Live to Love on the Edge Blog

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Happy National Cuban Sandwich Day!

Happy National Cuban Sandwich Day! Our traditional Christmas Eve meal is roast pork, but we also cook a baked ham because you need both to make a Cuban Sandwich. We also use the ham to make ham croquettes, a family favorite that we make several times a year. Cuban sandwiches are very easy to make, and today I’m sharing a recipe for how to make a “Cubano”. Repeat the recipe as many times as necessary for you and your family or guests. You’ll definitely find mention of Cubanos in many of my books, like WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER, SOUTH BEACH LOVE, all the South Beach Security series, and THE FAMILY SHE NEVER MET. Grab your copies of these books at https://amzn.to/4zynJwe.

Ingredients

3-4 thick slices roast pork
3-4 slices baked ham
2-3 slices Swiss cheese
yellow mustard
thin-sliced dill pickles
6-8″ long piece Cuban bread (or Italian bread/hero roll)

Directions

Slice open the bread and layer it with the roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles. Spread a thin layer of yellow mustard on the top slice of the bread. Personally, I never ate mine with pickles and mustard since I’m not a pickle fan. Lately, I have been eating my Cubanos with mustard. It does add some pep to the taste!

Close the sandwich and butter the outside of the bread. If you have a panini grill or other kind of sandwich grill, use that to flatten and toast the sandwich. You should let it cook for at least 10 minutes or so to let the meats and cheese heat up.

If you don’t have a panini grill, lay the sandwiches on a greased baking sheet. Cover the sandwiches with aluminum foil and place a heavy cast iron pan on top. Press down and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or so.

Remove from the grill, slice diagonally, which is the custom, and serve with some potato chips.

P.S. – Did you know that both Miami and Tampa lay claim to the invention of Cuban bread? You can click here to read more about the origins of Cuban bread in Tampa.

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VIP Newsletter Giveaway Time!

Would you love to win an autographed copy of the Marauders Baseball romance, a gift card, and swag? If you would, sign up for my newsletter, open it, and follow the instructions to enter! The newsletter will be going out shortly, so don’t delay. Even better, I have a monthly giveaway for my VIP Newsletter subscribers. Can it get even better? Yep, as my way of saying thanks for subscribing, you can download a free e-book. Sign up today at https://bit.ly/CaridadsNewsletter.

VIP newsletter giveaway

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Delicious Zucchini Flower Fritters

I’m adventurous in the kitchen (no, not that way) and will try making many different recipes. But when my brother-in-law gifted me some amazing zucchini flowers, I was a little flummoxed. How do I make these? My sister-in-law said she had stuffed them with mozzarella instead of ricotta, and that made sense. I didn’t want to deal with piping bags. You can also chop the flowers up, add chopped zucchini, and make pancake-like fritters. But I decided to go full bore and do them stuffed and fried. Here’s a little video on how I made them and the recipe! P.S. Chef Carol from the At the Shore novels would definitely pipe ricotta into these while he’s trying to win Emma’s heart! But why not grab the first book in the series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, for only 99 cents at https://amzn.to/4o0DtCW.

Zucchini Flower Fritter Recipe

Ingredients

8-10 male zucchini flowers (stamens removed)
Mozzarella cut into 1-2″ rods

For the tempura Batter

1 egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ice-cold club soda/seltzer
2 tbsp corn starch

Directions

Heat oil. Your choice of oil, but I use corn oil with some olive oil. The oil should be glistening and you can test it by dropping a little of the batter into it to make sure it’s hot enough. If you have a thermometer, it should be at 350. If the oil is not hot enough, the fritters may turn out greasy.

Carefully open the zucchini flower and stuff mozzarella into the center. Close the flower petals around the cheese. Set aside.

Beat the egg and add the flower and corn starch. Stir to mix and then add the club soda until it is relatively smooth. Do not over beat it because you don’t want to lose the club soda bubbles.

Dip the stuffed flowers into the batter and then gently place in the hot oil. Fry until golden on one side and then turn and fry the other side until golden. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.

Serve warm for the best flavor! You can make a dipping sauce if you want, but honestly, delicious just on their own!

Here’s what the final product looks like!

Zucchini flower fritters

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Happy Bacon Lovers Day!

Happy Bacon Lovers Day! I love bacon! Do you? I have a standing Sunday breakfast date with a lovely friend and you can bet that there will always be bacon on the plate when we eat. I also love bacon on burgers and keep some in the freezer to use when I make beans or hearty soups. The bacon really adds smokey flavor and unctuousness to those dishes. What about you? Do you love bacon? Do you have a favorite food or recipe that uses bacon? Share! P.S. I have to ask myself if there’s any book where bacon plays a role. Sadly, no. But you’d find lots of other tasty food in NEVER A BRIDE which features Chef Carlo, who is trying to woo wedding planner Emma, a women who doesn’t believe in HEAs. Grab your copy today at https://amzn.to/4xRgdee.

bacon lovers day

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Team Standalone or Series?

Personally, I love both writing and reading a good series! I love creating the world and staying with the characters for a while. I love seeing characters get a HEA and then watching what happens with them, like in the At the Shore series or the South Beach/Crooked Pass Security series. But sometimes an idea comes along that’s only good for one story. That’s what happened with THE FIFTH KINGDOM, my romantic suspense about a CIA agent and an agent relic that might have secret powers. What about you? Are you Team Standalone or Series? Download any of these books at https://amzn.to/4wCxxm6.

team standalone or series

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Exclusive Teaser from K-9 TRACKER

Good morning! On this Teaser Tuesday, I’ve got a short excerpt for you from K-9 TRACKER, the first book in the Crooked Pass Security K- 9 Division spinoff. I love this story about Nicky Garcia, a young woman trying to solve the disappearance of her father twenty years earlier. Her father was a soldier at Fort Dix in my home state of NJ, and when he was listed as a deserter, Nicky and her family lost all benefits. Now that her mother has MS and needs treatment, Nicky needs to prove her father didn’t desert in order to restore her family’s military benefits. That’s when Nicky reaches out to Crooked Pass to solve her father’s cold case. In this scene, Nicky and Cisco, the hero and K-9 agent, have just gone through her father’s belongings to look for clues about his disappearance. You can pre-order your copy today at https://amzn.to/4x5ILRb.

Excerpt

He peeked at his watch and realized it was nearly midnight. They’d lost track of time while reviewing the materials.

“We should call it a night as well,” he said, as he stood and started gathering everything to put it away.

Nicky helped, and in no time, the boxes were stacked in a corner, and the assault pack had been stored in its plastic bag again. But Nicky grabbed that bag and said, “I’ll take this to my room. I’m not sure my mom would want to see it.”

“I understand. I’m sure it’s still not easy for her.” He’d lost many a friend during his service, and their losses still weighed on him at times.

Nicky’s face was expressive, and he did not doubt she recognized his losses as well.

She laid a hand on a spot over his heart. “It’s easier if you have someone to help carry the burden.”

Although she said the words, she’d been carrying the weight of her father’s disappearance for years. “Says the pot to the kettle. You’re not alone in this anymore, either. I’m here for you.”

She smiled, rose on tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his lips, lingering there to whisper, “I know.”

He should have let her go up the stairs then, but he couldn’t.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her close.

She dropped the plastic bag, which landed with a crinkly thump, and met his lips, opening her mouth to him. Kissing him over and over until they were both trembling and breathless.

He slipped an arm beneath her buttocks and drew her center to his hardness as he backed her against the wall.

teaser tuesday

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