Thanks so much to Marisa and the RNTV gang for having me here! To celebrate the release of my first novel Can’t Stand the Heat, I’ve got a very cool culinary-themed gift package to give away. There’s a CStH apron, a set of red rubber spatulas, and a cookbook featuring some of my recipes alongside recipes from today’s top chefs! I’m trying to get excited about the end of summer, so to enter the drawing, leave your favorite fall recipe in a comment below. Good luck!
When I tell people I write contemporary romance, I usually get a slightly surprised “Oh! Well, 
good for you!” kind of reaction. In some cases, this is clearly a (scandalized? titillated? intrigued?) reaction to the word “romance.” But amongst romance readers and writers, that same “Oh!” usually has more to do with the other part of what I write.
Contemporary.
Tough sell, they say. Not as hot as paranormals or historicals. So why bother?
Easy. I love to write them.
I love to play in the real world—in my case, the neighborhoods of New York City. I love the slangy modern language my characters use, and the fact that I don’t have to figure out how space-age technology meshes with magical elements in order to get my hero from a restaurant uptown to a bar in Soho. I have the deepest respect for authors to whom that kind of worldbuilding comes naturally, but I’m not one of them.
Which is not to say there’s no worldbuilding in contemporary romance. Every story inhabits its own world; the mark of a good storyteller is how well she makes that world come alive. My series explores the Manhattan culinary scene, so the world I had to construct for my characters was that of the professional restaurant kitchen.
I’m not a chef. Let’s get that out of the way right up front. I’ve never cooked in a restaurant kitchen, although I’ve waited tables. To research the Recipe for Love series, I’ve trailed chef friends in their kitchens, talked my way into others, and generally made a nuisance of myself with questions. I read lots of amazing kitchen memoirs like Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Heat by Bill Buford, The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlmann, and Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay.
But the best inspiration, by far, comes from my own adventures in the kitchen. Cooking is exciting because you never know what’s going to happen. Trying out a new recipe is like starting a new novel; you have all these ingredients that seem as if they’ll compliment and enhance each other, but really, it’s up to you to bring out the best possible flavor in each one.
I tie on my apron with the same thrill of anticipation I get when I sit down at my computer. A pristine kitchen (okay, my kitchen is never what you’d call “pristine,” but you know what I mean) is like a fresh, blank page. It’s ready and waiting for you to come in and make things happen! And once you start, even if you follow the recipe exactly, you never know quite where you’ll end up.
I ended up writing a book that unites my passion for all things foodie with my love of romance novels. In Can’t Stand the Heat, I pit a sexy, hot-tempered chef against an acid-tongued food critic who doesn’t know how to cook. So, of course, he has to teach her! How to poach an egg…and other things.
Tell me about your kitchen escapades! Ever had any huge disasters? Major triumphs? Share your stories along with your favorite fall recipes!
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Emmanuelle
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 8:45 am:
Hi Louisa, Great to see you here !!
I’m very happy you chose to write contemporary romances. I know I’m weird but I don’t read any paranormal/fantasy/vempire… stories. I have nothing aginst them really, it’s that I don’t get any pleasure from reading them. I love a good straight contemporary though. Real people dealing with real life issues… that’s my thing.
So please please please keep writing contemporaries !! lol
As for cookind disasters well sometime ago “someone” recommended “Lemon Ricotta pancakes” to me (lol). So I checked the internet, found a nice recipe and also a recipe for home made ricotta. Of course being intrigued and all I tried it and grrrrr, the result was just plain aweful. I litterally wasted a gallon of milk. Well that’s my last kitchen desaster.
On the other hand I made some of those pancakes this morning with store baught ricotta (I’m sticking with it for now !) and they were delicious. Light and fluffy with a nice lemon taste… That’s what I love about fall, you get to spend more and more time in the kitchen.
Here is the recipe I found :
Lemon Ricotta pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 lemons, zested and juiced
Butter, for griddle
Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the cheese, eggs, milk, lemon juice and zest in a large bowl. Whisk the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Brush the hot griddle with butter. For each pancake, pour approximately 1/4 cup measure of the batter on the griddle and cook on both sides until light golden brown.
PJ
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 8:50 am:
Hi Louisa! Welcome to RNTV! I’m really looking forward to reading your book. I’ve heard terrific buzz about it all over the internet.
