Being the former Goth girl that I am, of course there is no monster I love more than that big, bad granddad of vampires, Dracula! We have a return guest in Allie Pino, whose upcoming Gothic Cookbook takes a bloody delicious bite out of Stoker's literary masterpiece, and we talk about the Gothic in literature, Gothic food and the sheer sexiness of vampires. I also share my method for a delicious, very garlicky, tomatoey Eastern European chicken dish that is native to Transylvania, so enjoy and watch out for those fangs! To learn more about Allie Pino and her upcoming Gothic Cookbook, and to learn how to get a copy for yourself or your favorite Goth, visit: https://unbound.com/books/a-gothic-cookbook/ and use code GOTHICPOD10 for 10% off! You can also follow her on Instagram @sasacharlie or use the hashtag #Gothiccookbook so give her a follow! Follow my food blog at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

Please note: We experienced some technical difficulties while recording so I apologize for the audio quality in places where it fades out.  Happy end of April, Constant Listeners! It's National Jazz Appreciation Month, and I thought I'd focus on one of the Jazz Age books that I love most in the world. We are also talking with Dr. Eddie Tafoya, repeat customer here at the podcast, where we discuss Jay Gatsby's pride and pecadilloes, we debate whether he truly loved Daisy or just what she represents, and I extol the virtues and joys of that most 1920s of cocktails, the mint julep! To learn more about the work of Dr. Eddie Tafoya, visit: www.eddietafoya.com If you enjoy this podcast, you might like my blog, so check it out at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

It's the marvelous month of March, and this month's episode features a wonderful book set in Renaissance Italy that is filled to the joyous brim with luscious food descriptions, a forbidden love, and a secret that brings to mind The DaVinci Code. I am also interviewing the book's author, the wonderful and talented Crystal King. We talk Italian cuisine, culinary appropriation, which social media platform would Renaissance chefs use most, and I also share a recipe for polpette di vitello con pinoli, e cipolla con una riduzione di aceto balsamico, which was published in the companion cookbook to King's novel, so give it a listen and try not to drool! Check out my blog at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks Learn more about the works of Crystal King at: https://www.crystalking.com/

A belated holiday-themed episode awaits you today! We are discussing the ultimate New Mexico Christmas food - the biscochito, and I interview the talented Eric Martinez of Los Foodies, which is an amazing food magazine and marketing group here in our home state. Eric and I talk about the importance of food for a truly New Mexico Christmas, and the origin story of biscochitos in Rudolfo Anaya's classic children's book The Farolitos of Christmas and I share my dear grandmother's tried and true method for making these wonderful anise-studded cookies, so enjoy! Learn more about my blog at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks And if you want to know more about Eric's work, visit: www.losfoodiesmagazine.com

To be or not to be, that is the question, and one of many questions and quandaries we'll be discussing in today's episode, focusing on my favorite of all William Shakespeare's plays, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. My special guest, author and marvelous cook Giovanni Franceschini, joins me to talk about his satirical novel Dinner at Shakespeare's Globe (written under his pseudonym Tonno Bisaccio) which recreates several Shakespearean plays in hilarious ways focusing on food. Giovanni and I will also discuss the meaning of food in The Bard's work, which is our favorite Shakespearean meal and answer the age-old question - was Shakespeare really Shakespeare? Learn more about Giovanni Franceschini's awesome book of rhyming couplets and recipes - and consider buying it - at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082RFLCXK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2 If you enjoy this podcast, you will probably like my blog, over at: www.foodinbooks.com You might even enjoy liking me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks And you may even want to follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

We're entering the holy season of Halloween, and what better way to kick off this eerie time of the year with a discussion of one of literature's great Gothic novels and its melodramatic themes of love, grief, obsession, and of course food! I also get to interview the wonderful Alessandra Pino, or Allie as she is known to her friends, the co-author of the marvelous illustrated book of recipes titled A Gothic Cookbook and we share our thoughts on the various foods mentioned in Rebecca, as well as a character analysis of the nameless heroine of the tale and we answer the great question - was Mrs. Danvers in love with Rebecca?  You can learn more about Allie's work on her Instagram feed at: www.instagram.com/agothiccookbook @agothiccookbook or on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/foodforflo @foodforflo, and you can learn more about her cookbook at: unbound.com/books/a-gothic-cookbook. If you're interested in supporting the cookbook and purchasing a copy, use the discount code: GOTHICPOD10  If you enjoy this podcast, you might like my blog, so give it a whirl at: www.foodinbooks.com You can also like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Or you can follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

We're taking on Mario Puzo's operatic masterpiece The Godfather today, talking about the merits of both the book and the classic film trilogy, with Dr. Eddie Tafoya, English professor and self-professed expert on this topic, and I will share a mouth-wateringly delicious veal recipe, so enjoy! Follow my blog at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks Learn more about Eddie Tafoya's work at: http://www.eddietafoya.com/

We're talking Stephen King again today with one of his darkest, most devastating and terrifying books of all, discussing how grief and not accepting death can bring about true horror, and I share my method for making one of the most homey and comforting dishes of all - and God knows we need some comfort food after this book! - so tune in and enjoy! Cooking the Books is a proud member of the Barelas Podcasters Guild. Check them out on Instagram at: instagram.com/barelaspodguild If you like this podcast, you'll probably enjoy my blog, so check it out at: www.foodinbooks.com You can like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks And you can follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

Today's episode takes on one of the horniest and neurotic young men in modern literature, his obsession with self-pleasure, and a delicious cream-filled dessert, so enjoy! Special thanks to Dr. Eddie Tafoya, Professor of English Literature, whose ability to narrate a certain passage from this book with a completely straight face has earned him my gratitude, not to mention much giggling on my part. :) If you like this podcast, you might enjoy my blog at: www.foodinbooks.com Like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks

The man who was my first literary boyfriend, Edgar Allan Poe himself, and one of his masterpiece works, are the subject of today's podcast, as I expound on the dark genius of the man, his opium-like literary style, and describe a culinary dish worthy of the Spanish Inquisition. And special thanks to the handsome, intelligent, funny, and always annoying Dr. Eddie Tafoya, who provided some of today's audio. Check out some of his work at: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2007937.Eddie_Tafoya Like what you hear? Then check out my blog at: www.foodinbooks.com You can also like me on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/foodinbooks Or follow me on Instagram at: www.instagram.com/foodinbooks