Copy
View this email in your browser

If you want to really know someone, follow him home.


That was the reasoning behind Stephanie’s Halloween assignment for the correspondents of American Eye, the Chicago-based TV magazine where I worked right out of college. 

“The greats,” said our producer. “We’re going to take our viewers home, to the very places where the greats created the greatest horror stories, The Minister’s Black Veil, The Shining … all the classics. It’s got everything. It’s literate. It’s sexy …”

Akeem got Stephen King’s house. I mean, I guess that was the grand prize – that sprawling, completely in-character set piece of a mansion in Bangor, Maine, with the black bat silhouettes filigreed into the gigantic wrought-iron gates and gables. The reason that Akeem got Stephen King, of course, was because Stephanie got Akeem, in the Biblical sense (Is it possible to “get” someone in the Biblical sense, or is that only “know” someone in the Biblical sense, and does anybody who didn’t grow up in my parent’s house even know what knowing someone in the Biblical sense means anymore?). 

In any case, her honey “got” the choicest house. 

Not that he would remain her honey for very long.
                                                                                                                                                           
Read the rest of "Haunter's Houses" on Jackie's Web >>

EASY POTATO SOUP 
*THAT I WOULD EAT EVERY DAY

This easy Potato Soup recipe is quick and easy to make on the stovetop, it’s nice and creamy (without using heavy cream), and cozy and comforting...befitting for this time of year, don't you think?

What you'll need:

• 5 slices bacon, diced

(if you're vegetarian like us, skip the bacon)

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup diced white or yellow onion

• 4 cloves garlic

(peeled and minced)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock

• 2 cups milk, warmed

• 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, diced

• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

• 1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

Optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream


Here's the recipe: 

Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a separate plate, using a slotted spoon.

Melt butter and add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in the garlic and sauté for an extra 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Stir the flour into the mixture and sauté for an additional 1 minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the stock until combined, followed by the milk and potatoes.

Continue cooking until the mixture just reaches a simmer, before it begins to boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, being sure to stir the soup every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn. (The smaller you dice your potatoes, the faster your soup will cook.)

Once the potatoes are nice and soft, stir in the cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt, pepper and cooked bacon bits. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings. Or, transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to three days.

HOT READING TIP

Most people consider Shirley Jackson’s 60s classic The Haunting of Hill House as scary a reading experience as haggis for dinner. But it actually is a literary triumph that will teach you everything you ever need to know about suspense and an unreliable narrator.

I hear the Netflix show is a knockout as well. But I'd rather keep the scary, nightmare-inducing visuals to my own psychic interpretation (sans pop-up scares), thank you very much! 

JACKIE IRL - UPCOMING MASSACHUSETTS EVENTS!

Join me at UMass Dartmouth this Sunday, October 23rd for the Claire T. Carney Library Associates 14th Annual Authors' Brunch, alongside authors Barbara Delinsky and Steven Manchester.

Reservations are required! Please contact Maria Sanguinetti at msanguinetti@umassd.edu or by calling (508) 991-5096.

Join myself and some incredible authors for an extraordinary evening of cocktails, food and conversation to benefit the programs and services of the Worcester Public Library. Ticket price includes open bar, food stations by Struck Catering, and a book by one of the authors.

Thursday, November 3, 2022 • 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
 Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Square, Worcester, MA 

Register here!

As always, you can grab a copy of The Good Son - or any of my many, many books, by visiting my website.

Or you can enter to win a copy - along with Rebecca Makkai's "The Great Believers" - when you
enter my Instagram giveaway before the end of October.
See you next month, where we'll depart "spooky season" - and enter an even more frightening time of year - concentrated time with extended family - also known as the Holiday Season. - JM
Twitter
Facebook
Website
Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Jacquelyn Mitchard, author, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp