Tasty Tuesday & a Teaser ~ Arlene Hittle

Every Tuesday we'll welcome an Author who will share

a foodie type post with a recipe or two and some book promo!

Today please help me welcome Arlene Hittle...

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“Mmm...donuts.”

Is Homer Simpson the only one who can’t get enough donuts? Of course not.

*I raise my hand and offer a guilty smile.*

A quick Google search for “how many donuts are sold in America each year” yields countless pages of stats. Among them: “The Donut Book,” published in 2005, reports 10 billion donuts are eaten in America each year. Another blog reports the average American eats 63 DOZEN donuts a year.

Sixty-three dozen? Guess that means Homer and I are in good company.

Meg Malone, the heroine in my March release, BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER, is much more talented in the kitchen than I am. As a graphic designer who longs to quit her day job to open a bakery, she not only makes delicious donuts from scratch but also creates her own flavor combinations.

Wish fulfillment on my part? Perhaps. I wish I could be a domestic goddess. Wait—would that mean endless hours of cooking and cleaning?

My sole claim to donut-making fame is a recipe I vaguely remember learning in Girl Scouts. It’s super-simple, and involves vegetable oil and a can of biscuit dough.

Super-Easy Donut Holes

Ingredients:

1 can of your favorite biscuit dough

Enough oil to stand 3/4 inch deep in a skillet

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Mix cinnamon and sugar and set aside. Heat oil until a drop of water sizzles in it. Quarter each biscuit and drop the quarters into the hot oil. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, then flip to brown the other side.

It happens very quickly — within a minute or so — so be sure to have a metal slotted spoon and paper towel-lined bowl or plate ready to pull them out. If you wait too long, they’ll bypass golden brown and go straight to burnt.

Let cool slightly (another minute or two) and then roll the donut holes in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Serve warm.

I used a cinnamon-sugar topping, but you could use powdered sugar if you prefer. Or drizzle them with a simple milk/powdered sugar/vanilla or cocoa glaze.

If you wanted to get extra fancy and have a pastry bag, you could shoot them up with a squirt of your favorite jam. I bet they’d be delicious that way. (Dunkin’ Donuts’ jelly-filled Munchkins are my faves.)

Matt, the hero in BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER, probably has a very different favorite. This little excerpt will tell you why:

She gave him her address and directions to her apartment. “There’ll be hot, fresh donuts when you get here.”


His mouth started to water. It was past time for a late-night snack. “I can’t wait.”

The directions were easy enough to follow, and he soon pulled into Meg’s apartment complex. He claimed one of the empty visitor’s spots and headed to Apartment 122, steps away from the pool.

“And she was worried about the pool at the condo?” he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. He rapped on the door.

A muffled “Come in,” made him imagine her with her head stuck in the cabinet again, looking for something else. He stepped inside and braced himself for another crash.

The sight that greeted him, however, was not Meg’s rear end sticking out of a cabinet. Far from it. Meg was lying on the kitchen table, naked except for a few well-placed donuts.

The donuts, one chocolate topped with nuts and two others he couldn’t immediately define, looked delicious, but not nearly as delicious as Meg. He wanted a taste of her.

Matt’s mouth went dry and his heart started to pound. He managed to croak out, “Hi, honey. I’m home.”

About the book, the second in my “All Is Fair in Love & Baseball” series:

Beauty and the Ball Player

Spunky, independent graphic designer Meg Malone finds herself pregnant soon after her no-good boyfriend abandons her for the professional poker circuit. Glad to be out of that mess, she swears off relationships. Then she meets Matt Thatcher, a solid, stable man, who throws her plans a curve.

Matt, an up-and-coming minor league catcher burned one too many times by women who see him as their ticket to the good life, carefully guards his heart against “baseball babes.” He’s drawn to Meg for many reasons, chief among them she has no clue what he does for a living.

Will it be game over when their secrets come to light? Or is their budding relationship strong enough to win the World Series of love?

Find BEAUTY at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, iTunes and All Romance EBooks.

Bio: Arlene Hittle is a Midwestern transplant who now makes her home in northern Arizona. She suffers from the well-documented Hittle family curse of being a Cubs fan but will root for the Diamondbacks until they run up against the Cubs. Longtime friends are amazed she writes books with sports in them, since she’s about as coordinated as a newborn giraffe and used to say marching band required more exertion than golf. Find her at arlenehittle.com or on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads or the Turquoise Morning Press website.

Tasty Tuesday & a Teaser ~ Libby Waterford

When I think about Paris, I think about food. I think about croissants and hot cocoa. I think about macaron cookies and other dainty treats that look like works of art and taste like airy sugary nothingness. I think about steak frites and roast duck and red wine and my mouth simply waters.

 

I haven’t been to Paris in several years, but my husband’s French heritage keeps me trying new recipes so we can get a taste of the City of Light in the City of Angels from time to time. While I love classics like leek and potato soup and coq au vin (Patricia Wells’s Bistro Cooking is an excellent resource for doable French bistro style recipes) my true love is desserts, and baking in particular.

 

My half-French mother-in-law makes the ultimate French chocolate cake, based on her mother’s recipe. I have my own version, which is (I think I can say) almost as good. It’s simple to make but it has stunning results. No one I have ever served this cake too can resist a second sliver.

