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Please give a warm welcome to debut author Bethany Blake! If you're an animal lover, then you'll be as charmed as I was by the first book in her new Kensington mystery series DEATH BY CHOCOLATE LAB.
Like her amateur sleuth, Bethany also runs a pet-sitting business. We're thrilled that she's stopped by to tell us more about her new mystery series and share a wonderful recipe for a cold winter day.
Bethany is also offering a generous giveaway package, and we congratulate her winner, Sue G.!
~ Cleo Coyle
* * *

* Pets in need of forever homes.
* Cheese.
* And, quite possibly, if secretly, a handsome, enigmatic detective by the name of Jonathan Black.
Daphne lives in the pet-friendly town of Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains, where winter bites down hard and hangs on. People turn to soup for comfort. Therefore, today I’m making Daphne Templeton’s Coziest, Cheesiest Corn Chowder Ever.
I’ll be cooking with the help of my (paws off!) sous chef, Big Pup, who will taste test anything that drops to the floor. You can see that she’s already found something.

In the novel, Daphne – a pet sitter with a Ph.D. in philosophy – is always in the kitchen when not walking dogs or solving murders with her sidekick, an introspective basset hound named Socrates.
Daphne usually keeps it simple when it comes to cheese. She’s happy eating a mozzarella stick at Sylvan Creek’s dive-bar-on-a-pier, the Lakeside, or digging into a gooey wheel of brie with her best friend Moxie Bloom, owner of Spa & Paw Salon.
But Daphne’s having a rough week. First, her one-eared foster Chihuahua discovered a body. Then her sister Piper was accused of murder. And Daphne keeps blurting out the wrong things in Detective Black’s presence. Times like these call for serious comfort food, preferably eaten fireside under a blanket. So I’m going whip up a soup that’s best served on the coldest, snowiest day you can imagine, when the wind is whipping around your house, and you crave something warm and hearty. However, like a good mystery, this soup also has a twist that will have you looking ahead to summer. Enjoy!
Coziest, Cheesiest Corn Chowder Ever

Cozy Corn Chowder
from Bethany Blake
Ingredients
3 strips bacon
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 large white potato (any variety), finely diced
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
Approx. 45 oz. corn – That’s three cans. (If you’re lucky enough to be using corn you froze last summer, just estimate.)
2 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)
2 cups whole milk
24 oz. shredded cheese – (any kind of cheddar will do. And, no, that’s not a typo. You’ll want 24 ounces!)
1/4 cup BBQ sauce, homemade or the brand of your choice
Instructions:
Using a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove the strips and set them aside for later, leaving the flavor-packed grease for the next step.

Add the diced potato to the bacon grease and give the taters a quick stir to coat. Pour in the sherry and use it to deglaze the pot, stirring the potatoes and little bits of yummy browned bacon until the potato is slightly softened, about five minutes. Add the chopped onion and red bell pepper, cooking until these soften, too, about five more minutes. Stir in the corn.

