THE PERFECT HARD-BOILED EGG from KORINA MOSS

KORINA MOSS: If I do say so myself, I make a perfect hard-boiled egg. And it's not a fluke! So let me share my tips with you for making perfect hard-boiled eggs every time. Unfortunately, if you have a gas stove, this won't work for you.  

Directions:

1. Use fresh eggs, local eggs if you can get them. There really is a difference in flavor.

2. Carefully place eggs in a pot and add water until just covered. 

3. Cover pot on stove and turn on high.

4. Keep watch over them until they begin to boil. Not a rollicking boil or your eggs may crack. Just some bubbling and steam.

5. Now here's the important part. When it starts to boil, TURN OFF THE STOVE and KEEP THE COVERED POT ON THE BURNER.

6. Set timer for 12 minutes.

7. Leave it alone. 

8. When timer goes off, take the pot off the stove immediately and carefully pour the eggs into a colander. Run cold water over eggs. 

9. If you aren't eating the eggs right away, put them in a bowl, cover with cold water, and set them in the fridge. The water will keep them from stinking up your fridge and it also cools them off immediately. Even if you plan to eat them now, unless you want to eat them warm, they will peel a little more easily if they're cooled down, even for a few minutes.

10. Dry the eggs. Crack each egg on all sides. If it's a fresh egg, it will peel easily and the shell will come off in larger pieces. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.

11. You'll see that the eggs are perfectly cooked. No green rim around the yolk, which suggests they've been overcooked. 

Enjoy your perfect hard-boiled eggs by themselves, on avocado toast, or chopped in egg salad! Or with a hardboiled detective novel! 

How do you like to eat your hard-boiled eggs? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead, and the finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Fresh Fiction. Her 5th book, Fondue or Die, releases October 22nd and is available for preorder.

For the past several years, Korina has been on her own Eat, Pray, Love journey, which seems to have stalled at the Eat phase. When not writing or sampling new cheeses (a perk of the job), she can be found with a new favorite cozy, doing jigsaw puzzles, or discovering new travel destinations. She has an affinity (some might say addiction) to coffee mugs, loves cats, and can't pass up a new notebook or journal with all those fresh, empty pages. 

PREORDER

The Cheese Shop Mystery series is available wherever books are sold. To find out more and subscribe to my FREE monthly newsletter, visit my website and follow me on Facebook and Instagram. 

Around the Kitchen Table: Holiday Mysteries plus Six Book #giveaway

 

LUCY BURDETTE: it’s time for another Around the Kitchen Table conversation, and this time, since the holidays are fast approaching, our topic is holiday mysteries. The first mystery I wrote set at Christmastime was PREACHING TO THE CORPSE, #2 in the advice column mystery series. Two of my Key West mysteries, THE KEY LIME CRIME and DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS, were also set around Christmas.

I love showing the quirky holiday traditions and decorations in a small town, whether it’s in New England or Key West.

But there’s a down side too (good for a mystery writer!), and that’s the extra pressure that comes during the holiday season—visiting relatives, the stress of choosing the right gifts for people on your list, the expectation of preparing fancy holiday dishes and maybe consuming too much eggnog. Oh the possibilities for murder and mayhem mixed in with the excitement and beauty of the season are endless!

MLK writers, have you written books set during the holidays? Do you love ‘em or hate ‘em?

🍉 🎄 🍗

 

LESLIE KARST: The only book I've written set during a holiday is my Sally Solari mystery #3, Death al Fresco, which includes a sub-plot about Columbus Day. But it's not what you think. When Sally's father plans a big Columbus Day feast at his Italian seafood restaurant out on the historic fisherman's wharf, some of the left-leaning residents of Santa Cruz, CA don't take kindly to it and picket outside the front of the restaurant.

 

one of the restaurants on the wharf that inspired Solari's

 

And the fact that Sally warned her father that something like this might happen doesn't do anything to make their already rocky relationship any better....

🌿 🍔 🎄

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: I LOVE holiday mysteries and am delighted to have written a Christmas mystery in each of my series, plus a Food Lovers' Village short story. 

