Brenda Youngerman: Tuesday's Spotlight - My Life. One Story at a Time
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
My Life. One Story at a Time. is being featured on Author Brenda Youngerman's blog
What an honor to be featured on an author's website. Brenda Youngerman is spotlighting My Life. One Story at a Time. on her blog today. I hope you'll stop by!
Brenda Youngerman: Tuesday's Spotlight - My Life. One Story at a Time
Brenda Youngerman: Tuesday's Spotlight - My Life. One Story at a Time
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Nielsen-Massey Madagasgar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
I can’t
tell you how long I have had my eye on Vanilla Bean Paste. That’s why when I
came across an advertisement from Nielsen-Massey looking for someone to try the
product and review it, I was on it like sticky on candy. And, I knew I had to
call in my favorite cousin, Kelly, to help in the taste testing. I love to
bake, but I normally stick to the basics. Kelly, on the other hand, is a
gourmet cook. Together, I felt we could we could give this bottle of vanilla
bean paste a run it would not soon forget.
 |
| Vanilla Beans (a good sign) |
 |
| You can see how thick the vanilla paste is in this picture. |
Being a
baker and a firm believer of making everything from scratch, I have been making
my own vanilla extract for years (have
I ever mentioned the standing joke around my house – If you eat my desserts, we’ll
call you a cab.) What Kelly and I did was put the two to a
taste test, and that began with an old fashion “stick your finger and lick it”
test. The Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste (check out the picture) is very
thick, almost like molasses, and true to its claim, has a lot of vanilla beans.
It also has an extraordinary flavor that had it not been for Kelly, I would
have stood there all day and continued to “dip and lick”. That sounds sort of
dirty, but this vanilla paste is sinfully good – all-by-itself.
 |
| First, you need "pretty" spoon for measuring. |
 |
| First steps of making pralines |
 |
| Bringing the mixture to a boil |
 |
| Measuring the vanilla |
|
| Adding the vanilla |
 |
| Cooking the mixture |
This is the
recipe for Hubby’s Pralines.
Southern Pralines
(The best in all the world)
5 cups sugar
1 can condensed
milk
1 can (large) pet
milk
1 stick butter
(the real thing)
3 cups chopped
pecans (or coconut)
1 tablespoon
vanilla extract (NOT imitation extract)
Directions:
Will take approximately one hour of stirring and makes
approximately 60 pralines (if you don’t taste test before they’re done)
Start with a high fire, then lower to a med/low flame. Stir constantly.
Melt butter and add sugar, condensed milk and pet milk.
 |
| Pralines on wax paper & newspaper |
 |
| Pralines lift off of silpat |
 |
| We also dropped some on silpat |
 |
| Looking good |
After approximately one hour, mixture will begin to thicken
and turn to a caramel color. Once it forms a ball with a slightly crusty coating
in a bowl of cool water, mixture is ready for the pecans and vanilla (or
substitute same amount of grated coconut in place of pecans). Add these,
stirring constantly. Cook a short time longer.
Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper that has been placed on top
of newspaper. Stir every so often to keep mixture from hardening as you are
dropping it onto the wax paper.
 |
| Finished product. Coconut Pralines |
Vanilla pastry cream recipe
Prep Time: ---
| Cook Time: 1 hour, 15
minutes |
Servings: Fills
1 standard pastry recipe |
Ingredients:
·
1 ¼ cups whole milk
·
3 egg yolks
·
¼ cup granulated sugar
·
1/8 cup all-purpose flour
·
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
·
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until it is just hot
enough to steam. While the milk is warming, whisk together the egg yolks,
sugar, flour, and cornstarch until the mixture is completely smooth.
Once the milk is steaming, add half of it, whisking constantly, to the
egg mixture. Add the milk and eggs back into the hot milk, continue stirring,
and heat it for 1-2 minutes, until the custard reaches 170F on a digital
thermometer and is very thick. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla
extract, and chill before filling pastry.
 |
| Notice the beans - good sign (vanilla creme) |
 |
| Melting butter & water |
Ingredients:
·
1 cup water
·
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
·
1 cup flour
·
1 cup eggs (4 large eggs)
Directions:
1. Bring the water and butter to a simmer over high heat. Reduce
the heat to medium, add the flour and stir rapidly. The flour will absorb
the water quickly and a dough will form and pull away from the sides. Keep
stirring to continue cooking the flour and cook off some of the water, another
minute or two. Transfer the paste to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted
with the paddle attachment or to a bowl if you're using a hand mixer. (If
you want to mix the eggs directly into the dough in the pot, let it cool
slightly, 4 or 5 minutes,
or cool off the pan itself by running cold water over its base if you
will be mixing the eggs in that pot. You don’t want to cook the
eggs
too quickly.)
