Writers and RecipesChristine Edison
Christine Edison's Hungarian Roll-Up Pancakes Editor's Note (via Chris) "My article ran in the Northwest Herald newspaper April 4, 2007, but I've modified it a bit for you."
 Hungarian rollup pancakes, also called palacsinta, are similar to Swedish pancakes and slightly greasier than crepes. These were a staple in our household when I was growing up. They’re good for those nights when you haven’t been to the grocery store for a while but need a quick meal, and they’re fairly simple to make. Here’s my version of my great-grandmother’s recipe. We called her G.G., short for "Great-Grandma." G.G.’s Hungarian Roll-Up Pancakes (Makes about 10 pancakes) Dash of salt 2 cups flour 2 eggs About 2-1/2 cups milk Butter or margarine Heat a large skillet over a medium flame. Stir together the flour and salt in a large bowl with a whisk. Beat in the eggs and milk until fairly smooth. The batter should run in a thin stream off the whisk, thinner than regular pancake batter. If necessary, add a little more milk at a time until the consistency is right. Wipe the inside of the skillet with butter or margarine. (You can try using cooking spray, but it’s never worked well in this recipe for me.) Drop a single drop of the batter in the pan – if it starts to bubble, the pan is ready. Put 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the batter in the center of the pan and quickly tilt the pan to coat it with the batter. The pancake will cook quickly (30 seconds to 1 minute). Watch the pancake’s edge. When it peels away from the bottom and the top of the pancake dries out a little, the pancake is ready to turn. Use a large spatula, and be careful the pancake doesn’t stick together as you turn it over. Let it cook another 30 seconds or so, then take it out of the pan. Wipe the pan with butter or margarine again before the next pancake. Warm pancakes in a 200 degree F. oven until ready to serve. (Pancakes can also be refrigerated in plastic wrap and reheated later.) The pancakes are deceptively thin, so eat more than four at one sitting at your peril. To eat, spread the topping of your choice in a thin layer on the face of the pancake and roll it up. My mom swears by granulated sugar, but I also like them with honey, jam, peanut butter or Nutella. At Epicurean, a Hungarian restaurant in Westchester, Illinois, they are folded in quarters, like a napkin, and served cold with chocolate sauce and whipped cream as a dessert. Recipes on the Internet call for them to be filled with everything from apples to sweetened cottage cheese to sour cherry sauce ... even cabbage, mushrooms or bleu cheese. 
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Judi Fennell
Judi Fennell's Sexy Scallops Scallopini When the story for In Over Her Head came to me - mermen, a woman terrified of the ocean due to The Incident, Atlantis, talking fish - I just started writing what the characters told me. Live under the sea? Check. Chat with the aquatic neighbors? Check. One big happy town under Bermuda? Check. Ingredients Directions
Season scallops with salt, pepper. Arrange washed/dried red oak leaves on a serving plate as a bed. Heat oil in pan. When oil starts to sizzle add scallops. Sear until golden on both sides. Don't overcook. Set aside on bed of lettuce when finished. Add chopped garlic and red peppers to oil. Cook until just before garlic turns golden then add the wine. Simmer 1 minute. Add pineapple and stir to coat. Serve warm pineapple/wine mixture over scallops. **For a salad flair, add thinly slivered almonds and toss with finely shredded oak lettuce as bed. Drizzle fresh pineapple juice mixed with a dash of lemon juice as dressing.  I was lucky enough to meet Judi at this year's RWA. I had previously e-known her. She has a great newsletter that I would encourage everyone to sign up for. You can find her online at www.JudiFennell.com. Be sure to check out her trio of books, In Over Her Head (available NOW), Wild Blue Under (11/09) & Catch of a Lifetime (2/10).
Come Back Next Tuesday for Christine Edison's Hungarian Roll-Up Pancakes!
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Me!
Deanna Lepsch
Deanna Lepsch's Tropical Mojito Fruit Salad Ingredients
1 Fresh Pineapple, diced 1 Ripe Mango, diced 1 Ripe Papaya, diced 1-2 Large Bananas, sliced 1-2 Honeycrisp Apples, diced Fresh Mint , 10 leaves Juice from 3 limes 2 tbsp. rum 1 cup water 1 cup raw or turbinado sugar Directions 1. Soak the mint leaves in the lime juice for half an hour. 2. In a saucepan, combine sugar and water over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. 3. Remove from heat, and add rum. Cool to room temperature. 4. Remove the mint leaves, chop, and set aside. 5. Dice the fruit and place in a large bowl - make sure all of the fruit, except the banana, is chilled. 6. Add the chopped mint to the lime-mint juice, then pour into the fruit bowl. 7. Stir to coat the fruit and drizzle with the rum simple syrup. 8. Chill or serve quickly. Editor's Note: For a picture and some follow up notes, check out Deanna's blog http://betterthanbasicbetty.blogspot.com/2009/08/tropical-mojito-fruit-salad.html
 Deanna is a very, very good friend that I met at Seton Hill University. Graduating together, we suffered through massive manuscript revisions together. We still check in regularly to make sure that we're not the procrastinators we love to be. I also credit Deanna with helping me snare my husband. She's turning into a great food photographer, and you can check out those skills (and her other food-related blogging) at http://betterthanbasicbetty.blogspot.com.