Jewel Bay, the Food Lover's Village, is based on the town where we live, where the fun starts on Bulb Turning Day in early November when Villagers, aka Elves, gather to check strings of lights, change bulbs, tie bows, and cut saplings for Decorating Day, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and continues through Undecorating Day in mid January. So many opportunities for murder and mayhem! And cookies! So naturally, I put all that into As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles, which starts with a very public argument on Decorating Day and ends with a wedding on Christmas Eve. In between, there's a cookie exchange, a dead body, embezzlement, and an old crime revealed to have been very different than long thought. Erin solves the crime, in part by picking up on a clue she recognizes because she knows how to bake . . . 

My Spice Shop series is set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, the only place I know that rivals the Village for holiday fun! In Peppermint Barked, Pepper investigates when a young woman is brutally attacked in her friend Vinny's wine shop on the busiest shopping day of the year. The Market's theme that year is "A Dickens of a Christmas," and between the elves, the Santa costumes, and the men in top hats and frock coats, finding a killer is a deadly challenge.

And I'm thrilled with my newest holiday mystery, "The Christmas Stranger," now available as an ebook. (If you've got Carried to the Grave, my Village short story collection, you already have it.) When Erin does a favor for a mysterious stranger, he thanks her with a most unusual gift . . .

🌿 🎄 🍬

MADDIE DAY: I have one full-length Christmas mystery, Candy Slain Murder, which is number eight in the Country Store Mysteries. I also have Christmas novellas in three collections: Christmas Cocoa Murder, Christmas Scarf Murder, and Christmas Mittens Murder. "Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse" (available as a standalone ebook) and "Scarfed Down" are both in the Country Store series. "Murderous Mittens" introduces Cece Barton in my new Cece Barton Mysteries, and Cam Flaherty from my Local Foods Mysteries plays a role, too.

I'm including Murder in a Cape Cottage, as well - it begins the day after Christmas and ends on New Year's Eve! Writing a holiday murder can add a ticking time bomb element to the story - the protagonist is eager - that is, desperate - to solve the case before the holiday so she and her community can celebrate in peace. I love writing that additional level of suspense.

                                                                     🌿 🎄 🍬

VICKI DELANY: I love seasonally set books of all types, and I myself write an entire series set during the holidays. Not only that, but it stretches the Christmas season to fill the entire year. The aptly titled Year Round Christmas Series is up to six books now, with the seventh scheduled for next fall. The premise is that the town of Rudolph, New York, wants to be known as America's Christmas Town and they keep the theme going all year round. Our protagonist Merry Wilkinson, owns a gift and décor shop called Mrs. Claus's Treasures, her father, Noel, is the town Santa Claus, and her boyfriend, Alan, serves at public events as Santa's Head Toymaker (obviously a very important job). Merry's best friend, Vicky Casey, is the owner of Victoria's Bake Shoppe (specialty: gingerbread) and she serves up holiday treats all year round. Except for her mince tarts, that's a holiday special only. In the latest book, HAVE YOURSELF A DEADLY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, the town's amateur dramatic society is putting on the musical version of A Christmas Carol. Against her better judgement, Merry's mother, Aline, a former opera diva, has agreed to take a part. It is not a happy set and when one of the cast is found dead in Merry's shop, it might be up to Merry to save Christmas in Christmas Town.

🌿 🎄 🍬

TINA KASHIAN: I have one full-length holiday mystery, Mistletoe, Moussaka & Murder, which is number five in my Kebab Kitchen Mysteries. I had fun writing this book. Who doesn’t love Christmas and the holidays at the beach? The series is set at the Jersey shore and snow on the sand is a sight to see! My character, Lucy Berberian, is also planning her wedding to the head chef during the festivities. There are humorous scenes in the book as well and it starts out with the Polar Bear Plunge. (I actually participated in one but I only made it up to my calves before I turned around and headed back to shore for a blanket and hot chocolate.) Lucy is a bit more adventurous and makes it into the chilly ocean all the way, but then finds a fellow swimmer doing the dead man’s float—for real. I loved writing about Kebab Kitchen’s mouthwatering holiday foods and solving the mystery. Happy Holidays!

🌿🎄🍬

 

PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON:  I love books set at the holidays. Every year I reread the classic A Christmas Carol.  However, I have yet to set a book during the holidays. The closest I've come is in Berry the Hatchet, book #2 in my Cranberry Cove Series, where the story is set in January, right after the holidays are over and the town is hosting the first "Winter Walk" in an attempt to lure tourists to Cranberry Cove during a normally dead time of year.  The town is decorated to the max, there's a parade and, of course, a murder! I've hesitated to write a book that takes place during a specific holiday because you almost never know when it's going to be published.  Not everyone wants to read a Christmas book while lying on the beach in the middle of July!

