My Dining Experience: A Tasting at Matia Kitchen, Orcas Island, #Giveaway @DarciHannah

Darci Hannah: Instead of sharing a recipe with you today, I wanted to share a culinary experience I had while vacationing with my family on Orcas Island, which is part of the San Juan Islands in Washington. Orcas is such a magical place and we enjoyed being there. However, our vacation happened to coincide with my husband’s and my 39th wedding anniversary. We were going to celebrate when we got home, but my son, Jim, had other plans for us. As a surprise, he made dinner reservations for us, but not just any dinner. We were going to experience a tasting at a fancy restaurant on the island, called Matia. It was such a thoughtful thing to do. Jim and his wife, Allison, have done tastings before and wanted to give us the same wonderful experience.

We knew nothing about the restaurant we were dropped off at other than it seemed very nice. Also, the staff was very attentive, knowledgeable, and kind. We had no idea what to expect for dinner. My son just told us that they were going to bring out six courses for us to try, and that we were to taste everything they brought to our table. We also had a wine paring to go with each course. It was the most exciting dining experience I’ve ever embarked on, and I wanted to share the experience and my thoughts with you.

First course: Judd Cove oyster with Matia hot sauce and butter, with a braising green donut and smoked egg yolk, served with a glass of Jeremie Huchet, Crémant Brut Nature, from the Loire Valley, 2022.

My thoughts: Oyster! I had never eaten one before and was a little nervous about it. What if I was allergic to oysters? I had no idea but decided to be brave. So, I ate the oyster and I found it surprisingly delicious. Regarding the “donut” and I use the term loosely here, I felt the chef went to a lot of effort for this tiny tidbit. It looked lovely. I marveled at how they got it to be so perfectly round. As for taste, stuffing cooked greens into a thin, crunchy dough skin, then topping it with the tiniest dot of smoked egg yolk and a little flower made from pickled red onion was very inventive, but rather bland. The oyster was the winner of this round, and it paired very nicely with the sparkling wine!

Second course: Rhubarb Gazpacho, fennel cream, salsa macha, with a radish salad, served with a glass of Vollenweider, Riesling Kabinett, from Mosel Germany 2020. 

My thoughts: The rhubarb gazpacho was genius! It was more tart than sweet but had such a lovely, creamy flavor to it that I could have eaten a whole bowl of it except for one glaring issue-the red sauce they drizzled over it. That sauce literally tasted like a sauce from Taco Bell. My husband even asked, “Where have I tasted this sauce before?” I offered, “Taco Bell?” and he agreed. Now, I know this sauce was made in house. I’m sure it’s a lovely accompaniment to taco meat but drizzled on this delicious gazpacho didn’t work for me. In fact, I had to stop eating the gazpacho altogether because of it. The radish salad with the fennel cream was delightful. Also, the wine that went with this pairing was my favorite of all. It was a Riesling, but it wasn’t overly sweet, just perfect! The winner of this round was the radish salad and the wine!

Third course: House sourdough bread, cultured butter, rhubarb marmalade paired with a glass of Teutonic white tannant, 2021(I’m not sure what this is, but it has a nice orangish color and tasted delicious.).

My thoughts: Delicious! I could have eaten this bread, butter, and tangy marmalade all night! The rhubarb marmalade put this over-the-top! 

Fourth course: Black Cod, Asparagus, oyster mushrooms, lovage hollandaise, fir tips served with the same wine as the third course.

My thoughts: This 4th course was absolutely worth the effort! The blackened black cod was cooked to perfection, and coupled with delicate slivers of baby asparagus, oyster mushrooms, and hollandaise sauce it was out of this world delicious. I would eat this as a main dish any day of the week! Excellent!

Fifth course: Picanha (sirloin cap), charred scallion, local brassicas, Arikara beans, paired with a glass of Chiara Dondello Sangiovese, Romagna Italy 2022

My thoughts...