I love to cook and bake. Baking is my therapy. Nothing beats out frustration like making bread from scratch.
I’m about to leave for my volunteer day at the local hospital with last night’s kitchen creation in hand. I made Paula Deen’s Georgia Cookie Candy (Kim Castillo introduced me to this at RWA National). It’s a crunchy peanut butter and dark chocolate delight and I defy anyone to eat just one piece! I’ll post the recipe when I get home.
I don’t have too many disasters nowadays but back when I was a kitchen newbie…oh mama! Does re-painting my kitchen ceiling with chocolate cake batter count? My mixer was broken and I used the blender to mix the batter. Didn’t get the blender cover on quite tight enough. Oops! LOL!
Then there was the first time my in-laws had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. I bought a 20 pound turkey, all the trimmings and discovered Thanksgiving morning that I had forgotten to buy a roasting pan. This was back in the days when *nothing* was open on Thanksgiving except 7-11. Another oops!
Oh, and this one is probably my most famous (infamous?). I’m well-known for my chocolate chip cookies. Everybody loves them. Well, the first time I made them for my late dh was back in the day when I was a young 20-something living in a south Florida apartment. There are bugs in south FL…lots of bugs…so I kept my dry ingredients in glass jars. My cookie recipe calls for 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 cup sugar. Bet you know what’s coming, don’t you? Yep, I switched the jars and proudly presented him with a plate of salt-soaked chocolate chip cookies. Not my finest moment! LOL!
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:28 am:
Emmanuelle – Girl, I think you win the prize for my most frequent commenter! Awesome to see you again. And I’m especially glad you’re still speaking to me after the lemon ricotta pancake debacle! But it all seems to have worked out in the end. Thanks for testing out recipes and posting a good one!
PJ – Thanks for saying there’s buzz, that’s always nice to hear! And your kitchen disasters made me laugh out loud. Especially the salty chocolate chip cookies! I love salt, and my favorite chocolate truffles are sea salt caramels, but your cookies might have been too much even for me.
Your story reminded me, though, of when my mother (who is a wonderful baker) once made my favorite birthday cake (a very tender cake with six very thin layers, lemon curd in between, and cream cheese icing) in my aunt’s kitchen, and swapped out flour for confectioner’s sugar by accident! She couldn’t figure out why the layers were so flat…
Marisa
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:30 am:
Hi Louisa and congratulations on your debut release, Can’t Stand the Heat; I’m really looking forward to reading it.
Unfortunately the only kitchen disaster I have is when I’m in the kitchen. I’m a terrible cook and just recently begged my mother to teach me how to cook her famous chicken. Well needless to say as we cooked in her kitchen tears were shed. I was a mess. My father tasted the chicken, looked at me and said, oh, your mother didn’t cook this did she? “Thanks for the ringing endorsement Pop!” The meal went downhill from there. So I’m back to sticking with things that take 10 minutes or less to make – like sandwiches.
As an aside – PJ – you are the BEST baker! I’ve had the great good fortune to have both your cookies and homemade candies and they are truly extraordinary!
January
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:39 am:
Hi Louisa!
I love to cook. It’s my passion. Well that and reading. So your book combines both of my passions and sounds amazing. I can’t wait to read it.
Most days you’ll find me in the kitchen and in my second life I think I’d like to be a chef. My favorite recipe for the fall is clam chowder.
* 1/2 teaspoon butter
* 1 cup onion, minced
* 3 tsps oregano
* 1 tsps sage
* 1 medium garlic clove, minced
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 can clams (6-1/2 ounces)
* 1 cup bottled clam juice
* 1-1/2 cups Half and Half
* 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
* 2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
Sauté butter, onion, garlic, oregano and sage. Blend over low heat. Don’t let them brown. Drain clams and set aside, save the clam juice for later. Slowly stir the flour and clam juices in the sauté mixture. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Add Half and Half and simmer 20 minutes. Add white pepper, potatoes and clams and heat (DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL).
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:56 am:
Marisa – Oh no! Don’t despair, you just need to find your groove. I can’t recommend Julia Child’s old PBS videos enough; guaranteed to make you feel like you can tackle anything in the kitchen!
January – Clam chowder is a big favorite of mine, but I’ve never made it! Soups are so great in chilly weather. Thanks for posting.
KimCastillo
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 9:57 am:
Hi Louisa! I’ve been hearing such awesome stuff about your book. I can’t wait to read it.
