MADDIE DAY reporting in. Here at the Kitchen, we're supposed to offer you readers clever Halloween recipes this season. Alas, I'm behind on everything, and I came came up short. This yummy cake at least includes pumpkin and complementary seasonal spices, and I hope you'll forgive me for not offering something more decorative this year. (I haven't even gotten a pumpkin for outside, so these gold

 VMBURNS: The last few months have been crazy busy, but I'm finally finished travelling for the year. I'm tired of driving. I'm tired of hotels. I'm even tired of eating out. So, I scoured my fridge to see what I have that isn't spoiled, is easy (because I'm too tired for complicated), and can become something tasty (I'm all about tasty). I found a head of cabbage that would never become

Before I get to today's recipe, I'm excited to announce that my latest Orchid Isle mystery, WATERS OF DESTRUCTION, was just released yesterday as a trade paperback, at the new low price of $16.99--yippee! (Buy link here.)Okay, now onto the food. This is a delicious and easy-to-prepare dish (adapted from a New York Times recipe), perfect for the cooler autumn nights many of us are now starting to

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  One of the highlights of the Christmas season in my childhood neighborhood was the exchange of food gifts among the families. Our next-door neighbors often gave us a big bag of homemade Chex Mix—you remember it, I’m sure, with its mix of nuts and cereals and salty-savory sauce.So when I spotted this recipe for a Halloween version, I was all in. Now, you could simply

I'm thrilled to announce that today, my second Orchid Isle mystery, Waters of Destruction, is being released as a trade paperback, at the new low price of $16.99! So if you've been waiting to buy the book until the price came down, now's the time!Here’s the synopsis: After a vacation of a lifetime in Hilo, Hawai‘i, retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have decided to move

ANG POMPANO: I don’t know about where you live, but here in Connecticut, Halloween has become a major holiday. Some folks go all out, decorating almost as much as they do for Christmas but with orange and purple lights and those nine-foot-tall skeletons towering over the lawn!Ironically, traditional trick-or-treating has mostly given way to parties. But that’s fine by me. It just gives my

Molly MacRae: I’m so pleased Penny Warner said yes to being my guest today! I met Penny more than a decade ago and was starstruck because I’d read all her Conor Westphal Mysteries and loved them. She’s a prolific and versatile writer, too, so I’ve had a lot more mysteries to love since then, including mysteries for middle-grade kids. Welcome to the kitchen, Penny!Penny Warner: Thanks for letting

 I bought what I thought was a mix for brownies and you can imagine my disappointment when I got home from the store and discovered I'd picked up a chocolate cake mix instead.  I didn't want to make a cake--I had nothing to frost it with.  I went searching on the Internet and found you could make cookies from a cake mix!  Making cookies can be so fiddly, and I'm terrible when

Is there anything better than a lovely, warm, home-made muffin?  Not in my opinion, and there isn’t much baking that comes easier either. I had some excess carrots on hand and wanted to do something with them. I have no need to make a carrot cake, so I made muffins. Muffins with Carrot, Oats, and Walnuts Makes 12 muffins Ingredients:  1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour &nbsp

LUCY BURDETTE: When John and I visited the beautiful city of Siena, Italy last month, we very much enjoyed taking a cooking class with Scuola di Cucina di Lella. I’ve taken other classes in the past (Japan and France,) but this was a first for John. It’s a wonderful way to get a window into the culture of the place you are visiting.For this class, we and five other American couples made a

Libby Klein The merest hint of chill in the air, the first leaf to turn colors, and I fly into action baking fall treats. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I will it to start when the days are so muggy you need a shower after checking the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Pumpkin bread isn't new, and I'm not doing anything special with it here. But this is a fantastically moist

☕ From Cleo Coyle: One apple and some simple ingredients come together in this recipe to create a tasty bread pudding, perfect for chilly fall mornings, afternoon snacking, or even an after-dinner dessert. Serve it with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup for a fun alternative to pancakes or waffles. For dessert service, try plating the warm pudding with a scoop of ice cream or

 KIM DAVIS: I'm delighted to let you be the first to see the brand new cover for Catering to the Dead, the eighth book in my Cupcake Catering Mysteries! Keep scrolling down the page for a look... With a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theme, I included a recipe for Churro Cookies in the book, which I'm sharing here. The cookies are full of cinnamon and are topped by a

