Does anyone ever actually try to make the recipes that are included at the backs of novels? Mostly cozy mysteries, but even sometimes chick lit or women's fiction books will include recipes. My book, Can't Stand the Heat, for instance.

That's right, my editor wants recipes. Not unreasonable, considering the whole book is about food! Well, love, romance, sex, restaurants, chefs, and punk rockers, too, but mostly food. I've got some ideas for what should go in--a cocktail or two, something sweet, and a preparation of pork belly that's pivotal to the plot. But even as I plan, I wonder if those recipes will be purely decorative, a marketing tool, not actually useful to or desired by readers.

I'm not sure why I'm so suspicious--I've actually cooked from a novel. In fact, one of Stinger's and my favorite breakfasts came out of Dorothy Sayers's classic mystery, Strong Poison. The recipe isn't in the back of the book, but the procedure for making a sweet omelette is meticulously detailed in the text (it turns out to be pivotal to the plot, too!)

All you do is add a bit of sugar to the eggs when you beat them lightly before adding them to the skillet of hot, foaming butter. (Stinger says powdered sugar is best, but I haven't noticed any difference one way or the other.) Swirl the eggs in the pan, a la Julia Child, and when they're just coagulated, dollop a tablespoon and a half of hot jam, jelly, preserves, fruit compote, whatever, along the middle. Then fold the eggs over and serve! If you want to get fancy, you could dust the top of the omelette with sugar and run it under the broiler.

So what's your favorite recipe that came from a work of fiction? Or do you stick to recipes developed by actual chefs, not novelists?

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 10:41 AM 3 comments  

Every winter we've been in Ohio, we've said, "Next year, we're buying a snow blower." And we never do. Why is that lesson so hard to learn? It's like the lesson of exercise. Every day, I don't want to work out, and every time I do, I'm so glad I did. And then the next day, same dance. Why? Why can't I keep in my head for longer than 24 hours that working out makes me think more clearly, sleep better, feel stronger and healthier?

It's a mystery.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 11:00 AM 3 comments  

Those words don't fill me with the same euphoric delight as when I was a kid in school. Now, I immediately translate them in my head to: Shovel Day! That's right, in the grand Ohio tradition, we got our first big snow before Thanksgiving. What a great state!

And okay, I'm exaggerating a little. It's like four inches, hardly even worth mentioning to someone in, say, Michigan or Wyoming or something. But for me, who grew up in Virginia and lived in Manhattan, snow that accumulates on the ground = BIG snow. VA just doesn't get that much, and in NYC, the snow mostly melts before it hits the pavement, because of the greenhouse effect of all those buildings. Stinger and I got out there and shoveled, like good little suburban bunnies, having learned our lesson last year. Last year we let it pile up, and then freeze over, and then pile up some more, until finally it was such a mess we actually couldn't do it. We had to call in professionals.

Such beautiful, chill, snowy weather calls for something special for breakfast. One of my favorite things to do is baked eggs (oeufs en cocotte for you francophiles out there). Baked eggs are very simple, old-fashioned enough to be unusual but not requiring anything more than I normally have on hand in my kitchen. The basic preparation is to heat a pan of water on the stovetop. Once the water is simmering, put your little buttered ramekins (they can be pyrex or ceramic) in the water with a tablespoon of cream in each. Heat up the cream, then add one egg to each ramekin, top with another tablespoon of cream, a dot of butter to keep the top from scorching, and stick the whole pan full of ramekins in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Baking them in the water bath allows for a more even distribution of heat and keep the eggs from sticking. Easy, deliciously decadent (yay, cream!), and infinitely variable. Julia Child, who introduced me to the recipe, recommends adding chopped chicken, ham, liver, crabmeat, or lobster to the eggs. You can also substitute bechamel or tomato sauce for the second tablespoon of cream. You can put in grated cheese like parmesan or swiss--really, anything you want.

I happened to have a bunch of fresh herbs languishing in my fridge, so I chopped up a mixture and added half a teaspoon to each ramekin along with the first tablespoon of cream. If you're curious, my fines herbes mixture consisted of flat leaf parsley, thyme, sage, and oregano. Delicious! Light and fresh, with good, noticable herb flavor.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 9:25 AM 5 comments  

I'm about to begin the second book in my culinary romance series, and I'm gaining a whole new appreciation for series writers. From Nora writing as J.D. Robb to the chick that wrote the Babysitters Club books--how the heck do you guys keep it all straight?

Not that I have nearly as many characters/storylines/settings going as those long-running series; I mean, I've only written one book! Right? Except, no. Looking at my notes, I've already set in motion a complicated tangle of men and women with differing relationships to each other and things to work out between them. Not to mention, all with different hair and eye colors!! I'm going to screw up some tertiary supporting character's description and get letters from readers about it.

So what's the answer? There's supposedly an Excel spreadsheet out there that helps you track things like this, but I can't seem to get my hands on a copy. Kresley Cole recommended Microsoft OneNote, which helps you to keep all your text and audio notes in one place, plus allowing for images and graphics. Sounds pretty cool, except I have a Mac. So I nosed around a little and asked Stinger for his opinion, and he pointed me toward OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle. Very pretty, in that Apple way, and could be very useful. Have any of you ever used it? Or is there another program I should be looking at? Or should I quit whining and write it all out by hand in a style sheet like everyone else?

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 8:50 AM 10 comments  

Rain is pouring outside, which has prompted Stinger and me to curl up with steaming cups of coffee and the New York Times real estate section. That's right, we're looking at apartment porn.

