Salmon with BBQ Sauce & Peaches #recipe from Korina Moss

Korina Moss: I used to like the Firecracker Salmon at Outback Steakhouse, so I attempted to recreate it. But since I like to make everything easy peasy, this one is only 5 ingredients. As always, you can add or subtract ingredients to suit your taste. The first time I made this, I didn't have peaches, so as you can tell, they're not in the photo above. But I knew it would add a lot to it, so you'll see it in the later photo when I made it a second time. I think mangos would also go well with it. 

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh salmon filet (if you use frozen, thaw first)

2 TBL your favorite jar BBQ sauce

1 tsp Brown sugar 

1 tsp garlic powder

peaches - I used packaged, sugar free. You can also used canned or fresh.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500°

Put foil on baking sheet or pan

Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray

Put salmon on top

Mix bbq sauce, brown sugar and garlic. The bbq sauce I used this time is quite sweet already, so I didn't use the brown sugar. If you use a tangy bbq sauce as I've used in the past, then I suggest using some brown sugar. 

Spread sauce on salmon 

Drain peaches

Dot peaches on top

Bake for 8-12 minutes until salmon is at 145°. Enjoy! 

Readers: What's your favorite kind of fish? 

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in the Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and the Agatha Award finalist for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Listed as one of USA Today’s Best Cozy Mystery series, her books have also been featured in PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World, and Writer’s Digest. Korina is also a book coach and freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. 

Korina’s latest book, Fondue or Die, is one of the current nominees for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. The awards will be announced at the Malice Domestic fan convention on April 26th. If you’d like to attend, more information may be found here. 

Her next book, Bait and Swiss, is available on April 29th and may be preordered from your favorite bookseller through Macmillan Publishers. To find out more about the Cheese Shop Mystery series and subscribe to her FREE monthly newsletter, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. 

Korina is also a book coach and freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. Using her experience writing her award-winning series for a Big 5 publisher, she has the inside track on what editors, agents, and readers are looking for in a mystery.  Whether you're a new writer hoping to be traditionally or independently published, or you're an established writer wanting some guidance with a manuscript, she can help you strengthen your book. You can find more information on her website and contact her at korinamossauthor@gmail.com. 

Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash by @KorinaMossAuthor

KORINA MOSS: This Italian-style spaghetti squash is something I make year-round but especially this time of year when I want comfort food but my body says, "No more pasta!" It's a lighter version, but gives me the pasta vibe. (After all, it is called spaghetti squash.) And you know if it's from me, then it's easy peasy to make. 

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash 

olive oil

1 head of garlic

parmigiana cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Prick the squash with a fork, then microwave in 1-minute bursts until it's just soft enough to cut. 

Cut squash lengthwise. 

Scoop out the seeds.

I put the squash in a Pyrex dish lined with tin foil. You can also use a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (Foil or parchment makes cleaning easier, but neither are necessary for the squash to be cooked properly.)

Lightly drizzle olive oil on the inside of the squash. You don't need very much at all. I drizzle some in the bowl part and then use my fingers to spread it around and on the outer edges. Sprinkle with salt if desired. 

For roasting the garlic: I used only a couple of large cloves, but I should've used an entire head of garlic, so my instructions for roasting the garlic do not match the photos exactly.

Cut the stem end (not the flat end) of the head of garlic, but don't peel the garlic. 

Put the garlic on a piece of tin foil and drizzle a little olive oil on it. 

Wrap the foil around the garlic and place on the oven rack or baking sheet alongside the squash halves. It will roast at the same time your squash roasts.

Roast for 40 minutes or more, depending on the size of your squash. It's done when the inside is slightly browned and fork tender, but still a little firm. You don't want it to cook too long or else the texture of your "spaghetti" will end up too mushy. I check mine with a fork. If it comes away easily, it's done.

Let cool for a couple of minutes. Using a fork (and an oven mitt to hold the warm squash), scrape the squash from the shell so it comes out in strands. It should come out very easily. If it doesn't, your squash isn't cooked enough. 

Transfer the strands of squash to a large bowl. 

Take out the head of garlic from the tin foil. It should be soft and lightly browned.

Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin into the bowl of spaghetti squash. Mash it and mix in with forks. 

