Ex Libris

You all know how much I LOVE cooking and eating, and I just love reading culinary romances as well. I am happy to welcome back to the blog the lovely foodie romance author Kimberly Kincaid, who is back celebrating the release of her third Line novella, , a story about a sexy serious doctor and a though and feisty restaurant manager heroine ;-)  Please give Kimberly a warm welcome and you could even win a copy of the book if you answer the question at the end!

The (Other) F-Word
by Kimberly Kincaid

Confession time: I’m a gigantic foodie (what’d you think the F stood for?!)

When I tell people I write contemporary foodie romance, their eyebrows inevitably go up. The contemporary part, they get. The romance part, self-explanatory. The foodie part? Baffles them every time.

The Reader’s Digest explanation is that all my stories revolve around characters and settings that have a direct relationship with food. Chefs in traditional restaurant settings are my go-to, but I’ve also written about caterers, wine experts, restaurant owners and personal chefs. Not everyone is professionally trained or fancy. In fact, Jules, the heroine in my latest release, is the manager at Mac’s Diner, and her specialty is comforting people through comfort food. The truth is, foodie love can be found in lots of places (even off the pages and in your own kitchen!) if you know where to look for it.

But before I dive into where to cultivate the yum, let’s take a second to talk about why I do it in the first place. First (and most obviously), all characters eat. It’s a naturally occurring scenario for characters to be in, which can be appealing in that it makes them seem “regular” (read: easy to identify with). There’s a scene in my upcoming Christmas novella (in ) where my heroine is bleary-eyed and in need of a caffeine fix the morning after a long night of work. When she finally gets her coveted cup of coffee (made by the hero, of course), she’s blissfully happy. Is that a scene with which you can identify? Likely yes, even if coffee isn’t your go-to. My goal was to establish that A) my heroine was a “real” person in a familiar situation and B) the hero used food to comfort her.

Which brings me to reason #2. Food is the perfect chance for me to show readers who the characters are. Picture this: A hero in a book sits down in a bar and grille and orders a burger and a beer after a long day. A different hero frequents an Italian restaurant after his work day is over, and orders chicken Piccata and a glass of Chablis. Can you “see” these heroes in your head even though the only way I’ve described them is by what they’re having for dinner? I’m willing to bet you can—and your readers will be able to do it, too (and yes, those are two of my upcoming heroes who do exactly that in each of their books!) You don’t have to know all about food to get a good picture of who each of those characters “is”.

I feel compelled to mention that I am not a chef, and I have no extensive formal culinary training. I do love to cook, and I definitely love food, which is why I jumped both-feet-first into writing foodie romance to begin with. But research is key. I go to lots of restaurants, and I check out the flavors that go together in the dishes on the menu. I’m a recipe hog, and really big on trial and error (emphasis on error sometimes!). The recipe for stuffed French toast (see below) went through three versions before I put it into . But experimenting with food is like experimenting with what I put on the page. Drafting, editing, testing… it’s all a part of being a foodie, just like it’s part of the writing process.

Just be forewarned. Getting hungry as you read my books is an occupational hazard. So snack often, and don’t read hungry!

Jules’s Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

2 eggs
¼ cup milk (not skim, but 2% is okay)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 8-oz. package cream cheese (not fat free! Trust me on this, it doesn’t set up properly), softened
1 Tablespoon honey (I used orange flavored, but any will do)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus more for sprinkling)
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ cup orange marmalade (I just go from the jar and don’t quite measure this— it’s more to taste)
One loaf brioche, preferably a few days old, cut into an even number of one-inch thick slices
Cooking spray for the griddle

Directions:

Spray a griddle or non-stick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium heat, but no higher. While it warms, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla in a shallow bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese, honey, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sugar together until combined. Spread about 2 Tablespoons (-ish, you can eyeball this, really, but you want a good layer) of cream cheese mixture on one side of a slice of brioche. Repeat process with one Tablespoon (again, approximate, but as long as the ratio is about 2:1, you’ll be great) orange marmalade on another slice of brioche. Put both slices together like a sandwich (cream cheese facing marmalade). Repeat with remaining bread, cream cheese mixture and marmalade.

Just before cooking (and I do mean just!), dip each side of the “sandwich” in egg mixture to coat the outside of the bread completely, without soaking it through. Place immediately on the griddle. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until the bread is golden-brown and firm to the touch, and the cream cheese in melted through. Repeat with remaining “sandwiches”. Sprinkle with a dusting of cinnamon. Serve with fresh fruit or maple syrup. Makes approximately five “sandwiches”.

Feed to the one you love, preferably as breakfast in bed!

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene mounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. She is thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled , to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Her first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014. Kimberly resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Where you can find Kimberly:

Website | | | Goodreads 

GIVEAWAY: RULES 

Kimberly has generously offered an ebook copy of to a lucky commenter!

To enter just leave a comment and answer this question: What food/food combination/menu would describe you as a person?