Friday, November 21, 2014

Feisty Foodies: Day 3 of Recipes and Reads



Food plays a large role in alternative romances, too.  Tight kitchen spaces provide excuses for bumping and touching one another.  Tasting the food from fingers instead of spoons. All can be a seemingly innocent way to breach an awkward scene where the characters are learning one another's boundaries. 

Today, we are featuring several alternative romances because variety is the spice of life: FF, MMF, and MM.


 
Randi Alexander, author of the FF title Turn Up the Heat, brought us a comfort food recipe: Mushroom Medley Chowder.
 
Turn Up the Heat by Randi Alexander

Book Blurb:

Mackenzie Jarvis has never slept with a woman. So why has she fallen madly in lust with Gina Volto, host of the reality cooking show Mackenzie is competing in? Mackenzie’s wild desire to live out her fantasy, battles with her conservative Wyoming values. Then Gina pours on the seduction, Mackenzie runs–home to her ranch, her horses, and her busy career as the owner and chef of a restaurant. But Gina shows up at her ranch in a snowstorm, and Mackenzie allows herself one weekend of forbidden, kinky pleasure.

When Gina admits she wants more than just a few days, can Mackenzie ignore her upbringing and her plans for a traditional life with a husband and children? Or will she give in and turn up the heat?

*********

Excerpt:
You can hear Randi read this excerpt by visiting our guest appearance
 on Gumbo YaYa blog talk radio.

Walking down the stairs, Mackenzie heard a cork pop.

“Pinot.” Gina poured wine into two stemmed glasses. She’d lit the candle on the table, dimmed the light, and set out the plate of bread. “I think the soup is warm.” She looked at Mackenzie. “Holy Christmas, you have more clothes on now than you did outside.”

She shrugged. “I took a chill, and thought I’d better bundle up.” It sounded better than, I didn’t want you to see how horny I am for you.

“This will warm you.” She handed Mackenzie a glass of wine, and held up hers. “To forgetting about everything but each other tonight.”

“To forgetting.” Mackenzie tapped her glass to Gina’s and they drank. Their eyes met, and Gina’s brow furrowed. Mackenzie asked, “Is anything wrong?”

Her friend shook her head. “I have something to show you, but let’s eat first.”

Mackenzie swallowed a few more gulps of wine to settle her nerves. She ladled the mushroom chowder into big, flat bowls and put them on the table. “Butter?”

“Why not. I’m on vacation.” Gina buttered a corner of bread and dipped it into the soup, popped it in her mouth, and groaned in pleasure. “Girlfriend, this is fabulous.” She refilled their wine glasses.

“It’s one of my favorite recipes.” Her last word slurred a little. She should slow down on the wine. Such a lightweight.

“Mine, too. Hey,” she pointed to the butter dish. “If you’re going to tempt me with butter, you’d better be willing to ingest the same amount of calories yourself.”

Mackenzie remembered how tight her jeans fit this morning. “You’re so thin, and I’m at least ten pounds—”

“Stop.” She broke off a small piece of buttered bread. Leaning over the table, she dipped the bread in Mackenzie’s soup. “You, my dear, are lusciously well proportioned.” She held up the dripping morsel.

Mackenzie took the bread from Gina’s fingers, popped it in her mouth, and wiped her fingers on her napkin. Their eyes met, and a jolt of something hot and sensual passed through her.

Gina wiped a drop from Mackenzie’s lip, brought her finger to her own mouth, and sucked.

*********

Buy Links:

AMAZON US    AMAZON UK     AMAZON CAN     AMAZON AU   

  BARNES & NOBLE     KOBO     ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS   

  WILD ROSE PRESS


*********

Recipe: Mushroom Medley Chowder    

¼ cup butter
1 8-ounch package white mushrooms, sliced
1 4-ounch package shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 6-ounce package portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup carrots, diced
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup onion, chopped
1 can (14 oz) vegetable broth
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Chives, chopped

1.    Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in broth and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and summer, covered, for 15 minutes.

2.    Combine half-and-half cream, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a small bowl; stir into soup in saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir to thicken slightly, about 1 minute longer. Serve hot, garnished with chives, if desired.

3.    Tastes wonderful with red wine.

 

 Jenna Galicki, author of The Prince of Punk Rock: Radical Rockstars series, brought us one of Chef Angel Garcia's dishes from his father's restaurant:  Lechon Asado (Roast Pork, Cuban-Style) .
 
 
The Prince of Punk Rock
by Jenna Galicki
 
 
 I love her, but I also love him.
She’s everything to me.
He sets my world on fire.
It's our dirty little secret, and it’s about to blow our record deal sky high.
I’m Tommy Blade, the Prince of Punk Rock, and this is our story.

Tommy Blade is a man with a secret. It’s a secret he only shares with one person, Jessi Blade – and the men he surrenders to in the bedroom. Jessi’s only condition to their tumultuous sex life is that the men are one night stands. But when Angel Garcia enters their life, it’s like a match to gasoline.

Mega-talented punk rock singer Angel Garcia, with his smoldering ebony eyes, tight leather pants and unstoppable stage presence, is a man who is used to getting what he wants. He has his eyes set on Tommy Blade as his new lead guitarist, and as his life partner.

