Kate Lansing

Playing Chef

Recently, my brilliant editor approached me with the idea to include recipes and suggested wine pairings at the back of each of my mystery novels. As a self-respecting foodie, I was all for this idea!

I’ve watched Food Network for years, enjoying learning about various cooking techniques and food fads. And it’s been a not-so-secret daydream of mine to be invited to Ina Garten’s house for dinner someday (Ina, if you’re reading this, my schedule is wide open in September).

As it turns out, coming up with a recipe isn’t quite as easy as it looks on tv.

Instead of being poised like the fabulous Barefoot Contessa—who’s catchphrase is How easy was that?!—I felt more like Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.

Because, while I’ve always been an avid cook, making a recipe easy to follow—and repeatable—is tough. I kept having to remind myself to, you know, actually measure ingredients instead of casually tossing in a dash of this and a pinch of that.

And it amazed me how much slightly altering the quantity of one ingredient matters in, say, mango chutney. Or chocolate truffles.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the experimenting was definitely fun, too! Especially tasting and coming up with the perfect wine pairings. (Major props to my wonderfully supportive husband who tried my *many* iterations of each recipe!)

In the end, I’m proud of what I came up with. They’re based on dishes that make appearances in my book, and are fairly close to what I envisioned:

• Mango chutney grilled shrimp, paired with a citrusy sauvignon blanc with herbal notes on the nose and tropical fruit on the palate.
• Italian ratatouille with a balsamic glaze, paired with a light-bodied pinot noir with aromas of cherry and vanilla, and bursting flavors of summer berries.
• Dark chocolate espresso truffles, paired with a full-bodied cabernet sauvignon that smells like a campfire and tastes like dried cherries.

Have you ever come up with your own recipe? What beverage would you pair with it?

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