Next add the chicken stock, then stream in the milk while stirring or whisking. Bring everything to a low boil, then turn off the heat, because it’s finally time for cheese!
But first, if you have a sous chef, and said helper is looking at you with desperate eyes, consider allowing a little cheese to fall to the floor. It won’t change the soup that much, and it will make someone’s day.
When the tail wags of gratitude subside, slowly whisk the remaining cheese into the soup, being careful not to dump in too much at a time, so things don’t get clumpy. Trust me on this. When the cheese is smoothly incorporated, bring the soup back to a simmer on low heat.
The barbecue sauce, which gives the soup sweetness and tang – and calls to mind summer. I am not much for measuring, so I guesstimated a quarter cup. However, you might want to add the sauce slowly and keep tasting. A little goes a long way.
At this point, if you’re not already wearing pajamas – and you should be – get changed while the soup simmers and blends for a few more minutes. Then serve with a tiny drizzle of extra sauce, a palmful of cheese if you have any left over, and the reserved bacon, crumbled on top of everything. Crackers are optional – although I generally opt.
About the Author
Bethany Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters. When she's not writing or riding horses, she's wrangling a menagerie of furry, finned and feathered family members that includes a nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, an immortal goldfish, and an attack cardinal named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries, Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet-sitting business called Barkley's Premium Pet Care.
Keep in touch with Bethany!
Visit her website: bethanyblakeauthor.com
Like her on Facebook by clicking here
* * *
Bonus Giveaway from Bethany!
And, of course, you will also win
the launch book in Bethany's new mystery series!
To pre-order Bethany's book,
click on a link below...
click on a link below...
Photographs courtesy of Julia Kaszuba
Thank you so much for
joining us today, Bethany!
joining us today, Bethany!
Congratulations to
Bethany's winner...
SUE G.
Welcome, Bethany! The book sounds wonderful, the soup recipe is awesome, and your dog is precious :) EMS591@aol.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the warm welcome - and I will pass your compliments along to Big Pup! :-)
DeleteSounds really good! the soup and the book! (and the dog is super cute!) woofmew@aol.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I hope you like both! And Big Pup appreciates the compliment! :-)
DeleteSounds great; love the recipe...yum!
ReplyDeletejslbrown2009 at aol dot com
Thanks for leaving a comment! Good luck in the drawing!
DeleteWelcome, Bethany! Your soup sounds yummy and we have plenty of snowy, cold days here. And your sous chef is adorable!
ReplyDeletegrace dot koshida at gmail dot com
Thanks, Grace! It's definitely a good soup for cold days!
DeleteThanks Mystery Lovers for the intro to a new author and read. Always so exciting. Love meetng new ones. The book looks like a 'souper' great read. Really appreciate the chance to get the book sooner. Rather than later. And the added bonus of the prize package. Della at deepotter (at) peoplepc ((dot) com
ReplyDeleteI hope you like the book as much as I love the pun. I am a known sucker for puns! :-)
DeleteMy DIL loves rescue labs of any color and I hope to read your cosy and share with her. Beth
Deleteschmelzb1@gmail.com
It's not even lunch time yet, and yet I am hungry. centraleast2 at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI just made the soup the other day, and I'm ready for another batch, too! I hope you like it!
DeleteI am really looking forward to this new series! The soup sounds great. Winter weather in Texas is generally mild, but I still love soup in the winter. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI think there's something that makes us crave soup in the winter wherever we are. I hope you like the recipe and the books!
DeleteCan't wait! This sounds like a fun new series. silalumenn@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
DeleteI've never heard of putting BBQ sauce in soup before.
ReplyDeletesgiden at verizon(.)net
The original idea came from either Rachael Ray or G. Garvin. I never tracked down the exact recipe, but I first saw the idea on Food Network and got inspired. To my surprise, it really works. I sometimes grill shrimp and toss those in, too, to add more barbecue flavor.
DeleteThis recipe sounds yummy. Thanks for sharing. Zeta(at)iwon(dot)com
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! I hope you like the soup!
DeleteYour book sounds like fun. If it has as much personality as your soup post then you have a winner. suefoster109 (at) netzero.net.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks, Sue! I had fun putting the post together. I hope you like the soup and the book!
DeleteI'll have to finagle the recipe a bit to make it fit into a Kosher home. Maybe a soy based bacon strip and veggie stock. The book on the other hand will be read straight. LOL Please enter me in the giveaway as I can definitely use a nice pair of winter sox.
ReplyDeleteNoraAdrienne (at) gmail (dot) com
My dad used to make a version of this soup without bacon, and it was still good. He just sauteed the veggies in olive oil. But I bet soy bacon would be great. Good luck in the drawing... the socks really are pretty cozy!
DeleteWelcome Bethany! Your series sounds like a winner. I live in Pennsylvania, love dogs, and love to cook. The soup sounds delicious! colleen1967@Comcast.net
ReplyDeleteThanks, Colleen! I guess it's not the worst winter here in Pennsylvania, but it still feels like soup time to me!
DeleteCan't wait to read this book and enjoy some soup while I read.
ReplyDeletejudytucker1947@gmail.com
Thanks, Judy! Good luck in the drawing!
DeleteThe book and soup both look good. Thank you for the chance to win. Dmskrug3 at hotmail dot com
ReplyDeleteThanks, Daniele! Good luck!
DeleteLove all your wonderful books & I'm sure going to try this recipe. Thanks for all your generosity. lindamay4852@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda! Good luck!
DeleteBethany - Great post! Thank you so much for joining us today and offering such a generous giveaway. Marc and I thoroughly enjoyed the debut book in your wonderful new mystery series, and we wish you the very best of luck for the upcoming publication of DEATH BY CHOCOLATE LAB. Cheers--and we hope you'll visit the Kitchen again!
ReplyDelete~ Cleo Coyle
Thank you so much for the opportunity to be part of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. I was beyond excited when I received the invitation! And thank you for the well wishes and support of my new series, too. You guys are the best! :-)
DeleteBethany, your recipe is delectable. Thanks for your lovely giveaway. Best wishes. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDelete"Delectable" is such a great word! I hope the soup lives up to it! :-) Thanks for leaving a comment and good luck with the giveaway!
DeleteSounds like great comfort food and a great new series. Sign me up! I can be contacted through my website.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marilyn! Good luck!
DeleteThis sounds like a wonderful new series! lkleback@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you so much and good luck!!
DeleteBoth the book and the soup sound great! I will be trying BOTH!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I hope you like both! :-)
DeleteThis recipe is enticing and the series sounds intriguing. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDelete