Entries Tagged 'Cooking' ↓
February 8th, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, 5 Stars, Book Review, Cooking, Foster/Orphan, G-I, Historic America, Inspirational, Logging Industry, Mail Order, Nurse, Religious, Seas, Travel, United States of America, Virgin Heroine, Widow or Widower
I didn’t know I was thirsting for this type of novel until I glutted myself on it. The story itself is an inspirational set in America during the Civil War aftermath. I picked it up and read and read and read. It’s sweet and chaste, with both leads good God fearing people, which I found refreshing and charming. Deeanne Gist is a master weaver of storytelling, effortlessly combining fact and fiction into one cohesive whole.
The premise of the book truly is based on fact, which is really cool. Obviously the writer exercised creative license with her research but a good amount of that research appeared in some manifestation in the book. Clippings from newspapers, edited and/or condensed, are sprinkled throughout the novel and help set the mood. The letter to the heroine from her father was inspired by a similar missive one man sent his daughter. And so forth…
It does not talk down to you and doesn’t hold any ulterior religious agenda. Yes, both leads are Christian and quote the Bible, but neither they nor the author try to persuade the reader into Christianity or a particular sect of Christianity. There are only two churches and they’re named after the color of their paint. You shouldn’t shy from this book because of the fact it’s inspirational. I have limited experience in inspirational romance, but that will change because of this novel and Deeanne’s expert handling. I plan to get all of her published works from the library and glom on them.
When you open the book you are transported to 1860s Seattle (part of the Washington Territory at that time). Joseph Denton is a lumberjack whose land claim is in jeopardy because his wife died and never showed up in the Territory. It wouldn’t be an issue, except he’s being sued by a man he fired.
The judge through marriage is related to this man and while having a bias is pretty fair-minded toward Joe. He gives Joe a year to get a new wife or hand over his wife’s death certificate. Against his better judgment, Joe takes part of Asa Shinn Mercer’s bride importation project for the Territory. He would go East to get war widows and orphans and bring them back to the Pacific Northwest.
Anna Ivey, one of Mercer’s Girls, desires to be a cook and not a bride. When Mercer gives her a certificate for passage it’s with the understanding that her future employer would settle the debt and she would work it off. Needless to say Joe is not happy, but then it’s not Anna’s problem. Her paperwork from Mercer is different from Joe’s.
The judge is not happy but he gives Joe an extension. Joe is fortunate enough to have another choice, but the woman is old enough to be his grandmother and she hasn’t any teeth and refuses to wed until she gets them!
So Joe brings Anna back where she starts to cook for him and his men. Not even a week passes before news comes that his elderly betrothed’s husband is not dead, but very much alive and coming to claim his wife. That leaves Anna and Joe is more than happy to pursue her… but she can’t find out his intentions or about the returned husband until her answer to his proposal is yes.
Rating: 4.5-5 Stars
Buy: A Bride in the Bargain
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January 14th, 2010 — Contemporary, Cooking, Guest Blogger, J-L
by Robin Kaye, guest blogger, author of Breakfast in Bed.
In my first two books, Romeo, Romeo and Too Hot to Handle, readers immediately fell in love with my heroes—men I call Domestic Gods. They actually like cooking, insist on doing the cleaning, and taking care of my heroines in every sense of the word! My most recent release, Breakfast in Bed
(in stores now!), features a different kind of hero—one that is domestically challenged; Rich Ronaldi is a man used to having everything done for him… So he enlists his sister’s best friend, Becca Larsen to teach him how to do things around the house, but he never realizes that she might be the one thing he really needs!
Below are a few recipes that every Domestic God should know—take note, you might want your own DGs to keep these on file!
- Romantic Dinner: An easy and romantic dinner of Baked Salmon
Ingredients:
- 4 fillets of Salmon
- Enough Mayonnaise to coat the top liberally
- Dill
- Garlic powder
- Lemon pepper
Directions:
- Spray a Pyrex baking dish with Pam. Rinse and dry salmon.
- Place the salmon fillets skin side down in dish.
- Brush the top of salmon with a thick layer of mayonnaise so that none of the fish is showing. Sprinkle liberally with dill, a little garlic and lemon pepper to taste.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes until the fish flakes when poked with a fork or knife.
- Serve with yellow rice (can be cooked in the microwave, follow directions on package) Steamed broccoli, and a Caesar Salad (you can use the packaged salad, just throw the evidence away before your date arrives.)
- Homemade Massage Oil
Ingredients:
- 10 teaspoons grape seed oil
- 7 drops of patchouli essential/fragrance oil
- 4 drops jasmine essential/fragrance oil
- 2 drops rose essential/fragrance oil
Directions:
- Blend well, warm up oil and hands before doing any massage. Use liberally.
