LUCY BURDETTE: We have blog news today. First, we are saying goodbye to our friend and wonderful writer, Tina Kashian, who needs to focus on other parts of her life. We have enjoyed her recipes and look forward to more books in the future--we'll miss her here in the kitchen! Beginning today, we have a new Mystery Lovers Kitchen chef/writer, Korina Moss. Korina’s first official post will be on Monday March 11, and we look forward to that! Be sure to leave a comment on today’s post to be entered into our giveaway drawing.
Now, on with the topic of the day…I suspect that one of the things that drew me into writing novels with a foodie bent, is that I love good food writing. I love it when authors use food and cooking to show something important about their characters. I love it when I find plot ideas in food-oriented books and articles. Since I use a food quote at the beginning of each one of my chapters, I am always looking for amazing snippets. Here are a few examples:
“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.”― Laurie Colwin
As for a suspect, she said, “We don’t have a particular demographic, except it’s someone who wants to make a really delicious pastry.” Carol Pogash, "During Bakery Break-In, Only Recipes Are Taken," NYT, March 6, 2015
A kitchen, by the way, is the perfect setting for a murderous plot—it’s hot, fast, heavy work, involving people who are probably more accustomed to acting on their feelings than talking them out. Lucy Burdette, "Food and Mystery—A Perfect Pairing," CrimeReads
Robbing this dish of its heavy cream is like kissing through a screen door. Dino, a reader commenting on a recipe in the New York Times
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop to give the others a chance to chime in. What food writers have influenced your writing journey? Do you think about using food as character development or plot devices?
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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I'll confess, although I'd been cooking and collecting recipes and cookbooks for ages, I had not read a lot of "chef lit" or kitchen memoirs until I started to write foodie fiction. In the first Spice Shop mystery, Assault & Pepper, a major character, Alex, is a high-profile chef with some of the appearance and appeal of the late Anthony Bourdain, as well as some of his less attractive qualities, so Bourdain's memoir, Kitchen Confidential, was required reading. That plunged me into the genre: Sous Chef by Michael Gibney -- which included terrific drawings of professional kitchens that helped me understand what I see when I peek and design my characters' workspaces, Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton, which helped me create a scam that shows up in Guilty as Cinnamon; and many more. Two of my favorites food writers are Dorie Greenspan and David Lebovitz. I love their passion for cooking, their love of France, their curiosity, and their writing. And of course, their food. Both are culinary descendants of the great Julia Child, whose Kitchen Wisdom and The Way to Cook books and videos are my own culinary education.
I love that you ask about the recipes as part of plot and character development. They are for me. In Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village mystery, a stolen recipe is a major plot element, and knowledge of how to make a Snowball or Russian Teacake provides Erin a clue in As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles. In the Spice Shop series, the title herb or spice often plays a role in the plot as well as what's going on in the shop itself. A thematic connection often emerges as well, although if readers don't pick up on that, that's just fine! To me, a well-written recipe is a story in itself -- a story of how we eat, how we connect with people and the world around us, how people migrate and remember and celebrate. And that is just the most delicious thing.
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MADDIE DAY: In the late eighties and early nineties, I discovered the modern cozy mystery. Specifically, I began reading every book by Katherine Hall Page starting with The Body in the Belfry, by Susan Wittig Albert in her China Bayles series, and by Diane Mott Davidson in her Goldy Bear catering mysteries. And guess what? They all include recipes from the (female) cooking protagonist!
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| The Body in the Wake is book #25 in the series and Page still includes recipes. |
I was hooked, and when I began writing my own first mystery, I knew a foodie cozy was the kind of story I wanted to create. Not all my books include recipes, but every Local Foods, Country Store, and Cozy Capers Book Group mystery does. My characters think about food, they talk about food, food reveals who they are, and in Robbie Jordan's case, having her hands busy doing breakfast prep frees up her brain to think through the case du jour.
But chef memoirs or professional food writers? I was about to say I haven't read one in decades, but that's wrong. I absolutely loved our own Leslie Karst's Justice Is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG. What a wonderful memoir and a must-read.
I will also watch any movie involving cooking. We just saw "The Taste of Things" with Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, written and directed by Trần Anh Hùng. It is gorgeous, poignant, and delicious. If you like food and romance, go see it!
