Browse Category by Writer In The Kitchen
Baking, Recipes, Writer In The Kitchen

Writer In The Kitchen: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

Between promoting my new release, A CORPSE AMONG THE CAROLERS, and preparing for Christmas my days are jam-packed which means there’s little time for baking (well, until the week of Christmas) but this gal loves a homemade sweet treat every now and again. What to do? Make a mug cake! It’s quick and yummy and the perfect way to finish dinner. In fact I can whip this dessert up, cook it and while it cools I can feed Connie her dinner before I settle down with to enjoy the treat.

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Baking, Recipes, Writer In The Kitchen

Writer In The Kitchen : Gingerbread Cake

Gingerbread cookie with lights surrounding it.

‘Tis the season for gingerbread cake. It’s so easy to whip up this festive dessert because it’s all done in one bowl! Easy prep, easy clean-up. That in itself is a wonderful present. While the cake is baking, your home will smell amazing. Just for fun, go outside and then come back inside to inhale the fragrance and warmth of Christmas. I do it all the time, which earns me strange looks from Connie. You think she’d be use to me by now. Back to the recipe. When the cake is cooled, you can either sprinkle it with powdered sugar or dollop it with some freshly made whipped cream. Or, both! After all, it’s the holidays.

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Baking, Recipes, Writer In The Kitchen

Writer In The Kitchen: Blueberry Muffins

We’re a few weeks into summer and let’s just say I’m looking forward to fall. It’s my favorite season because it’s filled with all the things I love – pumpkins, sweaters, mums and cozy nights. While summer is filled with things I really could do without – humidity, humidity hair, poison ivy and sunburn. I know complaining won’t get me anywhere because it is what it is and that’s summer. So rather than complain, I’m creating special moments to get me through the hot, humid months. This past weekend, I baked. There’s something so special about starting a Sunday with a basket of freshly baked blueberry muffins out on the patio. These muffins burst have a buttery flavor that mingles with the tartness of the blueberries and were the perfect way to start my day. I hope they do the same for you!

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Cookbook of the Month, Kitchen Snapshots, Writer In The Kitchen

Cookbook of the Month – Homemade with Love

Welcome to a new feature here on my blog, Cookbook of the Month. I’ve been wanting to add this for over a year because I love, love, love cookbooks but you know…life happens combines with publishing deadlines collides with book promo and things get pushed to the side. Well, for 2022 I’m committed to changing that. Yes, I still have deadlines, yes life is still throwing things my way (seriously, it’s like a dodge ball game on steroids), and yes I’ll have book promo to do but I really want to do something that I enjoy and love. Okay, that list is a little long because so many things got pushed to the side last year and they year before. So, as not to overwhelm me, I’m taking on new commitments slowly and I’m starting with Cookbook of the Month.

I’ll be sharing with you one cookbook each month along with my thoughts on it and some photos of the food I cooked from it. Now, some of the cookbooks will be from my library and may not be easily available for purchase, while others will be brand new. Psst…one just arrived yesterday! Can’t wait to dive into it. I hope that these monthly posts will entertain you and inspire you to try something new in the kitchen. But mostly, I hope these posts will give you and me a few minutes each month to sit and chat about food.

To begin Cookbook of the Month, I’m sharing with you today one of my favorite cookbooks.

I discovered the blog, In Jennie’s Kitchen, when I was starting my own food blogging journey. I truly enjoyed her blog and then when her cookbook was published, I immediately ordered it. Jennifer Perillo has given us a very special book filled with recipes that will make you want to stay in your kitchen for days and stories that will tug at your heartstrings and then have you smiling from ear to ear.

By Jennifer Perillo
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Running Press (March 26, 2013)

Ms. Perillo writes in the introduction for her French Onion Cheese Buns (BTW, yum!), “People often ask how I create new recipes. I wake up thinking about food and it stays on my mind all day long as I pass shops and farmer’s markets. New ideas always seem to be infiltrating my subconscious.” I hope new ideas keep popping into her head because her recipes are delicious.

This cookbook is everything I hoped it would be. The writing style is friendly, warm and clear, making the book a straight forward and easy read. The photography on matte paper is beautiful and inspiring. The recipes are a great combination of basic to more complex dishes and the ingredients are easily found in my local grocery store. Ms. Perillo managed to combine attainable recipes with inspirational recipes so the home cook is always successful and challenged.

There is a warmth to this book that I haven’t experienced with any other cookbook. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been reading her blog for years and I’d come to admire Ms. Perillo’s strength and talent as a cook. Through her blog she had shared a personal tragedy and journaled her life with such grace and perseverance without losing focus of her passion for food and cooking. In her book she shares glimpses into her life and the stories behind the recipes. In the intro for Drop Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie Ms. Perillo shares how the recipe came to together, how special it was and it will leave you teary-eyed and realizing just how important food and the simple act of cooking is to all of us.

Her stories will have you smiling, laughing and maybe reaching for the tissue but I’m certain that by the time you close this cookbook you will have a very long list of recipes to try. A nice feature of the book is how the recipes are coded for easy reference.

Enough with the words, lets get to the food.

Roasted tomatoes. This recipe spoke to me. Warning – these roasted tomatoes are highly addictive and they barely lasted while I cooked the pasta I served them with. If you manage somehow not to eat all of the tomatoes, you can toss them with pasta and grate some fresh Parmesan cheese. Simple, quick and perfect for a weeknight meal.

Looking for a recipe to wow your guests? Onion rolls is a recipe to try then.

Lets take a look at the making of this recipe.

Cook the onions.

Prepare the dough and add onions.

Roll, slice and form in pan to bake. It doesn’t look like much, but trust me. They taste delicious.

Hot out of the oven. Heavenly.

I wish I had more photos to share with you but we ate before I could snap pictures. Sorry. My bad. I promise to do better next month. I hoped you enjoyed this look into Homemade With Love by Jennifer Perillo.

Happy Cooking!

Debra

Baking, Writer In The Kitchen

Writer In The Kitchen: Pumpkin Bread

There’s never a wrong time to enjoy pumpkin bread. But there’s a perfect season to bake pumpkin bread. Autumn. You knew I was going to say that. There’s nothing as cozy as baking fall goodies on a fall day. As I’m measuring out ingredients in my kitchen, I’m not too far from the window over the sink and I can see out through to the family room window, so I can catch glimpses colorful leaves, trees swaying in the wind and squirrels busily hiding their coveted nuts. Yes, this is the perfect time of the year to bake pumpkin bread.

There are so many things I love about this recipe. First, it can be whipped up quickly. Second, it’s incredibly moist. Third, there’s a wonderful balance in all the flavors. It’s not too pumpkiny (yes, it’s a word) or too heavy on the spices. Fourth, it freezes well. Fifth, (I know! Now you can see why I love this recipe) it’s never failed me in the close to thirty years I’ve been baking it.

I’ll stop writing now because I know you want to make some pumpkin bread.

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