L.A. Lewandowski's Blog: The Culture and Cuisine Club, page 8

Belgian Comfort Food: Carbonnade à la Flamande

Belgian delishness

I love researching cuisine for an upcoming C&C dinner party. The latest event was held at our home and featured the varied cuisine of Belgium. We started the evening with a cocktail infused with citrus and a touch of almond called a Belgian Orange Blossom.

My Belgian friend Annette was helpful in suggesting several recipes, and the one I am sharing with you here is a favorite of her family. It is a cold weather stew best served with french fries and homemade applesauce. As Annette says, “you can’t get any more Belgian than that!” Tampa temperatures are already in the seventies, so we served the carbonnade with salade liegeiose. We also had a scrumptious chicken waterzooi soup as an appetizer, and Dame Blanche for dessert. It was a memorable feast and a lovely evening.

 

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 2″ x ½″-thick slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/3 cup flour

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

8 slices bacon, finely chopped

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced lengthwise

3 1/2 cups Belgian-style ale, like Ommegang Abbey Ale

2 cups plus beef stock

3 tbsp. dark brown sugar

3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

6 sprigs thyme

6 sprigs parsley

3 sprigs tarragon

1 bay leaf

Bread, for serving

 

Method:

Season beef with salt and pepper in a bowl; sift flour over meat and toss to coat. Heat 4 tbsp. butter in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add beef; cook, turning, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate; set aside. Add bacon; cook until its fat renders, about 10 minutes. Add remaining butter and onions; cook about 8 minutes, and then add garlic. Cook until fragrant and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add half the beer; cook, scraping bottom of pot, until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Return beef to pot with remaining beer, stock, sugar, vinegar, thyme, parsley, tarragon, bay leaf, and salt and pepper; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until beef is tender, about 1½ hours. Serve with bread.

I transferred this stew to a Le Creuset casserole and stored until I needed to reheat it. This would be fine made a day ahead, or might even taste better as the flavors meld together.

 

Original source: Saveur online.

Marketing After a Goodreads Giveaway

I have just completed my second Goodreads giveaway. Nearly four hundred Goodreads members entered to win a signed copy of A Gourmet Demise: Murder in South Tampa. My first Goodreads giveaway for My Gentleman Vampire: The Undead Have Style netted nearly nine hundred entrants. I know what you’re thinking. I must have sold tons of books immediately following the contest. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

When a person enters your giveaway you can see all of their profile information. Books read, reviews, friends, the niche groups they belong to, et cetera. The information is transparent and yet protected by specific rules of author/reader interaction. The frustration from this stipulation is like watching a friend eat a luscious hot fudge sundae in front of you. I am relentless when it comes to lost data. During my post-giveaway review I thought, what can I extract and utilize from this information within the rules and regulations listed under the author guidelines?

In order to offer a giveaway you must be an official Goodreads Author, and have a print version of your book. To set up your Goodreads author page please read this excellent post. You fill out a giveaway form and submit it, detailing the actual offer. For example, I offered two signed copies of my book to readers in the United States, and I let the contest run for one week.

When the time is up you are contacted by Goodreads and they give you the addresses of the people who have won the books. This part of the program is simple. You mail the books and wait for… nothing. The recipients of the books are supposed to provide a review, and often do not.

I understand what branding is, and I understand a wasted marketing opportunity. My problem with this program is that there is a ton of data that authors are not permitted to use in any way, shape, or form.

All those readers who hoped to win a copy of your fabulous book? You can’t thank them for entering. You can’t contact them. You can’t even contact the people who won. If one of the entrants contacts you, you may respond. Otherwise, hands off. Let all those potential fans drift onto the next freebie. Yes, they can mark your book ‘to be read’ and it gains visibility by showing up on their profile, which is a great result. I don’t want the promotional opportunity to end there, and neither should you.

I didn’t know the ‘no contact’ rule at first. I was raised with good manners, and I am accustomed to writing thank-you notes. Without realizing I was breaking a rule, I messaged three people who seemed to have murder mysteries as an interest. A reminder popped up about adhering to author guidelines, and that is when I saw the exact rule. I was mortified. I am not a spammer.

