Well, friends, Halal-Inspired Cart Chicken and Rice may not be one of my prettiest posts on the blog, but it sure is one of the tastiest. So, stay with me. Lock Every Door is set in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world. However, it's also home to some seriously cheap (and delicious!) eats -- if you know where to find them. Fortunately, you don't have to look much farther than every other street corner since food trucks...
Decadence, thy name is Turkey, Fig, and Brie Grilled Cheese. Get ready for the BEST grilled cheese sandwich you will ever eat. Someone is always popping out of The Printed Letter Bookshop to grab a sandwich for lunch, and several crucial conversations occur within the vicinity of a deli counter. So, I knew my book-inspired recipe for my latest read had to be sandwich-centered, which was A-OK in my book. (Ha! Pun!) To me, there's no better lunch...
We only have a few more days until it's officially fall, so I'm squeezing in one last summery recipe with this Chickpea Shepherd's Salad. Although Beautiful Bad was a DNF for me, it definitely delivered in one aspect: FOOD. Maddie and Joanna were often meeting up to share a meal, even though they lived in different countries, and they made sure to sample all the delicacies their local cuisines had to offer. Crisp, fresh salads with a...
I know what you're thinking: Steak Tacos don't exactly sound like quintessential Mormon food. You would be right. Clearly, I've taken some liberties with my book-inspired recipe for Death in the Covenant. Trust me when I say you're gonna thank me for it. Food plays a large part in Death in the Covenant (what cozy mystery doesn't rely on food to urge its characters on??), but as I was reading, I noticed that author D.A. Bartley seemed to steer...
As I was making this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad, I realized something: for someone who doesn't really like mint, I sure am making a lot of recipes with mint these days. Mint is just so fresh tasting. It brightens up any savory dish with an unexpected zip, and it imparts a refreshing coolness to sweet desserts. Can you really blame me for over-using it this summer? Nope. I didn't think so. Spoiler alert: this Greek Chicken Orzo Salad contains...
Anybody in need of a good cry? Because this book-inspired recipe for Smoked Gouda Burgers with Onion Jam will do the trick. No, not because you’ll cry at how good it is. I mean, you might. I almost did. It's just that the amount of raw onion slicing this onion jam requires will certainly bring a few tears to your eyes – and to anyone within a 10-foot radius of your kitchen. Although Desperate Girls wasn’t exactly the heart-pounding novel I...
What recipe does one pair with a book set in a crematory? I admit, this book-inspired recipe was a real stumper. I wanted something that relates to Smoke Gets In Your Eyes as closely as possible. And, yes, some recipes did come immediately to mind. However, I had to nix them pretty early on because, silly me, I also wanted something that wouldn’t completely gross out my readers when they finally realized the inspiration for the recipe. I'm all...
One of the reasons that Tranquillum House in Nine Perfect Strangers seems so ideal for transforming your life is that guests are encouraged (forced?) to eat healthy and clean. Although I love my carbs and cream sauces, there definitely comes a point (usually right after Christmas) when I simply crave lighter meals filled with fresh, green ingredients. Tranquillum House guests have a limited diet: they aren’t allowed sugar, carbs, alcohol, or...
One of the best parts of being single – or, heck, even just having a night on your own while your partner and/or kids are out doing their own thang – is eating whatever you want. You don’t have to cater to anyone’s tastes but your own. While my husband does occasionally indulge my love for food he hates, I do sometimes miss being able to come home and whip up something I'm craving without considering what my other half may eat for dinner...
One of the things I love about Emily Giffin’s novels is that she really captures the soul of whatever city or town she sets her story in. I was excited to see that All We Ever Wanted is set in Nashville, which I became more interested in since my close friends moved down there a few years ago. We’ve yet to visit them, but we hope to adventure with them in their new city soon. Honestly, given how much the food scene in Nashville has grown...