Oh no… more wine! By now all the wine was getting to me! I never have more than one glass at a meal, and I was up to 5 little glasses by now! However, my hubby and I were having a great time! The wine was a red to go with the beef, and I really have no idea what it was, but it was delicious. All the wines, like most of the ingredients, had fancy names. It was all part of the delivery. The Teutonic, white tannant (which was orangish in color) was the only wine from California. The rest were European. As for this dish, although I was probably tipsy, I found it possibly more delicious than the fish course, which is saying a lot. It was amazing. Picanha, we learned, is a cut of beef favored in Brazilian steak houses. We call it sirloin cap here in the states. It was cooked to perfection and served with greens, a sweetish miso sauce, and beans that reminded me of baked beans. When eaten together with the steak, it was reminiscent of a campfire meal I once had, but in the best way. The beef was so tender and flavorful. Although it’s a close call, I’d have to say this dish was my favorite of the evening.

Sixth (and final) course: Goat’s milk, hay mousse, shoyu caramel, brown butter served with a glass of Pierre Ferrand, cognac. And coffee!

My thoughts: When I saw this bowl of fluffy cream, I honestly didn’t recognize it as dessert, at least not the kind we serve in the Hannah house. However, the light, creamy nature of it complimented the rich meal. The cognac added another layer of sweetness which was nice. However, as a dessert person, if this was my final entry to a fancy tasting, I would serve a chocolate torte with a raspberry (locally grown, of course!) puree and a dollop of fresh whipped cream. My theory, always end with a showstopper, but that’s just me. 

To sum it up, my husband and I had a fabulous time tasting this delicious food and spending a nice, quiet dinner together on a magical island. It was the perfect way to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary, and we can’t thank our son and daughter-in-law enough for this wonderful dining experience! 

I'm giving away one hardcover copy of A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle to one lucky winner. 

To enter please let me know if you've ever gone to a tasting at a restaurant before? What was your experience like? If not, tell me about a special meal you enjoyed.

*Please remember to include your email in your comment!

** Continental US only please.

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. 

Connect with Darci 

Instagram: @authordarcihannah

Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah

A Spirited Supper at Dundoon Castle

By Darci Hannah

Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

 

Purchase link

When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .

Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well. 

After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .

A Fatal Feast at Bramsford Manor

By Darci Hannah

Book #1 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

Purchase Link

While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . .

It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!

Coming June 30!
Murder at the Campfire Cookout

By Darci Hannah

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

 Purchase Link

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

Around the Kitchen Table: SUMMER FRUIT RECIPES + 9 BOOK #Giveaway!

VMBURNS: Nothing says summer like fresh fruit. Many of you may know that while I was born in the Midwest, I now live in Northern Georgia. Georgia is known as the Peach State. If you're driving around Atlanta, you'll be amazed (and a little confused) by all of the streets referring to peaches. Peachtree St., Peachtree NE, Peachtree Circle, etc., etc. Peach season starts in Mid May down here and markets and roadside stands are overflowing with peaches. Seeing so many peaches makes me start to look for recipes to take advantage of this abundant fruit. Restaurants abound with peach cobbler, but I've never been a fan of cooked peaches. But, I do love peach flavored beverages. Peach tea, peach lemonade, and peach margaritas. I fired up the grill and made grilled peaches with ice cream. It was delicious.

What about all of you? What fruits signal the start of summer for you? Do you have a favorite summer fruit recipe?

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LUCY BURDETTE: Valerie, I love peaches so much but we won't have local fruit until late August. I can't wait! We did get our first batch of cherries last week. I will look forward to making this cherry galette again this summer!

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MADDIE DAY: I also adore fresh peaches. I grew up in the Pasadena area of California with a yellow and a white peach tree in the backyard. We also had lemon, fig, guava, and apricot trees, all planted by my parents when we moved in when I was four, plus boysenberry bushes. 

Alas, a late-in-life allergy means I can eat cooked-only stone fruit like peaches and apricots (and apples and pears and cherries, oh no). Luckily, berries are fine, so the allergy doesn't rule out an Ode to Summer Fruit Tart! 

Local strawberries and raspberries are already ripening at my local farm stands, and the blueberry bushes I planted ten years ago are laden with baby berries. I might try a summer fruit Sangria!