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LESLIE KARST: I've been reading food memoirs (and cookbooks) since the early '90s, when I was a culinary arts student (at the same time as working as an attorney--which I can tell you was not nearly as fun!). And if you count Julia Child--and who wouldn't?--my love of culinary reading goes back even farther to my twenties.
Some of those authors have worked their way into my Sally Solari Mysteries. Sally's aunt Letta, the chef who is murdered in book one of the series, has a shelf full of food writers such as Brillat-Savarin, Escoffier, Ruth Reichl, Sam Choy, Madhur Jaffrey, and Alice Waters.
some of my cookbooks
And Julia Child plays a big part in my latest book, A Sense for Murder, when the signed copy of her Mastering the Art of French Cooking that's up for auction at a restaurant's benefit dinner is found stolen from a cabinet--right next the the dead body of the dining room manager. And of course, writing a culinary mystery series which includes recipes, lots of those recipes have been inspired by the food writers on Letta's shelf!
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There are two beloved series that introduced me to the culinary cozy genre. The first is the Goldy Bear Catering series. And the second is the wonderful Cleo Coyle Coffeehouse Mysteries - although I have never confessed that publicly before now because I didn't want to fangirl all over Cleo and freak her out. I've been trying to lay low with the fangirling. I love reading the descriptions of making the food within the mystery. I find it relaxing, just like when I cook for myself. These are two out of three of my favorite cookbooks. I think a child of mine has absconded with the third. I'll be making some calls later.
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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: I love reading cookbooks. I feel cheated if the author doesn't include at least a paragraph or two about the dish whether it's where they first ate it like in Martha Rose Shulman's Mediterranean Light or about the ingredients themselves as in Lydie Marshall's Chez Nous. I also love reading cookbooks from different time periods like my mother's old Good Housekeeping cookbook--what a window into the 1950s! Tomato aspic! Gelatin salads! My first series, Gourmet De-Lite, revolves around a woman who caters calorie conscious but gourmet tasting meals to her clients. A food plays a part in the murder in Allergic to Death, the first book in the series. Both my Cranberry Cove series and Farmer's Daughter series contain recipes. And I enjoyed doing research into what food were popular in 1939 for my Murder, She Reported series.
Just part of one shelf of my cookbooks. Notice the missing spine on one. Some I used until they were in tatters!
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In my Five-Ingredient Mysteries I use food as a way to characterize people. My sleuth, cafe manager Val, gains insights into the personalities of suspects by observing their eating habits. In Final Fondue a man who hogs a pot of chocolate fondue so that no one else can get near it displays greed and aggression, traits of many murderers. In The Tell-Tale Tarte, a woman who strips all the meat from a Cornish hen before taking a single bite can postpone gratification, and revenge is a dish best served cold.
Food also serves the plot by bringing my characters together. Val and her grandfather discuss suspects and exchange theories about the murder while they prepare and eat meals. The theft of Granddad's prized Nero Wolfe recipe box in Bake Offed takes place the same night as a murder, suggesting the two crimes could be related. By the way, Rex Stout, creator of gourmand detective Nero Wolfe, was the first mystery writer to include recipes in a book, but only in certain editions of his 1938 mystery, Too Many Cooks. He was a pioneer, but it was many years before other mystery writers followed in his footsteps.
MURDER AT A CAPE BOOKSTORE by Maddie Day
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KORINA MOSS: I'm thrilled to be welcomed into this amazing group of culinary mystery authors and I’m excited to share my love of food with you. Food, specifically cheese, plays an integral role in my Cheese Shop Mystery series. Each of my books begins with a cheese quote from my protagonist Willa and the first word of each book is a type of cheese. Being a cheesemonger and a cheese shop owner is not only Willa’s profession, it’s her passion. It also plays a role in her backstory growing up on a dairy farm, and in getting her through two major life losses. It’s her ultimate comfort food. As Willa says, “I firmly believe most of life’s problems can be solved with cheese.” I tend to agree.
To be honest, I lean more toward being a food enthusiast than a cooking enthusiast. I’m no Betty Crocker, but even Basic Bettys like me have a repertoire of favorite meals. My mother fed a family of eight often using this Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook 5-ring binder that she was gifted from her stepmother in 1957. As children, we made a few recipes from this 1965 Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook. After I was married, I received my own updated Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and it’s been with me for almost thirty years. You can’t go wrong with the basics.
