Showing posts with label Michael Lee West. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Lee West. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Happy Birthday, Queen of Southern Novels






Michael Lee West

Queen of Southern Novels

Happy 60th Birthday, Michael Lee!





This post is a tribute to

 Michael Lee West,

 host of Rattlebridge Farm, Foodie Friday, 

 and author of seven novels with

an eighth one, soon to be published.




Michael Lee lives on a farm 

in rural Tennessee 

with her husband, son, and 

a menagerie of animals.

You can find Michael Lee at her blog, 

Rattlebridge Farm

 where she shares her love 

 of gardening, baking, and Yorkies.




I had intended to host a 

birthday picnic in the garden, 

but Mother Nature didn't cooperate.

Not complaining!  We've had an incredible

12 inches, and it's still raining off and on.




Instead, I moved the celebration 

inside to the sun room.




The table is set with all white dishes for

Cuisine Kathleen's Let's Dish Challenge.




I chose green as my accent color, 

as I was the recent recipient of a gift package from


Carol sent me a package of cute tags stamped in green 

and white napkins with a beautiful lace edge

that she hand crocheted.




I tied a tag to each cup.

This is an adorable idea for

place cards for guests.




Each tag comes 

with an engraved heart.

Yes, we all LOVE you, 

Michael Lee!




Michael Lee writes with incredible wit, 

all the while interweaving delicious vignettes of 

food and recipes straight from the kitchens of 

her vivid and distinctly southern characters.

Michael Lee's novels will have you

Laughing Out Loud!




Look at Carol's beautiful hand work

in this lovingly crocheted lace edging.




It's a perfect compliment 

to the edges of the embossed plates 

by Certified International   .   .   .




As well as the graceful 

carving on the Mother of Pearl flatware.




I tucked these darling towels by Waverly 

between the salad and dinner plates 

 to separate the white on white of the plates.

They are a perfect match to the green tablecloth 

and were a gift from Cuisine Kathleen a few years ago.

I don't think Kathleen will mind that 

I mixed in a touch of floral.

 Thank again, Kathleen!




~ White, Green, and a Touch of Floral ~ 

 Probably doesn't pass the challenge!





A special thank you to 


for the delightful gift package.




Now make a wish and 

blow out the candles,

birthday girl!





Happy Birthday, Michael Lee!





I know all you Foodie Friday bakers 

 are eager to know how to make this special cake.

 Lean in closely, and I'll share my secret.

 First secure a large bag of packaged cotton candy.

 Carefully unwrap and gently pull 

 apart to fill large martini glass.

 Handle as little as possible and work quickly!

 Presto, instant birthday cake

 cotton candy style! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Click here to see Michael Lee's 

work available on Amazon.




Joining the Novel Bakers and Friends

to celebrate our friend,

Michael Lee West.

Click the links below to join in as we celebrate.



Also Joining

Continue Reading....
70 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Thursday, April 19, 2012

A TEENY BIT OF TROUBLE, by Michael Lee West



A TEENY BIT OF TROUBLE

By 
Michael Lee West

Available here on Amazon.



A delicious peach of a book, this latest installment of Teeny Templeton's hilarious adventures hit the bookstores April 10th.  My copy arrived the following Friday, so I spent an enjoyable weekend with the zany Charleston pastry chef who is forever cooking up something in the kitchen and attracting trouble.




Michael Lee's GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN, introduced us to Teeny Templeton, a tiny Georgia peach of a trouble magnet who makes up recipes to suit her mood or situation. At the conclusion of  GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN,  Teeny had been cleared of murder charges, was in love and reunited with her childhood crush, and had just discovered an unexplained 10 year old from said boyfriend's past.





Raised by her Aunt Bluette, Teeny grew up on a peach orchard in the fictional Bonaventure, Georgia.  Now that Aunt Bluette is deceased, the home and orchard belong to Teeny.  It's no surprise  that peaches are a huge part of Teeny's cooking repertoire.