I spoke with a few other writers and they expressed the same emotions that I was feeling. I was embarrassed by my faux pas, and thoroughly frustrated by the lost potential to connect with people who had expressed an interest in my book. I had stopped my monthly newsletter while finishing Gourmet, and I hoped to start it up again. Several people had asked me why I was no longer sending it. Wouldn’t it be great to add another fifty or one hundred mystery readers to this monthly e-mail?

The fact is Goodreads is a reader site, and although authors are welcomed and accorded privileges like having a blog on their profile page, we are not the core marketing audience. A story I heard was that a few overly aggressive authors spammed the daylights out of their connections and the entrants of their giveaway, and that is why certain rules have been instituted. As usual, a few idiots spoil it for those of us who want to market in a professional manner. You know them—the random connect request followed by the “buy my book” spam. I wish I had a button on my computer to send a low dosage shock through the Internet. Behavior modification is what is needed with these dopes.

I think Goodreads has taken its desire to protect its readers too far. I have made a few wonderful connections with book bloggers. They are thrilled to connect with authors. Perhaps it is the way we approached each other; professionally, and with mutual respect. In fact, the three people I contacted after the Gourmet giveaway were excited to hear from me and we are now connected. There was no issue with my mistake, even though now that I fully understand the rules I will not message any of my entrants.

I would like to be more active on Goodreads, but like all of you my marketing time has to be balanced with writing and the rest of my life. My suggestion to Goodreads is simple, and is one that I believe will serve both the reader and author community. My small suggestion will sell more books, and allow a professional connection between reader and author. It will assist in discoverability, allowing readers to take a chance on literature that they may have been hesitant to try. It will run the entrants of a giveaway through a marketing sieve, clearing away the bargain shoppers from the lovers of a particular genre.

Goodreads should include another standard option to a giveaway, and that is a discount coupon. An entrant would be able to check a box that confirms their interest in receiving a coupon to purchase a copy of the book at a discount should they not win the contest. The manner of delivering the coupon code could be direct communication from the reader to the author, or it could be a special box that the author fills out with the code and the dates it will run. This will not only address the author’s difficulty in following up with the readers, but will perhaps force Amazon to create a system like the Smashwords coupon generator.

I would like to hear your stories with any data you have on a Goodreads giveaway. By sharing our experiences, and perhaps lobbying for a post-giveaway coupon, we can all move toward our ultimate goal: to utilize marketing data and reach the readers of our genre.

40 THOUGHTS ON “MARKETING AFTER A GOODREADS GIVEAWAY”
Kathryn Chastain Treat on March 13, 2014 at 5:30 pm said:
I did a giveaway of three books. I received a review from one of the winners. I like your ideas.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 5:43 am said:
Good morning,
One out of three isn’t too bad. I’m going to send a copy of this post to Goodreads and see what happens.
Thanks for stopping by, Kathryn.

Reply ↓
Richard Finney on March 13, 2014 at 5:34 pm said:
Lois,

What about this idea — on the description of the book that you post for the auction you actually list the opportunity you outline, like — for those who enter the contest but do not win,, go to this link ***** for an opportunity to get a coupon for a discount on the book… If for some reason goodreads does not allow this explicit language… then something like — if you don’t win this giveaway, go to this link to discover how you can get a discount on this book…

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 5:45 am said:
Richard,
I love these ideas. The wording of this additional offer to the reader may be the key. We should experiment and see what GR allows.
Thanks for your comment.

Reply ↓
tdmckinnon on March 13, 2014 at 5:50 pm said:
It seems we are always battling the odds, Lois. I understand the Goodreads stance – I would make it a high dosage shock (not quite fatal) personally for some of those annoying spammers – but there must be a happy medium.

Nice article, Lois.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 5:51 am said:
Hi TD,
I don’t want to seriously injure anyone, so I thought a low dosage shock treatment would be the way to go.
I gave myself some additional homework after the giveaway and followed a few of the people who signed up for my book. One is a serial contest woman – she signs up for ten books a day. She does read the mystery genre. I think there are many readers on GR who enter tons of contests, and I want to find the mystery fans who’ll actually pay for a book.
Have a great day.

Reply ↓
Anne Flint on March 13, 2014 at 5:51 pm said:
This is an excellent idea. Is Goodreads listening?

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 5:57 am said:
Good morning,
My plan is to see how many writers comment here in support of a coupon or other perk for the readers who enter a specific GR giveaway. If I get a positive response I will forward this post to GR and ask them to tell us what language we may use. Maybe we’ll get lucky.
Thanks for your comment, Anne.

