Caridad Pineiro® Romance Author
NY Times & USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Caridad Pineiro shares behind the scenes and other info for the At the Shore Contemporary Romance series set on the Jersey Shore and in New York City
But it could get worse! I took a spill nearly a month ago on some wet subway grates and my butt and knee are still hurting! Today was almost another spill on the subway, but luckily I righted myself. Even a little snow can make things rough, but at least it’s not like the 2011 snowstorm we had right around New Year’s. This photo was taken on the sand in Bradley Beach. We easily had over three feet of snow with even higher drifts.
I think I mentioned that you’ll get to see more of Carlo, Emma’s caterer and Prince Charming, in What Happens in Summer. A Sea Kiss Christmas (tentative title) is Emma and Carlo’s story.
So you may be wondering, why make Carlo a caterer? Well, I love to cook and eat and food is sensual. I can picture some sexiness with Emma as Carlo feeds her something fabulous.
Today I’m sharing with you a recipe I made for Thanksgiving and which was a big hit! It’s also very versatile as you can change up the ingredients for lots of fun variations.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Chop stems into small pieces. Cook diced mushroom stems in olive oil at high heat until almost golden. Add carrots, celery, onions and cook until onions are translucent. Remove skins from Italian sausage and add to onion/mushroom mix. Break up the sausage until it is in very small pieces. Drain off grease and cooking juices and cool.
In large bowl, mix cooked rice, 1 cup gruyere, 1/4 cup parmesan, ricotta, onion/mushroom/sausage until well-blended.
Grease 9×13 pan. Lay mushroom tops in pan. With a spoon, place about 1/4 cup of mixture on each mushroom. Make a nice little mound with the mix. When you are finished filling all the mushrooms, drizzle a little olive oil over each one, then some parmesan and finally the gruyere.
Cook for about 30 minutes and remove pan and add water/red wine to the bottom of the pan to deglaze juices that are already there. Cook for another 15-20 minutes. If gruyere on top is not yet brown, broil for about 2 minutes.
Remove mushrooms to serving dish. Take water/red wine/mushroom drippings from pan and place in a small saucepan. Reduce by half and then stop mushrooms with this sauce. If you want to make it decadent, finish the sauce with a tablespoon of butter.
Variations
I’m hard at work on #3 in the At the Shore Series and it’s taken a turn to becoming a Christmas story so I’ve tentatively titled it “A Sea Kiss Christmas.”
This story picks up where #2 – What Happens in Summer – ends, but I don’t want to give you any spoilers for that one! Actually, I will share that this story is about wedding planner Emma and her sexy caterer Carlo.
Carlo has always been a gentleman and Emma’s go-to guy, but somehow I think I’m going to have to peel some layers off Carlo to get him and Emma together. Maybe even a little bad boy side we hadn’t seen before, like this sexy Santa. What do you think?
If you haven’t checked out the first book in the series, ONE SUMMER NIGHT, you can read three chapters for free at Radish or pick up the e-book for only 99 cents at various retailers.
One of my favorite things about ONE SUMMER NIGHT was the interaction between Owen and his younger brother Jonathan. I loved the dynamic and I also loved bad boy surfer dude Jonathan because I knew he had a very special story that needed to be told. Jon’s story is in WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER which has turned out to be one of my favorite books ever! But back to Jonathan . . . He projects this “I don’t care” kind of persona and yet he cares deeply about so much. His brother for starters. By-the-book Connie who has never forgotten after their summer love affair. Emma, his female best friend of sorts. Dudley, his little rescue dog. The mother who went missing over twenty years earlier and still plays such an important part in Jon’s life. I loved doing Jonathan’s story and I hope you’ll check it out! WHAT HAPPENS IN SUMMER releases in June 2018, but is available for pre-order now at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/2y6hi4h
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/2y92UIQ
B&N: Coming soon!
GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2hKg3BW
iBooks: http://apple.co/2hKgP1J
Kobo: Coming Soon!
Anyway, here is how I pictured Jonathan (or at least his lean surfer body)!
My publisher has dropped the price of ONE SUMMER NIGHT to .99 cents for a limited time! If you haven’t already picked up your e-book, please check out ONE SUMMER NIGHT at the following retailers:
Today’s teaser is a sexy bit from ONE SUMMER NIGHT. In this scene Maggie and Owen have just had breakfast after Maggie cancelled on Owen for their first weekend alone at the Shore. As the talk gets personal, Maggie realizes just how much Owen understands her and cares for her and soon the attraction pulling them together just becomes too much to resist.
Warning – this teaser is for mature adults!
As she pressed into him, she dug her fingers into his hair and cradled his head in her hands. Opened her mouth to invite him to enter. Taste. Savor.
God, but she was so sweet and responsive.
