'That Time We Ate Our Feelings': Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini follow up successful digital series with cookbook

The right ingredients were needed for this friendship to flourish.

When the pandemic paused daily life, Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini, like many, were left wondering what to do.

They got together, via Zoom, to bring to life a cooking series called “Corona Kitchen.”

The weekly Facebook Live and YouTube cooking show brought the two together to share stories and recipes with the world.

“Debrianna and I, we never realized the reach that we would have with this,” Lucas says. “In this time of loneliness and the aftermath of COVID, we had no idea that we would make these connections. Random people would watch our show and tell us what a blessing it was to have an outlet like ours. It was having human connection without in-person interaction.”

People began asking the pair to put together a cookbook.

“Lisa and I were like, let’s self-publish a book and put together 50 recipes,” Mansini says. “We had a design in mind and developed a logo and were ready to put it out for our own group of people.”

That wasn’t a big enough idea.

Both Lucas and Mansini have backgrounds in the film industry – Lucas as a writer/producer/actor who has worked on more than 37 TV series, and Mansini was Fran in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.”

'That Time We Ate Our Feelings': Lisa Lucas and Debrianna Mansini follow up successful digital series with cookbook

With the knowledge of how the publishing world works, they went back to the drawing board and put together a proof of concept.

They were patient and let the process simmer.

On Nov. 28, the pair released “That Time We Ate Our Feelings.”

The book will be featured at an event held from 4-8 p.m. Dec. 29, at the Santa Fe Spirits Downtown Tasting Room.

The event is free with books to purchase at the event. Cocktails and the popcorn from the book will be served at the book signing and celebration. Santa Fe Spirits is featured in the book.

The pair both had it in mind to have the book have a retro feel.

“We’re writers and filmmakers and we wanted to write personal essays to go with the recipes,” Lucas says. “It’s almost like we’re quirky while being uplifting. The stories somehow relate to the recipe. There’s some comedy.”

The pair worked on the book for three years as they built recipes from the weekly series.

“We were cooking every other night online,” Mansini says. “We went for 143 days in a row sharing our series in the live format.”

Throughout the process, the pair realized their connection to each other through food.

“Cooking is a way to decompress, eat well and share it with loved ones,” Lucas says.

The biggest challenge for the two women wasn’t the actual writing process.

“During our series, we often found ourselves making up recipes with what we had,” Mansini says. “We couldn’t just go out to the grocery store for ingredients because there were restrictions. We had to think of ways around the ingredients.”

Both Lucas and Mansini are grateful for the experience they’ve had not only with the series, but the cookbook.

“We’ve been able to make friendships across the world,” Lucas says. “We cook with a lot of New Mexico flair and it’s given us a chance to spotlight how amazing the food is in the state.”

LISA’S LEMON BLACKBERRY SCONES JUST LIKE IN THE CROWN BUT NOT ’CAUSE I’M FROM PEASANT STOCK

Serves 8

SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour, and more for prepping work surface

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

2½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, frozen and then grated

½ cup heavy cream, and more for brushing the dough

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 lemon

1 cup blackberries

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar or Debrianna’s ginger-infused sugar (see recipe)

HONEY LEMON DRIZZLE

1 tablespoon honey, warmed

½ teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon raspberry or blackberry preserves (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt together. Incorporate the butter with the dry mixture until you get what looks similar to a coarse sand consistency. Do not overmix.

Add the heavy cream, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and blackberries. Mix with a hand mixer set on low speed or by hand, just enough to incorporate the ingredients.

Flour a work surface and then spread the dough onto the floured surface.

Form the dough into a disc shape the size of a dinner plate; or, if you want your scones to be taller, make the size of the disc smaller and thicker. Seal the shaped dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and plastic wrap, and cut the disc shape into eight even wedges. Place the wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush heavy cream on top of each scone, and sprinkle each with a layer of turbinado sugar.

Bake the scones for approximately 22 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the honey lemon drizzle.

Drizzle the honey lemon mixture over each scone prior to serving.

Tip: This is a classic scone recipe that can be used to make all kinds of scones, from savory to sweet. Don’t be afraid to experiment with flavors.

DEBRIANNA’S GINGER-INFUSED SUGAR

1½ tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

1 cup turbinado or demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 200°F.

Mix the ginger and sugar well, coating the sugar with the grated ginger, and then spread the mixture out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Turn the oven off. Place the baking sheet in the oven, and let the sugar sit for two hours or more until dry. It may need breaking up when removed. Store in a jar.