JENN McKINLAY: My only quality time in Cleveland was sitting on a plane in December while they de-iced the wings with a hose full of that orangey Gatorade looking stuff. But Kylie has managed to talk me into going back and eating myself silly. Here she is to convince you, too!
For one thing our weather is (except for the notable exception now and then) pretty darned pleasant. We don’t have earthquakes. We don’t have to endure mud slides. And though I’m no scientist, I’d say the chance of having a tsunami on Lake Erie are mighty slim.
Don’t get me wrong, like all large urban areas, we have our share of problems. But you know what? Food isn’t one of them.
Here’s the thing about Cleveland: back in the late 19thand early 20thcenturies when the country was booming and factories were begging immigrants to come to our shores and provide a cheap source of labor, a lot of foreigners came to Cleveland. They worked in steel mills and in ship yards. They powered our railroad industry and built our skyscrapers.
They came from all over the world. In fact, there is one area of town (a trendy urban neighborhood called Tremont) where there were 38 churches in a three-mile square section of the city. Why? Because the Poles there needed a church that spoke their language. And so did the Greeks, and the Syrians, the Russians and the Hungarians. All those people. All those languages. All that glorious food!
Here on the North Coast, we’re still taking advantage of our culinary good luck. Look online for Cleveland restaurants and sure, you’ll see stylish places like the ones run by Iron Chef Michael Symon. But you’ll also see places that serve Ethiopian food. And a French café in a carriage house. The best Mexican food you can imagine can be found at the back counter of a grocery store. Within an easy drive of anywhere, you can satisfy food cravings for everything from German schnitzel to Middle Eastern hummus, pasta to pierogi.
It’s no wonder that when I was looking for a hook on which to hang a cozy mystery series, I chose ethnic food. Around here, it goes with the territory.
The first book in the series was “Irish Stewed.” My husband’s family is Irish so in addition to featuring recipes in the book for things like colcannon (the fabulous mashed potato/steamed cabbage and kale we make in 50 pound quantities for the family St. Pat’s party), I also had the opportunity to explore the boisterous, fiercely loyal relationships that are so much a part of families with Irish roots. In “French Fried,” I crossed the Channel and got to furnish a farmhouse in sweet French country style and cook a cassoulet that’s so easy, it has become one of our go-to meals.
And now, the third book in the series has premiered. “Italian Iced” gives me the opportunity to explore one of the favorite cuisines on the planet.
Of course there’s more to every mystery than just talk of food and the recipes included in every book. In the case of the Ethnic Eats Mysteries, there’s the restaurant in Hubbard, Ohio where most of my main characters work, Sophie’s Terminal at the Tracks, a place that was down on its luck until my heroine, Laurel, decided to feature ethnic cuisine specials on the menu. And there is murder, too, of course. In “Italian Iced,” the victim is a friend from Laurel’s past, found frozen to death in the restaurant freezer. Talk about a cold case!
Have no fear, Laurel and company will work things out. And when they do, I guarantee, they’ll celebrate with the perfect ethnic food.
So, what about you, Reds and readers, what is your favorite ethnic food? Chinese? Italian? Polish? Mexican? Irish? Thai?
Kylie Logan also writes the League of Literary Ladies Mysteries, Chili Cook-Off Mysteries, and the Button Box Mysteries.
More about Kylie: So maybe you already know that I'm not just Kylie Logan, I'm also Casey Daniels and a few other writers, too. What's it like to have multiple personalities and the pen names to go with them? Well, I was once lucky enough to interview mystery great Elizabeth Peters for an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She writes under more than one name, too, and she described the experience perfectly, “If you're only one person,” she said, “you're boring!”
And I guess I'd add to that—if you only write one mystery series, you're boring, too! Or maybe you're just not getting visited as often by the Idea Fairy. The only way to keep that particular critter quiet is to follow where those ideas lead and to date, they've led me to write three different mystery series under the Kylie name.
So who is Kylie? I'm a fulltime writer who has loved mysteries since I was a kid. My dad was a Cleveland Police detective, and he introduced me to Sherlock Holmes stories. He also gave me my first investigating experiences when on his days off, we'd pile into the car and hit the streets to look for stolen cars. When he retired from the force, Dad became the head of security for the Cleveland Public Library.
Crooks and books! I guess I come by my love for mysteries honestly.