2. Add the eggs one at a time mixing rapidly until each is combined
into the paste. The paste will go from shiny to furry, slippery to sticky
as the egg is incorporated. The pâte a choux can be cooked immediately at
this point or refrigerated for up to a day until ready to use.
 |
| Coming together in the pan |
 |
| Adding eggs |
 |
| Ready to bake. I used an ice cream scoop to make it uniform. |
Pipe or spoon choux paste into hot oil for doughnuts and cook for 5
minutes or until done. Spoon or pipe it onto a baking sheet (see
above, remember to press the peaks down with a moistened finger, they can burn)
and bake in a hot oven (425 for 10 minutes, 350 for another half hour or so, is
ideal) for cream puffs, profiteroles and gougeres. Or pipe into simmering
water for parisienne gnocchi (remove when they float, then saute in brown
butter with additional garnish of your choice, excellent recipes in Bouchon for
all of these preparations).
Source: http://ruhlman.com/2009/01/pate-a-choux/
Source: http://ruhlman.com/2009/01/pate-a-choux/
 |
| Fresh from the oven |
 |
| Aren't they pretty? |
 |
| Light and fluffy insides |
 |
| With vanilla cream |
 |
| Making the ganache |
 |
| Lots of ganache! |
 |
| Cream filled profiterole |
 |
| Someone had to taste it! |
 |
| Perfection! |
Along with a sweet profiterole, we also made a savory one. We added the most wonderful Irish White Cheddar and grated Parmesan cheese to the dough and baked. We then filled them with homemade chicken salad. The result - scrumptous!
 |
| Adding shredded cheese |
 |
| Swiss Cheddar |
 |
| Perfection! |
I’ve
started thinking as of late, that I may want to be permanently laid to rest in
Hershey, Pennsylvania. I’ve heard the air quality is sublime and the aroma
simply cannot be matched anywhere else in the world. I think that would be a
happy resting place for a chocoholic such as myself.
In
conclusion, I have to highly recommend hunting down Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean
Paste. It has a rich intense flavor that cannot be duplicated with an extract. It has a heavy dose of vanilla pods within the dark syrup that will add a richness to any dish you use it in. It is worth whatever it costs and the trouble it takes to find it. It is
THAT good.
 |
| The mess |
 |
| Fruits of our labor |
You can
play the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a bottle!
Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy
of the book with no obligation for a positive review. No compensation -
monetary or in kind - has been obtained for this post. Cover art and book
description courtesy of the author, publisher, or PR firm.
If the Rafflecopter is there - use it. I seem to be having some problems. To enter, leave a comment with your name and how you followed my blog (GFC, Google+, or Networkblog - it is mandatory to follow) and valid email address to contact you if you win. Any tweets you want to make are appreciated. Thanks.
----- a Rafflecopter giveaway
Friday, January 27, 2012
If Wishes Were Husbands by Elizabeth Kyne
Title:
If Wishes Were Husbands
Author:
Elizabeth Kyne
Genre:
Romantic Comedy
Publisher:
Elly Books
Released:
November 2011
Book Blurb:
Rachel re-invents herself when she moves back to
her home town of Aylesbury; with a new job, a new house and a new haircut. But
people’s eyes glaze over when she tells them about her life as a
forty-something singleton who works in accounts. So why not spice things up a
bit? Why not tell her new hairdresser and her new friends about her fantastic
husband? Everyone wants to hear about Darren, the man who cooks her amazing
meals, cleans the house and takes her to bed for orgasmic sex three times a night!
What a shame he doesn't exist…
…Until she comes home one night and finds Darren
sitting in her lounge. And everything she said becomes true: from his sensuous
food to his skill in bed. So real, that she believes it.
Not as if living with a perfect is man is… well,
perfect…
She can’t find anything because every time she
puts something down, he tidies it away. Then there’s the shock of the credit
card bill from buying all that gourmet food. Not to mention the sex! Three
times a night is great at first, but sometimes all she wants at the end of the
day is a sandwich and some sleep.
Then Rachel decides that Darren has to go - and
that’s when her troubles really begin.
