To help celebrate Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I am giving away a care package of three great romances which feature a hero or heroine who cooks for a living. But I am going to make you work for it. Read on…
Here are the books:
1. Delicious, by Sherry Thomas (Bantam historical romance, 2008)
2. Burning Up, by Sarah Mayberry (Harlequin Blaze, contemporary romance, 2008)
3. Can’t Stand the Heat, by Louisa Edwards (St. Martin’s, contemporary romance, September 2009)
Click the title links for reviews and excerpts.
Since I haven’t reviewed CSTH, I’ll say something about it here. Cooking is, for hotshot Manhattan chef Adam Temple, not just a job he happens to have, but the key to his very being. He lives and breathes food, and sees the world in terms of it.
For example, when Adam first sees restaurant critic Miranda’s satin shoes, he thinks they have a patina “like you get on a good crème anglaise“. And when he considers the combination of her good looks and churlish demeanor, he’s reminded of what happens when he adds “a splash of lemon juice to a rich cream sauce.” Adam is temperamental, loving, and, like all good chefs, crazily creative. Oh, and he’s hot, naturally, with fabulous taste in music (as the Clash poster on his wall indicates). I haven’t finished it, but it’s terrific so far.
If for no other reason, you have to want to read a book that contains this passage:
Self-recrimination boiled up in his belly, bitter and acid. Not only had Adam lost his head and beckoned a viper into their midst, now he was screwing up the kitchen dynamic and taking his aggravation out on the crew.
Unacceptable. He had to pull himself together. And he knew just how to do it, too.
Adam was going to make pâté.
I love to cook, and this summer we experimented with a little organic sustainable agriculture of our own, which has had a terrific impact on our wallets and diet. September is harvest time here in New England, and boy have we got a harvest (I totally labeled these pics because I saw chef Jamie Oliver’s show on school lunches, and I now realize that many people cannot actually identify raw, unprocessed veggies). Allow me to visually brag:
Green peppers
Beets
Garlic
Ready for Halloween
Onions
Thank you for indulging me. Now, on to the important stuff.
How to enter: by Friday, September 18 at midnight EST, write a comment in which you (a) share a favorite recipe which you have prepared for a loved one, and (b) say something about the occasion on which you prepared it and/or the recipient’s reaction.
Hopefully we’ll end up with some great recipes and fun stories.
There are lots of other contests running this week for BBAW, many with very generous prizes. Check this link for more.
Oooo favorite recipe? Right now…
http://is.gd/3eBJI I tweaked it some – I like milk with cocoa not water, so I tweaked it some, added some chocolate chips to part…
Also, once they were baked and cooled, whenever I ate one, I topped it with cannoli cream
I’m always happy to talk food.
I made this pie for my mom’s birthday last year. It’s a favor for our whole family. Best issue with this pie is not eating it all in one sitting. Incredible. And best of all, very easy.
Coconut Cream Pie
* 9-inch baked pie shell or graham cracker shell
* 3.4 package coconut cream INSTANT pudding & pie filling
* 1 1/4 cups milk
* 1 pint whipping cream
* 1 1/2 cups coconut
* Toasted coconut for top of pie
Mix milk and pudding together until stiff. Store in refrigerator while whipping cream. Save about half of the whipped cream for top of pie. Fold pudding mix into whipped cream and fold in 1 1/2 cups of coconut. Pile into a 9-inch pie shell and top with the remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle top with toasted coconut.
To toast coconut, heat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut into cake pan, place in oven and turn the heat off. After 5 minutes, take a peek. If lightly brown, remove and let cool. Store in covered container.
Show off. That is a nice pumpkin though.
This year we did potatoes and leeks and petit pan squash and lots of salad leaves. I am going to do peas again next year though. There is nothing like fresh peas.
Thanks so much for including my book in this contest! I’m beyond thrilled to be in such exalted company. I guess it would be tacky for me to enter the contest myself, even though I’d LOVE a copy of Delicious and Burning Up, but after seeing your lovely beets, I can’t restrain myself from entering a link to this Mark Bittman recipe. I make it all the time (would use some of your pretty garlic, too) and it’s a huge hit. Super easy, especially if you watch Bittman’s accompanying video. Cheers!
So true! My grandparents had farm while I was growing up and the garden there had pretty much any vegetable you could want, but everyone loved the peas the best. They’re both delicious and fun, too. My grandmother, my mother and I used to sit on the deck in the afternoon and shell them for dinner. Of course, we were of the “one for dinner, three for me!” persuasion
One of my favourite recipes – or at least it used to be – is one for Pumpkin Pie Crunch that I got from my other grandmother. It’s not a family secret or anything, though; she found the recipe in the newspaper. But it’s delicious! The reason I don’t love it as much as I once did is that, once someone’s had it, they want it again. And again. And did I mention that they want it again? Which means that it’s the only food my friends and family ever ask me to make, and while they may not have it often enough to get sick of it, I certainly do! Anyway, here’s the recipe for Pumpkin Pie Crunch:
1 can (28 oz/196 mL) pumpkin
1 cup half and half (10% cream)
1/2 cup whipping cream (35% cream)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend
Pinch salt
1/2 package yellow or butter pecan cake mix
1 bag (100 gr) pecans, ground
1 bag (100 gr) pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
Whipped topping, for garnish
Makes 16 to 20 servings
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
2. Combine pumpkin, half and half, whipping cream, eggs, sugar, ground pecans, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture, sprinkle with chopped pecans. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until golden. Cool completely, serve with whipped topping.
Great garden haul, Jessica. We planted one this year too and I can’t believe how many green beans we got. Lots of other goodies too.
Oh, and I LOVE that pumpkin crunch recipe. We can’t make it anymore as you’ll see below, but it’s a yummy one.
Our son is a type-1 diabetic and this is his very favorite low carb dinner:
Skillet Florentine
1 lb. lean gr. beef
1 sm. chopped onion
8 oz. low-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
1 clove crushed garlic
salt & pepper to taste
Brown gr. beef in a skillet. Drain fat & add chopped onion. Cook on low until onion is clear. Meanwhile cook spinach and thoroughly drain. Add cream cheese & parmesan cheese to skillet and cook on low until cheeses are melted and thoroughly mixed in. Finally stir in spinach, garlic, salt, & pepper, and cook until warmed through.
Serves 4. Carb eaters in the family would enjoy this with egg noodles.
My husband and I like to attend the summertime carillon concerts in Valley Forge park. Sometimes we just head out with nothing but a blanket on which to lie (lay? I never get that right), sometimes we stop and pick up some wings to go with a bottle of wine from home. One night this summer I decided to pack a picnic. T. was decidedly unenthusiastic when I told him I was making a spicy slaw and asked him to please chill a bottle of vinho verde.
When he opened the container of the slaw in question, he looked over the edge at me with eyes widened in surprise. The first taste earned me a kiss – a really good one, with his hands clutching my shoulders drawing me in, that lasted longer than what might be considered appropriate for a mixed-age gathering taking place on church grounds (outside, but still). We ate dinner, listened to the music and watched a pajama-clad little girl chase fireflies. During the drive home we agreed it had been one of the best nights ever.
I don’t remember where I got this, but I think I’ve improved the original enough to claim it at least partially. My recipes seldom give amounts, everything here is to taste.
- shredded cabbage and carrots (either made by you or from those pre-shredded bags)
- a cob’s – or more – worth of corn, sheared from the cob, tossed with chili powder and oven-roasted until toothsome
- a can of pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
- shredded cheddar or manchego cheese
- chorizo (cooked if purchased raw), diced
- skinned, slivered almonds
- dressing: olive oil, lime juice, S&P, cilantro (whizzed up in a blender if you can, stirred vigorously otherwise)
Mix it all. Eat. Be kissed.
The important thing to remember is that the result is far more than the sum of its parts. If you’re reading this thinking, eh, sounds nice but whatev bump it to the top of your TBC (To Be Cooked) pile at the first opportunity. You won’t be sorry.
Not entering your lovely contest because I already own Delicious and also my TBR scares me, but here are two more you might like to add to your foodie book group:
‘Hungry for More’ by Diana Holquist (hero owns a starred French resto, much of the action takes place there)
‘The Husband Test’ by Betina Krahn (medieval; hero more or less coerces heroine to become the master chef at his castle)
There was also a Laura Lee Guhrke title from her Girl Bachelors series (‘Secret Desires of a Gentleman’, I think) in which the heroine is a patissier, however unlike the previous two reading it did not compel me to go find something delectable in the kitchen. A good story, but the actual food somehow didn’t seem to come into it as much.
Branching out into food love in a different literary form –
I really liked both ‘Julie and Julia’, as well as ‘I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti’ – two foodish memoirs.
I’d give my tuna casserole recipe, but I don’t have that typed out yet, and it’s too long for a little comment. So I’ll do even better and share a very simple recipe that never fails to produce a dish I’m proud of.
ROAST BEEF
2 – 4 1/2 lbs. beef roast (rump, top round, rib)
1 1/2 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. vinegar
Mix together all ingredients, except roast and rub mixture into the meat. Place in roasting pan with no water nor cover. For a 4 1/2 pound roast (well done); bake at 200 degrees for 6 1/2 hours. Med well done; bake at 175 degrees for 3 1/2 hours, then 200 degrees for the rest of the time (3 hours). There is absolutely no shrinkage of meat.
—
The recipe is adapted from a cooks.com recipe, and I enjoy adding extra dry mustard and brown sugar to the mix, but play with it as you desire. It’s very difficult to get wrong.
I made it last week for a friend of mine who is helping me move. If she didn’t love me, she wouldn’t be putting herself through the hell of my house, and if I didn’t love her, I wouldn’t let her see the hidden depths of messiness hiding in my private corners.
What a fun theme for your giveaway! Here is the link to a great corn casserole my family always has for Thanksgiving. It’s my BIL’s recipe, and the first year I hosted TG, I told the family I was doing a totally original menu, and then surprised them by making this myself. (I am not known as a cook, BTW.) I made it because it’s my personal ab fav veggie!
I have 2 books I’m giving away also, so stop on by. While you’re there, click on the New England Bloggers button and see if you’re interested in that, too!
those veggies look amazing! Since you got some, and cooler weather is here, I’ll give my family’s veggie soup.
Do this in the morning, for lunch/supper:
lb. hamburger meat
tomato sauce
chopped tomatoes
can of rotelles (really, this is the secret)
Kidney beans
lima beans
onion
green beans
carrots
potatoes (boil them ahead if you use canned veggies. leave them raw if your other veggies are raw)
peas
corn (I like using whitecorn)
okra
and any of your other favorite veggies
brown the hamburger meat with chopped onion. mix all your veggies, cooked meat, tomatoes and sauce together in large pot or crock pot (I like to use the crock pot so there’s no sticking). Add enough tomato sauce to how juicy you want it. If you’re not big on tomatoes, add water.
If you use raw veggies (and the soup is SO MUCH BETTER IF YOU DO) this will need to sit for a few hours at a low simmer. Serve with cornbread or crackers.
Heh, I already have 2 out 3 of the books, so am not entering. But just in case you go bat@#$% insane next year and decide to grow tomatoes, my children love this fresh tomato pasta and it’s as easy as can be.
FRESH TOMATO PASTA
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
(Tomatoes are really easy to peel if you toss them into boiling water for a couple of seconds. The seeding part takes a little time, but put on an audio book and it’s all good. And you do want to seed and get rid of the extra moisture so that your sauce will not be watery. I use closer to 3 lbs of tomato myself just because I like tomatoes.)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt
1 lb pasta
Put water to boil for pasta. Add salt and pasta to boiling water.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned.
Stir in the tomatoes, increase the heat to medium-high and cook until tomato pieces lose their shape to form a chunky sauce. Takes about 10-15 min. You can stir it occasionally but you can also leave it alone and just mash it up a bit at the end with your spatula.
Put in the basil into the sauce. Salt to taste. I add some red pepper flakes just because my kids like spicy food.
Drain pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and 1 more spoon olive oil.
Serve right away. With parmesan if you like.
Edited to add: This recipe comes from THE NEW BEST RECIPE cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. I really love this book as it explains exactly how each recipe is formulated.
WOw a recipe exchange contest !!
Here is a simple dish which has become a favorite at my home. All you need is to think of preparing the meat the day before.
I serve it with mushroom and Parmigianno risotto and it’s always a success :
Pancetta wrapped pork loin :
Ingredients
8 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pork loin (that makes about 2 pound 1/2 I think)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
Directions
Blend the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and oil in a small food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the garlic is minced.
