Question from LA Weekly Magazine: Have Any Vampires bought my Love At First Bite Book?

1. Have any people claiming to be vampires bought your book?

No one claiming to be a vampire, but a tattoo artist did purchase the book. And a lot of Team Edward and Team Jacob fans. A female prison guard by the name of Velma (not to be confused with Scooby Doo’s Velma Dinkley), after seeing my culinary talents as broadcast on the evening news, camped out all night in her car to come to my book signing and drove a total four hours.

Werewolf Chow, excerpt from Love At First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook

How comfortable they seemed to be with their fate, here in this happy kitchen, none of these werewolves wanted the same fate for their friend.-Bella Werewolf Chow 9 cups rice cereal, such as Chex brand 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1 cup chocolate chips, semisweet, or a combination of 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, not crunchy 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar Directions: Place the cereal in a large zip-seal bag. Next, microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter or margarine for about 1 minute. If the mixture hasn’t melted, stir and place in microwave for another 20 to 30 seconds. Once melted, stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the chocolate chip–peanut butter mixture over the cereal; then add the powdered sugar and shake. Spread the mixture on waxed paper to cool.

Lyonnaise Salade, excerpt from Love At First Bite, The Unofficial Twilight Cookbook

Lyonnaise Salade

2 strips of Bacon cut into one-inch pieces

A handful of fresh frisee lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

1 poached egg

1 teaspoon diced red onion

Baby potatoes

1 tablespoon of Red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 slice of French or Italian bread and a little butter to make buttered croutons (1 teaspoon of butter)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Sauté bacon over medium-high heat until done, about five minutes and then drain fat. It is best to drain the excess fat from the bacon by removing the bacon from the pan or skillet, blotting the extra oil from the bacon with a paper towel. Allow bacon to cool, then cut strips into one inch pieces. Next, cut a slice of French or Italian bread into cubes. Toast on medium-high heat in a small saucepan with a teaspoon of melted butter. Only stir the bread only to turn to the other side once it is toasted. Poach your egg and please review tips for how to poach an egg. Once egg is poached, please set aside. Next, Dice red onion and prepare salad dressing. In a small jar, mix the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. On a salad plate, arrange the washed frisee salad (that has been torn into bite size pieces) and add the bacon, onions, and croutons. Top with poached egg and pour dressing over the salad. Please see tip on how to make the salad dressing. Serve one.

Tip: How to poach an egg

Crack the egg and empty the contents of the shell into a small bowl. Pour 4 inches of water into a pan, and over medium heat, bring the water to a boil. Stir the water in a circular motion, then drop the egg into the middle of the swirl of water. Turn down the heat slightly and cook three to five minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg and place it on a plate.

Wild Walnut and Mushroom Ravioli

10 ounces mushroom ravioli or cheese-filled ravioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
4 ounces button (table) mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup of chopped walnuts, shelled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup brandy
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


Directions: Prepare ravioli according to package directions; drain. Next, over medium heat, pour olive oil in a skillet (or spray Pam Olive Oil) and cook mushrooms until tender. Next add 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts, add garlic and brandy, and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. When cream has thickened, stir in 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Then, stir in cooked ravioli, and gently simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with parmesan, garnish with walnuts and serve with garlic bread, and salad. Makes 2 servings.

Baton Rouge Channel 9 and Gina Meyers, author of Love at First Bite

Perhaps truly the most Twilightful thing for me, Gina Meyers, cookbook author spreading her message of reigniting a passion for cooking and creativity and getting people back into the kitchen creating. Truly the most Twilightful thing is to get the opportunity to meet awesome people, newscasters, community relations managers, fellow authors, and fans. To feel at home and if my message is making a difference is truly a very rewarding experience. If Channel 9 offered me a Here's The Scoop With Gina Meyers, I would move there in a heartbeat!!!

Love at First Bite, Red Velvet Cupcake, excerpt from Twilight Cookbook

Red Velvet Cake

4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ounce liquid red food coloring
3/4 cup water
1 yellow cake mix, with pudding in the mix
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter
4 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar


Directions: Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, mix cocoa powder, red food coloring, and part of the water to form a paste. Next, add all of the other ingredients except the white vinegar. Blend for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Then add the vinegar and mix with a spatula. Pour the batter into a bunt or round cake pan, and bake for approximately 35 minutes. This recipe can be made into cupcakes as well.

Adorn each cupcake or the entire Red Velvet Cake with various miniature die-cast Cullen cars, such as Carlisle’s Mercedes S55 AMG, Rosalie’s red BMW M3, Edward’s silver Volvo S60R, Alice’s yellow Porsche 911 Turbo, or Emmett’s Jeep Wrangler. A replica of Bella’s red Chevy pickup truck could also be added.

First Love Chocolate Mousse Recipe

First Love Chocolate Mousse

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons strong coffee
2 tablespoons orange extract
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 carton of cool whip)

Directions: Melt the chocolate, with coffee added, over low heat. Remove from heat and add first the orange extract and then the egg yolk, stirring till the mixture is smooth. In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt; add the sugar and beat with an electric mixture until stiff peaks form. Lastly, whip the cream until it is stiff; fold into the egg whites. Fold egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture. Place in the refrigerator, and chill until ready to serve.