From the Author:
IF ONLY I DIDN’T HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR WITH SLEEP
Author Elizabeth Kyne dreams about what life might have been like
if she’d been blessed with more hours in the day
One night a couple of years ago, I was just getting ready
for bed when the phone rang. “Who the hell’s calling at this hour?” was the
general reaction in the house. It turned out to be Ian. The conversation went
something like this:
“Oh hi Ian, I was just going to bed.”
“Bed? But it’s ten o’clock. Why are you going to bed now?”
“Because it’s bed time.”
He had no concept of a person wanting to go to bed at ten
o’clock. To him, it was the middle of the evening and there were four hours
until his bedtime.
I wish I were like Ian.
To clarify, I’m actually glad I am not like Ian in many ways
(I’m not sure how I’d cope with being a teacher in Scotland, for example), but
in the sleep department, I envy him. On the day he’d rung me, he’d spent eight
hours at work, earned some lovely money, then come home, had some dinner and
relaxed for a bit, and was just settling down to work on a script for a play he
was writing and wanted to chat to me about it.
As for me, I’d spent all day writing and doing assorted
things, earned very little money, had dinner, spent a precious hour relaxing in
front of the telly and was about done for the day. If only I’d been able to
stay up until two in the morning doing stuff, then I could have achieved so
much more.
There is a piece of advice dished out to writers which, in
many ways, is excellent advice. It goes something like this: Set your alarm for
an hour earlier, get up and write for an hour, then go to work. Pretty soon,
you will have written the first draft of a novel and – what’s more – you
haven’t had to sacrifice any salaried time to do it. Which, if you want to eat
and have a roof over your head, is a pretty good idea.
I’ve tried this. Really, I’ve tried it. Maybe it worked on
the Monday, maybe I even managed to struggle out of bed on the Tuesday, but by
Wednesday I was just beat. The other problem was – and this is the biggest
problem, to my mind – is that by the time you get into work, you’re too tired
to put your all energies into your job. That’s the job which is paying for
life’s little essentials like food and housing. To put it at risk by coming in
exhausted every day is probably not the best plan for continued employment.
Add to that the additional complication of the day job I
foolishly decided to take on. My background is in radio journalism and, in
radio, the most important time of the day is breakfast time. So, often my shift
would start at 5am. I was already getting up at 4.30am. The prospect of getting
up at 3.30am to write… well, let’s just say that wasn’t going to happen.
One advantage of shifts like this, you might think, is
because you start early, you finish early too. Although this is the case, my
ability to function in the afternoon when I’ve been up at 4.30am and worked the
equivalent of a full day, is vastly reduced. Exhaustion is total. I’ve tried
using this time to write or to exercise and it’s generally been a failure. It’s
hard enough just staying awake in the afternoon to make sure that when I go to
bed at night I actually sleep.
I’m such a wimp at sleep, that after a week doing shifts
like that, my stamina for going out at the weekend was very low indeed. So much
so that I got a bit of a reputation for going to bed early at parties. There
was one party I remember in which I was so sleepy by the time I got there at
8pm that I decided to nip upstairs for a quick lay down on the spare bed. I had
fully intended to get back up and do some partying, but fell asleep instead and
only emerged some twelve hours later to find a handful of people downstairs
nursing their hangovers. Yep, I’d slept through the whole party.
If only I wasn’t a slave to sleep. If only I had the stamina
to write at either end of the day and still earn a crust at a regular job. But
that’s just not me. In the end, I’ve had to accept that if I want to write, I
have to sacrifice a regular salary. For me, that has meant going part time at
my radio job so I work weekends and write during the week. It still means I
can’t go to parties without going to bed early, but at least I’m writing.
I have great admiration for the authors of this world who
get up and write before going to work, or burn the midnight oil to get that
manuscript finished. They are amazing people. Some of them even manage it with
a young family or a baby in the house. They are truly heroic; I wish I were
more like them.
My point is, I guess, that we all have limitations to what
we can do. For me, it’s sleep; for others it maybe family or business
commitments. But, in our heart of hearts, if we want to write, then we will
find a way. Because a writer who doesn’t write is no writer at all.
