#TuesdayTreasure: #HolidayRomanceandRecipes

Good Morning!

It is my pleasure to bring to you the author and book that started this Holiday Romance and Recipe blog exchange!

Diana Rubino has written a lovely cookbook titled, Around the World in 80 Meals and although it is not a romance, there are a lot of sexy meals to be treasured, like this one for Tiramisu....

Ingredients

3 large eggs, separated

¾ cup sugar

8 ounces mascarpone cheese

½ cup heavy cream

2 cups espresso at room temperature

2 tablespoons sweet Marsala wine

6 ounces savoiardi (crisp Italian ladyfingers)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

Instructions

Beat egg yolks and ½  cup sugar in a large bowl until thickened and pale.

Beat in mascarpone until barely combined.

Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a separate bowl until they barely hold soft peaks.

Gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar continuing to beat whites until they barely hold stiff peaks. Beat heavy cream in a separate bowl until it barely holds soft peaks.

Gently fold cream into mascarpone mixture until thoroughly mixed.

Fold in egg whites.

Stir espresso and Marsala wine together in a shallow bowl.

Dip 1 savoiardi into espresso mix and for a few seconds each side.

Place dipped savoiardi in a 2-quart glass baking dish.

Dip 8 more savoiardi  and arrange in a snug layer in bottom of dish.

Spread half the mascarpone mixture evenly over dipped savoiardi.

Repeat process to make a second layer of dipped savoiardi and mascarpone.

Cover and chill 6 hours.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder and serve.

mmmmm....who says desserts aren't romantic? Doesn't this just look like something you'd want to share with your significant other?

Imagine it....one serving...two spoons...feeding each other by candlelight....

Diana's book, Around the World in 80 Meals can be found at Amazon.

Around the World in 80 Meals: The Best of Cruise Ship Cuisine weaves gastronomic delights around an exotic seven-day dream fantasy cruise. Imagine waking up on a different ship in a new port of call every day, and treating your taste buds to a gourmet meal every evening, each carefully prepared by one of the best chefs afloat. This book highlights the most interesting menus and recipes of a diversity of cruise lines, from the luxurious Cunard Line, famed for its opulent ocean liners, to a small but highly exclusive line of yachts that offer the most personalized cruise experience. The reader can see daily snapshots of a week of luxury cruising. A chapter for each day briefly introduces each ship, explains where it is located, and gives information about each cruise line and its chefs. The main focus is on the dinner menu followed by recipes for recreating every delectable morsel in your own kitchen. Diana Rubino's passion for history and travel has taken her to every locale of her stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. Her urban fantasy romance, FAKIN' IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband Chris. In her spare time, Diana bicycles, golfs, plays her piano, cooks, and devours books of any genre. Visit Diana at www.dianarubino.com, https://www.facebook.com/DianaRubinoAuthor www.DianaRubinoAuthor.blogspot.com, and on Twitter @DianaLRubino.

Well Friends, hope you enjoyed today's treasure. Stay tuned weekly for more Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlights!

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight: Stacy Juba & Fooling Around With Cinderella

Good Morning and Welcome to another edition of Saturday Spotlight.

Today we welcome Stacy Juba back to our blog with her title, Fooling Around With Cinderella, Storybook Valley #1.

What happens when the glass slippers pinch Cinderella's toes? 

When Jaine Andersen proposes a new marketing role to the local amusement park, general manager Dylan Callahan charms her into filling Cinderella’s glass slippers for the summer. Her reign transforms Jaine’s ordinary life into chaos that would bewilder a fairy godmother. Secretly dating her bad boy boss, running wedding errands for her ungrateful sisters, and defending herself from the park’s resident villain means Jaine needs lots more than a comfy pair of shoes to restore order in her kingdom. First in the Storybook Valley series, a blend of sweet romance, chick lit, and fairy tale fun. 

Excerpt:

Dylan scrutinized Jaine, arms folded across his royal blue shirt with the Storybook Valley logo stamped over the left in white block letters. “Do you wear contacts?”

“I have plenty of media contacts. Wait. Did you say wear contacts? You mean instead of these?” Jaine fingered the earpiece of her gold-rimmed glasses.

“Right. Contact lenses.”

She gave a nervous chuckle. “I scheduled a consultation in college, but was too squeamish to insert the lens. I was more comfortable in glasses.”

Was she really justifying her vision enhancement choices to her prospective new boss? Maybe he intended to discuss medical benefits. Or did he think she looked nerdy? What was the saying? Guys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses? Not that she wanted him to make a pass even if he was hot.

“How blind are you without glasses?” Dylan persisted.

“You wouldn’t want to drive with me.”

“How about if you’re walking around a building? Are you in danger of hurting yourself?”

This interview had taken the Mad Hatter Freeway from Fairy Tale Land into Wonderland where nothing made a damn bit of sense. Did this guy have a glasses fetish, like those weirdoes with shoe fetishes?

“I should be okay. I take them off for special occasions.” In fact, Jaine’s older sister Bree, who was getting married in August, remarked just last week, “You are losing the glasses for my wedding pictures, right?”

What the hell. She’d be a good sport and hope Dylan would be so grateful to pick the brain of a real, flesh and blood, bespectacled person that he would appoint her marketing director. Jaine removed her glasses and the fine details of her surroundings fuzzed. She nodded toward the framed print hanging on a side wall, the picture a wash of symbols and colors. “I can tell that’s a park map, but the words and images smear together.”

And that was myopia in a nutshell. Jaine adjusted her glasses back into place so she could see his reaction. Dylan examined her with such intensity that a blush stained her cheeks. She patted her blonde French braid, in case stray strands were straggling out.

“Here’s the situation,” Dylan said. “I took over the general manager position a few months ago. I’m evaluating possible changes and researching how other theme parks run. My grandfather and father have worked with a marketing firm for years to create our brochures, billboards, print, and radio ads.”

Jaine’s shoulders caved, imperceptible to him, but it felt as if her whole body was sinking.

No fairy tale job ending for her.

Sounds like a fun, romantic story! Fooling Around With Cinderella, Storybook Valley #1 can be purchased at Amazon for Kindle and in Paperback, at B&N (Nook); Google Play, Kobo, iBookstore and Smashwords.

 Stacy Juba got engaged at Epcot Theme Park and spent part of her honeymoon at Disneyland Paris, where she ate a burger, went on fast rides, and threw up on the train ride to the hotel. In addition to working on her new Storybook Valley chick lit/sweet romance series, Stacy has written books about ice hockey, teen psychics, U.S. flag etiquette for kids, and determined women sleuths. 

She has had a novel ranked as #5 in the Nook Store and #30 on the Amazon Kindle Paid List. Stacy is also the founder of the Glass Slipper Sisters, a group of authors with Cinderella-themed romance novels. When she’s not visiting theme parks with her family, (avoiding rides that spin and exotic hamburgers) or writing about them, Stacy helps authors to strengthen their manuscripts through her Crossroads Editing Service. She is currently writing the next book in the Storybook Valley Series, Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty.

Find out more about Stacy by visiting her Website and blog, Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads  Amazon 

and the Glass Slipper Sisters Facebook group

Well Friends, hope you enjoyed today's Spotlight! Stay tuned weekly for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and of course Saturday Spotlight.

Until later...take care, God bless and remember....when the shopping gets tough, the shoppers go to a coffee shop (a little holiday humor I hope LOL!) 

Have a great day!

PamT