Welcome to a special Monday edition of the blog, Tartlets! By now, it’s no secret that some of my book-inspired recipes have been published in the Companion Cookbook for In the Garden of Monsters.
My beautiful Blood Orange Tart post gave you some glimpses of the four other recipes I created for the cookbook. Today, I’m sharing the details with you about how I became a part of this amazing collaboration, as well as details about the other companion recipes.
How I became a part of In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook
Author Crystal King emailed me in January 2024 to say that she’s a fan of my blog. This tidbit would have lovely enough in and of itself! But she dropped some Big News on me: she wanted me to review her forthcoming historical fiction novel, In the Garden of Monsters …
and then she asked me to create a book-inspired recipe for its companion cookbook!!!!!!
Crystal’s published two previous novels, Feast of Sorrow: A Novel of Ancient Rome and The Chef’s Secret. She’s created and published companion cookbooks for both of them, which can be found here:
Her newest cookbook features five recipes from yours truly, along with curated recipes from numerous renowned chefs, food bloggers, and food historians.
I was blown away when Crystal asked me to be part of this project – and terrified! We’ll get to that in a bit.
Choosing the book-inspired recipes for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook
Eccentric artist Salvador Dali plays a huge part in the novel In the Garden of Monsters. As I mentioned in my book review, his love for exquisite food and opulent dining injects flavor and character into many scenes in the story.
Crystal sent me a list of dishes that appear in the her newest novel, and I was spoiled for choice. I actually received the list before I read In the Garden of Monsters, but I knew I was going to love the book just from the food alone.
It was impossible to pick just one book-inspired recipe. So, I asked Crystal, pretty please, could I create more than one?
To my delight, she agreed. I ended up creating five brand-new recipes. It basically ended up being a full-course meal: an appetizer, dinner, side dish, and dessert.
Creating recipes for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook
Here’s a not-so-secret secret: a lot of my blog recipes are adapted versions of other recipes.
This isn’t really a secret since I always credit original recipes in my posts. I also note when something is adapted. However, the recipes for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook had to be completely, 100% original CJ creations.
Keep in mind that ol’ CJ here is a home baker and cook. I don’t have a food science or culinary school background, and I’m almost entirely self-taught in the kitchen. The idea of creating my own recipes is daunting, to say the least.
The next few months were filled with research. Lots and lots of research as I compared recipes and quantities and ingredients. Then, I had to decide how I wanted my recipes to turn out. What special spin did I want to put on these dishes to make them stand out?
Then, there was recipe testing. Most of the items I post on my blog are only made once, sometimes twice. However, each book-inspired recipe for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook went through at least two rounds of testing.
Many an afternoon at Tartlet Cottage was spent cooking, baking, tasting, and making notes. Then I would tweak, re-make, and re-test everything all over again. Second and third party opinions were gathered from my husband, my best friend, and my neighbors. They tested, and I tweaked some more.
In June 2024, I nervously but proudly sent my recipes and photos to Crystal. Then, I crossed my fingers that everything would turn out delicious when she tested the recipes herself.
In August 2024, the final decision came through: all five of my recipes made it into the cookbook! So I guess I did something (five somethings, really) right.
The recipes I made for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook
I wanted to use simple, fresh, whole ingredients as much as possible for the Companion Cookbook recipes. Like I mentioned in my post for Creamy Tomato Pasta, Italian cuisine is famous for making delectable dishes with only a few quality ingredients.
Here’s what I came up with based on the suggestions that Crystal sent over:
Gold-Dusted Baked Arancini
This was the first recipe I chose to make for In the Garden of Monsters: Companion Cookbook. My husband loves arancini, which are rice balls stuffed with meat and/or cheese. We order them regularly from our favorite local Italian place, but during COVID I decided to make them myself.
Arancini are usually deep-fried. However, deep-frying anything in my non-ventilated kitchen is a no-go.
I decided to make a baked arancini instead, and now we like the baked versions more than the original. The little rice balls are fun and easy to make, though they take a some prep time. They’re a perfect appetizer to pair with Creamy Pesto Pasta or Sunday Night Chicken Dinner.
Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
The actual meal this recipe is based on in In the Garden of Monsters calls for a roast pheasant. But… it’s 2024. I don’t even know where to get a pheasant, let alone how to roast it.
Thankfully, Crystal agreed with my suggestion to “modernize” the meal and switch from roast pheasant to a roast chicken, which is infinitely more familiar.