*****
Rachel re-invents herself when she moves back to her home
town of Aylesbury; with a new job, a new house and a new haircut. But people’s
eyes glaze over when she tells them about her life as a forty-something
singleton who works in accounts. So why not spice things up a bit? Why not tell
her new hairdresser and her new friends about her fantastic husband? Everyone
wants to hear about Darren, the man who cooks her amazing meals, cleans the
house and takes her to bed for orgasmic sex three times a night! What a shame
he doesn't exist…
…Until she comes home one night and finds Darren sitting in
her lounge. And everything she said becomes true: from his sensuous food to his
skill in bed. So real, that she believes it.
Not as if living with a perfect is man is… well, perfect…
She can’t find anything because every time she puts
something down, he tidies it away. Then there’s the shock of the credit card
bill from buying all that gourmet food. Not to mention the sex! Three times a
night is great at first, but sometimes all she wants at the end of the day is a
sandwich and some sleep.
Then Rachel decides that Darren has to go - and that’s when
her troubles really begin.
Elizabeth Kyne takes the absurdities of the modern woman's
quest for love and turns them into an enjoyable romp. She finds the comic in
everyday situations, from buying a dress to experimenting with hair dye at
home. While, underneath, she comments on the pressure to find the perfect
husband and how that quest is doomed for us all.
PAPERBACK
EBOOK
Elizabeth Kyne trained to be a radio journalist and spent
her early working years reading news bulletins and writing for magazines.
Later, after learning the meaning of “mortgage” and “gas bill”, she decided to
do the sensible thing and drop the freelance lifestyle to get a proper job. The
job, however, all went horribly wrong and she returned to her first love of
writing, and worked on several novels before finding success with “If Wishes
Were Husbands”.
Book Quotes:
And, looking at myself in the changing room mirror, I
started to doubt if even one of my old posh frocks would fit anymore. The
sagginess of time had started to pull on my body. Breasts gradually making
their way to rendezvous with my navel, belly like a deflated rugby ball and
thighs like tree trunks with wrinkled bark that tapered ever so slightly down
to the water retention at my knees.
How the Victorians would have disapproved of the display of
underwear on show: rows and rows of bras and knickers on individual hangers as
far as the eye could see in all colours from somber browns to sexy reds and
purples. Lace, wire and enhanced cleavage nuzzled next to practical, unadorned
boob holders.
My Review:
If we could have the perfect husband we’ve always wanted,
what would we wish for? Rachel made that wish and then began to weave a
fairytale. All she really wanted to do was fit in. She was tired of being
labeled as a 40 something year old single female who was married to her job.
Little did she realize that when she returned home that night, her fairytale would
have come to life. Maybe perfect isn’t what we’re dreaming of, that is, until
it fads before our very eyes.
Rachel is out with friends one night and conjures up the
perfect man. Her friends are all envious of her wonderful life. She returns
home to find the fairytale has come to life and as the days go by, she begins
to realize perfect isn’t always perfect. She begins to resent this perfect man
who is there to satisfy her every whim. The book is quite funny and I enjoyed the fast-paced
story line.
The author did an excellent job in showing Darren’s
confusion when Rachel becomes irritated with him when all he wants to do is
please her. After all, Rachel conjured him up. It was a fun book.
I am giving this book a excellent rating because I thought
the writing was good. The book had an original concept. I did not come across
any grammatical errors or misspellings as I was reading (doesn’t necessarily
mean there weren’t any, but I’m good at spotting them and I saw none.) I think
if you are looking for a fun, light read, this book hits the mark.
Elizabeth's book can be purchased from Amazon here:
Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy
of the book with no obligation for a positive review. No compensation -
monetary or in kind - has been obtained for this post. Cover art and book
description courtesy of the author, publisher, or PR firm.
You can also win a copy of the book by playing the Rafflecopter!
-------
Monday, January 23, 2012
Crazy in Paradise by Deborah Brown
Ebook
By Deborah Brown
Published: July 07, 2011
Category: Fiction » Mystery & Detective » Women Sleuths
Published: July 07, 2011
Category: Fiction » Mystery & Detective » Women Sleuths
About the Book:
Welcome to Tarpon Cove. Madison Westin inherits her aunt’s
beachfront motel along with a variety of colorful tenant’s - drunks, ex-cons
and fugitives. Only one problem: First she has to wrestle control from her
lawyer and conniving motel manager. She enlists the help of her new best friend
who’s motto is never leave home without your Glock. Only in South Florida, land
of hot tan lines, drugs on demand – not to mention blackmail and murder.
