Instant Pot Risotto with Gruyère, Ham, and Peas #recipe and #giveaway from #KimDavis

KIM DAVIS:  Needing to eat gluten-free while dining out at a restaurant, if available, I always gravitate toward ordering risotto. There's something so comforting about the dish, and even though it's basically rice, cheese, and some add-ins, the final product seems elevated somehow. I've made risotto a few times the "old-fashioned" way, laboriously stirring the arborio rice in a pot on the stovetop, slowly adding ladles of hot broth until the creamy starch is released from the rice and it's cooked through. Time-consuming and labor-intensive, I rarely made the dish. Then I heard about using an Instant Pot for risotto, and while skeptical, decided to give it a try. The results were just as good as trying to cook it stovetop, and instead of waiting an hour for dinner to get on the table, this takes maybe 20 minutes to make. Now when I'm in a hurry to fix a quick dinner, I often make Instant Pot risotto. Plus, it's versatile when it comes to the add-ins: any precooked protein and veggies can be used. I've made mushroom risotto, shrimp and asparagus risotto, and chicken and broccoli risotto, and they've all been equally delicious! 

Be sure to scroll all the way down to find out how you can win one of my audiobooks! 

Instant Pot Risotto with Gruyère, Ham, and Peas

 
Ingredients
 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups (1 quart) low sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
2 cups cooked ham, diced
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup Gruyère, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

 
Instructions
 
In the base pot of the Instant Pot, add the olive oil, diced onion, and sea salt. Turn the sauté function on and cook until the onions are translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir frequently and don’t allow the onions to brown.

Stir in the arborio rice, making sure the onion and oil mixture thoroughly coats the rice.

Carefully stir in the white wine, and cook until the wine is mostly absorbed by the rice, about 1 minute.

Stir in the chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to keep rice from sticking. 

Switch the sauté function to the pressure cook mode. Lock the Instant Pot lid into place and set the cook time for 5 minutes.

Once the risotto has cooked for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and quick-release the pressure. Use caution as the steam can cause severe burns. 

My granddaughter bought this dragon to fit over the release button on my Instant Pot so that the steam shoots out of its mouth! 

Once the pressure has released, carefully remove the lid, titling it away from you to allow any residual steam to escape. The mixture should look soupy.

Switch the Instant Pot back to the sauté function. Vigorously stirring every 30 seconds or so, cook the rice for 2 minutes uncovered. Add in the 2 cups of diced ham and stir to combine. Continue cooking and stirring for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the risotto is tender but still chewy. It’s okay if the mixture still seems slightly runny. It will thicken with the addition of the remaining ingredients and as it cools. If the mixture becomes overly dry before the rice is cooked through, add in an additional 2 to 4 tablespoons of chicken broth.

Turn Instant Pot off and stir in the Parmesan and Gruyère. 

Once the cheese has melted into the risotto, fold in the peas. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and salt and serve immediately.

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The risotto can easily be reheated in the microwave. If it appears too thick after reheating, add in a bit of chicken broth to thin to desired consistency.

Note

This recipe is quite versatile. You can substitute any pre-cooked protein for the ham, and swap the peas out for any pre-cooked vegetable...just use your imagination and let your taste buds guide you.

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF of the recipe!💕

Books available at most online retailers

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Apple

 

Cupcake Catering Mysteries * Essentials of Murder

 

About the Author:

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, and the award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series. She has also written several children’s nature articles published in a variety of magazines. Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on blogs, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

Click here to sign up here for Kim’s newsletter: Newsletter

Connect with Kim: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Bluesky, Bookbub, Goodreads, TikTok, and website

 

G I V E A W A Y   T I M E !!!

I'm giving away one audiobook, winner's choice, from my Cupcake Catering Mysteries!

Comment below and include your email (yourname at yourserver dot com) for a chance to win your choice of one of the Cupcake Catering Mystery audiobooks. (Contest ends 11:59pm on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 and is open worldwide.)

Readers, do you have a particular quick and easy dish that you frequently make?

 

 

Release Day: ESSENTIALS OF DEATH by Kim Davis #AromatherapyApothecaryMysteries

 

 Congratulations to our own...

 Kim Davis, 

on the release of 

ESSENTIALS OF DEATH

the second book in the Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries! 

