Evernight's Naughty Nibbles Read online

  © Dip the slices first in the eggs (or egg whites) then in the flour or breadcrumb to coat them.

  © Put enough olive oil in the frying pan to cover the slices, but don’t stack the slices on top of each other. Fry one layer at a time. This is a process, and will be the messiest part. DON’T turn your back on heated olive oil. It heats up very quickly and has a low flash point. As soon as it starts to bubble, turn down the heat. The idea is to simply flash fry each slice until it’s golden. Then you place them on paper towels to soak up the oil. You’ll have to do this a few times until the oil is soaked up.

  © Line the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of fried eggplant slices, then a thin layer of sauce, then a thin layer of shredded cheese, then sprinkle the Romano on top. Use the spices to your particular tastes.

  © Repeat this until the dish is filled. You should get 3 to 4 layers. Cover the top with any remaining cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven.

  Serving suggestion:

  Pair with red wine, salad, and candlelight for a romantic dinner.

  CAROLYN ROSEWOOD

  Carolyn Rosewood loves to make up stories about badass alpha heroes and the women who love them and keep them guessing. She’s been reading romances for over thirty years and is never without a paperback or her Kindle. Her Evernight titles are The Last Soul, Hunted, Playing For Keeps, and The Rebellious Princess Chooses Two Lovers. She also has short stories in four anthologies, titled Ghost Of A Chance, A Very Naughty Christmas, Educating Sean and Night Games. You can find her at http://www.carolynrosewood.com.

  Cranberry Sauce with Port from Flame Arden

  What you need:

  © 1 bag (12 ounces) of fresh cranberries

  © 1 cup Fine Ruby Port

  © ¾ cup sugar

  © ½ tsp ground cinnamon

  © ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

  © 1/8 tsp ground cloves

  How to put it together:

  © Heat all ingredients to boiling over high heat in a 2 quart saucepan, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered until most cranberries pop, about 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  © Hint: Less sugar makes a tart sauce. This is delicious all year with baked chicken.

  © Hint: Whole Foods Market says you can make this up to 4 days ahead, but I've kept it in the refrigerator for 6 months.

  Serving suggestion:

  Spoon sauce into serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 3 hours. The sauce will thick as it chills. Store in an airtight container.

  FLAME ARDEN

  Flame Arden, author of Christmas Eve, a December 14th release from Evernight Publishing, sounds like a well-bred Southern lady. Nothing could be further from the truth. She claims to write sex scenes with squirm factor. You be the judge as she opens the boudoir door to one-man, one-woman erotic relationships and gives you a glimpse inside. A happy and lasting marriage has prepared Flame to write sizzling love scenes, and she doesn't disappoint.

  You will find Flame hanging out at www.flamearden.wordpress.com.

  Jazzed Up Stuffing from Vanessa Devereaux

  What you need:

  © 1 16 ounce package of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing mix

  © 1 large onion, chopped

  © 2 medium sized carrots, finely diced

  © 1 8 ounce package of mushrooms, sliced

  © 2 stalks of celery, finely diced

  © 2 tblsps oil

  © Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  How to put it altogether:

  © Grease a large baking pan.

  © Make stuffing according to directions.

  © Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.

  © Add onion and cook until transparent.

  © Add carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often and until the vegetables are tender.

  © Add the vegetable mixture to the stuffing and mix well.

  © Spoon into the baking pan and cook for about 20 minutes until it’s heated through.

  Serving suggestion:

  If there’s any leftover, it makes a great stuffing for pork chops. Just make a slice in each chop, fill with some stuffing mixture and cook.

  VANESSA DEVEREUX

  Vanessa Devereaux writes erotica and erotic romances. Her previous titles include How I Met My Lover, Last First Kiss, Worth Waiting For, The Perfect Pairing Series, Confession of Love, Baby It’s Cold Outside and is a featured writer in three anthologies, Keyboards and Kink, Just Vamps and Vanilla Christmas.

  When she’s not writing, she’s teaching writing workshops, gardening, or cooking. You can find out more about her and her work at www.vanessadevereaux.com.

  Giselle's Savoury Cheese and Black Pepper Pancakes

  What you need:

  Dry~

  © 1 cup flour

  © 2 tsp baking powder

  © 1 tsp salt

  © fresh cracked pepper to taste (I use A LOT because I love pepper)

  Wet~

  © 1 cup milk

  © 1 egg

  © 2 tbsp oil (I use olive oil) + more oil for frying (again, I use olive)

  © 1 cup grated cheese (or to taste. I use more than a cup, and a combination of old cheddar and Havarti, but you use what you want.)

  How to put it all together:

  © Combine dry ingredients and add wet.

