Succulent Dishes for the Romance Blow Out

It isn’t every day that we get the chance to provide food for a Romance party. We Casablanca writers take our romance very seriously – and our food! Tasty dishes are our forte, so when the opportunity arose to serve up something spicy, hot, delectable, and addicting for Publishers Weekly’s Barbara Vey’s Bash for her second anniversary of “Behind the Book,” we rose to the challenge. It had to be pleasing to the palate, every morsel mouthwatering, pleasurable while partaking, extremely satisfying when completed, and also make one hungry for more. Are we still talking about food? Maybe! We will let you decide what you now crave – either way, the desired gratification can be found at our blog. Books to the left….. recipes below……. Read on, let your imaginations go wild, and be sure to click over to Barbara’s Romance Blow Out to join in the fun. Everyone is invited! There are dozens of giveaways (including the Casablanca novels), numerous hosts and special guests, hunks galore roaming the halls, and a costume ball! You would not want to miss it.

Hot & Spicy Spaghetti for Cold Nights & Hot Dates & Wolfish Delight
** The first time I had this spaghetti, my aunt made it because my boyfriend was of Italian descent. It was so good I’ve been making my own version ever since. (She made her own version from scratch also!) By Terry Spear

Ingredients
1 lb Pre-cooked Italian Sausage (I use hot, but any variety works)
29 oz can of Tomato Sauce
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
1 Medium Onion
1 Tbsp Italian Herb Spices (can be Oregano)
1 Tsp Garlic Salt, or ¼ Clove of Garlic
7 Small Fresh Mushrooms
1/8 Tsp Pickling Spice

Directions
1) Combine all ingredients and cook on low until peppers, onions, mushrooms are tender and sausage is heated thoroughly. Variations on the theme can work just fine if guests don’t like some of the items in the recipe and it’s still a tasty dinner for when nothing else appeals but something hot and spicy!
2) Cook noodles of choice- spinach and whole grain add to the health benefit. Top the cooked noodles with the hot and spicy sauce and top the sauce with Grated Cheese to please anyone with Wolfish appetites! Serves 4-6.

Elizabeth Darcy’s Venison Frumenty for the Discerning Man’s Palate
**Frumenty (also known as Furmenty) is an easy-to-make wheat porridge. It was used in medieval times as an accompaniment to meat dishes and also as a breakfast cereal. By Sharon Lathan

Ingredients for meat stew
4lbs venison, cut as preferred
1 large turnip, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Place the meat in a large saucepan and cover with hot stock or hot salted water. Bring quickly to a boil, skim grease, and then add vegetables. Lower heat and simmer until tender (2-3 hours depending on the size/cut of meat). Option: If preferred, roast venison haunch in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes/lb., basting frequently with melted butter. Slice meat and serve with frumenty.

Ingredients for frumenty
1 cup whole grain wheat, kibbled or cracked (bulgar)
4 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tbsp brown sugar, molasses, or honey (as preferred)
1 tsp cinnamon
Raisins, mixed dried fruit (optional)

Directions
1) Soak the wheat overnight in water in a warm place; or Bring water to a boil then add wheat, reducing to a slow simmer until wheat soft.
2) Drain off water; then cook wheat in cream adding egg yolk, sugar/honey, cinnamon, and fruits if desired. Simmer slowly for 20-40 minutes until preferred consistency. May add additional milk if mixture too stiff.
3) Season sparingly with salt to taste. Serve with sliced venison. **Frumenty can be made ahead and reheated with extra milk added.


Line of Scrimmage Buffalo Chicken Dip
**Perfect for Tailgating Parties. By Marie Force

Ingredients
One package precooked chicken (in the deli area with hot dogs)
One package of shredded cheddar cheese
One bottle blue cheese dressing
One bottle buffalo chicken sauce

Directions
Dice the chicken into small pieces.
Add most of the blue cheese and most of the shredded cheddar.
Add the buffalo sauce to taste, the more you add the hotter it is.
Stir ingredients and pour into a shallow casserole dish.
Bake at 350 until it bubbles. Serve hot with Scoops corn chips.