- Bubble Bath
Ingredients:
- Bath tub
- Bubble Bath
- Candles
- Wine
Directions:
- Clean tub, buy bubble bath, run a nice hot bath, and add twice the amount of bubble bath the directions call for.
- Light candles and place around the tub and counters being careful not to light anything else on fire except maybe your significant other’s libido.
- Pour her favorite wine and then take plenty of time undressing her, soaping her up, rinsing and drying and then break out the whipped cream or Chocolate Fondue (recipe below) for a desert you both can enjoy.
- Repeat as necessary.
- Chocolate Fondue
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (reserve a ¼ cup in case fondue needs to be thinned or cooled for other uses) *grin*
- 4 bittersweet chocolate bars chopped (3 ½ oz. each)
- 2 Tablespoons Frangelico or Amaretto (optional)
- Food for dipping such as strawberries, pretzels, marshmallows, biscotti, orange slices etc. (use your imagination.)
Directions:
- Heat cream in microwave being careful not to scald, add chocolate and let sit in hot cream for a few minutes then whisk together with cream.
- Stir in liqueur and transfer to a fondue pot or set the mixing bowl on a rack over a small, lit candle.
- Dip fruit and other edibles and feed each other.
- Then, if you wish, cool the remaining chocolate fondue off with heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s cool enough to dip your fingers (or other body parts) in.
- Breakfast in Bed: Easy Eggs Benedict
Ingredients:
- 2 English muffins
- 4 pieces of Canadian Bacon
- 4 spears of asparagus, with hard end broken off and then broken in half
- 4 eggs
- Hollandaise sauce (recipe below)
- Orange Juice
- Coffee
- 1 Rose
Directions:
- Microwave asparagus in with about ¼ cup water for 5 minutes on high in a microwave safe bowl with a glass lid. Set aside.
- Toast and butter English Muffins. (set aside)
- Make Hollandaise sauce. Keep the sauce warm over a pot of hot water, taken off heat, whisking every few minutes.
- Cook eggs and Canadian bacon. You can poach the eggs, but it’s not necessary. No one will complain if you make them over easy, just use a lot of Hollandaise sauce and no one will ever know
- Assemble: Place the English muffins on plates, put one piece of Canadian bacon on each half, top with an egg, 2 pieces of asparagus and cover with Hollandaise sauce. Serve with a good cup of coffee, orange juice and a long stemmed rose. Enjoy!
Hollandaise Sauce:
Ingredients:
- ½ cup butter
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks
- 1-2 tablespoons cold water
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Dash of white pepper (or black – it doesn’t really change the taste, white just looks better)
Directions:
-
- Place butter and lemon juice in microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted.
- While whisking, add egg yolks one at a time. Beat until smooth.
- Return to microwave at medium for 15 seconds and watch carefully until it begins looking grainy.
- Quickly add a tablespoon or two of cold water and whisk until smooth. Add salt and pepper.
Directions for a Full Romantic Evening
- Start off with a lovely dinner, wine and candlelight.
- Move on to a full body massage and then a bubble bath for two.
- After you’re done with the bath, let her soak on her own for a while.
- In the mean time, throw together the chocolate fondue and then let nature take its course.
- Be sure to wake up before she does the next morning and surprise her with a scrumptious Breakfast in Bed!
Ladies, feel free to print this for your significant others. If he can’t take a hint, or even if he can, go ahead and pick up a copy of my latest release, Breakfast in Bed. It’s almost as satisfying as all of the above. Almost, but not quite.
Be sure to check out my website (http://www.robinkayewrites.com/) for the Top 10 List of Reasons Women love Domestic Gods as well as the first chapters of all three of the Domestic Gods Books, Romeo, Romeo, Too Hot to Handle and Breakfast in Bed.
Now tell your idea of a romantic evening. You’ve already seen the recipe for mine.
Breakfast in Bed by Robin Kaye—in stores January 2010
The third funny, sexy, contemporary romance from a fresh new voice in romance fiction
Rich, the epitome of “anti-domestic,” can’t cook to save his life, and his idea of cleaning his apartment is to invite his mother over. But he’s ready to settle down, and he can’t stop thinking about the ex-girlfriend who got away. When he notices that his soon-to-be-married friends cooked and cleaned their way into their women’s hearts, he asks his friend Becca to help transform him into a nurturing man to win back his ex.