📚

LIBBY KLEIN: I love Holiday Mysteries! Nothing gets you in the spirit faster than cozying up by the fire for a festive holiday read. And I've written one that I'm very excited about - but - it won't be out for another year. Until Silent Nights Are Murder launches into the world, I'm going to get busy reading all the fabulous holiday cozies mentioned here!

🎄🎄🎄

MAYA CORRIGAN: A Christmas Carol by Dickens was the inspiration for my holiday mystery, GINGERDEAD MAN. The book begins during a Dickens of a Holiday festival in Bayport, Maryland. My sleuth Val is catering English tea parties, and her granddad is playing Scrooge in his Victorian garb. He’s genuinely grumpy because a newcomer has usurped his role as the town Santa. This year’s St. Nick imbibes from a flask and is more nasty than jolly.

As the festival winds down, Val hosts a tea party for the costumed volunteers, who include Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Past, and other Dickens characters. Santa and Mrs. Claus round out the party. Then an unexpected guest arrives “shrouded in a deep black garment” like the the final ghost in A Christmas Carol. Face hidden, the ghost distributes gift bags to each volunteer. In the Dickens story Scrooge recoils from this figure dressed like the Grim Reaper. But in GINGERDEAD MAN Santa learns too late to beware of ghosts bearing gifts.

CLEO COYLE: A lovely topic for December, Lucy. For us, Christmas in New York City is always magical, and Marc and I had a wonderful time sharing that magic with our readers in two of our Coffeehouse Mysteries: HOLIDAY BUZZ and HOLIDAY GRIND. We did our best to capture the Christmas spirit in both mysteries and share some favorite holiday and cookie recipes, too...

HOLIDAY BUZZ was great fun to write because holiday time is party time in New York City, and public places like Bryant Park are transformed into glittering winter carnivals. That's where our amateur sleuth, coffeeouse manager Clare Cosi, finds the battered body of a baker's assistant. To catch the girl’s killer, Clare must investigate "Saint Nick," crash a pro-hockey party, dodge a pair of reality TV divas, and (of course) create some delicious holiday and cookie recipes.

In HOLIDAY GRIND, we shared the cozy magic of a winter evening in Greenwich Village, where our Coffeehouse Mysteries are set. Streetlights shimmer through icy flakes. Cafés glow with welcoming warmth. Boots crunch along cobblestones, and a layer of snow dusts historic townhouses like powdered sugar on holiday confections. This was our first ever New York holiday murder mystery, and we thoroughly enjoyed writing it. 

Cheers, everyone! We hope your holidays are joyful and delicious. To that end, we're happy to share one of our Coffeehouse Christmas Cookie recipes below: Iced Gingerbread Cookie Sticks (edible coffee stirrers) ~ Love, Cleo

Cleo's Iced Gingerbread Cookie Sticks
(edible coffee stirrers) For the recipe,
click here or on the photo above.

GIVEAWAY! 

To be entered in this week's drawing

for these terrific mysteries below,

join us in the comments.

How about you? 

Do you love holiday-set books,
or do you hate them?

Gingerdead Man by Maya Corrigan

Preaching to the Corpse by Lucy Burdette

Christmas Mittens Murder by Maddie Day,
Lynn Cahoon, and Lee Hollis

Mistletoe, Moussaka and Murder by Tina Kashian 

Peppermint Barked by Leslie Budewitz

Berry the Hatchet by Peg Cochran  

Join the

conversation!

Include your email address, 
so we can contact the winner

 Comments open through
Wednesday December 6. 

🎄

Mojito with Minty Simple Syrup @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Having received both of our vaccinations and waited enough time for them to kick in, we’ve begun to slowly re-enter the world. What a joy to see friends and family after a year of fear and isolation. And we’ve been so thrilled to visit restaurants we love (still sitting outside) and sample Mojitos! (The one at the left is from Salute on the Beach.) One of my dear friends, Paulette, suggested that the secret to the best Mojito is in the use of the simple syrup. So I made my latest batch this way. And I share the results with you:

Ingredients for Five Mojitos

One lemon

5 to 6 key limes

One bunch mint

Rum

Club soda

1/2 cup sugar (I used Domino's golden sugar)

1/2 cup water

To make the simple syrup, combine the sugar and water in a small sauce pan and bring to a low boil. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Move the pan from the heat and add the sprigs of mint. I used two and I would double it next time. This infuses the syrup with a lovely minty flavor. Let the syrup cool to room temperature.