 

So, if you’re hankering for a taste of France and want to serve something elegant and memorable (not to mention get a serious dose of chocolate), I hope you’ll try this recipe.

 

Almost Flourless Chocolate Cake

Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Cake book.

 

7oz 70% bittersweet chocolate, chopped

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 cup granulated or superfine sugar

5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature (very important!)

2 tablespoons white flour

1/8 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out a round of parchment paper to fit a 9 by 3 inch cake pan (a spring form pan works as well). Butter the bottom of the cake pan and insert the parchment paper.

 

Combine chocolate and butter and melt in double boiler or in a very heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk to combine, remove from heat, whisk in 2/3 cup sugar and egg yolks, whisk in flour and salt, set aside.

 

Beat egg whites with whisk attachment of a stand mixer or by hand until they start to foam. Add one third of the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and beat until whites are opaque. Add another third of sugar and continue beating. When whites start to become firm, add the rest of the sugar and beat until whites form soft peaks but still look wet. With a spatula, carefully fold the whites into the chocolate mixture.

 

Pour the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick to the center comes out clean, or with just a few crumbs on it, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edge and invert onto a serving platter. Remove parchment paper.

 

You can dust this cake with cocoa powder or powdered sugar for decoration, but it looks lovely plain, as well.

 

Enjoy!

 

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Love Unlocked

by Libby Waterford

 

 

All she wants is a fresh start…

 

Retired art thief Eve Caplin traveled all the way from Paris to California looking for a fresh start in a small town. When she locks herself out of her home, she gets much more than she bargained for in Hudson Cleary, part-time locksmith and world famous artist. She wants to resist Hudson’s seductive pull, but can’t refuse his help when a man from her past blackmails her into stealing a ten million dollar painting. Not only does Hudson have access to the painting, he may hold the key to her damaged heart.

 

All he wants is her…

 

Hudson hasn’t picked up a paintbrush in two years. When he unlocks Eve Caplin’s door, the mysterious beauty arouses much more than just his creative impulses. He needs Eve in his studio and wants her in his bed. When he discovers danger closing in, he must decide how far over the line he’s willing to go to protect her.

 

Will he lose his heart, his muse, and his freedom all in one unforgettable night?

 

 

Love Unlocked buy links:   

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Decadent

 

What Readers are saying:

 

“The author shows us out-of-the-ordinary characters -- he's a blocked painter, she's a retired art thief -- in a beautiful setting on the Central California coast. The breezy plot made it hard to put down.” – Julia on Amazon.com

 

“The compelling hero and heroine have great chemistry and the thrilling plot keeps you guessing!” – Philippa on Amazon.com

 

About the Author:

Libby Waterford writes California-set steamy contemporary romances. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and works off her weekly pilgrimage to In-N-Out by swimming and climbing the city’s hidden staircases.

 

 

Website: http://libbywaterford.com

Email: libby@libbywaterford.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LibbyWaterford

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LibbyWaterford

 

 

 

Enjoy the following excerpt for Love Unlocked:

 

“So what’s the plan?”

“What do you mean?”

“The plan, you know, how are you going to steal the painting?” He spoke more calmly than he felt.

“I hardly think you need to know about that.”

“John mentioned involving me. Let me help.” He needed her to let him help her. He couldn’t stand by and let her face the threat of prison, bodily harm, or death all alone. Somewhere between her locked front door and the Rembrandt, Eve had become his to protect, and he wouldn’t let her down.

She pushed back from the bar, hands on her hips. “John was out of his mind to suggest such a thing, and you have no business being anywhere near this situation.”

God, she could be stubborn. “Then why did you tell me about it?”

She goggled at him for a moment, then ignored his question. “John and I can handle it. We have to get access to a museum fundraiser where the painting is going to be displayed and take it from there. It’s simple really. You’re not needed.”   

Hudson saw his window and he went for it. “A fundraiser? Not for the Santa Barbara Art Museum?”

She was slow to respond. “Yes, actually.”

His chest surged with relief that he could offer her something that might help her stay out of harm’s way. “I donated a print to their charity auction. It’s a joint fundraiser for the museum and for art education scholarships for low income high schoolers.”

“Of course it is,” she grumbled.

“Which means I have an invitation,” he said. “Want to be my plus one?”

She bit her lip and crossed her arms. She wouldn’t be able to turn down his perfect way in, and he’d be at her side, keeping the wolves at bay.

“It’s dangerous, you’d get us all caught.”

He smiled. He knew rationalizations when he heard them. She was going to cave any minute.

“You need my help,” he said, moving closer. “I don’t like the thought of you out there up to no good on your own.” They were so close they were practically breathing the same air.

“I won’t be alone,” she said halfheartedly. “I’ll have John.”

He wasn’t above playing dirty. He slid a hand around the back of her neck, stroking the soft hair that covered it like a waterfall. It took physical effort to keep from shuddering at the intense pleasure the sensation brought him. “I really don’t like the thought of you out with John at some swanky party. You’ll probably be dressed to the nines. High heels and everything,” he murmured.

“Jealous?” she breathed.

“Very.” And he kissed her.