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As a Black woman, I want to write mysteries that appeal to people from all different races. I've heard that some readers are reluctant to buy books with people of color on the covers because they can't relate or fear they can't connect to the characters. However, recipes are one thing that everyone can relate to. Regardless of your race, religion, or socioeconomic background, we all eat food. Including recipes in a mystery is one thing that I use to connect readers to my books. Just as Diane Mott Davidson connected me to Goldy Korman in her Goldy Bear Mystery series, And, Rex Stout discussed culinary masterpieces prepared by Fritz, I use recipes as a way to connect readers to my characters.
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MOLLY MACRAE: I fell in love with the great combo of crime and cooking in 1982 when The Cooking School Murders, book one in the Eugenia Potter mysteries by Virginia Rich came out. Called the U.S. “culinary crime pioneer in a 2014 article by Katherine Hall Page (‘NameYour Poison: A Brief, Highly Subjective History of Culinary Crime,’ Los AngelosTimes Book Review), Rich wrote three books in the series before her untimely death. Nancy Picard took over writing the series giving readers three more to savor.
Like Peg, I go for cookbooks that include fun background information. Three of my favorites are Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker’s Atlas by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, The Hebridean Baker: Recipes and Wee Stories from the Scottish Islands by Coinneach Macleod, and National Trust Book of Scones: 50 Delicious Recipes and Some Curious Crumbs of History by Sarah Merker. I also absolutely love Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst. My copy sits on the bookshelf right next to the table so that at supper, if we wonder what the difference is between cracked wheat and bulgar, or how vermouth differs from other wines, all I have to do is grab the book. I grab it a lot because we’re a curious bunch.
I hope my curiosity and love for stories and cooking comes out in my books. Figs, fig trees, and fig lore all factor into the one I’m writing now—book two in my Haunted Shell Shop mysteries (coming out in July 2025).
CLEO COYLE: Welcome to Korina! We are thrilled to have you join us in the Kitchen. (And xoxo to Libby Klein for the very kind shout-out to my Coffeehouse Mystery series. You truly made my day.)
I hope my curiosity and love for stories and cooking comes out in my books. Figs, fig trees, and fig lore all factor into the one I’m writing now—book two in my Haunted Shell Shop mysteries (coming out in July 2025).
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| Click here for recipe & to learn more. |
On today's topic, as a culinary mystery writer, I always enjoy conveying my love of cooking and eating through my characters and plotting. As far as food and recipe writing, I have long admired the writers who've contributed to that vast body of literature, including Michael Ruhlman (for his investigative chops), Mark Bittman (for his simplicity), and so many more, but my most important foodie influences didn't come from books.
Like many of you, I was raised in a tradition of a little bit of this, a pinch of that, and a whole lot of garlic! My mom and her sister (my beloved late Aunt Mary, who lived with us) were born in Italy and learned to cook, not from books, but from the women in their family. My father's mother (my grandmother, Grazia Alfonsi) made her own cheese, cooked spaghetti sauce using garden tomatoes, baked bread in an outdoor coal-and-wood-burning oven, and made coffee from a stovetop espresso pot. No cookbooks or food writing. We cooked, ate, and then talked about cooking and eating. :)
When you love something like cooking, and the people who taught you how to do it, writing about it is a joy. The creative process reconnects you with them, along with the sensory memories of the experience, and the feelings and family stories that came with it. And that's what still inspires me as a writer.
One last mention that's close to my heart. My late father grew his own vegetables and grapes, and made his own wine, once again sans books with one wonderful exception. Dad was a Pittsburgh steel worker. When he passed away, I inherited this spiral-bound oddity: COOKING ON EXTENDED BENEFITS: THE UNEMPLOYED COOKBOOK.
During the deep recession of the 1970s, volunteers in the Western Pennsylvania area (where my husband and I grew up) collected favorite family recipes, which they put together into this cookbook to benefit the local food bank. They also distributed it to struggling families to lift their spirits and help them with ideas for cooking at home on a tight budget.