And Teeny's faithful bulldog, Sir, is right beside her.





"All I had left was the memory of romance.  It reminded me of the perfect peach pie, where your fork breaks through the flaky, top crust into the sweet, amber-colored filling and the flavors of summer melt on your tongue. "







Aunt Bluette's Fresh Peach Pie
(A procedure, not a recipe)

Buy or make two pie crusts.  Put the bottom crust into a 9" pie pan.  Peel and slice a dozen ripe Elbertas.  Arrange the slices in the bottom of the pie shell.  In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 cup peach preserves, and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.  Mix and pour over peaches.  Dot the mixture with pieces of cold butter.  Roll out the second crust.  Using a pastry wheel, cut the pastry into strips.  Lay strips on top of peaches and make a lattice design.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.  Serve with vanilla ice cram.  Garnish with sugared pecans.






"Teeny Templeton witnesses a murder, she discovers that her lawyer-boyfriend, Coop O'Malley, has been keeping secrets.  And then even more trouble comes knocking at her door ~ trouble in the form of a precocious ten-year-old girl who might just be Coop's daughter.  As more lies explode, Teeny finds herself trapped in Bonaventure, Georgia, a zany "little Savannah," where she must gather DNA from a child genius as she tries to outwit a stalker, decode an encrypted diary, and fend off the advances of an ex-beau.  is forced to return to her hometown, and begins to uncover a heap of secrets about Coop." Book jacket ~ A TEENY BIT OF TROUBLE



Will Coop and Teeny survive this latest trouble? 

If you don't already have your copy, 

rush right out and pick up 



A TEENY BIT OF TROUBLE 

to see where all this leads.  

You can bet Teeny is 

stirring up new recipes 

in the kitchen and stirring up 

TROUBLE 


in her life. 




Click the links below to view 


previous reviews of Michael Lee West's novels.


GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN


Cooking w/ Teeny



Don't forget to join Michael Lee for Foodie Friday! 







Continue Reading....
27 comments
Labels: , , ,

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Still Cooking With Teeny

Welcome!

Have some cookies and let me tell you

about one of my favorite southern authors,

Michael Lee West.



"It started Monday, the first week in June, when I thought I'd gotten the dates wrong for my cake baking class. Numbers don't usually stick in my mind. This one did because it was my twenty-ninth birthday, and my fiancé, Bing Jackson, surprised me with the darlingest gifts --pastry bags, a fifty-three-piece Wilton Supreme Cake Decorating Set, and eight prepaid classes at the Vivenne Beaumont School of Cake Design." GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN


Have I mentioned that I'm a fan?

Yes, Michael Lee West has done it again.

Teeny Templeton is yet another lovable southern

belle who cooks her way through the pages of

GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN.



Teeny arrived at HFTS on April 12,

and that girl has had me baking ever since.

I do believe the "chef" thinks he's lost his kitchen.



"What are you making?"
"Shortbread."
"How clever of you. Lavender,
to calm the stomach and the mind."



"I cut the warm shortbread into wedges . . .



and put it on a tray with the mugs."



"We settled in Uncle Elmer's library. It was a cozy room, with butternut paneling and cherry antiques. Uncle Elmer's porcelain bird collection was lined up on the mantel. Pink-and-green plaid curtains hung on the windows. Through the wavy bubbled glass, I saw the garden. I set the tray on the coffee table. Ava curled on the settee and reached for a shortbread wedge. I lifted a mug and sat down in a chair."



Lavender Shortbread
GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch or rice flour
1 cup all-purpose white flour *
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers,
finely chopped or 2 T dried lavender

Cream butter and sugars. Add flours a few tablespoons at a time and salt. Mix until crumbly. (You can mix by hand or put the ingredients into a food processor.) If dough is too thick, add 1 to 2 teaspoons cream. Add lavender. Chill mixture for an hour. Pat into a shortbread mold, or gently roll and cut dough with a cookie cutter. You can also shape the dough into a circle. If you aren't using a mold, place dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Prick the surface with a fork. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool; cut into bars.
Yield: 2 dozen cookies
Preheat oven
to 325 degrees.

