The Dynamic Trio - Blog

…and it was so danged funny I thought I’d post it here today.

In HATSEPT HEAT, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 3 (coming this Tuesday, July 29th, by the way) our heroine happens to be a culinary whiz who keeps one of our favorite vampires in dessert heaven (and that’s both in and out of bed – woohoo!). Well, it got me to thinking about some of my own culinary experiences.

As most of you know, both my daughter and I are total geniuses in the kitchen. My speciality is…actually that’s hard ‘cause I’m pretty good at cooking just about anything. My daughter’s specialty is baking and Japanese food.

But I’m still at a total loss. I’m not the Dessert Diva or anything but this is beyond believable. SOMEONE ACTUALLY SCREWED UP BANANA PUDDING! How do you possibly mess up something so wonderfully delicious and simple as banana pudding?

Yes, people, it has happened to me. I went to a potluck and one of the dishes I looked forward to after the typical spaghetti, stringbean casserole and chili (you know, typical potluck food) was, you guessed it, the banana pudding.

Basically, you just take some vanilla pudding and layer it in a casserole dish with vanilla wafers, or savory ginger snaps if you’re so inclined. Top it off with some whipped cream and toss it in the fridge to chill. Tadaaa! Banana pudding at it’s finest.

So, I can’t figure out how this particular batch tasted like burned tires on a hot summer day layered over some freshly tarred blacktop. Gack! I won’t say who made it ‘cause if she reads this blog, she’ll kill me, especially since she thinks it tasted more like melted crayons with a bit of vanilla stirred in and she’ll be upset that I used my own analogy.

Then, there was the girl’s night out I held at my house one evening. A bowl of potato salad showed up…and it tasted like steamed cabbage without the steamed bit. Now, uh, since the only ingredients in potato salad is potatoes, spices and a bit of mayo, where the heck did the cabbage thing come from since there was no cabbage in it?

So, have you ever encountered a dish that you believed was impossible to get wrong? More nosily (I just can’t help it, I’ve gotta know ;D) have you personally done a dish that you knew how to really prepare well…only to have it come out like you’d made it in someone elses kitchen with a blindfold on?

I’ve gotta have feedback on this one! And feel free to provide recipes ;D

TJ

Yes, summer is truly here. It’s too damned hot to cook in the house, yet we need to eat. So what are my choices - hmmm, let’s see. Cold cereal? Umm, no. Fruit salad? That sounds good, no cooking required, however, I have a growing boy at home and fruit alone ain’t gonna do it for him.

So I guess it’s time to break out the grill!

For the vegetarians in the group (I eat nothing but grains and veggies all day, and have a single serving of meat with my dinner, so I have to be creative to keep it interesting), grilling can work for you in a major way. And if you’ve never tried indirect cooking, it’s something results in a tender cut of meat that falls apart in your mouth.

So whether you’re a veggie-gal or a rib-chicken-fish diva, here’s a couple of cool recipes for both of you:

Grilled Asparagus with Green Peppercorn Vinaigrette Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, 2007

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons green peppercorns in brine, drained
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
2 tablespoons canola oil

Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl until combined. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified and stir in the peppercorns. Let the vinaigrette sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Vinaigrette can be made up to 8 hours in advance and refrigerated.
Heat the grill to high.

Toss asparagus with the canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Place grilled asparagus on a platter and drizzle the vinaigrette over the top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grilled Yellowfin Tuna with Sweet Corn Salad, Herb Roasted Tomatoes and Eggplant Caviar Recipe
courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2007
(Note, follow the link below for the Sweet Corn Salad, Herb Roasted Tomatoes and Eggplant Caviar)

6 (5-ounce) portions yellowfin tuna
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Season each piece of the tuna with 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Heat a grill to high and grill the tuna to the desired temperature. Place 1/2 cup of the Sweet Corn Salad on each of 6 plates, and place tuna on top. Garnish each portion of tuna with 2 tablespoons of the eggplant caviar and a 4 slices of the Herb Roasted Tomatoes.