As you can tell from the cookbook’s cover (which shows a married couple seated at a formal dinner table in front of a steel plant's blast furnace), a sense of humor can go a long way toward saving one's sanity during the toughest times.
This is a piece of food writing that very much influenced me because of its resounding connection to community, the culture of giving, and the tradition of passing down family recipes (along with a sense of humor)! I will always cherish it. Whatever you are cooking, eating, or reading, may it bring you joy. ~ CleoB O O K
Like many of you, I was raised in a tradition of a little bit of this, a pinch of that, and a whole lot of garlic! My mom and her sister (my beloved late Aunt Mary, who lived with us) were born in Italy and learned to cook, not from books, but from the women in their family. My father's mother (my grandmother, Grazia Alfonsi) made her own cheese, cooked spaghetti sauce using garden tomatoes, baked bread in an outdoor coal-and-wood-burning oven, and made coffee from a stovetop espresso pot. No cookbooks or food writing. We cooked, ate, and then talked about cooking and eating. :)
When you love something like cooking, and the people who taught you how to do it, writing about it is a joy. The creative process reconnects you with them, along with the sensory memories of the experience, and the feelings and family stories that came with it. And that's what still inspires me as a writer.
During the deep recession of the 1970s, volunteers in the Western Pennsylvania area (where my husband and I grew up) collected favorite family recipes, which they put together into this cookbook to benefit the local food bank. They also distributed it to struggling families to lift their spirits and help them with ideas for cooking at home on a tight budget.
As you can tell from the cookbook’s cover (which shows a married couple seated at a formal dinner table in front of a steel plant's blast furnace), a sense of humor can go a long way toward saving one's sanity during the toughest times.
This is a piece of food writing that very much influenced me because of its resounding connection to community, the culture of giving, and the tradition of passing down family recipes (along with a sense of humor)! I will always cherish it. Whatever you are cooking, eating, or reading, may it bring you joy. ~ Cleo
B O O K
G I V E A W A Y!
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MURDER AT A CAPE BOOKSTORE by Maddie Day
A PARFAIT CRIME by Maya Corrigan
MURDER ON TOUR by V.M. Burns
CHEDDAR OFF DEAD by Korina Moss
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Farm family cookbooks helped me learn how to cook. Later on, cooks.com for explaining the why of a recipe works. I discovered food based mystery through Joanne Fluke and Diana Mott Davidson. Really love mystery books with both recipes and holidays
ReplyDeleteDiane Mott Davidson was a gateway author for many of us!
DeleteShe was indeed! Mr. Right is always amazed -- and amused -- when a reader asks me "are your books like those mysteries about the food?" and I say "oh, you mean Diane Mott Davidson," and they nod happily!
DeleteYup, DMD's Goldy books were the first culinary mysteries I read, too! Yay!
DeleteMy first cookbook was also a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I received as a gift. Everyone loved when I made the lasagna recipe from the book. I love foodie cozies and Goldy Bear was one of my first culinary reads too. I have read all of Lucy Burdette's Key West/Haley Snow books. I love the recipes, her job, living on a houseboat, Miss Gloria and location. Thank you all for this chance at your giveaway. pgenest57 at aol dot com
ReplyDeleteI love both those series, Paula!
DeleteThanks so much Paula! To be mentioned in the same paragraph with Diane MD is an honor!
DeleteMaybe one of my recipes will be a take on the BH&G lasagna! Goldy Bear was the first cozy mystery series I read also!
DeleteI love baking and discovered mysteries with recipes when I started reading Joanne. I work in a coffee shop so discovering Cleo Coyle has been great fun. I can’t get enough of them!
ReplyDeleteaw, Valerie, thanks for the kind mention. xoxo
Deletethanks for the trip down memory lane as i remember many of the writers mentioned. I actually am thinking of picking up a new copy of the peanuts cookbook as i have such fond memories of it. though it has to be a new addition. I just wish there were currently some vegan or vegetarian cozy writers so i could connect to/make the included recipes more often.
ReplyDeleteFruitcrmble AT comcast DOT net
I think many of us include at least some vegetarian recipes - I know I do. And check Molly MacRae's, which I believe are sometimes also vegan. We will put our heads together about other authors whose recipes will satisfy you!