As Good as Sex Brownies
**Do you doubt it? Me neither! By Linda Wisdom

Ingredients
2 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup strong brewed coffee or water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine
2 tbsp. cocoa
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions
1) Combine flour and sugar; set aside. In heavy pan, combine butter, shortening, coffee or water and cocoa. Stir and heat to boiling. Pour boiling mixture over the flour and sugar in the large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix well using wooden spoon or high speed on mixer. Pour into well buttered 17x1/2x11 jelly roll pan. Bake at 400 for 20 min. or until brownies done in center.
2) While brownies bake, prepare the frosting. In pan, combine butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Mix in powdered sugar and add vanilla; stir until smooth. Pour warm frosting over brownies as soon as you take them out of oven. *If you want thicker frosting, halve again, or double, the ingredients

Cat's Out-of-this-World Cookies
**This recipe was developed by a fan of "Slave," the first book in the Cat Star Chronicles series. By Cheryl Brooks

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
2/3 cup unsalted Butter, softened
2 cups firmly packed Brown Sugar
2 lg. Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 cup M&M Candies

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 (325 if using a glass baking pan). Lightly grease a 13"x9" baking pan.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream the butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Mix in the vanilla. Gently mix in the dry ingredients, until well combined. Stir in the M&Ms.
Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into bars. Yield: 3-4 dozen, depending on size of bar. Can be frozen.

Sexy Scallops Scallopini
** A recipe for the Mer-minded among us. Or anyone who enjoys scallops. By Judi Fennell

Ingredients
1 lb. sea scallops
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 /4 cup finely chopped red pepper
1 cup white wine (the sweeter the better)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
Red oak lettuce as garnish

Directions
Season scallops with salt, pepper. Arrange washed/dried red oak leaves on a serving plate as a bed. Heat oil in pan. When oil starts to sizzle add scallops. Sear until golden on both sides. Don’t overcook. Set aside on bed of lettuce when finished. Add chopped garlic and red peppers to oil. Cook until just before garlic turns golden then add the wine. Simmer 1 minute. Add pineapple and stir to coat. Serve warm pineapple/wine mixture over scallops. **For a salad flair, add thinly slivered almonds and toss with finely shredded oak lettuce as bed. Drizzle fresh pineapple juice mixed with a dash of lemon juice as dressing.

Aunt Lilly Hale Sessoms’ Tipsy Cake
** Aunt Lilly Hale believes blood ties alone do not make a family. Keeping a family together requires conscious, intelligent choices, as well as balanced values. Tipsy Cake is a “good time” food. This is food that says, “Stick with this family. We will indulge you just often enough to be good for you. Our love is rich. Our time together is sweet yet always varied, and salty enough to satisfy.” By Mary Margret Daughtridge

You will need:
1 store-bought angel food cake torn into 2-3inch chunks
One pint of regular, not heavy, whipping cream - whipped
One cup toasted pecan pieces and 12 perfect halves for decoration
Sherry: Cocktail, dry, crème—whatever you like
Nutmeg
1 recipe Boiled Custard*

Directions
1) The evening before: Sprinkle cake pieces liberally with sherry, all surfaces! Make the boiled custard, keep in frig until needed.
2) *Boiled Custard directions – Combine in saucepan: 4 lightly beaten eggs, ½ cup sugar, and 2 cups whole milk. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture thickens and coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat and instantly transfer the pot to a bowl of ice water to stop the custard from cooking. Stir until cool. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
3) Toast pecans in a shallow baking pan at 375; sprinkle liberally with butter and salt while cooking, stirring occasionally until deep tan (not brown!). Remove from butter once cooled and keep in an airtight container.
4) Using a pretty bowl, four or five hours before serving assemble cake (will become soggy if done too far ahead.) Layer cake chunks, pecans, custard, and whipped cream, then nutmeg. Repeat 3 times. Decorate with swirls of whipped cream, sprinkled nutmeg, and pecan halves. Refrigerate. Can be frozen for up to an hour before serving. Serves 24.

Safe for Kissin’ Chicken Piccata
**For the domestic God who loves Italian. Or the Italian domestic God lover! By Robin Kaye

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts halves or buy the thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets
2 tablespoons Olive oil
4 lemons, juiced
1 stick of butter
1 cup Vermouth
1/3 cups Capers
1 can artichoke hearts-quartered.
1 lb. Fettuccini
Flour Garlic lemon pepper (is a mixture of garlic powder and lemon pepper, 50/50)
Salt

Directions:
1) Bring pasta water to a boil, salt well. 2) Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them. If the breasts are large, you might want to cut each into 2 pieces. Pound chicken until thin and flour with a mixture of flour, salt and garlic lemon pepper.
3) Add pasta to water and cook as directed.
4) In hot frying pan, place olive oil and over high heat, sauté/brown chicken breast on both sides. Remove from pan and place on a warmed platter, keep warm. 5) Deglaze pan with vermouth, add the juice of 4 lemons, the capers, artichoke hearts, and butter. Return chicken to pan and simmer to bring the temperature back up and make sure it’s cooked. When done, put chicken on a platter, reserve a small amount of sauce and pour the remaining sauce over fettuccini.