Recipe testing for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook marks my first time making a roast chicken. And my first time making a spatchcock roast chicken, which I think must be way easier than making a “normal” roast chicken.
This bird was done and ready to serve in about an hour. My kitchen smelled amazing, the skin was golden and crispy, and the meat was incredibly juicy and tender.
I was surprised by how incredibly easy it was to roast a spatchcock chicken. I can see myself making this recipe on the regular in the fall and winter when I want a cozy supper that tastes like I spent hours in the kitchen. In reality, I just shoved the bird into the oven and watched Netflix for an hour.
Suggested side dishes for this chicken are Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto (see below), Mushroom Brie Mac and Cheese, Smoked Gouda Polenta, Easy Mushroom Risotto, and Lemon Basmati Spinach Rice.
Thyme-Infused Pine Nut Sauce
If you’re reading this and going “Pine nut sauce?!?!!” …. Yeah. You weren’t the only one.
I saw this dish on Crystal’s recipe list and was instantly intrigued. I love pine nuts in pesto and pignoli cookies, but making a sauce out of them? Hmmm. I wasn’t sure how I’d pull this recipe off, but I wanted to try.
Guess what? PINE NUT SAUCE. IS. AMAZING.
It’s creamy. And dreamy. There are so few ingredients in this recipe, yet the taste and texture are so complex.
Apparently, pine nut sauce is a regular condiment in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Cuisines. Now I know why. It’s delicious, and I wanted to pour that shit on everything.
I had a good amount of pine nut sauce leftover after recipe testing, and it was really tasty on pan-seared salmon. It was also good ladled over plain pasta.
Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto
Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto was a stand-alone recipe on Crystal’s list, but I thought it would pair so well with the Roasted Spatchcock Chicken that I made them together.
I was right. The bright citrus notes, the sautéed spinach, and the hearty lentils are so good with the lemon and fresh herbs of the chicken.
The crispy prosciutto is sprinkled on top as a garnish, but I cooked everything – onion, spinach, lentils, etc – in the rendered prosciutto grease. That bacon-esque hit of salt is laced throughout the entire dish.
Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto also would be a great side dish for Chicken Saltimbocca or Lemon Piccata Flounder.
Blood Orange Tart with Mascarpone Whipped Cream
Making a tart was another new experience for me, and recipe testing this Blood Orange Tart with Mascarpone Whipped Cream was a challenge. I went through numerous iterations of this dessert before I was happy with it.
I wanted a chocolate crust for the tart, but I didn’t want the cocoa powder to overpower the delicate flavor of the blood orange. The end result was a shortbread chocolate crust for my Blood Orange Tart that I am in love with. That small bit of cocoa powder really makes the blood orange curd sing. Read more about the Blood Orange Tart in my blog post here.
So… I’ve been published.
Remember when I said I was terrified when Crystal asked me to be part of the project? Let’s talk about that for a moment, as well as what I learned from this experience (other than that pine nut sauce is delicuious).
I learned I’m a damn good baker. And a damn good cook. I learned that I have great ideas, and that I totally have it in me to create tasty new recipes.
Just the fact that Crystal thought I could do this had me on cloud nine. It gave me the confidence I needed to DO it. She believed my recipes and photos were worthy of being part of this project. So…it must be true.
Everyone who follows my writing posts knows that I’ve been trying for years to get my work published. I’m so thrilled to finally have a writing credential to my name: I’m a contributor to In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook. That’s going on my resume, on my LinkedIn, and in my query letter! Success.
A little extra bonus…
You guys remember how much I adored The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller, right? Well, turns out… Miller has also created a recipe for In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook.
**clears throat to get everyone’s attention**
Behold! My recipes are part of collection that also includes a recipe from Louise Miller. HOLY FREAKIN’ SHIT.
In my eyes? I’ve made it.
All right, so how do you get these freakin’ recipes already?
Hopefully, reading through this post and scrolling through these scrumptilicious photos has you ready to get in your kitchen and cooking. You can download In the Garden of Monsters: A Companion Cookbook for free here.
I’ve linked to my individual book-inspired cookbook recipes throughout this post, but here’s where to find them in the cookbook:
- Gold-Dusted Baked Arancini: page 19
- Roasted Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon and Fresh Herbs: page 27
- Pine Nut Sauce: page 27
- Lentils with Crispy Prosciutto: page 29
- Blood Orange Tart: page 32
If you’ve made it to the end of this (very long) post, THANK YOU for reading. Happy reading and eating, Tartlets!