DeleteI am not the most adventurous cook, but I absolutely love the recipes in cozy mysteries. Maddie Day always tempts me to try something new!
ReplyDeleteAww! Maddie and I are delighted to tempt you.
DeleteHopefully my upcoming recipes may be some you try, Kathy, as I'm not very adventurous either, but I do like good food!
DeleteGood-bye Tina, your posts and recipes will be missed. I wish you success in your new endeavors/adventures. Welcome Korina, this is one of my favorite "communities". The posts are fun and the recipes have inspired me to try some new things. madamhawk at gmail dot com.
ReplyDeleteWe LOVE that we inspire you to try new things! I'm sure all of us agree that writing foodie fiction has given us many cooking and eating opportunities we would not otherwise have had -- and we love doing the same for our readers!
DeleteTina Kashian we are sad to see you go, but understand that to continue in some avenues often means changing the direction of another.
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard Korina Moss! We look forward to your posts and recipes.
Although I’ve probably said it before and I’ll say it again and again, I owe my love of cozy mysteries and the love of finding recipes talked about within the story and the actual recipe in the back of the book to Edith Maxwell and her LOCAL FOODS MYSTERY series. It was the start to a very long love affair with the genre and the discovery of new recipes.
My Mom had and faithfully used the 3 ring Betty Crocker cookbook along with many pasted down and shared from friend’s recipes. Sadly, I didn’t pay much attention to what went in to putting food on the table growing up, but out on my own I quickly learned that it wasn’t an easy task. I also learned later that some of the best recipes don’t come out of a cookbook, but are shared to us from loved ones and friends (including authors). There’s nothing like getting a tried-and-true recipe through a recommendation for it gets us past the “is this really good and worth the price of the ingredients” stage and right up to the “oh my this is good” stage. For all those that include recipes in their cozies, I say THANK YOU!
Thank you for the fabulous chance to win an amazing prize package!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
It always makes me happy to hear that, Kay!
DeleteThank you, Kay!
DeleteI started with Katherine Hall Page and Diane Mott Davidson, too, and, while I am a weeder of books read, I have kept certain books with recipes that I love. My problem now is finding that tried and true one I've saved!
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, Marianne! How often have I spent ages searching for "that recipe I KNOW I have somewhere!"
DeleteMy most used cookbook is the Campbell's Great American Cookbook. A lot of my families go to recipes are in there. I found one at a library used book sale and was able to give it to my daughter so she didn't have to borrow my copy all the time.
ReplyDeleteSounds like Libby needs to do that with her Alton Brown books and her wayward child!
DeleteNever owned a cookbook. I just throw things together most of the time it tastes great. cheetahthecat1982ATgmailDOTcom
ReplyDeleteLet's hear it for seat-of-the-pants cooks!
DeleteKim - That's how I learned, as well, because that's how my grandmother, mother, Aunt Mary (who lived with us), and father cooked. They learned from family members that way, too.
DeleteMy first cookbook was the Betty Crocker cookbook and I still have it.
ReplyDeleteI don’t like to cook but I love reading the recipes! I usually think I might make one cause they always sound delicious! mdlaugh1ATgmailDotCom
ReplyDeleteHi! What a great blog! I am more of someone who enjoys and appreciates food although I have quite a few cookbooks and recipe print outs. And I can cook pretty decently. Cozies with recipes are my weakness. There are a lot of sub-genre of cozies, but cooking ones are my favorite. Diane Mott Davidson, Katherine Hall Page, and Josi Kilpack got me started as a fan. Here is my email: zvanoizu@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Good morning everyone. I've had a love of cookbooks since I was a kid with my first "Betty Crocker" notebook/cookbook. That one has seen it's day but was able to locate another one at a garage sale. Now that I'm retired I cook/bake much more--I guess it's because I have more time!! Thank you all. lsum 1258 at aol dot com
ReplyDeleteGoodbye Tina. We'll miss you! Welcome Korina! Love your Cheese Shop mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI had a Better Homes and Garden cookbook that I loved. Ok...more to drool over than to actually cook from. LOL. I freely admit I'm famous for my takeout ordering.
I enjoy recipes in Cozies. I've never made any, but they sound delicious. Especially the fudge ones in Nancy Coco 's Fudge Coated Mysteries.
