Pumpkin Scones with Chai Glaze for Fall

Who's ready for fall? After a long - though admittedly mild, by southern standards - Memphis summer, I'm ready. And for about 48 hours, it felt like fall...and then it was back to highs in the 90's. So clearly, the solution is to make my own autumn, and that means homemade pumpkin scones.

Restorative Chicken Soup

Most of the recipes that show up here are ones I've developed and tweaked, and this one is not different. But if you've got the current issue of Real Simple on your sofa, this'll look familiar. I was flipping through and found it the day Danny's parents arrived from Oregon, and thought, "we should eat that."

Jane Austen Week: Day 1 - Chamomile & Lavender Scones

It's the first day of Jane Austen week! You can click here to see the full schedule of events - I'm really excited.

To kick it off, I'll admit I spent some time thinking about what to say. After all, I've spent a lot of time lately writing about what Austen's work meant to me, and what makes her so enticing to adapt.

So rather than say more just now, I decided to pivot and share a scone that almost made it into the book.

Originally there were three scone recipes in the book, and I nixed this one, and after testing it this week - well, I'm glad I get to share it here!

Release Day Strawberry Tart

I can't even tell you how thrilled I am that Jane of Austin is finally out and available in the world! For all of you who pre-ordered - thank you, and your copy should arrive today! And for everyone else, you can find your copy online and on shelves!

I'm also thrilled to add that Jane can be purchased as an audiobook! As an avid audiobook listener, I'm thrilled to pieces to have one of my books available in audio!

Long Weekend Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

A short time ago, I asked on Facebook if people wanted to have a rhubarb or cherry recipe in the June newsletter.

And the answer came back - yes. More specifically, that there were good reasons for both. Cherries - so summery! Rhubarb - so southern! And my uncle in particular reminded me of my family's southern roots (my father's family hailing from Dallas, as they do).

Long Weekend Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake

A short time ago, I asked on Facebook if people wanted to have a rhubarb or cherry recipe in the June newsletter.

And the answer came back - yes. More specifically, that there were good reasons for both. Cherries - so summery! Rhubarb - so southern! And my uncle in particular reminded me of my family's southern roots (my father's family hailing from Dallas, as they do).

Together at the Table Release Day Cupcakes!

Today is the day! Together at the Table is finally out in stores! It's been a long, long time coming (as several readers have enjoyed reminding me), but I'm so happy that Juliette and Mireille's stories are now out and about in the world.

So I'm celebrating, as I have with each book in the series, with a recipe and a giveaway! The recipe below has a slightly different name in the book - but I'll leave you to read and discover what it is. These cupcakes are extremely aromatic - not only is there a lot of vanilla, proportionately, but the orange blossom water in the frosting makes it extra special.

Fresh Flavor Sunday - Blackberry Banana Cake

It's been a summer of mood swings here in Portland - we've had very hot, very cool, and very stormy weather, as well as smoke from recent wildfires blanketing the valley.

So I haven't been as on-top of my blackberry picking as I have been in past years. We live near some wonderful walking paths, a lot of them lined with blackberry bushes, so I've been anxious to go out. Well, I finally got to it yesterday with my niece. We were fairly certain we'd get rained on, but this was a rare Pacific Northwest moment where the dark clouds blew away from us!

We had a good time, but didn't find the kind of volume I would have hoped for. A lot of the berries were either unripe, out of reach, or shrivelled on the vine. We hiked through some tall grass in hopes of finding better berries, but only found dried ones - and wound up covered in burrs for our trouble.

Fresh Flavor Friday: Adventures in Gardening with Katherine Reay + Book Giveaway!

Hillary here - so delighted to have guest Katherine Reay to chat about her adventures in gardening!

My family loves food. When we lived in Ireland, another family and ours would get together and share a huge Sunday dinner – one that took hours to cook and an equally long time to enjoy. Now that we're back in the states, Sunday dinner remains one of our favorite family traditions. The menu varies – barbeque one week, Coq au Vin another and some multi-course Italian extravaganza at least monthly. We love the time together, searching for the menu, and the cooking. We endure the clean-up. In fact, when writing Lizzy and Jane, I tapped into this passion. Most of Lizzy’s food comes from family favorites.