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KIM DAVIS: I love this time of the year when spring and summer fruits flood the stalls at the farmers' market! Plump, juicy cherries, raspberries, and blackberries are nearly impossible for me to pass up, along with peaches, nectarines, and apricots. I often come home with too much fruit and end up having to share with others... but I get no complaints. In all honesty, I typically eat the fruit straight from the container (after washing, of course) perched over the sink to catch the juicy dribbles. The only summer fruit (well, I guess it's really a vegetable) that I cook into desserts is rhubarb. Every early summer when we'd head to Illinois to visit my husband's family, my mother-in-law would greet us with a Homemade Rhubarb Pie... it was the BEST! And I'd often finish the last piece for breakfast the next day. Fortunately she taught me how to make it but hers still always tasted better... I think it was the love she poured into it. 

In summers past I'd also visit my sister in Oregon where blackberries grew wild along just about every country road. When I'd visit, she'd often make this Busy-Day Blackberry Cobbler, a recipe passed down from our mother. It's an easy and delicious way to use up an over abundance of fruit!

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ANG POMPANO: Valerie, my favorite fruit that signals the start of summer may surprise some people because it’s sweet corn. Botanically speaking, corn is actually a fruit because it develops from the flower of the corn plant. Corn somehow manages to span three worlds at once: fruit botanically, vegetable when young, and grain when mature. 

But I’m wandering off into the cornfield here. 

 
I live in a town that still likes to think of itself as an agricultural community, so farm stands selling corn picked that very morning are only minutes away in every direction. For me, there’s nothing better than peeling back the husk of a freshly picked ear of corn, stripping away the silk, giving it a quick rinse, and eating it raw right off the cob. It beats dessert every time. 

My recipe is simple. I cut the raw kernels off the cob and toss them into a bowl with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper. It’s nothing fancy, but to me it spells summer.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Here in NW Montana, we're a ways away from local fruit. My own garden gives us rhubarb, apples, and raspberries, and we're planting a new strawberry patch right now, as ours fell prey to voles. Cherries grown on the shores of Flathead Lake are short-lived and much-loved, here and beyond, though our home is in the woods at the base of the mountains and cherries won't grow in our yard. I grew up eagerly anticipating my mother's Rhubarb Custard Pie. I shared that recipe in Treble at the Jam Fest, the 4th Food Lovers' Village Mystery. (Kim featured it a few years ago on her blog, with photos pretty enough to make me want to eat the screen.) As a proud member of the People of the Pie, I believe you can never have too much of a good thing, so I put this Rhubarb Sour Cream Custard Pie to the test and it succeeded with flying colors! 

Or try your rhubarb in a muffin. I created these Rhubarb Almond Muffins a few years ago, inspired by a Raspberry Almond Muffin at my favorite local cafe. 

I'll leave you with a photo of a recent discovery, on our Great Spring Road Trip -- 3,500 miles, 7 states, 4 national parks -- the Prickly Pear Margarita. Now, prickly pear does grow in central Montana, though it's far more common in the southwest, and we discovered prickly pear margaritas and lemonade in New Mexico. I snared a bottle of juice and we made margaritas last weekend -- gorgeous and tasty! (The recipe came from the maker, often the best source.)  

Cactus is a fruit, right? Cheers!

 

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON:  I love peaches, but like Lucy, ours won't be available locally until August.  Until then, the ones in the supermarket are hit or miss.  Right now cherries are in the store.  Michigan is known for its cherries.  As a matter of fact, Traverse City's airport is known as Cherry Capital Airport!  And that reminds me, it's time I made this cherry cake again!

 

 

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LESLIE KARST: Okay, I'm gonna be a little boring and go with peaches, like so many of my other Kitchen cohorts. But I mean, c'mon--there's nothing in the world like a fresh summer peach, right? 

The peaches here on coastal California are no where near as good as Valerie's Georgia peaches, but we do get delicious ones from the interior of the state where it gets good and hot in the summer. And this is one of my favorite things to do with them: Peaches and Cream with a French-Italian Twist.  A simple and delicious dessert which lets the fruit shine, it's the perfect finish to a summer meal.

