Negroni Sbagliato Cocktail for a Book Launch Celebration #giveaway

LUCY BURDETTE: The 16th Key West food critic mystery, A DELICIOUS DECEPTION, is now out in the world! We had a totally full house at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison CT, where I had a blast talking about the book and the writer's life. We drank wine and ate this cake! (BTW, they have lots of signed copies of the book along with some earlier books in the series. You can contact them here to order.)

So we must celebrate here as well! With what? I wondered. Two weeks ago we ate Sally's strawberry roll-up cake, so I didn't think we needed another dessert. Special cocktail to the rescue!

Earlier this summer, John and I took the train to New York City to celebrate our 34th anniversary. We love to grab tickets to a Broadway show, eat at some delicious restaurants, and then walk our feet down to nubbins on the city sidewalks. 

On our final night in the city, I scored a last-minute reservation at I Sodi, a small Italian restaurant  in the West Village. Their menu opened with all kinds of variations on Negroni cocktails. Since I’m not a big fan of gin, I chose a lighter version of the traditional Negroni, called Negroni Sbagliato, with flavors of bitter and sweet. Since we still have some great summer nights on the porch, and now a new book, I share it with you! (Leave a comment about how you would celebrate a milestone and you'll be entered in the drawing for the new book.)

Ingredients

1 oz Campari

1 oz sweet vermouth 

3 oz Prosecco or dry sparkling wine 

Orange peel for garnish

Directions

Fill a pretty glass with ice. Add the Campari and sweet vermouth and stir. Top with prosecco. Garnish with a big piece of orange peel or even a slice of orange. Enjoy!

A DELICIOUS DECEPTION can be found at a bookstore near you!

This cozy mystery expertly balances personal stakes with a fast-paced plot in a consistent Burdette fashion. It’s a suspenseful, heart-filled addition to the series that proves Hayley is just as effective at solving crimes as she is at critiquing menus. Netgalley reviewer

Book 15 in the Key West series, paperback edition of THE MANGO MURDERS, is in bookstores now!

USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.

Basil Parmesan Biscuits #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: In my Connecticut town, we have a wonderful independent bookstore named RJ Julia Booksellers. As you can imagine I spend a lot of time there, drawn to it like metal filings to a magnet. This photo shows my book launch party back in July.

In addition to the inside of the store--the shelves and shelves and shelves of fabulous books with smart booksellers to help you figure out what you need, and a cafe at the back where you can have a cup of coffee and a cupcake, they often put reduced price books out on tables in front of the store. I double dare you to pass by without checking them out. A couple of weeks ago I found a Cooking Light book called Everyday Baking. Leafing through, I found each recipe looked better than the last. Maybe I was just hungry. But you know by now how much I love biscuits and bread and cake, and you know that I bought it. 

And this recipe for basil Parmesan biscuits is adapted from that cookbook. I adjusted the amount of salt (up a little) and sugar (down a little).

I made these biscuits in my food processor and they were snap to put together. Though the recipe calls for purple basil (which I used because I found it at the farmers market,) I think you could substitute green as well. Why not? You're the chef!


Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup purple basil, chopped
1/2 cup grated hard Italian cheese, such as Parmesan, Romano etc.
2/3 cup milk
One large egg

Pulse the dry ingredients together. Then pulse the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles crumbs. And the basil and the cheese and pulse that until well mixed. In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk the egg with the milk, add this to the mixture and stir until combined. 

Scrape the batter out onto a floured surface. Kneed lightly then pat the dough into a square, about 1 inch thick. Cut into 16 biscuits. 

Bake at 4:25 for 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned. Best served piping hot with good butter.

FATAL RESERVATIONS is on bookshelves now! 

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