New Contest: Recipes!

This week, we welcome back one of our favorite Pixels, Virginia Smith, as we celebrate the release of her latest book. I'll give you my review and then I'll let her tell you all about the contest and the book.

Tracy's review of A Taste of Murder - it's one of my favorites of Ginny's mysteries. She gives us real characters we care about, plenty of suspense with lots of twists and turns, and the setting - well, let's just say that I keep LOOKING for festivals like this to attend, and I've decided I'm going to have to make it to Kentucky for the one she mentions below! But I do give one small piece of advice if you decide to attend one yourself - RUN if you're asked to judge a beauty pageant! You'll have to read Ginny's book to find out WHY!

Now, here's Ginny:

I love food. If you’ve read any of my books, I’m sure you know that. In fact, the theme of my first mystery was based on one of my favorite food items – Murder by Mushroom. And my latest mystery/suspense novel, A Taste of Murder, was also inspired by food.

Every year, Owensboro, Kentucky, hosts the International Bar-B-Q Festival, and they’re home to some of the most awesome barbeque in the world. I’m not kidding. But the festival also features another major attraction, one that you might not have heard of: burgoo.

For the uninitiated, burgoo is a sort of stew made with various kinds of meat. The origins of burgoo are undocumented, but most people acknowledge its roots from way back in the days of the early American settlers, who tossed various kinds of game into a pot and called it dinner. It has changed over the years, but burgoo still contains an assortment of meats. That’s where burgoo got its reputation of “road kill stew.” Here’s a quote from A Taste of Murder:

Liz wrinkled her nose as she, too, pushed into the room. “What is burgoo?”

Jazzy grinned at her. “Your Oregon roots are showing. Every good Kentuckian knows what burgoo is.”

“It’s sort of a stew,” Caitlin explained.

“It’s made with several different kinds of meat and vegetables and spices. People in Kentucky, especially in mountains and small towns like Waynesboro, are as proud of their secret burgoo recipes as Texans are of their chili recipes.”

“I like chili.” Liz tossed her suitcase on a bed. “What kind of meat’s in it?”

Jazzy followed them inside past the closed bathroom door.

“Well, here’s what an old guy from eastern Kentucky told me when I asked that question.” She affected a hillbilly drawl. “Hit’s got whatever road kill we pick up ‘at day. Coon. Squirrel. Possum burgoo makes good eatin’, long as it ain’t bin layin’ there more’n a day or two.”

Liz’s mouth twisted. “That is disgusting.”

(from A Taste of Murder)

The first time I heard of burgoo, that’s exactly how it was described to me. I knew that had to come into a book sometime, so I wove it into A Taste of Murder.

Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear about the unique dishes around your home town. To enter this week’s contest, submit a description of a local dish along with the recipe. I’ll select a winner at random from among the entries, and when I announce the winner, I’ll also give you a recipe for authentic Kentucky Burgoo!

Submit your entries to Tracy by e-mail, and she'll post them here at Pix-N-Pens as they come in. Deadline is this Friday, midnight.

I’m looking forward to all those recipes!

TRACY here: I'm looking forward to them, too, so let's get busy! I may even make some of them myself, and post some photos. Too bad we don't have "Smell" button on our computers.