May Cookbook Update

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!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes

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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Rainbow Sprinkle Baked Donuts

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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Hasselback Baked Apples with Granola and Skyr

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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Crab-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Posted April 11, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

To me, there are two iconic scenes in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. The first is when the characters travel through a subterranean forest of giant mushrooms. The second is when they witness a deadly ocean battle between a plesiosaur and ichthyosaurus. These scenes jump out to me because they showcase Jules Verne’s exceptional skill as a science fiction writer.

I’m sure he was tempted to populate the center of the earth with plants and animals from his imagination, but instead he chose to take something familiar like a humble mushroom and make it fantastical. This was no accident.

To create an entirely alien ecosystem would have been to forget the premise of the story. This isn’t an alien world; it’s OUR world. It should be grounded in things we know. So Verne took aspects of the real world to wild extremes—giant mushrooms and living dinosaurs—to create a setting that feels otherworldly yet believable.

Inspired by this, I decided to make seafood-stuffed portobello mushrooms for this menu’s side dish.  Drawing from recipes by Cafe Delites and My Gourmet Connection, I filled the mushrooms with a mix of crab meat, green onion, garlic, lemon, and cheese (mozzarella and Parmesan). I LOVE the zingy freshness of the lemon—it’s just what’s needed to balance the earthiness of the mushroom. I topped the filling with panko crumbs and toasted them under the broiler for a bit of crunch.

Sooo good! I can’t wait to make these again. 😀

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Sakuraco Snack Box: A Review

Posted April 8, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Uncategorized / 0 Comments

 

This post is sponsored by ICHIGO Inc. I was given a free box in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

A few months ago, I got an email from ICHIGO Inc. asking if I’d like to review one of their Japanese-themed subscription snack boxes. I’ve seen promotions for their boxes before and thought they looked fun, so I decided to give it a try. Plus, Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and a box like this is a great gift!

ICHIGO makes multiple snack boxes, so I got to choose which one I wanted to review. I chose the Sakuraco box, which highlights traditional Japanese snacks and treats with a different theme each month. Most of the items are artisan snacks made by local family-owned businesses. Many don’t ship outside Japan unless it’s part of a subscription box like this, making it a truly special experience. Each box always comes with a tea and a small piece of tableware, such as a tea cup. I’m a HUGE tea fan (I even design my own tea blends), so of course I chose Sakuraco!

The theme for this box is A Night of Sakura, in honor of yozakura, the Japanese tradition of viewing sakura (cherry blossoms) at night. The box is filled with 12 different snack items—some savory, some sweet. Most of them are sakura-flavored, which can be described as delicately floral and sweet. Some of the snacks are even made with real sakura blossoms or leaves.

But I’m sure you’re eager to hear about all the fun treats you can find in the box. Let’s get started!

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Bauernfrühstück: German Ham and Potato Omelet

Posted March 28, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

I’ve made French omelets many times before, so when I saw that the characters in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH enjoy ham omelets for breakfast in Germany, I decided to try something different. After some research, I learned that there is a traditional German potato omelet called bauernfrühstück, which often includes ham. Instead of folding the fillings into a disk of cooked egg like you would with a French omelet, the egg is poured around the fillings in the pan, creating a hearty, one-pan breakfast.

There are lots of variations, so I got general inspiration from several recipes for basic bauernfrühstück (including recipes from America’s Test Kitchen, Kitchen Stories, and SBS Food). I changed the proportions to suit me and added a few small changes of my own (like mixing a bit of water with the egg to make it super fluffy).

I’m not usually a big egg-and-meat breakfast person, but I really loved this. It’s simple and satisfying without being too heavy. I think the eggs were my favorite part. Adding water to the egg helped achieve a delightfully light, fluffy texture. I also loved the kick of freshness from the green onion I sprinkled on top!

P.S. In the story, the narrator says the omelet was “garnished with spiced sorrel.” At first I thought this meant sorrel leaves, but when I looked it up, it turns out spiced sorrel is a beverage made from sorrel flowers! I didn’t make any for my omelet since I wasn’t able to source sorrel flowers (and I honestly have no clue why or how you would garnish a food with a drink). I’m wondering if the word “garnish” may have been a mistranslation of Jules Vernes’ original French text. If you know anything about spiced sorrel, traditional German omelet garnishes, or the French language, let me know! This is a mystery I’d love to solve.

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Mediterranean Roasted Grape Salad

Posted March 14, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 2 Comments

 

 

Have you ever read a book where you know you would be best friends with the main character in real life? That happened to me when I read JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jules Verne. The book is narrated by a young man named Axel, the nephew and research assistant of Professor Lidenbrock, a German geology professor. We find out Axel’s attitude toward food at the beginning of the book, and it endeared him to me immediately.

The first scene begins at dinner time, when the professor rushes in with a runic Icelandic manuscript and skips dinner to start translating it. Axel and the housekeeper are shocked, since the professor never misses meals (Axel eats his uncle’s plate of food as well as his own, since it’s so delicious). After this, Lindenbrock gets so excited about the manuscript that he insists neither one of them will sleep or eat until they translate it. Axel silently rejoices that he ate two dinners.

