Fall 2022
Summer flew by and now winter is almost upon us—well, the end of daylight savings time, which always seems like winter to me. Summer was a busy time for me, though I have no new book to report for all my hard work. In my small corner of the writing world, I seem to have a lot of good things going on.
Get Back in the Kitchen: Helen Corbitt, Neiman Marcus, and America’s Changing Foodways
My summer project was the biography of Helen Corbitt, doyenne of food service at Neiman Marcus in the fifties and sixties and a woman who not only changed Texas foodways forever but was influential through the country, called America’s best cook by some. Corbitt lived at a fascinating time in American social history—foodways were changing rapidly with the introduction of fast and conveniences foods.
Feminism was changing the role of women, urging them out of the kitchen and into the world. But there were always voices in the culinary world urging women to find joy in cooking. Corbitt was one of those, and “Get back in the kitchen” was frequent advice in her talks and lessons. An independent woman, red-haired and with an Irish temper, she lived an interesting life and was a great role model for women as feminism took hold in America. And her recipes—full of cream and butter and delicious.
Pulling together notes from many different sources, often small-town newspapers where Corbitt spoke or taught, was a daunting chore, but I finally completed a manuscript that is, I would say, about one-third the length the acquiring editor at Texas Tech Press requested. I know there is a book in there, but I wasn’t sure how to carve it out. I turned to an editor who is a friend and whose skills I greatly admire and trust. So Helen, or her manuscript, has gone off to the editor for a month or two.
Irene in Texas
Meanwhile, I have taken Irene, my faux French diva chef, and her French entourage—Chance, Jean Claude, and daughter Gabrielle—and set them down in the middle of Fort Worth, literally in the Stockyards district. They are visiting Henny’s family for Christmas, but of course nothing goes smoothly when Irene is involved. That her spoiled daughter is dallying with a wannabe cowboy is the least of her troubles. When Irene is accused of murder, Henny will once again have to save Irene. Irene, of course, is scornful of much that is Texas—from Longhorns to barbecue.
I’m having so much fun with this one that I sometimes forget its fiction. A writer/friend commented recently that she was amused that I talk about my characters as though they were real people. Well, it’s true that when I’m in the midst of writing a novel, the people are always with me. The other day I introduced a new character and then realized, under a different name, her backstory had already been told. So I went back and changed the name—and then made myself a note to tell Henny I’d done that. But wait! Henny’s fictional. I got all tangled up trying to explain what Henny would and would not know.
A special note: when I wrote Irene in Danger, I was a part of a movement called Mystery Loves Georgia, which contributed substantial money to the election of senators Joel Osoff and Raphael Warnock. This year, the organizers sponsored Mystery Loves Democracy, and I contributed the opportunity to name a character. So watch for Kathy Fenton. The person who bought the opportunity is a good friend of Kathy’s and chose to name her. I think she’s going to end up important to the story.
The title, Irene in Texas, is just a placeholder. It’s blah and unimaginative in my mind, and I welcome other suggestions. The plot involves a wedding and, of course, a murder—this one during the wedding banquet in an upscale private home. Henny is the caterer. I would love a good title with Irene and Texas in it.
Outrageous Cozies
One of my side projects developed out of my reading. I realized that I was reading a lot of semi-comic cozy mysteries that had absolutely impossible plots and/or characters. Yet the authors made them seem so believable that the reader was drawn in. Perfect example of what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called the willing suspension of disbelief back in the nineteenth century. So I wrote a blog about outrageous cozies—and then I created the category and posted it on shepherd.com, a new site which encourages authors to categorize their favorite books. What authors did I choose? You can read about it here: Shepherd.com
Kitchen Tables Stories II
I was flattered to be asked to write the foreword to Kitchen Table Stories II, a publication of the Story Circle Network. This second volume builds on the successful 2007 cookbook with that title. The new collection reflects the importance of the part of women’s lives that revolves around food and the time spent making and enjoying meals with family and friends. Each recipe has a story, recalling childhood memories, grandmothers who cooked treasured recipes from other lands, mothers who invented frugal dishes, and mothers who didn’t cook at all. As Gretchen Staebler writes, “We pass on what we know. From one generation to the other, we want to share the best of what we knew growing up.”
Kitchen Table Stories II will be available in paperback and eBook on Amazon in mid-November, plenty of time to give it for a Christmas gift to every cook you know. And some who don’t cook but love stories.
“Judy’s Stew”
Want to keep up with me between my only occasional newsletters? I blog almost daily, probably five or six nights a week. Actually, I have two blogs—Judy’s Stew is my almost-nightly one. Years ago daughter-in-law Melanie challenged me to write a blog, and when I said I had nothing to say, she said, “Of course you do! You can write about grandmothering and cooking and writing.” And that’s just what I have done, thanks to Melanie, for sixteen years. Find the blog here: Judy’s Stew.
But on Thursday nights, I post to a different blog—Gourmet on a Hot Plate. I post recipes, generally with a bit of history, that can be prepared in my cottage’s tiny kitchen where I cook on an induction hot plate and a toaster oven (can use both at once or it trips the circuit breaker—a real problem when cooking a full meal). My recipes are not just meals for one: I cook for our family of four about four nights a week. I’m most interested in retro food, the meals of the fifties and sixties that I grew up with. What I call American food updated—no Jell-O salads, but yes, tuna casserole and meatloaf.
Cooking is one of the things that fills my life and keeps me busy and happy. Find my food blog on Thursdays at Gourmet On A Hot Plate.
So there you have it. That’s what I’ve been up to. I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing. Write me at .
My new favorite recipe
If you’re on Facebook, you’ve seen those memes that ask, “Who eats this anymore?” impying that no one in their right mind would eat the pictured meal. Sometimes it’s meatloaf, or tuna casserole, or salmon patties. I love all three, but here’s an easy meatloaf recipe that is so good my grown daughter asks to have it often.
Simple meatloaf
- 1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup dried breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. prepared mustard (yes, I used yellow salad mustard for this)
- 1/3 cup ketchup
Mix it all together in a large bowl. The only caution I would suggest is to add the milk last in small increments. I think I usually end up using about ¾ cup. If you let the mixture get too soggy, your meatloaf will be loose and won’t hold together. At first, I thought the ketchup was to go on top and I omitted it, because I don’t like that, particularly in a sandwich where I want to add mayonnaise. But now I’m convinced the ketchup should go in the meat mixture.
Shape into a loaf on a sheet pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. What could be easier?
Books I’ve enjoyed
My reading hasn’t been limited to outrageous cozies, though I am looking forward to the new Country Club Murder, Big Shot, just released in late October. Meanwhile, here are a couple of titles I thought were outstanding:
I’m a big fan of this series. Terry Shames spins a good story, and she’s created a strong character in Samuel Craddock. Retired, a widower and an art connoisseur, he’s been called back to be the chief of police in his small Texas town somewhere between Austin and Bryan. Craddock’s the kind of guy who keeps a few cows in his back pasture, enjoys homemade baked goods from the widow next door, and takes his dog almost everywhere. In this ninth book, Murder at the Jubilee Rally, a young wife and mother, owner of a convenience store, is found stabbed to death at the motorcycle rally out to the fairgrounds. With thousands at the rally, Craddock teases out a list of several suspects, and untangles them until he is down to one. He’s slow, deliberate, gentle, always preferring reason and conversation to the gun he only occasionally carries. In a time fraught with police brutality and cries of defund the police, Samuel Craddock is a welcome relief, and Jarrett Creek is sort of a sophisticated version of Mayberry.