PJ is absolutely right. That Georgia Cookie Candy is amazing! Paula Deen is a genius. LOL. Anything PJ makes is to die for. Her candy is revered in romanceland. I would do unspeakable things for a bucket of her chex mix.
My worst mishap-using wax paper instead of parchment for a batch of brownies. They tasted like beef. And they were for a family Thanksgiving dinner. My teen age nephew ate the whole pan by himself. LOL
Tweets that mention Romance and Cooking by Louisa Edwards | Romance Novel TV -- Topsy.com
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:26 am:
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Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:27 am:
Kim – Thank God for teenage nephews, huh? Better than a garbage disposal. And I agree on Paula Deen; she’s such a doll! Do you think if I send PJ a copy of my book, she’ll send me a batch of Chex Mix?
Kristen Painter
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:30 am:
I don’t mean to sound full of it, but I don’t think I’ve ever really had any horrid kitchen disasters. I’m a fairly capable cook, thanks to my mom and dad, who are even better than I.
Fall recipes make me think of things like roast chicken and baked ziti/lasagna/manicotti type dishes. Neither of which I have a recipe for since it’s the kind of thing I just whip up as I go.
Kait Nolan
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:42 am:
Sounds like so much fun! My favorite fall recipe is super duper simple. Taco Soup: http://potsandplots.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/taco-soup/
Meg
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:44 am:
I seem to recall an incident with some incredibly soggy, butter-drowned crêpes Suzette. The details are fuzzy, since I think we consumed the remaining Grand Marnier to dull the pain, but it’s the one time a Julia recipe has let me down.
This isn’t my kitchen mishap, but: one time my mother, already dressed up for the evening in a silk blouse, dropped the Thanksgiving turkey while flipping it over for its final browning. Not good. I think I was about eight years old at the time, and I learned a lot of naughty words that night.
Maureen
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:47 am:
Hi Louisa,
I have always liked to bake but have begun using different recipes for cooking lately. I think it’s because I have a little more time since my youngest learned to drive. When my kids were younger cooking could be a chore some days when there is just not enough time between work, kids and getting things done at home. That has to be why my favorite recipes are simple. One of those I just make yesterday. I take a pork roast (center cut boneless) about 2 lbs and put it on top of some sauerkraut in the crock pot. Put pepper on top of the roast and then cover it with cranberry sauce. Put the crockpot on low for 8 hours. I serve it with rice.
Maria Lokken
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:54 am:
Hi Louisa – welcome to RNTV.
You’ve definitely hit a button with me. I LOVE to cook. Even more than cooking, I love to buy things for my kitchen – pots, pans, mixers, trays — you name — I have to have it.
I think my biggest disaster was a meat conglomeration that my husband called a gut bomb. Oh well, they can’t all me triumphs. But I do make a mean rosemary foccacia.
Congratulations on your debut release!
Marilyn Shoemaker
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:59 am:
Love the cover and the book sounds incredible. As for contemporary romance, I’m a huge fan!
My son just recently finished chef school and I put on a few pounds!
Being from Washington State with an abundance of apples, here’s a cake I recently came across and it’s quite good.
Apple Spice Cake
This cake is very moist and tender, and the cinnamon scent will take over your kitchen when it’s in the oven.
The top, best part, gets this delicious and melt-in-your-mouth and beautiful and crumbly texture. I’ve made it with and without the nuts suggested in the recipe, and it gets extra special with walnuts. I even used pears instead of the apples, and it was delicious as usual.
Ingredients
•1 1/3 cups vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
•3 cups all-purpose flour
•1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 cups sugar
•3 large eggs
•3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups) (I always use 3 apples, gala or fuji)
•1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; set aside or large angel food cake pan.
2.Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of sheet; set aside. (I sift everything in a large bowl)
3.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon yellow.
4.Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5.Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
6.Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.
7.Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.
8.Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on rack
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:06 am:
KP – Oh, you’re just so perfect, aren’t you! Never mess up, don’t need a recipe. If I didn’t love you so much, I’d have to hate you. ; )
Kait – More soup, yay! This one sounds like a cool idea. I’ll eat tacos any way I can get them.
Meg – I had forgotten those crepes Suzette. Well–blocked them from my memory, is more like it. Thanks for reviving the pain! LOL
Maureen – I bet that pork is utterly melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Such classic flavor combinations! Sometimes the simplest recipes are truly the best.