Sprinkle the pork loin generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the pancetta slices on a work surface, overlapping slightly and forming a rectangle. Spread half of the garlic mixture over 1 side of the pork and between the 2 loins that meet in the center of the tied pork roast. Place the pork, garlic mixture side down, in the center of the pancetta rectangle. Spread the remaining garlic mixture over the remaining pork. Wrap the pancetta slices around the pork. Place the pork in a roasting pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Pour 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of wine into the roasting pan. Add more broth and wine to the pan juices every 20 minutes. Roast the pork until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 145 degrees F for medium-rare, about 1 hour. Transfer the pork to a cutting board. Tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the pan drippings into a glass measuring cup and spoon off any fat that rises to the top.
Using a large sharp carving knife, cut the pork into 1/4-inch-thick slices and serve with the pan juices.
These books sound great,please enter me in the giveaway.
A favorite recipe is Cheese Potatoes.
depending on how many you are serving, dish varies.
Slice potatoes thin.
alternate layers of potaotes with cheddar cheese,onions and sliced (uncooked)bacon.on top layer poor one can of mushroom soup over it.
cook at 300 degrees for about an hour (again depending on how big the dish is you are using)it may be longer.
I always make it when my nephews come over to visit with chicken..its their favorite.
My mom loved fruitcake! Her birthday was in May. One year, I totally surprised her with a birthday fruitcake! One of the few times I ever really pulled one over on her! Here is my favorite fruitcake recipe:
Ever So Easy Fruitcake
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 (27-ounce) jar NONE SUCH® Ready-to-Use Mincemeat (Regular or Brandy and Rum)
1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 cups (1 pound) mixed candied fruit
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Grease and flour 10-inch bundt pan. Combine flour and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl, combine remaining ingredients; blend in dry ingredients. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes. Turn out of pan.
I recently made my very favorite birthday cake for my husband. It’s super easy.
Make a chocolate cake (from a mix, scratch, whatever) in a bigger pan than needed or half the batter, you want the finished cake to be about half as tall as your pan. Let cool Make instant chocolate pudding and blend it with a slab of cream cheese. Let firm slightly, then spread over your cake. Let set. Spread cool whip over all that making 3 layers. If you want to be fancy you can top it with swirls of caramel, slivered almonds, tiny crushed candy, whatever.
I made this recipe last year for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. My mom requests it all the time.
Apple Cake
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups chopped, peeled tart apples
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup raisins
APPLE CIDER GLAZE:
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in apples, almonds and raisins. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire tack to cool completely.
In a saucepan, combine glaze ingredients; cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Prick top of cake with a fork; drizzle with glaze.
These recipes all sound amazing! I can’t wait to try some of them out.
I would love to win the books too! Books about food and romance get me every time. Susan Mallery has two different series that I know of that revolve around food (the Bakery Sisters and the Buchannans). Both are excellent!
As for my favorite recipe…I love these Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies from Paula Deen: http://bit.ly/8CAM4. They are super easy to make and a great crowd pleaser. I made them last Christmas with my younger cousins (12 and 14) who were visiting from Europe and they had a lot of fun helping me with them. They even asked for the recipe so they could make them at home! The cookies are wonderfully chocolatey, but not too sweet. Definitely worth trying!
Here’s my mom’s tuna curry recipe. I had to watch my mom and write down what she was doing for this. I guess I technically HELPed make this for both of us. I think my mom was happy I was even interested in her recipes. For the record? Delicious. It’s for people who like spicy but you can leave off the hot stuff if you want. This is one of those: oh eyeball it and guess recipes.
MOM’s TUNA CURRY
2 tuna steaks – chopped (approx 2 lbs)
1/2 an onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves
1 and 1/2 tomatoes
2 and 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric or hot chili
1/2 a lime
1 can of coconut milk
1/3 teaspoon of fennigreek
cannola oil
curry leaves (approx 10. optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoon cheyenne pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1. To chopped tuna add 1/5 of can (to wet) of coconut milk. Mix in curry powder and turmeric.