  © Mix until your batter isn't lumpy.

  © Fold in your cheese(s).

  © Panfry in oil at medium or low-med heat, turning once.

  © Note: If you choose to fry in olive oil, take care. Olive oil can be fussy and it'll burn at high temperatures. I use it for pancakes and grilled cheese and pretty much everything else because it creates an incomparable crispiness and I love the taste.

  © For the love of God, don't burn anything! (Including yourself).

  © Eat and enjoy.

  Serving suggestion:

  Pancakes make a great dinner idea for those busy evenings leading up to the holidays when you’re overwhelmed by rich foods and exhausted from running around.

  GISELLE RENARDE

  Giselle Renarde is a queer Canadian, avid volunteer, author of numerous electronic and print books, and contributor to over one hundred short story anthologies, including Vanilla-Free Christmas, Lover Unexpected, and Virgins Behaving Badly. Ms Renarde lives across from a park with two bilingual cats who sleep on her head. You can find her on her Donuts and Desires blog www.donutsdesires.blogspot.com.

  Cookout beef and vegetables from Berengaria Brown

  What you need:

  © Pre-cut twelve-inch squares of aluminum foil (two per person)

  © Strips of dried beef

  © Chopped potatoes, carrots, peppers, onions

  © Thin slices of lemon

  © A small can of beans

  © Garlic, salt, and pepper

  © A quarter cup of water per piece of foil

  How to put it all together:

  © Fold the aluminum foil over your fist into pockets.

  © Line the bottom of the pocket with thin slices of lemon to keep the food from burning, as well as adding extra flavor.

  © Add some strips of dried beef, chopped potatoes and carrots cut small, peppers, onions, a small can of beans and a few shakes of garlic, salt and pepper.

  © Top each tube up with maybe a quarter cup of water.

  © Fold the top edges of the pocket closed, and set it directly into the hot coals.

  © Slow roast in their own juices for half an hour.

  Serving Suggestion:

  Wrap yourself and your partner in a thick blanket and snuggle in front of the fire nibbling on your delicious meal. If it’s too cold outdoors, cook on an open fire inside, and lie naked on the blanket instead of wrapped in it.

  BERENGARIA BROWN

  Berengaria is a multi-published author of erotic romance: contemporary, paranormal (magic, ghosts, vampires, fairies, dragons, and werewolves), futuristic,
medieval, and Regency-set historical. She loves to read all different kinds of romance so that is what she writes: one man/one woman; two women; two men; two men/one woman; three men, two women/one man, three men/one woman…. Whatever the characters need for their very hot happily-ever-after, Berengaria makes sure they get it.

  ‘The Before’ from Casey Moss

  What you need:

  © A package of Cocktail Rye Bread (find this in the deli aisle)

  © Regular or Smoked Turkey lunch meat (deli or thin sliced works nice)

  © Russian or Thousand Island dressing (depending upon availability and your preferred taste)

  © Sauerkraut (can or package, 14 ounces or more)

  © Swiss Cheese (pre-made slices are easiest to use and to make into the size of the square)

  How to put it all together:

  © Note – measurements aren’t given because how much of one thing a cook likes on the square will vary per cook as will how many pieces the cook wants to make. I will suggest buying two packages of turkey, two bottles of dressing and two packages of cheese to make sure you have enough for all the little bread slices in the package especially if the whole package is being used. Doing a run for ingredients at the last minute is not fun. Don’t like turkey? Feel free to use corned beef for a more traditional mini reuben.

  © Heat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil. Evenly place bread squares on sheet.

  © Fold a slice or two of turkey to the size of the square and place it on the bread, dollop dressing on top of the meat, fork on some sauerkraut, and cover the pile with a slice of Swiss cheese.

  © Repeat from ‘fold’ to ‘cheese’ for each square.

  Place sheet in the oven and bake the squares until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

  Serving suggestion:

  Good for everyone before the main meal or as a party finger food! Each square is a serving. Serve them warm. Though, if it’s late and you’ve hit the drink recipes in this book and thus drank too much and you have some of these squares left, they’re good as a cold snack. ;)

  CASEY MOSS

  Casey Moss delves into the darker aspects of life in her writing, sometimes basing the stories on reality, sometimes on myth. No matter the path, her stories will take you on a journey from the light-hearted paranormal to dark things unspeakable. What waits around the corner? Come explore… She has a story called AFK in Evernight Publishing’s anthology Keyboards and Kink. Find her at www.caseymossbooks.com.