Rich is the only guy who’s taken the time to know Becca for herself. She decides she’ll give him the makeover he’s asking for, though she’ll be damned if she’s going to turn him into a domestic god for another woman. She wants Rich for herself, but how can she convince him that her kitchen and her bedroom are the only domestic locales he desires?
Buy: Breakfast in Bed
About the Author
Award-winning author Robin Kaye is a professional writer and winner of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award for her first novel, Romeo, Romeo. Once it was published, Romeo, Romeo won the 2008 Best Contemporary itRom (Italian Romance) Award by Romance B(u)y the Book, the 2009 HOLT Medallion Contest First Place Winner for Best Romantic Comedy and the 2009 NJRW Golden Leaf Award Winner for Best Single Title. Her romantic comedies feature sexy, nurturing heroes and feisty, independent heroines. She lives with her husband and three children in Mt. Airy, Maryland. For more information, please visit http://www.robinkayewrites.com/
Giveaway: 2 copies of Breakfast in Bed are up for grabs! That means 2 winners! Yay! Open to US and Canada only, sorry international readers. Enter by sharing your idea of a romantic evening. One entry per relevant comment; multiple entries allowed. Ends: January 21, 2010.
Buy: Breakfast in Bed
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January 10th, 2010 — 4.5 Stars, 5 Stars, Book Review, Convict, Cooking, Foster/Orphan, Historic America, Marriage of Convenience, Pregnant, S-U, Soldier, Survival, Travel, United States of America, Wartime, Widow or Widower
Morning Glory is easily one of the top five romances LaVyrle Spencer wrote. It spans two years from 1941-1943. Small town America is still recovering from the Great Depression. America is holding neutrality while helping the Allies in the Second World War by supplying them material aid. It’s about five or six months before Pearl Harbor is attacked officially drawing America into the war.
Will Parker is an ex-convict drifter. He’s skinny, starving, and down on his luck. When he is fired unfairly from a job at Whitney, Georgia’s local sawmill, Will obtains a local paper and sees in the classified ads a woman advertising for a husband. (This is quite the reverse of most romances, because it is usually the man who advertises for a wife.) On a whim he decides to answer it.
When he meets Crazy Elly Dinsmore, will is not sure what to expect. She’s several months pregnant, has two young children, and looks tired and haggard. Her place is falling apart around her ears and she looks like she could do the same. It is obvious that she is desperate, but then so is he, and both are looking for a change in their fortunes.
They both agree to a trial period where they will see how they get along. Will is determined to prove his worth. Elly is hoping to prove she’s not crazy, though a woman taking on an ex-convict who was in prison for killing a woman (whore or not) is more than a bit crazy not to ask for more information than, “did you have a good reason?”
Three side characters are wonderfully written and created with just a few scenes and phrases. First there is Miss Beasley, the spinster librarian, who reads to be between her forties and fifties. She’s brilliant but fussy. Lula Peak, the town slut, is itching all the time for a man. Anyone will do so long as he can supply her with some of the finer things in life. Will Parker is her wet dream, but he’ll have none of her. Harley Overmire, the superintendent at the local sawmill, is a vain and cowardly man. When the draft starts, he is the first to run his trigger finger through the saw.
Spencer really gets you inside the heads of the characters. The low self esteem of both Will and Elly keep them from each other when they desperately desire to be closer. War is hard on them and changes Will so much. His trauma is handled well, but before the two can become solid lovers and partners again the sheriff rolls up and arrests Will for the murder of Lula Peak. Is a HEA possible for two people who never seem to catch a break?
Rating: 4.5-5 Stars
Buy: Morning Glory
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December 30th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Architect, Children, Comedy of Manners, Contemporary, Cooking, Divorced, Lawyer, Love Triangle, Mistress or Courtesan, Movie Reviews, United States of America
It’s Complicated is bust your gut funny. I laughed the whole way through. Of all the older couple romantic comedies (Last Chance Harvey
, Something's Gotta Give
, and As Good As It Gets
) this was my definite favorite. It’s a fast upbeat comedy about post-divorce.
It’s been ten years since Jane (Meryl Streep) divorced two-timing Jake (Alec Baldwin), who is now married to his mistress Agness. One weekend, while celebrating their son’s graduation, Jane and Jake share an evening together and hook up. Suddenly, Jane is the other woman and it’s good. She’s not trying to figure life out anymore. Instead she’s living it and it makes her happier, more vibrant, and risk-taking. One of those risks she takes is Adam (Steve Martin), the architect designing her kitchen. It’s as things come together and start to unravel she realizes that the whole situation is complicated. Very complicated.