Reply ↓
melindaclayton on March 13, 2014 at 5:54 pm said:
I like that idea, Lois. Oh – and the policy to not contact entrants wasn’t always there. The first time I did a giveaway I emailed the winners directly to thank them and let them know the book was on its way. From that, I developed a nice friendship with one of the winners.

Like you said, a few spoiled it for the bunch. What happened (according to a post in the feedback forum quite a while back) was that at least one author used the personal information provided to “spam” the winner at the winner’s home address, a massive breach of trust.

Now I thank entrants and readers on my Goodreads blog, which does tend to pick up more traffic during a giveaway (meaning that hopefully the entrants see my thank you post).

Reply ↓
Lynne Cantwell on March 13, 2014 at 6:11 pm said:
I’ve been very hands-off with both my winners and my didn’t-winners when I’ve done a Goodreads giveaway. You’re right — it does feel like a lost marketing opportunity. I like your coupon idea, Lois. I might have to try that with my next contest and see whether it will fly.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:10 am said:
Lynne,
What I’ve noticed is that the specific language seems to be key. If they would simply tell us what we can offer to the “losers” of our giveaways it would help a lot.
Good luck with your next contest.

Reply ↓
Mirta Ines on March 13, 2014 at 6:23 pm said:
Thank you for this cyber-pat-on-the-back, “I’m right there with ‘ya” article
How FRUSTRATING are those Giveaways? I like your idea- hope it catches on. I’ve done several Giveaways and had successful numbers, as far as people adding the book to their lists, but no reviews. One time, I gave away ten books, TEN!- and well, can you hear the crickets? I like your idea, as well as Richard Finney’s. Let’s keep our fingers crossed…

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:15 am said:
Hi Mirta,
The excitement of a giveaway is like a roller coaster. Seeing all those people add your book and then getting no feedback is cruel.
I love your board on Pinterest where you have historical aspects of Jewish culture. That is your board, right? It is very interesting. It would be nice to tie that into a giveaway as well.

Reply ↓
M.M. Justus on March 13, 2014 at 10:27 pm said:
LibraryThing’s not much better. I did an ebook giveaway on LibraryThing, gave away forty copies, and received one review. It may not have cost me any sales (since I sincerely doubt any of the forty would have paid money for my book), but the giveaway is basically sold as something it isn’t — books given away in return for reviews. It’s not. It’s just a giveaway. Maybe I was naïve, but I won’t be doing that again.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:19 am said:
Good morning,
I think I’ve looked at the LibraryThing’s site once. I can’t manage all the social media and write.
Sorry about your lack of feedback. Did you contact LT and let them know that you didn’t get reviews? They should follow up with those readers who took a freebie.
Thanks for stopping by.

Reply ↓

M.M. Justus
on March 14, 2014 at 9:52 am said:
I started using LibraryThing in lieu of Goodreads because I couldn’t figure Goodreads out [wry g]. Also because I found GR extremely unwelcoming; even participating as a reader, not a writer, I got jumped on several times when moderators interpreted what I wrote in comments as breaking rules when I was being very careful not to.

I wasn’t aware that contacting LT about a lack of reviews was an option (I suspect it is not something they’ll do anything about because they’d be spending all their time badgering readers which would not be in their best interest). I did send a second email out reminding my contest winners about reviews, but that did no good, either.

Reply ↓
Linton Robinson on March 13, 2014 at 11:13 pm said:
I have done nothing with Goodreads. Just haven’t been able to figure it out.
My impression is, they went’ tp pains to make it for readers, rather than for writers, and succeeded. And actually, I have no problem with that. It just doesn’t do many any good when it comes to pimpin myself there.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:28 am said:
Hi Lin,

I like having an author blog on GR, and to have my books appear on another busy site. I find GR a bit difficult to navigate, and I tried to join a couple of reading groups. They seemed to be run by a tight circle of friends, and the first e-book that was recommended was $9.99. I know you agree with me on these price points. I never heard of the author and she was with a small maybe vanity publisher. I’ll pay $4.99 for an e-book.

I think the site is designed for readers, and I don’t have a problem with that either. But, it would be an added bonus for the reader who truly loves a genre to receive an incentive to follow up on a giveaway and get a book discount.
Thanks for your comment.

