Friday, March 28, 2025

Celebrating Baby Cocktail @MaddieDayAuthor #giveaway

MADDIE DAY here, getting super excited for next week's release of Scone Cold Dead.

It's no secret that Robbie Jordan gives birth at the end of the book. Don't worry, I spare you graphic details of her labor and birth.

Robbie's in-laws host Thanksgiving dinner the following week, and her mother-in-law Freddy makes a special drink to celebrate the arrival of Robbie and Abe's newborn daughter. Here's a snippet of the scene:

Freddy approached carrying two Manhattan glasses. “I invented a Celebrating Baby cocktail, which also works for Thanksgiving.” She handed me one of the glasses and sat at the other end of the couch.

I thanked her and took a sip, rolling the flavors on my tongue. “Mmm. Cranberry, orange, bitters, and what, rum? Plus bubbly.”

“You got it. The orange is from the Grand Marnier.”

“It’s a delicious combination, but I need to take it slow.”

“You haven’t been drinking for most of a year.” She sipped hers.

“Right. More important, the last thing I want is alcohol getting into my milk.” I’d done my research and knew sipping a single drink right after I’d nursed wouldn’t harm my little one. “I won’t feed the baby for another couple of hours, so a few sips will be okay.”

Celebrating Baby Cocktail

For one drink:

2 ounces cranberry juice

2 ounces rum

1/2 ounce Cointreau or Grand Marnier

A few drops orange bitters

Prosecco

Directions

Pour juice, rum, and Grand Marnier over ice in a Manhattan glass. Add bitters and stir, then top up with bubbly. Adjust ingredients to taste

Cheers!

Readers: What's your favorite celebratory drink, whether alcoholic or not? I'll send a lucky commenter a copy of the new book - as soon as my copies arrive.

🍸🍼🍷

Deadly Crush is out and available wherever books are sold.

Next out will be Scone Cold Dead on - no fooling - April 1! This is the thirteenth Country Store Mystery.

My most recent releases are Murder at the Rusty Anchor,

A Case for the Ladies,

And Deep Fried Death, #12 in the Country Store Mysteries.

Check out all my writing.

We hope you'll visit Maddie and her Agatha Award-winning alter ego Edith Maxwell on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and sweet cat Martin north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Lemon Drop Martini #recipe Vmburns

VMBURNS: I was reading a book that mentioned a Prickly Pear Martini, which sounded amazing. So, of course I started to obsess about a Prickly Pear. I didn't even know what it was. I thought, it was just some fancy name for a cocktail. A little bit of research enlightened me to the fact that a prickly pear is a cactus fruit. Fast forward two days. I'm at dinner with a friend and check out the cocktail menu and low and behold, they had prickly pear martinis. Of course, I ordered one. It was delicious. My plan was to make one for this blog. Sadly, I couldn't find prickly pears in North Georgia. Nor, could I find prickly pear syrup. However, while I was down in my martini research rabbit hole, I stumbled across a recipe for another favorite cocktail, the Lemon Drop Martini. Lemons I have. One other thing that I do not have is a proper martini glass. So, please ignore the fact that I used a marguerita glass instead. Trust me, it still tasted great!

LEMON DROP MARTINI

INGREDIENTS

2 Ounces Vodka
1 Ounce simple syrup

1 Cup sugar
1 Cup water

1 1/2 Ounce Fresh lemon juice
1 Ounce Triple Sec
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a martini glass with ice and water and put in the refrigerator to cool.
Make the simple syrup by heating sugar and water. Stir until the sugar dissolves and allow to cool.
Add vodka, tripe sec, fresh lemon juice, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker.
Add ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds until well chilled.
Discard the ice water from the martini glass.
Rub a lemon wedge around the edge of a martini glass, and dip the glass in sugar.
Strain the cocktail into the prepared glass.

READERS: Have you discovered any unusual fruits that you were not familiar with? Leave me a comment below.