  Nirrion Bread from Adonis Devereux

  What you need:

  © 1 c. whole oats

  © 2 Tbsp. yeast

  © 2 c. boiling water

  © ¼ c. hot water

  © 5 c. all-purpose flour

  © ½ c. powdered milk

  © 2 ½ tsp. Salt

  © ½ c. honey

  © ¼ c. olive oil

  © Extra oats

  © Butter

  How to put it all together:

  © First combine the 2 c. of boiling water and the 1 c. of oats. Mix to an oatmeal-like consistency.

  © Mix the yeast with the ¼ c. of hot (not boiling!) water.

  © Let the yeast stand and the oatmeal cool, occasionally stirring the oatmeal, for about 20-30 minutes.

  © During that time, mix the flour, powdered milk, and salt together and set aside.

  © When the oatmeal is cool, stir in the yeast mixture and let stand for five minutes.

  © Stir the honey and oil into the oatmeal mixture. Then add the flour mixture. Knead together until it is no longer moist.

  © Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 ½ hours. When dough has risen, knead it down and roll it into two loaves.

  © Put one loaf in each pan and sprinkle with the extra oats. Cover and let rise for another hour.

  © Bake at 180 Celsius (approximately 350 F) for 55 minutes.

  © Remove from oven and spread tops of loaves with extra butter, allowing them to cool in the pans. When cool remove from pans and wrap in plastic wrap. (If cut while warm, the bread tends to crush, but it tastes wonderful.)

  Serving suggestion:

  This is a rich, heavy bread that is so delicious that, when served with cheese and vegetable sticks, it can make an entire meal. It is a holiday staple at the Devereux house, being excellent with gravy, great with butter or jam, and can be used for sandwiches of leftover Christmas ham or turkey. It is an excellent complement to stews, and it makes tasty toast. This bread is an invention of Adonis' own to reflect the eating habits of the city of Nirrion, mentioned in several of their books.

  ADONIS DEVEREUX

  Adonis Devereux is a husband-and-wife writing team who live in Japan with their half-dozen children, writing love stories and being as madly in love as any of their characters. They have published several books with Evernight, including the ARe bestsellers, Chasing Earth and Flame, The Soldier's Lotus, and A Lotus for the Regent.

  Grandma’s Lefse from Ashlynn Monroe

  What you need:

  © 5 c. prepared russet potatoes

  © 1 ½ tsp. salt

  © 5 T. canola oil

  © 2 c. flour

  How to put it all together:

  © Cook about 5 pounds of potatoes; drain well.

  © Put through a ricer.

  © Measure potatoes and then chill in refrigerator.

  © Add salt, oil, and enough flour to roll the dough easily.

  © Roll as thin as possible before baking on a preheated lefse or pancake griddle.

  © Turn to prevent scorching.

  Serving suggestion:

  The secret to great lefse is to get each piece as thin as possible. Each piece will be a cream color with brown spots and slightly chewy when done properly.

  ASHLYNN MONROE

  Ashlynn Monroe has been dreaming up stories all her life. She started to put them on paper at thirteen, but it wasn’t until she was thirty that she decided to share them with others. She’s a busy mom with a full time job, fantastic friends, and a unique sense of humor. She’s just a regular girl who’s in love with the idea of happily-ever-after. She’s honored to be multi-published by some of the best electronic publishers in the industry. Ashlynn survives each day by dreaming up her next tale of romance. She loves her readers and can’t thank them enough for the wonderful support they give her.

  Egg Noodle German Quickie from Penelope Rivers

  What you need:

  © 1 package linguine

  © 6 eggs

  © 1 package sliced deli ham, plain

  © 1 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  © 2 tblsp butter

  © 1 tsp salt

  © 1 tsp pepper

  How to put it all together:

  © Turn stove to medium and boil a large pot of water. Once the water has reached a boil, add one package of linguine and then add ½ tsp salt to prevent sticking. Set timer to eight minutes. After time is up, remove and drain noodles.

  © Chop ham into one centimeter squares.

  © Preheat a skillet to medium heat and melt butter in pan. After the butter has melted, add linguine.

  © Crack the six large eggs onto the noodles. Add sliced deli ham. Use spatula to turn noodles, eggs and sliced ham. It is finished when eggs are no longer runny and are a golden brown. Move mixture into serving bowl.

  © Cover the noodles with cheese then add salt and pepper. Mix together. Serve.

  Serving suggestion:

  This meal is atypically eaten with ketchup.

  PENELOPE RIVERS

  Penelope Rivers is an erotic novelist of M/M romance novels and short stories. A hopeless dreamer, she spends her day thinking about all things fantasy, romantic and not. It is her view that when you start choking on the occasionally dry bread of life, you need something sinfully delicious to chase it down with. Currently, she lives in Utah with an abnormal amount of pets.