Romance Week Day 4: Look What's Cooking Now!

Song Stuck on the Brain: L-O-V-E by Michael Buble

Welcome to Romance Week hosted by the cast of Justice Burning and Dysfunction Junction! Every day this week different characters will be sharing their tips and ideas on how to have the sweetest and/or most romantic Valentine’s Day.

There is also a contest to win 1 of 3 prize packs containing books and music. Be sure to check out the contest and enter at the bottom of the post.

Today, we welcome Ember McLeod from Justice Burning, book 1 in the Heroes in Justice Series and Alexa Fehr from Dysfunction Junction, book 1 in the Dream Big Series. 

Alicia Silverstone,
my cast for Alexa Fehr

Hello, Ember, thanks for joining me today. I hear your a junior at Justice High this year, how is that going?
Hi Alexa! School is great, it keeps me busy. I am so excited to finally meet you.I hear you're an awesome cook. 
Thanks, do you like to cook?

Molly Quinn,
my cast as Ember McLeod

I do! I like trying new ingredients and creating new recipes. I watch the cooking shows sometimes to get ideas.
That's impressive. What was your most creative dish?
Peanut Butter Tuna Fish casserole.
Oh... well, *cough* that sounds... interesting. How did it turn out?
Not as well as I'd hoped. I watched a show about Thai recipes and they used peanut sauce a lot and it just looked so good. Fish seemed like a good option, but all we had was tuna in a packet. I added some chunky peanut butter to the casserole and thought it would be great, but no one but dad even made an effort to eat it. I have to admit, it did smell a little funky. 

Aidan McLeod is a good dad. :) It sounds like you have creative ideas that just need refining. With practice you'll be great. How would you like to help me plan a Valentine's Day dinner?

That would be fantastic! I would love to surprise Dad and the family with an awesome dinner. 

Good. What did you plan to cook?

I had a couple of ideas. The guys at the firehouse love chili and I saw a really cool magazine picture for Chocolate chili. That seemed like a cool twist. I bought chocolate bars to stir in so it would be really creamy.

Okay, well, chocolate is used in a mole sauce, but it's not made with regular candy bars. The sugar wouldn't flavor well in the chili. Plus, for those wanting a romantic dinner... well, beans should probably be avoided. Chocolate could be used in the dessert though. How about steak or roast?

That sounds good, roast is popular, but it doesn't seem very special. How do we get it to stand out?

Oh there are lots of recipes to make a roast stand out, but when it comes down to it, a super tender, slow cooked pork tenderloin or beef brisket that melts in your mouth is a star all on its own. Check out this Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin.

Oh, this looks delicious. I think I could cook this. 

Garlic Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Sure you can, just follow the directions. Spicing up a recipe isn't bad, but you need to know flavors and how they work together first and that takes practice. 

So, now I need a side dish. Oh, how about twice baked sweet potatoes? Sweet potatoes are so popular right now. We could add brown sugar to mash with butter and garlic, maybe some green onions. Top it with bacon, cheddar and sour cream.

My, you do have a creative palate. Twice baked sweet potatoes might taste fine, but I'd skip the garlic onions and other traditional toppings and maybe use cinnamon and mini marshmallows instead. Or, you could try Parmesan-Herb Roasted Potatoes instead. 

Yum, those look delicious. You're good at this. What would you serve for a Valentine's Dinner?

Oh, I've got a dinner for you! Let's start with an appetizer, stuffed mushrooms are delicious with beef. Then for our vegetable either roasted asparagus or roasted Brussels sprouts. Serve that with a perfectly seared steak and buttery soft homemade rolls. Sounds good right?

Sounds amazing! What about a potato or starch?

The roasted potatoes would be perfect and for dessert? How about a strawberry chocolate tart? 

That's beautiful. This looks like a lot of work, do you think it's too hard? 

No way, with practice and good time management, you can do all of this, it's wonderful rich flavors but not overly complicated to cook. And if your family or sweetie likes things less fancy? Then do that. Serve those amazing chocolate chip cookies that Keegan mentioned earlier this week. The dinner should be about celebrating the relationship of those enjoying it. Don't try to be something you aren't - but don't be afraid to be adventurous either. New flavors are fun to find! 

This is so cool, I can't wait to surprise my family this Sunday. Thanks for the tips, Alexa. Happy Valentine's Day. 

You're welcome, Ember. Bon Apetite!

Bacon Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms 

with Creamy Hot Sauce

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Asparagus with Garlic and Parmesan

Parmesan Herb Knots

Pan Seared Steak

No-Bake Strawberry Chocolate Torte

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you want to add a finishing touch, try one of these super tasty and refreshing drinks. 

Mock Champagne and Raspberries

Mint Limeade Fizz

 Want more dinner ideas? Check out all the yummy options on the Romantic Meals Pinboard.

Follow April's board Romantic Meals on Pinterest.

Don't forget to enter the Valentine's Day Super Romance Giveaway for a chance to win 1 of 3 prize bundles! Be sure to share this with all your friends and loved ones too, who knows it just might make your day!