Sprinkle a generous amount of parmigiana cheese on. Mix in with forks.

Serve spaghetti squash in bowl and top with more parmigiana cheese. 

For leftovers, heat in a frying pan. 

Enjoy! 

Readers: Do you have a healthy alternative to pasta? 

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

Korina is also a freelance developmental editor specializing in cozy and traditional mysteries. Using her experience writing her award-winning series for a Big 5 publisher, she has the inside track on what editors, agents, and readers are looking for in a cozy mystery.  Whether you're a new writer hoping to be traditionally or independently published, or you're an established writer wanting some guidance with a manuscript, she can help you strengthen your book. You can find more information on her website and contact her at korinamossauthor@gmail.com. 

Cozy Chicken and Rice Casserole from @KorinaMossAuthor

KORINA MOSS: November calls for cozy casseroles. Here's an easy chicken and rice bake that's the ultimate comfort food. You can swap out the vegetables I use for the ones you like best. This could also be made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. This casserole keeps well in the fridge for several days of leftovers, which is one of my favorite things about it. 

Ingredients:

4 TBL butter, divided

3 TBL flour

pinch of dried thyme or seasonings of your choice. I used Mrs. Dash onion & herb and Mrs. Dash original.

1 cup chicken broth or stock (you can use unsalted)

1 cup milk

1+ cups of cooked & seasoned chicken, diced 

1 cup cooked white or brown rice

Vegetables of your choosing. Mine are thawed string beans, fresh mushrooms, diced onions, corn. You're going to use a 9x9 dish, so cut as many or few vegetables as you'd like.

1 TBL dry seasoned breadcrumbs (you can use salt free)

1 TBL grated parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

(Make sure you cook the rice and cook and season chicken to your liking.)

Preheat oven to 400°

Melt 3 TBL butter in saucepan over medium heat. 

Whisk in flour and thyme/seasoning and cook for 1 minute to make a roux. 

Gradually stir in broth and milk, stirring until thick and smooth.

Stir in cooked chicken, add salt & pepper. Set aside.

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.

Pour a thin layer of the cream sauce on the bottom. 

Spread cooked rice on the bottom of the dish. 

Add vegetables evenly over rice. 

Pour the rest of the cream sauce with chicken mixture evenly over the dish. 

Dot with remaining TBL of butter.

Mix together bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over top of mixture. 

Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes until it's hot and bubbly. Enjoy! If having leftovers, reheat in microwave.

Readers: Today is Veteran's Day. To all veterans, I'd like to thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your bravery. If you know a veteran, please give them a shout-out in the comments below. 

 

Available Now!

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Mixed Berry Compote from Korina Moss

 

KORINA MOSS: I was berry happy this summer--eating berries any chance I got. But as soon as I felt the first morning chill in the air, I was ready for summer to be over and my berries to be out of my fridge. So I took my leftover fresh strawberries and blueberries and some frozen cherries and raspberries and made myself a mixed berry compote. (Compote is just a fancy word for a sauce.) You can put it over any dessert or pancakes, waffles, or french toast, served warm or cold. I like it best over ice cream, yogurt, or pudding. As with most of my recipes, this one is easy peasy and can be changed to suit your taste. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of berries, fresh or unsweetened frozen berries or both. It helps to thaw berries. 

1 TBL sugar (I've seen recipes that add as much as 1/3 cup, but I put my compote over something that's already sweet, so I don't feel the need to add much sugar. Add to taste.)

Directions:

1. Pour berries into a pot.

2. Turn heat to low and cook berries, stirring occasionally until they are softened. 

3. Once softened, mash berries with a potato masher. I like to leave it a little chunky.

4. Increase heat to medium.

5. Cook and stir constantly while juice thickens, about two minutes. You can continue to mash if you want it smoother.

6. Immediately pour into a jar or container.

7. Serve warm or let cool and cover. Refrigerate.

Your berry compote will last about 2 weeks in the fridge. Freeze in batches for later use. 

What would you put your berry compote on?

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. 

The Cheese Shop Mystery series is available wherever books are sold. To find out more and subscribe to her FREE monthly newsletter, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Fondue or Die, releasing on October 22nd, is available for preorder. 

PREORDER