Penny For My Thoughts Book Blog reviewed TAKE!

PFMTBB gave TAKE 5 stars!

When I read romantic suspense...

Just Romantic Suspense is hosting TAKE this weekend!

Just Romantic Suspense: When I read romantic suspense...:



With: Silvia Ami

 Giveaway Alert!

When I read romantic suspense, I look for something different, something that would make the story...

"Maple Syrup" tasting

My family never gets tired of pancakes. 

Especially on Saturday's breakfast we sit around the table and dip the fluffy, golden discs in a sea of Maple Syrup.

Italy isn't a Maple Syrup's producer or a massive consumer. Honestly, it isn't so easy to find a good one (A quality).

Today we got lucky because we had two different bottles: the one I usually buy at the grocery shop and one my little bro brought back from the States for us...

How was the tasting?

Positive!

My  Bluberry Pancakes tasted the same with the imported and the original Maple Syrup! And, next time I'll ask my little bro to bring back something different in his luggage ;)

My Debut Novel

I wrote a book!!!
See? That's me!

Amazon.it link Take (English Edition) 

The secret is not a secret anymore: I'm a first-time Indie author! I've a book on Amazon! 

I'm scared to death!!!

So, pretty please  

and leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads ;-)

Kids and Meatballs. A perfect match ;-)

This happened in my kitchen a few minutes ago:

#TheNakedBiker asked, "Wadda doin'?" (What are you doing?)

"Meatballs," I replied, arranging ingredients on my countertop. 

Noise of footsteps approaching the kitchen. "Which kind?" #TheSweetTalker asked suspiciously.

"Mini Meatballs in Tomato Sauce," I whispered.

"YEAH!" they yelled, jumping up and down like I'd just offered them an ice-cream.

Yup. I've two very carnivorous kids. Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor they call themselves when I try to offer them a bowl of Vegetable soup without a treat on the side (Focaccia, Bruschetta,...).

By the way, today I'm going to give you my super-secret recipe for Mini Meatballs from scratch. Enjoy! ;-)

First of all Meatballs:

400  gr 1st quality ground beef

1 Italian sausage (ca. 100gr)

1 large egg

100 gr Parmesan

100 gr Bread crumbs 

1/4 cup Milk or less

Spices: Dried Onion, or garlic, and/or parsley (If you like it), and/or chili pepper (If you like it spicy)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

Olive oil

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand (Use your bare hands!). Roll meatballs to about the size of a chestnut ball, the smaller are the meatballs the better they will taste. Fry the raw meatballs in a large pan wit four tablespoon of olive oil until they are golden brown.

Tomato Sauce:

700 gr Ripe Organic Tomatoes

1/4 Onion

Basil

Celery

Salt

Slice the onion and gently cook it for three minutes in a large pot. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the onion, with basil and celery (I used two small pieces that I removed once the sauce was ready). 

Cook for half an hour then use an handblender to obtain a smooth sauce.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and let all simmer for a hour.

You can eat the Mini-Meatballs with bread or you can use the sauce to dress up your Spaghetti your choice!

TANDOORI CHICKEN BURGER

I was looking for a low-fat, easy and tasty recipe and eventually stumbled over this post BakedBree: tandoori-chicken-burgers. My older boy appreciate spicy Indian food so I decided to give it a try, modifying something here and there.

BURGER
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken breast
2 teaspoon Tandoori Spices Mix (I bought it in an Indian shop)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon water

TZATZIKI SAUCE (Greek cucumber yogurt dip)
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup finely-chopped cucumber (It's best to remove the seeds of the cucumber so the sauce doesn't get too watery.)
1 finely-chopped garlic clove
Salt
I teaspoon Fresh dill (If you like)

EASY-FAST NAAN
200 gr All purpose flour
100 gr yogurt
60 gr water
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

HOW TO...

Put the chicken and all of the spices in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Prepare the Naan bread mixing the ingredients in a bowl and letting the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. Preheat a large pan to medium. Form four balls and then roll the dough balls out quite thinly, ideally in a round shape. Place a naan into the hot pan and cover with lid. Grill each side for just 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned. Fold the naan in the middle and cover it with a tablecloth to keep it warm.

Mix the Tzatziki yogurt sauce in a small bowl.  Set aside. 

Form into four patties. Cook the Tandoori burgers on a preheated grill over medium-medium high grill.  About 5 minutes per side.

Place the burger in the middle of a naan, top it with a tablespoon of Tzatziki sauce and a slice of fresh tomato.

Enjoy it!

I'm still around...

... have a lemon bar in the meantime and follow my blog with Bloglovin :)

Author Unknown

So right!  I've to share :D

January location for the Book Club Meeting

This month I would like to meet the ladies in Andalucia (Spain) surrendered by olives and orange trees.

 I would like to spend time drinking fiti-fiti (Fifty-fifty a mix of 50% Pedro Ximénez - sweet wine and 50% vino fino - dry) ...

...and nibbing tapas.

What do you think? Does it suits January book?

No yolks Chocolate cake

I had lots of egg-whites in my fridge and I didn't know how to use them. Nobody at home likes egg-whites omelet or soufflé, and preparing meringue for an army didn't look appealing at that time. 

I didn't want to throw them away, too. That's why I searched the web for a recipe without yolks and found this easy chocolate cake. Sooooo light and soft... It's chocolicious!

Ingredients:

100gr Dark Chocolate (60% or more)
100gr Refined Sugar
80gr Unsalted Butter
50gr Flour
30gr Cornflour
5 Egg-whiites
10gr Baking Powder 
Pinch Salt
Powdered Sugar or Cocoa

Melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter and sprinkle with flour the bottom of a 22cm round cake pan.

With the electric mixer beat the egg-whites on high speed until they are firm and fluffy, slowly adding the sugar. Meanwhile, in a bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
Add carefully the melted chocolate and butter mix to the whites. Then gently fold the cream with the dry mix.
Put the batter in the buttered pan and gently level the surface. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Extract the cake and leave it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powered sugar or cocoa.

And the giveaway winners are...

Congratulations ladies!

Greeting the new year with new friends!

Happy 2014 folks! 

I decided to start the new year making presents :) 

I'll give away three of the best books I read during the 2013 because I loved them so much I can't keep them only for me ;)

So, here we go. Enter the giveaway and cross your fingers!

The giveaway is open internationally and to avoid problems of any sort the prizes are three ebooks purchased at Amazon.com (The giveaway isn't sponsored). It will start on January 6th at 12am (Rome Time Zone) and will end on January the 27th at 12am (Rome time Zone).

Prizes:

THREE WEEKS FOR THREE BOOKS! 

GOOD LUCK!

And tell your friends about the giveaway!!!

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