Thanks for the chance!
barbiefan(@)comcast(.)net
Thank you so much, Ann! I love cookbooks and cooking shows, but mostly just for looking at! LOL. I'm hoping to inspire some reluctant cooks with my easier-than-most-recipes recipes.
DeleteAh, The Cookie Cookbook! We still pull ours out at Christmas to make chocolate crinkles! I started this tradition with my mom when i was in high school, and have continued it almost 50 years later! Welcome Korina Moss! I love cheese with everything, and picked up your very first Cheese Shop mystery and was hooked! You will love it here!
ReplyDeleteOoops, forgot to put my name, Betcei
DeleteThank you, Betcei!
DeleteThe food adds to the realism of the story, as real people do eat. It also often influences what I feel like eating. I might not exactly follow the recipes, but the food in the book influences meal choices during and after.
ReplyDeleteRight? I don't trust characters who don't eat!
DeleteI survive by Betty Crocker's cookbook lol! I have lots of others, but always check in with Betty!
ReplyDeleteWhat better place for a cheesemonger/foodie author than Mystery Lover's Kitchen! My favorite cookbook was one I purchased through my HomeEc teacher in high school. It's a book full of favorite recipes from HomeEc teachers around the country. In addition, I love to try the recipes in the back of my foodie cozies and have found a few new favorites from them. 3labsmom(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeletethat sounds like an interesting cookbook, Brenda! I'm wondering if those teachers are more particular with their recipes than other cooks?
DeleteI have so many cookbooks! I inherited some from my grandmother years ago that I adore. Author Joanne Fluke (and so many more) is when I discovered how much I love reading cozy mysteries with recipes included. I have mace some fun, unique recipes that way!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance at this amazing book giveaway!
jarjm1980(at)hotmail(dot)com
Along with several other cookbooks I also have a Betty Crocker cookbook. I bought it in1972 when I had my first apartment. There are a couple of recipes I still use even though the book is stained and ratty looking.
ReplyDeleteAlways enjoy looking at new recipes and trying some of them.
I love the fun titles of many cooking mysteries. The title usually draws me to the books. I love cooking and usually use the recipes as a guideline. Some of the first cooking mysteries I read were by Nancy Picard and the Eugenia Potter series. I have since read many culinary writers and occasionally pick up some great cooking tips.
ReplyDeleteNancy Pickard was one of my earliest cozy mystery authors, as well. Coming up with the punny titles of our books is one of the best aspects of writing a cozy!
DeleteI just love this blog, cookbooks and books. They have been my friend for so long. I took a liking to cooking at the age of 8. The Boys and Girls cookbook was a great tool and I just recently bought it again, at the age of 64!Thank you for being a bright spot in my day, you wonderful authors! calgalsh@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI had that Boys and Girls Cookbook, too! (Did we all, I wonder, lol?)
DeleteWhat a lovely thing to say, Tracey. And isn't it fun that so many of us have a common denominator in that Boys & Girls cookbook!
DeleteMy grandmother babysat us as kids and was always cooking and baking. I get my love of gardening and use of cookbooks from her. I still have her Boston Cooking School cookbok which is pretty tattered but I love it.
ReplyDeleteI love looking through cookbooks and trying new recipes. I have made a few recipes from cozy mystery books. Thank you for this chance! areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cook book is The Pillsbury Cook book the pages are tattered and I am on the second copy of this fabulous book. Thank you for the chance.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Korina! I, too, have a copy of the Boys and Girls cookbook. Mine is copyright 1957! I got it at a scholatic book sale at school.
ReplyDeleteLeslie, nice new head shot.
libbydodd at comcast dot net
Thank you for noticing, Libby! I'm wearing an aloha shirt to celebrate the release of my new Orchid Isle mystery, MOLTEN DEATH!
DeleteWhat a fun topic! Like so many others, Diane Mott Davidson was one of the first cozy series with recipes that I read. As for cookbooks, my copy of Better Homes and Gardens is pretty tattered, but the ones I use most often for inspiration are those "best of" cookbooks.. Much like the one Clio shared where everyone submits their best or favorite recipes (often with a family story or two). I also have a close friend who compiled tons of family recipes from both her Italian family and her husbands Eastern European family. It is awesome inspiration.