(* I doubled the amount of flour)



If you enjoy humor, spunky characters,
and pages

laced with culinary delights
pick up a copy of

GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN



Or any of the works of Michael Lee West.

Michael Lee West is the author of six novels.

GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN

CRAZY LADIES

MAD GIRLS IN LOVE

AMERICAN PIE

SHE FLEW THE COOP

MERMAIDS IN THE BASEMENT

CONSUMING PASSIONS, A FOOD MEMOIR



Click here to view a previous review of

MERMAIDS IN THE BASEMENT.

Linked To




Continue Reading....
35 comments
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Thursday, April 21, 2011

GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN

It's Here!


GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN

By Michael Lee West

Available here on Amazon.



I've been eager to read Michael Lee West's latest book,

so I was tickled pink when Michael Lee sent a copy of

GONE WITH A HANDSOMER MAN

to arrive on my doorstep April 12.

Any character who turns to
Easter Peeps to calm her nerves has to be interesting.



I've read all of Michael Lee's books, and her characters jump off the pages of her novels right into my heart. Michael Lee said, "A few summers ago, I began searching for the perfect recipe for Red Velvet Cake. I measured, baked, and consumed until I couldn't fit into my clothes and my fingers were permanently stained by food coloring. But the recipe eluded me.....I was just about to start a novel about wacky Tennessee sisters, and normally I like to stay home and eat Twizzlers while thinking about my characters-to-be. But off we went to Charleston."



"That night , tucked into my rented bed by the sea, a character named Teeny Templeton wandered into my dreams. She was a sassy, brown-eyed blonde with a penchant for throwing fruit at wayward boyfriends.......I thought Teeny would tell me a story about her quirky aunts or offer a Red Velvet recipe that somehow incorporated peaches, but she had other plans. Her boyfriend had turned up dead and all fingers pointed at Teeny. Plus, the body count was rising."



"I brought Teeny home, then I made her aunt's Red Velvet cake. I cut a huge slice, then opened a notebook and wrote Gone With a Handsomer Man on the first page. I held on for dear life while she whirled through adventures and unusual recipes."



RED VELVET CAKE

If you haven't heard by now, Teeny Templeton
cooks her way through "love, death, and Red Velvet cakes."

You are going to want to read this book, and you just
might find yourself cooking a Red Velvet Cake of your own.



I'm a child of the 50s.
Red Velvet Cake was a favorite in my youth.
The recipe I'm sharing is from my mother.


Red Velvet Cake
Cream 1/2 cup Crisco, 1 1/2 cup sugar; add 2 eggs.
sift 3 times: 2 cups flour, 1 T. cocoa, 1/2 t. salt.
Add alternately with 1 cup buttermilk, 2 oz. red food coloring.
Beat well. Fold in 1 t. soda dissolved in 1 T. vinegar.
Bake in two layers at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Frosting
1 cup milk, 1/4 cup flour, dash of salt --- cook over low
flame to a pudding stage. Set off to cool. Cream 1/2 cup Crisco,
1 stick Oleo, 1 cup sugar, and 1 t. vanilla. Add to the pudding
mixture; beat well until smooth. Spread on cake.
Sprinkle fresh coconut over cake.
Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.


All direct quotes are from the author, Michael Lee West. You can find a copy of her complete statement on her web site here.



"Celebrating Fictional Food in
Gone With A Handsomer Man"

April 22 & April 29

Click the link below to join others
celebrating the release of Michael Lee's newest novel.


Michael Lee is offering Special Give Aways
to Celebrate at the following blogs.

Don't miss out on the fun!




Also linking to



Continue Reading....
21 comments
Labels: , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)