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:08 am:
Maria – LOL at “gut bomb”! I’m totally stealing that and using it in a book.
Marilyn – Oooh, a son in culinary school! You know, the hero of my third book (the one I’m writing now) is a culinary student. I’m just saying. : ) That apple cake looks delicious! Fall makes me crave apples in everything.
Cynnara Tregarth
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:11 am:
Fantastic to find a fellow author who is a foodie! *grins* To me feeding the soul and reading a good book go hand in hand.
My first kitchen experience was when I was 7. I used the Snoopy Cookbook and made Cinnamon Sugar Toast. I was so proud of myself!
For the fall, I love cooking with my slow cooker. Even though I live in Florida, I still use it often because it’s nice to come home to great smells and a meal almost ready to eat.
Chicken Santa Fe
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup bottled thick and chunky salsa, your favorite
5 or 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Preparation:
In a 3-1/2- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix together the black beans, corn, and 1/2 cup of the salsa. Top with the chicken breasts, then pour the remaining 1/2 cup salsa over the chicken. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the chicken is tender and white throughout; do not overcook or the chicken will be dry.
Sprinkle cheese on top; cover and cook until the cheese melts, about 5 to 15 minutes.
Serves 6.
Jia Gayles
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:12 am:
Great post Louisa! I know I can’t “enter” but I’d still like to share my cooking snafu. Since I am admittedly nowhere near a Top Chef, like yourself, there are plenty to choose from. Most recently, I decided that I was going to be “Ace of Cakes” and make my friend some bday cupcakes. The party was poker-themed, and I waited until the last minute to ice the cupcakes with different shapes, such as spades, diamonds, clubs…you get the picture. Well, it was more like “F of Cakes.” Sadness. I assumed that the tip of the icing would be smaller and I could just “draw” and fill. Not so. You actually have to buy that stuff extra… Oops. And then there was the terrible black gel icing.
Didn’t really make the cupcakes look very tasty. Luckily I used a great cake mix, so I couldn’t actually mess up the batter too much. Oh wells. Learned my lesson.
Since I don’t cook, I don’t have a special fall recipe that I use. However, I do like to eat this!!
Sweet Potato Soup – courtesy of Food Network.com
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if desired)
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups cooked sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup milk
Salt
Directions
In a heavy saucepot, over medium-low heat, cook the flour and butter, stirring constantly until roux achieves a light caramel color. Add the broth and brown sugar, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Stir in the sweet potatoes and spices, bring to a simmer again, and cook for 5 minutes more. In a blender, puree the soup in batches and return to saucepot. Add the milk, and reheat soup. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into warm soup bowls and serve.
Angelique
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:15 am:
I love discovering new recipes and I consume Food Network/Top Chef like it’s my job (if only!), so when I find romances that incorporate food I’m in Heaven! I can’t wait to read the book!
Some of my fall favorites include Pumpkin Bread, Sauerbraten (my mom is Dutch, so it’s a staple in our house), and hearty soups. I discovered a recipe last Fall for Cheddar Ale Soup and fell in love! It’s amazing and fantastic as a meal on its own with crusty French Bread. I’m at work right now, so I don’t know the exact measurements of the ingredients (I never followed them anyway because it made an insane amount of soup), but they look something like this:
1 pound Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I like to use a mix of sharp and mild. I would also recommend buying the already shredded cheese because I find it melts more smoothly.)
1 quart or so of Heavy Cream (Use your judgement on how creamy/thick you want the soup to be.)
Chicken Stock (Again, use your judgement. I’d recommend using about a cup or so less than the Heavy Cream.)
1 Bottle Ale (I don’t drink beer, so I just buy one of the larger than normal beers that are sold individually.)
Minced Garlic (I like a lot of Garlic, so I normally use 3-5 cloves depending on their size.)
Directions: Get a giant pot. Heat on stove at about medium heat. Drop in the minced garlic and let that cook for a bit. Then add in about 1/3 – 1/2 of the heavy cream. Next start slowly adding in the shredded cheese (I usually do handfuls at a time) and keep stirring until it’s melted. Once approximately half the cheese is melted into the cream, slowly add in the bottle of Ale. Then add the chicken stock before slowly stirring in the rest of the cheese. Finally pour in the rest of the cream and let the soup slowly simmer for a little while until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
These directions are in no way exact and feel free to do things in a different order (just make sure there is liquid in the pot before adding the cheese!). I never make this exactly the same way and tend to improvise. Also, feel free to add other things to the soup like onions, bacon, celery, etc. I like it simple.