Fresh Flavor Monday: Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

If you're looking for a satisfying dish with a lot of flavor but not a lot of effort, heirloom tomatoes are here for you! They're right in season at the moment, so check out your farmer's market and better-stocked grocery stores.

Heirloom tomatoes are varietals that have been passed down in a family for several generations. We're accustomed to tomatoes that are round and evenly colored. Heirlooms can be yellow, purple, red, and orange, They can be lumpy and asymmetrical - no two are identical.

Eat Clean. Eat Fresh. Eat Local.

To celebrate the month of August and the recent release of Reservations for Two, my publisher and I are spending the month celebrating local flavors.

How do you join in? Snap a picture of celebrating fresh, local food (could be a recipe or a particularly lovely radish…be creative!). Post your photo to social media using #mylocalflavor and #ReservationsForTwo and you’ll be entered to win a Kitchenaid Mixer as well as a shot at one of 5 kitchen gift baskets put together by me! The gift baskets will include my favorite kitchen items, one of my favorite cookbooks and a copy of the book Reservations for Two.

Reservations for Two Release Day Tiramisu!

It's been such a wonderful release day! Reservations for Two is officially out in the world (see purchasing options here).  I got to swing by a nearby Barnes & Noble location (our closest bookstore) and see copies on the shelf! So wonderful.

It's been a busy few few days - yesterday I appeared on our local morning television show, AM Northwest, and did a short cooking demo.

I'll post more fully about that experience tomorrow, but until then you can see the clip of me cooking and putting-together-sentence-doing here.

But back to Reservations for Two - it's officially out and about in the world, and to celebrate, I'm sharing the Home-style Tiramisu that Juliette enjoys during a visit to family in Tuscany.

The Pear Squares: A Story of Dealing With It

Some days, everything goes fine. Yesterday was not that day.

I set out to bake the caramelized pear & buckwheat cake from Amber Rose's Love Bake Nourish cookbook. I've enjoyed several of the recipes in the book - she bakes the way I've learned I need to bake - with fruits, whole grains, nuts, and no white sugar. And considering that I had a.) four crazy ripe pears and b.) women coming over for knitting group, yesterday became baking day.

Everything was going fine - I caramelized the pears in butter and maple syrup, and while the pears didn't brown the way the book though they might, the mixture smelled heavenly.

Adventures with Cherries!

I picked up a pound of gorgeous Rainier cherries not very long ago at the grocery store, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with them.

I considered making a tart, or baking them into a buckle, but frankly these sounded more labor-intensive than I was willing to go for as yet.

So the cherries remained. I pitted them, photographed them, and set them back in my fridge.

As I was browsing Pinterest I saw a Cherry & Ricotta Crostini pin which sparked my interest. I mean - it's fruit and toast with spreadable cheese, what could go wrong?

A Table by the Window Recipe Contest!

You guys, I am super excited about this.....

Around the Web and Back Again

Sorry the blog's been a bit quiet lately - I'm writing, just everywhere else.

I'm working on wrapping up book two in the series, Reservations for Two, which is still finding ways to surprise me. I've also gotten to stop by a few blogs, and when I haven't, A Table by the Window has.

I got to stop by Suzanne Woods Fisher's blog column Dreams Comes True, where I get to chat about the origins of the project and realities of a writer's life.

Serena Chase featured A Table by the Window in her Happily Ever After blog on USAToday.com. 

I stopped by Novel Crossing to chat about how I got my start as a foodie.

Laurie Tomlinson and I got to chat on Inspy Romance about what's coming up in book two and what I would make if I had a chef coming over for dinner.

The Recipe Club featured the Moroccan Oranges recipe. 

Lastly, at A Girl Who is a Geek you'll find a list (which coincidentally includes, yes, A Table by the Window) of foodie fiction from a delightful mix of authors. 

Also, don't forget to check out the recipe for Bavarian Sugar Cookies, as well as the Pinterest board for A Table by the Window. And if you go browsing on my boards, you'll find one for Reservations for Two as well, which may include a few hints (and potentially a few red herrings, since sometimes things change). 

