Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Cooking with Author Leanna Sain





Today we have author Leanna Sain as our guest on Cooking With Authors. She's got a recipe and a new novel. Welcome here, Leanna!

First the recipe . . . 

Frutti Mare with Fettuccini

1 lb. prawns - shelled & deveined 1⁄4 c. olive oil
1 T. shallots – chopped
1 T. garlic – minced

1/3 lb. scallops
1 c. ripe Roma tomatoes – finely chopped 1 c. chicken broth or clam broth
2 T. parsley – finely chopped
1⁄2 tsp. oregano
1⁄2 tsp. cayenne
10 small fresh basil leaves
3 T. Brandy
8 steamer clams
1⁄4 lb. calamari cut into rounds
8 mussels – well scrubbed
1⁄2 lb. Dungeness crabmeat
1 lb. fettuccini

            •   Cut the shrimp lengthwise in half. Set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the shallots and garlic. Cook, stirring about one minute. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook, stirring about one minute. Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Let simmer about one minute and add the parsley, basil, oregano, cayenne and brandy. 


            •   Add the clams, calamari and mussels and cover tightly. Cook until the clams and mussels open, about one and a half minutes. Add the crabmeat, stir gently and remove from the heat. 


           •   Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add fettuccini. Boil for 10-12 minutes until al dente. 


           •    To serve, divide the fettuccini and add equal portions of the clams and mussels to the top and then pour over the remaining fish and sauce. Serves 4.



About the novel . . .
She dreams a murder before it happens. A young woman is strangled while her killer sings the words from the lullaby, “Hush, Little Baby.”

Lacey Campbell’s life is full, but not idyllic. As head chef for a chic restaurant and primary caregiver to a mother with Alzheimer’s, she doesn’t have time for the nightmare and at first she tries to deny it. But the next day, she discovers it's a disturbing reality. When she dreams the second heinous murder she knows it’s time to tell the police.

Detective Ford Jamison is called back to the little coastal town to help with the case and soon notices an alarming trend: the killer is using the lullaby as a “blueprint” to target women who resemble Lacey. This doesn’t slow the killings and now Lacey is afraid to fall asleep at night because the next face she sees in her dream might be her own.

As a hurricane churns ever closer to the little coastal town, danger and suspicion spin out of control. Time is running out. Can they stop the killer before the last verse of the lullaby?

About the Author . . . 
Leanna Sain, earned her BA from the University of South Carolina before moving back to the NC mountains. She calls Miracle Hill Farm home, but she lives mostly in her imagination. Her Southern suspense or “GRIT-lit,” showcases her plot-driven method that successfully rolls elements of best-selling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Nicholas Sparks, and Jan Karon all together, making it her own. She loves leading discussion groups and book clubs. For more information or to contact her visit: www.LeannaSain.com

**Note from Leanna: I wrote Hush while my mother was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s. To honor her, I’m donating a portion of book sales to Alzheimer’s research. Please help by getting a copy, spreading the word, and writing a book review.



Where you can find Leanna:
Amazon
Facebook
Twitter
Website and blog
Goodreads

Monday, November 4, 2019

Cooking with Author Susan G Mathis!







Welcome, Susan, to the Patchwork Quilt Blog. We'll start off with a recipe and then move on to Susan's newest novel, Sara's Surprise, that has just released.


Here’s a recipe for French Eclairs from Sara's Surprise.

KAY’S ECLAIRS AU CHOCOLATE

Preheat oven to 375º F and lightly grease two large baking sheets. Makes twelve éclairs.

Choux Dough 
½ cup butter
1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
To make:
• In a medium saucepan, heat butter, water, and salt to boiling. Remove from heat and add flour all at once. Stir until mixture forms a ball.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating until the batter is smooth. Cool slightly.
• Drop by one-fourth cupsful onto cookie sheet two inches apart, in rows six inches apart to make ten eclairs. Form into a rectangle and round the edges. (You can also use a pastry bag.)
• Bake for 40 minutes, until the éclairs puff up and turn golden brown. Turn off oven and let them sit in the cooling oven for 10 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before filling.
• Make Pastry Cream.

Pastry Cream
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups whole milk
6 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla (or almond flavoring)
1 ½ cups heavy or whipping cream
To make:
• In a saucepan mix sugar, flour and salt. Add milk. Heat mixture until it thickens and boils (about ten minutes). Boil for one minute.
• In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Stir yolks into mixture. 
• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats a spoon. (Do not boil.) 
• Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla, and chill for about two hours before filling pastry.
• Beat whipping cream to stiff peaks and gently fold into custard before filling eclairs.
• Make chocolate glaze.

Chocolate Glaze
2 squares of semisweet chocolate 
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons milk
To make: 
• In a small saucepan, melt butter and chocolate then stir in sugar and milk until smooth. Remove from the heat immediately. Stir in almond flavor and let cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Assembling the Éclairs 
• Slice off about one-third of the top of each shell and fill with cream.  
• Replace tops and spread with glaze. Refrigerate until serving.







ABOUT THE NOVEL . . . 


Sara O’Neill, works as an assistant pastry chef at the magnificent Thousand Islands Crossmon Hotel where she meets precocious, lovable, seven-year-old Madison and her charming father and hotel manager, Sean Graham. But Jacque LaFleur, the pastry chef Sara works under, makes her dream job a nightmare.

Sean Graham has trouble keeping his mind off Sara and Madison out of mischief. Though he finds Sara captivating, he despises LaFleur and misreads Sara’s desire to learn from the pastry chef as affection. Can Sean learn to trust Sara and can she trust herself to be an instant mother?

In researching how to make pastries that’ll delight your palate, I learned way more than I’d ever dreamed. Like how to properly break an egg and how to cream sugar and eggs the right way. And did you know that you laminate Pain au chocolat?There’s much to learn about French baking, to be sure, and you’ll learn along with Sara. I hope you’ll pick up a copy and give some for Christmas gifts as it’s a lovely Christmas story as well. And if you ever get harassed, please speak up. You’ll be glad you did.


ABOUT SUSAN . . .
Susan G Mathis is a multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Katelyn’s Choice, the first in The Thousand Islands Gilded Age series, is available now, and book two, Devyn’s Dilemma, releases in April, 2020. The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, and Sara’s Surprise are available now. Visit www.SusanGMathis.com for more.

Susan is also a published author of two premarital books with her husband, Dale, two children's picture books, stories in a dozen compilations, and hundreds of published articles. Susan makes her home in Colorado Springs, enjoys traveling globally with her wonderful husband, Dale, and relishes each time she gets to see or Skype with her four granddaughters. 

Where can you find Susan?