Streep, Baldwin, and Martin are the core to this movie and play off each other with the deftness and ease that could only come with experience. The comedic timing is so perfect you will find yourself obnoxiously laughing in the middle of the theater. Luckily, everyone is laughing together with you so it won't matter. It’s really very cute.
Streep made Jane relatable (even to the 20 something crowd). She was neurotic, natural, and charming. You will root for her. Baldwin played Jake flawlessly. Truly a great performance. You loved him even when he was so bad (it’s good.) I had reservations about Steve Martin (never been a fan of his work) but I was happily surprised and enchanted. Martin plays his part with empathy and sensitivity.
John Krasinski, who plays Harley, the fiancé of one of the daughters, is a riot and a half. Oh my gosh was he fabulous. Krasinski stole every scenes he was in.
The supporting friendships for Jane played by Rita Wilson, Mary Kay Place, and Alexandra Wentworth were lovely. I want friends like them. Definitely a perk of the film is watching the three of them and Streep interact and act together.
If you’re looking to feel good, laugh until you hurt, and get a happy ending watch this film!
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: It's Complicated
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December 27th, 2009 — 2 Stars, A-C, Blackmail, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Divorced, Friends, Marriage of Convenience, Mexico, Pregnant, Tycoon, United States of America, Working with Land
The main plot line for Marrying King’s Millions is marriage of convenience, which winds up not being so very convenient. I found Travis King’s reasons for marrying a little strange, and stranger still to find out his brother did it and wound up finding his soul mate and having a little HEA. Seems way too neat, but then it is part of the Kings of California line and most lines will have interconnected stories with past lead cameos.
Travis King is a vineyard owner looking for an international distribution deal with Thomas Henry. His eligible bachelordom means Henry is pushing is “unsavory daughters” (we never meet them by the way) so in order to avoid these daughters Travis coerces Julie O’Hara, an unmarried childhood friend low on her luck into a marriage deal. He’ll give her money to start her bakery after one year of marriage.
Jean Claude Douchette, Julie’s sleazy immoral ex-husband turns out to be not so ex as she thought, Travis is certain she tricked him. He believes women in general are only after his money so while he’s disappointed he is not surprised. When he compromises her in public and pictures appear the next day even then he’s wondering if she did it on purpose. Nothing Julie says or does convinces him otherwise until she’s pregnant and then for inconsistency sake he suddenly believes her. Go figure.
Rating: 2 Stars
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December 26th, 2009 — 2.5 Stars, Australia/New Zealand, Book Review, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Great Britain, Housekeeper/Maid, J-L, Secret Baby, Travel, Tycoon
When Cristo Verón, owner of a vastly successful private plane company, heard that his soon to be brother-in-law might have gotten some maid pregnant in Australia, he hops on the soonest flight out to check the woman and her claim out. He expects to find a pretty face and not much else, instead he finds that Isabelle Brown. She is not what he expects and pretty soon Cristo is determined to have this little housekeeper as his mistress. Will he figure out he wants her all to himself or will he lose the only thing money can’t buy?
Magnate’s Make Believe Mistress is a quick read. There were some inconsistencies that I wondered about as I read. For instance, why did he check out the woman’s claim instead of the potential father? Why not hire a detective to sniff her out? It is an interesting spin on the "secret-baby" plot though, so I give Bronwyn Jameson credit for that.
I was there was more meat to this romance. I kept waiting for something big to happen. There really wasn’t a whole lot of conflict to the story once the hero figured out the heroine wasn’t pregnant, but her sister. No angsty blow-up that either party had to overcome. I was expecting Cristo to fume like most romance novels heroes, but he didn’t. It would have been refreshing if it didn’t seem so odd considering his character.
The story was decent, but not something I’d reread again.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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December 12th, 2009 — 3.5 Stars, ARC, Business, Category, Contemporary, Cooking, Enemies, Executive, Great Britain, P-R, Tycoon
Callum Ironstone wanted nothing more than to get Miranda Owen off his conscious. He could still remember her grief-stricken accusations that he killed her father, drove him to suicide. He’d done his best to make up for the harshness of his actions in the years afterward, not that she knew, but guilt still plagued him. In a last ditch effort of redemption Callum offers Miranda a contract to be a caterer for his holiday dinner party. What he didn’t expect was to be thrown completely off his guard… and for her to wind up in his bed. But now that she’s there he’s determined to keep her there.
The first concern I had about the novel was how the two would finally resolve the issue of Miranda’s father. Would Callum reopen the case and find the father innocent? Or would he show her undeniable proof about her father’s guilt? I found it hard to believe she’d land in his bed despite the uncomfortable attraction she felt for him. Uncomfortable is me projecting – because I would be seriously upset to find myself lusting after the man whose actions forced my father to consider suicide as the only way out and then take action on those suicidal thoughts.