 

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MOLLY MACRAE: Beautiful ripe berries are summer to me, beginning with strawberries in early June. When we lived in upper east Tennessee, we’d go down the road to pick gallons of them at the strawberry farm. We took them home, ate as many as we could and freeze the rest. When our older son was 2 1/2, he and I picked strawberries the day our younger was due. Maybe that’s why they’re both so sweet. 

For blackberries we didn’t need to go anywhere at all. We had oodles of wild ones along the edge of our meadow. There’s nothing like a ripe blackberry, warm from the sun and straight off the cane. There’s nothing like blackberry cobbler, either. 
Friends of ours had raspberries (and generously shared them). “Raspberry” was one our younger son’s first words (reduced to one syllable and more like a secret language). 

In July, we’d cross over from Tennessee to North Carolina at Iron Mountain Gap and pick blueberries in Buladean—always heeding the warning to watch out for bears. Here are recipes for BlueberryPie with a Cornmeal Crust and BlueberryLemon Bread Pudding. And here’s a fresh fruit salad topped with gorgeous raspberries made by our younger son, still into raspberries at 43. 

 

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DARCI HANNAH: For me nothing says summer like a slice of cherry pie! Although I now live in Michigan where we grow lots of delicious tart cherries, as a kid we always spent our summers in Wisconsin, on the Door County peninsula. Door County is also known for growing cherries, and when spring hits the orchards come alive with beautiful pink cherry blossoms. It's a truly magical sight to see. Then, in July the cherries ripen, and for me there's no better time of the year. Our family used to pick our cherries in the orchard, and when we'd come home my mom made her special Door County cherry pie. It's delicious served warm with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream. In fact, my first cozy mystery series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series was set in Door County on a cherry orchard. You can print the recipe here: 

 

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VICKI DELANY: My goodness what a fantastic selection of fruit, fruit drinks, fruit desserts, and pure yummy fruitie goodness.  Right now in the farm country of Southern Ontario rhubarb is in and strawberries soon to come.  Strawberry rhubarb bars are one of the things I love to make the most when everything is in season. In fact, it's so much my favourite, it was my very first recipe as a regular cook in the kitchen! 

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Let's give a hearty welcome to our new MLK'er, Vicki Delany!! Woot, woot!

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CLEO COYLE: On hot summer days, I love to whip up this VIRGIN SANGRIA, which is not only refreshing and hydrating but also uses some of my favorite summer fruits (watermelon, strawberries, and peaches), although you can adapt the recipe to your own favorites. 

Why virgin? While a white wine sangria is delicious, on a workday, I prefer that my fingers hit my laptop keyboard rather than my forehead, which means no firewater until the day is done. A virgin sangria is also a good idea for households with kids because it can be converted into an adult beverage at the time it's poured, which means one pitcher can serve drinkers and non-drinkers alike. 

Click here for my VIRGIN SANGRIA recipe (with a free, downloadable PDF), and enjoy the fruits of summer, everyone! ~ Cleo

Click here to read Cleo's post:
How to make a Virgin Sangria
and Amuse Your Cat 😸 

Readers, how about you?

What fruits signal the start of summer for you? Do you have a favorite summer fruit recipe? Let us know in the comments. If you're willing to share, include the recipe, too. Comment below to be entered in this month's giveaway!

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Murder at First Slice (ARC) by Valerie Burns 

A Clue in the Crumbs (paperback) Lucy Burdette 

Essentials of Murder by Kim Davis 

When It's Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano 

Cherry Scones & Broken Bones by Darci Hannah 

All Shell Breaks Loose, (ARC) by Molly MacRae 

No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle 

Treble at the Jam Fest by Leslie Budewitz 

Murder at Cape Cod Costumers by Maddie Day

🔎📚🔍

Comments open through Wed. June 10

Winner will be contact via email, so be sure

to leave your email address 

check your email (inbox/spam/junk)

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Parmesan-Crusted Lemon Garlic Chicken #Giveaway #Murder at the Lemonberry Tea #recipe by Darci Hannah

Darci Hannah: Whenever I begin to write a new mystery, especially a Beacon Bakeshop mystery, I always like to scour my personal recipe collection (and I have a huge collection!) in the planning stages for possible recipes to appear in the book. The titling of my Beacon Bakeshop series is the word “Murder” followed by a “foodie event”. Food is a very important part of these mysteries, and sometimes that “foodie event” in the title is inspired by a favorite family recipe. 