Jessi Blade, sympathetic to her husband's bisexual needs, loves him enough to share him, but she never counted on Angel Garcia to test the threshold of her marriage. He makes her life hell . . . and heaven. He’s her damnation and her salvation. She wants to hate him. She wants to despise him. But his charm and raw sex appeal are impossible to resist. Without warning, she finds herself falling in love with her husband's gay lover.

At the height of it all, their punk rock band catapults to stardom.

Their lives are marred by secrecy, deception and sacrifice. Feelings of betrayal, backlash from the sensationalistic media and threats of blackmail send them down a hard road filled with tough decisions.

They aren't your ordinary rock stars. They're radical rock stars. And they have a big story to tell. 



 Amazon UK:  http://amzn.to/1hmzB6y
 
 
 

Excerpt

Jessi let the warm water from the shower spray onto her face.  She was happy.  Tommy was happy.  Angel was happy.  Their much needed talk at the breakfast table set some ground rules.  Angel was open to communication and encouraged it.  It gave her comfort.

After she showered, she meandered back to the bedroom, as she towel dried her hair.  Tommy and Angel were already naked and in each other’s arms on top of the unmade bed.

“What took you so long?” Tommy asked, before returning his lips to Angel’s neck.

Jessi didn’t answer.  She wanted to watch.  She leaned against the doorway and folded her arms.  She watched Tommy kiss Angel with an urgency that she never saw before, and the love that Angel had for Tommy was never clearer to the naked eye than it was right now.  She knew they were in love.  It didn’t scare her as much as she thought it would. The confidence she had in their marriage overshadowed her fears and doubts.

Her thoughts were pushed aside by the sound of Tommy moaning and breathing heavily.  Angel was stroking Tommy and sucking on his nipples.  Jessi let the towel around her body drop to the floor and crawled into bed, on the other side of Tommy.  She glided her hand up his back and kissed his shoulder.  He immediately turned onto his back, so that he could share himself equally between her and Angel, and he kissed her.  Her mouth moved to his chest, and she could feel his heart gently beating underneath her lips. She kissed her way down his torso and her tongue crawled across his skin.  It accidentally collided with Angel’s mouth.  They both looked up in surprise and shared a smile.

She wasn’t sure what Angel was thinking, but she wanted to kiss him.  Fear of rejection made her hesitate, but it was unwarranted.  Angel grabbed her by the back of the neck and firmly planted his mouth on hers.  His tongue invaded her mouth and bathed its circumference.  She was spellbound by the intensity of his kiss.  She couldn’t think about anything else except Angel’s warm, authoritative tongue inside her mouth, and she immediately felt warmth and wetness between her legs.  Now she understood why Tommy had that dreamy look on his face whenever Angel kissed him.

Angel withdrew his tongue, but she wanted more and placed a long kiss on his lips, hoping for another visit from his magical tongue.  But he just smiled at her, and then moved his mouth back down to Tommy’s belly.

Tommy pulled her up and kissed her.  It was like night and day.  Angel’s kiss was forceful and commanding.  Tommy’s was slow and soft.  She loved the tenderness in which he slowly moved his tongue in gentle, purposeful circles around her mouth, but she found herself still reminiscing over the kiss she just shared with Angel.

 Lechón Asado -- Roast Pork Cuban-Style

By Three Guys From Miami
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 4 to 8 hours
Total time: 5 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings


Cook this roast slowly to make it tender and flavorful.

INGREDIENTS:

6-pound fresh ham or pork shoulder roast

20 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 and 1/2 cups sour orange juice (If you can't get sour orange juice in your area, use two parts orange to one part lemon and one part lime)
1 cup onion, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 and 1/2 cups olive oil

Mash the garlic, salt, and peppercorns together with a mortar and pestle.

Add dried oregano, onion, and the sour orange to make a mash -- mix thoroughly.

Heat the olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan until hot, but NOT deep frying hot! We're looking for something in the neighborhood of 220 degrees F. Remove the saucepan from the heat source. Carefully add the mash to the hot oil and whisk gently. Let cool.

Pierce the pork as many times as you can with a sharp knife or fork.

Pour garlic mixture (save a little for roasting) over pork, cover and let sit in refrigerator for 2-3 hours or preferably overnight.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place the fresh ham or pork shoulder, fattest side up, in an open roasting pan. Place pan in oven and reduce temperature to 225 degrees F. Spoon extra marinade over the roast occasionally as it cooks. Using a meat thermometer, roast should be removed from the oven when the internal temperature reaches 195 degrees F. -- for fork tender, "pulled-pork" quality. (If you want a roast you can slice, remove when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.)

Immediately cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.





 Cupcake shop owner/exiled Vampire Lord Heir Vincent Kamateros, from Viki Lyn & Vina Grey's Orbus Arcana series, loves filling John's sweet tooth with his Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes.  Warning: chocolate induced coma may result.   

 
For the Bite of It
Orbus Arcana #1
by Viki Lyn and Vina Grey
 
A vampire, a cupcake, plus one sexy cop, is a recipe for trouble.

