One Year in the Kitchen: From Murder Most Fowl to Salmon Wellington (Plus a Four-Book Giveaway!) by Ang Pompano

 

Ang Pompano: Tomorrow, June 16, marks exactly one year since I joined Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen as a regular contributor. I still remember my very first post on Monday, June 16, 2025: Murder Most Fowl: Balsamic Chicken, a dish I could never have pulled off without my wife, Annette, who is both a wonderful artist and a spectacular cook.

I have to say it’s been a fun year hanging out in the kitchen with this incredibly talented group of authors, who also happen to be amazing cooks. I want to thank every single one of them for being so kind and generous to me. If you follow this blog, you already know these incredible talents, but I have to give a personal shout-out to:

* Leslie Budewitz

* Valerie (V.M.) Burns

* Lucy Burdette (my longtime writing group pal!)

* Peg Cochran

* Cleo Coyle

* Kim Davis

* Vicki Delany

* Maddie Day

* Darci Hannah

* Leslie Karst

* Molly MacRae

They certainly disprove the old adage that "too many cooks spoil the broth.” 

One of the highlights of my year was attending Left Coast Crime in San Francisco and sitting on the Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen panel. It was great catching up with old friends like Leslie B. and Maddie, and equally wonderful to finally meet Kim and Leslie K. in person. We hit it off immediately.

I think that instant connection comes from the fact that we’ve truly become friends. We communicate by email almost daily, not just about the behind-the-scenes business (and you wouldn't believe how much unseen work goes into keeping a blog like Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen running smoothly!), but also to support one another through the highs and lows of the writing life.

Before I get too long-winded, let me simply say thank you to my fellow Kitchen bloggers, and thank you to the readers who stop by, leave comments, and make this community such a pleasure to be part of.

Now, enough reminiscing. Since anniversaries call for a celebration, I'd like to share a recipe that Annette and I recently made: Salmon Wellington. She adapted it from a recipe by cookbook author Arman Liew. It was a big hit in our house, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Salmon Wellington:

What You Need

1 skinless salmon fillet (about 1 3/4 pounds) 

Salt and pepper

Dried dill 

Chopped fresh dill

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped (more if you like it)

1 package frozen spinach

1 package cream cheese

1 lemon

1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)

1 egg

What To Do

Heat oven to 400°F.

Sprinkle the salmon with salt, pepper, and a little dried dill.

Cook the onion and garlic in a frying pan until soft. Add the spinach and cook until it's hot. If there's a lot of liquid, drain it off.

Stir in the cream cheese, a handful of chopped fresh dill, the grated zest of the lemon, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix until creamy.

Roll out the puff pastry a little so it's big enough to wrap around the salmon.

Put half the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry. Lay the salmon on top. Spread the rest of the spinach mixture over the salmon.

Wrap the pastry around everything. Pinch the seams or use a fork to seal them closed with a little egg yolk.

Brush the remaining beaten egg yolk over the pastry and sprinkle with dried dill.

Put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Let it sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Ang Tip: If the pastry is golden and beautiful but you're worried about the salmon, stick a fork into the thickest part. If it flakes easily, you're a gourmet chef. If not, give it another 5 minutes and pretend that was the plan all along.

What about you? What's the most ambitious thing you've ever attempted in the kitchen? Did it turn out beautifully, become a family favorite, or end with a call for pizza delivery?

Tell me in the comments below and leave your email address to be entered in a drawing to win all four of the books I've had published since joining Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: When It's Time for Leaving, Blood Ties and Deadly Lies, Diet of Death, and Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories (co-editor).

Ang Pompano is a mystery author, editor, publisher, and blogger. He writes the Blue Palmetto Detective Agency series 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 lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and their two rescue dogs, Dexter and Alfie.

Diet of Death

by Ang Pompano

The first in the Reluctant Food Columnist series.

Buy Link

Betty Ann Green is a beloved culinary icon…who doesn’t exist. She is the brilliant, beautiful illusion created by two unlikely collaborators. Behind the façade is Quincy Lazzaro, a culinarily challenged writer whose witty, sharp prose is the public face of Betty, while those flawless, genius recipes are all thanks to his octogenarian neighbor, Mary Ticarelli.

When the arrogant diet guru, Dr. Alan Tolzer, inventor of the Westport Diet, demands a face-to-face interview, Quincy reluctantly steps in as Betty’s frontman, only for Tolzer to drop dead. The police call it natural causes, but Quincy knows better. He sees it as the investigative break he’s been waiting for.

Now, caught between a crime-solving grandma, a no-nonsense detective girlfriend, and a killer who may be one step ahead, Quincy must unravel the mystery before the killer strikes again.

When It’s Time for Leaving

by Ang Pompano

Buy Link

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.

Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025

Edited by

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

BUY LINK

Every year the anthology brings welcome surprises and satisfactions, and this year is no different, featuring stories by 21 of New England’s best crime writers.

Includes “Minnie the Air Raid Warden” by Ang Pompano.