New Books and Great Cooks

The first part of this blog is an announcement of my next book. It's something totally different from anything I've done before; one viewpoint character (Sadie Hoffmiller), no LDS themes, not set in Utah, and brimming with some of my favorite recipes. Yes, after eight LDS novels, I've tried my hand at a Culinary Mystery--Lemon Tart. The story is about Sadie Hoffmiller, a retired teacher, widow, mother of two, and neighborhood busibody who takes the case when her neighbor, Anne Lemmon, is found dead in her back yard. Anne's 2 year old son, Trevor, is no where to be found and when the police start treating Sadie like a suspect, she determines she has no choice but to prove her own innocence. The easiest way to do this, of course, is to figure out who killed Anne in the first place, rescue Trevor, and restore order to the world she's always known. In addition to a great story (if I do say so myself) the book includes five of my favorite recipes guaranteed to put a smile on any readers face. Never underestimate the power of baked goods.

Lemon Tart will be published by Deseret Book in the spring of 2009, to be followed a few months later by the second book in the series, English Trifle, which I'm currently working on, and which brings me to the second part of this post.



I'm looking for cooks, bakers, people who, like me, love getting lost in cream of tarter and finding themselves up to their elbows in chocolate ganache. With Lemon Tart, I baked ferociously and then with the help of a Deseret Book employee (and fabulous cook), figured out the final details for each recipe. This time, I want to perfect the recipes as I go, but I need the help of fellow goddesses (and gods) of the kitchen to make it work. I'm looking for half a dozen people that are willing to cook up a recipe to make sure it works in their kitchen. Any tricks, additions, step-saving practices, etc, will be welcome. Each recipe will be an experience of creation and I need bakers commited to the cause of culinary perfection. Some points to consider:

*Participants will be added to a private blog for Sadie's Test Kitchen
*A new recipe will be posted about every two weeks
*Recipes will be simple enough to be executed in a household kitchen, but will be fun enough to be new and different.
*Participants will agree to cook up each recipe at least twice.
*Test cooks will recieve two copies of each book they participate in and get mention as one of the Test Kitchen Bakers in the acknowledgements section of said book.
*Participants will sign a contract promising to keep the details of each recipe a secret until the book is released.
*If at any time being one of Sadie's bakers interferes with life as you know it, participants may quit at any time with no hard feelings from me.

If you're interested in joining Sadie's Test Kitchen, please reply as such to this blog or contact me at kilpack@gmail.com

**KITCHEN IS NOW FULL. IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE PUT ON MY ALTERNATE LIST, I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BUT WE'VE GOT ALL THE COOKS WE NEED FOR NOW. THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT SUPPORT!