Ellen Byron's Blog, page 4

Not to brag, but I was into advent calendars before they were a thing. I grew up with the beautiful, sparkly ones from Germany. When we had our daughter, I bought the Playmobile calendars where each box contained a little toy you added to build a Christmas scene. And of course, we've had the Trader Joe's chocolate calendars ever since we discovered them.

Last year, I added cookies, wine, and cheese to my calendar haul. This year, I thought I'd add a new twist to the season: rating my calendars on a scale of one to five Santas.

ANTICO MULINO ITALIAN COOKIE CHRISTMAS COLLECTION (Cost Plus World Market)

I'm sure part of my affinity for this calendar comes from my Italian background. But it's great to wake up to a mini biscotti or sugar cookie on a 24-day basis. My one quibble is there's no special cookie for the 24th. That would have been a nice touch.

ILCHESTER BRITISH CHEESE ADVENT CALENDAR (Ralph's)

Warning: if you don't like cheddar cheese, this calendar isn't for you. I love it, so I love this calendar. Small con: the spicy sample is so spicy even my husband complained. But there were only one or two of them. Big plus: the cheese-y - literally! - puns behind every door:

WINE CALENDAR (TARGET)

This calendar was a big improvement on the one I bought last year from a popular source that always sells out (I won't name it since I found it disappointing.) I appreciate the clever titles for each bottle in this collection and the wide range of appellation, which is denoted on each bottle. I deducted a Santa because I felt like the collection was bit red-wine heavy (I'm more a fan of white) and they didn't include a small champagne bottle for the 24th, the one plus of last year's collection.

TRADER JOE'S 24 DAYS OF MILK CHOCOLATE ADVENT CALENDAR

This calendar, priced at a remarkably low 99 cents, is a classic. For quality and price, it really deserves 5 Santas. I deducted one for the most petty of reasons. I feel like the chocolate on the 24th should be a bit bigger in honor of Christmas Eve. NOTE: this particular calendar has spawned a lot of equally cheap knockoffs. None compare to the original. Of course, if you don't have a TJ's nearby, you may not have this option. No worries. Even the imitators are fun and tasty.

HERSHEY'S HOLIDAY COUNTDOWN (99 Cents Store) 1/2

This impulse buy at the 99 Cent store was a pleasant surprise. I'm a Hershey's fan. (This is purely subjective on my part but I find it better than Nestle's.) Each door opens to either a 4-pack of green-and-red Hershey-ets (their version of M&Ms) or a Hershey's mini bar. The 2 and a half Santa rating comes from a paucity of bars and abundance of fake M&M's. Don't get me wrong. They're tasty. But I could have used more mini's, which I love.

TRADER JOE'S ADVENT OF THE COCKTAIL HOUR

A collection of liquor-infused truffles, I personally found this collection disappointing. But that's because I can't stand anything coffee-flavored (I know, I know - I'm an outlier on this), and there were more coffee liquor-flavored truffles than anything else. I did give the calendar a second Santa for offering something no other collection did: a 25th window with a nice special treat. (Sidebar: TJ's chocolate cherry cordials, their other liquor-infused option, are delicious. My daughter needed to show her ID to buy them!)

That's it for my 2022 calendars! If you have a favorite I didn't mention, share it in the comments. Maybe I'll buy and rate it next year! (I want to expand out of food into other areas like beauty. I'd do tea, but I know I'd end up with a bunch of flavors that don't interest me. Same with jam advent calendars. But who knows? Maybe I'll give one of those a try just for fun!)

I've shared this recipe before for Spicy Cajun Sugar Cookies, a delicious treat with a slight kick. You can decorate the cookies with a holiday theme - and perhaps even hang them from your Christmas tree as ornaments!

,Cookies:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

,Frosting:

Boxed royal icing mix (available at craft stores)

,,Instructions

Cream the butter, then add the sugar and beat until it’s fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture. Mix together until well combined. Chill the dough for a minimum of two hours, or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well-floured board. Cut the dough with cookie cutters of your choice, and place the unbaked cookies on an ungreased cookie tray. (If the dough gets sticky, add more flour to the board and/or rolling pin.)

Bake for 5-8 minutes, basically until they’re golden brown around the edges. Let cool completely.

Once the cookies have cooled, follow the directions on the icing box to make the icing. (Royal icing hardens quickly, so you don’t want to make it too soon.) Ice the cookies.

Makes approx. two dozen cookies.

Dear readers I am so very thankful for,

It's that time of year! The time when I share with you my famous post-Thanksgiving recipe...