The soup is great at feeding lots of people because the ingredients are so easy to increase or decrease. Also, the soup freezes pretty well! I put it in smaller containers, so I can just pull one out and heat up an individual size portion.
Most importantly though: Enjoy!
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:25 am:
Cynnara – I’m a slow cooker novice, just bought my first one ever, so thanks for this!
Jia – Oh, honey. LOL Black icing is almost never a good idea. Not only is it completely unforgiving when you’re trying to decorate, but it stains your teeth!
Angelique – Man, Cheddar Ale soup sounds amazing. And easy. And naughty! But worth it.
Kwana
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:42 am:
Hi Louisa! Great post. I love NY being a NYC girl and I love contemporaries. You are a wonderful ambassador for the craft. Keep it up.
As for recipes I’m so bad I never seem to make the same recipe twice. It’s all whatever I have in the pantry at the time in terms of spices but one of my favorite fall recipes is really easy and you will scream so un-chef like. Lipton soup turkey wings:
Big old turkey wings- cut if you are lucky enough to get the butcher to do it. Season with a bit of salt and pepper or lemon pepper which is nice too.
Then take a package of Lipton onion soup mix with hot water. Mix pour over wings and bake until done. When is that? Um? Till done? 2 hours-ish? I’m a good cook but no chef. LOL!
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 11:48 am:
Kwana – You crack me up! Lipton onion soup mix is one of the modern world’s greatest inventions. I’ve made lots of dips for veggies and chips from scratch, and the truth is, none of them is better than the French Onion dip on the Lipton’s package! Your turkey wings sound awesome.
Deidre Knight
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 12:45 pm:
Oh, fall means it’s slow cooker time again at my house! Now I’m excited.
Louisa, *I* am glad you chose to write contemporary, too, and especially because we get to lose ourselves in the wonderful world you create. BIG HUGS
Kate Pearce
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 12:57 pm:
I love to cook and learned at school how to make everything properly-unfortunately as I now cook for a family of 6 I do get fed up thinking of things to feed them because having 3 teenage boys and a small daughter means huge quantities of stuff and a menu that pleases all.
Their favorite things I cook are chicken parmigiana, lasagne, fish stew and steamed halibut or salmon.
The salmon, courtesy of Jamie Oliver is really easy
Heat oven to 450 degrees
-clean and de-bone salmon fillet, keep skin on, pat dry.
-mix tomatoes, olive oil and garlic add parboiled green beans and chopped anchovies. leave to marinade.
-put salmon on greased baking tray, heap tomato mixture over it and put in top of oven for 10 minutes.
Voila!
Your oven will smell like hell, but its well worth it
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 1:07 pm:
Deidre – Anyone who’s glad I write contemporary really has *you* to thank!
Kate – Oh, that adorable Jamie Oliver. He’s so good with stuff like that! My favorite roast vegetable recipes all come from him.
Maria Lokken
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 2:02 pm:
Ohhhh… so many amazing recipes… my mouth is drooling.
Marilyn the Apple Spice cake goes to the top of my list. I love apples, cinnamon and cake. Deeeelicious.
Marilyn Shoemaker
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 2:10 pm:
Woiw Louisa, look at all these great posts and ideas. I still can hardly believe that my son decided to be a chef. He’s always been in sales but his girlfriend suggested he check into it and it was a great experience. Right now he’s getting experience but really wants to work at a restaurant which specializes in seafood. I wanted to give him a week with Tom Douglas here in Seattle but it was out of my price range. Here is Seattle, we have such wonderful seafood restaurants plus Pike Place Market. So experience is what’s he’s now getting and then in six months, apply again.
For your research you might want to check out Kitchen Academy or the retreats that Tom Douglass offers.
Buffie
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 4:30 pm:
Hey Louisa! Welcome to RNTV!! I must say that just by reading your blog I am really excited about your debut novel and the entire series. Love that book cover!! I am one of the those readers who mainly sticks with historicals, but I have been reading more contemps every year.
I do love to cook and bake. During the holiday season, my husband and I spend many hours in the kitchen baking lots of cookies, bars, and bon bons.