When he danced his tongue across perfect white teeth, she playfully chased it and then lightly bit his lower lip, jerking a groan from him.
He was hard, so hard, that he had to bring a stop to this or there would be no turning back. And as soon as he thought that, she shifted away slightly and met his gaze.
“I want you, Owen. I want this,†she said, laying her hand on his chest directly over his beating heart.
“I want it too, Maggie.†He’d wanted this since they were eighteen and he’d kissed her on that moonlit beach. Maybe even since they were children, playing on the beach together happily. Being with her back then had always seemed to make any day special.
Maggie smiled and pointed an index finger heavenward. “My bedroom is two flights up.â€
“Good thing I work out,†he teased, bent, and scooped her up in his arms.
Maggie grabbed hold of his shoulders and laughed out a halfhearted protest. “You don’t have to carry me.â€
Owen grinned. “I know what you spent all your summers reading in the gazebo,†he said as he hurried to the stairs and began the climb to her bedroom. Without any strain or hitch in his breath, he said, “I know what the heroes in those books do.â€
She chuckled, pulled herself close to nip his earlobe, and whispered, “Bet you can’t guess what the heroines do.â€
“Sweet Lord, I can’t wait to find out,†he said and quickened his pace up the stairs.
He entered her room and, with a muttered “Wow,†marched straight to her antique four-poster bed, with its artfully draped canopy of gossamer-light fabric.
Her body skimmed along his as he released her, and she slowly sank to her feet. As soon as she touched the ground, he rested his hands just above where the jeans ended, his palms slightly rough against that sensitive skin and hot. So, so hot.
With a gentle sweep upward, he bracketed her body beneath her breasts and urged her close, her hips grazing against his erection, trapped beneath the khaki he wore. The tips of her breasts, tight and hard with her need, just brushed the starched cotton of his shirt.
She inched her hands up to the first button of that shirt and half glanced at him as she deliberately, leisurely, slipped each button free until his shirt hung open.
“You’re killing me, Mags.†He didn’t need to say what he wanted, because it was obvious she wanted it too.
***
Maggie laid her hands on his chest, cupping his nicely defined pecs, brushing her thumbs across the hard paps as he eased his hands upward and mimicked her actions, cradling her breasts. Teasing the hard tips between his thumb and forefinger, each little tug blasting straight to her center, creating a sympathetic twist of need.
He grabbed the hem of her crop top and drew it up and over her head. Stopped to gaze at her in the sexy lingerie she was glad she’d worn.
He idly traced the swell of her breasts with the tips of his fingers and said, “You’re so beautiful, Maggie.â€
She felt more than beautiful with him gazing at her like that. She felt…cherished.
Reaching behind, she undid the bra and slipped it off, baring herself to him, delighting in the swift inhale of his breath and the jump of his arousal against her belly.
He cradled her breasts again, his touch slow and unhurried. Patient as he learned just what she liked. A little tweak of her nipple followed by his sweet kiss. The long pull into his mouth and a crazy swirl of his tongue that made her knees buckle.
She grabbed hold of his shoulders, encountering the soft cotton, but she wanted to feel him. Only him.
She swept away his shirt, and he broke away from her only long enough to let it drop to the floor and then met her lips in a kiss.
Unhurried. Searching. Over and over, their mouths met as he hauled her close, her breasts crushed against the hard wall of his chest.
She opened her mouth and accepted the slide of his tongue. Danced hers along his until they were both breathing hard and there was no holding back.
Faster than a New York minute, they finished undressing, shoes, socks, khaki, and denim flying free until she stood before him in just the tiny bikini bottoms.
His touch was restrained, almost reverent, as he cradled her breast and then tenderly skimmed his hand down her body to the lacy edge of the panty. He dragged the back of his hand back and forth across the flatness of her belly, just above the low waistband. Then he dipped his hand lower, eased the fabric down her legs, and helped her step out of them.
FYI – My publisher has dropped the price of ONE SUMMER NIGHT to .99 cents for a limited time! If you haven’t already picked up your e-book, you can do so at the following retailers:
I’ve always been a beach girl. Growing up on Long Island, a lot of my summer was spent on Jones Beach and now that I’m a Jersey Girl, I spend as much time as I can down the Jersey Shore. When the idea came to me for the At the Shore series, there was no doubt that there would be a wedding on the beach for one or more of my Jersey Girls. Years ago, hubby and I attended a fabulous wedding in California and as I started to write the wedding scenes for ONE SUMMER NIGHT, I remembered that West Coast wedding and thought about how a New Jersey version might look. Here’s a photo from the California wedding. Gorgeous, isn’t it?
FYI – My publisher has dropped the price of ONE SUMMER NIGHT to .99 cents for a limited time! If you haven’t already picked up your e-book, you can do so at the following retailers: