Welcome back to the Fresh Fiction Valentine's Day Recipe
Roundup! Every day this week, some of our favorite authors will be on the blog
chatting about
their new books, their main characters, and a recipe for a meal or treat those
characters would
enjoy this festive week. Today we're featuring contemporary romance authors from
St.
Martin's Press! Enjoy, and come back tomorrow for more fun!
Missed our previous roundup post? Check it out here!
Mystery Authors
LAURA TRENTHAM, THE
MILITARY WIFE
Harper Lee Wilcox (yes, named after the Harper Lee) is
the widow of a decorated Navy SEAL and living with her mom and young son in her
hometown
of Kitty Hawk, NC. Bennett Caldwell is a former Navy SEAL that served with
Harper's husband,
but now runs a survival school in Virginia Beach.
Bennett got to know and love Harper through the emails and
letters she sent her husband while they were deployed together. When he meets
her face-to-
face years later, he discovers the real woman is even stronger and more
fascinating than the
one he imagined. Standing between them is the memory of Noah, Harper's dead
husband and
Bennett's best friend.
A common mission brings them together and helps them
resolve their pasts so they can build a future together. I hope Harper and
Bennett make
readers laugh and cry and leave them ultimately satisfied!
And, I hope this recipe for Shrimp and Grits will leave you
satisfied as well. A southern staple, especially along the coast, it's easy and
delicious! Enjoy!
Shrimp and Grits (Recipe by Bobby Flay,
FoodNetwork)
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup stone-ground grits
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
Directions:
Step 1: Bring water to a boil. Add salt and pepper.
Add grits and cook until water is absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from
heat and stir
in butter and cheese.
Step 2: Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a
large skillet until browned; drain well. In grease, add shrimp. Cook until
shrimp turn pink.
Step 3: Add lemon juice, chopped bacon, parsley,
scallions and garlic. Saute for 3 minutes.
Step 4: Spoon grits into a serving bowl. Add shrimp
mixture. Serve immediately!
***
LORA LEIGH, ONE TOUGH
COWBOY
Hunter and Samantha hadn't thought they were destined to
be together, and at first when they saw each other again, might have denied it
was meant to
be. Sometimes love is shy, uncertain, and hides behind the lust until it feels
it's safe to show
itself. I hope you enjoyed their adventure, as well as their love story.
I think a snack they'd really enjoy after one of those intense,
love and lust adventures they shared would be something a bit messy, a bit spicy.
I thought Hot Wings would work.
Lora Leigh's Hot Wings
Ingredients:
- 10 – 15 chicken wings with tips removed
and separated at
joint.
- 2 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (Chinese Chilli Paste)
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 cup Blue cheese or Ranch dressing
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 425.
- Deep fry wing portions
until done.
- Melt 1 stick of butter and
pour into a deep bowl.
- Add 2 Tbsp. Samal Oelek
(Chinese chilli paste).
- Whisk together until
butter and chilli paste are sorta blended.
- Add Chicken wings and
toss well.
- Lay wings one layer deep
on a baking sheet and bake for 5 – 10 minutes. Just enough to dry the
butter/chilli paste a bit.
- Remove from oven and
place on a platter with 1 cup of dressing for dipping.
- Dip, eat, and enjoy.
Lots of finger-lickin' good, and spicy kisses later… well, you
know… 😊
***
HELENA HUNTING,
SHACKING UP
Ruby Scott is a feisty, aspiring Broadway performer who is
determined to live her dream instead of taking a cushy job at her father's company.
Unfortunately, an accidental kiss from a sick stranger ruins Ruby's chance of
getting the part
she's dreamed of when she tosses her cookies all over the director,
Exorcist-style.
Enter Bancroft Mills, recently retired rugby player who is now
stepping into the family hotel business, which means a five-week trip across the
ocean. It also
means he needs a pet sitter for his exotic fur baby and his terrifyingly
(adorable) tarantula.
And since he also happens to be the reason Ruby is currently unemployed and
homeless, he
gives her a job and place to stay while he's away on business.
As daily phone check-ins turn into lengthy, flirty video chats,
Ruby and Bancroft find themselves looking forward to finding out just how real
the chemistry
between them is when there isn't an ocean separating them.
Shacking Up is a sexy, flirty, steamy romance, and Bancroft
Mills has a gooey sweet center, exactly like a chocolate lava cake.
CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE
from https://www.handletheheat.com/chocolate-lava-cakes/
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, plus
more for
- coating ramekins
- 8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet chocolate,
- chopped
- 10 tablespoons (142 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Fresh raspberries or strawberries
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray 6 (6-ounce, 170 gram) ramekins with
nonstick baking spray. Coat the insides of the buttered ramekins with
granulated sugar, tapping out the excess.
- Combine the chocolate and butter in a microwave- safe bowl. Microwave on
high for 1 minute. Stir, then continue heating in 30 second bursts, stirring
between bursts, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Alternatively, melt the
chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Gently stir in the flour and salt.
- In a medium bowl vigorously whisk the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and the 1/2
cup of granulated sugar until thick and pale in color. Gently fold in the
melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture. Divide the batter among the ramekins.
MAKE AHEAD:
At this point the batter-filled ramekins can be covered and refrigerated for up
to 1 day.
Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are firm but the center is runny.
Add an additional minute of baking time if baking straight from the
fridge.
Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates, if
desired. You can also serve straight from the ramekin. Serve with fresh
berries and powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes
You can bake the batter in 10 paper-lined muffin tins
for 10 minutes for smaller, more portable servings. You can also easily cut this
recipe in half.
***
BOOKS AND AUTHORS FEATURED IN THIS ARTICLE:
Heart of a Hero
A young widow embraces a second chance at life when she reconnects with those who
understand the sacrifices made by American soldiers and their families in
award-winning
author Laura Trentham's The Military Wife.
Harper Lee Wilcox has been marking time in her hometown of Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina since
her husband, Noah Wilcox's death, nearly five years earlier. With her son Ben
turning five and
living at home with her mother, Harper fights a growing restlessness, worried
that moving on
means leaving the memory of her husband behind.
Her best friend, Allison Teague, is dealing with struggles of her own. Her
husband, a former
SEAL that served with Noah, was injured while deployed and has come home
physically healed
but fighting PTSD. With three children under foot and unable to help her
husband, Allison is at
her wit's end.
In an effort to reenergize her own life, Harper sees an opportunity to help not
only Allison but
a network of other military wives eager to support her idea of starting a string
of coffee
houses close to military bases around the country.
In her pursuit of her dream, Harper crosses paths with Bennett Caldwell, Noah's
best friend
and SEAL brother. A man who has a promise to keep, entangling their lives in
ways neither of
them can foresee. As her business grows so does an unexpected relationship with
Bennett.
Can Harper let go of her grief and build a future with Bennett even as the man
they both loved
haunts their pasts?
Women's Fiction Contemporary [St. Martin's
Griffin, On Sale: February 5, 2019, Trade Size / e-Book, ISBN: 9781250145536 /
eISBN:
9781250145543]
Heartfelt and
emotional... uplifting and hopeful!
Laura Trentham was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Tennessee.
Although, she loved English and reading in high school, she majored in Chemical
Engineering
(in order to avoid becoming a starving artist!) and worked in a hard hat and
steel toed boots
for several years.
Now living in South Carolina with her husband and two children, she writes
historical and
contemporary romances that are a little dark, a little funny, and a whole lot of
sexy.
***
Moving Violations
#1
First in a brand-new series from #1 New York Times bestselling
author Lora
Leigh and Veronica Chadwick about one man's pursuit of justice—and
unbridled desire.LAW AND ORDER.
For as long as Samantha can remember, Hunter—a man as strong as steel, with a
heart of gold
—has been her hero. It came as no surprise to Samantha when she found out that
the ranch-
hardened cowboy who always protected her from bullies went on to become the town's
sheriff. What does surprise her is how incredibly hot he still is. And
how much she still
wants him…
PRIDE AND PASSION
And, lo and behold, Hunter still has feelings for Samantha. The long-smoldering
heat of
their innocent flirtation has grown into a full raging fire. But when tragedy
strikes, and their
small-town community is shattered, Hunter vows to do everything he can to keep his
childhood sweetheart safe. But can Samantha trust that Hunter has her best
interests at
heart…and that, after all these years, his love is true?
Romance Western | Romance Erotica Sensual [St. Martin's
Paperbacks, On Sale: January 29, 2019, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN:
9781250309488 / eISBN: 9781250088383]
A
steamy, action
packed, can't stop read!
Lora Leigh dreams in bright, vivid images of the characters' intent on taking
over her writing
life, and fights a constant battle to put them on the hard drive of her computer
before they can
disappear as fast as they appeared.
Lora's family and her writing life coexist, if not in harmony, in relative peace
with each other.
Surrounded by a menagerie of pets, friends, and a son who keeps her quick wit
engaged, Lora
finds her life filled with joys, aided by her fans whose hearts remind her daily
why she writes.
***
From New York Times bestselling author Helena Hunting, Shacking Up is a
hilarious, swoon-
worthy novel about sex and the city--and everything in-between.
SHE'S IN THE DOGHOUSE. WILL HE TAKE HER ALL THE WAY UP TO THE PENTHOUSE?
Ruby Scott is months behind on rent and can't seem to land a steady job. She has
one chance
to turn things around with an important audition. But instead of getting her big
break, Ruby
gets sick as a dog and ends up with her tail between her legs. All thanks to a
mysterious,
gorgeous guy who kissed her--and then coughed on her-- at a party the night before.
Ruby's BFF might have found the perfect job opportunity: pet-sitting in the
lavish penthouse
apartment belonging to hotel magnate Bancroft Mills. But when the newly-evicted
Ruby meets
her jet setting employer, she realizes he's the same guy who got her sick.
Seeing his role in
Ruby's dilemma, Bane offers her a permanent job as his live-in pet sitter until
she can get back
on her feet. . .and maybe back into his arms?
"Fun, sexy, and full of heart...Helena Hunting has done it again!" -- USA Today
bestselling
author Melanie Harlow
Romance Contemporary [St. Martin's
Paperbacks, On Sale: November 27, 2018, Mass Market Paperback / e-Book, ISBN:
9781250199669 / ]
NTY and USA Today Bestselling author of The PUCKED Series, Helena Hunting lives
outside of
Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best
place to sleep
is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance to romance
comedy,
sports romance and angsty new adult romance.
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