Author Archives: Peggy Jaeger

So after the wonderful cover reveal weekend for A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS, I figured it would be a good idea to post a little of the story to whet your preorder appetite, lol!

In the story, Tony is spicing up Dorrit’s recipes a bit and he calls up his old spicy fall pumpkin soup recipe. Here’s the scene where he introduces it…

“You got more of that pumpkin soup left?” Amy asked, breezing into the kitchen, a stacked tray of empty dishes in her arms.

“Just stirring the next batch,” he told her.

“I need two bowls, and I’m pretty sure RayLynn will be in with an order too, ‘cuz I heard one of the customers asking her about it.”

He nodded while pulling down bowls from the shelf.

“I don’t know what you put in it,” Amy said, sliding the dishes into the sink, “but I’ve never had so many orders for hot soup in this diner before today; that’s a fact.”

Silently, he smiled, then told her, “Old family recipe.” Which was a half-truth. He’d taken his Nonna’s recipe, which was delicious on its own, then played with the spices until he found a mixture that was sweet, tangy and savory all at the same time. He’d served it at Gusto for only one Fall season, right before the world changed. The notion to fire it up again, he hated to admit, had been sparked by Portia’s cookbook idea.

The picture is a pretty good portrayal of what the soup looks like if you make it.