Get a Man Irish Boxty
**A traditional potato pancake made infamous in the old rhyme my hero Donovan recited to my heroine Rylie in The Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary:

Boxty on the griddle,
Boxty in the pan.
If you can't make boxty,
You'll never get a man.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups grated raw potatoes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions
1) Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Stir in mashed potatoes until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk; mix into the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add some chopped onion if you're feeling adventurous.
2) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the potato mixture, forming patties about 2 inches in diameter. Fry on both sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve warm.

Love Bitten Apple Cake
**For people who, like Carly Silver and Gideon MacInnes, just can't resist a little forbidden fruit. Best enjoyed with someone you find utterly tempting! By Kendra Leigh Castle

Cake:
4 cups sliced apples
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1&1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Stir apples and sugar together, and then add dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, oil and vanilla together. Stir the egg mixture into the apple mixture. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan, and bake for 50 minutes. Serve each piece of cake with warm sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan, and stir while bringing the sauce to a boil. Let boil for approx. 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour by the spoonful over each piece of cake.


Jane Austen’s Favorite Bath Bun
**In its hey-day Bath had it all and was also home to Jane Austen for a number of years. Today’s Bath Bun is a sorry affair compared to its ancestors, however. And while Sally Lunn lays claim to their origin, others trace it back to recipes for caraway seed cake. Elizabeth Raffald’s 1769 recipe for Bath cakes, which were yeast-leavened rolls made with butter, cream and caraway seeds (in the form of caraway comfits – sugar coated seeds) seems to be close to the original recipe which might have been enjoyed by dearest Jane. Don’t let the idea of using yeast scare you, this is not difficult, it just requires patience. By Michele Ann Young

Ingredients
450g white flour (strong bread flour - part plain flour will work)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons caster sugar
225g butter
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
15 g yeast (fresh) or 7g (dried)
280g warm milk

For the glazing:
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons caster sugar
Brown sugar granules for coffee, lightly crushed in a mortar

Directions
1) Add the salt and sugar to the flour, then rub in the butter. Stir through the caraway seeds.
2) If using dried yeast, add this to the butter rubbed flour. If using fresh, first liven it up by adding it to the warm milk.
3) Add the milk and mix ‘to a light dough.’ Initially the mixture looks very like cake mix – very moist – but don’t be tempted to add more flour. *The recommended method for hand-kneading soft dough (i.e. with a high butter/fat content), is to take a handful of the dough and pull upwards – then push back down onto the work surface.*
4) Once kneaded, cover the bowl and leave to rise. This takes about 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours to double in volume depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
5) Prepare two baking sheets, and use a tablespoon to scoop out 12 portions of dough. Shape into buns and smooth the top surface using a palette knife (or finger). Cover and leave for quarter of hour to regain spring.
6) Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 375F/190C 7) Just before the buns have finished cooking prepare the glaze. Warm the milk and sugar in a small saucepan. As soon as the buns are baked use a pastry brush to anoint the tops and sprinkle with a little of the crushed sugar. The original recipe suggests that if possible eat these buns fresh from the oven. If you can’t manage 12 buns in one go, try cutting them in half and toasting them later.

Creamy Pecan Pralines
**A favorite Louisiana treat! By Beth Cornelison

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. Baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. butter 3 cups pecan halves

Directions
1) In a large sauce pan, combine sugar, soda, and salt. Stir.
2) While stirring constantly, add buttermilk and corn syrup and bring to boil over a medium heat. Keep stirring! Cook to a soft ball or 234 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and add butter and pecans. Beat until thick enough to drop from spoon in clumps. Drop tablespoon sized lumps to wax paper. (Protect counter top from heat with a towel.) If too stiff to drop, add one tablespoon hot water. Let cool and enjoy!

Mushroom Catsup to Howl For
** Lady Anne Addison enjoys this savory condiment with eggs, roast beef, pork, but advises the home cook to be exceptionally careful when picking mushrooms to avoid unpleasant gustatory accidents. By Donna Simpson

1) Wipe firm, fresh mushrooms and break them into pieces. Add two tbsp of salt to every quart of the mushrooms, and arrange the latter in a large crock, sprinkling salt over each layer. Stand the jar in a cellar or other cool place for three days, stirring the contents three or four times each day.
2) At the end of the time turn mushrooms and salt into a preserving kettle, and let them get warm very slowly over a low fire. When the juice flows freely, strain it off, put it back over the fire and boil fifteen minutes.
3) Measure it then and add to each quart of the liquor one tbsp whole black peppers, one tbsp allspice, two blades of mace, a bay leaf, a tiny section of a clove of garlic, a bit of ginger root of the same size, and a very little cayenne.
4) Return the liquor to the fire once more with the spices and boil until it is reduced to half the quantity; let it cool, strain and bottle it. Seal the bottles. The addition of a tea-spoonful of brandy to each bottle is recommended by some authorities as an aid in preserving it.