Tag: caridad pineiro

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Christmas at the Chrysler Building

The Chrysler Building is my favorite building in New York City. I love the exterior look of it with all the little touches that speak of its original owners. I know it may be tough to see from the ground, but look up anyway for a gander at the metal hubcaps worked into the outlines of cars along the one story. Also check out the gargoyle-looking metal corners which are representations of the hood ornaments of the Chrysler cars of that time.

Inside the building is just as lovely. This morning as I walked in, I decided to share with you the gorgeous Christmas tree in the lobby. They’ve also been having music at lunch hour to get you in the Christmas spirit.

If you look closely in this picture, you can see the beautiful marble on the walls, the metal sconces and other Art Deco metalwork on the building directory as well as a piece of the artwork up on the ceiling of the lobby. That’s actually a canvas that was painted offsite and then placed on the ceiling. I understand it’s considered the largest work on canvas in the world.

Hoping this is adding to your holiday spirit!

Chrysler Christmas Tree

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Still making those lists, checking them twice!

Sorry, Dee. I know you probably didn’t want to see those words again!

I’m still making lists, one of the best ways to avoid missing something I must do for Christmas Eve. So there’s the gift list and the wrap list. One is done the other is slowly being whittled down.

There’s the food list which I haven’t even begun, but must do so that I can start the food shopping this weekend. Then there’s the Cuban food list because to get a lot of the things I need for Christmas Eve I have to head up to Union City, home of La Roca grocery store and El Fenix Bakery!

But while I am making all those lists and checking them often, I’m still taking time out to enjoy this holiday season. In spite of the cold, it’s one of my favorite times of year.

This morning I walked through Bryant Park where The Pond is open for business. Skating is free if you have your own skates. There are also a number of food and gift kiosks all around The Pond. Hope you enjoy this photo below or if you can’t see it, click here to see The Pond at Bryant Park.

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Mexican Recipes from SINS OF THE FLESH

Mexican FlagI’ve had the pleasure of visiting Mexico on several occasions for business and totally enjoyed the time I spent there. The people are warm and gracious, the margaritas are refreshing and the food . . . Well, the food is divine. I could probably eat Mexican food every day and not complain!

My experience with Mexican culture and the many Mexican-Americans in the Jersey Shore area is what led me to make the hero of SINS OF THE FLESH, Mick Carrera, a Mexican-American. As for the heroine, she is Mexican-Irish, a nod to my editor at Grand Central Publishing as well as to two cultures rich in the arts.

There are a number of scenes in SINS OF THE FLESH where the characters are enjoying Mexican food prepared by Mick’s mother at his family’s Mexican restaurant. I’ve shared some Mexican/Tex-Mex recipes with you in the past.

There was my ever popular party food – the layered Tex-Mex dip. You can get the recipe for that Tex-Mex dip, by clicking here.

Or you can try some wonderful nutty and buttery Mexican Christmas Cookies by clicking here.

My friends at Cuervo, who are celebrating their 250th anniversary, have a mess of great margarita recipes at their site. You can check out the Cuervo Margarita recipes by clicking on this link.

But now, another recipe for one of the foods that you’ll see in SINS OF THE FLESH and it’s a simple one. While I love enchiladas and tamales, they are a lot of work. This is an easy recipe and one which you can use for your next party or as a side dish to your tacos, burritos or even as a topping on your hamburger.

Guacamole

  • Ingredients
      • 2 ripe Florida Avocados (or 4 ripe Hass Avocados)
      Juice of two limes (about 1/4 cup)
      1 teaspoon ground cumin
      2-4 shots Cholula or Tabasco hot sauce (to your taste or omit if you do not like spicy)
      2 tablespoons olive oil
      1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
      1/2 cup medium onion finely chopped
      1 clove garlic finely minced
      Optional:
      2 ripe Roma Tomatoes, chopped
      1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
  • Directions
      • Slice the avocados in half and remove the seed. Scoop out the insides of 3/4 of the avocados. Leave 1/4 to the side for now.
      Mash the avocados with a fork and add the lime juice and remaining ingredients. Mix together.
      Chop the remaining 1/4 avocado into small pieces and add to your mixture. If you’ve chosen to add the tomatoes and queso fresco, add the tomatoes now and 1/4 cup of the queso fresco.
      Mix all the ingredients lightly. Garnish with the remaining queso fresco.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip. Just to make it all clear and legal, Cuervo is one of my clients, but I’m recommending their products because they make a wonderful tequila! FYI – If you ever have a chance to visit the city of Tequila in Mexico, see if you can spend some time at Mundo Cuervo, a cultural center established by Jose Cuervo and dedicated to Mexico and the history of tequila. I’ve been there and it is absolutely amazing!