To enter, simply fill out the entry form below and complete at least one option to be entered. Complete additional options for extra entries. Good Luck!

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Connect with Alexa and her girlfriends on their Pinterest pages! Follow April's board Dysfunction Junction: Kianna Ravencamp on Pinterest.
Follow April's board Dysfunction Junction: Alexa Fehr on Pinterest.
Follow April's board Dysfunction Junction: Hope Campbell on Pinterest.
Follow April's board Dysfunction Junction: Carissa Fuller on Pinterest.
Follow April's board Independence, MO - Hometown Lowdown on Pinterest.

Looking for more romance and excitement? 

Be sure to visit Susanne Matthews at Living the Dream to read more about her Romantic Suspense The Harvester Series. A sensual romantic suspense series that will take you "From the streets of Boston to the wilds of Alaska..." 

Love beyond this world? For something out of the ordinary, try A.B. Funkhauser's Award Winning post mortem mortuary romance complete with happy ending! HEUER LOST AND FOUND 

Visit Author Mary Ann Cortez at her blog The Write Place and enter to WIN an autographed copy of First Love anthology and a bookmark with heart charm. 

That magic moment for a teen. The realization that the person you’ve liked is a little more than a friend. Chance meetings. Old friendships. Even a social media post. These can all lead to that first love. Solstice Publishing is proud to present First Love, a Summer Solstive Valentine's Day Anthology.

Yummy!

Sorry to post Monday's late...

Song Stuck on the Brain: Levon by Elton John. He's coming to town for a concert at the new Sprint venue and the radio has been playing the heck out of this song. It's okay. Not one of my favorites. I'd rather here Candle in the Wind, Daniel, Benny and the Jets, or Goodbye Yellow Brick Road... just to name a few.

A friend emailed me this recipe and it looked so yummy and fun, I thought I'd share it. It's for Root Beer Float cupcakes. I can hear Angel in the background making gagging noises. She hates root Beer. I love it. One of the few things we disagree on. I got her really good a few months ago, and it wasn't even intentional.

We take lunch together every day and I happened to be driving. We went to some fast food place. We usually don't drink a lot of pop, but occasionally we'll get a combo that comes with a drink (and you can't sub water... which is ridiculous, but that's another post.) and if I do order pop, it's usually Dr. Pepper. That's what Angel prefers too. Anyway, on this particular occasion I ordered Root Beer.

We get our food, drive back to the Bat Cave and park in the lot to eat our lunch. Angel, who didn't order a drink this time, grabs for my pop. I don't think anything about it, I don't care if she drinks some. She takes a good sip and then gags.

"Blech!!!" she looks like she just drank a liver and onion milk shake.

"What's the matter?" I'm clueless.

"It's Root Beer!"

"Yeah. So?" Still clueless.

"I hate Root Beer!" She's still making faces and little gaggy noises.

I start laughing. Hysterically. "Well then why did you drink it?"

"I thought you ordered Dr. Pepper."

"You were sitting six inches away from me when I ordered it." Still laughing. Now getting teary.

"I wasn't paying attention. And you shouldn't laugh so hard. I almost spit it back into the cup on reflex."

Ugh! Not laughing now. "Thank you for not backwashing into my drink. Yuck!"

Now she asks before she takes a sip. Maybe it was a good lesson after all.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes from YumSugar.com


Cake Ingredients

1 cup root beer schnapps
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned style root beer (like A&W or Dads)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Root Beer Glaze

4 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup root beer
3 Tbs. root beer schnapps*
3 Tbs. vegetable oil

*for a more kid friendly version, replace schnapps with more root beer

You will also need some extra root beer schnapps (1 Tbs. per cupcake)
Or for the kiddies use root beer (again 1 Tbs. per cupcake)
You will also need some basic Vanilla buttercream ( there are many recipes online to try J)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a bowl, mix together root beer schnapps, root beer, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, mix until smooth
5. Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
6. Mix with hand mixer on low, while slowly pouring in root beer mixture.
7. Mix until smooth and lump free.
8. Pour into lined cupcake pan. (Use foil cupcake liners to avoid "leakage" later.) Fill nearly to the top, you may think its over-filled, but it puffs up perfectly this way. Don't be tempted to use more than 24 cupcake cups... trust me.
9. Bake for 15- 20 minutes, until golden brown and cake springs back when touched.
10. While cupcakes are baking, prepare your butter cream and root beer glaze. For glaze, put all ingredients into a bowl and mix with a wisk until smooth and lump free.
11. To assemble, start by letting cupcakes cool, still in the pan.
12. While still slightly warm, pour 1 Tbs. of root beer schnapps over each cupcake. Pour on slowly to allow schnapps ( or regular root beer for the kiddies) to soak in.
13. Once the schnapps has soaked in and let sit for a few minutes, pour a couple tablespoons of glaze over each cupcake.
14. When the glaze sets up a bit and isn't too runny, put a "scoop" of buttercream atop each. For an added touch, you can even place a root beer barrel candy on each one.

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

Enjoy,

A.