SPRING 2020

My quarantine family. Photo by Polly Hooper

Morning, my friends—if it’s morning when you’re reading this.

I thought it was time to check in, see how everyone is surviving quarantine, and bring you up to date on me. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you and yours are healthy, safe, and as happy as you can be in quarantine.

No big changes for me in quarantine. I mostly spend the day alone at my computer. Like all of you, I miss visiting with friends over lunch or dinner or a glass of wine on the patio. And I really would love a haircut. But I believe in social distancing, and so I’m here until I personally feel it’s safe to emerge. Grateful to be quarantined with my youngest daughter, her husband, and son.

The Second Battle of the Alamo

The Second Battle of the Alamo launched at the annual meeting of the Alamo Society in San Antonio’s historic Menger Hotel. My two daughters, two of my grandsons, and I had a great weekend—just before the world closed down. I sat in on the society’s meeting Saturday morning, and, at the first break, sold and signed all 25 books they had in stock. Since then the history has garnered interest on several websites—the Alamo Society, Western Writers of America, etc. Friends who’ve read the book are quick to tell me their impression of the two ladies—Adina De Zavala and Clara Driscoll. I confess I am much the fan of Adina.

If you read this history and like it, I’d be most grateful if you’d leave a brief review on Amazon or Goodreads.

The Most Land, the Best Cattle: The Waggoneers of Texas

This manuscript was due on my editor’s desk May 1 but submitted in January. The publisher, Rowman, & Littlefield, has been on hiatus because of the pandemic so everything is on hold. When published, the book will trace the history of four generations of the Waggoner family and their lives on the Waggoner Three D Ranch in North Texas, the largest ranch in the nation under one fence. It’s a saga about a family, men devoted to the land and livestock, women enjoying celebrity, a family inclined to many marriages and just as many lawsuits with a tangled line of inheritance. Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Helen Corbitt

Also on my editor’s desk is my proposal for a biography of Helen Corbitt, the doyenne of Neiman Marcus food service. Corbitt, known for insisting on high quality, established the custom of serving a demitasse of chicken bouillon, a popover, and strawberry butter with every lunch. She created Texas caviar (a black-eyed pea dish) and chicken salad with white grapes. She was also noted for her quick wit, sharp tongue, and compassion for those who worked for her. My editor only had time before the world shut down to glance at the proposal, though she indicated interest in it. So that project too is on hold.

Back to mysteries

All this work on hold left me feeling aimless, not a feeling I am comfortable with. On an impulse, I pulled up an unfinished mystery that I abandoned a year ago. Reading it, I liked the voice, and I found several plot threads. That discovery has energized me. Saving Irene will be a culinary mystery about a young woman who is assistant to a TV chef but whose ambition is to manage the food segments on the TODAY show. She lives in Chicago, in the neighborhood where I grew up. And there’s her neighbor, a great guy but gay or so she thinks.

Some reading suggestions

Here are some titles I’ve enjoyed and am happy to recommend.

The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance during the Blitz, by Erik Larson. Churchill is, of course, a fascinating character—idiosyncratic but canny, a strong and determined leader, bound to save his country at all costs. As usual, Erik Larson turns thoroughly researched history into captivating reading.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson. A love story woven into the real history of the women who rode horses and mules over Applachian mountains and into “hollers” to bring books to Depression-era families. The best of regional history and romance.

Dreamland, by Nancy Bilyeau – set in 1911, this is a coming-of-age story about a determined young woman, raised to privilege in the Gilded Age. During a summer spent at a luxury hotel just a mile from Coney Island, she discovers how the other half lives as well as some truths about herself and the society that raised her. The picture of Coney Island is fascinating.

A Death at Tippett Pond, by Susan Van Kirk. This cozy mystery is based on a familiar theme—a young woman inherits a fortune which compels her to visit a small town she’s never known. Add the twists of adoption and a forty-year-old murder with a generous bit of genealogy, and you have a compelling read. I gave this one five stars.

Some recipes for the quarantine

Some in the food industry are making dire predictions about the breakdown of the food supply chain as the pandemic drags on. For me, it’s a time to think about more plant-based meals.

Cheese Grits with black beans (serves four)

• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Chicken broth – about 3 cups
• Whole Milk – 2 cups
• Grits – 1 cup
• Black beans – l large can
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Butter – 2 Tbsp.
• Avocado – 2, sliced
• Radishes – 3, sliced

Make grits by stirring together 2-3/4 cups chicken broth, 2 cups whole milk, and 1 cup grits. Cook over low heat—I used my soup kettle, because grits bubble wildly, even on low, and I didn’t want hot grits on my hands or the wall. Stir this occasionally and after about 25 minutes, you should have a creamy, smooth pot of grits. Take it off the heat and stir in a cup of grated sharp cheddar (the original recipe calls for a half cup, but I like them extra cheesy) and the butter. Stir until thoroughly blended in.

For the black beans: drain and rinse, put in saucepan with remaining ¼ cup chicken broth and the cayenne. Cook to heat and let the sauce thicken a bit. Mash a few beans to make it more of a sauce.

Put the grits in four soup plates, top with beans, and garnish with avocado and those optional radishes.

PS: Leftover grits are great for breakfast!

* * * *

Green Noodles (serves four)

• 1 16-0z. pkg. spinach egg noodles
• 1 stick butter (you may want to use less, but I like plenty of sauce)
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (I always buy whole and slice them myself)
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 ice-cube size piece of pesto, thawed, or about 1 Tbsp. (if you have it; a Tbsp. commercial pesto otherwise)
• Juice of one lemon

Cook and drain noodles. Melt butter in the skillet. Sauté the mushrooms and scallions in the butter. Add artichoke to vegetables and then add lemon—I like lots. Toss in the pesto and stir to blend. Add noodles and toss to coat. Top with grated cheese.

Buon appetito!

Drawing for free cookbooks

The first three to write and tell me why you want a copy of Gourmet on a Hot Plate, will receive a PDF. Write to me at  and be sure to include your email address.

—Judy

PS.: Want to try out a different cookbook while you’re under quarantine? Check out my Texas Is Chili Country on Amazon. In addition to enjoying a good read on the chili history, you’re sure to find a recipe or three you’d love to try!

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