Reply ↓
Jackie Weger on March 13, 2014 at 11:54 pm said:
I would love to learn how to be more proactive on GoodReads. But! I can’t even get those folks to correct Book covers or revised editions. It gets my back list mixed up with my ebooks. Amazon owns GRs but the helpful service just isn’t there as it with Amazon. It’s as if GRs is a step child. As for reviews, I put that little gem that both Crosbie and Gaughran suggest at the end of my books–a gentle plea for a short review and that has kept reviews straggling in. I’ve only been an indie author since June of 2013, so learning how to get visible and get my books noticed is a huge learning curve. It’s been stop and get stuck! As far as momentum. Goodreads has not been on my radar, really. I’m like Linton. I can’t figure it out.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:37 am said:
Hi Jackie,
I had one or two problems on GR that required a librarian’s assistance, and they fixed them quickly. What they won’t fix for me is a mistake I made by reviewing my own first book on a non author profile page. I asked them to take it down and they said they encourage all authors to review their own books. ???

The two marketing books you mention are both excellent, and it is great that you’re getting reviews. I just started Joanna Penn’s How to Market a Book. I’m looking for a few new ideas.

IU is a good place to get visibility. And, we all know that the next book sells the ones that preceded it.
Good luck and stay in touch.

Reply ↓
Author Massimo Marino on March 14, 2014 at 12:17 am said:
Same here, Lois. I run 5 Giveaways for my books, all very successful from Goodreads standards with over 1000 subscribers each time. In my first giveaway description I had put the wording that if people were interested in the novels—and didn’t win—they could have received a 50% discount coupon from Smashwords. Goodreads forced me to remove the offer before accepting the discount.

In the second one I entered the information about the possibility to enter my mailing list for new releases with all the caveats of ‘no-spamming’, etc, but also in that case Goodreads forced me to remove all mentions to my personal website and mailing list.

The only thing a Giveaway does is giving your books more visibility in goodreads and—maybe—be entered in the TBR list.

I haven’t seen any effect whatsoever on sales following a Giveaway, or too minimal to be noticeable, though I got a few good reviews, 2 5 stars and 4 4 stars from the winners.

Amazingly, I have more reviews on Goodreads (over 200 in total) than on Amazon and a majority of 4 and 5 stars. The ones that disliked the story on both sites can be counted on the fingers of two hands.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:45 am said:
Hi Massimo,

I agree – the visibility is the tangible result for most authors.

If you have that many reviews then you have figured out how to use GR. Numbers like that will intrigue readers. Does GR take down reviews like Amazon does? I have never heard anyone report that.

Thanks for your comment.

Reply ↓

Author Massimo Marino
on March 14, 2014 at 8:11 am said:
If they are abusive, yes, you may flag them and GR might take them down.

Reply ↓
Author Massimo Marino on March 14, 2014 at 12:23 am said:
BTW, if all those that have the novels in their TBR were to buy it tomorrow I’d made almost a 5 digits royalties

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 6:48 am said:
Concentrate really hard and send “buy my book” thoughts while looking at their profile pics. Use The Force, Massimo.

Reply ↓

Mel Parish
on March 14, 2014 at 7:00 am said:
If only that worked!

Reply ↓

Author Massimo Marino
on March 14, 2014 at 8:11 am said:
XOXO Lois

Reply ↓
simongv26 on March 14, 2014 at 2:50 am said:
Not sure if I got lucky but my last giveaway (ended last week) went out with this at the bottom…

“Sign up to the mailing list to be notified about future giveaways, stories and more…

http://www.simongoodson.com/subscribe“

Reply ↓
Lois Nelsen Lewandowski on March 14, 2014 at 6:56 am said:
Hi Simon,

Lucky you!

I think the language is key. For example, I placed a review request at the end of my last book, and Smashwords sent back a ticket because I used the word Amazon. I removed it and everything loaded fine.

GR could even ad a small box that the reader checks, or doesn’t, when entering the giveaway. After the fact there would be a coupon code sent to the reader privately.

It occurs to me that one of the reasons that GR would not want to support a coupon is that it is easier to do this on SW. Amazon prefers for something to be gifted. I am surprised that Amazon hasn’t seen this as another opportunity to drive business. They usually are ahead of the game.