THE NEXT DEADLY CHAPTER

All Sam wanted was to make a good impression on her fiancé Frank’s mother, the very proper Dr. Camilia Patterson. But when Nano Jo and the lively ladies of Shady Acres Retirement Village throw a surprise bridal shower for Sam at the Four Feathers Casino—watch out! Things spin out of control faster than a roulette wheel. Fortunately, Sam knows when to fold ’em and slips back to her room to work on her latest historical mystery set between the wars, in which a houseguest meets a grim end at an English country manor.

The morning after brings another rude surprise. Sam gets a frantic call from Camilia, who’s discovered a dead body in her room. Now winning over her soon-to-be mother-in-law means keeping the good doctor out of a potential scandal and attempting to discreetly solve a murder without ruffling any feathers. For that she’ll need the help of Nano Jo—not exactly the soul of discretion—Detective “Stinky” Pitt, and the ladies—because the casino killer keeps upping the ante. . .

BUY LINK

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Fried Bananas with Brown Sugar, Miso, and Butter #recipe by @LeslieKarst

This dessert came about because I had a plethora of bananas on hand, and also needed a dessert to serve our pals, fellow MLKer Leslie Budewtitz and her husband Don (aka “Mr. Right”), who were visiting Hilo from Montana. It’s similar to other fried banana desserts, but I decided to add some miso as a way to give it a boost of umami, which I haven’t seen in any other recipes.

You have to prepare the dish à la minute—i.e., right before service—but if you have all your ingredients ready, it comes together in about five minutes. I also had on hand some Japanese egg cake a friend had given us, but something like pound cake (or even vanilla ice cream!) would work fine as the accompaniment to the bananas.

Fried Bananas with Brown Sugar, Miso, and Butter

(serves 4)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

4 smallish or 3 large bananas

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons red miso

1 tablespoon lemon juice (not pictured)

2 tablespoons brandy (not pictured)

4 slices pound cake (or something similar)

candied/praline pecans (or something similar), for garnish

Directions

Peel and cut the bananas into slices, longways. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet, then add the bananas.

Fry until they start to brown, then add the brown sugar, miso, lemon juice, and brandy.

Continue to cook, stirring until the miso is melted into the sauce and everything thickens up. (Add water if it’s too thick.)

Serve the bananas over the cake, sprinkled with the pecans. (See photo at top.)

🌿 🍌 🌱

Coming April 1

Orchid Isle Mystery #2

WATERS OF DESTRUCTION

Now available for pre-order!

Buy link here.

And now available

in paperback!

MOLTEN DEATH

Orchid Isle Mystery #1

Buy link here

“Karst’s first Orchid Isle novel is part murder mystery, part vividly evocative, colorful sketch of Hawaii and its history, geography, tradition, culture, food, language, and people. Armchair travelers and mystery aficionados alike will find it entertaining.”

Booklist

This first book in my brand-new Orchid Isle mystery series features retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen who, on a trip to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions when a hike to an active lava flow turns deadly.

Praise for MOLTEN DEATH:

“a compelling read that will enlighten, engage, and entertain, leaving readers longing for their next trip to the Orchid Isle.”

--New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay

“a terrific debut to a series that will go on my must read list!”

--USA Today bestselling author Deborah Crombie

A SENSE FOR MURDER

2024 Lefty Award Nominee

for Best Humorous Mystery!

This newest Sally Solari mystery

is available for purchase here !

Praise for A SENSE FOR MURDER:

“[Sally is] sassy, irresistible company... Culinary cozy fans will be in heaven.”

--Publishers Weekly

“An enjoyable read for mystery mavens and foodies alike.”

--Kirkus Reviews

Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops,

the Law, and Cooking for RBG

is the 2024 Silver Medal Winner for both the

IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award

and the IPPY Award!

Buy link here

Praise for Justice is Served:

"a suspenseful, exhilarating memoir; Karst relays her determination to serve the 'perfect' meal to RBG alongside an uplifting, enlightening portrayal of one of the most admired justices in the history of the Supreme Court."

-Foreword Reviews (starred review)

"[This] book is a romp from cover to cover—and, just like a great meal, left me ready for more."