After a scandalous arrest in San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael has moved back to her small Southern California hometown to start over as she opens her Aromatherapy Apothecary shop and reflexology services. A tourist destination, Oak Creek Valley, seems the perfect place to put the past behind her, but it seems no one will let her forget, especially her high school nemesis, Lacie. When Carissa finds her frenemy murdered after having a public altercation at the town's playwright conference and festival, she becomes the primary suspect. It doesn't help that the tarot cards she drew earlier in the day foretold the nature of the murder weapon. Despite her father's position as Oak Creek Valley's chief of police, the detective assigned to the case assumes she's guilty.

When tarot death cards begin turning up to taunt her, Carissa not only has to prove her innocence to keep her freedom, she has to make sure death doesn't come calling for her or those she loves. With the suspects acting as slippery as the essential oils she distills, it's up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out the truth before it's too late.

Includes essential oil and reflexology tips, plus recipes.

Available at most online book retailers.

Click on title to purchase: ESSENTIALS OF DEATH

Zucchini Walnut Bread #recipe Kim Davis

 

From Kim Davis:

I'm on a zucchini kick this summer (despite not even having a garden providing a prolific amount of the squash). One of my favorite ways to use zucchini is by using it in a quick bread. I've tried numerous recipes but when I found (and made) this recipe based on one in Cook's Illustrated magazine, I knew I'd never search for another. For one thing, it uses 1-1/2 POUNDS of zucchini and very little vegetable oil. I figure it's a good way to eat some veggies for breakfast or snack. Plus, my youngest granddaughter is a huge fan of this zucchini bread and requested it often over the years. Now that she's in college, I make sure I bake and package up loaves for her to keep in her freezer for a quick on-the-go breakfast. 

Zucchini Walnut Bread

The secret to making this zucchini bread moist without all the oil is to squeeze as much liquid from the zucchini as possible. Don’t skip that step, otherwise you’ll end up with a gummy mess.

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds zucchini, shredded (4 – 4-1/2 cups PACKED shredded)

1-1/4 cups (8.75 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2.7 ounces) white whole wheat flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 tablespoon coarse sparkling sugar (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

Toss shredded zucchini with 1/2 teaspoon salt and set aside for at least 10 minutes while you gather remaining ingredients.

Once zucchini has rested, place shreds in the middle of a clean kitchen towel. Gather the ends together and tightly twist to extract as much liquid as possible. You want to extract at least a minimum of 1/2 cup liquid from the zucchini. The more you extract from the shreds, the better. Discard the liquid.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla together in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the zucchini to the sugar mixture.

Whisk the both flours, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt together in a large bowl.

Gently stir the zucchini mixture into the flour mixture.

Mix until thoroughly incorporated but be careful to not overmix.

Stir in the walnuts.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and sprinkle with the coarse sparkling sugar.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs attached. Just make sure the crumbs are moist but not gooey or wet.

Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes.

Remove bread from the pan and cool completely before slicing…if you can wait that long!

Notes:

Shredding the zucchini with a food processor shred attachment makes quick work of the squash. Otherwise, use the large holes on a box grater.

My granddaughter has tried turning this recipe into muffins, with no success (so far). The shortened baking time required for muffins, didn't allow the zucchini to fully cook, resulting in a gummy muffin. Therefore, I highly recommend keeping this recipe as a bread and not trying to convert it. 

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF of the recipe!💕

READERS: Do you have a favorite quick bread recipe you use time and time again?

Click on graphic for purchase links

Books available at most online retailers

 Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * Apple

Cupcake Catering Mysteries * Essentials of Murder

About the Author:

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, and the award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series. She has also written several children’s nature articles published in a variety of magazines. For ten years she’s written the Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder culinary cozy mystery blog, in which she features reviews of cozy mysteries along with a recipe from the book, and photos of the prepared dish. And now she’s a member of Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen!

Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on blogs, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

Click here to sign up here for Kim’s newsletter: Newsletter

Connect with Kim on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Bluesky, Bookbub, Goodreads, and website

 

Lemon-Lavender Sandwich Cookies #giveaway #recipe Kim Davis

 

KIM DAVIS:

I'm beyond excited to share my inaugural post as a permanent member of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen today! This blog has long been one of my favorites to visit with the tempting recipes shared by the members and finding new books to add to my TBR pile. This first post also coincides the day before the audiobook release of Essentials of Murder, the first book in the Aromatherapy Apothecary Mysteries. So to celebrate, I wanted to come up with a recipe that embodies the spirit of the book by using lavender. And since it's a milestone blog post and a celebration, I decided to up the fun by turning the lemon-lavender cookies into sandwich cookies with a lemon-lavender buttercream. 

Lemon-Lavender Sandwich Cookies

Makes 8 3-inch sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons culinary lavender*

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided

Zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lavender extract

Coarse sparkling sugar, optional

For the Lavender Buttercream Filling:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons culinary lavender, finely ground*

1 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lavender extract

Gel or paste purple food coloring (optional)

Instructions

For the Cookies:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using a mortar and pestle (or a clean spice/coffee grinder) grind the 1 tablespoon sugar with the lemon zest and lavender, until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Add the lemon and lavender mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the remaining sugar and the butter. Beat together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 

Add in the egg, vanilla and lavender extracts, and mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheets. Reroll the scrapes no more than twice, and repeat.

Refrigerate the cut-out cookies for ten minutes.

If using, sprinkle the coarse sparkling sugar over the tops of the cutout cookies. 

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are just starting to turn barely golden. Rotate the baking sheet half way through baking. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes, then remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Lavender Buttercream Filling:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the butter until creamy.

Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time, and mix until fully incorporated.

Grind the lavender into a coarse powder using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.

Add in the ground culinary lavender, lemon juice, vanilla and lavender extracts. If using, add gel or paste purple food coloring, a tiny bit at a time, until desired shade is reached. Mix the buttercream thoroughly between each addition of color.

If filling is too thick, add additional lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon at a time, whipped well after each addition, until desired consistency is reached.

Continue to whip the mixture until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized star tip. Or you may use a spatula to spread the buttercream on the cookies.

Assembling the Cookies:

Once the cookies are completely cool, pipe a generous layer of lavender buttercream onto the flat side of half the cookies.

Place another unfrosted cookie on top, flat side toward the buttercream, pressing gently to create a sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Note: *Be sure to use culinary lavender or, if using from your own garden, lavender that hasn’t been treated with pesticides.

Click on graphic to visit Tantor Audio's page for retailer links:

About Essentials of Murder: After a scandalous arrest in San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael has moved back to her small Southern California hometown to start over as she opens her Aromatherapy Apothecary shop and reflexology services. A tourist destination, Oak Creek Valley, seems the perfect place to put the past behind her, but it seems no one will let her forget. When she finds the man who threatened to drive her out of business murdered in her shop, Carissa becomes the primary suspect, especially when her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. Despite her father’s position as Oak Creek Valley’s chief of police, most townspeople assume she’s guilty.

Refusing to run again, Carissa knows she must prove her innocence to save her shop and save her father’s career when the investigating detective turns his focus on her. With suspects acting as slippery as the essential oils she distills, it’s up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out the truth before it’s too late.

Includes essential oil and reflexology tips, and a recipe!

My publisher has also priced the ebook version of Essentials of Murder at only $0.99! 

About the Author:

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, and the award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series. She has also written several children’s nature articles published in a variety of magazines. For ten years she’s written the Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder culinary cozy mystery blog, in which she features reviews of cozy mysteries along with a recipe from the book, and photos of the prepared dish. And now she's a member of Mystery Lovers' Kitchen!

Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on blogs, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats to share.

Click here to sign up here for Kim's newsletter: Newsletter

Connect with Kim on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Bluesky. 

And now for the giveaway:

To celebrate my inaugural post AND the release of Essentials of Murder audiobook, I'm giving away winner's choice of print or an ebook copy of Essentials of Murder. Readers, do you listen to audiobooks? If so, where do you listen to them?* 

Comment below and include your email (yourname at yourserver dot com) for a chance to win your choice of print or a Kindle ebook copy of Essentials of Murder. (Contest ends 11:59pm on Wednesday, June 11, 2024, and is limited to U.S. residents only.)

*My favorite place to listen to audiobooks is when I'm baking in the kitchen! I've been known to miss an ingredient or recipe step though, when I get overly engrossed in the story.