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Guilty Pleasures Monday – Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley from an NBC Special - Used under Fair Use ProvisionsI was watching TV (yes, I do that a lot) and a commercial came on which had Elvis at the start with a tag line “He Changed Music.”

Well, yes, Elvis changed music and made many a heart go aflutter, but not just with his hips. He was such a handsome man and filled with passion for what he did.

I remember growing up watching Elvis movies on the afternoon movie shows and it didn’t matter how many times I’d seen them, I’d watch them again.

My mom loved Elvis. She really took it hard when he died so suddenly in 1977 especially since he was so young – only 42.

What memories do you have of Elvis? Have you ever been to Graceland? I know that if I go to the RWA National Conference in Tennessee this year, I’m going to see about making the trip there to visit.

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Fun Friday – Taming the Vampire Craze

Just a quick reminder that I’m guest blogging with fellow author Kelly Moran who has an interview with me as well as a book giveaway! I’ll be dropping by to chat again today so please come for a visit. Here’s the link to her blog: http://authorkellymoran.blogspot.com/

I want to thank all of you who have been so gracious in visiting me at my various blog stops to celebrate the release of SINS OF THE FLESH. This is such an important move for me as an author and I appreciate all that support.

And now . . . It’s time for Fun Friday!!

Many thanks to my friend and fellow author Irene Peterson for sharing this gem with me. Sit back and relax – it’s six minutes long!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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Surprise Saturday!

It’s a Surprise Saturday blog because I was so busy yesterday with an assortment of things that I didn’t get to do the Fun Friday blog. Had to take my daughter to her job at 2 a.m. because she was working on Black Friday. Then headed to the shore to start filming a Director’s Cut I am doing for you so that you can see some more Behind the Scenes of SINS OF THE FLESH.

Then back to the outlets to pick up my daughter, visit family and then return to the shore for some Black Friday shopping. My daughter and I got almost all of our Christmas shopping done which is great! Now I can focus on getting ready for the holidays and also some revisions I have to do on ARDOR CALLS, the next book in THE CALLING Vampire Series.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving! Mine was wonderful. Good food and family times. I’ll have some photos for you next week.

Before I take off for the rest of the weekend, here’s some happenings for you!

Visit me today at the Borders True Romance blog for a chance to win one of 5 copiesof SINS OF THE FLESH. Just visit this link: http://bordersblog.com/trueromance/

Don’t forget to get 25 extra entries into the contest at Bitten by Books on December 1. You can get the extra entries by RSVPing for the event. Just use this link: http://bit.ly/4TCKcE

Only two days left in the SINFUL THINGS CONTEST. Just tweet the info below or post it to your Facebook profile for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate.

    Celebrate Release of Caridad Pineiro’s SINS OF THE FLESH! RT for a chance 2 win a $50 Gift Certificate. http://bit.ly/2AZWlC
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Thoughtful Thanksgivings!

ThanksgivingWe were having a wonderful discussion on the Dangerous Women Loop (you can click here to join!) about our Thanksgiving traditions and I thought I’d share mine with you and invite you to share yours.

Every Thanksgiving we go to my sister’s house for a wonderful gathering of friends and family. This photo is one I took a few years ago of the beautiful table my sister, Carmen, sets for Thanksgiving. We have a very traditional American meal of turkey with assorted stuffings and side dishes. Actually, two turkeys for this large crowd – one roasted and one fried.

Sis is an amazing cook and we spend the day chatting, sometimes playing board games, going for a walk after dinner if the weather permits and generally just enjoying being together and eating some amazing food. I usually prepare the breads, muffins and some side dishes. You can check the Cook’s Treat section for some of the recipes for that day. My sis’s favorites are the cranberry maple muffins and I always make a double-batch of those!

But Thanksgiving doesn’t end that day! The next day we visit my in-laws where we get to share good talk and good food with the Italian side of the family. My sister-in-law has taken over the reins of preparing the Black Friday meal and she always does a great job. We usually bring some pastries, wine or other goodies to add to the mix.

Through it all, we take the time to be thankful for those things we have in our lives. It’s important to remember that and appreciate how lucky we are to have homes, food, family and friends and the good health and Liberty to share all those things.

How about you? What are your traditions for Thanksgiving.

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