-Karen Shimizu, executive editor, Food & Wine-

All of the Sally Solari Mysteries (as well as my other books) are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

COFFEE SHOP DOUGHNUT MUFFINS & New Release Countdown from @CleoCoyle

From Cleo Coyle: Tender and sweet, these muffins are dusted with cinnamon sugar and one bite will remind you of an old-fashioned cake doughnut, the kind you might order at a coffee shop counter with a hot cuppa joe.

These babies are always on the menu at our fictional Village Blend, the century-old Greenwich Village coffee shop that serves as the setting for our Coffeehouse Mysteries with a brand-new title, No Roast for the Weary, coming April 1st!

Pre-order at:

Cleo Coyle writes two
bestselling mystery

series with her husband.
To learn more, click here.

A Special Note from Cleo...

Marc and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary today! Time has flown, and we can hardly believe that 25 years ago today we vowed to stand by each other for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. (And so we have.) While we have never been conventionally rich, we are exceedingly rich in love and a shared creative spirit, which has given us profound joy. For that we are deeply grateful, and we thank God every day for the time we have together.

Today we are also counting down the final week to the release of our newest Coffeehouse Mystery, No Roast for the Weary. This one's a page-turner and a great deal of fun for many reasons, primarily because this murder mystery involves our own profession of writing, and we had a grand time playing with that theme.

You see, our amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager and master roaster Clare Cosi) solves the problem of post-pandemic depressed foot traffic with a literary solution. Years ago, the second floor lounge of her landmark Greenwich Village shop was used by a group of writers. They called their caffeinated workshop the "Writer's Block Lounge," and when Clare resurrects it, a brand-new collection of coffee-craving creative types is soon packing the place.

Unfortunately, many of these poets, playwrights, and novelists wrestle with the same demons of self-doubt, envy, and free-floating anxiety that many of us writers do, and as the pages turn, this stressful soup leads to murder. There is a cold case conundrum from the past, a present-day mystery to be solved, and a duck. Yes, an adorable duck named Wacker, a borrowed moniker from Marc's childhood. We both had pet ducks as kids, which is why we had fun adding a feathered friend to our current caffeinated caper.

We hope you all enjoy No Roast for the Weary, as well as today's Coffee Shop Doughnut Muffins. May you read (and eat) with joy!

~ Cleo

For those of you who are new to us, The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the 21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.

Because our amateur sleuth (coffeehouse manager and master roaster) Clare bakes these delicious cinnamon-sugar doughnut muffins for her customers, they would make a fantastic treat for a book club meeting. Served with coffee or tea, these melt-in-your-mouth treats will make your discussion of Clare Cosi's latest case even more cozy.

ORDER UP!

🍩 ☕

To download this recipe in a free
PDF that you can print, save, or
share, click here.

Click here or on the image above
for Cleo's free recipe PDF.

☕ Cleo's Coffee Shop
Doughnut Muffins

Makes 12 standard-size muffins

For the batter:

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white, granulated sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten with fork

1 cup milk (whole or 2%, not skim)

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon into cup and level off)

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:

1/2 cup white, granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Step 1—Prep your oven and pan: First preheat your oven to 350° F. This recipe should be made in a standard muffin or cupcake pan. Because it bakes up nice-sized muffins with generous tops, lightly spray the tops of your standard muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray. This will prevent the tops from sticking to the pan. Line the muffin cups with paper holders.

Step 2—Make the batter: Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add in the eggs and milk and continue mixing. Stop the mixer. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg and mix only enough to combine ingredients. Batter will be thick. Do not over mix at this stage or you will develop the gluten in the flour and toughen the muffins.

Step 3—Bake: Using two tablespoons (one to scoop, the other to scrape in the thick batter), fill each cup to the top, dividing any remaining batter among the 12 cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the muffin tops spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. After a few minutes out of the oven, remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack. (Muffins that remain long in a hot pan may end up steaming, and the bottoms may become tough.)

Step 4—Finish with cinnamon-sugar topping: Mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter, brush it lightly over the muffin tops...