FOODFIC: Please Welcome Brenda Whiteside, Author of Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder

I started life as an artist, but after taking some evening classes in creative writing, just for fun, I discovered I enjoyed filling a blank page with words more than a canvas with paint. The first few books I published traditionally were romances. I soon expanded my genre to romantic suspense. 

And I was perfectly happy until an idea popped into my head. Twice a year, my sister and I celebrate our birthdays at an historic inn in Prescott, Arizona with a chocolate martini. We eventually called ourselves the Chocolate Martini Sisters. That’s when the idea struck. I wanted to write a cozy mystery series with two sisters who did just what we did but solved murder mysteries on their martini weekends. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I wanted a friend in Minnesota to join me in this series. She agreed and, voila, the Chocolate Martini Sisters Mystery books took flight.

Although not based on food fancies, eating related themes have come with a couple of our plots. In book one, Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder, a particularly obnoxious food critic plays a major role. The sisters, Emma and Nicole, love to eat in the Azul Restaurant and Saloon that is attached to the Dulce Inn where they spend their birthday weekends in Wyatt, Arizona. The Azul has scrumptious food that the critic somehow finds fault with.

Our third book and most recent Chocolate Martini Sisters mystery, Cornbread, Ribs, and Murder, has quite a bit to do with food. For the first time, we included a recipe in the book. In Arizona, a rib cookoff and cornbread fits the setting. Add murder, and the sisters have a lot on their plates.

It’s a rib cookoff…with a recipe for murder.

Nicole Earp and Emma Banefield are celebrating another birthday at the Dulce Inn with the added fun of a rib cookoff in the park. Not only are chocolate martinis in their plans, Nic has her heart set on winning the cornbread contest. But as the excitement bakes, someone is stirring up trouble for the inn and its employees. 

Strange occurrences at the Dulce are on the rise. Slashed tires, menacing phone calls, and unsavory characters add a vibe that threatens the sisters’ anticipated fun-filled stay. When the hot-headed hotel owner is caught wielding a bloody letter opener over a dead coworker, the sisters are embroiled in a caper to help the one person who finds their sleuthing as welcomed as a rattlesnake in her bed. But is she innocent? 

The Chocolate Martini Sisters are primed to find out. First, they’ll have to eliminate a host of suspects that includes a dishonest restaurant owner, a jilted girlfriend, an ex-wife, the barkeeper, and a masseuse with a crush. If they can stay off the radar of the surly chief homicide detective long enough, they can put out the fire…unless the killer burns them first. 

Nic is not known for her cooking acuity, but she does love trying new things. She’s entered the cornbread contest with a sweet and spicy recipe that is sure to please. Does she win? Do the sisters solve the murder mystery?

Thanks for sharing your food for thought, Brenda!

You can find all the Chocolate Martini Mystery books here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BQ9T7ZBX

Nic’s Cornbread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 jalapeno, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 9-inch square baking pan.

Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, sugar, and honey together until well combined. Whisk in egg and then the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until combined. Add the jalapenos. Avoid over-mixing. 

Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Use a toothpick to test the center is cooked through. Edges should be crispy. Allow to cool slightly before serving.  

About the Authors:

After hearing countless stories as a mental health professional, Joyce Proell retired to create her own tales. As an award-winning author, she writes historical romance and cozy mystery where all endings are guaranteed happy. She shares her home on the prairie with a husband and a little dog with a big personality. When she isn’t reading or writing, she likes to swim and finds baking almost as relaxing as a day at the spa. 

Visit Joyce at her website: JoyceProell.com

or Facebook.com/JoyceProellAuthor

Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. She writes children’s books under the pen name, Brenda Sue. After living in six states and two countries, she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart and won't discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes. 

Visit Brenda at BrendaWhiteside.com

or Facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor