Posted July 18, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry. There’s absolutely NO pigeon in this pie (it’s chicken!😁). Today’s recipe is a freebie from my new cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC: EXTENDED EDITION, which includes a menu inspired by the works of Jane Austen. Pigeon pie was a popular meal in Jane Austen’s day and is served in EMMA, so I decided to make it the entrée for both my Austen cookbook menu and my EMMA blog menu.
In these mini pot pies, the shredded chicken is mixed with a few veggies and an ultra flavorful broth seasoned with garlic, lemon, sage, ginger, and . . . mead! Jane Austen was an enthusiastic winemaker, and the Austen family recipe for homemade mead survives today. If you want to be really hardcore, you can use it to make your own mead for your pigeon pies.
Let’s get cooking!
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Posted July 4, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
Some of you may recall I finished my first Jane Austen book (NORTHANGER ABBEY) last year and loooved it. After finishing NORTHANGER, I was eager to jump into my next Austen read, so after careful consideration, I chose EMMA.
Is it possible I love this book even more? I can see why EMMA is so many people’s favorite Austen book. I think it’s where Austen’s strengths as a writer—wit, social commentary, dynamic characters, and realistic relationships—truly shine.
So of course I had to make a menu for EMMA! We’re starting off this menu with an homage to Mr. Robert Martin, who made what I consider to be one of the most underrated romantic gestures in a Jane Austen novel: walking 3 miles to gather walnuts, just because he heard Harriet Smith liked them. In honor of Mr. Martin’s devotion, we’re making walnut scones! I decided to add some honey and chopped dates too, since I love the honey-walnut-date flavor trio.
These scones are tender and buttery with a touch of both savory and sweet. They’d be perfect with a generous schmear of honey butter or blackberry jam!
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Posted July 1, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Uncategorized / 0 Comments
Today is publication day for my new cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC: EXTENDED EDITION! You can now find hardcover version on Amazon. How about a sneak peek of what’s inside? Below you’ll find pics from the Anne of Green Gables menu, along with descriptions of the recipes. This was the very first menu I added to the extended edition, and I LOVE how it turned out. Let’s take a look!
THE ANNE OF GREEN GABLES MENU
DELIGHTFUL APPLESAUCE. Named in honor of the White Way of Delight, an avenue of blossoming apple trees Anne sees when she first arrives in Avonlea, this homemade applesauce is flavored with a touch of orange and ginger.
CURRIED CARROT & CHICKEN SANDWICHES. These homemade buttermilk biscuit sandwiches are filled with curried carrot chicken salad—very similar to coronation chicken, a popular dish in Anne’s day.
FRENCH CARROT SALAD. Called “carottes râpées” in it’s native French, this carrot salad is simple yet elegant. After a taste of this, even Anne Shirley might learn to love carrots!
MARILLA’S PLUM PUFFS. This is one of my favorite desserts in the whole book, and it’s super easy. Sweet, tart, and super buttery!
RASPBERRY CORDIAL ITALIAN SODA. Homemade raspberry cordial mixed with club soda and half-and-half to create an elevated sipping experience.
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A LITERARY PICNIC is now available to order on Amazon!
Posted June 27, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Uncategorized / 0 Comments
Hi, everybody! I’m back with another update on the publication process for my upcoming cookbook, A LITERARY PICNIC: EXTENDED EDITION. I decided to wait to share this until the publication date was finalized. Now it has been, and it’s VERY SOON! Here are all the details:
- PUBLICATION DATE. After weeks of waiting for proof copies and final approval, my book has finally passed the Amazon KDP review process! It will publish on Monday July 1st. Next week! 🥳🥳🥳 I’m sooo excited, but also I little nervous. I haven’t seen the proof copy of the absolutely final version of the book (I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to order any more proofs after the submission process was finalized 😬). However, I only made a couple formatting changes in the final version, so there shouldn’t be an issue. I’m still going to order a copy as soon as the order page goes live so I can see it in person, but I don’t anticipate any problems.
- AMAZON EBOOK AND INGRAMSPARK HARDCOVER/EBOOK. I’m currently finishing up the submission process for the Amazon ebook, which should be available the same day as the hardcover (the review process for ebooks is shorter since there are no proof copies involved). Once that’s done, I’ll submit my manuscript to IngramSpark. The Ingram catalogue is how most bookstores and libraries order books. This way, if you’d rather not buy through Amazon, you can ask your local bookstore or library to order through Ingram. Just be aware the price will be different, since IngramSpark requires a wholesale markup. I’ll be sure to share on social media when it’s available through Ingram (you can find me on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter/X, and Facebook).
- CARROT APPLE HAND PIE RECIPE FIXED. While editing, I noticed an error in one of the book’s original recipes and fixed it. If you have the original mini ebook of A LITERARY PICNIC, be aware that the Peter Rabbit recipe for Carrot Apple Hand Pies doesn’t tell you to gather and re-roll the scraps of dough to cut out more shapes. Granted, it’s probably obvious when you’re making it that you need to re-roll the dough to get the required number of shapes, but I still fixed it so it won’t cause confusion.
- PUBLICATION DAY SNEAK PEEK. On Monday (publication day), I’ll post a sneak peek of one of the menus with a link to the Amazon page where you can order A LITERARY PICNIC.
- That’s it for now! I’ll close out with a pic of these super cute book page roses I got from Etsy and used in the centerpiece for the Anne of Green Gables tablescape in the book:
See you Monday!
Posted June 20, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
The moment has come! It’s time to wrap up this menu with a recipe from the titular book of the IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE series. Of course it was always going to be chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted a way to make them just a bit different. Then I thought: mouse-sized cookies!
This was my first time making mini chocolate chip cookies, but not my first time playing with scale. I’ve made giant chocolate cookies before (once for The Hobbit and another time for Where the Wild Things Are), but mini cookies are a whole different animal. For a giant cookie, you want it to be a bit more poofy and and cakey, since it needs enough structural integrity to hold up to being cut into slices. Mini cookies, on the other hand, should be less cakey to help them retain moisture, since it’s easy to over bake them.
Using my giant cookie recipe as a jumping off point, I scaled down and adjusted the proportions to create a soft, chewy cookie–one that wouldn’t be prone to dryness, even if it’s over baked a minute or two.
I’m very happy with the flavor and texture, though I think they came out a little pale. I think I’ll try refrigerating the dough for a day or two next time. I’ve heard aging the dough like that produces a more golden brown cookie (and more complex flavor!).
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Posted June 6, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
IF YOU GIVE A MOOSE A MUFFIN has always been my favorite book in the IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE series. It was the first book from the series my mom ever read to me, so it holds a special place in my heart. I love the autumnal setting, the adorable red sweater the moose wears, and the way his antlers stick out when he’s trying to hide behind the couch. It’s such a cute, cozy read!
As a nod to the book’s subtle autumn theme, I decided to make maple walnut muffins. I wanted to add a lil somethin’ extra to make them special, so I threw in some butterscotch chips. And of course, I made some blackberry jam to go with it! 😉
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Posted May 30, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Uncategorized / 0 Comments
Hi, everybody! I’m back with another update on the publication process for my upcoming cookbook, the extended edition of A LITERARY PICNIC. I planned to do an update much sooner than this, but some big variables took extra time to finalize. I decided to wait until I knew for sure what those things would look like, and now I do! So here are all the juicy details:
- THE ROAD SO FAR. I’m finished with all the recipe testing and photographs. I typed the recipes directly into my formatted Canva document instead of transcribing it from Word like I did with my last book, so that saved me a LOT of time. Right now I’m just tweaking the design and doing final edits before submitting my final manuscript for print. Check out this cute little strawberry fool I made for my Jane Austen menu:
- HOW BIG WILL THE EXTENDED EDITION BE? The final recipe count is 45 recipes. This includes the original 25 recipes, plus 20 brand new ones. One of the reasons I took so long to share an update was because I was still in talks with a publishing company about licensing permissions. Most of the books I make menus for are in the public domain, but this time there was a copyrighted book I wanted to include. The publisher said they’d get back to me with a quote, but it’s been several weeks with no word. As much as I wanted to include a menu for that book, I decided that delaying my publication date past summer would hurt book sales too much. So at this point, even if they get back to me with a quote, I still plan to move forward without adding that additional menu. Maybe I can include it in my next book!
- PRINT FORMAT NEWS. In addition to distributing my book through IngramSpark, I will now also be distributing through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program. This will allow me to price my book more competitively for individual sale on Amazon while still making it available for purchase through the Ingram catalogue for bookstores, libraries, and schools. A LITERARY PICNIC will be available on Amazon first, then 2-3 weeks later on Ingram (it will take me some time to reformat the document to Ingram’s specifications and get it approved).