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Monica McCarty
Monica McCarty's Easy Angel Hair Pasta I dug up this recipe from a cookbook I did when my husband was with the Minnesota Twins called Easy Angel Hair Pasta: (in book called "Can't Miss Angel Hair Pasta") Ingredients: Directions: 2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling water. About one minute before pasta is done, add 3. Drain pasta and toss with tomato mixture. Add olive oil to taste. Serve sprinkled with parmesan. Serves 2 as main dish or 4 as a side. Great with sourdough bread. You can substitute shallots for garlic. Great also with shrimp.
 Monica McCarty is a great author who I had the pleasure to meet at the RWA national conference this summer in Washington, DC. She has three books coming out this spring. You can check them out (and I recommend you do) at www.monicamccarty.com (which is one of the best author sites I've ever seen).
Come Back Next Tuesday for a Tasty Treat from Food Blogger Deanna Lepsch!
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Lee Allen Howard
Lee Allen Howard's Easy Marinara Sauce Easy Marinara Sauce
Makes about 3 cups of sauce. 2 large garlic cloves, smashed or minced (I use 1 tsp. minced garlic from a jar -- hey, I'm a bachelor!) 1/4 c. (or less) extra virgin olive oil (that is, if you have a spare virgin on hand) 1 28-oz. can Italian chopped tomatoes 1 small shallot, peeled and diced (or half a small onion. Or skip it altogether.) 1 tsp. sugar, to taste salt, to taste black pepper, to taste dash cayenne pepper (optional) 8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (be sure to smell your fingers all evening) In a large skillet: 1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the garlic, about 1 minute. 2. Add the diced shallot and cook another 3 minutes. Do not overbrown the garlic. 3. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper. 4. Bring to a simmer and cook 15-20 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce thickens. 5. Stir in the basil leaves. Serve over pasta. My favorite spaghetti noodles are Barilla. Be sure to cook them in filtered or spring water with adequate salt. Enjoy, but try not to get sauce on your manuscript!  Lee Allen Howard is a good friend from graduate school. It's unfortunate that we live several hours apart, because he's one of those great conversationalists. Lee is a multifaceted scholar, and his recent short theological discussions are quite thought-provoking. You can check Lee out at http://leeallenhoward.com and http://www.darkcloudpress.com.
Come Back Next Tuesday for Monica McCarty's Easy Angel Hair Pasta!
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Shelley Adina
Shelley Adina's Slapdash Risotto OK, here's the easiest risotto recipe I've ever used. It may be simple, but even finicky teenagers like it :) 1 TBSP butter 1 TBSP olive oil 1 large shallot, chopped 1/2 glass dry white wine 1 14-oz can chicken broth 3/4 cup arborio rice Grated asiago cheese Saute shallots in butter and oil until golden. Add rice and saute until lightly browned (2 minutes). Add wine and cook until absorbed (1-2 minutes). Add half of broth a little at a time; rice will absorb it as it cooks. Then add remainder of broth all at once and bring to boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer until tender (around 20 minutes). Sprinkle generously with parmesan or asiago cheese and serve. Serves 2.  WHO MADE YOU A PRINCESS? (FaithWords, May 2009) TIDINGS OF GREAT BOYS (FaithWords, September 2009)
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Donna Munro
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Matt Duvall
Matt Duvall's Poor Man's Shepherd's Pie Ingredients: 1 tank top 1 dress t-shirt 1 container mushrooms (Optional) 3 stalks of celery (Optional) 1 white onion (Optional) 1 can green beans and/or 1 can whole kernel corn 1 pound extra lean ground turkey (or, if you don't care about your body, ground beef) 1 packet instant microwave potatoes 1 cup ketchup 1/4 cup mustard 1 heaping helping of love Directions: 1. Put on the tank top. 2. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms and other vegetables. I use no-calorie spray for the skillet, but you could also use a tablespoon of olive oil. 3. Add the ground meat to the vegetables, and cook until it won't kill you. 4. Follow the directions on the package to cook the microwave potatoes. 5. Combine all ingredients in the skillet (especially the love). Stir until your tank top is covered in ketchup, mustard, love, or all three. 6. Change into the dress t-shirt and serve to your family, friends, or local street thugs. They'll love you for your great taste in clothes and in food. Matt Duvall writes humorous women's adventure fiction and nonfiction books about dress t-shirts. Check out http://project4word.blogspot.com or http://www.facebook.com/therealduv to find out more.  Matt Duvall is my husband. He's the the only one who cooks in this house. It's a good thing he's good at it!
You can also find him at www.thewriteway.org.
Come back Saturday for a fruit fly killing recipe by Donna Munro!
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Renae Johnson
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