I have had my fair share of disasters. When the hubby and I were first married I tried to fried pork chops . . . without anything in the skillet!! Needless to say, the pork chops and the skiller were thrown away in the trash.
One incident that really sticks out is when I was making a cheesecake late one night. When the kitchen timer went off, I quickly grabbed my pot holders, opened the oven and proceed to take the pan out of the oven. Only one of the pot holders slipped out of my grip and landed on the element in the stove. POOF — and then there was fire! Luckily the hubby used some grill tongs and pulled the flaming pot holder out and into the sink. The cheesecake was ruined! Oh well. Live and learn.
Emmanuelle
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 4:35 pm:
Kate , I love your salmon recipe. I’m a big fan of Jamie Oliver, really I’d eat anything he cooks. My favorite show is “Jamie at home”. I don’t know if you have it in the uS. Basicaly the show takes place in his big house in the country. He has a huge garden and each week cooks meals from those fresh vegetables. He even cooks them in an old brick oven… amazing to watch. Of course the guy is adorable
Brandy
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 4:54 pm:
I love to cook, especially to bake, but hate to clean up. *G* I had a small disaster happen recently. I decided to make a blueberry cobbler since my daughter had been asking for one. But, realized that the self rising flour the recipe called for, was over 4 years old. *G* Um, yeah, I don’t use it often. *G* So, I decided to make my own self rising flour by adding baking powder and baking soda to my unbleached plain all purpose flour. I should have looked up precise measurements, but instead guessed. Everything looked fine with the batter and halfway through the baking I decided to check on it, only to discover that it had overflowed the container I had placed it in. Since I leave a cooking stone in the oven all the time anyway, I decided to just let it be rather than take it out and scrape off the sides. I can say it was edible and tasted much like a blueberry muffin. *G*
Jan Hullum
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 5:10 pm:
I agree that cooking is an adventure, especially if you start out with an old family recipe that some old-fashioned great-great-grandmother used to cook with the “pinch of this, heaping tablespoon of that” method, and you, a modern cook, are left to work by guess and by gosh. In fact, my favorite fall recipe is one of those — called, in our family, “sweet potato pone.” (For nonSoutherners who may read this, “pone” is just an archaic word for something fried.) Because this dish has eggs, milk and sugar in it, it’s also called “sweet potato pudding” by some folks (not related to me). What you do is grate two large sweet potatoes (or three if they’re not that big). Then you mix, oh, about four eggs and however much white sugar you like (or brown sugar if you prefer), and maybe a cup of milk, and add that mixture to the sweet potatoes. If, when you stir it, it doesn’t look moist enough, then add some more milk. Stir in some vanilla and, if you like cinnamon, some cinnamon. I also like freshly grated nutmeg. Now this next part is important: Melt a stick of butter in a cast-iron skillet and pour most of the melted butter into the sweet potato mixture and stir. Then pour the whole deal back into the skillet and cook in a hot oven. If you’re still paying attention at this point, you’re wondering why it’s a pone if it gets baked in the oven. The answer is, you can cook it on the top of the stove if you want to. And if you do, you have to turn it over with a spatula to be sure it gets brown on the top (or what was the bottom before you turned it over). In either case, cook until the sweet potatoes are tender. This is a great alternative to icky mashed sweet potatoes with marshmellows melted on top although I have found that small children sometimes prefer the marshmellows. Do I get my “Can’t Stand the Heat” apron now? P.S. I loved the book!
Jody F.
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 5:19 pm:
Our disaster was when we made creamed cabbage. We’d always made it before at Christmas using regular cabbage (the pale colored stuff) but this time we had to use purple. We thought for sure that after steaming the cabbage and adding the white cream sauce that the color wouldn’t be too shocking. Boy were we wrong! The color was reminiscent of Barney! It still tasted great and people liked it more for its very festive color.
Sweet Potato Pudding:
Ingredients:
•2 eggs, separated, room temperature
•1/4 cup butter or margarine
•1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
•1/4 cup milk
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
•1 cup mashed cooked sweet potatoes
•Caramel Sauce (recipe below)
Preparation:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat yolks in a separate bowl. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar; add well-beaten egg yolks, milk, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and sweet potatoes. Fold in beaten egg whites. Turn mixture into a buttered 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Serves 4.