My mother's recipe collection!

My last Beacon Bakeshop mystery to come out was MURDER AT THE LEMONBERRY TEA. It’s set in the late spring in the idyllic lakeside village of Beacon Harbor, Michigan, and yes, a lemon-themed tea party is at the heart of the mystery. For this mystery I knew even before I started writing it that a Bakewell Tart was going to be in the book. I didn’t have a recipe for this tart, but I did practice making them, using a famous recipe by Mary Berry, which was delicious!

Another food highlight in the book is my mom’s famous Lemon Bar recipe, which I swear is the best lemon bar ever. Friend’s request them for parties, asking things like, “Oh, can you make your lemon bars for the cookout?” I’m always happy to bring them, and I was happy to get to share the recipe in the book. I also threw in a delish lemon scone, a lemon drop martini, and a yummy lemon-raspberry Bundt cake. However, I always like to add a real meal to all the baked goods I write about. As I was flipping through recipes, I came across this recipe for Parmesan-Crusted Lemon Garlic Chicken that my dear, recipe-loving late mother scribbled down in a notebook. She loved recipes so much that they were scribbled on any scrap of paper she had handy! Anyhow, I don’t know where she got this recipe from, but I thought I’d give it a try. I made it for the family one night, and my guys loved this chicken so much they begged me to make it more often. It was a hit, and I thought I’d share it with you.

Parmesan-Crusted Lemon Garlic Chicken

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 12-15 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes. Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts (approximately 1 ½ pounds total) cut in half lengthwise.

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil for pan

For the egg mixture:

2 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

For the parmesan breading mixture:

1 cup good quality parmesan cheese grated. 

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon minced garlic (or one clove, minced)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

For the lemon-butter sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)

¼ cup chicken broth

¼ cup lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Directions:

Using a meat mallet, lightly beat the chicken breasts until they are an even thickness.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the milk. Place the chicken breasts in the egg mixture, toss, and let soak while the skillet is heating. 

In another large bowl combine the grated parmesan cheese, flour, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.  

In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt butter (or heat olive oil). Once the skillet is hot and the butter is melted, take the chicken breast out of the egg mixture, and roll in the parmesan mixture. Make sure the breast is well coated before placing it in the pan. Continue this process for each chicken breast. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side. Using an instant read thermometer, test the internal temperature of the chicken. It should be 165 degrees. You may reduce the heat and cover with a lid if the chicken browns too quickly. Once chicken is done, remove from the skillet and place on a plate. Keep warm in a low-temperature oven if necessary. 

While the chicken is cooking, in a separate small saucepan, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Next, add the chicken broth, lemon juice, and salt and pepper if desired. Cook over medium-low heat for two minutes. 

To serve, plate the parmesan-crusted chicken next to your favorite mashed potatoes and steamed or roasted veggie. Pour a generous helping of the garlic butter sauce over each chicken breast and top with a few thin slices of lemon for garnish if desired. Enjoy!  

Printable copy of this recipe here!

Readers: for a chance to win a copy of MURDER AT THE LEMONBERRY TEA, tell me what your favorite lemon-inspired recipe is in the comments below. Don’t forget to leave your email in your comment!

Darci Hannah is the bestselling author of the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series, the Food & Spirits Mystery Series, the Very Cherry Mystery Series, and two works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson, and The Angel of Blythe Hall. Darci grew up in the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband and two dogs. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. Passionate about family, dogs, food, baking, history, books, lighthouses, laughter, good conversations, coffee, and the paranormal, Darci feels especially blessed to have found a way to combine her interests in the stories she writes. It brings her great joy to be able to share them with you. 