Until later! 

Cupcake of the Summer

We all know by now that Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" is the song of the summer. But the cupake of the summer? Hands down, it's the S'mores Cupcake.

I started with Martha Stewart's recipe for our church's high school girl's retreat - I figured a s'mores-themed cupcake couldn't lose.

Chocolate Meringue Crinkles

Updated 12/6/22

I first made and shared these ten years ago - Ten! Whole! Years! Ago! I made them for the middle school youth girls at the church we attended at the time, back in Washington, but in the intervening years this is a recipe I've come back to regularly, because -

1.) The cookies are flourless, making them great for sharing with loved ones with gluten/grain allergies and sensitivities. 

2.) In the last decade, it's much easier to get chocolate made without dairy, making these gluten *and* dairy free, and as a cookie that is frankly hard to beat.

3.) These are frankly just plain delicious. Many allergy-friendly baked goods are sad and grainy facsimiles of the real deal, but these are just plain good. Frankly, I like these better than the chocolate crinkle cookies I grew up with, because they never seemed as chocolate-y as I wanted. 

But these? These are a chocolate punch in the face. In a good way, lol.

4.) Most of the ingredients are pantry staples! They freeze like a dream! Literally no downside here!

Fudgy Chocolate Meringue Crinkles

You will need:

 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces), divided (I had mini chips and some leftover baking chocolate squares - technically, this is one of those recipes where if you have high-quality chocolate, you should use it, but if you don't, don't let it stop you)
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided, plus more for rolling
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

1.) Pull the eggs out of the fridge so they can achieve room-temp status.

2.) Preheat oven to 400°. Line two baking sheets (or one big one and one small one, which worked fine for me) with parchment paper.

3.) Melt 1 cup of the chocolate in a glass bowl/measuring cup in the microwave, heating it in 30-60 second bursts and stirring in between until smooth.

4.) Mix the cocoa powder, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl. Give it a stir.

4.) Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly add 1 cup powdered sugar until the mixture is well-beaten and glossy. Switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle, if using a stand mixer.

5.) With the mixer running, add the dry ingredients to the sugary egg whites, followed by the melted chocolate and remaining 1/2 cup chocolate.

6.) Depending on where you live and the temperature of your home and the position of Mercury, the cookie dough will either be. 1.) stiff or 2.) runny like brownie batter. If it's the latter, just chill the batter in the fridge for 20 or so minutes - it'll firm right up.

7.) Place about 1/2 c. or so powdered sugar into a small bowl. With a tablespoon measure, scoop dough, roll it in your hands, and roll it in the powdered sugar. If the mixture starts getting too soft, chill the bowl in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes. Place rolled balls on cookie sheet; give them a teeny smoosh onto the sheet, just so they don't roll all over the place when you move the sheet.

8.) Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the cookies have puffed and crackled and set just enough to not make a mess. (Note: here in Colorado, outside Boulder, about 9 minutes was right.)

Makes about 18.

What you should know about these cookies -

They are genuinely amazing. Tasting one of these cookies is like falling in love.

If you make them up, tell me what you think!

Sweet Nothings

Look at these.

I mean, just look.

I made these for a baby shower, and frankly I'm a little obsessed with them.

The Panini Post

I've written about my lunch-related angst before. At long last, I seem to have made a breakthrough.

Hello Panini.  Let's be friends.

Paninis solve several problems.  First, the bread is grilled, so you're unlikely to get icky bits of bread stuck in your teeth, which I hate.  Also, the grilling is pretty forgiving. You can use somewhat stale-ish bread, and it's okay.

I mean, I wouldn't serve it that way if I ran a restaurant.  But this is me, in my kitchen, at lunchtime.  I'm good with stale-ish bread.

Also, there is almost always cheese.  I love cheese.

And the pressing method warms the sandwich through, so you can put all sorts of veggies inside (ones more nutritious, say, than the requisite lettuce leaf).