Don't judge us.

My current favorite place is a 2-bedroom loft on Elizabeth St., on the east edge of SoHo. It's a great location, slightly off the beaten path of wild SoHo too-cool-for-you nightlife, but close enough to have access to everything fun. Steps from Vesuvius Bakery, Balthazar, Dean & Deluca, and of course, Cafe Habana, the best Cuban hole-in-the-wall in New York. On weekends, the line stretches around the block and people, even celebrities, wait hours to get into the tiny restaurant. This was the place where I saw a guy with the typical boho hair and dark aviators, dressed all slacker chic, totally hot in a scruffy way, and I thought, "Is that Johnny Knoxville? Oh, probably not, just a lookalike." Until he got up to pay and I saw his belt buckle: an enormous, ornate thing with 'Knoxville' engraved on it. So yeah!

I miss New York.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 10:13 AM 5 comments  

Last night, I watched Top Chef for the first time. That's right, I was a virgin. It was a lot of fun, and now you all get to suffer through my observations about it--observations which have almost certainly been made countless times already, since the show's been on the air for years. But who knows? Maybe seeing it through fresh eyes gives me a fresh perspective.

First of all, a word about New York. My favorite city, the one I miss more than anything. It was fun to see all those different neighborhoods, and I thought it was cool that they sent the cooks to the outer boroughs. I did, however, have to laugh when the contestants checked into their apartment and nearly fell all over each other talking about how "this is the way to experience New York!" when they were clearly in New Jersey. A view of the Manhattan skyline from your balcony is not, actually, the best way to experience NY, in my opinion.

The show itself: I enjoyed the structure, with the many challenges and lots of people heading home right away. They start out with so many! It's hard to care much that first day, although I will say that most of those chefs are doing a great job of making me dislike them in thirty seconds of screen time or less. I was happy to see that first chick go, and I'm already rubbing my hands in glee for the day when that ridiculous surfer boy gets the boot. Pay more attention to the food and less to your hair! Also not a big fan of the European contingent; they give Europeans a bad name with all that exaggerated snottiness. And the woman who cooks by spirit guide? Uh, no. Out of all of them, I probably like Jamie, the tattooed exec chef at Absinthe in San Francisco the best. But second, I loved Patrick! (I know, big shocker.) Sad. Poor, sweet little gay boy, I knew he wasn't long for the competition, but I hoped we'd get him for at least another episode or two. Oh well.

I loved the judges. Jean Georges is one of my absolute favorite chefs ever. His food rocks my world and his persona on the show gave me the happy. So gentle and soft spoken! But quite firm and decisive. Stinger and I decided he's probably at the point in his career where he doesn't have to yell and scream; he whispers. In his kitchen, you can hear a carrot shaving drop. I like Tom, even if his food has never been as sublime, to me personally, as JGV's. And the Food & Wine chickie, thppbt. Whatever.

And then there's Padma. Seriously. What? Who is this woman? Leaving out the obvious jokes about a woman who clearly never eats being associated with a food show--watching the show for the first time, it was difficult to ascertain just what her role is. Eventually, Stinger and I decided that she's essentially Sigourney Weaver's character from Galaxy Quest: the gorgeous object of desire whose job is to talk to the computer and then repeat back exactly what the computer just said in full hearing of everyone.

Ariane stands nervously in front of the judge's table.
Padma: So what do you think about Ariane's dish, Tom?
Tom: I didn't like it.
Padma (gravely, to Ariane): Tom didn't like it.

It's as if Tom doesn't speak the same language as the chefs, so they need an interpreter. Hilarious.

Overall, I'd say that Hell's Kitchen is still by far my favorite guilty pleasure food show obsession. Gordon Ramsay is way more charismatic than anyone on Top Chef, and the smaller pool of starting contestants allows you to get invested in them quickly. Also, the graphics are way better. But Top Chef is in my DVR, and I'll definitely be tuning in next week.

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 10:36 AM 8 comments  

I'm starting a new book today. I've been noodling it around in my head for weeks, even months, figuring out characters and what elements I needed to set up ahead of time in the first book, since the two are part of a series. But I still don't really know the plot, per se, so I'm struggling with how to go about eking out three chapters and a synopsis for my proposal.

Here's what I think. I think I need to write chapter one. Or at least scene one, get into the heads of the characters a little and see what that tells me. Then I need to look at my jumbled, jotted notes for this book and find any through lines that make sense, any places where the characters stories' intersect. And I need to read.

Does anyone else do this? To psyche myself up for a new book, I really like to read. In this case, since these are culinary romances set in the New York restaurant scene, I plan to read things like On the Line, Eric Ripert's new memoir of life at Le Bernardin, Roasting in Hell's Kitchen, Gordon Ramsay's memoir, and The Nasty Bits, a collection of essays and articles by Anthony Bourdain. I might reread Kitchen Confidential and Heat, the books that started my brain on the path that led to my first book getting sold.

It's partly research, partly steeping myself in these guys and their voices and their stories, hoping to skim a little authenticity off the top for my own personal use. Not that I want to cannibalize their stories; I've got plenty of ideas of my own! But the way they think and react? I'll take a crash course in that, please, with a side of kitchen lingo. Thanks.

What do you do when you're about to type 'Chapter One'? Any rituals that help you get going?

Posted by Louisa Edwards at 8:03 AM 2 comments