Good luck on your future projects.

Reply ↓
Mel Parish on March 14, 2014 at 6:56 am said:
A much needed post Lois – I’m sure very reassuring to many others (like myself), who have wondered whether these giveaways are really worthwhile given all the rules that Goodreads impose, that they are not alone!

I’ve had one or two reviews from each of my giveaways – I’ve done three, offering 5 books each time, but I’m not sure I’ll do more unless the rules are changed. If you look at the profiles of the people who apply they often have thousands of books on their TBR list – that just makes no sense at all because they are probably never going to get round to reading yours even if they do put it on their list….unless they get if for free (and even then I often wonder how many people read the books they get for free). And their ‘friends’ are probably in the same position so seeing your novel pop up on someone else’s TBR feed is not likely to be that big a deal.

I think in return for entering the giveaway, the reader should either be required to review the book if they win (and if they don’t, taken off the list for future giveaways) or be willing to accept one follow-up message from the author asking whether the reader wants to sign up for future newsletters, etc from the author. (And if the author sends more than that one message without permission from the reader, then they could be refused the chance to do further giveaways.)

I’ve also done giveaways on Library Thing but haven’t had any reviews at all. I don’t understand how that site is supposed to work – even people who won the books don’t bother to add them to their lists of books.

Reply ↓
Lois Nelsen Lewandowski on March 14, 2014 at 7:07 am said:
Hi Mel,

I was frustrated that sales did not pop a bit after both my giveaways. When I voiced my angst to a few writers I realized I wasn’t alone.

I like your ideas on the reviews. If authors stop doing the giveaways it will not be in GR’s or their member’s best interest.

Some people like free. Maybe it is because they read a lot and can’t afford to support their habit. That is the good scenario. The other is that a giveaway on GR is not vetted properly and is a marketing tool that they use at the expense of hopeful authors.

We’re not asking for a lot. We’ve offered our hard work, and should be given some small, professional way to follow the marketing opportunity. Authors who are willing to follow guidelines should not be penalized because of spammers.

Thanks for your comments.

Reply ↓
nolabels on March 14, 2014 at 8:51 am said:
I encountered a situation similar to yours. I did a giveaway for both versions of my poetry book ( 3 each) and got well over 300 entrants for each one. Out of the people who won the books, I have yet to get a review, although they contacted me saying thanking me for the books and that they had received them. This has been many months ago, and it puts a damper on my utilizing Goodreads in the future to do giveaways, or if I do another one, I won’t offer as many books.

I really think it should be a requirement for someone who has won the book to provide a review of the book, even if it is to say “it’s not my type of book.” I’d rather hear than than to have given out the book but never know how the reader truly felt about it. Any book I receive via giveaway, it just feels natural to give feedback on it, not just as an author but also as a person who loves reading.

Goodreads definitely needs to adjust this policy in reference to outreach. Like you, I wanted to thank all the others who had entered, but encountered the warning. It just makes it difficult for the author and reader to really connect, and it doesn’t help there are some authors who are just doing the marketing thing incorrectly: being so overzealous for looks at the work that it becomes borderline harassment.

The discount coupon does sound like an alternative.

Thanks for sharing your story.

Reply ↓
Lois Nelsen Lewandowski on March 14, 2014 at 10:13 am said:
Good afternoon,

Based on the comments to my post it is clear that the giveaway program on GR is broken, or at the least highly inefficient. Poetry is so personal, and for you to not get feedback on your gift copies is thoughtless on the part of the winners of your poems.

I hope when I forward this post to GR they look at it seriously, both from the author’s perspective and from their own need to tweak the rules of the program.

Thank you for weighing in.

Reply ↓

nolabels
on March 14, 2014 at 10:17 am said:
I know for some, poetry is not their speed. Although I’m sad that this is happening to other people, I do take some comfort in knowing that I’m not the only one.

I really do hope Goodreads takes this seriously. There are so many flaws that needs to be addressed–from reader feedback to the issues with ratings.

Best of luck with this :). Please keep me posted.

Reply ↓
Spike Pedersen on March 14, 2014 at 10:32 am said:
I have done several givaways and got about 40% reviews back. When I get the winners profiles, I friend them, and leave a message with that friend request congradulating them, and ask kindly for a rreview and how important they are.
As for sales, zipo.