Serve immediately.

Click HERE for the other recipes. Enjoy!

TJ

It’s a totally gorgeous day. My husband is home installing our new computer (WHEEE!) and my kids are reasonably well behaved. Nice huh? Add to that a swanky new excerpt brochure Frauke designed for me and already some good words added to RELENTLESS and I’m a happy camper.

Pumpkin muffins are the devil. Why are they so good? Our local grocery store has a bakery inside and their pumpkin muffins are sin and I love them. They’re the size of a softball though and I’m quite sure they’re a zillion calories but I can’t make myself care (She says washing it all down with diet coke). I wouldn’t even go to that part of the store (also where the cupcakes live and we know my position on cupcakes) but to access the fruit and veg it’s the natural path unless I go to the front of the store and back around, which makes my loop all wrong. It’s a plan of course, to make my ass even bigger by the corporation that owns Top Foods. Hmpf. Damn them and their delicious baked treats.

AND for yesterday…

I finished copyedits on Undercover. Whew. And I still like the book even if I really don’t want to look at it again for at least six months. It’s always iffy when you look at a book after you’ve looked at it what seems like a zillion times so it’s a relief I’m happy with it still.

I finished Jeri Smith-Ready’s Wicked Game last night. It’s been a while since I’ve been this totally gonzo about a book. I just really loved it. It’s smart, the writing is clever, tight, sexy in the right places, tense in others, scary here and there and totally original.

Ciara is a smart but not perfect heroine. A grifter (oh how I love twisted characters) trying to go straight for a host of believable and layered reasons. Her job at this funky radio station makes sense. The way she acts with the vampires makes sense. The way she interacts with Shane her sort of boyfriend/vampire makes sense. I liked her a lot because she was accessible in a really wonderful way.

The mystery/suspense element was well done. The worldbuilding was clever and believable and the romantic sub-plot handled well and in proportion to the story. On top of all this? Jeri is a really, genuinely nice person, which is all too rarel.

Wicked Game is a really good book and if you haven’t grabbed it yet you really should. You won’t be sorry at all.

And lastly, my husband is home from his business trip so yay! A long weekend without copy edits or a super close book deadline, a new book opening up in front of me to write, time with my family - it’s all good.

To everyone celebrating this particular holiday, enjoy it to the fullest!

TJ and family ;D

We all know the American Thanksgiving holiday is coming up. Those of us who enjoy turkey should be forewarned of the dangers of eating turkey while out on a date. Those who do not eat poultry…well, you can just sit back and laugh at those of us who do.

So according to the one minute video below, all turkey eaters should beware…but before the video, I must first give a disclaimer: Okay, this is SO totally not my fault! I take absolutely no responsibility for this post *snicker* nor for any snarfing of liquids through the nose while watching this video. I also hold myself harmless for any choking or spewing on computer screens.

Hi guys,

I”m a little late posting this, so I apologize for that. EGYPTIAN VOYAGE hit the cyber-shelves yesterday and I’m still stoked. Woohoo!

On a different note, I got on this dessert kick last time with the big chocolate turd (see post entitled, “Dessert - A New Perspective?” to see what I mean), and thought I’d post another to see if this one does any better. Whatcha think?

“What: Brownie Extraordinaire with Saint Louis
Where: Tropicana Casino and Resort; Atlantic City, New Jersey
Price: $1,000

The priciest selection off the restaurant’s three-part Crystal Menu (each of which begins with an amuse sucrée, followed by the featured dessert and ending with petit fours), the Brownie Extraordinaire comes with a Saint Louis crystal atomizer, a $750 keepsake filled with a shot of rare 1996 Quinta do Noval Nacional port wine to be sprayed into the mouth between each bite of hazelnut-coated brownie.”

Compliments of Forbes Magazine.

When I saw this article on Forbes.com, my first thought was, “What the hell’s the point? It doesn’t even look good.” Don’t get me wrong, I like yummy desserts as much as the next person (had a caramel apple bread pudding that was to die for not to long ago) but if I’m going to have to sell a kidney to afford it, the thing should at least look palatable. What do you think?