About the Author:
About the Author:
My debut novel Crazy
in Paradise is full of fun and surprises. I've been writing, in one way or
another for as long as I can remember; writing poetry, short stories, a romance
novel secretly stashed under the bed and sappy love letters. Fiction should be
fun. I wanted to create the perfect beach book, to make the reader laugh, cry
and cheer... and then run out and tell their friends about it. My love of
reading began when I was seven, the day I opened the cover of my first Mrs.
Piggle Wiggle book. Mrs. P gave lessons to other children in how to behave and
to me I learned to love the written word. I live in South Florida, with my
ungrateful animals, where Mother Nature takes out her bad attitude in the form
of hurricanes.
From
the Author:
My Worst Job Ever
I was fresh out of
college, and needed immediate income and time to interview for my dream job,
which was in advertising, so cocktail waitressing at a country western bar
seemed like the perfect fit. I knew
nothing about country western music and never waitressed but the hours were 9pm
until 3am.
The owner saw
something in me, desperation perhaps and he hired me on the spot. He informed me after the interview if I
wanted to make any money, I should go buy myself some boobs. Back then, I was super thin and flat
chested. I went straight to the store
and purchased myself a pair of 36 B’s, which made my body look like it had been
taken over by a pair of boobs. My new
gigantic bra complimented the rest of the uniform, red short shorts, a tight
white t-shirt, and low heels. I remember
debuting that outfit to my sister and she laughed until she choked. We both laughed that when you poked me in the
chest there was spring back action.
The bar patrons were
nice and so were my co-workers but I was a fish out of water. A lot like Dorothy when she realized she
wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I looked and
acted like the unsophisticated girl that I was.
I met a couple of guys while I worked there, one in particular but I was
too embarrassed to say yes to a date.
The hours turned out to
be the only perk of the job leaving me time to job hunt when I wasn’t
completely exhausted. I’d get home at
4am, wired and unable to go to sleep, smelling like the bottom of an ashtray
and the inside of a beer bottle from head to toe.
Four weeks later, I
was hired as a receptionist in advertising.
I was happy to quit my night job and even happier that my boss didn’t
want any notice. We had an amicable
breakup.
Book
Quotes:
“To new beginnings here in South Florida.”
“Elizabeth was a woman you wanted in your back up arsenal, she never
said no to helping me. I wish I’d gotten to talk to her one last time.”
“You didn’t have very much. What happened to all of your possessions?
Tell me Dickhead didn’t get everything in the divorce.”
“Look, you do have something in common,” Mother said. “Divorce. That’s
nice. Does your family refer to your ex as Dickhead, Zach?”
“I need a favor.” “Are you using
an IOU?”
“I hit him over the head with a vase. I didn’t know what else to do.”…”What
if he wakes up?” “I can’t continue to hit him over the head.”
“I try to use my martial art skills more than a gun, but I never leave
home without my Glock and a couple of her friends.”
He looked at me, a serious look on his face. “I don’t think I can get
my hand inside your dress if we sit on the concrete.” “How would you like it if
I stuck my hand up your pants?”
“All I know is he’s an ex-con, no friends, and no one is willing to
step up and claim his dead ass.”
My
Review:
Crazy in Paradise was
a book full of strange, crazy characters, each collecting their own set of “I
owe you’s.” From the first page of the book to the last, the action was
non-stop. The story began with recently divorced Madison Westin inheriting her
recently deceased aunt’s beachfront house and properties. Not only does she
inherit an old motel, she also inherits an old motel full of eccentric people.
From the insane
funeral that will leave you in tears, to the scheming attorneys, mad ex-cons, a
centerfold private investigator who is just as adept at making trouble as he is
in solving mysteries (and he’s also quite the charmer.) Then, there are the
dates that Madison’s mother tries to fix her up with that will leave you
rolling your eyes.
Trouble seems to
follow Madison around as she tries to legitimize her aunt’s business and she finds
herself in the midst of a shootout. The book was not a serious book by any
means and would be a great book to sit out on the beach to read. You’ll find
yourself looking for the hunky P.I. and seeing shady characters lurking by old
motels. The story is humorous and you’ll find yourself chuckling along the way.
Crazy in Paradise is just that, crazy (and a fun read.)
Deborah’s
book can be purchased on Amazon
You
can also enter to win a copy of Crazy in Paradise by
Playing
the Rafflecopter below!
Disclaimer / Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy
of the book with no obligation for a positive review. No compensation -
monetary or in kind - has been obtained for this post. Cover art and book
description courtesy of the author, publisher, or PR firm.
-
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