To make the Mojitos:

In a highball glass, add one lemon slice, several lime slices, and three-quarter ounce simple syrup. Muddle this (bruise it) using a pestle or wooden spoon. Add 1 to 2 ounces of rum, depending on how strong you want to drink to be. 

Fill the glass with ice, and then club soda. Float a mint sprig on top.

To make the drink nonalcoholic, simply omit the rum. Here’s to a healthier, happier year!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. #11, A SCONE OF CONTENTION, will be in bookstores near you on August 10. Follow Lucy on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter...

And if you are a Netgalley reviewer, Scone is available now!

 

Lime Chicken Recipe by Maya Corrigan and #GIVEAWAY

Today I'm sharing an easy chicken recipe that you can make either gluten-free or not. Topping with bread crumbs before baking will give you crunchy chicken with gluten. If you're going to serve the chicken cold, the gluten-free version would work better.


The photo here shows a platter of lime chicken that book club members served the day I visited the club to talk about my Five-Ingredient Mysteries.

Though this chicken dish doesn’t take long to cook, you need to think ahead. It marinates in a yogurt mix for two hours before it goes into the oven.

What's your favorite chicken recipe? Scroll down and leave a comment with your e-mail address for a chance to win assorted cozy mystery swag. 

Serves 3-4  (It's easy to double or triple the recipe for a crowd.)

Ingredients

6-8 chicken tenders or 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut length-wise into quarters
1/4 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of key lime (or other lime) juice, bottled or freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon lime zest
Optional: ½ cup of coarse bread crumbs (or herb-seasoned stuffing)

Ingredients for gluten-free lime chicken tenders

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (after the chicken has marinated).

Combine the yogurt, the lime juice, mustard, salt, and zest if you are using it. Marinate the chicken in the mix, covered in the refrigerator, for two hours.

Lift the chicken from the yogurt mix and let any excess marinade drip off. Sprinkle the crumbs on top and press them in if they aren't sticking.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and bake it for 10 to 12 minutes.

Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan combines her passion for food and detection in her Five-Ingredient Mysteries featuring a café manager and her live-wire grandfather, who solve murders in a historic town near the Chesapeake Bay. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes. Maya previously taught college courses in writing, literature, and detective fiction. Visit her website for book news, five-ingredient recipes, mystery trivia, and a free culinary mystery story. Sign up for her newsletter to enter a drawing for a free book. One subscriber receives a free book each time a newsletter comes out. 

Visit Maya at her website

Like her Facebook page
Sign up for her newsletter

The 7th book in the series, Gingerdead Man, comes out September 29, 2020, and is available now for pre-order from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

This holiday season Bayport, Maryland, is a dead ringer for Victorian London. Val and her grandfather are taking part in the Dickens of a Holiday festival. Val is hosting a private tea party serving the festival's costumed volunteers, who range from Dickens divas like Madame Defarge and Miss Havisham to Ebenezer Scrooge and old St. Nick himself. But one costumed reveler may have gotten the holidays mixed up. The winner of the creepiest outfit, robed in black with a gift bag covering the head hands out gingerbread men with white icing skeleton bones. This year's sour Santa has none of the big fellow's mirth but plenty of his appetite, and it's no secret Santa loves cookies. But when the man in red turns blue, Val and Granddad have a cookie-cutter killer to catch before the New Year . . .

Leave a comment about your favorite chicken recipe by July 22  (with your e-mail address so I can contact you) for a chance to win the following cozy mystery items:

• A 24-page booklet, READ MORE COZIES, highlighting new and upcoming cozy mysteries
• A booklet of culinary mystery trivia
• A recipe for an easy five-ingredient sweet
• A Tell-Tale Tarte magnet 
• A cozy mystery eyeglass lens cloth 

Sorry, I can only send the goodies to a U.S. address. Sending elsewhere would mean a trip to the post office, which I'm avoiding until it's safer. To leave a comment, scroll down through the comments until you see the blank form. 

Good luck in the drawing!