Did I mention there are hundreds of variations?  This one is a variation on one of my signature sandwiches (I used ham and provolone instead of prosciutto and fontina), and I'm dying to try this one (with less bread, though, the one pictured is a bit overwhelming.

What's also great is that Danny enjoys them too.  We had dinner at Frost Me Sweet here in Richland, and while he was a bit wary going in (the seafoam green exterior paint and girly writing on the sign doesn't really connote manfood within), their Italian panini won him over.

Also, they had french fries.

But back to the panini.  It's pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, mozzarella and marinara sauce - very approachable for the red-blooded American male.  Also very easy to recreate at home.

(Side note - the salted caramel cupcake at Frost Me Sweet? Very good.)

So we bought a panini press.  You can spend a lot of money on them (one at TJ Maxx was going for $80), but I opted for the Hamilton Beach model.  Large enough to accommodate two sandwiches, a nice swivel-y top (so the top presses straight down, not from an awkward acute angle), but not particularly expensive.  Also, fits nicely on top of our mini-convection oven.

Here are some panini ideas in case you're feeling adventurous...

~ Southwestern (kind of) Panini ~

Inspired by the one at Starbucks, not available in Tri-Cities or the city of Memphis.

Flatbread if you have it, ciabatta, or sliced sourdough if you don't

Salsa

Sour Cream (I use light)

Monterey Jack cheese

Deli roasted chicken

Red and green bell peppers

Olive oil

Brush the outer slices of bread (i.e. the bread that will wind up on the outside) with olive oil, or spray if you have a spritzer or Pam-type olive oil spray), lay out on cutting board.  Mix the salsa with the sour cream in equal portions, spread onto bread.  Add some cheese to one side, then chicken, peppers, and more cheese on top (helps everything to stick together).  Grill until golden.

Note: Cheese will ooze.  Lost cheese is sad, so keep your cheese towards the middle.  Don't worry, it'll spread to the edges on its own.

~ Pear and Brie Panini ~

Inspired by a sandwich at Cafe Eclectic, by far one of the best places to eat (sans BBQ) in Memphis.

Brie

Thin-sliced Ripe Pear

Ciabatta Bread

Honey

Honey-Dijon mustard (optional)

Arugula

Slice Ciabatta in half, hollow it out a bit.  Feed the leftover bits of bread to the dog.  Brush the outsides with olive oil.  Mix some mustard and the honey together in a very small container (measuring cup works well), spread onto inside of bread.  Stack thin-sliced brie, pear, and arugula on the inside.  Press until golden and the brie is completely melted.

~ Italian Panini ~

Bread of Choice (sliced sourdough, ciabatta, Italian - really can't go wrong here)

Pizza sauce of choice (I like Boboli; use a pizza sauce rather than jarred marinara - less watery, less likely to soak the bread and get grossly soggy on the inside.  Which isn't what happened at Frost Me Sweet, but has happened elsewhere)

Salami of choice (I use Genoa)

Prosciutto

Pepperoni (I decline, but Danny likes it)

Roasted Red Peppers (optional)

Arugula (optional)

Mozarella cheese (aged or fresh)

Spray/brush bread with olive oil.  Stack ingredients. Cook. Enjoy.

~ Sweet Potato Fries ~

Partly inspired by Frost Me Sweet, who bake their fries with minced garlic, parsley, and shaved Parmesan cheese, and partly inspired by the idea that sweet potato fries are better for you but not quite *there* yet.

Frozen Sweet Potato Fries (make your own fresh and fry them yourself, but this is faster. This is lunch, people)

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh OR freeze-dried (thank you, Lighthouse!) Parsley

Olive Oil

Garlic, minced

Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Parmesan, grated or shaved

Pour some olive oil into a medium-ish bowl.  Add spices and garlic, let them sit for a few minutes to infuse a bit.  Toss in frozen fries, throw them around with your hands until they're adequately coated. Dump them onto a foil-lined pan; top with sea salt and a couple twists of cracked pepper.  Bake according to the package instructions.  Top with cheese once they're out of the oven; serve when cheese has melted.

Those are my food obsessions - what are you eating and enjoying right now?

BTW, booked my hotel room for ACFW. Who all is St. Louis-bound?