ReplyDeleteTina, you will be missed. All the best going forward. Korina, welcome. I look forward to some great cheese recipes! makennedyinaz at hotmail dot com
Thank you! The first one I'm making will be posted next Monday 3/11 and it will be cheesy!
DeleteAwesome! Am excited to give it a try.
DeleteI love this topic because anything better than cozy mysteries, is a cozy mystery with recipes. I ve tried a few and loved it. I received a cookbook by accident some years ago( a printing error) as a dedication to young chef who passed from cancer. Pure brilliance!!! I cherish it . Sweatmanindia80@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYay for cozies with recipes! And that cookbook sounds just beautiful.
DeleteA cookbook which I was given for my engagement many years ago is my treasure. It is titled, A Treasure for my Daughter. Very practical and helpful. Especially when I was young and just learning. Love the cozies with recipes. They add so much warmth and interest to the story. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteGoodbye Tina, welcome Korina! I collected cookbooks for years. I particularly liked WWII era cookbooks. Now that I cook for 2 my interests are easy and affordable recipes. I have to say my family enjoyed my cooking years.
ReplyDeletesuseyhomemaker@gmail.com
What a great bunch of books. I would love to win! I really enjoy this newsletter. I always find an interesting book or a good recipe. baileybounce@a2att.net
ReplyDeleteI love to cook and bake. I love trying recipes in cozy mysteries. zweigenbaum@comcast.net
ReplyDeleteI like to cook and bake and am happy I married a swell guy who loves to cook and grill. He's an intutive cook whereas I like to use recipes to start then tweak them. I love food cozies and the recipes shared in them. I'm not sure I've ever read a biography or autobiography of a chef or food person.
ReplyDeleteVWinship @ aol dot com
I love to cook and bake and learned how to in my teens by using standard cookbooks like Better Homes and Gardens. I started with culinary cozies with Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series. I do enjoy trying the recipes in culinary cozies too. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan and reader of all of the authors and this would be awesome! Cathy sons1sons@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteTina, so long, you will be missed. I really enjoyed your posts. Good luck in your future endeavors. Welcome, Korina! I love your cheese mysteries and I'm looking forward to your posts. The first culinary mysteries I read was the series by Diane Mott Davidson and Jo Ann.Fluke. Culinary. mysteries are still one of my favorite cozy mystery genres.
ReplyDeletediannekc8(a)gmail(dot)com
Thank you, Dianne!
DeleteI discovered Laura Child’s series of Tea Shop Mysteries, set in Charleston, SC. Recipes are always included in the back of the book as well as ideas for hosting a themed tea. I had to see the Charleston tea plantation! I had not realized there was a tea plantation in the US. Too bad the tea shop was only fiction. 😄
ReplyDeleteI love Laura Childs tea shop mysteries too! I've yet to go to Charleston, but it's on my bucket list.
Deletei have been collecting cookbooks for years and years...i need another dozen bookshelves for them all, lol. i love fiction books with recipes, and i love church cookbooks! beeghly1993@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI love culinary mysteries. The Diane Mott Davidson were one of the first but then Laura Childs Tearoom mysteries and Cleo Coyle’s coffeehouse mysteries. Actually a lot of the books I follow are food based - Lucy Burdette, Leslie Budewitz, Joanne Fluke, Jenn McKinlay, etc.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved cookbooks (my first one, when I was a teenager, was a Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and I've collected community cookbooks for several years), but I didn't "discover" food writing" until about 15 years ago (Ruth Reichl is a favorite), and started writing it myself starting in 2014 through a great online class (that I've repeated five times!). Talk about coming late to the party!! I read my first cozy mystery, Game of Scones by Mary Lee Ashford in 2020 (I didn't know the genre existed before that!) and was gobsmacked to learn that there are so many wonderful authors like all of you writing "culinary cozy mysteries!" Thank you all for the joy you bring. lgmiller831@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteConnecting to characters through food is so important! I love reading the little snippets in cookbooks that accompany the recipes. I also enjoy cozy mysteries with recipes. And while I haven’t yet made many, I’m interested in doing so in the future! Thanks for the chance to win! adriennechasteensnow at gmail dot com.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading culinary cozies, despite the fact that I am not much of a cook. Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen sent me down the rabbit hole. Food is often what brings family and friends together so it just seems like a natural part of a book to me. I am sorry to see Tina Kashian go since I enjoy Mediterranean foods so much, but I understand that time commitments can change and some things have to go. But I am happy to see Korina Moss join the blog. I love eating cheese and the mysteries she writes that feature cheese. I always learn something new in her books. Thank you for the chance to win 4 books. suemngirl at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Sue!