While the professor is out of the room, Axel accurately translates part of the manuscript, realizing it gives instructions for how to journey to the center of the Earth (roll credits!). Certain the trip would be fatal–and equally certain his uncle would want them both to go anyway–he doesn’t tell the professor he figured out what the manuscript says. Stealing his nerves, he resolves to miss breakfast AND lunch in the name of avoiding a crazy subterranean expedition (spoiler: the professor figures it out anyway 😆).

I laughed SO HARD when I read the first scene, and from that moment on, Axel was my new best friend. That’s when I decided to make a menu for JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH!

Today’s recipe is inspired by the part of the book when the characters are on a Mediterranean island surrounded by fruit trees, including grapes and pomegranates. Drawing inspiration from the region, I decided to make a roasted grape salad, sticking primarily to Mediterranean ingredients. Starting with a spinach base, I added crumbled feta and toasted almonds, topping it all off with fresh pomegranate arils and homemade pomegranate vinaigrette. For the finishing touch, I added some balsamic roasted grapes I made using a recipe by Beautiful Eats & Things.

This Mediterranean roasted grape salad is easy, healthy, and super refreshing. The perfect pick-me-up after a journey to the center of the Earth . . . or a long night of translating an Icelandic manuscript! 😉

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February Cookbook Update

Posted February 29, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Uncategorized / 2 Comments

 

 

Hi, everybody! Just wanted to give you an update on how things are progressing with the extended edition of A LITERARY PICNIC:

  • THE ROAD SO FAR. I’ve already finalized several recipes, including some that I thought would be really difficult. I’m loving my progress so far! Right now I’m mostly working on bread recipes, since I can freeze them for use in picnic pictures when the weather warms up. Check out these beautiful potato rolls I made:

  • HOW BIG WILL THE EXTENDED EDITION BE? Hopefully 50 recipes (double what it is right now). However, I may have to cut some if I can’t get copyright permissions. Four of the books I’m making new menus for are public domain, but I’m considering two different copyrighted books for the final menu. I’ve contacted the publishers, but it can take months to hear back (and I don’t know how much the permissions will cost). Fingers crossed that I hear back in time and can afford the fee!
  • PRINT FORMAT NEWS. I got some good news regarding printing! As you may recall, my book will be printed/distributed by IngramSpark. I thought for sure I’d have to reformat my whole book for print, since I doubted they offered an 8.5″x11″ option. As it turns out, they do! I’m so relieved! I expected to spend at least a few weeks reformatting, but now I won’t have to do that at all. 🥳
  • MY PIE-IN-THE-SKY SUMMER DEADLINE. Does the time I’ll save on formatting mean I’ll achieve my dream of a summer publication date? Maybe, but it’s still very uncertain. Some of you might remember that I made a menu for ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL last year because I was having health issues and craved comfort TV. My symptoms have improved but could show up again soon. My doctor has me on some new medication that may help, but I’ll need to take it easy and go in for extra appointments to monitor the situation. Since I don’t want to push myself, I’m still treating a summer publication date as possible but not exactly probable.
  • NEW COVER? I totally love the book’s original cover, but I’m toying with idea of having one professionally done. This will heavily depend on the cost and how long it would take. Hopefully I’ll have an update on that next month. If you know any cover artists who you think would be a good fit, share their name and website/socials in the comments!
  • Also check out this funny little quiche I made with leftovers from a pastry recipe!😆

 

I’ll post another update in a month or two,
hopefully with more pics to share! See you then!

Chili and Cinnamon Infused Chocolate Bonbons with Horchata Caramel Filling

Posted February 15, 2024 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

 

 

Time to wrap up my first menu of the year with a dessert I’ve been looking forward to for months: chili-cinnamon chocolate bonbons with horchata caramel filling, inspired by MY FINE FELLOW! When I first read the book, the descriptions of elegant gourmet food floored me, and this was one of my favorites. The idea of chili-cinnamon chocolate sounds amazing all on its own, but throw in caramel flavored with horchata and you’ve got something downright decadent.

To make these bonbons, I added ground cinnamon and chili powder in a pot with some chocolate and melted it down, letting the chili and cinnamon infuse into the chocolate. I used this chocolate to line some candy molds (I decided to use a crown mold since, in the story, these are made for the Royal Culinary Exhibition). For the filling, I started with an horchata recipe I found on AllRecipes and subbed out the milk for heavy cream (this helps cut down on the water being added to the caramel later, which helps control consistency). I caramelized some sugar in a pan, then added in some butter, a bit of the horchata cream, and a touch of chili powder.

These. Bonbons. Are. INREDIBLE! I can’t get enough of them. The chili lends a savory warmth that is accentuated by the horchata, and it helps cut the intense sweetness of the caramel. Interestingly, the individual flavors of the chili, cinnamon, and horchata aren’t easy to isolate. Instead, they come together to make a new, warm, rich flavor, which is balanced by just a touch of bitterness from the chocolate. My four-year-old tried one, and when I asked her if she liked it, she sighed and pretended to faint on the floor. I’d say that’s high praise!

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