2. Slice tomato and onion and garlic
3. Heat pan with a little canola oil. Add curry leaves and fennigreek when heated. Immediately add onion.
4. After onion is soft, add tomato and garlic.
5. After the above is softened, add tuna mixture to pan. Add 3/5 of can of coconut milk.
6. Add salt (may need to add more later).
7. Add a little water if coconut milk is thick. Cover and let simmer.
8. Towards the end add the rest of the coconut milk.
9. Squeeze half a lime in before turning off the fire.
I already have Delicious but the other two books sound yummy. I’m going to try to do this from memory — it’s Crab Dip and something my dd always wants when she comes home from school (and she’s three time zones away from me).
can of crab (the small size –like 7 oz size): drain it
package of cream cheese – regular Philadelphia cream cheese size — you can use light but DON’T go to no fat
either a heaping tbsp of sour cream or mayo
big splash of lemon juice
big splash of Worcestershire sauce
few drops of hot sauce
a package of pizza red pepper flakes (a heaping tbsp)
salt/pepper
mix it all together well so there are no lumps. Put it in a greased pan (pretty, so you can serve it on the table)
sprinkle the top w/parmesan cheese
350 degrees/25 or so minutes
Serve warm w/crackers
Oh that looks like a great set of books! Please enter me, thanks!
For Christmas my family always asks me to make this chocolate cake.
Chocolate Sheath Cake
In a Large Bowl: sift
2 c sugar
2 c plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
In Sauce Pan: boil
1 c water
1 stick maragrine (1/4 c)
1/2 c vegetable oil
4 TBS cocoa
In a Small Bowl: mix
1/2 c buttermilk*
1 tsp vanilla
* Also, you don’t need to use store bought buttermilk. 1 tsp of lemon juice (or vinegar) added to a cup of milk works just as well.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Sift sugar, flour, soda and cinnamon together and set aside.
In a saucepan bring water, margarine, oil and cocoa to a boil (be careful, has a tendency to boil over)
Pour water mixture over dry ingredients, mix well and set aside.
Mix buttermilk, eggs and vanilla together, add the buttermilk mixture to the chocolate batter.
Pour into a greased and floured 13X9X2 pan and bake for approximately 20 to 28 minutes
Begin icing about 5 minutes before cake is done than frost in pan.
Chocolate Icing (this goes on top of the Chocolate Sheath Cake)
1 stick margarine (1/4 c)
4 TBS cocoa
6 TSP milk
1 box 4x sugar (1lb or 1 c)
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans (optional)
Place margarine, cocoa and milk in saucepan and bring to a boil – careful scorches easily.
Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, vanilla and nuts, stir, mixing well.
Spread over hot cake and let cool.
*** Notes *** You can use flavours other than vanilla (almond, etc.).
If the cake is too dense, try adding 1 tsp baking soda along with the baking powder. It makes thecake lighter.
It would have to be banana bread. My mom made it for me, and now I make it for my husband and my daughter. I make for them just because I love them and it always makes them smile.
2 cups Flour (I Prefer Whole Wheat)
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Ground Ginger (optional)
2 whole Large Eggs
1-½ cup Mashed Bananas (about 4-5 Medium)
1 cup Sugar Or Splenda
¼ cups Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
½ cups Unsweetened Applesauce
Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs. Add bananas (I prefer to use the ones that are almost entirely black for the strongest banana flavor), Splenda or sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla.
Pour all wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just blended. Pour batter into a greased 9×5×3 loaf pan.
Bakes at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Cool and slice.
Enjoy!
The Mixure:
Saute fresh spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes in olive oil.
Add 1 tsp crushed garlic.
Remove from pan and saute small pieces of chicken, or sausage, shrimp or whatever meat of your choice. Add a little flour and toss. Add 1 pkt of choice broth granules or 2 tbs from jar. Stir and add veggies. Cover and simmer about 10 mins. Serve over rice or noodles.
Enjoy.
I forgot to mention, I made it for just me husband and I and there was no special occasion. I have made it several times and he liked it and I passed it along to a c0-worker who loves and makes it all the time with scallops or crab.
Just on the off chance I won, and before I put in a big book order (gotta get two Carlyles F A S T) … who won? Of course asking means for sure it isn’t me but I’m still curious
… because if I’m on the outside of the winner’s circle, I’m buying Edwards’s book 
Who won? Thanks.
Type your comment here@Virginia C:
Virginia, it was Phyl. I posted about it in a different post. I am sorry for any confusion.