DeleteI enjoy looking through cookbooks and love reading food cozy mysteries. I always look to see if recipes are included.
ReplyDeleteWskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love reading vintage cookbooks. Thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeleteJess
Maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com
I also loved the Diane Mott Davidson catering mysteries and recently discovered the key west series thanks to this group. I love the book recommendations, keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteI first read Diane Mott Davidson and was hooked on cozies.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thrill to read all the blogs and comments above! Farewell to Tina...I am sad, because I have so enjoyed the fun recipes posted here, and your books are special with mediterranean recipes I have tried. Blesssings on your journey ahead! Welcome to Karina! I read every post you shower us readers on FB every day! It will be fun to read yiur blogs here too. I tend to try most recipes posted in this website by all my favorite authors...I succeed most of the time, but fail others, and I am satisfied to learn and hopefully evolve. 85% of my reading is cozies, and if they involve food and recipes, the better! I was first introduced to cozies with recipes by Joanna Fluke. I met her at a bookstore in San Diego shortly after she published her first books. Then I discovered the marvelous Leo Coyle! I still have all her (their) books, and some are probbaly illegible due to the pages turning yellow, but they are treasures. I also try Maddie's recipes, Barbara Ross' and Libby Klein's. I have made some delicious dishes and pastries from all of you, dear friends. Thank you all for not only delighting us readers with your amazing books, but you also take time to amuse our bouches :-) Luis at ole dot travel
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful, Luis!
DeleteI have enjoyed reading Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen mysteries.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Korina! We will have a cheesy time! LOL! I love my cookbooks and having recipes in cozy mysteries!
ReplyDeleteThank you! And Cheers to Cheese! lol
DeleteI love cookbooks. My grandmother bought all of the granddaughters the church cookbook from her son’s (my uncle) first congregation out of seminary school. I was only 4 at the time but my mother kept is packed away in the cedar chest until it was time for me to move out. Growing up on a farm, that was the book I most often baked from so I marked up my clean book with all of the favorites I had made growing up. I enjoy cozies that revolve around food and cooking.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t intend to be anonymous- Wendy from WI
DeleteI have always loved reading, baking and cooking. Diane Mott Davidson was my favorite for years. She introduced me to the food mysteries -- and her recipes were always a treat. I learned that I still prefer the food cozy mysteries!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome Korina! I look forward to reading your comments and books. I love cheese. I've read so many booksxwith recipes in them. Laura Childs tea series, Diane Mott Dabidson too. And have made the recipes from several of the books.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that was me replying before I got my email up, annelovell12@yahoo.com again love recipes in the mysteries!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne!
DeleteMy first cookbook was one from my local church ladies. I found all my cookie recipes there. We won’t talk about the time I couldn’t find the regular salt and used garlic salt instead…hey, I was 8. awanstrom(@)yahoo(.)com
ReplyDeleteI have many fond memories of the red and white checkered Betty Crocker cookbook, which is what I learned to cook with alongside my Nana (that and many recipes cut out from the local paper). My first foray into cooking from cozies was Joanne Fluke's, Hannah always made me hungry! motivatedinmontreal@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI love trying new recipes from books I’ve read! Faithfully93@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI love cookbooks and read them like a novel! I used to collect lots of them. I have downsized some so passed them on to family members to enjoy. I have always loved trying new recipes.
ReplyDeleteartnkel@aol.com
I still have my Betty Crocker Children's cookbook . my grandmother sent it to me and boy oh boy, my love of bookmail started at a young age. I also have a copy of the red and white check Better Homes cookbook it's my go-to cookbook.
ReplyDeleteDlcnason1@msn.com
Love all these books but I have to say Cloe Coyle is my all time favorite. egmtaylor@yahoo.com
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