From Libby: Please welcome my guest today, Elise Burke Brown. I met Elise at Bouchercon New Orleans when we were both assigned to a panel on humorous mysteries. I'm a huge fan of humor so you know I snapped up the chance to get to know more about her. I'm delighted to feature her post for Deuce's Gumbo on the blog today.Elise: Arguably, the best feature of New Orleans is the food! When I wrote my

Can you ever have too many scone recipes? Here’s one for savory, zesty scones that are the perfect accompaniment for salads, soups, stews, eggs, you name it. Za’atar has been mentioned in a number of recipes at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen over the years. I think Leslie Budewitz likes it as much as I do. Among other recipes she’s posted with za’atar are her Red Pepper and Orzo Soup and Turkish

MADDIE DAY here, with a hearty vegetarian dinner for you.My son gave me a couple of lovely eggplants from his garden, and I hadn't made Eggplant Parmesan in a few years. Thanks for the inspiration, Allan! I also had plentiful tomatoes, garlic, and basil from my own garden, but you can substitute a jar of good marinara sauce if you want.Eggplant ParmesanIngredients2 medium eggplants, cut crosswise

 VMBURNS: It's a new month and I'm still feeling the New Orleans vibe. So, I tried Red Beans & Rice. This is NOT an authentic, Cajun recipe. It's an EASY recipe for red beans and rice that I found online and tweaked. The house smelled WONDERFUL. It tasted pretty darned good, too. What changes? I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper a smidge from 1 Teaspoon to 1/2 Teaspoon. I 

Larb (also spelled laab) is a dish popular in Laos and Northeastern Thailand made with ground meat, along with onion, aromatic herbs, fish sauce, and lots of lime juice, which is traditionally served wrapped in lettuce leaves.   It’s often made with minced pork, but I sometimes substitute ground beef or turkey if that’s what I have in my freezer. This time, I used Impossible Burgers (

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Books are often called "armchair travel," and that is certainly true of the Destination Murders anthologies, edited by our friends Cathy Wiley and Karen Cantwell. Each volume of short cozy mysteries by a rotating cast of authors takes readers to new places, near and far, introducing readers to authors, series, and characters we may not know. I was delighted to

CONGRATULATIONS to our own Leslie Budewitz on the release today of Murder in the Graveyard: A Destination Murders Anthology. Murder in the Graveyard features short cozy mysteries by Cathy Wiley, Karen Cantwell, Meri Allen, Leslie Budewitz, Misha Crews, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Tina Kashian, Daphne Silver, Shawn Reilly Simmons, and Rosalie Spielman. Look for Leslie's story, "The

CLEO COYLE:  Do you remember that classic Peanuts movie, aired yearly for decades: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Or maybe you have fond memories of carving a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween? For reasons like these, I always think of October as a time to celebrate the humble pumpkin...👇Enjoy this fun little trip down the Great Pumpkin memory lane, courtesy of

  My granddaughter liked croissants...until she didn't.  I ended up with six croissants going stale (who left the bag open??). I hate wasting food so I decided to see if they could be turned into something.  Bread pudding seemed the most logical choice.  One recipe claimed you could even make bread pudding with leftover hamburger or hot dog buns or even donuts so why not

In the newest Year Round Christmas book, O Deadly Night, by Vicki Delany, Vicky Casey, owner of Victoria’s Bake Shoppe, writes a cookbook. Along with her favourite cookies, tarts, and cakes, she has suggestions for fancy holiday meals or quick suppers to feed the visiting crowd. For the first time in this series, there are some recipes in the book. One of them is a perennial favourite of mine (

 Lucy Burdette: Do you ever buy specialty ingredients and then forget how you meant to use them? The photo above shows my summer acquisitions. I haven't tackled the cheese powder or the orange flavorings yet, but I did use the Everything topping. Here's the story...A while back I shared Pat Kennedy‘s fabulous recipe for pigs in a blanket. (If you don’t remember, you can find it right here.)

Libby Klein I've just returned from a Mystery Writer's Conference in New Orleans where I did as many tours as I could squeeze into two pre-conference days. My favorite tour was a guided food tour of the city by a local chef. Even though I couldn't eat everything on the tour, I still found a new favorite. The Muffuletta. It's pretty close to being an Italian hoagie with olive and vegetable