Synopsis
VINCENT KAMATEROS is an exiled vampire making a routine living as the owner of a cupcake bakery in Arizona. Until a car with a dead driver crashes through the wall of his shop, bringing after it, All-American, closeted cop, JOHN REEDER. Smitten the instant he sees John, but bound to silence by the Vampire High Council, he can never reveal his true self to John.

John Reeder can’t control his attraction to the sexy Italian baker. But as addictive as the sex is, John can't overcome his fear of rejection for being gay, and open his heart to a man with so many secrets





From a previous interview with Vince about John's shopping list:  Hershey's Kisses - Original - Silver Foil, 5 pound bag. You will not believe how many Kisses he can go through in a week. Especially if work is stressful, and I’m not there to give him real ones. *grin*

EXCERPT

John brushed Vincent's hair back from his neck, keeping his hand there. "Do you have any new cupcakes for me to try?"

Vincent shivered.

With the entire length of his body John pushed Vincent backward until he hit the edge of the table, the bowl holding the icing rattling from the impact.

 "John?"

He placed a finger to those sexy lips. "Shut up."

This  wasn't why he'd come here but Vincent pinned against him changed his plans. 

John caressed Vincent's stubble-rough cheek, and cupped his palm behind his nape.  He liked Vincent's upper lip then kissed him.  Once he kissed a man, he loved it.  Or maybe he loved kissing this man. 

Their tongues meshed, played and dance.  Vincent tasted of chocolate and coffee.  John could do this forever. Wanted to do it forever.  he kissed him again, slipping his tongue back in.  Vincent grunting sounds spurred Jon on.  Their kiss turned dark and hot.  Vincent pushed his erection against Jon's cock.

John steadied Vincent's hips.  Don't be in such a hurry."

"No?" Vincent twisted around ad scooped some icing from the bowl. He crooked the finger coated with a gob of chocolate at John.  The sweetness teased John's sense of smell and his lips parted in anticipation.

"Open."

Jon sucked the frosting between his lips, the sugary taste exploding in his mouth.  His tongue lapped at Vincent's finger.  he fumbled for the tie of the apron and tugged it off. 



From Viki and Vina: 
 
John is a chocoholic and so Vince is always trying to tease John with new cupcake recipes, especially knowing how much John loves to lick the frosting! Vince found this recipe at bakerette.com, and these cupcakes quickly became one of John’s favorite desserts. Now when Vince wants his way with John, he bakes a dozen of these ganache filled temptations and has John literally eating out of his hand. 

Try out these ganache filled cupcakes by bakerette.com. Yum!
 

RECIPE:    Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes
 
 
Prep time
30 mins
Cook time
17 mins
Total time
47 mins
 
 
Author: Bakerette.com adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Ganache Filling (optional)
  • 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Cupcake Batter
  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup hot coffee
  • 3/4 cup bread flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 6 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
  • 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon Lagrima vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces chocolate (milk, semisweet, or dark), melted and cooled
Instructions
To Make Ganache Filling
  1. In a microwave-safe small bowl, add together chopped chocolate, heavy cream and powdered sugar. Microwave on high for 20-30 seconds until mixture is warm to the touch. Stir until smooth. Place in the refrigerator for no longer than 30 minutes until mixture is barely chilled.
To Make Cupcakes
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a standard-sized muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, add chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, Slowly pour hot coffee over the mixture and stir until smooth. Refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and baking soda and set aside.
  4. Beat together the oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla into the coffee/chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Add flour mixture and continue beating until smooth and creamy.
  5. Evenly divide batter between the prepared muffin tin cups. Add one rounded teaspoon of ganache filling to the top of each cupcake. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin tin for approximately 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To Make Frosting
  1. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the cocoa powder and salt and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add corn syrup and vanilla extract and continue beating until smooth and creamy. Frost completely cooled cupcakes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days.
 
 
 
 


 

 FEISTY FOODIE GIVEAWAY

 
COME BACK EACH DAY AS MORE AUTHORS AND PRIZES ARE ADDED
 
Enjoyed this installment of Feisty Foodies: Recipes and Reads? 
Check out the previous installments too. 

 Day 1      Day 2     Day  3    Day 4
 
 
Word of the Day: Cupcakes

 
 
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13 comments:

  1. Did a radio chat with Randi on Monday and it was a blast! She was terrific and I can't wait to try her soup. All the recipes look great. Thanks for being on the blog.

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  2. I love rock stars as heroes. Because of all those rock concerts I attended when I was younger! :) Great food and great sex. Can't beat that.

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  3. I love these feisty foods!! Such a great idea! I am huge fan of Jenna's series and I adore Angel. It's so awesome to have an actual recipe of his since she makes his food sound amazing!! thanks for sharing these!

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  4. Oh and PS I love Beef Stroganoff and anything sweet. I make a pretty awesome triple chocolate torte with fresh rasberries!

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  5. Great line up today - and great recipes! :-)

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  6. These recipes sound delicious, thank you

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  7. Such great recipes and just in time for Thanksgiving! way cool

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  8. I love Lobster! I could eat it until I explode! lol

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  9. I love the recipes. I'll try some of them.

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