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 14, 2014 at 11:06 am said:
Hi Spike,
Well, technically contacting them is against the author guidelines. I have heard where another writer received a rather terse e-mail reminding them that they were not to initiate contact with the winners or other GR members who entered the contest.
I’m glad you had a good result on the reviews.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and data.

Reply ↓
dvberkom on March 14, 2014 at 2:20 pm said:
Interesting post, Lois. Love the low-voltage shock thingy(!)

I’ve done a few GR giveaways and received one or two reviews from each. I only offer 2-3 copies and usually keep it within the US in order to keep costs down. Sending the book via media mail is about $2, so I’m not out too much in postage. I include a handwritten note to the recipient congratulating them along with a business card. But, I understand your frustration at not being able to use the contacts for further marketing. (Maybe include a sign up email link with the note or bus. card?) I’d be happy to be able to offer discounts to the folks who don’t win.

As for effectiveness, have I sold more books because of it? Who knows? I’m betting on the karma

Reply ↓

Lois Nelsen Lewandowski
on March 17, 2014 at 11:08 am said:
Hi Dv,
I think your professional and conservative approach is the best way to go until GR addresses the poor post-marketing opportunity.
Karma and platform building go hand in hand, right?

Reply ↓
Nicole Storey on March 14, 2014 at 2:37 pm said:
I’m with you, Lois! I also like Richard’s idea, as well. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Reply ↓
Lois Nelsen Lewandowski on March 17, 2014 at 11:12 am said:
Hi Nicole,
Today I am sending this post off to GR with the comments. I am also posting it to my author blog. It might be nice if the other authors who commented here could like it and perhaps repost it. Then these suggestions could pick up some steam, and GR might take this under advisement. Or fix it.
Thanks for weighing in.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday, so help me celebrate. My latest release is being featured on the All Mystery Newsletter. Check it out.
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=d...

Enjoy,
Lois

Giveaway for A Gourmet Demise

Good afternoon,
I would like to thank the Goodreads members who took the time to enter my giveaway. The visibility is much appreciated by this indie author.
Next week, from March 11 through March 14, I am reducing the price of my book to $1.99 because it is my birthday. If you miss this timeframe and would like a coupon for the book, please let me know and I will be happy to generate one.
Have a great day!
Lois

Roast Skillet Chicken with Chanterelles and Cipollini

Skillet roasted chicken

I love roast chicken. Seriously. When I saw this recipe I was so excited because it was simple and cooked in an iron skillet. Our iron skillet is black from hundreds of uses. This recipe allows you to crisp the chicken in the skillet and then place the skillet directly into the oven.

I have been busy with a new book release so I took further steps to simplify the recipe, and I think it worked. Also, the cook times of the recipe are off. I am beginning to believe that this is due more to the fact that I do not have a professional kitchen. I hope to address that in the future.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs with skin on     2 tablespoons butter     12 or more small white frozen onions     1 package oyster mushrooms, chopped into large pieces     half a package of white mushrooms, thickly sliced 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots     2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped     1 tablespoon fresh thyme leave, plus more for garnishing.     1 lemon halved for seasoning     Olive oil, for seasoning

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken generously with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the skillet and when hot place the chicken in skin side down. Place the onions in the spaces around the chicken. Fry until the skin is light brown and crispy, about fifteen minutes or more depending on the size of the legs. Flip the chicken and place skillet in the preheated oven. In a separate pan melt the remaining butter and add the mushrooms. Cook until the edges look lightly browned, around 7 minutes, add the shallots and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, stir for another 2 minutes, and then push to the side and add 1/4 cup of dry red table wine. You can add a tablespoon of water to this mixture if it gets dry, stir until soft. Check the chicken, and if cooked place the mushroom mixture on the top. Squeeze lemon lightly across the chicken, drizzle with a little olive oil, and garnish with some additional thyme. Serve with a delicate vegetable like haricot vert or asparagus and jasmine rice. Enjoy!

The original recipe comes from the WSJ, and called for 8 cipollini onions and 3/4 pound chanterelles. I am too busy to peel onions, and my Publix did not have chanterelles, hence the substitution. It worked out quite well.