You know all those leftovers you have from Thanksgiving dinner? Guess what? You can use pretty much all of them in this recipe for Turkey Dinner-in-a-Braid. The fact I don't have a better photo of the final product doesn't take away from its deliciousness. To access the recipe, you can click "Turkey Dinner-in-a-Braid" above, or click here, click on the recipe name above, or click the photo below.

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Ellen

My new Vintage Cookbook Mystery series, which launched with BAYOU BOOK THIEF, is inspired by my own collection of over 100 vintage cookbooks. I'm making videos to share a little about some of the cool cookbooks in my collection! Here are the first and second one - you can see I get better at it as I go, lol.

In video #1, I share about my 1928 cookbook, Photoplay 1928 Cook Book [sic] of the Stars. In the second video, I talk about the first vintage cookbooks I ever bought, the 1950 edition of the Ford Treasury of Favorite Recipes from Famous Eating Places.

I hope you're as fascinated by these blasts from our culinary pasts as I am!

To celebrate the release of Bayou Book Thief, I made not one but two "Is it Cake?" parody videos! Then we ate the cake. Which was delicious.

Here's video #1...

And here's video #2...

I hope you enjoy the book. And whatever cake comes your way!

I'm always looking for new ways to celebrate my books with readers. Given how expensive it is to mail even the smallest packages, I've had to cut back on items like pens or keychains, which can literally cost four times to mail what they cost to buy. But a friend turned me on to a wonderful site: spoonflower.com. You can design your own pattern and have it printed in many ways, including on a wide variety of fabrics.

I like to create useful swag, and considered purchasing eyeglass wipes. But ordering personalized ones proved cost-prohibitive. Then, brainstorm! With a pair of pinking shears and an order from Spoonflower, I could make my own. The first batch was too big, so they became great screen cleaners. (See solo cover wipe below.) But I nailed it with the second batch. (See double cover image below.)

And the third batch came out great too! Here's a video showing how I make them.

My homemade wipes have a short shelf life if you carry them in your purse, like I often do. They'll fray. So if you get one - or any homemade wipe - make them your at-home eyeglass cleaners. And if you're interested in reading BAYOU BOOK THIEF, the book that inspired them, click here.

I'm thrilled that the Mysteryrat's Maze podcast arm of King's River Life online magazine recorded a podcast of the first chapter from Here Comes the Body. You can listen to this most entertaining reading by clicking here, or on the cover photo below...

It's hard to imagine my covers increasing in beauty... and yet they do! Here's the cover for WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS, the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, which is available for pre-order. But first, a little about the book...

The second in a fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

It’s hurricane season in New Orleans and vintage cookbook fan Ricki James-Diaz is trying to shelve her weather-related fears and focus on her business, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop, housed in the magnificent Bon Vee Culinary House Museum.

Repairs on the property unearth crates of very old, very valuable French wine, buried by the home’s builder, Jean-Louis Charbonnet. Ricki, who’s been struggling to attract more customers to Miss Vee’s, is thrilled when her post about the discovery of this long-buried treasure goes viral. She’s less thrilled when the post brings distant Charbonnet family members out of the woodwork, all clamoring for a cut of the wine’s sale.

When a dead body turns up in Bon Vee’s cheery fall decorations, the NOPD zeroes in on Eugenia Charbonnet Felice as the prime suspect, figuring that as head of the Charbonnet family, she has the most to gain. Ricki is determined to uncover the real culprit, but she can’t help noticing that Eugenia is acting strangely. Ricki wonders what kind of secret her mentor has bottled up, and fears what might happen if she uncorks it.

In the second Vintage Cookbook Mystery, Ricki has to help solve a murder, untangle family secrets, and grow her business, all while living under the threat of a hurricane that could wipe out everything from her home to Bon Vee.

And now, that stunning cover...

My new mystery series, the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries - which launches with BAYOU BOOK THIEF - is inspired by my hobby of collecting, well... vintage cookbooks. :-) I asked my newsletter readers to tell me about a cookbook that holds a special place in their heart, and I shared their memories in a blog post for Chicks on the Case. Read the post and feel free to join the conversation with a memory of your own!

And if you haven't seen it, here's the gorgeous cover for my book...

Just for fun, I made my own Superbowl commercial! I hope you get a kick out of it. Make sure you play it with sound.

@BerkleyMystery #SuperBowl #SuperBowlCommercials #Superbowlads #bestSuperbowlcommercials #BestSuperbowlads #cozymystery