For the caramel sauce:
Ingredients:
•1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
•4 tablespoons flour
•1 cup boiling water
•dash salt
•2 tablespoons butter
•2 tablespoons cream
•vanilla, to taste
Preparation:
Mix sugar with flour in saucepan; blend well. Add water and salt. Stir while cooking for 6 to 8 minutes. If too thick add a little more water. Remove from heat; stir in butter, cream, and vanilla to taste. Drizzle over top of pudding.
Grace Fonseca
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 7:55 pm:
I love all the food network shows. I’m a pretty decent cook, but every one in a while I like to see what some of the celeb chefs come up with.
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:01 pm:
Love all these recipes! And the kitchen disasters sound all too familiar. Who hasn’t had some little (major) mishap while trying out a new recipe? Or even an old stand-by!
Buffie – Don’t you just hate recipes that expect you to know stuff already, like never to fry in a hot, dry pan? LOL
Brandy – I admire the plucky DIY attitude towards the self-rising flour; that’s something I wish I had more of. I tend to forget that pantry staples like self-rising flour are actually put together from OTHER pantry staples.
Jan – Mmmm…pone….
Jody – LOL at the purple creamed cabbage! I bet that was quite the decorative aspect of your tabletop. Thanks for the sweet potato recipe! I can never have too many ways to eat those.
Grace – Two of my favorite cooking shows actually aren’t on the FN (Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef) but my other big love is: Iron Chef! Love the Chairman, love the chefs, love the format, love the secret ingredients, love Alton Brown…love it!
PJ
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:06 pm:
Mmmm. Lots of great recipes. Here’s the one for Paula Deen’s Georgia Cookie Candy.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Line a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan with foil.
Combine the butter, peanut butter, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs in a food processor. Process until the mixture forms a ball. Press into the foil-lined pan using your hands or a spatula.
Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over simmering water or in a microwave-safe glass dish in the microwave for 1 minute on high (100%). Stir. If the chocolate has not completely melted, microwave for 10 seconds more, then stir. Spread evenly over the cookie layer. Chill for several hours.
Bring the candy to room temperature before cutting into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
PJ
on Sep 16th, 2009
@ 10:08 pm:
Louisa said; “Do you think if I send PJ a copy of my book, she’ll send me a batch of Chex Mix?”
We might be able to strike a deal, Louisa!
Laurie G
on Sep 17th, 2009
@ 7:20 am:
We had my husband’s partner over for a prime rib dinner and I had made roasted potatoes to go along with it. Unfortunately, I had transferred the potatoes to a glass baking dish and set it on a burner that hadn’t been turned off …yep glass shattered into the potatoes!
I do much better with desserts. Plus, I love apples especially in the fall!!
APPLE PIE CHEESECAKE
Crust
2 cups crushed gingersnaps 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 egg yolk ¼ cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 medium firm tart apples, peeled and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping
½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup packed light brown sugar ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Heat oven to 350°. Spray a 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl stir together all crust ingredients. Press into bottom and ½ inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until set.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Beat in eggs, egg yolk, cream, 2 tablespoons of flour and vanilla extract for an additional minute or until blended.
In medium bowl, toss apples with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and cinnamon until lightly coated.
Pour half the filling into crust, arrange apples over it, overlapping slightly. Pour remaining filling over apples. Bake 40 minutes.
In a small bowl, stir together all topping ingredients; sprinkle over cake. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool on wire rack to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight. Keep refrigerated.
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 17th, 2009
@ 8:22 am:
PJ – Thanks for posting the Cookie Candy recipe! After looking it over, I believe THAT’S what I’d like in return for a copy of the book. LOL
Laurie – I had a really similar kitchen mishap with potatoes au gratin and a Pyrex baking dish! Turns out, Pyrex is fine in the oven, not so good on the stovetop. The apple pie cheesecake sounds awesome, thanks for posting!
Louisa Edwards
on Sep 17th, 2009
@ 3:41 pm:
WINNER POSTED! The winner of my random drawing for the culinary-themed gift pack is:
Emmanuelle
Which is nice, because you’ve been such a faithful commenter! Congratulations!
Please email me at louisa@louisaedwards.com with your snail mail address, and I’ll send the swag right out.
Thanks to everyone who commented!
Emmanuelle
on Sep 17th, 2009
@ 4:40 pm:
Doing the happy dance right now. DH thinks I’m crazy really but he(ll recover *g* !!
Thank you so much Louisa !!!