Holidays make me giddy.
Halloween is a blast. Christmas will forever make me feel like a kid. And Thanksgiving is all about family and being grateful. Traditions and memories are made this time of year. If you love this season like I do, then you came to the right place.
Welcome to the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOP! My friends and I are celebrating fall in all its wonderful glory, and bringing you mouthwatering Thanksgiving recipes, along with delicious EXCERPTS from today’s hottest food-loving romances!
Yep, if the yummy recipes aren’t enough to get you hungry, the book snippets totally will 😉
Hop around and fill out the Rafflecopter form on each author’s site to enter our Grand PRIZE Giveaway: a Harry & David Tower of TREATS! In addition to the Grand Prize, a SWAG pack will be given away on Writer.Chef.Romantic. on each day of the hop. Visit each day for more fall glee.
Now, like I said, I love the holidays. So much so that I got married the day after Thanksgiving, and this year, I celebrate ten years of marriage to my soul mate on Thanksgiving day.
I wanted to get married during the holidays because to me, this time of year means family. It means Harry Connick Jr. is on the radio, wine is flowing free, and my table is loaded with food. Turkey and ham (because no one can pick a favorite), candied sweet potatoes, a big pot of gumbo, at least three different stuffings, and a plethora of pies for dessert.
What can I say? We’re Cajuns, and we like to eat.
The characters in my books are also Cajun. They actually own a restaurant, so they have a love affair with food, too. Food is part of our culture in New Orleans, and the Robicheaux clan embodies that. In TASTE THE HEAT, Colby Robicheaux is a chef, and her fire captain hero, Jason Landry, is no stranger to a kitchen, either. In fact, that’s how they meet…again.
In SEVEN DAY FIANCE, we head to Cajun country where tatted up/math nerd Cane Robicheaux learns the difference between creole Cajun and country Cajun. Boudin balls, corn maque choux, and jambalaya rock this city boy’s heart, but it’s the piping hot cracklins, and the fiesty redhead serving them, that steal his heart.
Not sure what I mean? Here’s a snippet from SEVEN DAY FIANCE to give a little taste:
Angelle stopped beside a folding table boasting boxes of fresh, crispy cracklins and selected a thick piece. Cane watched, mesmerized, as she puckered those gorgeous lips and blew on the sliver. With a flirtatious glint in her eyes, she held it up to his mouth, and he opened.
Holy crap.
He’d had cracklins before. Fried pork fat was a standard gas station treat, usually shrink-wrapped and stale as shit. But this, fresh from the pot and piping hot, was unbelievable. Cane widened his eyes, and it was possible he even moaned. It was thatgood. And as he swallowed, Angel rewarded him with a rich, throaty laugh.
“Ca c’est bon?” she asked, grinning when he grabbed another handful.
He touched her nose and popped a piece in his mouth. “Good would be an understatement.”
Grinning, she took a fried morsel for herself and sent the balding, overweight gentleman tending the table a wink. “Now that’s what we like to hear.” Then she closed her eyes as she savored the treat.
The sounds of Angel moaning, and watching her face soften in the throes of a foodgasm, had to be the sexiest damn thing Cane had ever seen. His pants tightened, embarrassingly so considering he knew the audience was still watching, but what pushed him over the edge was when her eyes opened. The pleasure in them was his undoing.
Feeling the weight of the crowd’s disapproving stares and not giving a damn, figuring now was as good a time as any to give the people the show they clearly wanted, he grasped her hip and tugged her forward, pausing only to inhale her gasp of surprise before brushing her mouth with his.
It was like setting off a damn forest fire.
Angelle, his shocking little hellcat, pounced. Forgetting all about their audience, or maybe not giving a damn either, she wound her arms around his neck, lifted onto her toes, and kissed him back with everything she had. Cane had intended to steal a quick taste, take the edge off his craving for her, and prove their point with the town’s people. But hell if he was gonna be the one to back down now. Tightening his grasp on her slim hips, he brushed his thumbs across the smooth, exposed skin near her waistband. He deepened the kiss, thrilling over her telltale shiver. Whimpering, she yanked on the hair at his nape and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. Hot damn.
Okay, now he had to start backing down. With all her male relatives watching, not to mention the knives and axes still lying around from the butchering earlier, if Cane valued his life, he needed to wrangle control of the situation. He’d heard patience was a virtue. That was a line of bull—he’d always sucked at waiting for anything he wanted. But for Angel, he was willing to try.
Loosening his grip on her belt loops, Cane slowed the intensity of the kiss. He smoothed the hem of her shirt down, grazed her lips one last time, and, placing his forehead against hers, inhaled through his nose. Sunflowers mixed with cayenne may be his new favorite scent. Angelle released a heavy breath, a flush blooming on her cheeks. She darted a glance at the crowd, then looking into his eyes, grinned lazily. “My goodness. If anyone doubted we were a couple before, I guess that showed them.”
*fans self* That Cane floats my boat. Now, where were we again?
Oh right, recipes.
As I said, I’m Cajun, so most of my family’s recipes include phrases like “a little bit of this, and some of that.” Getting precise measurements of anything is almost impossible. But hey, somehow it still turns out delicious!
Here is one of my family’s favorite recipes…a delish stuffing I crave every year.
Merliton Casserole:
Ingredients:
- 6 to 8 Merlitons
- 1 large stalk of Celery chopped fine
- 1 medium to large Onion
- 4 toes of garlic
- 1handful of fresh Italian Parsley
- 1 small bunch of Shallots
- Butter or margarine
- 1 to 2 cups grated bread crumbs or more (whatever gives you the right consistency)
- Scoop out cooked Merliton with spoon and reserve (Take out the little white thing that’s in the middle and discard)
- Fry down all the seasonings until soft in butter or margarine
- Add Merlitons and mix well
Bake 30 to 45 minutes until done. (Everything is already cooked, so basically you’re just heating it to get all the flavors mixed)
Note: You may want to dot a little butter or margarine on top for the bake.
I’d love to hear YOUR favorite holiday recipe in the comments! Remember to click this link to enter our giveaway for an awesome HARRY & DAVID gift basket!
Click this link to see what’s cooking on the other Hungry Hearts Holiday Hop blogs:
And don't forget to visit Writer.Chef.Romantic. often during the HUNGRY HEARTS HOLIDAY HOPS (yes, HOPS, we'll be back to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, too!) for the chance to win SWAG, SWAG, and more SWAG every day!
Happy Holidays, y’all!