“6. What: The Madeleine Truffle
Where: Knipschildt Chocolatier; Norwalk, Conn.
Price: $250 per truffle, or $6,000 per pound

Classic ganache—comprised of 70 percent Valrhona chocolate mixed with fresh cream and infused for 24 hours with vanilla pods and pure truffle oil—is shaped around a Perigord truffle, then dipped in Valrhona and rolled in cocoa powder. “The ganache must be whipped repeatedly to make it as soft and silky as possible, then it must be chilled so it’s easier to work with,” said a company spokesperson. The product of a long and painstaking process, these truffles are not available over the counter, but made to order and presented in a silver box with a personal note from chocolate maker Fritz Knipschildt.”

I don’t know…I think that instead of spending $250 for something ugly, I’d be better off making dessert a new pair of shoes instead!

It’s exactly six months to Christmas - the mid-year point. Down in the Southern hemisphere we have a celebration we call the mid-year Christmas dinner. When you think about it, this makes sense. It’s the middle of our winter, the weather is cold and it’s the perfect time to have a traditional hot dinner. Our usual Christmas lunch/dinner is a barbeque, and we’re all dressed in T-shirts and shorts, sweltering in the heat.

We had a spur of the moment family dinner at our local golf club on Saturday. The golf club had notices about their mid-year Christmas dinner. They’re having ham, turkey, mulled wine and Santa is arriving with presents. After a little discussion, we decided we should have our own and celebrate my nephew’s birthday at the same time. We picked a house to descend on, everyone is taking a selection of dishes. Now all we need to do is inform the lucky family member that we’re all coming to dinner and decide on a date. Should be fun!

I could do with some menu suggestions. What are your favorite things to eat for Christmas dinner?

I love dessert. In fact I’m likely to check the menu for the dessert offerings before I read anything else. It’s always a big decision when it comes to choosing. Do I go for chocolate or indulge my love of citrus or lemon? And honestly, do I need dessert at all?

During the weekend Mr. Munro and I ate at Lattitude 37. The choice was a bit scanty and disappointing. I quite like ice cream but wasn’t that fussed on their chocolate offering, which involved cheesecake. Then I saw it - the answer to my dilemma. They had a sampler dessert option. When the waitress came over I quizzed her about the selection but couldn’t hear her over the cheers and clapping of the other customers watching the rugby. She waited patiently. I dithered.

“Right,” I said finally. “I’ll have the sampler.” To be honest I still wasn’t sure what I’d receive.

A long narrow plate duly arrived. My eyes widened. Not a shred of horror glinted in them. Believe me - it was sheer delight. There was a small expresso cup filled with rice pudding and a touch of apple. The top was caramelized and cracked when I tapped it with my spoon. A small chocolate eclair was next, followed by a portion of berry cheesecake. Two chocolate truffles and a crisp biscotti plus a cube of fresh lemon jelly rounded out the selection. One word summed up this dessert experience.

Yum.

I’m still thinking about this dessert and grinning. It was that good. Now about that diet…

What desserts would you choose to have on a taster plate like the one I had?

1) Homemade seafood gumbo
2) Shrimp Creole
3) Fried Oysters (are you detecting a theme here?)
4) Boiled crab dipped in butter (REAL, fattenin’, cry-about-it-tomorrow butter)
5) Sushi - especially ahi tuna, yellow tail…I don’t do eel or octopus, but I do like…
6) Fried calamari
7) My daughter’s Miso soup
8) My daughter’s Okonomiyaki - what can I say, I love Japanese food
9) Smoked, grilled ribs, fish, chicken, yadda, yadda, yadda
10) Grilled peppers -green, orange, red, they’re all good
11) Shrimp quiche
12) Nekkid vampire on a cracker…a really big cracker
13) Nekkid werewolf rolled in a sheet sized tortilla made of 600 thread count cotton!

Link up so I can visit you, then leave me a post, m’kay?

technorati