The Sequel to Born to Die is Released

Valentine’s Day is a good time for a treat, don’t you think? So, here it is – the sequel to my murder mystery! A Gourmet Demise: Murder in South Tampa is finally published. I know it took longer than a lot of you wanted, but it is worth the wait. This novel is filled with all the things you love about South Tampa. Glorious mansions, art galleries, fine food and wine, trips to International Plaza – and a cast of characters you will feel you have met at Mise En Place. I’m already at work on the next one, and I promise it won’t take as long.

And what do you think of the gorgeous cover? Graphic artist Jeff Deubert once again amazed me with his talent. The painting is by Nicaraguan artist Luis Guerrero Lugo. The woman? You tell me. Enjoy!

 

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The Sequel to “Born to Die” is Released

Valentine’s Day is a good time for a treat, don’t you think? So, here it is – the sequel to my murder mystery! “A Gourmet Demise: Murder in South Tampa” is finally published. I know it took longer than a lot of you wanted, but it is worth the wait. This novel is filled with all the things you love about South Tampa. Glorious mansions, art galleries, fine food and wine, trips to International Plaza – and a cast of characters you will feel you have met at Mise En Place. I’m already at work on the next one, and I promise it won’t take as long.

And what do you think of the gorgeous cover? Graphic artist Jeff Deubert once again amazed me with his talent. The painting is by Nicaraguan artist Luis Guerrero Lugo. The woman? You tell me. Enjoy!

 

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Bean Bourguignon

Bean Bourguignon

My husband pulled the inspiration for this recipe from Runner’s Magazine. I liked the idea of portabella mushrooms as a substitute for meat, and decided to play with the recipe. The end result was absolutely delicious! There was a little bit of chopping, so give yourself enough prep time. The mushrooms add a meaty texture and the prosciutto adds complexity and salt. If you are a vegetarian you can omit the prosciutto, but then you will need to salt to taste.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil   2 packages (16 ounces) baby portabella mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped    6 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped somewhat small   3 large cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves   1 teaspoon dried thyme   1/4 cup flour   1 cup dry red wine, such as a cab, burgundy, or merlot

2 cups homemade vegetable or chicken stock   3 cans (15 ounces each) white beans, drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley    about twelve ripe grape or other small tomatoes

Method

Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a stock pot and cook the mushrooms until the liquid is evaporated and the mushrooms crisp slightly. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add remaining oil and sauté onions until soft and translucent. Add tomatoes for about five minutes. Add prosciutto, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook mixture until garlic is fragrant, but don’t over cook. Sift in the flour, stir, and then add wine, stock, and drained beans. Bring to a boil and then immediately lower heat to a slow simmer. Set timer for twenty minutes, and after ten minutes put mushrooms back in. Stir in parsley and serve.

This is a lovely, rich tasting stew. Enjoy!

 

Writers Eat… Corn Bread With Caramelized Apples and Onions

Sunday brunch.

I am always interested in the food blogs of other writers and I was excited to discover alittlesaffron.com. Ileana Morales is a Times correspondent and approaches food the way I do. Food for her is a joy, an experiment, and an opportunity to play with her camera.I used to take a lot of artsy black and white photos until I began to raise a family. She has inspired me to wipe the dust off some of the lovely cameras gathering dust in the closet.

I prepared this recipe for the most recent Culture and Cuisine Club dinner. Our host wanted to make a Texas style barbeque and it was a huge success. The following recipe was in the paper and I saved it for the occasion. You can’t cook a southern barbeque without some sort of corn bread.

I had to travel with this dish so I broke it up into two parts. I sautéed the onions and apples at my home and let them cool in the cast iron skillet. In my case, the time to cook the onions and apples was longer than specified. I would allot about ten minutes for the onions first. By the way, I sliced everything on a mandoline slicer. If you don’t have one you should add it to your gadgets. You may not use it frequently, but it is the best way to get even slices. It is also extremely fast. You can check out a good one OXO Good Grips Mandoline Slicer[image error]here

In another bowl I combined all the dry ingredients. I brought the buttermilk, eggs, and the unmelted butter with me. (I only melted the butter in the skillet that I would need to sauté the onions and apples.) I put the recipe together at my friend’s house.

The result was one of the best corn bread recipes I have ever eaten. The combination of the flour and two different types of ground cornmeal gave the bread a lighter texture without depriving it of that wonderful corn flavor. I decided to take Ileana’s advice and have a piece with breakfast the next morning. As you can see, it added just the right touch to a decadent Sunday morning breakfast.

