with a tight-fitting lid to create the dressing. Add the vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper to the jar. Close and shake to mix. (Note that because there is no oil, you won’t see the usual emulsification.) Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. 

Place the snow peas in a bowl and add the sliced radishes. Toss with the dressing and set aside. 

Cook the scallops:

Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with saffron salt or your substitution and black pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Pour off any excess. Add scallops and cook 2 to 3 minutes a side, until golden brown. Scallops should release from the pan easily; if they stick when you try to turn them, continue to cook and try again after about 30 seconds. If necessary, cook in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan. 

Arrange the snow pea salad on plates and top with warm scallops. 

Serves 2-4. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.