- MY PIE-IN-THE-SKY SUMMER DEADLINE. It looks like I’ll achieve my crazy dream of not just a summer publication date, but possibly an EARLY summer pub date! Those copyright permissions falling through was a blessing in disguise, because it significantly cut my writing time. My goal is to have my final edits finished by Monday next week. After that, it’s just depends on how long it takes Amazon to approve the manuscript and if I need to make any changes after seeing the proof copy. If the approval process is slow, my publication date will likely be July 1st. However, if things move fast, I can publish as early as June 17th. I’ll let you know the final date ASAP!
- UPDATED COVER. I toyed with the idea of hiring a cover artist, but it’s just not in my budget at the moment. Plus, I genuinely love my original cover. I’m keeping the cover design mostly the same (because I adore it), but I want the cover for the extended edition to be noticeably different from the original. Hopefully, this will cut down on confusion between the two editions. I inverted the border and center colors from the original cover, which I was nervous about at first. However, I think I might actually like it better than the original! Teal is my favorite color, so I like having it front and center. Plus, having a darker color behind the text makes it easier to read. Here’s a rough mockup of the design:
- That’s it for now! I’ll close out with a pic of this sweet little rabbit who came to hang out with me while I took pics for my Peter Pan menu!😆
I’ll post another update when
I’ve finalized the publication date,
hopefully with a sneak peek
of one of the new menus.
See you then!
Posted May 23, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
Today’s recipe is inspired by IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE, part of the classic children’s book series IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE. I’ve made traditional pancakes on this blog before, so I wanted to try something fun and different. I decided to combine pancakes with a classic childhood food: peanut butter and jelly!
The pancakes are traditional buttermilk pancakes with melted peanut butter whisked into the batter and a bit of peanut butter spread on top of each finished pancake for some extra peanut oomph. But the real star of this dish is the homemade strawberry syrup. It’s super easy, makes a whopping 3 cups, and is sooo dang delicious. The secret is to use frozen strawberries, which are cheaper than fresh and frozen at peak freshness.
This is such a fun way to combine two classic foods. And I’m am in LOVE with this syrup. I can’t wait to make it again!
P.S. I had some leftover syrup so I served it with French toast bites and oh man I can’t get over how good it is! The sweet-tart strawberry flavor is the perfect balance for rich French toast.
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Posted May 9, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
Warm weather always makes me want to make menus for light, fun reads. I haven’t made a picture book menu in a while, so I thought it would be fun to make recipes inspired by each of the books from the IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE series. Let’s start with rainbow sprinkle baked donuts inspired by IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT!
Originally, my plan was to make apple cider donuts as a nod to the apple juice from the story, but I’ve already make apple-flavored donuts multiple times before (like apple cider donut holes and crullers). I wanted to try something new, so I decided to make birthday cake flavored baked donuts, drawing my inspiration from the rainbow sprinkle donut on the cover of the book. Plus, I’ve wanted to by a donut baking pan for years, so this was the perfect excuse!
The recipe I use here is a variation on a recipe from Sprinkle Bakes, tweaked to suit my needs. The final product reminded me of a cupcake in all the best ways. If you’re someone (like me) who loves the cake part of cupcakes and would happily eat one frosting-free, you’ll love these donuts. In fact, although I put icing on top to match the illustration on the book cover, I think they’re better without it. If I make these again, I think I’ll leave them plain. And the rainbow sprinkles mixed through the batter are so much fun!
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Posted April 25, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments
At the beginning of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, the characters enjoy breakfast in an Icelandic village before traveling to Snäfell (a dormant volcano) to begin their descent into the Earth. Curious about what they may have eaten there, I started to research Icelandic breakfasts and discovered that skyr (high-protein yogurt) is a popular breakfast item. I’ve made homemade yogurt in the past, and I thought it would be fun to try a new variety. But what to pair it with?
I decided to do a breakfast-y baked apple topped with skyr and granola. Instead of baking the apples whole and stuffing them with filling, I decided to make them hasselback style, cutting them in half and cutting thin slices into the tops. This way, the toppings can slip between the slices, allowing each bite to be more balanced. I developed my own hasselback apple recipe loosely based on the baked apples in my cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK. The granola is a crunchy, pared-down version of the granola bars in my latest book, A LITERARY PICNIC. For the skyr, I started with a recipe by the Jules Food blog and tweaked it to suit my experience.
These apples turned out delicious! They have just the right balance of sweet, savory, soft, and crunchy. The best part is, even though they’re super healthy, they actually eat like a dessert. So you could have them for breakfast, a special treat, or both!
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