Winter 2022
First, early in the month, came The Most Land, the Best Cattle: The Waggoners of Texas. Here’s what cowboy poet and entertainer Red Steagall wrote about it, “The majesty and intrigue of a ranch is of course invested in the land and livestock. But the true soul of a ranching property rests with the humans involved, both staff and owners. Judy Alter has done a magnificent job of explaining and describing the amazing family of the world-famous Waggoner Ranch, all under one fence.”
Irene in Danger was published three weeks later—talk about hitting two different markets! The Waggoner book is history, written as what critics today call creative nonfiction. In other words, it reads more like fiction, as I attempted to capture the colorful history of a legendary family and their enormous ranch. The Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries, by contrast, are cozy mysteries with a heavy culinary slant. I hope they are also humorous. Irene in Danger follows the first in the series, Saving Irene. Here’s what one reader said of the series, “Couldn’t put it down so read it in one day. I fell in love with Henny and Patrick in the first book, Saving Irene. This one was even more fun. Looking forward to a third book!”
And the third book is under way—but barely. Tentatively titled Irene Keeps a Secret, although I’m considering calling it, Irene Stumbles into Trouble. I hope for spring publication.
I’m in a sort of writer’s limbo at the moment—just barely into the Irene novel and not yet with a firm grip on where it’s going. And the other project I’ve mentioned—my Helen Corbitt book—waits on reaction from a publisher. I submitted a four-part proposal just this past week. I’m also waiting to contact the archivist at the library where Corbitt’s papers are. Because it’s a university library, they were closed for two weeks, and I thought it best to let them get back into routine before contacting to confirm that they can send me electronic files. With the omicron variant so contagious and the numbers so high, I’m anxious to work from home as much as possible. So I wait. Waiting is a big part of a writer’s life. But it’s a good feeling to have projects that call for my attention. Keeps me busy, occupied, and happy in these days when I pretty much quarantine.
Some books I’ve enjoyed lately…
While I wait, I read. Here are some books I found particularly interesting:
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food that Tells Their Stories. Renowned food writer Laura Shapiro studied six diverse women—Dorothy Wordworth (the poet’s devoted sister), Rosa Lewis (a Cockney girl who became cook to royalty and the elite in early twentieth-century London and owned the Cavendish Hotel), Eleanor Roosevelt (really a sad domestic story), Eva Braun (the only essay I skipped—couldn’t bear to read about her), Barbara Pym (British mid-century novelist and an interesting tear-down of the unfortunate reputation British food has had), and Helen Gurley Brown (editor of Cosmopolitan—I always thought she was a feminist but not so much; her goals in life were to marry a rich man and always stay thin). I found the book fascinating.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano. Author Cosimano, like Julie Mulhern’s Country Club Murders, seems to have created a whole new subgenre: ourtrageous cozy mysteries. Seeking vengeance against the husband who divorced her and hoping to bolster her sagging bank account, Finlay Donovan goes too far, with a babe in arms and a toddler clinging to her skirts, and finds herself involved in a murder-for-hire scheme with hilarious results. Murder on any level shouldn’t be funny, but this made me laugh out loud.
The Witch’s Child – Susan Van Kirk gives us another entry in her Endurance mysteries. This one will try your willing suspension of disbelief. Van Kirk does a masterful job of placing witchcraft in the world of reality. Almost all the way, rational explanations are possible. But there’s just enough suspicion to lead even Grace Kimbell to have doubts. Maybe witchcraft, the dark kind, really does exist—or does it? To find out what’s really going on in Endurance, read The Witch’s Child.
Debonair in Death, by Jessica Fletcher with Terrie Moran. I’m a lifelong fan of Murder, She Wrote. Now, my friend Terrie Moran has taken over the co-author slot and done a masterful job with this 54th entry in the series. In this one, Jessica once again advocates for a friend wrongfully accused—this time, it’s her nail technician who is accused of murdering an antique dealer with a rakish attitude. One of Jessica’s old friends, an international inspector, just happens along, and the two team up to unravel a much more complicated story. As always, Jessica’s adventures are fun.
And for the sake of my soul, each night I’m reading a passage from Ann Lamott’s Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers.
Winter is a good time for casseroles—hearty, nourishing, and easy. Here are three that I really like and fix frequently. It’s no sin to use rotisserie chicken in these. Be aware though that some of those supermarket chickens are really high in sodium. Read the label before you buy!
- 2 cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped
- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)
- 3 cups finely crushed Ritz crackers – just put them in a baggie and roll over them with a rolling pin, or crush by hand; they crumble easily.
Grease a 9×13 pan and lay the chicken in it. Top with the soups, spreading evenly, then the cheese, and finally the cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 o for 45 minutes or until heated through and crackers are golden.
No Peek Chicken
This originally called for Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Original but all I can find these days is the quick cooking, so I use that. Feel free to change and experiment.
- I box Uncle Ben’s long grain wild rice
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can cream of celery soup
- 1 cup water
- Chicken breasts or tenders, uncooked
Grease a 9×13 pan. Mix rice, soups, and water and pour into pan. Lay chicken on top. Cover and seal with foil. Bake at 350 o for two and a half hours. Don’t peek! Your house will smell amazing.
Chicken Casserole
- 4 cups cooked chopped chicken
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ sleeve Ritz crackers
- ½ stick butter
Preheat oven to 350o. Grease an 8×8 baking pan. Spread chicken in the bottom. Mix soup and sour cream and pour over. Cover with crushed cracker crumbs. Melt butter and drizzle over casserole. Bake until heated through and cracker crumbs are golden.
A Giveaway
I have a bit of swag I’d love to share with readers. The first three who email me about a recipe found at the back of either Saving Irene or Irene in Danger will receive a surprise gift for their kitchen. Just name the recipe and tell me your comments—you don’t have to have cooked it. Since those are culinary novels, what better than a kitchen gift? Just email me your submission at
Ending on a Personal Note
As we welcome in 2022 and look forward to a better, healthier, happier year, I can’t help taking a look back at the holidays. My family—eighteen of us this time—gathered in Austin for a big, old Alter family Christmas. We didn’t get a group picture, but here are all the gals in their Christmas pjs. The guys would have joined us, but nobody gave them matching pjs.
And then, here are my seven grandchildren—so different, each their own fascinating person, now so grown up. They range in age from twenty-two to fourteen, and I love each of them desperately.
I hope 2021, with all its troubles, left you with some good holiday memories. And now, on to make 2022 a better year. It’s up to each of us, and together we can do it.
—Judy
