Cooking With Friends: Poutine with a Plot Twist from agent Nadia Lynch by Ang Pompano

Ang Pompano: Please welcome today’s guest, my wonderful agent, Nadia Lynch from Talcott Notch Literary. In addition to being an incredible advocate for writers, she’s also a dedicated book lover and a true connoisseur of comfort food. I’m delighted to have her here today to share a cozy seasonal recipe and a little glimpse into her world.

Annette and me at lunch with fellow foodie Nadia Lynch

Nadia: Thank you so much to Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen for having me, and a special thank you to Ang! I am so happy to be here, and I’m a big fan of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen and the delicious creativity that comes out of this kitchen.

I love my work as a literary agent at Talcott Notch Literary. I have the pleasure of representing Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen’s own Ang Pompano. Just like a great recipe, Ang’s stories offer all the essential ingredients of an engaging read with rich atmosphere, memorable characters, a warm sense of heart, and plenty of suspense to keep you eagerly turning the pages.

I crave that kind of escape you can only find in books, especially as the cold weather starts to creep in, I find myself getting ready to hunker down and hibernate. Still, it is important for me to keep some sense of routine and connection, which makes this the perfect time to gather with my friends for book club. And, arguably just as essential as the book itself, is the comfort food we share. Nothing brings me more comfort than poutine. As a dual citizen who is half Canadian, it is one of the dishes that fills me with the most nostalgia.

Living in Connecticut means I cannot easily find an authentic poutine, so I make my own version at home with ingredients I can find here in the States. It may not be the most traditional take, but it is warm, satisfying, and exactly what I need on a cold night. For me, comfort food has to be simple and quick. This is not an authentic recipe, but it still gives me that same feeling of warmth and family.

I do not even know if I can really call this a poutine, because more often than not, I swap out frozen French fries for frozen tater tots. That might be sacrilegious to any Canadian reading this, but I love how crisp tater tots get in the oven. They hold their texture beautifully under hot gravy and add an extra layer of crunch. In my house, we call it “Sad Poutine,” because I recognize it is nowhere near the true Québécois version I want, but it does exactly what it needs to do.

A Simple, Cozy Weeknight Poutine

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a snack)

Note: The gravy pictured is the St. Hubert poutine gravy. St. Hubert is a well-known Canadian restaurant chain, especially in Québec, famous for its rotisserie chicken. If you are in the States, you may have trouble finding this specific brand, but substituting with your favorite gravy will work perfectly. If you are visiting Canada, look for the St. Hubert poutine gravy at a local grocery store. This one was purchased at Maxi. Pro tip: This is the souvenir your friends and family actually want.

• 1 bag frozen French fries or 1 bag of frozen tater tots
• 2 cups of cheese curds (I find mine at my local Aldi)
• 1 jar beef gravy (or turkey gravy for a lighter flavor)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: chopped chives or scallions

Instructions

• 1. Preheat your oven according to the instructions on the French fries package. Spread the fries on a baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden.

• While the fries are baking, warm the gravy in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth and heated through.

• When the fries are ready, move them to a large bowl or serving platter. Sprinkle the cheese curds over the hot fries so they begin to soften.

• Pour the warm gravy over the top. Season with salt and pepper.

• Finish with a sprinkle of chives or scallions if you like a little color.

Note: Again, this is not intended to be a traditional poutine. It is quick, comforting, and perfect for sharing with friends during a cozy book club night.

Ang: Thanks for being here today, Nadia, and for sharing your poutine recipe. That looks like the perfect comfort food. I’ve only had poutine once, and that was at EPCOT, so I’m not entirely sure how authentic it was. Your version, adapted to the ingredients we can find here in the U.S., looks great. And best of all, it’s quick and easy.  I’m definitely going to give it a try!

Mystery foodies: Have you ever had authentic Poutine? What did you think? Do you have an old family recipe that has had to be adapted because the ingredients aren’t available in your area? Drop a comment and your email address below and get a chance to win a copy of Blood Ties and Deadly Lies.

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency, and the Reluctant Food Columnist series, both published by Level Best Books. In addition to his writing, Ang is a co-founder of Crime Spell Books and serves as co-editor of the Best New England Crime Stories anthology. He blogs about food on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano

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Al DeLucia walked away from the police—and his past. But when his long-lost father leaves him a detective agency in Savannah, Al finds himself trapped between family secrets and a murder on the agency’s dock. Partnered with Maxine Brophy, a fierce detective who doesn’t trust him, Al is pulled into a deadly search through Savannah and the Okefenokee Swamp—where the truth about the case, and his father, may cost him everything.

Blood Ties and Deadly Lies by Ang Pompano

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Al DeLucia returns to Sachem Creek expecting a kayak race and a chance to confront his childhood bully, Abe Cromwell. Instead, he finds a dead lawyer, a web of deceit, and Abe claiming they’re brothers by DNA. Reluctantly joined by Maxine Brophy, his formidable partner and girlfriend, Al dives into a murder investigation that exposes land swindles, hidden maps, and buried family secrets. In a town where the past won’t stay buried, Al must face truths that could upend everything.

Coming Soon: Diet of Death 

the first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler

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Readers root for criminals in fiction—and sometimes in real life—for many reasons: fighting injustice, acting on temptation, or simply getting away with a daring act, as in Sean Harding’s The Books Job. Crime fiction often probes justice, offering no easy answers but satisfying conclusions. Women in Gabriela Stiteler’s Money Well Spent and Chris Knopf’s Submission make choices we understand, while Cheryl Malone’s ranger in As the Crows Fly confronts moral ambiguity. Beth Hogan’s Willful Blindness and Bruce Robert Coffin’s Writer’s Block mislead readers before revealing the truth.

Twists are a staple of mystery. In Laurel Hanson’s Out of the Reach, an early twist sets the stage, echoed in Bonnar Spring’s At the End of the Day. Conscience shapes characters too: Nikki Knight’s Other Voices Carry explores diverging paths in crime, while Christine Bagley’s Sakura shows morality surfacing under pressure. Some villains—like Dale Phillips’s gas jockey in Gas or Judith Carlough’s writer in Catch and Release—drive the story, leaving readers conflicted.

Historical stories offer clarity: Sarah Smith’s The Woman Who Loved Her Husband’s Teeth depicts a war bride’s determined search, Paula Messina’s Perfect celebrates teenage cleverness, and Ang Pompano’s Minnie the Air Raid Warden highlights resourcefulness. Contemporary tales show women mastering technology to their advantage, as in Leslie Wheeler’s Graham 2.0 and Kat Fast’s Virtually Yours.

Many stories leave readers both satisfied and thoughtful: Brenda Buchanan’s Cape Jewell ends with a wiser heroine, Susan Oleksiw’s The Receptionist delivers a hard lesson, Avram Lavinsky’s The Long Shot evokes 1950s New York tensions, and Moe Moeller’s The Last Stone from the House of Usher offers a modern, near-happy ending.

Across this anthology, writers share the skill to yield to complex narrators, as in Stephen D. Rogers’s Chekhov, Sartre, and the Unity of Effect. Once again, this year’s collection delivers surprises and satisfaction. Welcome to crime in 2025.