Connect with Darci at www.darcihannah.com

Instagram: @authordarcihannah

Facebook: @Author Darci Hannah

 Just Released!

Book #2 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

 

Purchase link

When chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride got a role on the reality show Food & Spirits, she thought “spirits” meant cocktails. Instead, she’s cooking up dinners meant to tempt the departed to appear. And to her surprise, she’s discovered abilities to connect with the beyond—and crack murder cases . . .

Now that Bunny’s entrées come with a side of the Other Side, it comes in handy to have a grandma who’s friendly with the elderly owners of a haunted Scottish castle. During Bunny’s childhood she heard all about Dundoon’s bloody history and the “ghostly piper” who roamed the grounds—and soon she’ll be visiting the ancient place with her ghost hunter and psychic co-stars. The annual bagpipe competition in the late piper’s honor will make for some good footage as well. 

After Bunny serves a feast fit for a 17th century king, including lamb chops with plenty of fresh herbs, she heads outdoors for the ghost hunt. But in the dark, dense fog, someone fatally plunges from the clifftop over the loch. The sound that follows is a mournful, otherworldly bagpipe . . . and once the body of another perished piper is retrieved, Bunny is determined to solve this Highlands homicide—and prevent a killer from getting off scot-free . . .

Trade Paperback Release!

Book #1 in the Food & Spirits Mystery Series

 

Purchase Link

While filming at a haunted English manor, chef Bunny MacBride’s big break on her first reality TV show may be cut short by an unscripted murder in Darci Hannah’s new Food & Spirits cozy mystery series . . .

It isn’t how chef Bridget “Bunny” MacBride imagined her own cooking show unfolding. But, if preparing historic meals with a modern flair is what it takes to get her cooking on the air, she can deliver, even if her dinner guest is a ghost. That’s the premise of the new reality TV show Food & Spirits, where Chef Bunny teams up with ghost hunter Brett Bloom and psychic medium Giff McGrady to visit haunted locales around the world and tempt lingering spirits back to the table with a beloved meal. For their first episode, the Food & Spirits team sets off to investigate Bramsford Manor, a historic house turned famously haunted hotel, in picturesque Hampshire, England. The sprawling estate is said to be home to the Mistletoe Bride, a young woman who died in the 18th century, the victim of a tragic accident on her Christmas wedding night.

Bunny leaves the spectral search to the pros and focuses on the feast, creating a traditional English holiday wedding dinner, complete with a gorgeous prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and rustic apple tarts. But Bunny’s task is made more difficult when someone steals a boning knife from her custom kit. Alas, when the blade finally turns up again—in the chest of an all-too-human dinner guest—Bunny’s woes only grow as she is named a lead suspect in the case! Now, with a haunted house full of living residents, staff, and crew, Bunny will need the help of Brett, Giff, and her clairvoyant Grandma Mac, to solve this murder before the manor gains another ghost!

Coming this July!

Book #7 in the Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series

Preorder today!

When Lindsey Bakewell leaves behind her lighthouse bakeshop, her boyfriend, Rory, and her Newfoundland dog, Wellington, for a glamping trip with her mother in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the bears leave them alone—but a killer doesn’t. . .

Converting the old Beacon Point lighthouse into a bakery is as adventurous as Lindsey cares to get. Her mother, Ellie, a former 80s fashion model, likes her creature comforts even more—until she sees a business opportunity for her Beacon Harbor fashion boutique when she’s invited by the Mitten Kittens Glamping Club on a woodsy getaway.

Far from roughing it, the ladies will be warm and cozy in chic vintage campers. Ellie insists Lindsey come along to win the campfire cookout contest. Campfire cooking has come a long way from bacon and beans. Soon Lindsey is making pizza, berry cobbler, and gooey Carmelita camping bars.

But the festive spirit is soon dampened when a body is found in Ellie’s camper. It seems like an accidental death until everyone’s tires are slashed and it’s clear the glampsite has become a crime scene. With no cell service to call for help, it’s up to Lindsey to smoke out the killer around the campfire . . .

Because no one is out of the woods yet.