While Miranda was anxious and worried once or twice about her attraction to him, she manages to push aside her feelings on that topic because of a conversation where they talked at cross purposes. She thought he was apologizing for wrongfully accusing her father. He was apologizing for being so harsh and public about his retaliation.
One of the biggest things in favor of this novel was how little time to took to deal with the breakup near the end and the follow up angst. Callum was very mature and worked quickly to fix and keep things from deteriorating. He was understanding and had foresight when most heroes would have been bullheaded, hurt. He did miss his chance to pull a Mr. Darcy behind Miranda’s back to humbly help her brother, but he did help (with her tagging along) and managed getting his HEA anyway.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Buy from Amazon: Millionaire Under the Mistletoe
Buy eHarlequin: Millionaire Under the Mistletoe
November 3rd, 2009 — 4 Stars, A-C, ARC, Contemporary, Cooking, Cowboy, Guest Reviews, Ranching, Survival, Suspense/Thriller, United States of America, Western
by Susan Sigler, guest reviewer
Brown delivers another great cowboy romance! With devil-may-care characters, exciting plot twists, and outrageously silly sayings.
One Lucky Cowboy is book two from Brown’s Lucky Trilogy. This book stands alone, but if you read book one Lucky in Love, you’ll appreciate Milli and Beau’s cameo appearances all the more. You’ll also see the Yak-52 (Milli’s plane) take flight once again. This story takes place approximately one year after the first one, as evidenced by the amount of time Milli and Beau have been together.
Book two tells the story of another handsome Luckadeau cousin. We meet the hero Lester (Slade) Luckadeau. Slade’s a tall blonde, blue-eyed cowboy. He’s hell bent and determined to get the heroine (Jane) off the Double L Ranch. Slade’s grandma (Nellie) hired Jane as cook and driver and Jane has no intention of leaving. At least not until she turns 25. Staying alive for another six weeks will be a challenge, but dealing with an infuriating piece of cowboy eye candy will be downright impossible.
In typical Brown style, we have more outrageous sayings such as: burr in his britches, cow chips for brains, and one legged chicken at a coyote convention.
What will you find within the pages? Four fool hardy old women, who gamble, dance, drink, meddle, and have a grand ole’ time. There’s lots of eating, hangovers, and death threats.
I’ll be honest, I enjoyed this book more than the first, a lot more! Why? It has romantic suspense elements, and I love romantic suspense. The bantering between Slade and Jane was fun to read, while the drunken seven flights of stairs scene was cute and sexy. Oh yeah…it was also gross. (LOL)
The fundamental theme was the importance of family loyalty.
Will Slade run Jane off the ranch? Or will they simply drive each other mad?
I’ll be happier than a monkey in a Chiquita banana factory when Getting Lucky
releases in January of 2010.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: One Lucky Cowboy
Contemporary Romance, ARC, Trilogy, Sourcebooks, Inc., Casablanca, November 2009, Print Pages 331.
ISBN# 978-1-4022-2437-9
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September 24th, 2009 — 4 Stars, Book Review, Cooking, Cross-Dressing Female, Gambling, Gentry, Great Britain, M-O, Mistaken Identity, Mistress or Courtesan, Regency, Revenge, Runaway, Virgin Heroine
Cross-dressing and false identities comprise Jacobin de Chastelux life since her uncle tried to use her as his marker in a bet with Lord Storrington. Now she’s a cook in the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and is quite happy. She is saving her money to open her own pastry shop as soon as she can. But then the unthinkable happens! Her dish is accused of poisoning a man the next day when leftovers were purchased. And not just any man—oh no, the man is her hated uncle.
Lord Storrington does not know who Jacob Leon is, but knows that this chef could be the very thing he needs to lure Lord Candover back to the tables. Anthony is determined to ruin Candover for having an affair with his mother that led to her death. He thought he had the man three months ago when his niece eloped with the man’s pastry chef but somehow the bastard managed to get a hold of twenty thousand pounds.
This story was deliciously fun. When Anthony first feels attraction to the heroine she is disguised as a man and his mental Olympics is hilarious. I really enjoyed the mystery to the tale behind Candover’s poisoning and watching Anthony and ‘Jane’ figure it out. I also loved Jane’s lesson of French pet names. How weird they were! Also I had fun reading her reaction to the verbal slip Anthony says right after ‘finding out’ she was a virgin. She starts throwing things and cursing him in French.
Rating: 4 Stars
Buy: Never Resist Temptation