The hostess, after going back for another piece, decided that it would be completely decadent to drizzle the bread with some sort of light caramel sauce. I think she may have hit on something…

Ingredients:

¾  cup plus 3 tablespoons (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1 medium white onion, thinly sliced

Black pepper

2 large apples (Gala, Pink Lady or any red-skinned apple should work), thinly sliced

5 tablespoons sugar, divided use

3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided use

1  ½  cups cornmeal (half finely ground, half coarsely ground)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

2 large eggs

1  ½  cups buttermilk

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet. Pour all but 2 tablespoons melted butter into a small bowl.

Place the skillet back on the burner and add onions. Cook and stir occasionally until onions are softened, about 4 minutes. Add apples, 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, until apples are softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a medium bowl.

Whisk cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in eggs, buttermilk, and reserved melted butter until smooth and no lumps remain. Fold in half the onion mixture and pour batter into the skillet. Top with the rest of the onion mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme.

Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Serves 8.

Original Source: Bon Appétit

Un Homage: Jacques Pepin’s Black Bean Soup Augier

Black bean soup with garlic bread

There are two good things about the recent cold snap. The first is the ability to take out my sweaters, boots, coats and other clothes that are a fond memory when the temperature hits ninety degrees. I love fall and winter clothes, what I don’t like is a long icy winter. It is so much fun to create outfits with jackets and long pants. I love the layering and the ability to use different scarves and accessories. Six months of hot weather limits fashion terribly. Other than resort wear, fashion designers pay very little attention to those of us who exist in the sweltering heat.

The second change at this time of year is the food we suddenly long to eat and cook in our home kitchens. The chillier temperatures create a hankering for savory soups and stews. I love soup. Making a velvety soup is not as easy as one might think. I always have homemade frozen stock in my freezer so I can create when the mood strikes me.

Recently, while cleaning out a kitchen cabinet I found some old copies of Food and Wine Magazine. In the February 2002 issue the incredible chef Jacques Pepin shared his recipe for black bean soup. I made this the other night when the temperatures dipped into the forties, and it was sublime. I suggest that you choose one or two of the garnishes since the beans really need something to bring them out. The soup also needs heat, so if you don’t add andouille sausage as I did use Tabasco table side. I served the soup with homemade garlic bread. I have shared the original recipe with you below. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 pound dried black beans, picked

over and rinsed

2 Quarts water

6 cups chicken stock or canned low-

sodium broth

3/4 pound red potatoes, peeled and

cut into 1/2 inch dice

2 cups chopped fresh or drained

canned tomatoes

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro stems

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

tabasco sauce

Garnishes

Chopped  onions

2 hard cooked eggs

2 bananas, sliced

cilantro leaves and small sprigs

Extra -virgin olive oil

Red Wine vinegar

Tabasco sauce

MAKE THE SOUP:  Put the beans in a large pot,

cover with cold water and let stand for 1 hour.

Drain the beans,.  Rinse the pot; add the beans,

water, stock, potatoes, tomatoes, onion, cilantro

stems, thyme and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a

boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring

occasionally, until the beans are tender and the soup

has thickened, about 2 1/2 hours.

Transfer 3 cups of the beans to a food processor and

puree until smooth.  Stir the puree into the soup.  If

the soup is too thick, thin it with a little water.  Stir

in the olive oil, garlic and vinegar, season with salt

and Tabasco and bring to a boil.

PREPARE THE GARNISHES:

Put the onion in a colander and  rinse under cold

water; pat dry.  Put the onion, eggs, bananas and

cilantro in separate bowls and serve with the

garnishes.

MAKE  AHEAD

the soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.  Reheat

gently!!!

Notes: I added 1/2 good red wine to the soup. I removed three cups and used an immersion blender to make the puree. If you do not have an immersion blender you need one. I would recommend a good one you can purchase here. We put sliced andouille sausage in the soup for a bit of heat. Jacques recommends any sort of pork you may have in your fridge.

Per Serving (excluding unknown

items): 162 Calories; 18g Fat (97.9%

calories from fat); trace Protein; 1g

Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 10mg

Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0

Vegetable; 3 1/2 Fat; 0 Other

Carbohydrates.