Appetizer – Seafood Dip or Spread

Story behind the recipe – This is one of my family’s easy-to-make party favorites. If it’s
not on the party buffet, friends and family demand it. Although I always use shrimp,
substitute your family’s own favorite seafood. Great with crabmeat or clams. Serve on
crackers as a spread or with veggies as a dip. In INTO THE LYON’S DEN, my debut novel
with Champagne, this is the icing Marie uses for the seafood “cake.”

What you’ll need – For 1 ½ cups of dip/spread, 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, 1 Cup
shrimp, (or seafood of choice) shelled then cooked (reserve water), ¼ salt, 1 ½ tsp
Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tbl. lemon juice, 2 Tbl. of reserved water (for consistency), hot
sauce and garlic powder to taste.

Steps to the process
- Shell, cook, and drain shrimp, reserving water
- Finely chop shrimp
- Place softened cream cheese and 2 Tbl. reserved water into bowl and beat until smooth
- Stir in shrimp or choice of seafood
- Add lemon juice and Worcestershire Sauce
- Add water to desired consistency
- Season to taste with hot sauce and garlic powder
- Serve with crackers and/or veggies

Comments – Consider making a double recipe. Serve leftovers heated over rice or pasta
for a quick and delicious main dish.

Blurb from INTO THE LYON’S DEN - Champagne Books
Wealthy recluse Anthony Lyons offers a mint to lure Marie Maxwell, Atlanta's most
sought-after event planner, to coordinate a wedding and reception for a very special
couple on his isolated estate in the mountains of North Carolina.
Despite her sophisticated veneer, Marie’s a tough street-smart orphan without a past.
Adopted by the owners of the elegant Hotel Maxwell, she’s been raised in the business.
Known for her uncanny ability to make things go right, Marie accepts the challenge of
planning a wedding for 200 guests in 10 days.
Marie soon discovers that an absent bride and groom is the least of her problems. Her
arrogant and exasperating employer displays far too much interest in her and her
personal life, especially her lost years. Confronted with a mysterious stalker, two thwarted
murder attempts, and dark shadows from her shrouded past, she finds an ally in an
amorous feline of some unknown species. But who’s got it in for her? And what’s with
Anthony and all the cats?

Appetizer – Bruschetta

 

Story behind the recipe – Before I retired, we always had friends from work come for
dinner. Once my wife wanted to make something that would leave them wanting more so
she made up her own recipe for Bruschetta. Now, I’m a meat and potatoes guy and not
generally into appetizers with fancy names, but this one makes me go back for more. I
used this appetizer in an upcoming release RIGHTEOUS FURY where the hero’s mother
runs a small restaurant, Misty’s, on the Outer Banks, NC. She served this recipe to her son
and the heroine on there first date. What’s this got to do with the cover above? Nothing,
but since the other novel wouldn’t be out for a year I substituted WHISPERS OF
INNOCENCE. Like a recent five star review noted, it’ll give ya chills and thrills at the same
time.

What you’ll need
- A 10 oz bag of baby spinach, 3 lbs tomatoes cut in wedges, 4 oz crumbled feta
cheese.
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled & deveined, 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- ¼ tsp dried oregano, pinch salt, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf Italian bread sliced, 1 whole clove garlic peeled

Steps to the process
- Preheat oven to 350. Dump spinach in bottom of 10 inch pie plate
- Place shrimp & tomato wedges alternately around outside edge of pie plate atop
spinach leaves
- Continue placing shrimp and tomatoes around plate working toward center.
- Sprinkle garlic and feta cheese over shrimp & tomatoes. Do the same with oregano
& salt.
- Drizzle extra virgin oil over feta cheese layer. Place dish in preheated oven.
- Bake 30-35 minutes till hot and bubbly.
- Place Italian bread slices on sheet under broiler until edges are golden brown
- Rub hot bread slices with peeled whole garlic glove.
- Serve bread slices with shrimp Bruschetta. Pile Bruschetta on top bread slices.

Comments – Don’t forget to use bread to mop up the juices. It’s delicious!

Blurb from WHISPERS OF INNOCENCE - Border violence; corpses abandoned in the
desert. A dangerous religious cult in an isolated community. Sounds like headlines ripped
straight from today’s newspaper but it’s the reality of this new romantic suspense. Enoch
Smith, an intelligent, yet psychotic cult leader, uses more than his flock to execute God’s
wrath on a sinful nation and evil government. Drake Elliot, a former US Marshal
underestimates the power of the cartel that injures his son and maims himself. Drake
seeks revenge and returns to Arizona to find those responsible for this tragedy. Micki
Lewis, an investigative journalist in Tucson, receives a tip regarding the origins of an
unknown drug and returns to Alta Vista, home of Enoch’s Children of God community.
Drake and Micki join forces to uncover the secrets behind the cult and its success helping
children like Drake’s son recover normalcy. Their discovery provides answers to the
shadows that haunt their dreams and the hidden connection into their past.

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